The 13th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a nine months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to August 1863. It was a member of the 2nd Vermont Brigade.
The 13th Vermont Infantry was raised as a result of President Lincoln's call on August 4, 1862, for additional troops due to the disastrous results of the Peninsula Campaign. It was composed of volunteers from Washington, Chittenden, Lamoille and Franklin counties, as follows:
Company A, Emmett Guards of Burlington, Captain John Lonergan.
Company B, Waitsfield, Company, Captain Orcas C. Wilder.
Company C, East Montpelier, Company, Captain Lewis L. Coburn.
Company D, Colchester, Company, Captain William D. Munson.
Company E, Morristown, Company, Captain Joseph J. Boynton.
Company F, Richmond, Company, Captain John L. Yale.
Company G, Bakersfield, Company, Captain Marvin White.
Company H, Lafayette Artillery of Calais, Captain William V. Peck.
Company I, Montpelier, Company, Captain John M. Thacher.
Company K, Highgate, Company, Captain George S. Blake.
The regiment's commander, Colonel Francis V. Randall of Braintree, had served with the 2nd Vermont Infantry. Lieutenant Colonel Andrew W. Brown had no previous military experience. Major Lawrence D. Clark had served as captain of Co. A, 1st Vermont Infantry. Clark resigned in March 1863 because of impaired health, and was replaced by Captain Joseph J. Boynton, of Company C. Brown resigned in May 1863, and was succeeded by Captain William D. Munson, of Company D.
James Stevens Peck, originally a second lieutenant in Company I, was subsequently appointed regimental adjutant.[1]
The 13th Regiment went into camp at Brattleboro on September 29, 1862, and was mustered into United States service on October 3 with 953 officers and men. It left Vermont on October 11, and arrived in Washington, D.C., on October 13.
The regiment suffered its first two casualties within two weeks of arriving in Washington: Isaac N. Brooks, 16, of Company E, died on October 26; and Lieutenant Nathaniel Jones Jr., of Company B, died of typhoid fever on October 29.
The regiment set up camp on East Capitol Hill, a half-mile west of the 12th Vermont Infantry, then moved to Camp Chase, Arlington, Virginia, on October 25. They returned to East Capitol Hill three days later when the 2nd Vermont Brigade was formed.
The regiment marched to Munson's Hill on October 30, and Hunting Creek on November 5, where it stayed until November 26, in 'Camp Vermont'. It was engaged in picket duty near Fairfax Courthouse from December 12 to January 20, 1863. It participated in a repulse of J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry on December 29. The regiment was stationed at Wolf Run Shoals from January 20 to April 2, then performed railroad guard duty at Warrenton Junction until June 25.
On June 25, the brigade was assigned as the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, I Corps, and ordered to form the rear guard of the Army of the Potomac as it marched north after Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The 13th marched with the brigade from Wolf Run Shoals on June 25, crossed the Potomac River on June 27 at Edward's Ferry, and moved north through Frederick City and Creagerstown, Maryland.
On the morning of July 1, it left Westminster, Maryland, arriving on the battlefield at Gettysburg after dark on the first day of the battle. It camped in a wheat field to the left of Cemetery Hill.
Gettysburg
Memorial to the 13th Vermont Volunteer Infantry at Gettysburg
On the afternoon of July 2, the 13th responded to a request by General Winfield S. Hancock to assist Lieutenant Gulian V. Weir, Battery C, 5th U.S. Artillery, whose battery was in danger of being captured by a regiment of Brigadier General Ambrose R. Wright's brigade. The battery was saved and moved back to the rear. The 13th moved forward to Emmittsburg road and captured two rebel guns. Receiving fire from Rodgers' house, Captain John Lonergan, Company A, surrounded the building and took 81 prisoners from an Alabama regiment, returning to the main lines on Cemetery Ridge. He subsequently received the Medal of Honor for his actions.[2]
The 13th, 14th and 16th Vermont Regiments played a pivotal role in the Union repulse of Pickett's Charge on the afternoon of July 3. The 13th and 16th flanked James L. Kemper's brigade as it approached the copse of trees on Cemetery Ridge, then the 16th wheeled about, and joined by the 14th, stopped the advance of Cadmus M. Wilcox's brigade, capturing hundreds of Virginians. Lieutenant George Grenville Benedict, an aide to Brigadier General George J. Stannard, related General Abner Doubleday's reaction, saying he "waved his hat and shouted: 'Glory to God, glory to God! See the Vermonters go it!'"[3]
During the forced march from Virginia to Gettysburg, 1st Lieutenant Stephen F. Brown, Company K, had disobeyed orders and left the regiment to get water for his men. He was placed in arrest and had his sword and sidearm taken from him. When the regiment arrived on the battlefield at Gettysburg, he was released from arrest, but his weapons were back in the regiment's supply train. Taking a camp hatchet, he went into battle, captured a rebel officer and relieved him of his sword and sidearm. Lieutenant Brown, who subsequently served in the 17th Vermont Infantry, kept the sword and eventually donated it to the Vermont Historical Society.[4]
During the battle, the 13th's surgeon, George Nichols, was in charge of a field hospital for the I Corps.[5]
After the battle, the 13th Regiment participated in the pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia across the Catoctin mountains on July 7, to Middletown, Maryland, on July 8, when it was ordered home. The regiment marched to Monocacy Junction, where it took a train to Baltimore. Departing Baltimore on July 11, the regiment was met by the 12th Vermont Infantry in Brattleboro on July 13. After a few days furlough, the regiment was mustered out on July 21.
John Lonergan, Captain, Company A, for gallantry in the recapture of four guns and the capture of two additional guns from the enemy; also the capture of a number of prisoners" at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.
Lewis Addison Grant was a teacher, lawyer, soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and later United States Assistant Secretary of War. He was among the leading officers from the state of Vermont, and received the Medal of Honor for "personal gallantry and intrepidity."
William W. Wells, Jr. was a businessman, politician, and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War who received a Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg.
The 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment was a three months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, in and around Fortress Monroe, Virginia.
During the American Civil War, the State of Vermont gave strong support to the Union war effort, raising troops and money. According to Rachel Cree Sherman:
By the spring of 1865 Vermont was devastated, having sent one tenth of its entire population to war, with a loss of over 5,000 lives to battle, wounds, and disease. The state had dedicated nearly $10 million to support the conflict, half of that amount offered up by towns with no expectation of recompense.
The 2nd Vermont Infantry Regiment was a three years' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, from June 1861 to July 1865. It was a member of the famous Vermont Brigade.
Charles Bradley Stoughton was an officer and regimental commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 4th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a three year' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater, predominantly in the VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, from September 1861 to July 1865. It was a member of the Vermont Brigade.
Asa Peabody Blunt was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He remained on active duty after the war. In recognition of his service during the Civil War, he was appointed to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers. Blunt was notable as commander of the 2nd Vermont Brigade and the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
John Lester Barstow was an American teacher, farmer, politician, and soldier who served as the 39th governor of Vermont, United States.
The 2nd Vermont Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.
Stephen Thomas, manufacturer, politician, jurist, and Union Army officer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for gallantry.
The 12th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a nine months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to July 1863. It was a member of the 2nd Vermont Brigade.
The 15th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a nine-months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to August 1863. It was a member of the 2nd Vermont Brigade.
The 14th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a nine months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to August 1863. It was a member of the 2nd Vermont Brigade.
Edwin Henry Stoughton was appointed a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, but his appointment expired after it was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Four days later, on March 8, 1863, he was captured by Confederate partisan ranger John S. Mosby while asleep at his headquarters in the Virginia village of Fairfax Court House. The incident became well known, and Stoughton became an object of ridicule as a result. He was included in a prisoner exchange two months later but resigned his commission after he was not reappointed as a brigadier general.
George Perkins Foster was a school teacher, Colonel and brevet brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and then a United States Marshal.
The 16th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a nine months' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the eastern theater, predominantly in the Defenses of Washington, from October 1862 to August 1863. It was a member of the 2nd Vermont Brigade.
George Grenville Benedict was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Benedict was awarded the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action during the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania on July 3, 1863. He was honored with the award on June 27, 1892.
Stephen F. Brown was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War. He became famous for entering the Battle of Gettysburg armed only with a camp hatchet. He soon acquired a sword and pistol from a Confederate he took prisoner. Brown distinguished himself in battle and aiding other soldiers.
Francis V. Randall was an attorney, farmer, college administrator, and military officer from Vermont. A Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, he was most notable for his service as commander of the 13th Vermont Infantry Regiment during the war and his post-war appointment as vice president of Norwich University.
References
Benedict, G. G., Vermont in the Civil War. A History of the part taken by the Vermont Soldiers And Sailors in the War For The Union, 1861-5. Burlington, VT.: The Free Press Association, 1888, ii:405-408, 416ff.
Dyer, Frederick Henry, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. New York: T. Yoseloff, 1908. 3 vol.
Peck, Theodore S., compiler, Revised Roster of Vermont Volunteers and lists of Vermonters Who Served in the Army and Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, 1861-66. Montpelier, VT.: Press of the Watchman Publishing Co., 1892, pp.478-481, 501.
Further reading
Coffin, Howard, Full Duty: Vermonters in the Civil War. Woodstock, VT.: Countryman Press, 1995.
-----. Nine Months to Gettysburg. The Vermonters Who Broke Pickett's Charge. Woodstock, VT.: Countryman Press, 1997.
Palmer, Edwin F., The Second Brigade: or, Camp Life, By a Volunteer, Montpelier: E. P. Walton, 1864.
Sturtevant, Ralph Orson and Carmi L. Marsh. Pictorial History: Thirteenth Vermont Volunteers, War of 1861-1865. Privately published by the regiment, c1910.
↑ Benedict, G. G., Vermont in the Civil War. A History of the part taken by the Vermont Soldiers And Sailors in the War For The Union, 1861-5. Burlington, VT.: The Free Press Association, 1888, ii:456-457.
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