The Source

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States: War Papers (MOLLUS) – Michigan and Massachusetts

By Michael K. Shaffer · Originally published November 2018 · pp. 12–13

Covering only two volumes of the MOLLUS Papers, 50-51, the Michigan Commandery proves, once again, the quality over quantity concept. From 1893–1898, several veterans recounted events from the Eastern and Western Theaters. Remembrances from Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Franklin, Petersburg, and many other battles fill these pages. The Papers from Massachusetts; 52-54, including one volume from the Bay State dedicated to the U.S. Sanitary Commission in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, complete this month’s look at this helpful source. As a reminder on the background of this series, the first two volumes of the Broadfoot 1990s reprint set, unnumbered, consist of ‘Biographical Sketches of Contributors,’ and ‘Companions.’ The second volume offers hundreds of photographs of the various members. The collected papers from the commanderies appear in the following order. Ohio,

War Papers: Michigan Commandery book cover.

Civil War Papers: Massachusetts Commandery book cover.

volumes 1-9; Illinois, 10-13D; Missouri, vol. 14; Kansas, 15; Maine, volumes 16-19; New York, 20-23; Indiana, 24; Nebraska, 25; Minnesota, 26-31; Rhode Island, 32-41; District of Columbia, 42-45; Wisconsin, 46-49; Michigan, 50-51; Massachusetts, 52-54; Iowa, 55-56; Vermont, 57; Pennsylvania, 58-59; California and Oregon, vol. 60; and a four-volume index completes the Broadfoot set. Next month, this column will provide the table of contents of the MOLLUS Papers from Iowa and Vermont. Digitized-versions of MOLLUS exist online at the organization’s website: http://suvcw.org/ mollus/warpapers/warpapers.htm (also check http://suvcw.org/mollus/molid.htm) and at the Internet Archives, http://bit.ly/2EVfpPC. Researchers wishing to purchase the printed set may do so at Broadfoot Publishing, http://www.broadfootpublishing.com. Remember to check WorldCat http://www. worldcat.org/ for help in finding the Papers in a local library; search ISBN 1568370016. Readers wishing to view all the articles in this series thus far can visit https://issuu. com/mshaffe3. Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, instructor, and a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, the Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians. Readers may contact him at [email protected], or to request speaking engagements, via his website www.civilwarhistorian.net. Follow Michael on Facebook www. facebook.com/michael.k.shaffer and Twitter @michaelkshaffer.

Vol. 1 (1893) Article/Author The Cavalry on the Gettysburg Campaign - By L. S. Trowbridge

My Experience as a Prisoner of War - By Frederic W. Swift

Chickamauga - By H. M. Duffield

The Famous Old Third Brigade By Companion R. W. Jacklin

Michigan in the Opening of the War - By W. H. Withington Chancellorsville Campaign - By S. E. Pittman

The Stoneman Raid of 1865 - By L. S. Trowbridge

Recollections of the Bull Run Campaign - By H. F. Lyster

Personal Recollections of the Occupation of East Tennessee - By O. M. Poe

The Capture of Jeff. Davis - By J. G. Dickinson

My Experiences as a Prisoner of War, and Escape - By Wm. B. McCreery The Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Wilderness - By J. H. Kidd My Escape from Belle Isle - By H. R. Abbott

A July Morning with the Rebel Ram “Arkansas” - By S. B. Coleman

Massachusetts Vol. 1 (1900) Article/Author My First and Last Battle - By Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D.D., Chaplain of the Massachusetts Commandery The First Cruise of the Kearsarge - By Companion William H. Badlam 2nd Assistant Engineer, USN Amusing the Enemy - By Lieutenant Colonel Francis S. Hesseltine USV The Capture of Richmond - By Lieutenant Royal B. Prescott USV The Left Attack (Ewell’s), Gettysburg - By Brevet Captain Edward N.M. Benson Whittier USV My Capture, Prison Life and Escape - By Brevet Major Andrew M. Benson USV The Old Army in Kansas - By Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Adams Drake USV Fourteen Months’ Service with Colored Troops - By Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Solon A. Carter USV The Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864 - By Brevet Brigadier General Hazard Stevens USV The Capture of Jackson - By Lieutenant Seth A. Ranlett USV The Capture of Fort Fisher - By Brevet Major General Adelbert Ames USV The Capture of Fort Fisher - By Brevet Major General N. Martin Curtis USV Vol. 2 (1900) Article/Author Sherman’s Campaign in the Carolinas - By Major Henry O. Marcy, Surgeon USCT Life in Confederate Prisons - By Lieutenant Joseph E. Moody USV In the Wilderness - By Brevet Major Z. Bovlston Adams USV The Battle at High Bridge - By Major Edward T. Bouve USV. The Morning Surprise at Cedar Creek - By Captain S. Edward Howard USV The Burnside Expedition - By Brevet Brigadier General A.B.R. Sprague USV Sunshine and Shadows of Army Life - By Captain John G.B. Adams USV The Re-occupation of Jacksonville in 1863 - By Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson USCT The Explosion at City Point - By Captain Morris Schaff USA Stuart’s Brigade at Shiloh - By Lieutenant Elijah C. Lawrence USV Reminiscences of a Prisoner of War - By Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Isaac F. Galloupe, Surgeon USV An Involuntary Journey Through the Confederacy - By Captain Joseph E. Fiske USV Three Months’ Service in 1864 with the 4th Regiment M.V.M. By Brevet Brigadier General Luther Stephenson USV General Jesse L. Reno at Frederick, Barbara Fritchie and Her Flag - By Companion Conrad Reno

The Battle of Kernstown, March 23, 1862 - By G. K. Johnson The Battle of Allatoona, October 5, 1864 - By Wm. Ludlow Personal Experiences of Early Days of 1861 - By J. T. Sterling The Origin of the Society of the Cincinnati - By F. T. Sibley Personal Recollections of Four Years in Dixie - By J. T. Patton

The Battle of Groveton, or Second Bull Run - By Geo. C. Hopper

“Jeb” Stuart’s Hat - By Ford H. Rogers On to Gettysburg - By Ziba B. Graham

May 7, 1896 - By Commander G. W. Chandler May 6, 1897 - By Commander H. S. Dean

From the Rapidan to Atlanta - By E. B. Fenton

Presentation of Portrait to Companion Poe - By Council

Addresses at Annual Banquets of the Commandery

Introductory Addresses of Commanders at Annual Banquets of the Commandery

April 13, 1885 (No Manuscript) - By L. S. Trowbridge

May 5, 1886 - By Orlando M. Poe

May 5, 1898 (no manuscript) - By Commander H. M. Duffield

May 5, 1886 - By Orlando M. Poe

May 5, 1898 (no manuscript) - By Commander H. M. Duffield

Luther Stephenson USV General Jesse L. Reno at Frederick, Barbara Fritchie and Her Flag - By Companion Conrad Reno

June 1, 1887 - By Orlando M. Poe May 2, 1888 (No Manuscript) - By Russell A. Alger May 1, 1889 - By Byron R. Price May 1, 1890 - By Frederic W. Swift May 7, 1891 - By Isreal C. Smith May 5, 1892 - By Samuel E. Pittman May 4, 1893 - By Wm. H. Withington

June 1, 1887 - By Orlando M. Poe May 2, 1888 (No Manuscript) - By Russell A. Alger

May 1, 1889 - By Byron R. Price May 1, 1890 - By Frederic W. Swift May 7, 1891 - By Isreal C. Smith May 5, 1892 - By Samuel E. Pittman May 4, 1893 - By Wm. H. Withington

Vol. 2 (1898) Article/Author The Rock of Chickamauga - By Companion W. F. Atkinson

The South in War Times - By Companion L. G. Wilcox

From the Gulf to Vicksburg - By Companion Harrison Soule Reminiscences - By Companion Henry R. Mizner

Only a Button - By Companion C. E. Foote

Some of the Wrongs of Cuba - By Companion Z. B. Graham

Lights and Shadows of the Civil War - By Companion L. S. Trowbridge

Recollections of the Battle of Antietam - By Companion John Conline

Recollections and Incidents of Medical Military Service - By Companion W. F. Breakey Personal Recollections of the Siege of Petersburg by a Confederate Officer - By Companion L. N. Case The Monitor and Merrimac - By Companion Henry Reaney

Reminiscences of an Amy Surgeon - By Companion G. E. Ranney The Morgan Raid - By Companion G. S. Wormer

The Last Assault of the Confederates at Petersburg - By Companion John C. Hardy Twelve Months in Rebel Prisons By Companion C. G. Hampton The Battle of Franklin - By Companion Gus. F. Smith The Battle of Corinth - By Companion L. W. Wolcott

The Story of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge - By Companion John Atkinson Recollections of Gettysburg - By Companion L. A. Smith.

May 5, 1898 - By Companion A. B. Morse

May 5, 1898 - By Lieut. I. P. Powell

May 3, 1894 (no manuscript) - By Commander L. S. Trowbridge

May 9, 1895 (no manuscript) - By Commander J. G. Parkhurst

The Sanitary Commission: what it was. Aspect of the War to women.

Women’s Central Relief Association; other associations of women Dr. Bellows’s mission to Washington Powers granted to Sanitary Commission by President Lincoln and Secretary of War. Work of Inspection; Vital Statistics

General Van Vliet has a secret, but will not tell it. Dress paramount in the female mind, even at the rear of an Army.

“Louisiana” aground with 200 sick on board; night trip to her Women’s Central Relief Association asks for anecdotes.

Battle of Fair Oaks: Commission ready. Conflicting orders; no Medical officer on the ground. Government boats not ready. Five thousand men sent down without preparation. The Commission throws itself in and does all. Our tent: the comfort of it; difficulties and horrors. None but the unavoidable miseries of war on Commission boats.

Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted; Members of Sanitary Commission

Seven hundred thousand rations and forage already up the James River. Stores and munitions all safely removed from White House. Great credit due to Colonel Ingalls and Captain Sawtelle. “Wilson Small” the last boat (except Quartermaster’s) to leave White House. Going down the winding river. Mr. Olmsted’s letter. Robert Ware; in memoriam. What profit lies in barren faith?” Hampton Roads. “Wilson Small” the first boat (except Quartermaster’s) to go up James River. Meets the army: Harrison’s Landing; Battle of Malvern Hill. The spirit of the army; the tenor of what it felt and said. Dr. Letterman, the new Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac. The “ Monitor ” such a tiny thing. Trip to Washington on business. Letter from Mayor of Newport. Special good done by last gifts. Contract for army shirts. Medical Department doing well by wounded. The worst horror of war. Meeting of President Lincoln and General McClellan at Harrison’s Landing. Commodore John Rodgers and the “Galena.” Things not so gloomy; tone and temper of the army. The Shore hospital: influence of new Medical Director. Supplies furnished to Army of Potomac by Sanitary Commission during July and August. Happy relations between President Lincoln and General McClellan. Promotion of General Van Vliet, Colonel Ingalls, and Captain Sawtelle. Captain George Rodgers: visit to the ‘‘Tioga,” to shell out a battery. Danger from Rebel batteries: Fort Powhatan. Hospital Transport Service over: Mr. Olmsted and staff return home. Dr. H. J. Bigelow, and “the horrors on board the ‘Wilson Small.’” Once more conventional and duly civilized. Memories of two sorts left behind on the James River.

With the Fifth Wisconsin at Williamsburg - By Arthur Holbrook, First Lieutenant and Adjutant 5th WI Inf. U.S.V.

Money and supplies: how obtained. Branches of Sanitary Commission: method of proceeding. Mr. Alfred J. Bloor First relief work with the armies in the field Peninsular campaign, 1862. Commission applies for steamers. Books and documents relating to Sanitary Commission: where to be found. Hospital Transport Service: first work

Newport, R. I. Writer joins Hospital Transport Service. Headquarters Sanitary Commission: steamer “ Wilson Small” Yorktown, Va.: the old and the new history.

Wounded of the Battle of Williamsburg. Routine of work

Steamer “ Elm City” goes North with 450 men. Spirit of the men: their pride in the army; their self-forgetfulness. Steamer “ Knickerbocker ” fitted up by two young ladies.

The misery of carpet-bags.

Devotion of the young men of the Sanitary Commission. Rescue of a hundred men at Bigelow’s Landing. Incalculable amount of suffering saved by Sanitary Commission. Steamship “S. R. Spaulding.” A coincidence.

Off Headquarters, Army of the Potomac, White House, Va. General Franklin. The White House.

General Fitz-John Porter; General Morell. Unselfishness of the sick and wounded. Death-rate of the British forces in the Crimea.

Lessons taught by that, and by the Sanitary Commission. A night excursion in search of fiftysix men. Dr. Grymes’s lesson of calmness. The black side of war. A busy night; with all to do over again. “Spaulding” sails. Fever proves to be typhus, or spotted fever.

On board “ Knickerbocker;”’ Dr. Draper.

Fitting up the “Elm City.” The Shore hospital.

Civilian doctors and surgical cases. Difficulties of the Commission. Kind of supplies most needed.

An excursion party from Washington; false sentiment.

How the writer came to write so many letters. Sanitary Commission supplies: how used; not wasted. Neglect of Medical authorities after Fair Oaks not likely to occur again.

Excellence of the army ration: what it is. Queer people: quartermasters, Zouaves, women with a mission. Mr. Knapp breaks down with typhoid fever. How the sick and wounded came down from the front.

Battle of Fair Oaks, otherwise called Seven Pines. A pleasure excursion: out of the breath of hospitals. The dear “Small.” General McClellan. Stuart’s raid: attack on train of sick men; five wounded.

The “ Small” turned into a hospital. Practical tenderness. More “ Sabbath-breaking picnickers on a battle-field.”

Dr. Henry J. Bigelow arrives on a mission from Secretary of War. Object of the Sanitary Commission not fully understood. Mrs. Griffin’s health fails. Dr. Grymes, his courage, devotion, and death. Gifts from Newport, R.I., Boston and Walpole, Mass.

Feeling of the Southern soldiery as the writer found it. Our dear tent. System of the routine work. Trip to Yorktown to see “St. Mark.” Dr. Draper, wife, and Mrs. Strong.

Massachusetts Vol. 3 (1888) Article/Author

Medical-Inspector-General, Colonel Vollum, appointed at Mr. Olmsted’s request. Written agreement, by which Commission takes all worst cases.

One week’s letters missing. The Change of base.