Charles E. Winegar
Encyclopedia
Charles E. Winegar commanded an artillery battery in the Union service during the American Civil War
.
on October 14, 1861. George W. Cothran of Lockport in Niagara County and Charles E. Winegar of Shelby in Orleans County were the principal organizers. Cothran became the captain, and Winegar was commissioned senior first lieutenant. (At the time, Winegar was 29 years old.) The battery enlisted for three years of service.
The battery moved to Albany, New York
and then to Washington, D. C. While at Camp Barry outside Washington, the battery was incorporated into the First New York Artillery, apparently against the wishes of the members of the unit.
In January of 1862, Cothran’s battery was given 6 ten pound Parrott rifle
s together with teams of horses. The unit was assigned to the command of MG Nathaniel Banks in the Department of the Rappahannock. It was positioned at Frederick, Maryland
and nearby Point of Rocks
. The battery finally saw active service in March, when Banks took his forces into Virginia. The battery saw action at the First Battle of Winchester
on May 25, 1862. Winegar, who was ill at the time, still took command of a section of the battery. He was mentioned in dispatches for creditable behavior during Banks’ retreat after the battle. (Cothran had been arrested on a charge of defrauding the government and faced a court martial. He was convicted but was reinstated on June 4.http://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=507) Battery M also served at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
, serving on the far right of Banks' line.
When XII Corps
was formed, Cothran’s battery was assigned to the division of BG Alpheus S. Williams
. Winegar took charge of the battery for much of this period. MG Henry W. Slocum, new commander of XII Corps, advanced the brigade of BG Thomas L. Kane
and Battery M under Winegar to Loudon Heights, Virginia near Harper’s Ferry from Pleasant Valley in Washington County, Maryland
. Cothran returned in time for the Battle of Antietam
, reporting for the battery's conduct in support of XII Corps at the north end of the battlefield near the East Woods. Cothran reported helping repulse more than one Confederate charge.http://antietam.aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=337
At the time of the Battle of Fredericksburg
, Slocum advanced the corps, including Battery M, to Fairfax Station. At the time of the Mud March, the corps advanced to Stafford Court House
, where it remained based until the spring of 1863. By that time Cothran was absent ill, never returning. Winegar was in command at the end of 1862 and would remain so into late 1863.
on April 30, accompanying the advance of Williams’ division.. On May 1 Winegar's battery advanced with Williams' command up the Plank Road toward Fredericksburg. Battery M had yet to open fire on the Confederates when the corps was recalled to a defensive position in the Fairview clearing near the Chancellor house facing east. From there it fired on Confederate gunners until ammunition ran low on May 2. A section of battery K 1st New York Light Artillery was sent to Winegar's relief. The battery was still in its position on May 3 when it was ordered to fall back with the rest of XII Corps. Some caissons had to be left behind during the retreat. Lt Winegar and an enlisted man went looking for the abandoned caissons. They were captured by the enemy. When Lt John D. Woodbury reported for the battery, Winegar was still missing without word of him.. At the end of the battle, the battery was in reserve between Chancellorsville and United States Ford. After withdrawal on May 5, the battery camped at Stafford Court House with the rest of XII Corps.http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/1stArtLt/1stArtLtBatM.htm.
. His battery crossed the Potomac River
on June 26, 1863 with Williams' division. When XII Corps camped overnight June 30-July 1 near Gettysburg, Winegar's battery was deployed with infantry support to guard the camp. During the Battle of Gettysburg
, the battery had only 4 guns, 10 pound Parrott rifles. On the evening of July 1, Slocum used Winegar's guns and other batteries to cover the gap between his corps and I Corps
just south of the town cemetery.http://www.civilwarhome.com/huntgettysburgor.htm Battery M was moved later to just east of Powers Hill (called Slocum's Hill in some reports), near Slocum's headquarters.
Capt Clermont L. Best, XII Corps chief of artillery, moved some of Winegar's guns on the night on July 2-3. Thus on July 3, 1863 one section of the battery was located on Powers Hill, but the other section was on McAllister’s Hill near Rock Creek.. (The monument to Winegar’s battery stands on Powers Hill forward of its actual position.http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=17889) The battery took part in the cannonade that preceded a largely successful effort to recapture ground lost on July 2 when most of XII Corps was sent to the left flank of the army as reinforcements.
. Winegar's battery was among the units sent. There, after the conclusion of the Battle of Chattanooga
, most of its units were merged with those of XI Corps
into the new XX Corps
, Army of the Cumberland
. On February 6, 1864, many of the original members of Battery M reenlisted and were mustered in for a new period of service. The veterans received their reenlistment furloughs and went home, returning to camp near Chattanooga around the middle of April.http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/1stArtLt/1stArtLtBatM.htm
Charles Winegar was promoted to the rank of captain on May 3, 1864, and he took command of Battery I, First New York Artillery with its 6 3 inch rifled guns. (Capt Michael Wiedrich had been assigned to a heavy artillery regiment; and Nicholas Sahm, his successor, had died.) This unit also was part of XX Corps, which eventually became a part of the Army of Georgia
under MG Slocum. In that corps, Winegar’s battery served in the Atlanta Campaign
, Sherman’s March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign
. It was assigned to Williams' division until all XX Corps batteries were combined into an artillery brigade under Maj John A. Reynolds during the Atlanta Campaign.
The Atlanta Campaign of MG William Tecumseh Sherman
was a busy one for Winegar and his men. His battery was seriously involved in support of Williams' division on the left flank of Sherman's army in the Battle of Resaca
on May 13, 1864, helping repel an assault by LTG John B. Hood. During Sherman's advance from Resaca toward Atlanta, Battery I's guns were used in small engagements and a fight with a Confederate battery, which Winegar said he won. Battery I played a significant role in the Battle of Kolb's Farm
on June 22, being credited by Maj Reynolds with doing damage to a Confederate attack on XX Corps. Battery I crossed the Chattahoochee River
on July 2, 1864. At the Battle of Peachtree Creek
on July 20 Winegar's guns were used to good effect at two places on the Union line against the Confederate assault on the Army of the Cumberland. Winegar's own report traced the battery's movements from Lookout Valley, Tennessee to Atlanta. He made a particular point of the attack's by John B. Hood's corps at Kolb's Farm his battery helped stop.
Winegar's report on the Siege of Atlanta mostly records exchanges of fire with the Confederate defenders. Occasionally the battery experienced losses, including a lieutenant shot through the head by a southern marksman. When Sherman gambled on flanking Hood out of Atlanta in late August, XX Corps fell back to the Chattahoochee to defend the Union supply line. After the Battle of Jonesborough
forced Hood to abandon Atlanta, XX Corps took possession. A section of Battery I was able to enter the Confederate works on September 2, 1864, with the rest of the battery following later. Winegar reported losing 1 officer and 3 men killed and 10 men wounded, plus 3 horses killed and 7 wounded, in the campaign.
Sherman did not leave the vicinity of Atlanta quickly. This required foraging for fresh meat and grain. In October, Col Daniel Dustin took much of third division XX Corps plus artillery and cavalry foraging east of Decatur, Georgia
. Winegar commanded the two batteries involved in Dustin's raid, which garnered 400 wagon load of supplies. When Sherman left Atlanta on November 15, XX Corps was part of the column MG Slocum led in the March to the Sea, what later was called the Army of Georgia. Winegar's guns were little used apparently until Sherman reached Savannah, Georgia
and XX Corps was positioned of the left of Sherman's forces. On December 12, 1864, when Sherman's army was investing Savannah, Winegar’s battery was positioned in ambush on the banks of the Savannah River
opposite Argyle Island. There it fired on two Confederate gunboats, the Sampson and the Macon, and their tender, the Resolute, which had came down river from Augusta, Georgia
. All three ships were hit. The Sampson and the tender collided while reacting to Winegar's fire, and the damaged tender was captured by the Federals when it drifted to shore. The gunboats escaped upriver. Winegar later commented to Maj Henry M. Hitchcock that he was looking forward to another naval engagement.http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/gahistmarkers/gunboatsartilleryhistmarker2.htm Four days later, Battery I was moved to Argyle Island to deal with harrasment of Col Ezra Carman's brigade by Confederate guns. When Savannah fell, Winegar reported capture of a considerable quantity of animals and supplies.
Battery I took part in the Carolinas Campaign, still under Slocum, departing Savannah on January 17, 1865. At first the battery accompanied the third division XX Corps. The battery participated in the Battle of Averasborough
(March 16) and the Battle of Bentonville
(March 19-21).http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/1stArtLt/1stArtLtBatI.htm In the latter fight, Battery I played a significant role in repelling the attack of MG William B. Bate
from its position near the Goldsboro Pike. The battery was part of a concentration of XX Corps guns Maj Reynolds had assembled to fill a gap in the corps' line. Late in the war, on April 1, 1865, as Sherman moved northward toward Raleigh, North Carolina
, Capt Winegar took command of the artillery brigade of XX Corps after Maj Reynolds left the army on leave. The battey lost 4 men missing and 3 horses wounded in the Carolinas Campaign. After the war ended, Winegar was mustered out with his battery at Buffalo, New York
on June 23, 1865.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Early in the War
Battery M, First New York Artillery was organized at Lockport, New York in September of 1861, and mustered in at Rochester, New YorkRochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
on October 14, 1861. George W. Cothran of Lockport in Niagara County and Charles E. Winegar of Shelby in Orleans County were the principal organizers. Cothran became the captain, and Winegar was commissioned senior first lieutenant. (At the time, Winegar was 29 years old.) The battery enlisted for three years of service.
The battery moved to Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
and then to Washington, D. C. While at Camp Barry outside Washington, the battery was incorporated into the First New York Artillery, apparently against the wishes of the members of the unit.
In January of 1862, Cothran’s battery was given 6 ten pound Parrott rifle
Parrott rifle
The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War.-Parrott Rifle:The gun was invented by Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He resigned from the service in 1836 and became the superintendent of the West Point Foundry in Cold...
s together with teams of horses. The unit was assigned to the command of MG Nathaniel Banks in the Department of the Rappahannock. It was positioned at Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
and nearby Point of Rocks
Point of Rocks, Maryland
Point of Rocks is a community in Frederick County, Maryland. It is named for the striking rock formation on the adjacent Catoctin Mountain, which were formed by the Potomac River cutting through the ridge in a water gap, a typical formation in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians...
. The battery finally saw active service in March, when Banks took his forces into Virginia. The battery saw action at the First Battle of Winchester
First Battle of Winchester
The First Battle of Winchester, fought on May 25, 1862, in and around Frederick County, Virginia, and Winchester, Virginia, was a major victory in Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Jackson enveloped the...
on May 25, 1862. Winegar, who was ill at the time, still took command of a section of the battery. He was mentioned in dispatches for creditable behavior during Banks’ retreat after the battle. (Cothran had been arrested on a charge of defrauding the government and faced a court martial. He was convicted but was reinstated on June 4.http://antietam.aotw.org/officers.php?officer_id=507) Battery M also served at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
Battle of Cedar Mountain
The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...
, serving on the far right of Banks' line.
When XII Corps
XII Corps (ACW)
The XII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.The corps was formed by U.S. War Department General Order of March 13, 1862, under which the corps organization of the Army of the Potomac was first created. By that order, five different corps were constituted: one of...
was formed, Cothran’s battery was assigned to the division of BG Alpheus S. Williams
Alpheus S. Williams
Alpheus Starkey Williams was a lawyer, judge, journalist, U.S. Congressman, and a Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
. Winegar took charge of the battery for much of this period. MG Henry W. Slocum, new commander of XII Corps, advanced the brigade of BG Thomas L. Kane
Thomas L. Kane
Thomas Leiper Kane was an American attorney, abolitionist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colonel and general of volunteers in the American Civil War...
and Battery M under Winegar to Loudon Heights, Virginia near Harper’s Ferry from Pleasant Valley in Washington County, Maryland
Washington County, Maryland
Washington County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering southern Pennsylvania to the north, northern Virginia to the south, and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to the south and west. As of the 2010 Census, its population is 147,430...
. Cothran returned in time for the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, reporting for the battery's conduct in support of XII Corps at the north end of the battlefield near the East Woods. Cothran reported helping repulse more than one Confederate charge.http://antietam.aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=337
At the time of the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
, Slocum advanced the corps, including Battery M, to Fairfax Station. At the time of the Mud March, the corps advanced to Stafford Court House
Stafford, Virginia
Stafford is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Stafford County in the northern part of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 4,320. It lies north of Fredericksburg, approximately south of metropolitan Washington, D.C., and about north of...
, where it remained based until the spring of 1863. By that time Cothran was absent ill, never returning. Winegar was in command at the end of 1862 and would remain so into late 1863.
Chancellorsville
At the Battle of Chancellorsville, Winegar was in command of the battery once more, and it crossed the Rappahannock RiverRappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length. It traverses the entire northern part of the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, across the Piedmont, to the Chesapeake Bay, south of the Potomac River.An important river in American...
on April 30, accompanying the advance of Williams’ division.. On May 1 Winegar's battery advanced with Williams' command up the Plank Road toward Fredericksburg. Battery M had yet to open fire on the Confederates when the corps was recalled to a defensive position in the Fairview clearing near the Chancellor house facing east. From there it fired on Confederate gunners until ammunition ran low on May 2. A section of battery K 1st New York Light Artillery was sent to Winegar's relief. The battery was still in its position on May 3 when it was ordered to fall back with the rest of XII Corps. Some caissons had to be left behind during the retreat. Lt Winegar and an enlisted man went looking for the abandoned caissons. They were captured by the enemy. When Lt John D. Woodbury reported for the battery, Winegar was still missing without word of him.. At the end of the battle, the battery was in reserve between Chancellorsville and United States Ford. After withdrawal on May 5, the battery camped at Stafford Court House with the rest of XII Corps.http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/1stArtLt/1stArtLtBatM.htm.
Gettysburg
Winegar was exchanged in time to join the artillery brigade of XII Corps in the Gettysburg CampaignGettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
. His battery crossed the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
on June 26, 1863 with Williams' division. When XII Corps camped overnight June 30-July 1 near Gettysburg, Winegar's battery was deployed with infantry support to guard the camp. During the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, the battery had only 4 guns, 10 pound Parrott rifles. On the evening of July 1, Slocum used Winegar's guns and other batteries to cover the gap between his corps and I Corps
I Corps (ACW)
I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...
just south of the town cemetery.http://www.civilwarhome.com/huntgettysburgor.htm Battery M was moved later to just east of Powers Hill (called Slocum's Hill in some reports), near Slocum's headquarters.
Capt Clermont L. Best, XII Corps chief of artillery, moved some of Winegar's guns on the night on July 2-3. Thus on July 3, 1863 one section of the battery was located on Powers Hill, but the other section was on McAllister’s Hill near Rock Creek.. (The monument to Winegar’s battery stands on Powers Hill forward of its actual position.http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=17889) The battery took part in the cannonade that preceded a largely successful effort to recapture ground lost on July 2 when most of XII Corps was sent to the left flank of the army as reinforcements.
The Western Theater of the War
XII Corps was sent west in the fall of 1863 to help relieve the siege of Chattanooga in the Chattanooga CampaignChattanooga Campaign
The Chattanooga Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga in September, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen...
. Winegar's battery was among the units sent. There, after the conclusion of the Battle of Chattanooga
Battle of Chattanooga
There were three Battles of Chattanooga fought in or near Chattanooga, Tennessee, during the American Civil War:* First Battle of Chattanooga, minor artillery bombardment by Union Brigadier General James S. Negley against Confederate Maj. Gen...
, most of its units were merged with those of XI Corps
XI Corps (ACW)
The XI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, best remembered for its involvement in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in 1863.-Formation and the Valley Campaign:...
into the new XX Corps
XX Corps (ACW)
Two corps of the Union Army were called XX Corps during the American Civil War. Though both served in the Union Army of the Cumberland, they were distinct units and should be recognized as such.- McCook's Corps :...
, Army of the Cumberland
Army of the Cumberland
The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...
. On February 6, 1864, many of the original members of Battery M reenlisted and were mustered in for a new period of service. The veterans received their reenlistment furloughs and went home, returning to camp near Chattanooga around the middle of April.http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/1stArtLt/1stArtLtBatM.htm
Charles Winegar was promoted to the rank of captain on May 3, 1864, and he took command of Battery I, First New York Artillery with its 6 3 inch rifled guns. (Capt Michael Wiedrich had been assigned to a heavy artillery regiment; and Nicholas Sahm, his successor, had died.) This unit also was part of XX Corps, which eventually became a part of the Army of Georgia
Army of Georgia
The Army of Georgia was a Union army that constituted the Left Wing of Major General William T. Sherman's Army Group during the March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign.-History:...
under MG Slocum. In that corps, Winegar’s battery served in the Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
, Sherman’s March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign
Carolinas Campaign
The Carolinas Campaign was the final campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. In January 1865, Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman advanced north from Savannah, Georgia, through the Carolinas, with the intention of linking up with Union forces in Virginia. The defeat of ...
. It was assigned to Williams' division until all XX Corps batteries were combined into an artillery brigade under Maj John A. Reynolds during the Atlanta Campaign.
The Atlanta Campaign of MG William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
was a busy one for Winegar and his men. His battery was seriously involved in support of Williams' division on the left flank of Sherman's army in the Battle of Resaca
Battle of Resaca
The Battle of Resaca was part of the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle was waged in both Gordon and Whitfield counties, Georgia, from May 13 - 15, 1864. It ended inconclusively with the Confederate Army retreating. The engagement was fought between the Military Division of the...
on May 13, 1864, helping repel an assault by LTG John B. Hood. During Sherman's advance from Resaca toward Atlanta, Battery I's guns were used in small engagements and a fight with a Confederate battery, which Winegar said he won. Battery I played a significant role in the Battle of Kolb's Farm
Battle of Kolb's Farm
The Battle of Kolb's Farm was fought on June 22, 1864, between Union forces under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker and Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John B. Hood. Hood attempted an attack on the Union force, but poor terrain conditions led to its failure....
on June 22, being credited by Maj Reynolds with doing damage to a Confederate attack on XX Corps. Battery I crossed the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
on July 2, 1864. At the Battle of Peachtree Creek
Battle of Peachtree Creek
The Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought in Georgia on July 20, 1864, as part of the Atlanta Campaign in the American Civil War. It was the first major attack by Lt. Gen. John B. Hood since taking command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The attack was against Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's...
on July 20 Winegar's guns were used to good effect at two places on the Union line against the Confederate assault on the Army of the Cumberland. Winegar's own report traced the battery's movements from Lookout Valley, Tennessee to Atlanta. He made a particular point of the attack's by John B. Hood's corps at Kolb's Farm his battery helped stop.
Winegar's report on the Siege of Atlanta mostly records exchanges of fire with the Confederate defenders. Occasionally the battery experienced losses, including a lieutenant shot through the head by a southern marksman. When Sherman gambled on flanking Hood out of Atlanta in late August, XX Corps fell back to the Chattahoochee to defend the Union supply line. After the Battle of Jonesborough
Battle of Jonesborough
-Further reading:...
forced Hood to abandon Atlanta, XX Corps took possession. A section of Battery I was able to enter the Confederate works on September 2, 1864, with the rest of the battery following later. Winegar reported losing 1 officer and 3 men killed and 10 men wounded, plus 3 horses killed and 7 wounded, in the campaign.
Sherman did not leave the vicinity of Atlanta quickly. This required foraging for fresh meat and grain. In October, Col Daniel Dustin took much of third division XX Corps plus artillery and cavalry foraging east of Decatur, Georgia
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
. Winegar commanded the two batteries involved in Dustin's raid, which garnered 400 wagon load of supplies. When Sherman left Atlanta on November 15, XX Corps was part of the column MG Slocum led in the March to the Sea, what later was called the Army of Georgia. Winegar's guns were little used apparently until Sherman reached Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
and XX Corps was positioned of the left of Sherman's forces. On December 12, 1864, when Sherman's army was investing Savannah, Winegar’s battery was positioned in ambush on the banks of the Savannah River
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
opposite Argyle Island. There it fired on two Confederate gunboats, the Sampson and the Macon, and their tender, the Resolute, which had came down river from Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
. All three ships were hit. The Sampson and the tender collided while reacting to Winegar's fire, and the damaged tender was captured by the Federals when it drifted to shore. The gunboats escaped upriver. Winegar later commented to Maj Henry M. Hitchcock that he was looking forward to another naval engagement.http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/gahistmarkers/gunboatsartilleryhistmarker2.htm Four days later, Battery I was moved to Argyle Island to deal with harrasment of Col Ezra Carman's brigade by Confederate guns. When Savannah fell, Winegar reported capture of a considerable quantity of animals and supplies.
Battery I took part in the Carolinas Campaign, still under Slocum, departing Savannah on January 17, 1865. At first the battery accompanied the third division XX Corps. The battery participated in the Battle of Averasborough
Battle of Averasborough
The Battle of Averasborough or The Battle of Averasboro, fought March 16, 1865, in Harnett and Cumberland counties, North Carolina, as part of the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War, was a prelude to the climactic Battle of Bentonville, which began three days later.Union Maj. Gen. William...
(March 16) and the Battle of Bentonville
Battle of Bentonville
At 3 p.m., Confederate infantry from the Army of Tennessee launched an attack and drove the Union left flank back in confusion, nearly capturing Carlin in the process and overrunning the XIV Corps field hospital. Confederates under Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill filled the vacuum left by the retreating...
(March 19-21).http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/artillery/1stArtLt/1stArtLtBatI.htm In the latter fight, Battery I played a significant role in repelling the attack of MG William B. Bate
William B. Bate
William Brimage Bate was the governor of Tennessee from 1883 to 1887 and subsequently a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1887 until his death...
from its position near the Goldsboro Pike. The battery was part of a concentration of XX Corps guns Maj Reynolds had assembled to fill a gap in the corps' line. Late in the war, on April 1, 1865, as Sherman moved northward toward Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, Capt Winegar took command of the artillery brigade of XX Corps after Maj Reynolds left the army on leave. The battey lost 4 men missing and 3 horses wounded in the Carolinas Campaign. After the war ended, Winegar was mustered out with his battery at Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
on June 23, 1865.
Further Reading
- New York in the War of the Rebellion, ed. Frederick Phisterer, 6 vols., Albany: J. B. Lyon Co., 1912.
- Trudeau, Noah Andre, Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea, New York: Harper, 2008.
- Frank J. Welcher, The Union Army, 1861-1865: organization and operations, 2 vols., Bloomington: Indiana University Press, c1989.