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Officers of the US Regular Army units present on the Maryland Campaign of 1862 have a staunch advocate in one of our loyal readers. He has been poking me to make up for obvious deficiencies in my understanding of those present, as seen in the Antietam on the Web database.

Officers of the 14th US Inf. camp near Alexandria, Va., March 1862 (A. Gardner)

In addition to providing additional details for some of the officers we do cover on AotW, he’s also challenged me to add a number of men not yet listed. I fear I am not doing this fast enough to suit, but have had a rewarding weekend doing further research on the Regulars at Antietam and these new candidates of interest …

First, I got into Tim Reese’s work on the Regular Infantry in the Eastern Theater – Sykes’ Regular Infantry Division. Tim has done immense pick-and-shovel work on these men and their units, and put it all together in highly readable style. As a result, his book is the seminal single volume resource on the subject.

I also walked through the order of battle on AotW to be sure we’ve adequately represented each of the US Infantry Units. I found I’d not connected small detachments of the 8th and 19th US Infantry to the 12th and 17th regiments, respectively, so I caught those up.

There were US Regular Army officers in commands all across the Army of Potomac, of course, including many in State volunteer units. And the Regular artillery batteries were also distributed among the Volunteers.

The United States Infantry units, though, were all assigned together in the 1st and 2nd Brigades of George Sykes’ 2nd Division, General Fitz John Porter’s Fifth Army Corps. At Antietam these troops were positioned at the center of the Federal battle line, and advanced toward Sharpsburg over Antietam Creek by the Middle Bridge in support of General Pleasonton’s Horse Artillery on September 17th [map]. There’s a great “what-if” story to be found in that action, by the way.

There are dozens of company grade Regular Officers who served under Sykes at Antietam and deserve my attention and a place on the website. I hope I will get to all of them eventually, but will do quick sketches here for eight we have before us, by request of our loyal reader:

William H. Powell (post-War; from Powell’s Officers via Reese)

William Henry Powell (1838-1901). 2nd Lieutenant, 4th US Infantry. He was Acting Assistant Adjutant General (AAAG) of the First Brigade, Sykes’ Division at Antietam. Born in Washington DC about 1838, he enlisted as Private in the 4th Battalion, DC Militia on 17 April 1861, and was discharged 17 July. He was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th US Infantry 24 Oct 1861, and promoted to 1st Lieutenant on the day before the battle of Antietam. He served as Adjutant of the 4th Infantry 1 Mar 1862 to 29 Jan 1863. He won brevets to Captain (Antietam) and Major (Petersburg) for War service.

During the rest of his long military career he was made Captain 2 Feb 1865, Major of the 22nd Infantry 5 Aug 1888, Lieutenant Colonel of the 11th Infantry 4 May 1892, and finally, Colonel commanding the 9th US Infantry 27 June 1897. He retired from the Army 25 Apr 1899, and died 16 Nov 1901 at home in Sacketts Harbor, NY at age 63. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Powell is perhaps best known today as the prolific chronicler of the 4th Infantry, the V Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and other Army history.

William Falck (1837-1909). Sergeant Major, 2nd US Infantry. Born in Berlin, he was 25 in 1862. He spent two years in England, then emigrated to the US in 1858. He had served in the 2nd Infantry from June of that year as Private and Corporal in Company F, then Sergeant Major of the regiment until 3 Oct 1862. He was then appointed 2nd Lieutenant (probably for performance at Antietam) to date from 18 July 1862. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on 9 Feb 1863. He was assigned as Adjutant from November 1863 – November 1864.

He was seriously wounded at Spottsylvania, Virginia, in May 1864, and spent part of his recovery on duty at the POW camp at Elmira, New York, where he met his future wife [history]. He was recognized for War service by brevets to Captain, Major, and Lieutenant Colonel for actions at Richmond, Chancellorsville, and Spottsylvania Courthouse.

Falck continued in the Army after the War, being promoted Captain on 18 April 1866, and he married Miss Mary B. McQuhae of Elmira in June 1867. He retired from the Army in 1883 “for disabilities incurred in the service”, and afterward had a successful business career including the position of treasurer and general manager of the LaFrance (now part of American-LaFrance) fire engine company. He died at home in Elmira in 1909.

Evan Miles (c. 1877, USNPS, from Powell, Officers … who served)

Evan Miles (1838-1908). 1st Lieutenant, 12th US Infantry. Probably with Company E, 2nd Battalion of the 12th at Antietam. Born in McVeytown, New York, he accepted appointment as 1st Lieutenant, 12th US Infantry on 5 Aug 1861. He served as Regimental Quartermaster 19 Nov 1863 to 20 Jan 1865, and was promoted to Captain on 20 Jan 1865.

He transferred to the new 21st US Infantry 21 Sept 1866 at it’s formation [history], served with them on Reconstruction duty in Virginia, and in 1869 went West – to Arizona by way of San Fransisco – in command of Company E. He was cited by brevet for action against the Nez Perces in 1877 (Clearwater, Idaho) and Piutes (or Pi Utes, Umatilla Agency, Oregon) in 1878 [book excerpt].

He was appointed Major of the 25th Infantry – the famed “Buffalo Soldiers” [photo] – on 24 Apr 1888, promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 20th Infantry 25 Apr 1892, transferred to the 22nd in September 1895 and, finally, the First Infantry in November. He was made Colonel of that regiment on 4 May 1897. During the Spanish-American War he was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers (6 Oct 1898 – 10 Jan 1899). He retired from active duty after nearly 38 years of service on 19 July 1899. He died in San Francisco, California, 24 May 1908.

Guido Ilges (c. 1835-). Captain, 14th US Infantry. He commanded Company E, 1st Battalion of the 14th at Antietam. Born in Prussia, he was about 27 in 1862. He was appointed Captain in the 14th Infantry on 14 May 1861, very near the start of the War, and served at that rank for its duration. He was cited by brevets to Major and Lieutenant Colonel for gallant service in action at the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, Virginia.

He continued his career in the Army after the War, largely in the West, including commands at Forts Laramie [park], Benton, and Keogh. He was promoted to Major in the 7th US Infantry 10 Dec 1873. He transferred to the 6th Infantry in December 1879, and was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 18th US on 6 Feb 1882. However, he was convicted of “duplicating accounts” – padding his expenses – by a court martial in July 1883, and dismissed from the service, his sentence confirmed by President Chester Arthur 12 October 1883 [NYTimes].

William Lucius Kellogg (1841-1897). 2nd Lieutenant, 10th US Infantry. He commanded Company I of the 10th, which was attached to the 2nd Infantry under 1st Lieutenant John S. Poland at Antietam. He was born in Ohio, and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 10th Infantry 5 Aug 1861. He saw action in Company command on the Peninsula earlier in 1862, and was slightly wounded during the Seven Days. After Antietam he was assigned to the Brigade Staff, and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant (Co. B, 13 Mar 1863). He was detached on recruiting duty from September 1863 through February 1865, having been made Captain 1 Jan 1864. He was recognized for “gallant and meritorious service” at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg by brevets to 1st Lieutenant, Captain and Major by war’s end.

Another long-career soldier, he was appointed Major of the 19th US Infantry 15 Sept 1884 after almost 20 years’ post-War service. He was promoted Lieutenant Colonel of the 5th US 14 July 1890, and Colonel of the Regiment on 30 Jan 1895. He died on 17 Apr 1897, and is buried in the Oakdale Cemetery, Jefferson, Ohio.

Edward Pennington Pearson, Jr. (1837-1915). 1st Lieutenant, 17th US Infantry. He commanded Company E, 1st Battalion of the 17th at Antietam. Born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, he was a civil engineer in Reading at the outbreak of War. He enlisted in the Ringgold Artillery and was in Washington in April 1861 as one of the First Defenders. In May he was appointed Adjutant of the 25th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, but soon accepted appointment as 1st Lieutenant in the 17th US, to date from 14 May 1861. Some time after Antietam he was promoted to Captain, to date from 16 Aug 1862.

He served in the Division of Regular Infantry, Fifth Army Corps, at the siege of Yorktown, battles of Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg. He was on the staff of Major General Howard, commanding Eleventh Army Corps, at the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg; transferred with Howard’s Army Corps to the Army of the Cumberland, and was present at the battles of Wauhatchie, Chattanooga, and the various actions and skirmishes of the Atlanta campaign, having his horse shot under him at the battle of Jonesboro when Atlanta was captured. When General Howard was promoted to command the Army of the Tennessee, he asked for the transfer of Pearson, who, as his staff officer, accompanied the right wing on General Sherman’s march to the sea, and participated in the battle of Bentonsville, N.C. (Who’s Who in Pennsylvania, 1904)

He was honored during the War by brevet to Major (3 May 1863) and Lieutenant Colonel (1 Sept 1864) for gallant and meritorious service at Chancellorsville and during the Atlanta Campaign, respectively.

He continued in the Army with the 17th Infantry after the War, serving in Texas, the Dakota and Montana Territories, and finally made Major – of the 21st US Infantry – 19 May 1881. He saw service in the 21st in Idaho, Oregon, Nebraska and Wyoming. He was promoted Lieutenant Colonel, 24th Infantry on 19 Apr 1886, and Colonel of the 10th US 14 Oct 1891 – both regiments also serving in the West.

The announcement of the engagement and approaching marriage of Colonel Edward P. Pearson, Tenth infantry, to Miss [Maud] Eskridge [1871-1917], daughter of Major [Richard Isaac] Eskridge, of the same regiment, was quite a surprise to the colonel’s many friends in this city, but congratulations are in order and these and best wishes for the future are hereby sent Colonel Pearson at Fort Reno, by his many well wishers in this city. (Santa Fe New Mexican, 9 April 1898)

He led the 3rd Brigade, V Corps at San Juan Hill on 1 Jul 1898 in the War with Spain and was rewarded with a commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers (12 July 1898 – 30 Nov 1898). He retired on 16 May 1899, after battling malaria in Cuba. He and his wife were buried in the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Point Loma, San Diego County, California in 1915 and 1917.

William Scott Worth (1840-1904). 1st Lieutenant, 8th US Infantry. Born in Albany, New York, he had been running a silver mine in New Mexico since 1859. He came east to Washington, and was appointed 2nd Lieutenant, 8th US Infantry on 26 Apr 1861, and 1st Lieutenant on 7 June 1861. He was Adjutant from 5 Sept 1861 to 13 Apr 1862. He was on the staff of Brigadier General Henry Hunt (AoP Chief of Artillery) from the Summer of 1862, including at Gettysburg, and was with General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac through to 1865. Worth had orders to an appointment as ADC to MGen Hooker June 1863 – just as that officer was being relieved of command of he AoP. He received brevets during the War to Captain (1 Aug 1864) for the “assault on the enemy’s lines before Petersburg and in the operations in the campaign against Richmond, Va” and Major (9 Apr 1865) for “gallant and meritorious service during the campaign terminating with the surrender of the insurgent army under Gen RE Lee”.

After the War he remained in the Army, being promoted to Captain in the 8th Infantry 14 Jan 1866. In 1869 the 8th Infantry was consolidated with the 1st Battalion, 17th US into the 23rd Infantry. He served in the West, from Arizona to Oregon, over the 25 years until his next promotion, to Major in the Second Infantry on 9 Mar 1891. He was Lieutenant Colonel of the 13th US Infantry (26 Nov 1894) and led the 2nd Brigade, V Corps briefly til wounded on San Juan Hill (1 Jul 1898) [news story, pdf]. He was then appointed Colonel of the 16th Infantry (11 Aug 1898). Concurrently, he held a commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers (12 July 1898 – 30 Oct 1898), then on 29 Oct 1898 he was promoted to Brigadier General, USA. He retired at that rank on 9 Nov 1898. He died at his nephew’s house on Staten Island 16 Oct 1904.

Worth’s famous father William Jenkins Worth had fought in 1812, against the Seminoles, and in Mexico; Ft. Worth, Texas and Lake Worth, Florida were named for him. The younger Worth’s birth name was reportedly Winfield Scott Worth, but his father’s falling out with the old General in 1848 apparently led him to change it.

George M. Randall (USAMHI, via 4thuscok.org)

George Morton Randall (1841-1918). 2nd Lieutenant, 4th US Infantry. He was in command of Company C of the 4th at Antietam. Ohio-born, he enlisted and served as a Private in the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry April – July 1861, then accepted appointment as 2nd Lieutenant in he 4th US Infantry in October. He was made 1st Lieutenant after Antietam, in November 1862. He took a commission as Major (16 Aug 1864) in the 14th New York Heavy Artillery, and was made Lieutenant Colonel at Wars’ end (1 June 1865). He mustered out of the Volunteer service 26 August, and was appointed Captain in the 4th US Infantry on 23 Sept 1865.

He was assigned to the 23rd Infantry 31 Dec 1870, and served with them in the West for more than 20 years until he was promoted to Major 15 Jan 1891 and returned in that rank to the 4th Infantry. He had commanded the Indian Scouts under Brigadier General George Crook in the Yellowstone and Big Horn Expeditions of 1876. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 8th Infantry 1 Mar 1894, then Colonel of the 17th US in the Spanish-American War (8 Aug 1898). A month later he transferred back to the 8th US. He had a commission as Brigadier General of Volunteers (4 May 1898 – 12 Apr 1899, 20 Jan 1900) and served in command of the Department of Alaska. He was appointed Brigadier General, USA on 6 Feb 1901. He had stateside duty including command at Vancouver, Washington, then completed his career in command of the Department of Luzon in the Philippines from 1903-1905. He retired on 8 October 1905.

During his long service he was awarded six brevets: Captain (17 Sept 1862) for Antietam, Major (2 Apr 1865) for Petersburg, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel of Volunteers (26 Mar 1865) for the attack on Ft Stedman, Lieutenant Colonel (27 Feb 1890) for actions against Indians at Turret Mountain, Arizona 27 Mar 1873 and Diamond Butte, Arizona 22 Apr 1873, and Colonel (27 Feb 1890) for “action against Indians near Pinal, Arizona 8 Mar 1874” and “distinguished service during the campaign against Indians in Arizona in 1874”.

He died 14 Jun 1918, in Denver, Colorado, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Janesville (Rock County), Wisconsin. The USS General George M. Randall (AP-115), in service from 1944-62, was named in his honor. [images, history].

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Update February 2023

There’s a much higher resolution copy of this photograph, complete with officer identifications, available from the the MOLLUS Massachusetts album at the US Army Heritage & Education Center. I’ve replaced the low-res version from the original post, above.

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Notes

Mr. Reese’s book is:
Reese, Timothy J., Sykes’ Regular Infantry Division, 1861-1864: A History of Regular United States Infantry Operations in the Civil War’s Eastern Theater, Jefferson (NC): McFarland&Company, Inc., 1990

The photo at the top of this post is from that volume, page 72. Tim’s caption says of it:

Officers of the 14th US Inf, camp near Alexandria, Va., March 1862, prior to embarking for the Peninsula (from left to right): Maj. Grotius R. Giddings, Capt. W. Harvey Brown, Capt. John D. “Paddy” O’Connell, Lt. Daniel M. Brodhead, Capt. William R. Smedberg, Lt. David Krause, Lt. Cornelius L. King (note the sash over his shoulder signifying he was officer of the day), Lt. George K. Brady, Capt. Guido Ilges, Lt. Alonzo J. Bellows, Lt. James Henton, Lt. John H. Walker, Lt. Patrick Collins, Lt, John McClintock, officer with crossed arms is unidentified, Lt. Daniel Loosely, Lt. James F. McElhone, Capt. Hamlin W. Keyes, Capt. Jonathan B. Hager, Capt. John McNaught (aka McIntosh). (USAMHI, MOLLUS Collection)

The basics for each of these officer’s service are from Heitman’s indispensable Register:

Heitman, Francis Bernard, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army 1789-1903, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1903 (Also available online from GoogleBooks online)

Powell’s best known volumes are:

Powell, William Henry, Powell’s Records of Living Officers of the United States Army, Philadelphia: R. L. Hamersly, 1890 [online]

Powell, William Henry and Edward Shippen, editors, Officers of the Army and Navy (regular) who Served in the Civil War, Philadelphia: L.R. Hamersly & Co., 1892

Powell, William Henry, The Fifth Army Corps (Army of the Potomac): A Record of Operations During the Civil War in the United States of America, 1861-1865, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1896 [online]

Powell, William Henry (compiler), List of Officers of the Army of the United States from 1779 to 1900, Embracing a Register of All Appointments by the President of the United States in the Volunteer Service During the Civil War, and of Volunteer Officers in the Service of the United States: June 1, 1900, Philadelphia: L. R. Hamersly & Co., 1900 [online]

Other sources:

Falck: Genealogical and family history of central New York : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the building of a nation (1912), pp. 1251-1252 [online]

Pearson: Hamersly, Lewis R., editor, Who’s Who in Pennsylvania, New York: L.R. Hamersly Company, 1904. [bio online]

Worth: Obituary, New York Times, Monday October 17, 1904, Page 9 [online, pdf]