behind AotW

Antietam survivor Martin J. Casey served through the war with Batteries A and B of the First Maryland Light Artillery and soon after, in 1866, enlisted in the US Navy. He served mostly on the Asiatic Station over nearly 25 years, on at least 8 ships, including this one.

She’s sidewheel gunboat USS Monocacy, pictured here in about 1890 “in Chinese waters.” She was named after the 1864 battle near Frederick, MD and was launched in Baltimore soon after it, in December 1864. She had an exceptionally long career in the Pacific, in continuous US Navy commission until sold to a Japanese firm in 1903.

Machinist Casey was scalded – presumably by steam from a burst boiler or line – while aboard Monocacy sometime in the 1870s and bore scars on his abdomen, left arm, and over his left eye afterward. He had a couple of tattoos also, of a dancing girl and a “naval emblem”.

More about USS Monocacy’s history is online from The Naval History and Heritage Command, source also of the photograph of the ship.

Casey’s service and details like his scarring and tattoos are from enlistment records in Returns of Enlistments of 13 April 1878 (Washington, DC) and 11 June 1887 (Mare Island, CA), online from fold3.

This stunning object is the hilt of a highly decorated United States Model of 1850 Foot Officer’s Sword presented by the men of his battery to Captain John Davis Frank in February 1862.

Even more amazing is that the same men were near mutiny just a month or two later due to his abusive treatment of them.

He may have learned that harsh leadership style during his nearly 13 years of pre-war Regular Army service (1848-1861), during which he was promoted from Private to First Sergeant of Battery A, 2nd United States Artillery. Fortunately, he was able to unlearn it with some personal counseling from his Corps Commander Major General Edwin Sumner.

The sword pictured here was sold by Heritage Auctions in 2012 for about $5,000.

In his invaluable manuscript history of the Maryland Campaign of 1862, General Ezra Carman asserted that Captain Nathaniel W. [H.] Harris commanded the 19th Mississippi Infantry at Sharpsburg on 17 September 1862 and was wounded in action there.

If he had been there he would have been the senior officer present, as all 3 field officers were absent sick or wounded.

But he was not there. He later wrote that he was absent [f]rom the 15th of September 1862 to 5th October 1862; cause – wound received at 2nd battle of Manassas. It’s not clear where he was from about 30 August to 15 September, but probably not with his unit then, either.

Unfortunately, I’ve not yet found who did, in fact, command the regiment at Sharpsburg.

Here’s Harris’ statement in an extract from the second of a 7 page military resume he submitted on 2 January 1864 at the request of (Anderson’s) Division Headquarters, probably relating to his pending appointment to Brigadier General and permanent command of Posey’s Brigade.

(touch image to see the whole page)

Most of the pages are now illegible. Only the first two, detailing his dates of promotion and absence are clear. The rest report his “campaigns, battles, and skirmishes” – I wish I could read them.

I found this document among the papers in his Compiled Service Records, at the National Archives, online from fold3.