20th NYSV

Organized at New York City May 6, 1861. Left State for Fortress Monroe, Va., June 13. Attached to Fortress Monroe and Camp Hamilton, Dept. of Virginia, to May, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Dept. of Virginia, to June, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 6th Army Corps, to May, 1863.

SERVICE.--Duty at Fortress Monroe and Camp Hamilton June 15 to August 26, 1861. Hampton, Va., August 7. Bombardment and capture of Forts Hatteras and Clarke, N. C., August 28-29. Duty at Fortress Monroe and Camp Hamilton September 13, 1861, to May 10, 1862. New Market Bridge, near Newport News, December 22, 1861. Reconnaissance to Big Bethel January 3, 1862. Tranter's Creek and occupation of Norfolk and Portsmouth May 10. Duty at Norfolk till June 9. Ordered to join Army of the Potomac in the field June 9. Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1. Savage Station June 29. White Oak Swamp and Glendale June 30. Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison's Landing till August 16. Movement to Fortress Monroe, thence to Centreville August 16-28. In works at Centreville August 29-31, and cover Pope's retreat to Fairfax Court House September 1. Maryland Campaign September 6-22. Crampton's Pass, South Mountain, September 14. Battle of Antietam September 16-17. At Hagerstown, Md., till October 29. Movement to Falmouth, Va., October 29-November 19. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15. "Mud March" January 20-24, 1863. At White Oak Church till April 27. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Operations at Franklin's Crossing April 29-May 2. Maryes Heights, Fredericksburg, May 3. Salem Heights May 3-4. Banks' Ford May 4. Three years men transferred to 3rd New York Battery and to Battery "F" 5th United States Artillery May 6. Regiment mustered out June 1, 1863, expiration of term. Regiment lost during service 8 Officers and 53 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 58 Enlisted men by disease. Total 120.

Many Germans who fought for the Union had come to the United States in a wave of immigration triggered by the political unrest and revolutions that rocked the German states between 1830 and 1849. Unlike previous German immigrants, who came to escape famine or an economy transformed by the Industrial Revolution, these refugees came for political freedom. The most influential among them were refugees of the unsuccessful revolutions of 1848 in the German states and were known as “Forty-Eighters.” The Forty-Eighters brought with them a philosophy of political idealism and social radicalism based on a violent hatred of tyranny. Like their countrymen who immigrated before them, these political refugees brought the social customs and traditions of their homeland, including the popular “Turner” societies, a half-century-old fraternal organization.

The Turner societies, or turnvereins, which still exist today, trace their roots to a gathering near Berlin in 1811. Their charge was to foster nationalism and patriotism through a program of disciplined physical training and gymnastics. The name “Turner” seems to come from the German turnen, “to perform gymnastics,” an adaptation of the French tourner, meaning “to turn.” Turner societies sprouted up throughout the German-speaking territories until their radical espousal of German unity and representative government led authorities to suppress them in the 1830’s.

When the Forty-eighters immigrated to the United States, turnvereins blossomed quickly in the new land and soon became a strong voice in the German community for political, social, and religious reform. The societies were also centers of literary and cultural studies and gymnastic exercise. Many local turnvereins also had associated military organizations called Turner Rifles or "Turner Schützen". Their dual purpose was marksmanship and protection of the society members in the often violent environement where they lived. In 1855 the Turners ventured into American politics with a strong anti-slavery stance and naturally gravitated to the newly formed Republican Party. The following year they endorsed John C. Fremont for president. Fremont, who would later become a Union major general, ran on a slogan that shines considerable light on his supporters’ political leanings: "Free speech, free press, free work, and a free Kansas."

In the late 1850’s Lincoln, who was shaping up as a potential presidential candidate, was in frequent contact with German-American groups, and in 1859 he acquired ownership of a German-language newspaper in Springfield, Illinois. At the 1860 Republican convention in Chicago, Lincoln supporters courted the 42 German-born delegates present with a platform that opposed slavery and supported homestead legislation and equal rights for immigrants. With their help Lincoln won the Republican presidential nomination. Afterward, prominent Forty-eighters who controlled a large part of the German-American press campaigned vigorously for Lincoln in their communities. President Lincoln rewarded the more prominent German-Americans with diplomatic and consular posts and other executive appointments.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Forty-eighters enthusiastically recruited troops for the Union effort, and members of Turner societies enlisted en masse. From their own experience, these men knew what happened to liberty in a country divided into clashing principalities. If a free government was to continue to exist in their adopted country, the Union would have to be protected at all costs.

On April 15, 1861, the New York State legislature authorized the mustering in of 30,000 volunteers for the state militia. Turners from the New York City area began volunteering and promptly filled five companies – A through E – of an all-Turner regiment. These companies were officially enrolled in state service on April 27, 1861, and were followed by another five companies of Turners, enrolled on April 29. The existing "Turner Schützen" organizations formed the nucleus and provided the leadership. Engelbert Schnepf had been a Captain in the pre-war Williamsburg Turner Schützen and would become a Major in the new Regiment. The companies were recruited principally: A in Newark, N.J. and vicinity; B, C, E, and F in New York City; D in New York City, Albany, Poughkeepsie, and a few men in New Jersey; G in New York City, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Syracuse, and in Newark, N.J.; H in New York City, Brooklyn, Hudson, Morrisania, Saugerties, and Union Hill; I in Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and College Point, and K in New York City, Brooklyn, and in New Jersey. On May 6, 1861, Companies A, B, C, and E were mustered into the service of the United States for three months. Companies F, G, H, I and K were mustered into Federal service for a two-year term. On May 8 Company D was mustered in for three months’ service. Later the term of U.S. service for Companies A through E was extended to May 6, 1863, to match the term of the other companies. All 10 companies were organized into the 20^th New York Volunteers, the “United Turner Rifles,” on May 11, 1861.

A committee of ladies called the “Turner Sisters,” supplied underclothing, bandages, lint, etc, sufficient for each man. The State furnished uniforms about the middle of May, which were subsequently ornamented in the field by changing the blue welts and facings to green; the stripes and chevrons of the non-commissioned officers, and the shoulder straps of the officers were also changed to green, after the fashion of European riflemen, the regiment having been designed for a body of sharpshooters.

To command the 20^th New York, the Turners elected Max Weber, a Forty-eighter who had been an officer in the Army of the Grand Dutchy of Baden and had fled to America after a failed uprising. Frederick Kapp, prominent New York City lawyer and editor of an influential German-language newspaper, presented Colonel Weber with a sword. At the presentation ceremony Kapp summed up the Forty-eighters vision of what the war meant for German-Americans: “A German soldier has a double fare in this war. He enters for his adopted country, and he has to do honor for the German name. He will show the world that the German stands in the foremost ranks of fighters for freedom."

On the evening of May 30 1861, Colonel Weber was the guest of honor at a meeting of the German Liederkranz (choral society) of New York. He accepted a gilt cartouche and a sword belt. Frederick Kapp, president of the society, gave the principal address of the evening. Kapp's speech stressed the dual obligations of the German soldier in America; he fought for his adopted country but also fought for German honor and to show that Germans defended liberty everywhere. Like other ethnic leaders, Kapp on such occasions made use of his public forum to call attention to what Germans were doing.

Two weeks later, on 13 June the United Turner Rifles received its flags and left New York. The whole day was, in the words of the New York Times, a German pageant for the city. All of the German social and cultural organizations took part. In his enthusiasm, the Times reporter compared the German soldiers to ancient Greeks:

Those who have not forgotten their Homer will remember that in the second book of the “Iliad” the poet relates that when Grecian warriors disembarked from their ships, they amused themselves with quoits and other athletic games upon the beach...The Turners are experts in all that the old Greeks regarded as desirable in physical education. They can climb like cats, bound like deer, fight like men, and run a-foot like Indians.

The Twentieth New York Infantry formed at Forty-second Street and Second Avenue, while an escort waited for it at Union Square. The escort outnumbered the soldiers; it included men from several different choral and Turner organizations, as well as German firemen and bandsmen. The huge procession made its way to City Hall, where the flag presentation ceremony occurred.

In the absence of Mrs. Charles E. Strong, who was originally scheduled to make the presentation, the Honorable Samuel B. Ruggles did the honors. Several flags went into the hands of the United Turners. Ruggles long address played heavily on the ethnic theme. From the steps of City Hall marched Germans of former ages who battled the slave-holding despots of Rome, in Ruggles's words, and he hailed the representatives before him from the land of poetry and song who came to America seeking freedom. And so on. The speaker assured his listeners that, coming as they did from a land cursed with disunity, they would struggle for unity in America. And that was just for the American flag portion of the affair. Another flag - black, red, and yellow for Germany - was handed over, as was a splendid guide flag in red silk and handsomely embroidered bearing the motto “BAHN FREI” (Clear the Way). All of its flags in hand, the Twentieth New York Infantry then marched through the Bowery and Canal Street to the docks at North Moore Street, where it boarded the steamer Alabama for a voyage to Fortress Monroe. The regiment was stationed at Camp Hamilton adjacent to the Fort. Located at Tyler's Point near Hampton Creek, the officers quarters were at the summer residence of former President Tyler.

At Camp Hamilton the Turners followed a routine of drill, entertaining one another during leisure hours with concerts and gymnastic routines. The audience for these talent exhibitions sometimes included General Benjamin Butler, commander of the Union Department of Virginia, which was headquartered at the fort. The celebration of the Fourth of July 1861 at Camp Hamilton is reported in Harpers Weekly July 27, 1861:

A grand concert had been projected by the Twentieth Regiment for the evening; but unexpected orders to parade in the fortress before General Butler, in the morning, disconcerted the general plan, and it was thought by the Colonel that no entertainment would be offered in the evening. But Captain Myers, of Company A, was not satisfied with this, and they determined to take hold of it alone. They gathered a large quantity of evergreens, and planted them on Broadway, the main street in camp, so thickly that it resembled in the dusk of evening a small forest. In the absence of candles or other lights they placed oyster and clam shells in all parts of the trees, and with oil and wick they speedily improvised brilliant lights, that shed a flood of light upon the grounds. At eight o'clock the bugle gave the signal for the commencement of the concert, and speedily the benches about the musicians' stand were occupied by the officers and wives and invited guests, while the soldiers standing ranged themselves in front. The scene was most beautiful and picturesque. Hundreds of tiny lights gleamed among the dark branches of the evergreens, and partially lit up the forms of the soldiers in their gray uniforms as they were gracefully grouped about. The best decorum was preserved at all times. The Germania Band, Herr Steigler leader, favored the assemblage with fine selections from operas and the German composers, most creditably and excellently executed. At intervals a glee club, made up of members of the singing bands of New York, sang some choice glees, under the leadership of Lieutenant Bennecker, of Company F, and Sergeant Prieth played several pieces in excellent style upon an accordeon. A large quantity of lager bier was rationally discussed by the company, and at ten o'clock the concert was closed by the sound of the drummer's tattoo. The affair was a grand success, and every one expressed his delight with the music. An equally pleasant concert was given the previous night by Captain Brackling, of Company B, the only company from Newark, and the affair passed off most agreeably. The Germans certainly know how to enjoy themselves under all circumstances, and their mode of enjoyment gives pleasure and a relief from the monotony of camp life to others who do not know how to discover the bright side of the picture. The health of Colonel Weber's regiment is most excellent.

The July 3 1861 issue of the Brooklyn Eagle reported that "The 20^th Regiment of New York have ordered fifty barrels of lager beer from Baltimore to refresh themselves on the occasion" of the Fourth of July celebration.

The health of the regiment may have been excellent but its weapons and shoes were already in need of replacement. Weber penned the following letter to New York Adjutant General Merideth Reed.

HeadQuarters 20^th Regt. N.Y.S. Vols.

Camp Hamilton July 8^th, 1861

Adjutant General

J. Merideth Reed, Jr.

Sir

I have the honor to call the attention of the Adjt. Genl. to the defect of the firearms used in my Regt. After a few shots fired some of them became bent, others entirely useless, and fears are entertained that they may even explode, thereby injuring the men.

As it is one of the first requisites of a soldier to confide in his arms, and a state of things must not be detrimental to the efficiency of my Regt. you are therefore respectfully requested to furnish the Regt. with arms that can be relied on in any emergency. My regiment is also badly in want of shoes, those received from the State of New York are entirely worn out, and as soldiers cannot appear barefooted on parade or march in this way, this deficiency must soon be remedied. Hoping that you will perceive the urgent necessity for the Articles in want. I feel confident that through your influence with the proper authorities the Regt. will soon be provided with them.

I am Sir

Your obt. Servant

Max Weber, Colonel

The Turners' first taste of war occurred at Hampton bridge on August 7. Following the first Battle of Bull Run, Confederate General Magruder sent a force of 2000 men under Colonel Robert Johnson to make a reconnaissance of Hampton and Newport News. Magruder read an erroneous report in the New York Tribune that General Butler intended to occupy Hampton, dispossess the inhabitants, and use the town as a camp for runaway slaves. He decided to destroy the historic old colonial village. Shortly after dark on August 7 the expedition rode into town. The citizens were quickly alerted that the town was to be burned and soon each of the four cavalry companies was busy setting fire to a quarter of the town. A short encounter with the pickets of the 20^th NYSV was the only opposition encountered. General Butler's official report follows:

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF VIRGINIA,
Fortress Monroe, August 8, 1861.

SIR: I have the honor to report that the First Vermont Regiment were embarked on Monday morning for New Haven, their time expiring on the 9th instant, which would be the time of their arrival. I had arranged that Colonel Carr's regiment, the Second New York Volunteers, should be transferred from Old Point to strengthen Newport News.

You may remember that I said to you, when I had the honor of an interview at Washington on Saturday, that a demonstration on the part of the enemy would be made within the coming week. On my return, Tuesday morning, I found various indications thereof. On Wednesday, about 2 o'clock p.m., the patrol of Colonel Weber's regiment discovered the enemy in force at New Market Bridge, about 2½ miles from Hampton. About 4 o'clock they took one Mayhew, a deserter, who had swum the creek near New Market Bridge and delivered himself up, and brought him to me for examination. From his statements I learned his name, Mayhew; that he is a native of Bangor, Me., who, having landed in Georgia as a seaman, was impressed in a Georgia regiment, known by the name of "Baker's Fire Eaters." He is intelligent, and appears to be truthful. He stated that five regiments, including two Louisiana; one Alabama regiment, under Colonel Ex-Governor Winston; one North Carolina and one Georgia regiment, with two portions of battalions of artillery, and 300 Louisiana Zouaves, a picked battalion, left Yorktown and Williamsburg on Sunday, and marched to the neighborhood of Big Bethel, where they encamped until Tuesday. On Wednesday, at 11 o'clock, they marched to New Market Bridge, where they formed in order of battle, expecting an attack from me. They had eight guns; one rifled gun, two 32-pounder howitzers, two long 24s, and three smaller guns. This force was under the command of General Magruder. The regiments had numbered in the neighborhood of 1,000 men each, but had been reduced by sickness at Yorktown; Mayhew's own regiment numbering but 650, 325 being sick with the measles. As near as I could gather, comparing his account with the notes I had from others, the enemy's force was a little rising 5,000 men, although Mayhew represented it at 7,000. He further stated that it was understood in camp that an attack was to be made on Newport News, the force being then bivouacked but 5 miles from that point.

Dispositions were immediately made, such as seemed proper, for re-enforcing Newport News in case of an attack, or repelling an attack upon the troops encamped between the fortress and Hampton in case one was made. After riding through the camps and giving final instructions, I rode over to the bridge at Hampton, 30 feet of which nearest the town we had before removed, and at 11.20 o'clock, when I left, everything was still. A few minutes before 12 o'clock the enemy made an attempt to burn the bridge, and for that purpose attacked the guard thereon, who were protected by a barricade of planks. The enemy were driven back with the loss of 3 killed and several wounded. No casualties occurred on our side.

The enemy then proceeded to fire the town in a great number of places. By 12 o'clock it was in flames, and is now entirely destroyed. They gave but fifteen minutes' time for the inhabitants to remove from their houses, and I have to-day brought over the old and infirm, who by that wanton act of destruction are now left houseless and homeless. The enemy took away with them most of the able-bodied white men.

A more wanton and unnecessary act than the burning, as it seems to me, could not have been committed. There was not the slightest attempt to make any resistance on our part to the possession of the town, which we had before evacuated, as you were informed by my last dispatch. There was no attempt to interfere with them there, as we only repelled an attempt to burn the bridge. It would have been easy to dislodge them from the town by a few shells from the fortress, but I did not choose to allow an opportunity to fasten upon the Federal troops any portion in this heathenish outrage.

The town was the property of the secession inhabitants of Virginia, and they and their friends have chosen deliberately to destroy it, and under circumstances of cruel indifference to the inhabitants, who had remained in their homes, entirely without parallel. Indeed, for two months past, since Hampton has been within the power of my troops, and during the month that we occupied it, every exertion was used by me to protect the property from spoliation and the inhabitants from outrage, and I can safely say that $100 would cover all the damage done there in occupied houses. That there has been some appropriation of furniture by the troops from unoccupied houses is most true, but it had been substantially all taken from them and stored in the Seminary building. I knew this course would meet the approval of the Commanding General, but in a single hour the rebel army devoted to indiscriminate destruction both public and private buildings, the church and the court-house, as well as the cottage of the widow.

I confess myself so poor a soldier as not to be able to discern the strategical importance of this movement. I had fortified the churchyard with earth embankments, which were not destroyed by the fire, while the hymn of praise and the voice of prayer went up in the church on the last Sabbath of its occupation by Massachusetts troops. The poor citizens were told by their friends that this destruction was to prevent the use of their village as winter quarters for our troops. But I am sure it never entered my mind, and, I take leave to believe, the mind of the Commanding General, that there was the furthest intention of wintering any portion of the Federal troops at this point outside the garrison. We had believed that we were to follow the track of our Northern birds southward with the approach of frost.

No demonstration was made by the enemy save the burning of a deserted village, and to-day nothing has been done by the enemy except to withdraw his troops across New Market Bridge. I regret the military necessity, to which I yield the cordial recognition of my judgment, which called for the withdrawal of the four regiments and a half, which caused the evacuation of Hampton; not for our sakes, but because of the loss which has thereby been brought upon the inhabitants. This act upon the part of the enemy seems to me to be a representative one, showing the spirit in which the war is to be carried on on their part, and which perhaps will have a tendency to provoke a corrresponding spirit upon our part, but we may hope not.

Most respectfully, your obedient servant,

BENJ. F. BUTLER,

Major-General, Commanding.

Lieutenant-General SCOTT,

Commanding, &c.

Frederick W. Fix of Company G recalls the incident at Hampton Bridge.

On the night of August 7^th, 1861, between the hours of 11 and 12 o'clock, when the relief came to me and Comrade Loecher, we noticed before the other two comrades were posted that there was something wrong in the village. As we stood at the end of the bridge crossing Hampton creek, which was barricaded at its end with barrels filled with sand to protect us from the enemy at any time necessary, I noticed that men were crossing the street and called the attention of my comrades to it. I told them at the time that I would fire as soon as I saw any more. They cautioned me not to do so until sure, as they were afraid to alarm the whole line, probably without any cause. Just at this time (the houses being built close to the water's edge) I noticed two rebels coming out between the first and second houses and without any further hesitation opened fire on them. The carnage that followed only a man who was present at the time can describe. It was lucky for us that the rebels had no artillery otherwise our barricades of sand would have been to no avail. As it was, the four of us could keep a regiment at bay. At that moment, as if by magic, the village was aflame from one end to the other.

The Regiment saw its first real combat in late August, when a detachment of five companies was assigned to a naval amphibious expedition to Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. The objective was to capture Forts Clark and Hatteras that controlled the inlet from the Outer Banks to the coast of North Carolina. On the morning of August 28, the Federal fleet began the bombardment of Forts Clark and Hatteras, which was continued throughout a part of the day, until several of the ships were compelled to put out to sea for fear of being blown too near the shore. During the bombardment, efforts were being made about three miles north of the inlet to land the troops including the New York 20^th Volunteers through the Hatteras breakers. In these attempts, all available boats were smashed. Two hulks, which had been towed from Fort Monroe for the purpose of assisting the landing, were then filled with troops and slowly allowed to drift into the breakers by means of a cable attached to an anchor and passed around a windlass fixed in the deck of each hulk. Late in the afternoon, when the wind came to blow fresh from the east, the position of the troops in the hulks became most perilous, and for a time there were serious doubts about a successful rescue. Finally, the Fanny, after several unsuccessful backings into the breakers, succeeded in getting lines on board the hulks and towing them to calmer waters. The 318 troops mainly from the New York 20^th Volunteers, who had effected a landing were left on shore in face of an enemy twice their numbers. As nightfall approached, rough weather forced the Admiral to withdraw the Naval vessels for fear of wrecking them on the coast. This left Weber’s small force at the complete mercy of the Confederate garrison at Hatteras. The soldiers and sailors of the Federal fleet were fully aware of this critical situation. Aboard the Admiral’s flagship, a war correspondent wrote: “The feeling throughout the ship…was that we were beaten…During the night the secessionist might make our soldiers prisoners, reinforce their own forts, repair damages, and be ready to show that they were not easily vanquished.” Ashore, the officers and men discussed the possibility of capture and tried to make themselves comfortable in the rain. The following day, the Federal fleet moved into position and began to shell the forts. The weather was clear, the sea was calm, and after three hours of bombardment the Fort surrendered with its garrison of over seven hundred men. Throughout the North, the news of this victory was received with great rejoicing. Coming so soon after the defeat at Bull Run, it increased morale considerably. Weber's official report follows.

FORT HATTERAS, N. C., September 5, 1861.

SIR: I take the first opportunity which is offered to me by the arrival of a steamer from Fortress Monroe to report to you the action of the troops who were landed and acted under my command in the capture of Fort Hatteras.

On Wednesday morning, the 28th ultimo, at 10 o'clock, the landing of the troops commenced. The surf was running very high, and continued to run higher and higher, so that but 318 men could be landed. The condition of these troops was of course a very bad one. All of us were wet up to the shoulders, cut off entirely from the fleet, with wet ammunition, and without any provisions; but still all had but one thought--to advance.

I appointed Captain Von Doehn, of the Twentieth Regiment, who has been acting adjutant of Camp Hamilton for the last three months, to act also here in that capacity, had the troops formed in line counted, and reported to me as follows: 45 men of the regular artillery regiment stationed at Fort Monroe, Captain Larned and Lieutenant Lodor; 45 men of marine soldiers of the Minnesota; 68 men Ninth Regiment New York Volunteers, Captain Jardine; 102 men Twentieth Regiment New York Volunteers; 28 men Union Coast Guard, Captain Nixon; 28 men, sailors (artillery), making a total of 318 men.

I had all reasons to be very cautious, having but a small force, and the more, as we saw the enemy re-enforce the fort all the time.

Our distance from the first fort (Clark) was about 3 miles. I sent Lieutenant-Colonel Weiss, with 20 men of the Twentieth Regiment, to make a reconnaissance, and ordered Lieutenant Wiegel (ordnance officer of General Butler's staff) to accompany him. The latter soon returned, with the report that Lieutenant-Colonel Weiss took one cannon (dismounted), and that the troops commenced to evacuate the first fort. I then ordered Captain Von Doehn and Captain Hoeffling's company of the Twentieth Regiment to re-enforce Lieutenant-Colonel Weiss, and to take possession of the fort (Clark). This order was carried out immediately. Lieutenant-Colonel Weiss occupied the fort, himself took the first secession flag, and hoisted the American. Myself followed with the rest of the troops, when the Navy commenced firing upon us, shells bursting right over us and in our midst, so that a further advance was impossible. Two shells burst in the fort, wounding one of my men slightly in the hand. I still held the fort occupied, sent an American flag along the beach, and the firing ceased.

I then ordered Captain Nixon, with his 28 men, to take possession of the fort during the night, put out pickets towards the second fort, and to watch the enemy very carefully. Captain Jardine with his company occupied the beach near the second fort, in order to prevent the enemy from cutting off our troops in the first fort, and myself with the rest of the troops retreated to the landing place, where we bivouacked.

During the night nothing of importance occurred. The next morning, as soon as the firing of the fleet commenced, I advanced with all my forces, ready to take the second fort as soon as the firing would cease. I ordered Captain Meyer's company and Adjutant Kluckhuhn, of the Twentieth Regiment, to cross the beach where the camp of the enemy was evacuated. A color and quartermaster's stove were found there. (The color was afterwards delivered to Commodore Stringham, who claimed the same.) A rifle 6-pounder was also landed, and I ordered Lieutenant Johnson, of the Union Coast Guard, to advance with it as far as possible and to fire upon the secession steamers, which was done with great success; they soon left entirely. We remained thus four hours in this position, the shells bursting over us, when at last the white flag was hoisted on the second fort.

Captain Nixon, the nearest to the fort, prepared immediately to meet the enemy, and was the first who entered the fort. Lieutenant-Colonel Weiss, Captain Von Doehn, and myself followed; the troops remained 50 yards distant from the fort. I ordered also the surgeons--Dr. Fritz, of the Twentieth Regiment; Dr. Humphreys, of the Ninth Regiment; and Dr. King, of the Navy--to assist dressing the wounded.

I take also the opportunity of mentioning Captain Larned and Lieutenant Lodor and the marine officers, who have rendered me great assistance, and I am greatly obliged to them for their support during the whole expedition.

Though the troops of my regiment had but little occasion to distinguish themselves, I think it still my duty to say that all of them did their duty in every respect.

I have the honor to be, your most obedient servant,

MAX WEBER,

Colonel, Commanding Fort Hatteras.

On August 30, 1861, companies from the 20^th New York and the 9^th New York (Hawkins Zouaves) were ordered to occupy Fort Hatteras. Food and water were in short supply and the troops began foraging. The 9^th New York was commanded by a nativist named Rush Hawkins who found it convenient to entirely blame the Germans for stealing from the local residents. He reported his allegations to General Wool. On September 12^th the Turners were ordered to return to Fort Monroe on the steamer Spaulding. After the war, Thomas G. Willis of Hatteras Inlet submitted a claim to the United States for items including stock of provisions, household furnature, a boat sail and library that were removed from his property and taken to Fort Hatteras. In his claim, he identifies both the 9^th and 20^th Regt. N.Y. Vols as responsible.

On the night of October third, 1861, a tremendous thunder storm flooded a part of the camp of the Turners at Camp Hamilton, so that the tents of Companies A and B stood two feet under water. Although the soldiers were busily engaged all night in removing the water by cutting canals, they did not succeed in their endevours until the next day when the sun came to their assistance. A cart which stood in the water had been decorated by some joker with a white flag on which had been written: "DELUGE OF THE THIRD OF OCTOBER, 1861."

During the summer and fall of 1861 the regiment engaged in a number of patrols up the peninsula from Camp Hamilton. On November 11 they were engaged in a skirmish with Rebel pickets at Sinclair's Farm. On December 22, a minor battle was fought at New Market Bridge. There, six men and one officer were wounded. August Schweizer of Company K was captured but then paroled February 23, 1862 at Newport News. An account of the incident is reported in the December 28, 1861 New York Herald on page 4. The report may have been written by a member of the regiment, and may contain some exaggeration of numbers. The story follows:

Full Account of the Newmarket Bridge Affair

Gallantry of our German troops.

Fortress Monroe, Va. , Dec. 23, 1861.

The monotony of camp life here at Camp Hamilton was broken yesterday by the intelligence that an action of some magnitude had taken place between a detachment of 150 men of the Twentieth Regiment New York Volunteers, in command of Major Engelbert Schneff, and about seven hundred rebel soldiers. The particulars of the affair are as follows: - Major Schneff having lost a man from his command the day before, left Newport News on Sunday morning at eleven o'clock at the head of one hundred and fifty men, and wended his way towards Newmarket Bridge in search of him. Arriving near the bridge, the Major detailed some of his men to cross the creek, and charged them to search closely in the woods, as the man might have hidden himself from the enemy, who was seen about the place for several days previous. The reserve was placed behind the Newmarket Bridge (that is, where the crossing formerly was), and another detachment at Sinclair's Farm. The position of our men had scarcely been taken up, when the skirmishers of the Twentieth regiment discovered the enemy, consisting of three companies of infantry, among them one company of negroes, who appeared in the front, and made an attack. The left flank was attacked at the same time by two squadrens of cavalry, who came dashing along at a terrible gait and deafening yells. Our men stood their ground manfully, and, as soon as the proper moment came to fire, that cavalry being near enough (about 150 yards), the order to fire was given, and obeyed with alacrity. The reserve drove the cavalry back, killing several of them while retreating.

The skirmishers on the other side of the bridge were recalled by the Major, and owing to the bridge having been destroyed, they were compelled to swim across, hotly pursued by the enemy.

The pursuit of the rebels was so determined that a hand to hand engagement occurred. The pursuing party was joined by the negro soldiers, and Captain Stumpf, of the Twentieth regiment, was struck upon the back with the butt end of a musket, but not severely hurt.

Major Schneff hereupon took a position, deploying his entire force along the river banks as skirmishers, and a terrible fight ensued. The enemy fired by companies, whereas the fire of our men on the pursuers was by files and so rapid that one rebel officer and a private that stood on the other side were killed and tumbled into the river on their faces. The enemy hereupon withdrew as fast as possible, firing as they ran, leaving their dead and wounded behind. Six men of the Twentieth regiment were slightly wounded. The enemy's loss, as far as ascertained, was ten killed (three were picked up yesterday and seven today) and probably twenty or more wounded. One of the latter was brought off the field and treated by Assistant Surgeon Heiland of the Twentieth regiment. Several horses of the cavalry were also killed. The corpses of the two men who fell into the creek floated off with the tide, and acting Brigadier General Weber sent a detachment off to pick them up, if possible, to have them decently interred.

One of the bodies only was found, and in the center of the forehead was a hole from a bullet, which evidently was the cause of the death of this poor man. In his pockets were found a number of letters, and by that we ascertained that his name was John Hawkins, Adjutant of the Alabama Minute-Men. On his coat the buttons bore the letters A.M.M. About thirty dollars in shinplasters was also found on his body, and a small bag, slung about his neck, contained nineteen dollars in gold. The bills were on the banks of North Carolina and Virginia, and as low as ten cents in value. The enemy had retreated about three hundred paces, and having again taken up a position, commenced to pour a terrible fire upon Major Schneff''s command, without, however, doing any execution. The shower of bullets was so terrible that the houses, trees, and fences in the vicinity were completely riddled. The Turners, however, being greatly inferior in strength, kept a safe distance and did not reply to this fire.

Immediately after the fight commenced, Major Schneff, seeing that he had to cope with a force of three to one, sent off an orderly to Newport News, and also a messenger to acting Brigadier General Max Weber for reinforcements. General Weber instantly dispatched the six companies of the Twentieth regiment, in command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Weiss, stationed at Camp Hamilton, and in company with Captain H. M. Burleigh, Provost Marshal of the camp, proceeded to the scene of action. Brigadier General Joseph B. T. Mansfield also hastened to the battlefield, heading the remainder of the Twentieth regiment battalion at Newport News, and the Second regiment, New York volunteers.

The Union Coast Guard, in command of Colonel D. W. Wardrop, being anxious to participate in the affair, were in marching order in the shortest possible time, and marched to Hampton bridge where they were kept in reserve. Such was the anxiety of the Coast Guard to be in the fight that a number of them smuggled themselves into the ranks of the Twentieth regiment, and were only discovered after having crossed the bridge. The other regiments of General Weber's brigade were very much disappointed in not being able to march forward and mingle in the impending battle, as they thought.

When General Weber arrived at the scene of action the fight was over, and the enemy was still visible in the distance, on the retreat. General Weber, however, received information that several of the men belonging to Major Schneff's battalion were missing. He thereupon sent Lieutenant Colonel Weiss in command of one company across Newmarket Bridge to follow the enemy in quest of the missing Turners. Colonel Weiss found three men who had been sent ahead as skirmishers before the action, and had the enemy during the entire action between them and the Twentieth regiment, but had remained undiscovered by the rebels, lying in the woods. Shortly after the arrival of the reinforcement, headed by General Weber from Camp Hamilton, Brigadier General Mansfield and staff, accompanied by the Second regiment, NYSV, Colonel J. B. Carr, came to the scene of action.

The enemy, however, had by this time probably reached a distance of five miles, and the bridges being taken up our men could not march in pursuit. Numerous trophies were captured by the gallant Twentieth. One beautiful saddle, belonging evidently to the horse of an officer that had been shot, was brought back to Newport News, as also numerous muskets, sabres, and pistols.

The engagement commenced about one o'clock and lasted until after three. Acting Brigadier General Weber and General Mansfield complimented Major Schneff highly on his bravery and the steadiness of his men. The Twentieth regiment acted with the precision of regulars, and not the first man was found to waver or fall back. Dr. Heiland, Assistant Surgeon of the Twentieth regiment, accompanied the battalion and proved himself not only a very proficient surgeon, but also a brave and courageous soldier. His ambulances and instruments were in readiness as soon as the first volley was fired, and to his care and skill it is owing that the few men wounded are in such good condition. None of our men who were hit by the enemy's shots are fatally wounded. Julius Kummerle of Company G was shot in the arm; Christian Tuebner, Company K shot in the elbow and above the wrist; Orderly Sergeant Roehhr of Company I of Williamsburg was wounded in the neck, but not fatally. The names of the other three I could not ascertain, they being at Newport News.

The rebels, although retreating before the steady fire of our men, behaved bravely; but their smoothbore muskets, notwithstanding well handled, were no match against the sharp and deadly rifle, handled with murderous aim by the gallant Twentieth regiment. The main fight began at Sinclair's farm; but the enemy's line extending to Newmarket Bridge, and the Twentieth regiment men being in a body there, the rebels concentrated their entire force at that point.

By the spring of 1862, the Regiment must have needed more men, as a recruiting party was established by the following Special Orders no. 52.

Hdqtrs, Dept. of Va etc.

Fort Monroe Va Feb 22d 1862

Special Orders

No. 52

Captain Lorenz Meyer, Sergeant Gustav Seiffart Co. A and Corporal Heydenreich Co. H and Private Otto Laenger of Co. E, all of the 20th Regt, N.Y.S.Vol. are hereby detailed as a recruiting party for their Regiment.

They will proceed to New York City whence Capt. Meyer will report by letter to Maj. Sprague, 1st U.S. Inftry. Superintendent of the recruiting service for the State of New York.

Having procured the requisite number of recruits to fill the Regiment, Capt. Meyer will report the fact to Major Sprague that the party may be ordered to rejoin its Regiment.

By Command of Maj. Gl. Wool

Wm. D. Whipple

Asst Adjt. Genl

Private Laenger is reported as having deserted from the recruiting service Nov. 1, 1862 at New York City

In the spring of 1862, the New York 20^th was rearmed. It had been issued smoothbore muskets prior to leaving New York, a fact which caused enough grumbling in the ranks to be noted by the New York Tribune in its coverage of the regiment’s flag presentation ceremony and send-off parade. A strong tradition of rifle marksmanship existed within the German-American community, and was without doubt a popular activity among the vigorous and active Turners. They regarded themselves as an elite unit, a RIFLE regiment, entitled to better weapons. As rearmed on the Peninsula, most of the regiment received U.S. Model 1841 rifles.

Considered by many to be the most attractive weapon ever adopted by the U.S. service, the Model 1841 “Mississippi” rifle had become obsolescent in the decade prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. It lacked any provision for attachment of a bayonet, and had a fixed rear sight that hindered effective long range shooting. The 1841 was superseded by the Model 1855 rifle, which provided a bayonet and a long range rear sight, and featured an increase in caliber from .54 to .58. Also included in the 1855 was the Maynard tape primer system, a highly touted replacement for percussion caps meant to increase the rate of fire.

The Mississippi rifles were not simply discarded, however. It was decided to upgrade the Model 1841 to prolong its useful life. Most of the alterations involved fitting of saber bayonets of various patterns, and the addition of long range rear sights. The largest single batch of alterations was done for New York State in 1861. New York was fortunate enough to obtain 5,000 Remington made Model 1841 rifles from the Watervliet Arsenal. The state entered into a contract with E. Remington & Sons for the attachment of Collins saber bayonets to these rifles. The supply of bayonets fell short, however, and only 3268 rifles were done.

The state still wanted to do something with the rest of the rifles, and was able to secure 1600 Model 1842 musket bayonets from Springfield Armory. These were fitted to the rifles by Frederick H. Grosz. The Grosz alteration was very economical. The muzzle end of the barrel was turned down to the diameter of the bayonet socket, and the brass front sight blade repositioned behind the turned down section. A bayonet stud was added under the barrel. The Grosz alteration of a Model 1841 made by Remington under contract in 1849, was issued to Company F of the 20^th New York. The Mississippi rifles issued to the regiment include both the Grosz altered arms and the saber bayonet equipped Remington alterations. Company K and parts of Companies A and B received Austrian Lorenz rifles, which were the same caliber.

Over the next several months, the Turners remained stationed at Fort Monroe, participating in several skirmishes in the area. A change in command came in May 1862, when Weber was promoted to brigadier general and Lieutenant Colonel Francis Weiss rose to command of the 20^th. Weiss, a clerk in a New York City insurance office at the war’s outbreak, claimed prior service as an Austrian army officer and a major in the British Foreign Legion during the Crimean War. Domineering and haughty, he refused to associate with officers of lesser rank. He would later describe the 20^th New York as “a very overbearing, turbulent, socialistic body of men who lacked discipline.”

The Turners witnessed the historic battle between the Monitor and Merrimac on March 9, 1862. A sketch of the event by Sergeant Charles Worret of Company G was published in Harper's Weekly soon thereafter. The battle was a “draw” and the Merrimac remained a menace lurking around Sewell’s Point. As long as the Merrimac was a factor to be reckoned with, Commodore Louis M. Goldsborough, in command of the Union fleet in Hampton Roads, refused to send adequate naval supplies to General McClellan. Without the support of the guns of the fleet, McClellan would not make an assault on the Confederate fortifications at Yorktown. His peninsular campaign was at a standstill.

Abraham Lincoln decided to go down to Fort Monroe “to ascertain by personal observation whether some further vigilance and vigor might not be infused into the operations of the army and navy.” Accompanied by Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and Brigadier General Egbert L. Viele, Lincoln left Washington just before dusk on May 5, 1862. They arrived at Fort Monroe on May 7, and the president and his party landed at the Old Point Comfort Wharf. Accompanied by General Wool, they reviewed the troops at Camp Hamilton including the New York 20^th Volunteers. Afterwards, a conference was held and it was decided that an attempt must be made to capture Norfolk, the base of the Merrimac. Deprived of her base, the Merrimac would be forced to withdraw up the James River to Richmond or else attempt to run past Forts Monroe and Wool.

The question was just where on the Chesapeake Bay shore should the landing be made? The next day, Friday, May 9, Chase, General Wool and Colonel Thomas J. Cram set out with the Miami and a tug to make a reconnaissance of the shoreline east of Sewell’s Point. They arrived at a place called Ocean View, the Miami going in to within 500 yards of the shore. They had discovered a good landing place, no more than five or six miles from Fort Monroe, capable of receiving any number of troops and communicating with Norfolk by passable roads.

Four regiments including the New York 20^th Volunteers were loaded at once into transports at Fort Monroe. The troops landed at Ocean View without interference. Lincoln, Chase, Stanton, and General Wool went to Ocean View the next morning, Saturday, May 10. They found the troops had already gone forward under the command of now Brigadier General Max Weber. Chase and General Wool followed the troops. Lincoln and Stanton returned to Quarters No. 1 at Fort Monroe to await results. The troops advanced overland to Norfolk, where they were met by the mayor of the city. The Navy Yard was found in flames, fired by the Confederates just before they had evacuated the city. Late that evening, Chase and General Wool returned to Fort Monroe. They went straight to the President’s room at Quarters No. 1 with the good news, “Norfolk is ours!” Stanton was so delighted that he hugged the dignified General Wool. The next morning, Commodore Goldsborough arrived with the electrifying news that the Confederates had blown up the Merrimac just off Craney Island at 5:00 am. Now that the Merrimack was no more, the entire Union fleet could be sent up the James and York Rivers to support General McClellan’s campaign against Richmond. The Turners remained at Norfolk until June 9, camped at the Norfolk fairgrounds. The official corresponance follows.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF VIRGINIA,
Fort Monroe, Va., May 12, 1862.

SIR: On the 9th of May (Friday afternoon) I organized a force to march against Norfolk.

On Saturday morning, the 10th of May, the troops were landed, under the direction of Colonel Cram, at Ocean View, and commenced the march toward Norfolk, under the direction of Brigadier-Generals Mansfield and Weber, who proceeded on the direct route by way of Tanner's Creek Bridge, but finding it on fire, they returned to the cross-roads, where I joined them and took the direction of the column.

I arrived by the old road and entered the entrenchments in front of the city at 20 minutes before 5 p.m. I immediately proceeded toward Norfolk, accompanied by the Hon. Secretary Chase, and met the mayor and a select committee of the common council of Norfolk at the limits of the city, when they surrendered the city, agreeably to the terms set forth in the resolutions of the common council, presented by the mayor W. W. Lamb, which were accepted by me so far as related to the civil rights of the citizens.

A copy of the resolutions have been already furnished you.

I immediately took possession of the city, and appointed Brig. Gen. Egbert L. Viele military governor of Norfolk, with directions to see that the citizens were protected in all their civil rights. Soon after I took possession of Gosport and Portsmouth.

The taking of Norfolk caused the destruction of the iron-clad steamer Merrimac, which was blown up by the rebels about 5 o'clock on the morning of the 11th of May, which was soon after communicated to you and the President of the United States. On the 11th I visited the navy-yard, and found all the work-shops, store-houses, and other buildings in ruins, having been set on fire by the rebels, who at the same time partially blew up the dry-dock.

I also visited Craney Island, where I found thirty-nine guns of large caliber, most of which were spiked; also a large number of shot and shells, with about 5,000 pounds of powder, all of which, with the buildings, were in good order. So far as I have been able to ascertain we have taken about two hundred cannon, including those at Sewell's Point batteries, with a large number of shot and shells, as well as many other articles of value to the Government.

Troops have been stationed at the navy-yard, Craney Island, Sewell's Point, and other places.

JOHN E. WOOL,

Major-General, Commanding.

P. S.-- Please to inform me what orders the President gave the flag-officer, Goldsborough, in regard to the removing of the guns from Norfolk to Fort Monroe. The flag-officer says he received verbal orders to remove the guns.

JOHN E. WOOL,

Major-general.

WAR DEPARTMENT, May 16, 1862.

Maj. Gen. JOHN E. WOOL,
Commanding Fortress Monroe:

I have the honor to transmit to you the following order.

P. H. WATSON,

Assistant Secretary of War.

[Inclosure.]

Order thanking General Wool for the capture of Norfolk.

The skillful and gallant movements of Maj. Gen. John E. Wool and the forces under his command, which resulted in the surrender of Norfolk and the evacuation of strong batteries erected by the rebels on Sewell's Point and Craney Island and the destruction of the rebel iron-clad steamer Merrimac, are regarded by the President as among the most important successes of the present war. He therefore orders that his thanks, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, be communicated by the War Department to Maj. Gen. John E. Wool and the officers and soldiers of his command for their gallantry and good conduct in the brilliant operations mentioned.

By order of the President, made at the city of Norfolk on the 11th day of May, 1862.

EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.

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In June the regiment was ordered to join the Army of the Potomac near Virginia’s Chickahominy River as part of the 3d Brigade, 2d Division, VI Corps. The 20^th’s distinctive, well-kept uniforms and characteristic Hardee hats, together with their fresh, undepleted ranks, made for a striking contrast with the 3d Brigade’s other regiments, which for months had been battling their way toward Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital.

Weiss was anxious to fight and boasted to his fellow brigade officers of the blood he would spill. He got his chance in the Seven Days’ Battles before Richmond. At the Battle of White Oak Swamp on June 30, the 20^th New York’s large, fine array drew more than admiration from their enemy: the Confederate artillery complimented the Turners with a shower of shell. Colonel Thomas Hyde of the 7^th Maine, another regiment in the 3d Brigade, described the Turners’ response as a wild flight led by Colonel Weiss that left the field littered with knapsacks and Hardee hats. Brigadier General John W. Davidson, 3d Brigade commander, described the scene more generously as the “20^th N.Y. losing its formation.” Major-General William B. Franklin reported that "the troops immediately got under cover of the wood…". Apparently the Turners split in two directions and became disorganized. During this period, 51 members of the regiment were captured by Stonewall Jackson's troops and sent to Belle Isle prison. One of these was Friedrich Meyer of Company H. His personal recollections are as follows:

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