2nd U.S. Artillery is a member of the American Civil War Association, located in Northern California.
HISTORY OF THE 2ND U.S. ARTILLERY, BATTERY E
1847 - 1867
The 2nd U.S. Artillery, Battery E, was involved in one of the first engagements of the Civil War, Bull Run. Battery E was placed in the 2nd Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Schneck, of the 1st Division. The Battery was commanded by Captain J. Howard Carlisle. The battery had two 13 pound James rifles, two old 6 pound smoothbores and two 12 pound howitzers.3 Captain Carlisle, seeing the opportunity to advance in rank, as did many other regular Army officers, transferred to infantry command, placing Lt. Samuel Benjamin in command of the battery.
By the second battle of Bull Run the 2nd U.S. Battery E, that now consists of four 20 pound Parrott rifles, was commanded by Lt. Sam Benjamin, they were placed in a commanding position 200 yards southeast of the J. Dogan House. This gave Battery E a beautiful view of the Confederate positions in the area. For several hours Battery E had fought valiantly, but when the battery finally pulled out, one of it's two sections had been virtually obliterated.4
On the arrival of the battery at Falmouth on Aug. 12th, 1862, it was assigned to General Stevens' division of General Reno's command. The next morning the command marched to reinforce Pope (leader of the Union troops at Manassas, Major General John Pope), and with the exception of one or two days, the battery marched from twelve to twenty miles a day until the action of the 29th of August (2nd Battle of Bull Run).5
On September 6th 1862, while at Arlington Heights and Washington D.C. "Lieutenant Benjamin, being short of men to handle his guns, asked for a detail from the 79th New York Highlanders, which was granted. At this time Benjamin's Battery consisted of six 20 pound Parrott rifles.6
At Antietam the 2nd U.S. Battery E was positioned south of Burnside's Bridge and had fired so much during the day, at Toomb's Brigade and supporting Burnside's advance against A. P. Hill, that Battery E had to be resupplied twice and then the supply train ran out of rounds for the 20 pound Parrotts. For the duration of the day, Battery E set ground charges and shot blanks so that it would look like they were inflicting some damage.7
At Fredericksburg the Federal batteries were being crippled by ammunition failures, fuses going off too early or not going off at all, and cannon failures. One Parrott from the 2nd U.S. Battery E, burst on the second shot of the battle. The Federal batteries at Fredericksburg were great 2000 to 3000 yards, and Lieutenant Benjamin doubted the efficacy of his 20 pounders at this range. Actually the Union aim was accurate, shells were hitting home, and batteries were so hard hit that they were later relieved by reserve units with 20 pounder Parrotts.8
At Knoxville, Tennessee in November 1863, Lt. Samuel Benjamin battery of Union gunners set off what was arguably one of the best shots of the Civil War; at a range of 2,500 yards, it sent a single shell flying into a room occupied by Confederate sharpshooters and wiped out the lot.9
On November 16, 1863 word was passed that Longstreet was moving to cut off Burnside at Campbell's Station, and the 79th was immediately deployed across the Kingson Road, in support of Lieutenant S.N. Benjamin's Battery, to stall the Confederate movement. "Unfurling our colors, we awaited the advance of the enemy. There was little delay." General John Bell Hood's Division, battle-hardened Southerners, moved up the road as the Highlanders, joined by Benjamin's Battery, opened fire. Hood's men, startled by the ferocity of the fire, were checked in their advance, and driven back in confusion.10
On November 18, 1863 Lieutenant Benjamin, who was placed in charge of the defense of Fort Sanders and " he requested the 79th Highlanders be assigned to duty as the regular garrison. His request being granted, we were ordered there and felt quite proud of the distinction conferred upon us. On reporting at the fort, positions were assigned the various companies by Lieutenant Benjamin. B, H and K were placed in the north west bastion, the other companies being distributed at various points along the west and north fronts. Captain William Montgomery was in command of the regiment."11 "The garrison of Fort Sanders was made up of Benjamin's Battery (four 20 pound Parrott rifles), part of Buckley's Battery (six 12 pound Napoleons), part of the 79th New York Highlanders, part of the 2nd Michigan making an aggregate of about 220 men."12 "I procured the Seventy-Ninth New York Volunteers for garrison (about 125 strong)".13 "We were joined at this time by Battery E, Second U.S. Artillery, of twenty-pounders Parrott guns, under command of Lieutenant S. N. Benjamin, a skillful officer and perfect gentleman, between whom and the Highlanders a mutual admiration soon sprung up: We recalled the fact that this battery had been attached to our brigade during the First Bull Run Campaign. Whenever the battery was short-handed, it was to us that Lieutenant Benjamin came for help, and boys always considered it and honor to serve under his orders. It was sometimes hard to tell which we thought more of - Benjamin's Battery or the Eighth Michigan.14 Benjamin, having no hand grenades, had prepared a number of twenty-pound shells with short fuses, to be thrown down into the ditch at the appropriate time. These were distributed among the defenders, now gathered at the parapets and walls of the fort. As the Rebs crowded into the ditch, firing upward at the defending Highlanders, Benjamin's surprise was sprung. The fuses on the twenty-pound shells were lit, and the shells were hurled into the ditch. As the shells burst, yells shrieks and groans attested to their bloody work.15
Newly commissioned Second Lieutenant Gustav Dey joined Company E, 2nd U.S. Artillery, on January 28, 1864, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Company E had served with the Army of the Potomac Fighting in the first and second battles of Bull Run, at Malvern Hill, and at Chantilly in Virginia. And it had been in the battles of South Mountain and at Antietam in Maryland before being sent to the west. There it had been at Grant's siege of Vicksburg and at Jackson, Mississippi. Its last engagement before Dey joined had been at Fort Sanders, during the Confederate siege of Knoxville from November 18 to December 4, 1964. After the Confederates under Lieutenant General James Longstreet were repulsed and subsequently withdrew, Company E remained garrisoned in Knoxville until March 23,1864 when the company left by rail for Annapolis, Maryland. There they joined other elements of the army's IX Corps under Major General Ambrose Burnside. Battery E, 83 strong, left Annapolis on April 14th for Washington, D.C. While there, they along with the rest of the IX Corps participated in a grand review. On April 27th Company E left Washington crossed the Potomac River and camped at Fairfax, Virginia. The next day the company moved to Manassas Junction. From there they marched to Warrenton Junction, arriving on April 29th. The company, with the rest of the IX Corps, moved along the Orange and Alexandra Railroad, so that, if necessary, they could relieve elements of the Army of the Potomac as it moved south toward the Wilderness. During the entire Wilderness Campaign Company E was part of the Reserve Artillery. They moved almost constantly for the next three weeks, always on the fringe of the fighting but yet always out of harm's way. On May 18th they marched to Belle Plain on Potomac Creek, where Grant had set up a base of supplies for his campaign. On May 24th they left for King George Court House, slightly west of Belle Plain. And on the next day they pushed on to Port Conway, southwest of Fredericksburg, on the Rappahannock River, and which was set up as a debarkation point. On May 28 Company E boarded transports at Port Conway, sailed down the Rappahannock and up the Potomac River to Washington, D.C. They arrived on May 29th, and turned their guns in at the Washington Arsenal. Company E was then assigned to the XXII Army Corps.16
On the march through Virginia, and shortly thereafter, the company changed command three times. Captain Charles S. Peirce was in command on April 30th, First Lieutenant James S. Dudley on May 5th, and First Lieutenant Samuel B. McIntire on May 31. Company E were ordered to move from Battery Kemble to Camp Barry, the light artillery depot and training school, one mile Northeast of the Capitol.17
In the east, the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia continued their duel in Virginia. Company E and Company C 2nd U.S. Artillery were temporarily consolidated and remained at Camp Berry.18
In August of 1865 all Batteries of the 2nd U.S. Artillery were assembled at Fort McHenry, preparatory to sailing for California. This was the first and only time that the batteries of the regiment have ever been all together. Arrived at San Francisco, one company was sent to San Diego, and afterwards to Yuma. Two were sent to the mouth of the Columbia River, one to Monterey, afterwards to Alcatraz; two to Fort Point, and to Angel Island for a short time, and then to Black Point, one to Vancouver, one to San Juan Island. The two batteries (mounted) A, and M to the Presidio, and to Alcatraz. When Alaska was purchased in 1867 5five batteries were sent to it.19
Samuel N. Benjamin graduated from West Point in 1861, he took part in the 1st Manassas Campaign that July, soldiered through the spring 1862 Peninsula Campaign south of Richmond, Virginia, the 2nd Manassas Campaign, the Antietam Campaign in Maryland, the Fredericksburg Campaign, then went west with his battery to serve in the campaign for Vicksburg, Mississippi, and fights in east Tennessee. Returning to the Virginia theater in spring 1864 and made chief of artillery for the IX Corps, Army of the Potomac, he was present for the Battle of the Wilderness and wounded and disabled in the May 12 Battle of Spotsylvania. He was promoted to captain, 2nd Artillery, June 13, 1864 and given two brevet promotions for war service. He filled up the remaining days of his career serving in a variety of posts, including one as an assistant professor of mathematics at West Point, then died at Governor's Island, New York, May 15, 1886, at age 47.20
The 2nd U.S. Battery E were engaged in the following Battles & skirmishes during the War of the Rebellion:
| Bull Run Virginia | July 21 1961 | |
| Yorktown Virginia | April 19 1862 | |
| Near Gaines House | May 31 1862 | |
| Near Gaines House | June 4 1862 | |
| Near Gaines House | June 11 1862 | |
| Golding Farm Virginia | June 27 1862 | |
| Turkey Bend Virginia | June 30 1862 | |
| Malvern Hill Virginia | July 1 1862 | |
| Bull Run Virginia | August 29 & 30 1862 | |
| Chantilly Virginia | September 1 1862 | |
| South Mountian Maryland | September 14 1862 | |
| Antietam Maryland | September 16 & 17 1862 | |
| Warrenton Springs Virginia | November 16 1862 | |
| Fredericksburg Virginia | December 11-14 1862 | |
| Siege of Vicksburg Mississippi | June 20 - July 3 1863 | |
| Siege of Jackson Mississippi | July 11 – 17 1863 | |
| Campbell Station Tennessee | November 16 1863 | |
| Siege of Knoxville Tennessee | November 18 – 28 1863 | |
| Wilderness Run Virginia | May 4 1864 |
1 Michael N. Ingrisano Jr. An Artilleryman's War (White Mane Books, 1998) page 18
2 Michael N. Ingrisano Jr. An Artilleryman's War (White Mane Books, 1998) page 44-45
3 Naiswald, I. Van Loan, Grape and Canister, (Oxford University Press, 1995) page 5
4 Naiswald, I. Van Loan, Grape and Canister, (Oxford University Press, 1995) page 152-154
5 Sam Benjamin edited Curt Johnson, "My War Cleared Their Way --Firing Canister", (Civil War Times Illustrated March/April 1993) page 22
6 William Todd, The Seventy-Ninth Highlanders, New York Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865, (Albany Press 1886) page 226-227
7 Naiswald, I. Van Loan, Grape and Canister, (Oxford University Press, 1995) page 221-222
8 Naiswald, I. Van Loan, Grape and Canister, (Oxford University Press, 1995) page 225 9Naiswald, I. Van Loan, Grape and Canister, (Oxford University Press, 1995) page 243-244
10 William Mark McKnight, Blue Bonnets O'er The Border, (Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Books 1998) page 181 11 William Todd, The Seventy-Ninth Highlanders, (Albany Press 1886) page 363
12 War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series1 Vol. XXXI part 1, page 229
13 War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series1 Vol. XXXI part 1, page 342
14 William Todd, The Seventy-Ninth Highlanders, (Albany Press 1886) page 182-183
15 Robert Armour, The Attack Upon and Defense of Fort Sanders, Knoxville, Tenn., November 29, 1863, (War Papers: Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, 1889) page 63-64
16 Michael N. Ingrisano Jr., An Artilleryman's War, (White Mane Books, 1998) page 137
17 Michael N. Ingrisano Jr., An Artilleryman's War, (White Mane Books, 1998) page 138-139
18 Michael N. Ingrisano Jr., An Artilleryman's War, (White Mane Books, 1998) page 142
19 Michael N. Ingrisano Jr., An Artilleryman's War, (White Mane Books, 1998) page 173
20 Samuel Benjamin edited Curt Johnson, "My War Cleared their Way -- Firing Canister", (Civil War Times Illustrated), March/April 1993), page 20,22-23.
