Smith and Young Families of northern Rhode Island



The Life of Private Edwin M. Smith, Company E, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment



by Daniel M. Popek (6th cousin, four times removed of Edwin M. Smith; Edwin was the nephew of my great-great-great grandmother Smith)








Edwin M. Smith was born November 16, 1843 (gravestone) in Smithfield, Rhode Island, the son of Elisha8 M. Smith
(Thomas7, Oliver6, Joshua5, Doctor Thomas4, Thomas3, Edward2, Christopher1 Smith) and Lillias Richardson.




The following is an outline of his life and his service with the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment in the American Civil War. I will add photos and more information
as it becomes available for the benefit of my living relatives.





November 27, 1853 Father Elisha M. Smith dies at age 34 [Edwin age 10].


March 11, 1856 Mother Lillias (Richardson) Smith marries Clark Sayles in Smithfield, Rhode Island and lives with Clark on Sayles Hill (in modern North Smithfield).


Spring 1858 Edwin, at age 14, gets in trouble with the Law and is arrested for theft. He is sentenced to serve out his minority in the Providence Reform School, which
he enters about June 14, 1858.


Friday October 5, 1860 (Providence Reform School Daily Journal, p. 88 [155]]
"No. 587 [Inmate Number] Edwin M. Smith left this afternoon to visit his mother on Sayles Hill New [near] Woonsocket. Will return next week unless he finds employment
which shall satisfy his friends & the Trustees. Time to return Wednesday 10th Inst. A.M." [Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts, MSS 214, SG 3, Series 1,
Providence Reform School Records, Daily Journal, No. 1 (1858-1866)]


Wednesday October 10, 1860 (Providence Reform School Daily Journal, p. 89 [156]]
"No. 587 Edwin M. Smith who was about to visit his friends at Sayles Hill near Woonsocket on Saturday last returned this A.M. at 10 1/2 o clock. His leave of absence
was till this A.M." [RIHS Manuscripts, MSS 214, SG 3, Series 1, Providence Reform School Records, Daily Journal, No. 1 (1858-1866)]


Monday October 15, 1860 (Providence Reform School Daily Journal, p. 90 [158]]
"No. 587 Edwin M. Smith indentured to Elisha A. Mowry a farmer of Smithfield (near Sayles Hill) Edwin has been in the Inst. 28 months and one day & has made a fair
progress in his studies & for some time been a very good boy in all respects. He has a very quick temper & one great fear is that in some unguarded moment he will
not govern it so as to at all times to be respectful and treat his master as he should. We have tried to guard him on this front." [RIHS Manuscripts, MSS 214, SG 3,
Series 1, Providence Reform School Records, Daily Journal, No. 1 (1858-1866)]


Edwin enlisted September 16, 1861 for 3 years in Woonsocket, Rhode Island by J. Allen in Company E, 4th Rhode Island Regiment [Colonel J.I. McCarty / Isaac Peace Rodman
assumed command about October 30, 1861] .
Company E commanded by Captain John A. Allen [Promoted to Major on November 20, 1861].
Company E commanded by Captain William S. Chase in late November 1861.


The Fourth Rhode Island Regiment musters and drills at Camp Greene, just north of Appanaug, Warwick, Rhode Island.


Saturday October 5, 1861 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment boards train for Providence; embarks at Fox Point Wharf for journey to south on steamer "Commodore."
Disembarked at Elizabethport, New Jersey. Took train for Baltimore, Maryland where changed train for Washington, D.C.

Marched to Camp Sprague, then the two "Mud Camps" near Washington, D.C.


October 27, 1861 Regiment marched to Bladensburg, Maryland north of Washington, D.C. (Camp Casey). Brigaded with Fifth New Hampshire Regiment, who they become
friends with from day one due to the Fourth making a nice dinner for the entire Fifth Regiment.


November 3, 1861 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment marches to Lower Marlboro, Maryland to protect citizens during National Election.


November 28, 1861 Regiment marches with General Oliver O. Howard's Brigade on Thanksgiving Day for "Camp California" three miles from Alexandria, Virginia.


December 14, 1861 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment does picket duty on Edsall's Hill, Virginia; soon after, Winter Quarters are established with Howard's Brigade.


January 2, 1862 Regiment marches solo for Annapolis, Maryland joining Fifth Rhode Island Regiment (First Battalion) and the North Carolina Expedition under
General Ambrose Burnside.


January 7, 1862 Regiment embarks on steamer "Eastern Queen;" departs January 9, 1862 for North Carolina.



Expedition Force:


First Brigade
23rd Massachusetts, 24th Mass., 25th Mass., 27th Mass., 10th Connecticut Regiments Brig. Gen. John G. Foster

Second Brigade
6th New Hampshire, 9th New Jersey, 21st Mass., 51st New York, 51st Pennsylvania Regiments Brig. Gen. Jesse L. Reno

Third Brigade
4th Rhode Island, 8th Connecticut, 11th Connecticut, 53rd New York, 89th New York, First Battalion, 5th Rhode Island, Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery
Brig. Gen. John Grubb Parke

Volunteer Marine Artillery Brigade




Fourth Rhode Island Regiment, Company E

Captain William S. Chase
Lieutenant E.A. Pierce



The North Carolina Expedition Fleet encounters winter storm, loses five vessels sunk. Nine men from each company of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment are detached to
U.S. Naval gunboats "Commodore Perry" and "Commodore Barney" as marines.






Map of North Carolina Outer Banks and Roanoke Island with route of the Union Burnside Expedition courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress.
Click on picture for a larger view.





February 5, 1862 The fleet regroups and heads to Roanoke Island, North Carolina.


February 7, 1862 Fleet engages rebel fortifications on Roanoke Island; Fourth Rhode Island Regiment landed with a brass howitzer at Ashby's Harbor on Roanoke Island,
North Carolina (in heavy rains).





Map of Union landing on Roanoke Island from Ashby Harbor including the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress.
Click on picture for a larger view.




February 8, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment attacks enemy Fort Defiance with Parke's Brigade and helps carry the enemy fortifications; Fourth Rhode Island Regiment
later captures enemy Fort Bartow.





Map of Union attack on Confederate Fort Defiance on Roanoke Island with the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress.
Click on picture for a larger view.




February 9, 1862 Company B, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment captures Fort Blanchard as Confederate Forces surrender; Fourth Rhode Island Regiment reembarks on
"Eastern Queen" except for the regiment's detached marines. Union Fleet pursues and defeats the Rebel Fleet on Pasquatank River, then goes up Chowan River.


March 13, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment debarks from Neuse River to Slocum's Creek, marches toward New Bern, North Carolina.





Map of Union Fleet's approach towards New Bern, N.C. up the Neuse River and debarkation point at Slocum Creek courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress.
Click on picture for a larger view.




March 14, 1862 Battle of New Bern, North Carolina

Fourth Rhode Island Regiment takes a prominent role in the battle and loses 12 killed and 22 wounded (1 mortally). Colonel Rodman leads the regiment through the
"Brick Yard" following up the initial brave assault of the 21st Massachusetts Regiment. The Fourth Rhode Island makes two different charges and clears out the
Confederate defensive works and railroad.
Killed in Action: [A visitor will not see any monuments at New Bern from the Cheap State of Rhode Island to these men except a few soldiers buried at the National
Cemetery who were provided with Federal Grave Markers]:

Captain Charles Tillinghast, Company H (shot through the head during the Fourth Regiment's charge on the rebel lines, born Providence, R.I., from New York,
New York; Corporal Allen Book; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Lucy S. (Leonard) Tillinghast Pension File; buried Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, R.I.)

Private Philip Johnson, Company A (born Waterford, Ireland; from Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Private James W. Jeffers (Jefferson), Company B (from Cumberland, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Private Samuel Myrick, Company B (from Coventry, R.I.; Corporal Allen Book; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Sarah E. (Hopkins) Myrick and Children Herbert C.
Myrick, Lillian G. Myrick Pension File)

Private Patrick Sheridan, Company C (from Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Anne (Moran) Sheridan and Children William Sheridan, Rose
Sheridan, John Sheridan Pension File)

Private John T. Clark (Clarke), Company D (from Newport, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Private Davis Crandall, Company D (from Westerly, R.I. (Rockville, Hopkinton, R.I.); Ken Carlson's Casualty List, "Reminiscences of Geoge B. Carpenter")

Private Edwin Street, Company E (born Manchester, England; from Smithfield, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Sarah (Buckley) Street Pension File)

Sergeant George H. Church, Jr., Company H (from North Kingstown, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; son of Dr. Church of Wickford, R.I.; Rhode Island in the
Rebellion Book; Child Henry (Harry) Bedford Church Pension File)
Private Charles C. Baker, Company H (from North Kingstown, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Adin B. Hopkins, Company I (from Blackstone, Massachusetts; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)




Wounded in Action:
Colonel Isaac P. Rodman (Corporal Allen Book)
Major John A. Allen (from Woonsocket, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Captain William S. Chace (E Company, severely wounded in the neck, son of Major John B. Chace of Providence, R.I., Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book, p. 309;
Resigned July 18, 1862; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment; November 12, 1862 to August 26, 1865, First Lieutenant, Rhode Island Hospital Guards
[Portsmouth Grove Hospital, Rhode Island], Private William A. Spicer [Co. B, 10th Rhode Island Regiment], "The High School Boys of the Tenth R.I. Regiment, with a Roll
of Teachers and Students of the Providence High School, who Served in the Army or Navy of the United States during the Rebellion," Soldiers and Sailors Historical
Society of Rhode Island Personal Narratives, Second Series, No. 13, (Providence, R.I.: N. Bang Williams & Co., 1882), p. 53)
Lieutenant George E. Curtis (F Company, wounded in shoulder, of Providence, R.I., Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book, p. 309; Promoted to Captain November 1,
1862; Dismissed from the Service December 24, 1862; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Reuben A. Healey, Company B (from Westerly, R.I.; discharged December 9, 1862 at Providence, R.I. because of wounds, Corporal Allen Book;
Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Robert Kenworthy, Company B (born Lancashire, England; died March 15, 1862 of his wounds, from Cumberland, R.I. [Valley Falls], Corporal Allen Book,
Ken Carlson's Casualty List, Widow Mary (Stott) Kenworthy, Children Thomas Kenworthy, William Kenworthy, Samuel Kenworthy Pension File; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)
Private Rhodes E. Mathewson (Matteson), Company B (Corporal Allen Book, p. 380)

Corporal George W. Crandall, Company C (wounded and transferred July 1, 1863 to Veteran Reserve Corps; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal George P. Lawrence, Company C (wounded and discharged March 27, 1863 for disability at Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Corporal William Wilber Tillinghast, Company C (wounded at Battle of New Bern [minnie ball in left leg, lodged in and fractured leg bone; ball extracted by
surgeon], discharged October 25, 1862, died August 27, 1866 of consumption and effects of wound, Children Harriet L. Tillinghast, Benjamin T. Tillinghast, Lucy C.
Tillinghast, Jennie C. Tillinghast Pension File)
Private David H. Cameron, Company C (died April 6, 1862 of wounds [leg amputated] from Battle of New Bern, Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Mary E. (Braman)
Cameron and Child Abby F. Cameron Pension File)

Private Edwin D. Gavitt, Company D (from Ashaway [Hopkinton], R.I.; lost right leg and died June 11, 1862 in U.S. Soldiers Home Hospital, New York City,
"Reminiscences of George B. Carpenter"; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Mother Susan (Gardner) Gavitt Pension File)
Private James H. Paine, Company D (from Glocester, R.I.; wounded and discharged for disability on February 1, 1863; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private Willard Steere, Company D (from Burrillville, R.I.; died March 29, 1862 of his wounds [Descriptive Book says Willard died March 14, 1862 from his
wounds], Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Private Silas Frisby, Company F (from Cumberland, R.I.; died April 3, 1862 of his wounds, Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Corporal James Wilson, Company I (from Pawtucket, R.I.; wounded and discharged September 27, 1862 at Portsmouth Grove Hospital, R.I. [Descriptive Book, 4th
Rhode Island Regt.])





Map of Battle of New Bern, North Carolina courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress. Note the flanking move of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment following up the
initial attack by the 21st Massachusetts Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel William Smith Clark, commanding) of Reno's Brigade supported by the 8th Connecticut
Regiment and First Battalion, Fifth Rhode Island Regiment of Parke's Brigade which was the key to the Union victory.
Click on picture for a larger view.




March 17, 1862 Detached marines return to Fourth Rhode Island Regiment. Regiment moves south to attack Morehead City, North Carolina.


March 20 to 21, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment and 8th Connecticut Regiment row past Fort Macon and capture Beaufort, North Carolina.


April 24, 1862 Union Artillery bombardment forces surrender of Fort Macon; Fourth Rhode Island Regiment participates in siege activities.


June 3, 1862 Colonel Rodman is promoted to Brigadier General and leaves for Rhode Island; Lt. Colonel George W. Tew assumes command of the regiment.


June 20, 1862 Most of Fourth Rhode Island Regiment is reviewed at New Bern, but later the Rhode Islanders return to Beaufort.


July 6, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment departs Beaufort and arrives at Fort Monroe, Virginia on July 8, 1862. July 9, 1862 the regiment encamps at Newport News,
Virginia.


Late July 1862 Colonel William H.P. Steere takes command of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment; regiment is not happy with the new C.O. Company E, under influence
of liquor, refuses to obey orders. Lieutenant Joseph Bridgham Curtis from General Rodman's staff is appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment.


August 4, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment is transported via boat and rail to Falmouth, Virginia. After one week on picket duty near Fredericksburg, several
officers (including 6 company commanders) of the regiment resign their commissions. Governor Sprague of Rhode Island visits the regiment and is booed by the soldiers.


September 6, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment returns to Washington, D.C. and camp at "Meridian Hill."


September 14, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment involved in Battle of South Mountain as part of Union Ninth Corps (supported a Massachusetts artillery battery high
above Turner Pass [Fox's Gap] and not heavily engaged), three men of the regiment wounded (Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book; "Reminiscences of Geoge B. Carpenter").
Known Wounded in Action:
Private Bernard Cusick, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; May 1, 1863 Discharged for Disability at New York; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)




September 17, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment heavily engaged south of Burnside Bridge at Battle of Antietam; regiment forced to retreat, but some men
rally with other Union troops to regain the lost ground. General Isaac Rodman of Rhode Island is mortally wounded (died September 29, 1862).

Killed in Action [A visitor will not see any monuments at Antietam from the Cheap State of Rhode Island to these men except a few soldiers buried at the National
Cemetery who were provided with Federal Grave Markers]:

25 enlisted men [8 belonging to Company B]

Private Sullivan Bumpus, Company A (from Rochester, Massachusetts; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Corporal Willard P. Wilcox, Company B (born West Greenwich, R.I.; from Coventry, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Sarah B. (Carr) Wilcox Pension File)
Private Allen Hopkins, Company B (from Glocester, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Mahalia (Arnold) Hopkins and son James Allen Hopkins Pension File)
Private Elijah Johnson, Company B (from East Greenwich, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Private Patrick McNeal (McNeil), Company B (from Johnston, R.I. [Olneyville, R.I.]; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Josiah Moon, Company B (born West Greenwich, R.I., had twin brother Jeremiah; from Coventry, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Ann Mariah
(Kingsley) Moon and Child Ida Mariah Moon Pension File)
Private Joseph Oliver, Company B (from Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Private Henry (Harry) Roberts, Company B (from Providence, R.I.; Corporal Allen Book; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Private Jacob Roe, Company B (from Johnston, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; [Widow Harriet (Edwards) Roe] Children Harriet J. Roe, Margaret A. Roe,
George H. Roe Pension File)

Private William McGowan, Company C (from Fall River, Massachusetts; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Mother Margaret ( ? ) McGowan Pension File)
Private Michael E. Stacey, Company C (from Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Corporal Benjamin F. Burdick, Company D (from Westerly, R.I., brother of Harvey C. Burdick, body not recovered from battlefield [likely buried in a mass grave
(i.e. a trench) on the battlefield], Ken Carlson's Casualty List; "Reminiscences of Geoge B. Carpenter")
Private John Hardy, Company D (from Fall River, Massachusetts; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Private John A. Matteson, Company D (from Coventry, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Private Michael McCabe, Company D (from Burrillville, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Private Cornelius Costigan, Company E (from Cumberland, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Private Ephraim Pike, Company F (from Warwick, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Sergeant Gustavus B. Gardiner (Gardner), Company G (from Newport, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Mother Mary H. (Card) Gardner Pension File)
Corporal Thomas B. Tanner, Company G (Regimental Color Bearer, from Newport, R.I.; Corporal Allen Book; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Mother Lucy Ann (Dawley)
Tanner Pension File)
Private Henry Fish, Company G (born in Connecticut; from Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Henry mortally wounded in the abdomen, Widow Mary
(Johnson) Fish Pension File)

Corporal John Hays (Hayes), Company I (from Fall River, Massachusetts; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Father James Hayes Pension File)
Private Edward Lynch, Company I (from Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Robert McCandless (McCandlish), Company I (killed by gunshot wound; born Scotland; from Pawtucket, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Children Charlotte
McCandlish, Mary Ann McCandlish Pension File)

Private Theodore Livsey, Company K (from Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Private Benoni (Benonia) Weaver, Company K (born Newport, R.I.; from Middletown, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Clara (Clary) (Clarke) Weaver, Children
Mary J.B. Weaver, Martha W. Weaver, Benoni Weaver Pension File)





Wounded in Action:
5 officers plus 1 division staff officer, 69 known enlisted men [7 from Company B, 2 of whom died], 3 enlisted men missing
Colonel William H.P. Steere (shot in left thigh, fainted from loss of blood, recovered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for 10 months, Rhode Island in the Rebellion
Book, p. 312)
Captain Caleb Tillinghast Bowen (Company H, captured and paroled; July 1863 rejoined Regiment; Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book, p. 312)
Lieutenant Robert Hales Ives, Jr. (Staff Officer, 3rd Division (Rodman's), 9th Union Army Corps; as an aide to General Rodman, Robert was hit by an artillery
shell in the leg which also killed his horse; he was taken to a field hospital, then later to a house in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he died on September 27, 1862;
Robert was from Providence, Rhode Island and was a Brown University graduate; he is buried in North Burial Ground, Providence, R.I.; John Russell Bartlett, "Memoirs
of Rhode Island Officers...," pp. 350-356.
Second Lieutenant George H. Watts (Company D, from Burrillville, R.I., severely wounded through chest and in side, Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book, p. 312;
Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment; May 25 1863 Letter Adjutant Henry Joshua Spooner to Father, RIHS Manuscripts Collection)
Second Lieutenant Joshua Perry Clarke (Company G, from Newport, R.I., severely wounded, Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book, p. 312; Descriptive Book, Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment)
Acting Lieutenant/Sergeant George R. Buffum, Company D (died October 21, 1862 of wounds; from Burrillville, R.I.; commissioned Second Lieutenant November 1, 1862;
Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)


Corporal Benjamin D. Jones, Company A (from Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Thomas Langworthy, Company A (from Hopkinton, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Samuel Hilton, Company A (from Newport, R.I.; Transferred to Invalid Corps; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Thomas Briggs, Company A (from Providence, R.I.; Discharged May 5, 1863 at Baltimore, Maryland; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Patrick Casey, Company A (from North Bridgewater, Massachusetts; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Hugh Finnigan, Company A (from Crompton, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private James Ward, Company A (from Providence, R.I.; Discharged February 26, 1863; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Corporal Samuel Harvey, Company B (from Hopkinton, R.I.; died June 11, 1863 in hospital at Frederick, Maryland from effects of gunshot wound (compound fracture)
to thigh; Corporal Allen Book; Widow Ellen (McGuire) Harvey and Children Saviel D. Harvey, Samuel H. Harvey Pension File; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Cyrus S. Beers (Bears) (Bars), Company B (from Ware, Massachusetts; discharged January 7, 1863 at Baltimore, Maryland because of wounds; Corporal
Allen Book; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Stephen H. Burdick, Company B (died September 27, 1862 of wounds at Big Springs Hospital, Keedysville, Maryland [buried at Antietam National Cemetery];
from South Kingstown, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; [Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment says died of wounds on September 17, 1862]; Widow Mary A.
(Babcock) Burdick, Children: Rhoda Burdick, Ann E. Burdick, Ella N. Burdick, George S. Burdick (twin), Mary E. Burdick (twin, died 1865) Pension File)
Private Bemjamin C. Greene, Company B (from Providence, R.I.; discharged December 1, 1862 because of wounds; Corporal Allen Book; Descriptive Book, Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Elisha J. Holloway, Company B (from Charleston [Massachusetts?]; discharged December 10, 1862 at Providence, R.I. for wounds; Corporal Allen Book;
Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private George W. Preston, Company B (from Washington Village, Coventry, R.I.; Corporal Allen Book; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Joseph J. Reynolds, Company B (from Exeter, R.I.; Discharged for disability December 18, 1862; Corporal Allen Book; Descriptive Book, Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment)

First Sergeant James Fauvell, Company C (from Scituate, R.I.; October 29, 1862 Deserted from Emory Hospital, Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)
Sergeant William H. Martin, Company C (from Providence, R.I.; Discharged for disability December 31, 1862 Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)
Corporal Jerry Hill, Company C (from Scituate, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Benjamin W. Burlingame, Company C (from Arctic Village, West Warwick, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Daniel Lynch, Company C (from Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Oliver Moon, Company C (from Coventry, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Sergeant Charles E. Guild, Company D (died September 25, 1862 of wounds; from Burrillville, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)
Corporal Emor W. Mowry, Company D (from Burrillville, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Darius Negus, Company D (from Fall River, Massachusetts; lost left arm from wounds; Discharged April 23, 1863 at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Henry Freeman Saunders, Company D (shot near collar bone through lung and shoulder blade, died October 23, 1862 of wounds at Keedysville, Maryland; from
Hopkinton, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List [Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment states Henry died October 21, 1862]; "Reminiscences of Geoge B. Carpenter";
Mother Lydia (Sisson) Saunders Pension File)

Sergeant John M. Parker, Company E (from Slatersville, R.I.; January 12, 1863 Discharged by Surgeon; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal William G. Kelley, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; left arm amputated; November 29, 1862 Discharged at Newton University Hospital, Baltimore,
Maryland; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Walter B. Peck, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; January 5, 1863 Discharged at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Thomas Claney, Company E (from Slatersville, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private William Hennessey, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private John Hunt, Company E (from Slatersville, R.I.; lost right arm; April 13, 1863 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private William Ormes, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Edwin Tyler, Company E (wounded in hand and leg, both amputated, died October 13, 1862 of wounds at Locust Spring [Big Spring] Hospital, Keedysville,
Maryland, buried at hospital grounds [later buried in Antietam National Cemetery]; from Smithfield, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Mary A. (Thompson) Tyler
and Children Edwin G. Tyler, Philip J. Tyler, Mary E. Tyler Pension File)
Private Thomas Wood, Company E (from Providence, R.I.; November 2, 1863 Dishonorably Discharged at Portsmouth, Virginia; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Sergeant Orsemus S. Vaughan, Company F (from Westerly, R.I.; gunshot wound in right groin; January 2, 1863 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)
Corporal George W. Edgler, Company F (from Patterson [New Jersey?]; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Russell W. Allen, Company F (from Pawtucket, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Charles Harkins, Company F (from Roxbury, Massachusetts; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Martin Kelley, Company F (from Coventry, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Barnard McGuire, Company F (gunshot wound in right shoulder; March 17, 1863 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private James Russell, Company F (Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Alexander Smith, Company F (from Foster, R.I.; November 17, 1862 Discharged for Disability at Baltimore, Maryland; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private Robert Stubbs, Company F (from England; lost left leg; February 6, 1863 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Patrick Terrale, Company F (from Ireland; March 6, 1863 Discharged for Disability at Frederick, Maryland; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private Green Tripp, Company F (from Tiverton, R.I.; April 24[?], 1863 Discharged for Disability at Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private Henry W. Wood, Company F (Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private James S. Chase, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; February 5, 1863 Discharged for Disability at Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private John B. Cozzens, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; February 11, 1863 Discharged for Disability at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)
Private Benjamin H. Dawley, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; November 20, 1862 Discharged for Disability at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private William H. Hornsby, Company G (from Westchester, New York; March 23, 1863 Discharged for Disability from Hospital; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private Caleb Langley, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; March 4, 1863 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Seabury Mason, Company G (from Warren, R.I.; September 18, 1863 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private John Rividan, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; August 1, 1863 Transferred to Invalids Corps; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private James Walker, Company G (died December 11, 1862 at U.S. Army General Hospital, Camden Street, Baltimore, Maryland of gunshot wounds; born England; from
Middletown, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Charlotte Ann (McGuire) Walker Pension File; buried Newport Common Burying Ground, Newport, R.I.)

Corporal Edward Treyhoy, Company H (from Newport, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Albert [Abial] J.W. Abbott, Company H (died October 7, 1862 of wounds; from Warwick, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Mother Mary Ann (Whitman) (Abbott)
Matteson Pension File; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiments states Private Abbott died September 17, 1862)
Private James Deroine (Desoine) (Dervine), Company H (from Wickford, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Edward McCann, Company H (from Providence, R.I.; December 17, 1862 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Laton B. Willis, Company H (from Wickford, R.I.; May 11, 1863 Discharged for Disability at Frederick, Maryland; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)

First Sergeant John E. Moies, Company I (born Central Falls, R.I.; from Smithfield, R.I.; September 1863 Commissioned First Lieutenant in Company A, 10th United
States Colored Infantry Regiment; died of Tuberculosis on October 19, 1865 in General Hospital at Greenville, Louisiana; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment;
U.S. National Archives Service Record, 10th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment)
Corporal Henry V. Hopkins, Company I (from Warwick, R.I.; October 26, 1862 Died of Typhoid Fever at Pleasant Valley, Maryland; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)
Corporal Henry D. Lincoln, Company I (from Taunton, Massachusetts; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Edward Lynch, Company I (hit by a minnie ball in his side during the battle; died September 18, 1862 at nearby field hospital (barn)
of his wounds; born Cairn County, Ireland; from Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Mary (Reily) Lynch and Children Ellen E. Lynch, Mary Ann Lynch
Pension File)
Private Bernard Campbell, Company I (from Warwick, R.I.; lost arm from wounds; December 3, 1862 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)
Private John Duffy, Company I (from Warwick, R.I.; September 30, 1863 Transferred to Invalid Corps; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Mathew Marone, Company I (from Warwick, R.I.; May 22, 1863 Discharged for Disability at Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private John Winterbottom, Company I (from Providence, R.I.; May 5, 1865 Discharged from the Government Asylum for the Insane; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)
Private Edward Watter (Waters), Company I (from Fall River, Massachusetts; December 1, 1862 Discharged for Disability at Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Corporal Ferdinand Sweet, Company K (from North Providence, R.I.; December 26, 1862 Discharged for Disability at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment)
Private William A. Knight, Company K (from Cranston, R.I.; Right thigh later amputated; November 7, 1863 Discharged; Supposedly enlisted later in Regular
U.S. Army; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private James H. Mason, Company K (from Warren, R.I.; gunshot wound in right leg; January 29, 1863 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)




Missing in Action:

Private George B. Slocumb, Company F (from East Greenwich, R.I.; Prisoner of War; Exchanged; March 10, 1863 Discharged for Disability at Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private George Wood, Company I (from Pawtucket, R.I.; Returned to Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Abraham Myers, Company K (from Stockholm, England; Returned to Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)






September 24, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment camps at Pleasant Valley, Maryland near the Potomac River. The Seventh Rhode Island Regiment joins the camp.


September 26, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment crosses the Potomac River into Virginia.


November 4, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment camps near Rectortown, Virginia.


November 6, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment camps at Waterloo, Virginia; General Ambrose Burnside is put in command of Union Army of the Potomac.


November 15, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment marches down Rappahannock River towards Fredericksburg, Virginia.


November 19, 1862 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment reaches Falmouth, Virginia opposite Fredericksburg.


November 20, 1862 Start of the "Rain Storm" and Fourth Rhode Island Regiment's useless 12 mile march with the cavalry. The Regiment is in a ragged condition for
clothing and is thoroughly soaked by the rain.


December 6, 1862 Four inches of snow fall by the morning of December 6, 1862.


December 11, 1862 Union Artillery opens up a cannon barrage on Fredericksburg, Virginia.


December 12, 1862 Night, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment goes on picket duty [laying on their arms in the cold mud] in Fredericksburg near the railroad within 200 yards
of the Rebel lines from 10PM to 2AM, relieving the 103rd New York Regiment [Adjutant Henry Joshua Spooner December 21, 1862 Letter to Father, Henry Joshua Spooner
Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts].


December 13, 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia At 3 A.M., the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment is relieved from Picket Duty by the 9th New York Regiment and
retreats a short distance [again, laying on their arms] to act as a reserve for the 9th New York. At 8 A.M., the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment is relieved by the
10th New Hampshire Regiment and falls back through Fredericksburg to the south bank of the Rappahannock River, where it has some shelter from artillery fire. A Union
battery fires several short shells which explode above the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment wounding some of the Rhode Island men by friendly fire. At sunset, the Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment advances again through Fredericksburg to support Hawkins' Brigade and reaches a position behind the 9th New York Regiment, all the while under
enemy and friendly artillery fire. While questioning the men of the 9th New York Regiment in the dark as to what unit they were, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph B. Curtis
is hit by shrapnel from an exploding shell and killed instantly. Major Martin P. Buffum takes command of the Fourth Rhode Island who lay on their arms immediately
behind the 9th New York Regiment under artillery fire the rest of the night. The morning of December 15, 1862, the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment withdraws to
Fredericksburg until the night, when they march over the pontoon bridge to the north side of the Rappahannock River [Adjutant Henry Joshua Spooner December 21, 1862
Letter to Father, Henry Joshua Spooner Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts].

Killed in Action:

Commanding Officer Lt. Colonel Joseph Bridgham Curtis killed by artillery shrapnel [body later buried in North Burial Ground, Providence, Rhode Island]


Wounded in Action:

Lieutenant George E. Curtis, Company F (Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book)


Private Benjamin W. Burlingame, Company C (from Arctic Village, West Warwick, R.I.; wounded in hand; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private James H. Andrew, Company D (from Glocester, R.I.; wounded slightly in the leg; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private John Henry, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; wounded slightly in the knee; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Thomas W. Griffiths, Company F (from Providence, R.I.; wounded severely in the jaw; December 3, 1863 Discharged for Disability; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Charles Harkins, Company F (from Roxbury, Massachusetts; wounded in leg; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private John McShane, Company F (from Pontiac Village, Cranston, R.I.; wounded in scalp; December 20, 1862 Deserted near Falmouth, Virginia; Descriptive
Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Corporal Hiram R. Freelove, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; wounded in leg; August 29, 1863 Transferred to Invalid Corps; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment)

Private Thomas O. Lake, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; wounded in shoulder; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)




December 15, 1862 Night, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment retreats from Fredericksburg.


December 24, 1862 Major Martin P. Buffum promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and assumes command of regiment (Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book). Captain James T.P. Bucklin
promoted to Major in January 1863 (Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book).


January 21, 1863 "Mud March," most of Fourth Rhode Island Regiment do not leave for it, but are soaked by the rains as they dropped their tents.


January 26, 1863 Major General Joseph Hooker takes command of Army of the Potomac.


February 8, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment embarks on steamers for Newport News, Virginia. The First, Second, and Fourth Divisions of the Union Army
Ninth Corps are given orders to depart for Kentucky under Department of the Ohio commander General Ambrose Burnside.


March 13, 1863 The Fourth Rhode Island Regiment as part of the Third Division (General Getty) of the Ninth Corps embarks for Suffolk, Virginia.


April 10, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment moves to "Gettyville," a camp opposite Hills Point near Nansemond River outside of Suffolk and erects earthworks;
Union soldiers threatened by a rebel army of General James Longstreet (Corporal Allen Book; "Reminiscences of Geoge B. Carpenter").


April 12, 1863 Colonel William H.P. Steere rejoins Fourth Rhode Island Regiment from his wounds; Fourth Rhode Island Regiment helps strengthen other earthworks
and conducts reconaissance patrols. A small detachment of 20 men who were veterans of the North Carolina gunboat service is sent under Lieutenant George W. Field to
crew a 24 pounder cannon at Fort Halleck [Adjutant Henry Joshua Spooner April 16, 1863 Letter to Father, Henry Joshua Spooner Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society
Manuscripts].

May 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment, Company E

Captain William J. Reynolds
First Lieutenant Henry Joshua Spooner (Regimental Adjutant)


May 3, 1863 21st Connecticut Regiment and Fourth Rhode Island Regiment cross Nansemond River to conduct reconnaissance-in-force towards enemy Hills Point
fortification. Engagement of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment commences with rebel forces near Hills Point after 21st Connecticut breaks; Fourth Rhode Island Regiment
loses one killed, four wounded, and two missing.


Killed in Action:

Corporal James Grinrod (Grindrod), Company E (from Smithfield, R.I. (Slatersville, R.I.; lived earlier in Philadelphia, Penn.); Ken Carlson's Casualty List,
Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book, [Widow Maryann (Rostom?) Grinrod] Children Joseph Thomas Grinrod and Mary Jane Grinrod Pension File; Descriptive Book, Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment; James buried in Hampton National Cemetery, Hampton City, Virginia)


Known Wounded in Action:

Second Lieutenant George F. Waterman, Company C (September 15, 1863 Promoted to First Lieutenant; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)


Corporal George W. Allen, Company B (from South Kingstown, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private George Erwin, Company B (from Valley Falls, R.I.; March 31, 1864 Transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Joseph H. Griffith, Company K (from Providence, R.I.; Rhode Island in the Rebellion Book; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)


Missing in Action:

Private Luther R. Randall, Company B (from Providence, R.I.; rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private John Freeborn, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)




General Longstreet withdrawals rebel army from the area soon after to join General Robert E. Lee's Gettysburg Campaign.


May 14, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment marches towards Portsmouth, Virginia. Encamps about four miles southwest of Portsmouth, Virginia and constructs earthworks.


June 21, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment marches to Portsmouth, Virginia, embarks with 13th New Hampshire Regiment on Steamer "Maple Leaf" to Yorktown, Virginia.
Eleventh Rhode Island Regiment [Nine Months regiment] joins a couple of days later. Eleventh Rhode Island Regiment makes a march to Williamsburg, returns, and leaves
for Rhode Island soon after.


June 25, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment embarks on steamer "Peconic" and goes to White House, Virginia on the Pamunkey River, encamps near Richmond and York River
railroad.


June 29, 1863 The Third Division, Ninth Army Corps becomes the Second Division, Seventh Army Corps (Adjutant Henry J. Spooner June 29, 1863 Letter to Mother, Henry
Joshua Spooner Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts).


July 1, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment marches with other Union regiments north to King Williams Courthouse, Virginia. Next day march southwest to New Castle on
Pamunkey River.


July 3, 1863 Union forces march to within 8 miles of Richmond, Virginia, numerous soldiers drop out of the march because of the heat; six men of the 10th New Hampshire
Regiment reportedly die of sunstroke. Next day, the Union soldiers get within 7 miles of Richmond, then turn to the north back to Pamunkey River. Union soldiers
are incensed that Richmond was not attacked (several Union prisoners were being held in the city). Some railroad line is destroyed and the Union force retreats to
White House. The Fourth Rhode Island Regiment marches for Yorktown passing first through Williamsburg; they then march to Fortress Monroe, having marched about 156
miles in 10 days.


July 13, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment arrives in camp at Portsmouth, Virginia. The Rhode Island men replenish their lost clothing and equipment by following
in the rear of a new New York regiment forced to march in the summer heat from Portsmouth. The Fourth Rhode Island Regiment works on earthworks near Fort Reno in
Portsmouth.


September 6, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment occupies earthworks near Fort Rodman at Portsmouth, Virginia. Regiment sends detachments to a picket outpost at
Bowers' Hill southwest of Portsmouth.




October 10, 1863 Private Edwin M. Smith confined in Norfolk, Virginia City Jail for abusive language and striking a superior officer [confined three months in jail and
on hard labor detail, likely working on the harbor rip-rap crew, see Corporal Allen Book] (Compiled Service Record, U.S. National Archives).





Confinement Order to the Norfolk City Jail (U.S. Army Provost Marshal) given against Private Edwin M. Smith for striking a
superior officer from Edwin's Compiled Service Records, U.S. National Archives. Click on image for a larger view.






Map of Norfolk and Portsmouth Virginia Harbor in 1861 courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress. Norfolk is to the lower right, where Edwin Smith
was confined in the City Jail. Click on image for a larger view.






Detail of Map of Norfolk and Portsmouth Virginia Harbor in 1861 courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress. The yellow arrow marks the Norfolk City
Jail run by the U.S. Army Provost Marshal that Edwin Smith and Dr. David Minton Wright were confined in. Click on image for a larger view.





October 23, 1863 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment assists in guard duties for execution of Dr. David Minton Wright who assassinated Lieutenant Alanson L. Sanborn of the
First Regiment of US Colored Troops on July 11, 1863 in Norfolk, Virginia. Company D occupies Redan Number 2 ["Reminiscences of Geoge B. Carpenter"].




January 15, 1864 Private Edwin M. Smith ordered released from Norfolk, Virginia Jail and rejoin his regiment (Compiled Service Record, U.S. National Archives).




February 1, 1864 Private Edwin M. Smith reenlists for three years in the Union Army (Compiled Service Record, U.S. National Archives).




February 28, 1864 The reenlisted three years men of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment take train to Portsmouth, Virginia then embark on a steamer under Major Bucklin
for Providence, Rhode Island, which they reach about March 4, 1864 for a month long furlough.




Monday March 14, 1864 (Providence Reform School Daily Journal, p. 256 [512]]
"No. 587 Edwin M. Smith now in the city on the "Veteran's" Furlough of 30 days visited in the forenoon, appearance good." [RIHS Manuscripts]




April 11, 1864 The furloughed Fourth Rhode Island Regiment report back to the Providence Depot to return to the Union Army. They take a train to Groton, Connecticut
and board steamer "Commonwealth." Private William C. Tew of Company A falls overboard at the dock and drowns; he was from Newport, R.I. [and a very distant cousin of
mine]. The Fourth Rhode Island veterans sail to New York City then Amboy, New Jersey, where they take a train to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the Potomac River. The
men embark on a steamer for Fort Monroe, Virginia, and later steam to Norfolk, Virginia, where the remainder of the regiment are stationed. Much of the regiment goes
on Provost duty.


April 24, 1864 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment embarks for Point Lookout, Maryland where the Fifth New Hampshire Regiment is encamped. The Fifth New Hampshire repays
the treat the Rhode Islanders gave in 1861. The Fourth Rhode Island performs guard duty at the Union Prisoner of War Camp at Point Lookout. One soldier of the Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment, Private Patrick Galligher of A Company, was accidently shot and killed while on guard duty on May 7, 1864. Patrick was from Providence, R.I.
[Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment]. Some men of the Fourth Rhode Island were transferred as marines to the U.S. Navy. The Fifth New Hampshire would
be shattered in a frontal attack they make on June 8, 1864 at Petersburg, Virginia ("Reminiscences of Geoge B. Carpenter").


June 25, 1864 The horizontal tunnel for the Petersburg Mine is commenced by the 48th Pennsylvania Regiment.


July 1, 1864 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment embarks on steamer "Eastern State" for City Point, Virginia on the James River which they reach on July 3 (strength about
350 men). The regiment goes into the Union trench lines around Petersburg, Virginia on July 5, 1864 near the Seventh Rhode Island Regiment.
Enemy snipers and artillery cause some casualties to the Rhode Island soldiers of the Fourth Regiment "in the line."




July 1864 Petersburg, Virginia: Death in the Trenches




Fourth Rhode Island Regiment Casualties in the Petersburg Trenches from July 4 to July 30, 1864:


Captain Frank (Franklin) A. Chase (Chace), Company Commander, Company K (July 25, 1864 severely wounded by long range gunshot in rifle pits (i.e. enemy sniper);
minnie ball entered left side of neck breaking the lower jaw, carrying away three teeth, and coming out right side of neck; October 15, 1864 mustered out at
Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)


Sergeant Cromwell P. Myrick, Company B (from Washington County, R.I.; July 17, 1864 mortally wounded by long range gunshot to the head on picket duty (i.e. enemy
sniper); July 19, 1864 Died of wounds; buried in City Point National Cemetery, Virginia; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Christopher Plunkett, Company B (from Providence, R.I.; July 17, 1864 wounded in leg by artillery shell; October 15, 1864 Mustered out at Providence,
R.I. enlistment expired; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Sergeant James Farley, Company C (from Providence, R.I.; July 23, 1864 wounded severely in side in a rifle pit on picket duty; July 26, 1864 Died of wounds;
buried in City Point National Cemetery, Virginia; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private George Martin, Company C (from Olneyville, R.I.; July 24, 1864 mortally wounded in rifle pit on the lines; buried in City Point National Cemetery,
Virginia; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private John Henry, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; July 28, 1864 killed in action by long range gunshot to the head on picket lines; buried in City Point
National Cemetery, Virginia; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Edwin Lynch, Company E (from Cranston, R.I.; July 8, 1864 wounded in action on the lines; rejoined regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)

Private Thomas O. Lake, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; July 30, 1864 wounded in action in arm and sides in rifle pits; August 1, 1864 died at Washington, D.C.;
Thomas buried in Island Cemetery (NT001), Newport, Rhode Island; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)




July 27, 1864 Some men of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment carry the gunpowder to the entrance of the horizontal shaft to the underground gallery where the mine
would be detonated.


July 29, 1864 Night, most of Fourth Rhode Island Regiment prepares for mine explosion assault by going on the Union picket line.






View of the Union Picket Line near the Crater at the modern National Park Service Petersburg Battlefield. At the time of the
Petersburg Siege, this area would have been a Union frontline trench that the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment occupied. The Petersburg
Battlefield is an excellent place to visit to learn about trench warfare. Except for machine guns, trench warfare during the
Civil War was just as dangerous as the killing fields of World War I in Europe. Click on the image for a larger view.






View from the Union Picket Line towards the Crater at the modern Petersburg Battlefield. Click on the image for a larger view.






View of the entrance to the horizontal tunnel shaft to the Union mine excavated by the 48th Pennsylvania Regiment comprised mostly
of ex-coal miners. Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Pleasants of the 48th Pennsylvania designed the ingenious shaft and mine gallery;
the horizontal shaft had a vertical and horizontal ventilation system and was a superb feat of military engineering considering
the limited equipment that the regiment had on hand. Click on the image for a larger view.





For an interesting article on the geology of the horizontal mine shaft by a fellow geologist, click here.





July 30, 1864 Battle of the Crater, Petersburg, Virginia. Mine exploded at 4:40AM, but results in a disaster for the Union Army. Originally, eight regiments
of U.S. Colored Troops were supposed to lead the charge after the mine was exploded, but the plan was changed right before the operation. The Fourth Rhode Island Regiment
advances 100 yards past the crater trying to lead the other Union regiments, but these regiments refuse to advance and become pinned down in the crater by musket and
artillery fire. Some men of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment make an attempt to escape and a few make it back to the Union lines. Of the 200 men of the regiment,
about 75 are killed, wounded, and made prisoners. The day was very hot so many of the Union soldiers most of whom lacked water were suffering from heat exhaustion or
sunstroke. Over 1,000 Union soldiers are captured at about 2 P.M. and many U.S. Colored Troops are murdered by the Confederate Army after they surrender.

Private Edwin M. Smith of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment is captured in the Crater and like most of the surviving Union POWs, is sent to the Confederate Prison Camp
at Danville, Virginia.






Sketch of the Mine Explosion from the Union Lines by noted Civil War artist Arthur R. Waud courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress.
Click on the image for a larger view.






Sketch of Union Infantry marching up to the Crater. Unfortunately, the Union Infantry concentrated at the Crater instead of assaulting
the high ground in the background which was the main objective. Confederate artillery opened up on the soldiers in the Crater while
Confederate infantry marched up to the high ground in the background. Note the U.S. Colored Troops regiment marching at quicktime in
the foreground. Sketch by Arthur R. Waud courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress. Click on the image for a larger view.






Petersburg Battlefield interpretive sign on the Battle of the Crater. Click on the image for a larger view.






Close up view of above interpretative sign. Click on the image for a larger view.





For another good map of the Battle of the Crater, click here.






Detail of Ed Bearrs' Map of the Battle of the Crater courtesy of National Park Service Petersburg Battlefield. Note that the
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment made the farthest advance of all of the Union regiments; also note the Seventh Rhode Island Regiment
at the top center of the map. Click on the image for a larger view.






Monument for the Battle with the remnant of the Crater in the background. Click on the image for a larger view.






View into the remnant of the Crater on the modern Petersburg Battlefield. Click on the image for a larger view.






1964 Monument for the Battle of the Crater at the modern Petersburg Battlefield. Click on the image for a larger view.






View to the north behind the Crater towards the General Mahone monument. Mahone's Virginia Brigade counterattacked and
defeated the Union forces. Click on the image for a larger view.





Known Fourth Rhode Island Regiment Casualties in the Battle of the Crater [The Seventh Rhode Island Regiment also lost men in the battle]
[Much like the battle at Antietam, the Battle of the Crater was a major blow to the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment]

Killed in Action: [A visitor will not see any monuments at Petersburg from the Cheap State of Rhode Island to these men except a few soldiers buried at the National
Cemetery who were provided with Federal Grave Markers]:


Second Lieutenant John K. Knowles, Company A and Regimental Adjutant (born South Kingstown, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Descriptive Book, Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment; John has a gravestone in the James Knowles Lot, SK32, South Kingstown, R.I.)

Second Lieutenant George Wilde Field, Company B (from Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; shot dead trying to lead soldiers out of the Crater,
Corporal Allen Book; buried Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Rhode Island [prior service in First Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment])



Corporal Thomas A. Langworthy, Company A (from Hopkinton, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; likely buried at the Crater)
Private George Collum, Company A (born Italy, resident of Middletown, R.I. and Providence, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode
Island Regiment; likely buried at the Crater)

Private Augustus T. Thornton, Company B (from Dedham, Massachusetts; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; killed in the Crater and buried there, Corporal Allen's Book;
Father Joseph Thornton Pension File)

Private Alden Tripp, Company C (from Tiverton, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List)

Private Charles E. Davis, Company E (from Eaton, New Hampshire; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Mother Sarah (Williams) Davis and Father George Davis Pension File)

Corporal George Spencer Thomas, Company H (from Wickford, R.I.; killed by a minnie ball at the Crater; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Abby Olney
(Northup) Thomas Pension File; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)




Wounded in Action and evacuated to Union Lines:

Captain William F. Hall, Company C (Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Captain Peleg H. Gibbs, Company F (October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
First Lieutenant Albert G. Tillinghast, Company H (wounded in head; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Second Lieutenant Charles E. Eldridge, Company K (wounded in shoulder; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)


Sergeant John Main, Company A (from Newport, R.I.; wounded in side; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Sergeant Hugh McEnnis, Company A (from Richmond, R.I.; wounded (right arm amputated); Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Thomas A. Worden, Company A (from Richmond, R.I.; wounded in hand; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Patrick Casey, Company A (from North Bridgewater, Massachusetts; wounded in hand; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Hugh Finnigan, Company A (from Crompton, R.I.; wounded in head; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private George Shakeshaft, Company A (Died August 18, 1864 of gunshot wound in back from Petersburg July 30th action at MacDougall Army Hospital, Fort Schuyler,
New York; born Blackburn, Lancashire, England; from Warwick, R.I.; Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Mary (Duffy) Shakeshaft and son Edward A. Shakeshaft Pension File)
Private Franklin P. Tompkins, Company A (wounded by a grape shot in front of the Crater, Corporal Allen Book)
Private Daniel Welsh, Commpany A (from Newport, R.I.; wounded in back; October 15, 1864 mustered out; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

First Sergeant George B. Castello, Company C (from Sheffield, England; wounded in right arm; December 23, 1864 promoted to Second Lieutenant; Descriptive
Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Dennis Croning, Company C (from Providence, R.I.; slight wound in right side; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Byron W. Dyer, Company C (from Cranston, R.I.; wounded in abdomen; Died July 31, 1864 of wounds, Ken Carlson's Casualty List [Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment states Corporal Dyer died on August 31, 1864]; buried City Point National Cemetery, Virginia)
Corporal John Kendall, Company C (from Providence, R.I.; wounded in left arm; October 15, 1864 discharged at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment)
Private James McCann, Company C (from Slatersville, R.I.; slight wound in knee; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Thomas Travers, Company C (from Roschomon, Ireland; wounded in right arm; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Sergeant George Bradford Carpenter, Company D (from Westerly, R.I.; Lower right arm severed by exploding artillery shell in the Crater, escaped back to
Union lines, recuperated and discharged to Rhode Island, "Reminiscences of Geoge B. Carpenter"; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal John Oakley, Company D (from Newport, R.I.; wounded in arm; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private George B. Clemence, Company D (from Burrillville, R.I.; wounded slightly in side; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private James Rigney, Company D (from Moosup, Connecticut; wounded in left arm; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Sergeant Timothy Grady, Company E (from Slatersville, R.I.; wound in left shoulder; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Sergeant Andrew Jillson, Company E (from Cumberland, R.I.; wounded in left arm; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Thomas Claney, Company E (from Slatersville, R.I.; slight wound in shoulder; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Robert Hamilton, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; slight wound in forehead; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Robert Kenneday (Kennedy), Company E (from Slatersville, R.I.; wounded in hand; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.;
Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Michael Ormes, Company E (from Woonsocket, R.I.; wound in left thigh; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private George Wild, Company E (from Slatersville, R.I.; wounded in left hand; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Sergeant Henry Edwards, Company F (from Frankfort [ ? ]; wounded in head; December 6, 1864 discharged at Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C.;
Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Patrick Early, Company F (from Providence, R.I.; wounded in head; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Thomas Coggeshall, Company F (from Tiverton, R.I.; wounded in right eye; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private John Goodier, Company F (from Fall River, Massachusetts; sent to hospital in Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Thomas Morris, Company F (from Ireland; wounded in left leg (foot amputated); Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Corporal Daniel W. Weeden, Company G (from Jamestown, Connecticut; wounded in back; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Andrew J. Phillips, Company G (from North Kingstown, R.I.; wounded in shoulder; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private George H. Sherman, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; wounded in leg; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private John W. Williams (William), Company G (from Jamestown, Connecticut; wounded in back; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Sergeant Lucian J. Reynolds, Company H (from Wickford, R.I.; wounded in left leg; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive
Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal George E. Hull, Company H (from Wickford, R.I.; wounded in left thigh; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal George B. Willis, Company H (from Wickford, R.I.; wounded in arm and breast; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive
Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private John W. Hoxie, Company H (from Greenwich, R.I.; wounded in left arm; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Darius Smith, Company H (from North Kingstown, R.I.; wounded in left side; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private John A. Trimbell, Company H (from Natick [West Warwick], R.I.; wounded in right hand; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.;
Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Corporal Henry D. Lincoln, Company I (from Taunton, Massachusetts; wounded in left arm; October 15, 1864 mustered out; October 18, 1864 in Harewood
Hospital, Washington, D.C.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Emanuel Brown, Company I (from Cumberland, R.I.; wounded in head; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Sergeant William C. Baker, Company K (from Providence, R.I.; wounded in both thighs; October 15, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive
Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Sergeant Christopher C. Bliven, Company K (from Newport, R.I.; wounded (leg amputated); Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Sergeant Richard H. Thornton, Company K (from Crompton, R.I.; wounded in leg; September 11(?), 1864 sick in hospital at Fort Schuyler, New York;
Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)




Prisoners of War:

Lieutenant Colonel Martin Page Buffum, Commanding Officer, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment (Corporal Allen Book; Exchanged December 15, 1864)
Captain Sumner Upham Sherman (Shearman), Company A (Born Wickford, R.I.; Exchanged December 8, 1864; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment; Captain
Shearman, a graduate of Brown University (1861), wrote a brief memoir about his experience at the Crater and as a Prisoner of War [see citation below]; he blamed
Division Commander Brigadier General James Hewett Ledlie of New York for exceptionally poor leadership during the Union assault on the Crater; Captain Shearman was
shipped to the Danville, Virginia Confederate prison first, then to a prison in Columbia, South Carolina with other Union officers; Captain Shearman and the other
Union officers suffered from poor food quality and quantity, bedbugs and lice, and cramped conditions in barren rooms; through the influence of General Burnside,
Captain Shearman was exchanged at Charleston, South Carolina, sailed to Annapolis, Maryland, and later resigned his commission; He returned to Rhode Island and
practiced law before becoming a minister in Massachusetts; Captain Shearman died in February 1914 at Jamaica Plain (Boston), Massachusetts)
Captain William J. Reynolds, Company E (Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment; William (1830 - 1913) is buried in Elm Grove Cemetery, North
Kingstown, R.I.)
Captain Caleb Tillinghast Bowen, Company G (March 10, 1865 Exchanged; Affidavit of Lt. William C. Olney in Mary Lynch Pension File; Descriptive Book,
Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Second Lieutenant George L. Kibby, Company D (March 3, 1865 Paroled; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)


Sergeant Charles E. Slocum, Company A (from Richmond, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Patrick Gilfoil, Company A (from Providence, R.I.; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Philip J. Potter, Company A (from Glocester, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Silas Sabine, Company B (from Voluntown, Connecticut; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; March 17, 1865 discharged at Providence, R.I.; Corporal
Allen Book; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Thomas Hanley, Company C (from Providence, R.I.; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Thomas E. Smith Jr., Company C (from Newburyport, Massachusetts; died of pneumonia at the Danville Confederate Prison on January 29, 1865, Father
Thomas E. Smith Sr. Pension File; buried in Danville, Virginia National Cemetery; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Peter Frienz, Company D (from Burrillville, R.I.; December 1, 1864 mustered out at Providence, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Nelson J. Jenness, Company D (Wounded in arm and captured, died September 7, 1864 at Confederate Poplar Lawn Hospital, Petersburg, Virginia;
Ken Carlson's Casualty List; Widow Hannah Jane (Berryman) Jenness and Child Elmer Charles Jenness Pension File; there is a gravestone for Nelson at the Hillcrest
Cemetery, West Buxton, Maine next to his wife Hannah; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Phillip J. Potter, Company D (from Glocester, R.I.; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Elisha R. Watson, Company D (from Coventry, R.I.; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Edwin M. Smith, Company E (from Smithfield, R.I.; February 22, 1865 paroled; National Archives Compiled Service Record; Descriptive Book, Fourth
Rhode Island Regiment)

Corporal John S. Coggeshall, Company F (from Tiverton, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private John H. Arnold, Company F (from Woonsocket, R.I.; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private George Easterbrooks, Company H (from Peacedale, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Orlando S.D. Flanders, Company H (from Chelsea, Massachusetts; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private Patrick Grant, Company H (from Providence, R.I.; Prisoner at Danville, Virginia Confederate POW Camp; July 20, 1865 mustered out at Providence, R.I.;
Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private Daniel H. Greene, Company I (from Providence, R.I.; captured at the Crater, Daniel H. Greene Affidavit in Widow Hannah Jenness Pension File;
February 21, 1865 paroled; March 18, 1865 in Naval School Hospital, Annapolis, Maryland; July 21, 1865 mustered out; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment)
Private Lenard A. Hunt, Company I (from North Kingstown, R.I.; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Private Charles A. Kettle, Company I (from Washington Village, R.I.; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

First Sergeant Charles A. Gorton, Company K (from Warwick, R.I.; November 22, 1864 died of chronic diarrhea in Salisbury Confederate POW Camp, North
Carolina; buried in Salisbury National Cemetery, North Carolina; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)
Corporal Thomas Coggeshall, Company K (from Warwick, R.I.; November 30, 1864 rejoined Regiment; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)



Note: Most Fourth Rhode Island Regiment prisoners taken to Danville, Virginia Confederate Prisoner of War camp, quartered in the hellish tobacco warehouses there.




The Danville Confederate POW Prison, Danville, Virginia




Most Union prisoners from the Battle of the Crater who were not seriously injured were loaded on railroad cars and shipped to Danville, Virginia.
What awaited the Union prisoners was close confinement in six tobacco warehouses which were at least three stories high. The officers were
given one floor in each building, while enlisted prisoners were crammed into the other floors. During the summer, conditions were excessively
hot; winters were freezing cold. Food was scarce, and diseases were rampant. Many Union prisoners died in the hellish conditions. Almost all
Union prisoners had serious effects to their health. Many of the surviving Battle of the Crater prisoners were exchanged in November 1864 and
February 1865.





Commonwealth of Virginia Historic Sign for Danville Prison Number 6, the last surviving tobacco warehouse
from the Civil War era. The surviving building has been modified somewhat from the Civil War.
Click on the image for a larger view.






Commonwealth of Virginia Interpretive Sign for Danville Prison Number 6. Click on the image for a larger view.






Modern View of Danville Prison Number 6. Click on the image for a larger view.






View of the entrance to the modern Danville National Cemetery where many Union Army dead from the
Confederate Prison in Danville were buried. Click on the image for a larger view.






The grave of Private Thomas E. Smith Jr. of Company C, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment. Thomas' father
also served in the Union Army. Thomas Jr. died of pneumonia at the Danville Prison on January 29, 1865.
Click on the image for a larger view.





August 3, 1864 Fourth Rhode Island Regiment survivors, about 125 total, go back into the Union trenches at Petersburg.


August 5, 1864 Confederates detonate an underground mine but this attack also ends in failure.


August 19, 1864 Private James Davis, Company D (from Smithfield, R.I.) killed in action near the Petersburg Weldon's Railroad as part of the Union Ninth
Corps repulse of Confederate attacks on the Union Fifth Corps [James is buried at Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg].


September 30, 1864 Remnants of Fourth Rhode Island Regiment (in reality, a small battalion) participate in assault next to Seventh Rhode Island Regiment, near the
Pegram House, losing three killed and two wounded.

Known Casualties:

Corporal John Leddy, Company G [Wounded severely in leg; left thigh amputated; October 18, 1864 died at Carver General Hospital, Washington, D.C.; "Annual
Report of Adjutant General of Rhode Island for 1865"]

Wounded in Action:
Sergeant Frederick J. Peabody, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; September 30, 1864 mortally wounded and died in ambulance the same day; Ken Carlson's Casualty
List; Widow Annie S. (Smith) Peabody Pension File; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)

Private James H. Landers, Company G (from Newport, R.I.; Missing in Action; reportedly died October 1, 1864; gravestone for James in Island Cemetery,
Newport, R.I.; Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)


October 3, 1864 The three years men whose enlistments were expired leave with the regimental colors for Rhode Island; the remainder of the Fourth Rhode Island
Regiment are reorganized into three companies and attached to the Seventh Rhode Island Regiment under Lt. Colonel Percy Daniels.


November 15, 1864 Fourth and Seventh Rhode Island Regiments begin work on Winter Quarters in the Petersburg, Virginia trenches.


November 29, 1864 Fourth and Seventh Rhode Island Regiments move from these quarters to Fort Sedgwick ("Fort Hell") in the Petersburg front lines.


January 1865 The Seventh Rhode Island Regiment makes gabions [wooden baskets filled with soil for earthworks] while the Fourth Rhode Island soldiers continue with
camp duties and guard details.


January 30, 1865 Some Confederate Government officials pass through the Union lines at Petersburg, Virginia on a flag of truce to talk with Union officials about
peace negotiations. Fighting is virtually nonexistent on the Petersburg lines until February 16, 1865 when artillery duels recommence.


Saturday, February 18, 1865 The men at Danville Confederate Prison under the General Prisoner Exchange get transported by rail to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia.
Private Edwin M. Smith is in this group of Union POWs and arrives at Libby Prison on February 20, 1865. Edwin Smith is paroled on February 22, 1865 and takes a Union
Transport Ship to Camp Parole in Annapolis, Maryland where he is paid two months pay by Paymaster Major Jacob Sallade. He is transferred to Company B, Seventh Rhode
Island Regiment by March 1865.


Early Morning, March 24, 1865 Confederates launch a surprise attack on Fort Stedman in the Petersburg Union lines which they capture. Union counterattacks retake
the fort later in the day along with two thousand Confederate prisoners.


April 2, 1865 Union Army launches a major frontal assault on Petersburg lines and captures much of the Confederate first line trenches and earthworks. The Confederate
Army evacuates Petersburg, Virginia that night and retreat down the Southside Railroad. President Abraham Lincoln visits in person the morning of April 3, 1865.


April 4, 1865 The men of the Fourth Rhode Island Battalion reach Dinwiddie Courthouse and encamp.


April 9, 1865 The Rhode Island soldiers arrive at Farmville, Virginia about 20 miles east of Appomattox Court House.

April 10, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia. The Rhode Island men repair roads toward Burkeville, Virginia.

April 23, 1865 The Rhode Island veterans return to Petersburg, Virginia. On April 25, 1865 the Rhode Island soldiers reach City Point, Virginia and embark the next
day on the steamer "Nereus" for Alexandria, Virginia which they reach on April 27, 1865. The regiment encamps behind Fort Ellsworth near Alexandria.


May 24, 1865 The Rhode Island veterans not on furlough march in the Grand Review of the Union Army in Washington, D.C.


June 9, 1865 The Seventh Rhode Island Regiment musters out, leaving 150 men mostly from the old Fourth Rhode Island Regiment.


July 13, 1865 Private Edwin M. Smith musters out of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment at Alexandria, Virginia with his "traps" or leather accoutrements and soldier's
kit. The Fourth Rhode Island Regiment veterans cross the Potomac and take a train through Baltimore, Philadelphia, to Amboy, New Jersey. They then take a steamer to
New York City. Private Benjamin Arnold sleep walks and falls overboard, drowning. The Rhode Island veterans take a train from New York City to Providence, Rhode
Island, which they reach at 1:30AM Monday, July 18, 1865.


July 25, 1865 The remaining veterans of the Fourth Rhode Island Regiment muster out at Providence, R.I. completing all their paperwork and turning in their uniforms.
















July 14, 1869 Edwin M. Smith is killed by a team of four horses in Smithfield, R.I. He was buried in the "Smith Cemetery" [SM049] in Greenville, Rhode Island next to
his father Elisha M. Smith.




The original death notice for Edwin M. Smith published in the "Woonsocket Patriot
and Rhode Island State Register" Newspaper of August 6, 1869; microfilm courtesy of
Harris Public Library, Woonsocket, Rhode Island (from my research visit in June 2017).



Transcription of "Woonsocket Patriot" newspaper article on Edwin M. Smith:


Smithfield. Edwin M. Smith, only son of the late Elisha M. and Lillias Smith,
was instantly killed, in Smithfield, July 14th, by being run over by a four
horse team. The life thus suddenly cut off, was exposed to the perils of war
for three years [actually closer to four years], in the Union army. He passed
through many severe battles, unharmed, and after serving his country faithfully,
returned to his native town to meet death in a form as sudden and as shocking as
any witnessed on battlefields.
His untimely end affords added proof that foes to life and happiness are not
confined to military life. They follow us wherever we go. All should heed the
injunction of the Saviour: "Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not,
the Son of Man cometh."
















Grave of Private Edwin M. Smith in the "Smith Cemetery" [SM049] on Smith Avenue in
Greenville, Rhode Island. Looking at this stone by itself, a person would not know
about Edwin's Civil War adventures. After surviving four years of the Civil War,
Edwin was run over by a team of four horses and killed in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Click on picture for a larger view.








Rhode Island's Best Civil War Military Units (Dan's Opinion based on overall service history and performance in the field):


Second Rhode Island Infantry Regiment


Fourth Rhode Island Infantry Regiment


Fifth Rhode Island Infantry Regiment (later became the Fifth Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment)


Seventh Rhode Island Infantry Regiment


First Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment


Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment


First Rhode Island Cavalry Regiment
















Sources


Kenneth S. Carlson, Reference Archivist, Rhode Island State Archives, 2011, "Rhode Island Civil War Casualties List (Aggregate)"


Civil War Widows/Parents/Children Pension Files, U.S. National Archives


Descriptive Book, Fourth Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Rhode Island State Archives [Microfilm], Providence, Rhode Island


Providence Reform School Records, Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts, MSS 214


Private Edwin M. Smith Compiled Service Record, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment, U.S. National Archives


Adjutant/First Lieutenant Henry Joshua Spooner Papers, Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts, Providence, Rhode Island


Corporal George H. Allen, "Forty-Six Months with the Fourth R.I. Volunteers, 1861-1865," (Providence, R.I.: J.A. and R.A. Reid, 1887)


Captain Sumner Upham Shearman [Fourth Rhode Island Regiment], "Battle of the Crater and Experiences of Prison Life," Soldiers and Sailors Historical
Society of Rhode Island Personal Narratives, Fifth Series, No. 8, (Providence, R.I.: Snow & Farnham, 1898)


Captain Thomas Simpson [Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment], "My Four Months' Experience as a Prisoner of War," Appendix 1 [pp. 287 -
312] in Lieutenant Philip S. Chase, "Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, in the Civil War, 1861 - 1865" (Providence, R.I.: Snow & Farnham,
Printers, 1892) [an excellent account of a Rhode Island artillery officer's exposure to the Danville, Virginia Confederate Prisoner of War Camp....]


Private William A. Spicer [Company B, 10th Rhode Island Regiment], "The High School Boys of the Tenth R.I. Regiment, with a Roll of Teachers and Students of the
Providence High School, who Served in the Army or Navy of the United States during the Rebellion," Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society of Rhode Island Personal
Narratives, Second Series, No. 13, (Providence, R.I.: N. Bang Williams & Co., 1882)


Sergeant Edwin Winchester Stone [Battery C, First Rhode Island Light Artillery Regiment], "Rhode Island in the Rebellion," (Providence, R.I.: George H. Whitney,
Second Edition, 1865)


Clark John Beck, Jr. (ed.), "Transcription of the Diary of Captain John Beck for the year 1865, Company E, 45th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers," 2008
[Pennsylvania officer's experience in the Danville, Confederate Prisoner of War Camp]


Kris van den Bossche (ed.), "War and other Reminiscences of George Bradford Carpenter (Company D, Fourth Rhode Island Regiment)," Rhode Island History, Vol. 47,
No. 4, November 1989, 109-147


















If you are a relative or are interested in providing additional information on these soldiers,
then please send me an email.