94th Infantry Regiment
Civil War
Bell Rifles; Bell Jefferson Rifles; Sackett's Harbor Regiment

History

Mustered in: March 10, 1862
Mustered out: July 18, 1865

The following is taken from New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1912.
W. B. Camp received authority in October, 1861, as Colonel, to recruit a regiment of infantry. He was succeeded, November 4, 1861, by Gen. John J. Viele. This regiment was organized at Sackett's Harbor January 6, 1862, and there mustered in the service of the United States for three years, March 10, 1862, with Henry K. Viele as Colonel. March17, 1863, the regiment was consolidated into five companies, A, B, C, D and E, and received the 105th Infantry as its Companies F, G, H, I and K. August 10, 1864, about 100 men of the 97th Infantry were transferred to it. At the expiration of its term of enlistment the men entitled thereto were discharged, and the regiment retained in service.
The companies were recruited in Jefferson county, and the regiment left the State March 18, 1862; it served in General Wadsworth's command, Military District of Washington, from March, 1862; in 1st Brigade, 2d Division, Department of Rappahannock, from May, 1862; in same brigade and division, 3d Corps, Army of Virginia, from June 26, 1862; in same brigade and division, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac, from September 12, 1862; in 1st Brigade, same division and corps, from December, 1862; as Provost Guard, Army of the Potomac, from May, 1863; in 1st Brigade, 2d Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac, again from June, 1863; in the District of Annapolis, Md., 8th Corps, from December, 1863; in the 3d Brigade, 4th Division, 5th Corps, Army of the Potomac, from May 26, 1864; in the 1st Brigade, 2d Division, 5th Corps, from May 30, 1864; in the 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 5th Corps, from June, 1864; in the 2d Brigade, 3d Division, 5th Corps, from June 11, 1864; in the 3d Brigade, same division and corps, from November, 1864; and it was honorably discharged and mustered out, commanded by Col. Adrian R. Root, July 18, 1865, near Washington, D. C.
During its service the regiment lost by death, killed in action, 3 officers, 72 enlisted men; of wounds received in action, 1 officer, 39 enlisted men; of disease and other causes, I officer, 138 enlisted men; total, 5 officers, 249 enlisted men; aggregate, 254; of whom 37 enlisted men died in the hands of the enemy.

The following is taken from The Union army: a history of military affairs in the loyal states, 1861-65 -- records of the regiments in the Union army -- cyclopedia of battles -- memoirs of commanders and soldiers. Madison, WI: Federal Pub. Co., 1908. volume II.
Ninety-fourth Infantry.—Cols., Henry K. Viele, Adrian R. Root; Lieut.-Cols., Colvin Littlefield, John A. Kress, Samuel Moffatt; Majs., William R. Hanford, John A. Kress, D. C. Tomlinson, Sam-uel S. Moffatt, John A. McMahon, Henry P. Fish, Byron Parsons. The 94th, the "Bell Rifles." recruited in Jefferson county, was mustered into the U. S. service at Sacket's Harbor, March 10, 1862, and left the state for Washington on the 18th. It served in the defenses of Washington under Gen. Wadsworth, was assigned to the 1st brigade, 2nd division, Department of the Rappahannock in May, and to the 3d corps, Army of Virginia, June 26, with which it participated in Gen. Pope's Virginia campaign, losing 147 in killed, wounded and missing. On Sept. 12, with the same brigade, and division, the regiment was attached to the 1st corps, was active at South mountain and Antietam, and in December at Fredericksburg. The winter was passed in camp near Falmouth and in March, 1863; the regiment was consolidated into a battalion of five companies, to which were added five companies of the l05th N. Y. infantry. The regiment served for a month as provost guard and in June, 1863, returned to the 1st corps with its old brigade and division, and suffered the heaviest loss of its service at Gettysburg-245 killed, wounded or missing. It shared in the Mine Run fiasco and in December was ordered to Annapolis, where it became a part of the 8th corps. During the winter a large number of its members reenlisted and the regiment continued in service as a veteran organization. In the Wilderness campaign it served with the 5th corps, being engaged at Cold Harbor, Totopotomy and White Oak swamp. It moved with the Army of the Potomac to Petersburg and was closely engaged at the Weldon railroad, losing 178 killed, wounded or missing. On Aug. 10, 1864, the regiment was joined by the veterans and recruits of the 97th N. Y. infantry and remained on duty before Petersburg until the end of the siege, after which it was active at Five Forks, and was present at Lee's surrender. The 94th was mustered out at Washington, July 18; 1865, having lost 116 by death from wounds and 138 from other causes, of whom 37 died in imprisonment. Maj. Fish was killed in action at Five Forks.

XIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was first led by Ulysses S. Grant and later by John A. McClernand and Edward O.C. Ord. It served in the Western Theater of civil war, Trans-Mississippi Theater and along the Gulf of Mexico.

Because of the corps' immense size and the fact that it was virtually synonymous with the Army of the Tennessee, Grant chose to subdivide the corps into the Right, Left and Center wings. In December 1862 it was officially divided into the XIII Corps, XV Corps, XVI Corps and XVII Corps. Grant remained in command of the Army of the Tennessee and John A. McClernand assumed command of the XIII Corps. Before the official order was passed along to all the wing commanders, William T. Sherman, commander of the Right Wing, embarked on an expedition against Vicksburg. Sherman's wing of the XIII Corps fought the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou on December 26–29. Although the official date which the Right Wing was designated the XV Corps was December 22, most of the reports regarding the battle at Chickasaw Bluffs still refer to the Union forces as part of the XIII Corps. No matter the designation, it was the first time many of the troops had been under fire.

Arkansas Post

Adding to the identity crisis the XIII Corps faced in its early years was John A. McClernand's expedition against Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post. McClernand was given his XIII Corps and Sherman's XV Corps (now officially using that designation). McClernand labeled these forces the Army of the Mississippi and renamed the XIII Corps "I Corps" and the XV Corps "II Corps". McClernand commanded the Army and placed General George W. Morgan in command of the I Corps (former XIII Corps). The divisions of Andrew J. Smith and Peter J. Osterhaus participated in the battle. Only Stephen Burbridge's brigade of Smith's division bore any heavy fighting.

Vicksburg

With the impending campaign against Vicksburg, Grant took personal command of the operation. McClernand returned to corps command and the Army of the Mississippi was merged back into the Army of the Tennessee and the XIII Corps took on its official title. As the Vicksburg campaign opened the XIII Corps was composed of the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Divisions commanded respectively by Osterhaus, A. J. Smith, Alvin P. Hovey, Leonard F. Ross and Eugene A. Carr. Ross' division was stationed in Arkansas during the entire campaign and did not participate in any engagements with the rest of the corps. In July, this division (now led by Frederick Salomon) fought at the Battle of Helena as part of the District of Eastern Arkansas under Benjamin M. Prentiss.

The Battle of Port Gibson was fought by the XIII Corps, with the aid of a portion of the XVII Corps. McClernand did not bring the full force of the corps to bear at the Battle of Champion Hill but Hovey's division led the attack on the Confederate right. Immediately following the victory at Champion's Hill the Battle of Big Black River Bridge was again fought exclusively by the XIII Corps, Carr's division bearing the brunt of the fight.

When Grant initiated siege operations the XIII Corps took up a position on the Union left. During the assaults on Vicksburg the XIII Corps lost nearly 1,500 soldiers.

McClernand had been a long time thorn in Grant's side and on June 19, Grant found an opportunity to remove him from command. His replacement was Edward O. C. Ord, a friend of Grant's who had just recovered from a wound sustained in 1862. Ord led the corps throughout the rest of the siege. After Vicksburg fell, William T. Sherman led an expedition back to Jackson, Mississippi to clear the city of Confederates which had gathered there. Sherman took with him the XIII Corps and attached to it the division under Jacob G. Lauman from the XVI Corps. General Carr, who temporarily left the army due to sickness, had been replaced in division command by William P. Benton.

Texas and Louisiana

After the fall of Jackson the corps returned to Vicksburg and then transferred to the Department of the Gulf. The District of Eastern Arkansas had been detached from the Corps; AJ Smith had been reassigned to command a post in Tennessee; Osterhaus had been reassigned to command a division in the XV Corps; Hovey took leave of the army due to the death of his wife; two of the divisions in the field were consolidated under the command of Cadwallader C. Washburn; and General Herron's division was attached.

General Banks used the XIII Corps to conduct his coastal campaign against Texas during the fall of 1863, capturing Brownsville. By February 1864 corps headquarters were in Texas and General McClernand had returned to command.

Red River

The 1st and 2nd Divisions remained in Texas but Nathaniel P. Banks took with him the 3rd and 4th Divisions during the Red River Campaign. During the first part of the campaign the corps was commanded by Thomas E. G. Ransom, the 3rd Division by General Robert A. Cameron and the 4th Division by Colonel William J. Landram. The corps fought at the Battle of Mansfield. Ransom was wounded at Mansfield and was succeeded in command of the corps by General Cameron. A few weeks later Michael K. Lawler of the 1st Division in Texas became the official corps commander. General McClernand however assumed direct command of the two divisions fighting in Louisiana under Banks. McClernand was relieved of command due to ill health and Lawler himself personally commanded this detachment. Shortly after William P. Benton was assigned to the corps command but Lawler remained in command of the detachment in Louisiana. Lawler led the XIII Corps Detachment at the Battle of Mansura.

Mobile

The corps was discontinued on June 11, 1864. On February 18, 1865 it was reorganized under the command of Gordon Granger with three divisions commanded respectively by James C. Veatch, Christopher C. Andrews and William P. Benton. This new form of the XIII Corps fought in the Battle of Fort Blakely which led to the fall of the city of Mobile, Alabama. The corps was discontinued for the final time July 20, 1865.

The men of the XIII Corps were never designated an official corps badge and therefore never wore any form of a corps badge during the war.