Nolan Account of Departure From Wisconsin

Alan T. Nolan, "The Iron Brigade" has more on the mustering in of the 7th Wisconsin and their trip to Washington:
    "On September 21st, having been mustered in for three years, the ten companies of the Seventh, 1,106 officers and men, entrained for Washington.  The receptions by the cities along the way were becoming more and more elaborate.  In Chicago, where the regiment stopped change trains, a formal parade awaited them.  Headed by the city officials, the line of march also included the police, bands, the Ellsworth Zouaves and other military companies.  Following Colonel Vandor and Lieutenant Colonel Robinson, both mounted, the Seventh assumed its place in the column.  Illuminated by gas light and a rising moon and to the cheers of the people who crowded the sidewalks along the route, the regiment marched past the Galena Depot, across the Wells Street Bridge, past the Briggs House and the Sherman House, up Clark Street past the offices of the Tribune, down Dearborn, and then west past the court house to the Fort Wayne Depot.......   The soldiers then entered the cars where hot coffee and rations were distributed, while the officers were feted at the Briggs House as guest of the hotel.  It was not until after midnight that the reception was over and the train headed for Washington and the more serious business at hand."
   "The Seventh arrived in Washington on October 1st."

Entered by Arlin Krueger

Getting to Washington - September 25-26, 1861

The trip to Washington for the 7th Wisconsin Infantry was an introduction of what would come. On the 24th the Brigade was in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. According to a journal kept by William R Ray of Company F, in his own words:
"We are going to start at three oclock for Washington....There is so much drunkenness and hollering that we cant hear ourselves think. They put us in the cattle and all kinds of cars. Verry dirty. We have loaded our guns to go through Baltimore. 

On the 25 Ray says they are on the way, after sleeping in the cattle cars all night. Then on the 26th, in his words:
" We have passed through Baltimore. We slept in the station or depot house in Baltimore. We were received there the warmest of any place that we have passed through yet. It was a delightful sight but I saw one woman that shook her fist at us. We are at Washington Junction now. The fourth Wisconsin Regiment is here as guards for the road and a magnificent bridge that is right here...... Ever since we struck the line of Maryland there is troops stationed to guard the roads to keep secessionists off. 

On the 26th of September he says: "We are in Washington and nobody killed nor hurt but a good many sick."

These words are in a book entitled "Four Years With the Iron Brigade: The Civil War Journal of William Ray" edited by Lance and Sherry Murphy. His words describe what Charles Pooch likely also experienced since the companies were kept mostly together. Arlin and I have found this to be one of the best personal records of the Civil War by someone in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry. We have no written record from Charles Pooch himself. Arlin has found pay slips, discharge papers and other War Department documents that help us to be as accurate as we can at the distance of 150 years. If any reader has other authentic sources, please let us know.
Written by Delton Krueger

7th Wisconsin Volunteers on the way to the Army of the Potomac

On Monday, September 2, 1861 the 7th Wisconsin Brigade was mustered in at Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin for three years of service. Initially 973 men were mustered in with 369 recruits added later. Charles Pooch was one of the original 973.

On Saturday, September 21 the Brigade of 1,106 officers and men were put on trains for Washington, DC. They would be the only distinctive Western brigade in the Army of the Potomac. On Thursday, September 26 they arrived in Washington and at Camp Lyon on Wednesday, October 2 joined the unit led by Brigadier General Rufus King, of McDowell's divisions of the Army of Potomac and would continue in that status until April of 1862. On Saturday, October 5 they marched from Camp Lyon by way of Georgetown Aqueduct to Fort Tillinghast at Arlington Heights, Virginia where they wintered over until Monday, March 10, 1862.

Charles Pooch Ford was in Company I, The Northwestern Tigers, of the 7th Wisconsin Regiment.

Source for this information is primarily the Wisconsin Historical Society records.
Arlin and I will be using a Civil War Journal of the Seventh Wisconsin Volunteers by William Ray as a primary source as the story continues. His journal is entitled  Four Years With the Iron Brigade edited by Lance Herdegen and Sherry Murphy published by Da Capo Press 2002.
  
Written by Delton Krueger        Correction and additions welcomed

August 2,1861 Charles Pooch volunteers for civil war service

Charles Pooch was age 24 (almost 25) when he volunteered for service at Wautoma in the 7th Wisconsin Infantry Company I.  It was on  Friday, August 2, 1861that Charles began four years of participation in the American Civil War. He would be mustered in during September, 1861. More on this later.

The 1861 Wisconsin State of Mind

Why did the Pooch brothers enlist to take part in the Civil War?   It is challenging to find specific information on the way of life in the Wautoma area as the summer of 1861 moved toward September. It can likely be assumed that the news coming back from Regiments already in the War was of great interest. As for the wider issues developing in Wisconsin we can depend on scholars like Michael McManus to be of assistance.

"Political Abolitionism in Wisconsin 1840-1861" by McManus presents the case for Wisconsin being more radical on slavery and racial issues that most northern states. The struggle to free enslaved blacks was highlighted by the Dred Scott case. There was concern over the spread of slavery into the Western Territories. In addition there was anxiety about the possible loss of liberties if the Confederacy did prevail.  Interest in these issues had been growing for a number of years according to McManus. The many community newspapers, including the Wautoma Journal, would have made public these and other concerns.

Written by Delton Krueger

The Developing Civil War involves Wisconsin and Minnesota

As we consider the mood of the Western states as the Civil War began we can better understand why Charles Pooch and many others were preparing to volunteer for service in the Union Army. Wisconsin and Minnesota were newly settled and shaping their identity as territories and states.  Seven years after the War concluded Charles Pooch and family would move from east central Wisconsin to south west Minnesota.

The Wisconsin and Minnesota western region began to take part in the Civil War in May, 1861.
On May 17, 1861 the First Wisconsin Regiment was mustered in with Col.  John C. Starkweather. They were to see first action on July 2 at Falling Water, West Virginia. The Second Regiment, mustered in on June 11, saw action in the Battle of Bull Run on July 21.  The Seventh Regiment would not be mustered in until September 16. Charles Pooch was in the Seventh Regiment, Company I.

The Union defeat at Bull Run was a disaster to the plans of the Union. The Second Wisconsin took the brunt of Wisconsin men in the battle.

On June 22, 1861 the First Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers paraded at Fort Snelling and departed for the scenes of battle. It was on July 21 at the Battle of Bull Run that the Regiment lost 42 officers and men along with 108 wounded.

 Now the citizens of both Wisconsin and Minnesota were aware that this developing conflicts was a serious threat to them personally.

We do not yet have written records of how the Pooch family in the Wautoma was being affected by these developments. We can assume that everyone was anxious about the future. They knew that the developing War would affect them. Having come recently from Northern Germany in Europe where wars were frequent, the events in America likely gave them a sense of urgency.


Sources for this article:  Wisconsin information:
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tp&CISOPTR=44347&CISOSHOW=44123
Minnesota information:  Volumn 2 of "A History of Minnesota" by William Watts Folwell pages 84-85.
Battle of Bull Run information:" A Brotherhood of Valor" by Jeffry Wert  pages 38-49
Send further information and corrections to dkrueger@visi.com
Written by Delton Krueger

Personal Connections to Historic Events

Charles Pooch and Charlotte Borsach were married October 16, 1865 at Wautoma, Wisconsin, shortly after Charles returned from Civil War duty. Children born to them in Wisconsin and Minnesota are personal connections to the historic events in which Charles was participant.


The children were  Bertha (1867) Bossenecker; Frank (1869); Henry (1872); William (1885); Herman (1887) ; Edward (1889; and Mathilda (1891) Krueger.


The families of these people are a growing circle with  personal connection to the American Civil War.  This Prairie to Potomac weblog is being written to inform family members about the details of the experiences of Charles (Ford) Pooch from beginning to end of the Civil War. More names will be included as we proceed with the story. We will be careful to avoid including names of the living who may not want their names used in this document.


The brothers of Charles were also involved in the Civil War. Attention will be given to their arenas of service which were different and not as extensive as that of Charles.




Written by Delton Krueger

Arrival in Amerca and the Civil War

The Pooch family arrived in America about four years before the Civil War started.  The exact date and the ports of departure and arrival are still unknown, but their Prussian dismissal (emigration) permit was dated May 20, 1857.  The earliest family records indicate that the father, Johann, was born in Reinfeld, Kreis (County) Rummelsburg, Pomerania in 1806.  Their last residence was about 15 miles away from Reinfeld in Trezebiatkov, Pomerania, on the eastern border of Pomerania with Prussia.  They settled in Metomen, Marquette County, Wisconsin.

The family consisted of Johann Gottlieb Pooch and his wife, Charlotte; five sons, Charles, born in 1836, John August, born in 1838, William, born in 1842, Henry, born in 1846, and  Frank, born in 1852; and one daughter, Ernestine Helene, born in 1850.  At the time of immigration, Charles was 21, John was 19, William was 15, Henry was 11, Ernestine was 7, and Frank was 5. 

The four older sons all served in the Union army, but joined at different times during the four year Civil War.  

The oldest son, Charles volunteered at the age of 24 for Co I, 7th Wisconsin Infantry on August 2, 1861.  The 7th Infantry became part of the Army of the Potomac which defended Washington, DC and fought Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army.  The 7th, two other Wisconsin regiments, and an Indiana regiment were named the Iron Brigade for their bravery in the Battle of South Mountain in August 1862. Days later they were in the heart of the battle of Antietam.  A year later they held off the Confederate Army in the first day of the battle of Gettysburg in July 1863.  Charles re-enlisted in 1864 and was near to the surrender of Lee at Appomatox in 1865.  The 7th fought in twenty-six  battles in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.  He was mustered out on July 3, 1865.

Many books have been written about the Iron Brigade, including diaries of soldiers.  Thus, it is possible to know where Charles was on nearly every day of the war.  We hope to retrace his life in this blog.

On August 15, 1862, William, at the age of 20, enlisted in Co B, 32nd Wisconsin Infantry.  The unit was mustered into service on September 25, 1862 and left Wisconsin for Memphis, Tennessee, on October 30 and moved through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Washington D.C. It participated in the Siege of Atlanta, Sherman's March to the Sea, the Battle of Bentonville, and the surrender of the Confederate army. 

John August was drafted and mustered in Co D, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry on November 20, 1863 when he was 25 years old.  The regiment served in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, and participated in the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on May 10, 1865.  He served until the end of the War and was mustered out at Edgefield, Tennessee on July 19, 1865.

Henry, at the age of 19, enlisted in Company K, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry on February 8, 1865.  The 3rd Infantry was in Sherman’s March to the Sea where he was hospitalized by sunstroke in a march from Wilmington to Goldsboro, North Carolina.  He was mustered out on July 3, 1865.

More details are available for each these Union veterans and will be added as time goes along.

Written by Arlin Krueger

The American Civil War Begins

At 4:30 am on April 12, 1861 the bombardment of Fort Sumter at Charleston, South Caroline signaled the formal beginning of what has come to be known as the Civil War in America. Beginning on December 20, 1860 states began seceding from the Union beginning with South Carolina followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. On February 9, 1861 the Confederate Army was formed. Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as President of the Union on March 4, 1861. A confrontation over maintaining the Union and dealing with the issue of slavery had been long brewing. On April 12 the military conflict began.

Wisconsin was a free state and a center of the abolitionist movement. The Supreme Court ruling on the Dred Scott case had generated strong public opinion among many people of Wisconsin. The ruling ordered Federal officers to return freed slaves from free states and return them to owners in slave states. Slaves were seen as property and the constitutional right to own property was to be enforced. There had been intense debate over the issue of slavery since 1854 among the people of Wisconsin.

Our maternal family of origin had arrived in Wisconsin in 1859 from Pomerania and Prussia in Northern Germany, a region now included in Poland. The Pooch family was restless as war swept over and again through the relatively flat land area along the Vistula River just south of the Baltic Sea. Crossing the Atlantic by sailing ships that brought many immigrants, they landed at New York City and made their way west to the Wisconsin Territory which became a state on May 11, 1858.

We can assume that they were affected by the mood of other people in Wisconsin as the Federal government moved to enforce slave ownership in the free state of Wisconsin where slavery was forbidden. Some Wisconsin citizens were of the opinion that secession was a divine right. When President Lincoln asked for 75,000 volunteers there was slow response. It was a tense time as the Union and Confederacy moved into what would involve the loss of more people than in all the other wars fought by Americans since that time.

It would be summer time before the Pooch boys joined the Union ranks

Written by Delton Krueger

Note: This weblog is presented by Delton and Arlin Krueger, grandsons of Charles Pooch Ford who would be in the Union Army of the Potomac for nearly the entire war from 1861-1865. Comments from readers will be used to add information over the next four years. We will attempt to present information related to grandfather and his brothers who were all in the Civil War at some point.   Thanks for following this historical adventure. We welcome comments and suggestions.