On May 17, 1847, young William Michael McGee arrived in New York on the ship Pontiac from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He listed his age as 14 on the ship roster, but if the birth date on his tombstone is correct, he had just turned 13.
William moved to Wisconsin around 1850 and married Isabel Carney on October 29, 1854, in Fox Lake, Dodge, Wisconsin. Before the start of the Civil War, Michael and Isabel had three sons, William Henry, James Patrick, and my great-grandfather John Carney McGee. When Wisconsin started recruitment among the Irish for the 17th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in early 1862, William’s wife Isabel Carney, was pregnant with their fourth child, Thomas Bernard McGee. The 17th Wisconsin Regiment set off to serve the Union in the Civil War March 15, 1862, and Thomas was born on April 28, 1862.
The 17th Wisconsin Regiment’s second tour of duty started January 1864. William and Isabel’s fourth son, Michael Emmet, was born on November 14, 1863. Apparently, the timing was now right for William to serve his country, leaving his wife with 5 small children. So on January 18, 1864, William enlisted in the 17th Wisconsin Regiment and was assigned to Company A as a Private.
In January, the 17th Wisconsin Regiment was in Vicksburg, Mississippi where they had been performing guard duty. Seven-eighths of the existing Regiment re-enlisted which gave them the designation of a “veteran” Regiment and earned them a veteran’s furlough. The 17th left Vicksburg on March 8th and arrived in Madison, Wisconsin on March 18th where they were publically welcomed home. They were then on break until April 20th. So was William sent down to Vicksburg and then right back up to Wisconsin, probably but I haven’t found any records that describe what happened to the new recruits.
The 17th Wisconsin Regiment reassembled at Camp Washburn in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 20th, 1864. Camp Washburn was a Civil War reception center and trading post established in October 1861. The camp was located on the old Cold Spring Racetrack, west of 27th Street. In 1864 this was still outside the city limits of Milwaukee.
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| b&w film copy neg. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a18237 |
They left the next day on a two-day trek to Cairo, Illinois covering over 400 miles, where they rejoined United States 17th Regiment Corps. The 17th Regiment Corps was on its way to join General Sherman in the Atlanta Campaign. Here they were assigned to the 2nd Brigade, General Gershom. They headed out to the Tennessee River and shipped on down to Clifton, Tennessee on May 4th, over 100 miles.
On the same day, they marched from Clifton to Huntsville, Alabama (another 100 miles). When they arrived in Huntsville, the 17th Regiment Corps was reorganized and the 17th Wisconsin Regiment was transferred to the 3rdBrigade, 3rd Division.
On May 5th, they marched to join General Sherman. They traveled through Warrenton and Rome, Georgia and reached Ackworth on the 8th of June. General Sherman’s troops were in position in Ackworth.
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| Sketch of Keneshaw from Big Shanty http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.17639 |
On June 10th, the 17th Wisconsin Regiment took a position near Big Shanty, on the front line, on the extreme left. They fought constantly in heavy skirmishes for 9 days. Then, with the rest of the 3rdDivision, they advanced to Brush Mountain. Two of the men of the 17th Wisconsin were killed in these 9 days and six were wounded.
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This is Brush Mountain from the foot of Kennesaw. Position of federal batteries against Kennesaw
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.17652
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On June 22nd they were involved in a fight on Confederate’s right. They were under heavy artillery fire for over 3 hours before returning to Brush Mountain. They also fought in the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, where 2 more of their regiment were killed on June 25th and another 13 wounded on June 27th with the loss to the Confederacy.
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| General Sherman at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.21058 |
On July 2nd, the 17th Wisconsin accompanied 17th Corps around the right side of Kenesaw Mountain to the Chattahoochie River. Between July 2ndand July 17th, the 17th Wisconsin had one more soldier killed and three more wounded.
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| Battle of Bald Hill, Atlanta, Georgia nps.gov |
On July 17th, the 17th Wisconsin Regiment crossed the Chattahoochie River with the rest of the 3rdDivision and marched through Decatur, Georgia and by July 20thoccupied a position on the extreme left of the line, south of the Augusta Railroad and in front of Bald Hill. (Marked on the map – BLAIR (XCII CORPS)) In the following battle for control of the Confederate Army position on Bald Hill, the 3rd Division was victorious, but from the 17th to the 28thof July, the 17th Wisconsin lost 4 soldiers and 12 were wounded.
The 17th Wisconsin Regiment then followed the 17thRegiment Corps across the Chattahoochie River in pursuit of General Hood of the Confederacy. After that, they returned to Marietta, Georgia and remained camped there from November 4th to November 13th. From Marietta they moved to Atlanta. General Sherman ordered troops to burn Atlanta’s military resources. The fire got out of control and left Atlanta in ruins. The 17th Wisconsin does not seem to be involved in the burning of Atlanta.
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| Ruins of Atlanta Railroad Depot – Stereo card http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/stereo.1s02510 |
On November 16th, they left Atlanta in the march towards Savannah, called the March to the Sea. The purpose of the March to the Sea was to frighten the civilian population in Georgia to abandon the Confederate cause. Sherman’s troops stole food and livestock as they traveled and burned the houses and barns of anyone who tried to fight back.
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| Sherman’s March to the Sea http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c16520 |
On December 21, 1864, Sherman’s troops arrived in Savannah to find it undefended. Sherman then gave the city of Savannah to President Abraham Lincoln as a Christmas gift.
In January 1865, the 17th Regiment Corps (including the 17th Wisconsin Regiment) left Savannah and camped near Beaufort, South Carolina. They then joined in the march to Goldsboro, North Carolina. They reached Goldsboro on March 21st. They were joined by General Sherman’s forces on March 23rd. They proceeded to march to Raleigh, North Carolina where General Johnston surrendered. Following that they marched to Richmond and Washington where they participated in General Sherman’s grand review of his troops in May.
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| 17th Regiment Corps Grand Review – Washington DC http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpb.02816 |
They then proceeded to Louisville, Kentucky for their official muster out on July 14th. On the same day they left Louisville headed towards Madison, Wisconsin. On July 17th they reached Madison and received their pay. The 17th Wisconsin Regiment was officially disbanded.
William headed home, but shortly packed up his family and moved to High Forest, Minnesota. See “Pioneer Life – Minnesota to North Dakota” to follow William’s family to Cando, North Dakota where William died in 1903.
