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John P Donyes (I7633)
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Personal Facts and Details
  Events of close relatives | |
| Birth | 1836  21 19 Pa |
| Death | 20 April 1865 (Age 29) Battle of Petersberg at Five Forks (Fort Hell), Dinwiddie County, Virginia - died Alexandria Va at City Point |
| Burial | 20 April 1865 Alexandria Nat. Cemetery, Alexandria Va |
| Universal Identifier | BCE2F623CF89D511973400E02931A951F419 |
| Last Change | 13 December 2006 - 18:33:29 Last changed by: dcoplien |
Notes
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1860 - census Oneco, Stephenson, IL A fellow named John Rosheisen paid John $500 to take his place in the draft. After John died, Rosheisen married his widow. Died in the civil war. Wounded April 2 1865 Petersberg, died April 20, 1865, City Point, Alexandria VA of wounds Battle of Petersberg at Five Forks (Fort Hell), Dinwiddie County, Virginia buried at Alexandria National Cemetery, SECTION B SITE 2923 (grave number also given as 3099) One of the last men to visit the wounded of the WI 38th was none other than Pres. Abraham Lincoln. This was while John was still alive. 38th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry - same as George Newcomer, Jacob Keller, Isaac J. Kline and Sam Caldwell M559 roll 8 also found as John Donges UNION WISCONSIN VOLUNTEERS 38th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry Companies A, B, C and D of the Thirty-eighth Wisconsin Infantry Regiment were mustered into the service of the United States at Camp Randall, Madison, WI, on April 15th, 1864. They left the state on the 3rd of May and went directly to Virginia, reaching White House, VA, on the 1st of June. The battalion took its place in line before the enemy on June 12th and participated in the various movements about Cold Harbor with the command to which it was attached reaching the trenches in front of Petersburg on June 16, 1864. It remained almost continuously engaged as a part of the Ninth Army Corps until the surrender of Richmond. With this organization the history of the regiment is identical. On October 1, 1864, Companies F, G, H, I and K joined the regiment. The Thirty-eighth led the right of the assaulting column on Fort Mahone April 2, 1865, and participated during its service among others in the battles of the Crater Mine Explosion, July 30, 1864; Weldon Railroad, August 18-21, 1864; Ream's Station, August 25, 1864; Boydton Plank Road (a.k.a. Hatcher's Run), October 27-28, 1864; and the Assault on Petersburg, April 2, 1865, all the above occurred in Virginia. The siege of Petersburg consisted of about 19 separate actions between the opening assaults in June, 1864, and the end of the siege with the battle of Five Forks and the final assaults in April, 1865. June 15-18, 1864 Siege of Petersburg begins Federal casualties for the four day effort are generally pegged at around 11,000. Confederate casualties are not known. No doubt they were much less. The 18th was no doubt the day of the greatest Federal loss and least Federal success The Battle of the Jerusalem Plank Road - June 21-23, 1864 The Wilson-Kautz Raid - June 22-July 1, 1864 Two Federal cavalry divisions had been badly beat up. Total casualties, mostly missing men captured at the end of the raid, approached 1,400 men plus all the artillery and wagons, and uncounted numbers of horses. For a brief period of time, Lee had the advantage in cavalry around Petersburg. There is a little-known, almost secret episode of the Wilson-Kautz Raid, which was brought to attention by Mr. Brian Hogan, of the Tennessee Valley CWRT who has an interest in the Wisconsin regiments of the Iron Brigade. What follows is based on Brian's research. Lt. Edward P. Brooks was the adjutant of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry, and in June, 1864, he had the temerity to write directly to Lt. Gen. U.S. Grant, proposing that a party of 30 men be sent out to destroy vital railroad bridges in the Confederate interior. While Grant appreciated the young man's initiative, the idea was put on hold until after the crossing of the James. On June 18, Grant ordered that Brooks be ' 'detailed for special service,' ' and on June 20 Grant asked Meade to have Wilson take Brooks along ' 'until the proper time for cutting loose.' ' This apparently happened on the first day of the raid, as Brooks and his men proceeded south from Dinwiddie Court House while the main body of the raid went north to the Southside Railroad. What happened next is revealed in a couple of Confederate newspaper articles. On the evening of June 22, the same day on which they started out, Brooks and his party reached the community of Red Oak, in Brunswick County, Virginia. At the house of a Mrs. Nancy Mason, the Yankees captured a Confederate officer, one G.D. White, a captain, who was Mrs. Mason's grandson. Brooks wanted to bring him along but did not have a spare horse, so he demanded that Capt. White be paroled, but the rebel declared that he would not honor any such parole. With no real choice, Brooks left the man behind and moved on. The next morning Capt. White gathered up a half dozen neighbors and went after the raiders. Armed only with shotguns, they surprised Brooks and his men at their breakfast camp and demanded that the Yankees surrender. Convinced that White commanded a far larger force, the Federals surrendered, only to become mortified upon realizing they had been taken by such a tiny force. Thus ended Lt. Brooks's bold bid to destroy the Confederate supply lines. Most of the men were eventually imprisoned in Andersonville. At least six died in captivity or shortly after being released, and several others supposedly had their health permanently broken. Brooks escaped from the prison camp in Columbia in December, 1864, and was honorably discharged on January 7, 1865. After the war he lived in Washington, DC, until his death at the age of 50. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. First Deep Bottom and the Crater Mine Explosion - July 26-30, 1864 Second Deep Bottom - August 13-20 First Hatcher's Run and Williamsburg Road - October 27, 1864 Of the 57,000 bluecoats in the Petersburg lines, fully 43,000 were detailed for the mobile force in this operation. The Stony Creek Raid - December 7-12, 1864 (Probably where George was wounded) Even after the loss of the Weldon Railroad at Globe Tavern, Lee continued to get some use out of that artery. Trains would bring their loads as far north as Stony Creek Station, about 19 miles south of Petersburg, where the supplies would be transferred to wagons for a round-about trip into Petersburg. After the failure to block this traffic along the Boydton Plank Road in the fall of 1864, Grant decided to use the relative quiet of winter quarters to make a raid upon the upper reaches of the Weldon. Accordingly, on December 7th, a column of troops from V Corps (reinforced by Mott's division of II Corps) set out southwards. They struck the Weldon at about noon on the 8th, at Jarrett's Station, about 10 miles south of Stony Creek, and began the work of destruction. In the usual manner of doing things, the ties were piled up and set on fire, then the rails were placed in the flames to be heated up enough to be bent and twisted about. Bridges and culverts were destroyed, the significant one being over the Nottoway River. A bridge further south over Three Creek was destroyed by Confederates to try and delay any further southward advance by the Federal column. Lee had sent out a force to stop or at least harass Warren, under the overall command of A.P. Hill, with some of Hampton's cavalry as well. But Warren had too much of a head start and Hill was never able to bring him to battle. Hampton, however, was able to reach Hicksford on the Meherrin River before Warren did, and accordingly prevent the Yankees from destroying the bridge there. While Warren pondered his next move, A.P. Hill rode ahead of his troops to meet Hampton and confer. They two Rebel generals planned a counterattack on Warren for tomorrow morning, the 10th. Warren was not there to be attacked, however. Having been blocked at Hicksford, he took counsel of his cautious nature and decided to return to Petersburg. The weather was beginning to look chancy (eventually it began to sleet) and he was aware that a Rebel column had been sent out after him. The Federal force began to move back north. The return march became a small version of the March to the Sea. Large numbers of Negroes from local farms flocked to join the column, with the women and old men being given rides in supply wagons as the contents were emptied out. Some men of the 20th Maine located a supply of apple brandy which found its way into their canteens, with the result that this redoubtable regiment probably would not have been worth a damn had a battle actually occurred. Unfortunately there were more ominous comparisons to Sherman's activities. Near Sussex Court House, some of the Negroes showed the Federal troops the bodies of some Union stragglers who had apparently been murdered in particularly brutal fashion. The tenor of things changed. From this point northward every building, be it barn or home, was burned by the Federal column. Hampton's men, following in the wake of the retreating Yankees, were outraged. The Yankees reached their camps early on the morning of December 12th, cold and wet and tired (and, in the case of the 20th Maine, drunk). At a cost of less than 200 casualties, Warren had further stressed Lee's already over-taxed supply system. Remarkably, however, the Rebels were able to repair the damage by early March and resume the use of the Weldon as far north as Stony Creek Station. Battle of Five Forks - April 1, 1865 decisive engagement of the Petersburg campaign and the last major battle of the American Civil War. It was fought on April 1, 1865, at Five Forks in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. General Philip Sheridan commanded Union forces in an attack on the entrenched Confederate infantry and cavalry at Five Forks. General Robert E. Lee, the Confederate commander, had ordered General George Pickett to hold this position as a defense for the vital South Railroad and the White Oak road. Sheridan attacked at 4 PM with superior forces along the 3-km (2-mi) front held by Pickett. The Confederates were overwhelmed by the Union charge and fled in retreat, covered by their cavalry. The battle was a union victory. The US Infantry counted 103 killed, 670 wounded, and 57 missing, Best estimates indicate Confederate losses at 545 killed or wounded and 2,000-2,400 captured In exchange for their weapons, the prisoners were given full rations, a good night's sleep, and a long march to a Maryland prison. As a result of the battle, the Union forces gained possession of the road and the railroad, and shortly thereafter forced Lee to abandon the defense of Richmond. The night after this short battle, General Lee sent word to Jefferson Davis to order the evacuation of civilians from Richmond and Petersburg. The following morning, Confederates pulled back to Sutherland Station, but the Feds pursued them, taking the railroad. Lee pulled his troops out of the fortifications around the two cities and headed west, hoping to outrun Grant and slip south to join up with remnants of his army in the Carolinas and Tennessee. Grant responded by sending some of his troops to chase and capture Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House . The final battles of the Appomattox Campaign were intense and bloody. Newly-drafted African-American Confederates fought alongside their exhausted and emaciated fellow-southerners, while African- Americans in blue secured Richmond and Petersburg. Fort Mahone - April 2, 1865 - Date John was wounded ' '...IN A CHARGE NEAR FORT HELL' ', Captain Thomas P. Beals General Griffin, in his official report, after speaking of the storming party and complimenting some of its officers, says: “Of this gallant party of one hundred and eight men, composed of Companies C, H and L, 31st Maine Volunteers, five were killed and thirty-two wounded.”(1) The loss of the 31st Maine was seventy-five killed and wounded, beside five captured or missing. The total loss of the brigade, in killed, wounded and missing, was four hundred and twenty-one; total of the division, seven hundred and twenty-two. The wounded were sent down to City Point. President Lincoln was there. This great and tender hearted man came through the field hospital, stopped at each cot and shook hands with its occupant, with a word of cheer and encouragement as he gave us the token of his brotherly love and of his appreciation of the individual sacrifices cheerfully made and of suffering borne with soldierly fortitude. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 After the surrender of the Confederates under Gen. Lee, the Thirty-eighth marched to Washington and participated in the Grand Review, it remained in camp abouth the city until the 10th of June, when a portion of the enlisted men were mustered out; the balance on the 26th of July, and were returned to Madison, WI on the 11th of August, 1865, where the regiment was disbanded. -- Seven hospitals operated at City Point during the siege. The largest was the Depot Field Hospital which covered nearly 200 acres and could hold up to 10,000 patients. Twelve hundred tents, supplemented by ninety log barracks in the winter, comprised the compound, which included laundries, dispensaries , regular and special diet kitchens, dining halls, offices and other structures. Army surgeons administered the hospital aided by civilian agencies such as the U.S. Sanitary Commission and the U.S. Christian Commission. Male nurses, drawn from the ranks, made sure each patient had his own bed and wash basin; and regularly received fresh pillows and linens. The excellence of the facilities and the efficiency and dedication of the staff not only made the Depot Field Hospital the largest facility of its kind in America but also the finest. --- http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/alexandriava.asp Alexandria National Cemetery is located near the Old Town section of Alexandria, Va., amid several other community cemeteries. The original cemetery consisted of approximately four acres known as Spring Garden Farm. Most of this land was acquired by the United States in the 1860s, and by November 1870 the cemetery had reached its current size of a little over five acres. Alexandria was one of the principal campsites for Union soldiers sent to defend Washington, D.C., at the outbreak of the Civil War. These troops, composed primarily of “three-month volunteers,” were unprepared for the demands of war. When they tried to turn the Southern advance at Bull Run, they were decisively defeated and hastily retreated back to Washington. At one point in the war, General Robert E. Lee and his Southern troops rode the outskirts of Alexandria where they were close enough to view the Capital dome. As the tide of the war turned, especially after Gettysburg, the frontlines of the war moved west and away from Washington, D.C. The fortress area at Alexandria, however, continued to serve as a major supply and replacement center throughout the remainder of the war. Alexandria National Cemetery is one of the original 14 national cemeteries established in 1862. The first burials made in the cemetery were soldiers who died during training or from disease in the numerous hospitals around Alexandria. By 1864, the cemetery was nearly filled to capacity, which eventually led to the planning, development and construction of Arlington National Cemetery. As of 1871, Alexandria National Cemetery encompassed a cobblestone avenue, a fountain, an ornate wrought-iron rostrum, graveled walks and paths, a small pond and a greenhouse. Today, the superintendent’s lodge is the primary building on the grounds and the oldest surviving structure. It was constructed of reddish Seneca sandstone and brick around 1870. Seneca sandstone was popular during Washington, D.C.’s, “brownstone era” (1840-1880), and can be found in many of the region’s prominent buildings, including the Smithsonian Institution “Castle,” and the U.S. Capitol floor and rotunda door frames. U.S. Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs designed the lodge in a Second French Empire style; approximately 55 of these lodges were constructed in national cemeteries between 1870 and the end of the century. The original 1887 “comfort station” at Alexandria was converted into a kitchen/store room and tool shed/toilet when a brick summer dining room was added in 1927. Although significantly altered, the old comfort station is one of few structures like these to survive. The 16-foot ornamental iron rostrum with a capacity to hold 24 chairs and one table was demolished sometime after 1931. An enclosure wall constructed of Seneca sandstone with River Blue Stone coping surrounds the property; visitors pass through 12-foot wide ornamental cast-iron entry gates at the Wilkes Street entrance. During the 1930s, the Civilian Works Administration (CWA) made general repairs to the lodge and outbuildings and erected a new flagpole. Alexandria National Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. |
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