Source: History of Indianapolis and Marion County Indiana; 1884; by B. R.
Sulgrove, Pages 323-324
SURNAMES: MACAULEY, MCGINNIS, SMITH, WALLACE
The Eleventh Regiment was reorganized and mustered in for the three years'
service on the 31st of August, 1861, with Lewis Wallace as Colonel, and left
Indianapolis for St. Louis on the 6th of September, arriving there on the
8th, and leaving the day following for Paducah, Ky. Here Lieut-Col George
F. McGinnis was promoted Colonel in place of Lewis Wallace, appointed
brigadier-general. The regiment remained at this post till Feb. 5, 1862,
when it was sent up the Tennessee River to within six miles of Fort Henry,
thence to Fort Heiman, and on the 15th to Fort Donelson, where it was put in
Col. Smith's brigade of Wallace's division; engaged in the battle there, and
four lost killed and twenty-nine wounded. It returned on the 17th to Fort
Heiman, and on the 6th of March took steamer to Crump's Landing, a little
below Shiloh battlefield. It took part in the second day's battle, fighting
from half-past five in the morning to half-past four in the evening, losing
eleven killed and fifty-two wounded. On the 13th of April it moved toward
Corinth, and during the last of that month made two marches to Purdy and
back. Corinth being evacuated on the 30th of May, Wallace's division was
ordered to Memphis. In July it was sent by steamer to Helena, Ark., from
which place, on the 4th of August, it marched to Clarendon, returning on the
19th, after a march of one hundred and thirty miles and the loss of
guerillas of one killed and two wounded. During the fall and winter the
regiment engaged in expeditions from Helena to White River, to Tallahatchie
River, to Duvall's Bluff and to Yazoo Pass. Col. McGinnis being appointed
brigadier-general in March, 1863, Lieut-Col Dan Macauley was promoted
Colonel. The Eleventh embarked from Helena on the 11th of April and reached
Milliken's Bend on the 14th, where it joined Grant's Army, being in
McGinnis' brigade of Hovey's division of McClernand's corps (the
Thirteenth). Upon its arrival the corps proceeded to Carthage, and thence
to Perkins' Plantation near Grand Gulf. Here the Army awaited, on
transports, the result of the attempt of the gunboats to silence the rebel
batteries. The bombardment proving unsuccessful, the troops were
disembarked and marched around to a point opposite Bruinsburg, and on the
30th of April were crossed over the river and marched to Port Gibson, where,
on the 1st of May, an engagement was fought, the regiment capturing a
battery and having a loss of one man killed and twenty-four wounded. The
next day the town was entered, and on the 3d of May the march was resumed.
On the 16th, the Eleventh engaged in the battle of Champion Hills, losing
one hundred and sixty-seven in killed, wounded, and missing. On the 19th it
moved to Black River, and on the 21st marched to the vicinity of Vicksburg,
where it remained until the 4th of July, when the surrender took place. The
casualties to the regiment during the siege were three killed and ten
wounded. On the 5th of July it marched with an expedition to Jackson,
Miss., with constant skirmishing on the way, there being nine men wounded.
Returning to Vicksburg, it remained in camp until August, when it was
transported to New Orleans, and on the 13th of August, 1862, was sent to
Brashear City and through the Teche Country to Opelousas, near which place,
on the 21st of October, there was a heavy skirmish. Returning from this
expedition, the regiment, on the 20th of November, marched with Cameron's
brigade to the banks of Lake Tasse, where a camp was captured. On the 22d
day of December it arrived at Algiers, and on the 19th of January, 1864,
marched to Madisonville, where, on the 1st of February, the regiment
re-enlisted as veterans. Going to New Orleans, it embarked on the 4th of
March for New York City, from whence it came to Indianapolis, reaching there
on the 21st, where it was publicly received by the citizens and addressed by
Governor Morton. Upon the expiration of its veteran furlough, the regiment
departed for New Orleans, reaching there on the 8th of May, where it
remained until July.
On the 11th of July, it was assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division
of the Nineteenth Army Corps, and on the 19th embarked under sealed orders.
Reaching Fortress Monroe on the 28th, it proceeded to Washington and then to
Harper's Ferry. Moving to Cedar Creek, it skirmished all day of the 13th of
August, and on the 15th reached Winchester, from which place it made sundry
marches, and on the 22d had a skirmish near Halltown. On the 24th in a
reconnaissance it lost two men killed and eight wounded, and on the 6th of
September it had a skirmish at Berryville. On the 19th it took part in the
battle of Opequan, losing eighty-one in killed and wounded. On the 26th it
pursued the enemy to Fisher's Hill, and on the 22d was engaged in the battle
at that place, skirmishing all night and following the enemy to Woodstock,
losing two men killed and four wounded. On the 25th it pursued the rebels
to New Market, where they made a stand, but being flanked were forced to
retreat to Harrisonburg, which place was reached by the regiment on the
26th, skirmishing all the way. Leaving this place on the 6th of October,
the regiment returned to Cedar Creek on the 10th, and on the 19th was
engaged in the battle at that place, having fifty-two killed, wounded, or
missing. Upon the conclusion of Sheridan's campaign in the Shenandoah
Valley the troops went to Baltimore, arriving there on the 7th of January,
1865, where it remained on duty till its muster out on the 26th of July
1865. On the 3d of August it returned to Indianapolis, where it was
publicly received by the Governor on behalf of the State on the 4th, and in
a few days afterwards was finally discharged from service. During its three
years' service, the regiment marched nine thousand three hundred and
eighteen miles.