Winter in DC 1861 - 1862

The 7^th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Brigade departed Madison, Wisconsin by train on September 21, 1861, passed through Chicago, Pittsburg, and Baltimore, and arrived in Washington DC on September 26.  Charles Pooch had volunteered under the name, Charles Ford, on August 2, 1861.  He was mustered in on August 31 in Madison as a Private in Company I along with about 100 other volunteers from the central Wisconsin area and nine other Companies in the 1000-man Brigade.  They would have arrived at the B & O Railroad Station, in the shadow of the US Capitol building.

Based on the William Ray diary, the Brigade initially went to a Soldiers Rest (like a USO) for camping and meals.  They then visited a city hall where the Companies were assigned to individual halls of the building.  They camped at an area set aside for incoming troops for almost a week. The bread was good when available but the meat was usually inedible, according to Pvt. Ray.

The District of Columbia was on the front line between the Union and the Confederacy with only the Potomac River offering some isolation from the Confederate Army.  In fact, the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 took place only a short distance west of Washington.  This battle ended disastrously for the poorly led Union Army and could have resulted in the loss of Washington if the Confederates had pursued the Army.  Thus, Abraham Lincoln needed to establish a strong foothold in the Virginia land across the Potomac and to build an extensive series of forts to defend against a Confederate attack. The Wisconsin Regiments in the Union Army of the Potomac became part of the defense of Washington from the Confederate Army in northern Virginia. 

On October 2^nd the Brigade joined General King’s brigade at Camp Lyon at the east end of Chain Bridge across the Potomac River, about three miles north of Georgetown.  They camped there until October 5, when they marched about 5 miles south, crossing the Potomac River on the Georgetown Aquaduct, to Fort Tillinghast near Arlington Heights, the former home of Robert E. Lee, known as the Arlington House.  It was still occupied by Robert E. Lee’s wife, who was promised protection by the Union forces.  This mansion is still prominent at Arlington Cemetery.  During the Civil War, that area was used for overwinter camping of Union Army troops as well as guarding against Confederate invasion of the capitol city.

The Fall and Winter of 1861- 1862 was spent in camp; drilling and training along with the rest of the Army of the Potomac.  The Union had lost the 1^st Battle of Bull Run due to lack of discipline and leadership in the Army, which consisted mostly of draftees and volunteers from the Eastern States.  Lincoln replaced the inept Union commander with General George McClellan who was determined to build a strong army with training as the key.  The winter weather was rainy, cold, and unfit for military moves given the unpaved roads and mud along the mid Atlantic coastal region.  So neither South nor North was inclined to go to battle although skirmishes were common.  However, Union successes in the “west” (Tennessee, Missouri) gave rise to optimism that the war would soon be over. The soldiers hoped they would see some battles before it was done. 

Before the war ended, the 7^th would see action in 25 battles:  Cedar Mountain, Catletts Station, Rappahannock Station, Gainesville, 2^nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Fitzhugh’s Crossing, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Haymarket, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Weldon Railroad, Hatcher’s Run, Gravelly Run, Five Forks, and the final battle of the war, Appomattox Court House.  Charles Ford Pooch saw action in all except the few when he was hospitalized due to illness.

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."

Arrival in America 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