22nd North Carolina Infantry, Company M - Part 2

So, the last time I posted, I discussed the timeline of the four Captains of the 22nd North Carolina Infantry, Company M: John Milton Odell, Laban Odell, Warren B. Kivett, and Columbus F. Siler. This time around, I think I will tackle the Lieutenants of the Company.

As I mentioned in my previous post, some of the Captains previously held the office of 1st, 2nd or 3rd Lieutenant. Instead of going over their experiences again, I will instead focus on the other men who also served as Lieutenants in the Company.

The First Lieutenants

First, we'll start with Lewis F. McMasters.

Lewis F. McMasters was elected 2nd Sergeant upon his enlistment in the Company on 10 June 1861. He originally enlisted for a year, but as with most soldiers, he ended up staying a lot longer than that.

Taken from Service Records

When his Captain, John Milton Odell, was "defeated" on 27 April 1862, a bunch of officers shifted in the ranks. 1st Lieutenant Laban Odell filled the spot of Captain, 2nd Lieutenant Warren B. Kivett took Laban's spot as 1st Lieutenant, and Lewis F. McMasters took Warren's spot as 2nd Lieutenant. (Columbus F. Siler took Lewis' spot as 2nd Sergeant.)

Just a few short weeks later, the Company was active in battle with Pettigrew's Brigade at Seven Pines (also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks), which took place 31 May to 1 June 1862. Lewis was wounded here at Seven Pines. According to his service records, he was shot in the arm.

Taken from Service Records

Lewis moved from hospital to hospital with this injury, all while being a Prisoner of War. He was supposedly first admitted to the USA Hospital Steamer Louisiana on 7 June 1862, but my research shows that the steamer may have been on the Mississippi River traveling from Tennessee to Ohio during this time period, so that may be incorrect.

As shown in the clip above, on 8 June 1862, he was moved to the Hygeia Hotel which was being used as a USA General Hospital in Fort Monroe, Virginia.  Then, on 16 June 1862, he was transferred to the Chesapeake Hospital at Fort Monroe. He stayed at Chesapeake, it seems, for almost a month before being transferred to Fort Delaware 15 July 1862.

Fort Delaware seemed to be a horrible location from what I've read. While most of their prisoners were captured at Gettysburg, approximately 2,400 Confederate soldiers are said to have died at Fort Delaware.

Taken from Service Records
States Lewis was "wounded May 31st and in hands of enemy."

On 5 August 1862, Lewis is listed as being part of a prisoner exchange at Aikens Landing, Virginia. While I know a lot of prisoners were exchanged at this location during this time, I can't find any more specifics about this exchange specific to Lewis.

Taken from Service Records
The date of his capture seems to be wrong on this document

In any case, Lewis was apparently granted a furlough upon his exchange, and he doesn't appear back in the service records until October 1862.

I'm not sure what happens to Lewis between October and March, but I know on 16 March 1862, Lewis gets promoted to 1st Lieutenant (Columbus F. Siler takes his spot as 2nd Lieutenant.). Then, 1(0) April 1863, Lewis resigned from his post as Lieutenant and leaves the War. (Columbus, once again, takes his spot as 1st Lieutenant.)

Taken from Service Record
Lewis' resignation letter stating the injury to his arm interfered with his ability to hold his position.

The second person to hold the rank of 1st Lieutenant was Columbus F. Siler. Since I have already mentioned his experiences with the Company in my previous post, I will skip him this time around.

The third person to hold the rank of 1st Lieutenant was James (also appears as John) M. Robbins.

Taken from Service Records

James initially enlisted for service as a 21-year-old on 10 March 1862 for a three-year term. Not a lot seems to have happened to James in his first year in the War, but on 16 April 1863, James was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.

Then, same as all of the other rank changes in May 1863, James was also promoted. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant when Columbus was promoted to Captain. (John M. Lawrence was put in the rank of 2nd Lieutenant as James' successor.)

Taken from Service Records

James M. Robbins was merely "present" in the records from April until August. Then, on 25 August 1864, probably at Reams' Station, Virginia, James was wounded.

Taken from Service Records

He was hospitalized at the Camp Winder Hospital in Richmond. On 27 September 1864, he returned to duty and, seemingly, served until the end of the War.

The Second Lieutenants

Henry C. Allred and James M. Pounds were originally elected 2nd Lieutenants when they enlisted with the Company on 10 June 1861. Both men served as 2nd Lieutenant until they were "defeated" 27 April 1862.

Taken from Henry's Service Records

Taken from James' Service Record

Columbus F. Siler took Henry's place as 2nd Lieutenant, and Lewis F. McMasters took James' place. Since I have already discussed their time with the Company, I am going to skip them here. Same with James M. Robbins who served after them in this position.

John M. Lawrence was the sixth and final person to serve as 2nd Lieutenant for the Company. John enlisted 10 June 1861 when the Company was formed and was immediately elected 1st Sergeant.

As with James Robbins, John's time in the War seemed relatively uneventful for the first year. Then, in July 1862, John shows up as being absent from the rolls. It is noted that he was wounded in action. I am unsure when or where this occurred, but he was absent at least through October 1862.

Taken from Service Records

From October 1862 to March 1863, I don't see him in the records, but in March, he is promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. They list on his promotion that he had been previously wounded three times in three battles, but I have not found dates for these wounds yet to venture a guess on where they occurred.

Taken from Service Records

After this promotion is when things get a little more intense for John. On 1 July 1863, John was wounded at Gettysburg and taken as a Prisoner of War.

Taken from Service Records

He is admitted to the USA General Hospital at Newton University in Baltimore, Maryland on 18 July 1863 with a gunshot wound. But by 31 July 1863, he has been transferred to the hospital at Chester, Pennsylvania. He doesn't stay in Pennsylvania long either.

Taken from Service Records

On 31 August 1863, he gets transferred to Sandusky, Ohio. At some point, he ends up at Johnson's Island in Ohio, and he stays there for two years until he is sent to Point Lookout, Maryland for a prisoner exchange.

Taken from Service Records

I don't know if the prisoner exchange was actually to occur, or if they changed their plans, but John was not exchanged at Point Lookout. Instead, he was sent to Fort Delaware. He arrived there 28 April 1865. (I have already alluded to the horrible conditions John would have faced at Fort Delaware.)

Then, on 12 June 1865, John is finally released after having signed the Oath of Allegiance at Fort Delaware.

Taken from Service Records

John, no doubt, had it the worst of all of the men I have highlighted from this unit. He was wounded at least four times, each time in a different battle. He was a Prisoner of War from the time he was last injured at Gettysburg until practically the end of the War.

I have not done any research into this man's life yet, but I am curious if his descendants (if he had any) know what this man went through and the life he led. He was only 20-years-old when he enlisted in the War. To imagine the life he led before he was even 25... this is truly a remarkable man!

Sources:

• Civil War Talk
• Civil War Trust: Seven Pines (there is a beautiful map of the Battle at this site)
• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of North Carolina (accessed on Fold3)
• Daily Press: The Civil War hospitals at Fortress Monroe
• Fort Delaware Civil War Prison
• Prison Life at Fort Delaware