Michael Herrmann in the Civil War

Name: Johann Michael Herrmann Company: E Wounded at the Battle of Nashville on December 16, 1864.
Birth Date: July 31, 1825 Place: Belsenberg, Kuenzelsau, Wuerttemberg (Germany)	Mustered In Date: September 3, 1864 Rank: Private Age: 39 Residence prior to military service: Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota Vocation prior to military service: Farmer
Death Date: September 16, 1905 Place: Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota; 2:30 pm at residence of son, Charles; age 80 Burial: Zion Evangelical (Schnappsburg) Cemetery, Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota	Mustered Out Date: June 17, 1865 Rank: Private Age: 39 Residence following military service: Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota Vocation following military service: Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota

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Narrative: Michael Herrmann in the Civil War

Michael Herrmann of Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota, served in the 5th Minnesota Regiment Volunteer Infantry, Company E, during the Civil War. He was wounded at Nashville on December 16, 1864, by a gun shot wound to the right forearm and thigh. With the Battle of Nashville on December 15 and 16, the Union army achieved a significant victory which contributed greatly to the close of the Civil War.

On September 3, 1864, three and a half years after the start of the Civil War on April 12, 1861, Michael Herrmann enlisted with the 5th Minnesota Regiment. His brother, Charles Herrmann, also enlisted on the same day. At the time Michael had been in America for just 11 years, and had been farming in Minnesota for the previous 8 years. He had 5 children, ages 2 to (almost) 12; his wife, Barbara had just begun her pregnancy with their 6th child, who would be a son, Michael Carl.

For the Herrmann brothers and their group of about a dozen new recruits in the 5th Minnesota Company E, service in the Union Army probably began with a month or more of drill training at Fort Snelling and then perhaps with a lot of traveling--if they participated in the Missouri Campaign up to November 15. In September 1864, Union Major General Andrew J. Smith's two veteran divisions were on board transports on the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois, about 150 miles south of St. Louis, near the Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky borders and the joining of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Smith's men were preparing to join General William T. Sherman, who had taken Atlanta in August. Upon learning that Confederate Major General Sterling Price was launching a cavalry campaign in Missouri, however, Union Department Commander William Rosecrans, stationed in St. Louis, requested that Smith's army help defend Missouri. The 5th Minnesota Regiment joined Smith's pursuit of Price, whose route passed by Fredericktown and Pilot Knob (about 70 miles south of St. Louis) on September 25 to 27, by the state capitol of Jefferson City (a hundred miles west of St. Louis) on October 6, and past Lexington (40 miles east of Kansas City) on October 20. Smith's army marched almost daily in pursuit of Price's Confederates. John Ritland of the Iowa 32nd Regiment claimed that A. J. Smith "wanted to make quick successful headway, also a rise for himself and his boys, and he figured that, by giving us very limited rations, our lightened burden would enable us to make more rapid progress." As part of Smith's 2nd brigade, the 5th Minnesota, however, had the luxury of being transported from southeastern Missouri to Jefferson City, where they arrived on October 15 (9 days after Price). To protect the welfare of the Missouri civilians, who (officially) supported the Union, orders against "indiscriminate foraging" were passed down through Colonel L. F. Hubbard and Lieutenant T. P. Gere to the 5th Minnesota on October 11. If they were present with the 5th Minnesota from October 19 to 26, Michael and Charles Herrmann marched from La Mine, Missouri (northwest of Jefferson City, near Boonville) to Harrisonville (south of Independence), a distance of about 140 miles (about 20 miles a day).

Finally on October 23, after weeks of the Union soldiers marching after Price and his men, a battle was engaged at Westport, just south of Kansas City. Smith's men , however, had turned south at Lexington in a maneuver to head off a possible move in that direction by Price. Smith was then called to Tennessee to battle against the raiding cavalry under Nathan Bedford Forrest. Whether or not the Herrmanns had already walked for many, many miles, they and the rest of the 5th Minnesota did not engage in battle until December at Nashville.

Former 5th Minnesota commander, Colonel L. F. Hubbard reported that during the month of October, the 5th Minnesota and the rest of the 2nd Brigade marched 283 miles and traveled 360 miles by transports and railroad for a total of 643 miles. Ritland looked back on his marching 700 miles through Missouri, recalling that the soldiers were "starving most of the time" and concluding that the Union army had "accomplished nothing." Rosecrans, on the other hand, saw the Missouri Campaign as successful in preventing greater damage by Price (at St. Louis and throughout the state) and in chasing him back south.

Following his capture of Atlanta, Union General William T. Sherman pursued John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee from October 2 to November 15, but then he returned to Atlanta to begin his march to the sea. On Tuesday, November 8, President Lincoln was re-elected over opponent McClellan. Confederate General Hood then tangled with his West point classmate, John Schofield. At the Battle of Franklin on November 30, Hood attacked Schofield, was repulsed, and then foolishly allowed Schofield to retreat to Nashville at night.

The Herrmanns and their Minnesota Regiment left the Missouri campaign with the rest of A. J. Smith's men and were transported to Nashville, Tennessee, from November 24 (Thanksgiving Day) to 30. They had been expected to arrive from Missouri in time to reinforce Schofield at Franklin, but did not reach Nashville until the last day of November. Iowan John Ritland summarized his trip to Nashville: "From St. Louis, we were taken aboard steamers and were carried down the Mississippi to Cairo, Illinois, thence up the Ohio River, and from there on the Cumberland to Nashville."
At the Battle of Nashville, the 5th Minnesota Regiment continued to serve under Major General Andrew J. Smith as part of the First Division led by Brigadier General John McArthur. The 2nd Brigade fought under the command of Colonel Lucius F. Hubbard and included the 5th and 9th Minnesota, the 11th Missouri, and the 8th Wisconsin Regiments. Hubbard was from Red Wing, Minnesota, and had formerly served as Colonel of the 5th Minnesota. Also joining the 2nd Brigade were the 2nd Battery Iowa Light Artillery (Reed). The Union army at Nashville was commanded by Major General George H. Thomas. Lieutenant Colonel William B. Gere of Chatfield commanded the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Regiment, and Captain Henry Stasson led Herrmann's Company E.

As early as December 2, Union commanders in Washington were urging Thomas to attack the Confederate forces camped to the south of Nashville. Thomas, however, wanted more cavalry reinforcements to arrive first. By the 9th of December, Thomas was ready to attack, but a storm arrived and covered the ground with a thick coating of sleet. General Grant grew exceedingly impatient, finally writing an order for General Thomas to be replaced. But before the orders arrived in Nashville on Wednesday, December 14th, the ice had melted sufficiently to allow the movement of troops. On that day the command to be prepared to move at 6:00 am the next morning was handed down from General Thomas through Smith, McArthur, Hubbard, Lieutenant Colonel William B. Gere, and Captain Stasson.

At 4:00 am on Thursday, December 15th the Union army was awake and at 6:00 am William Gere's Minnesota troops were lined up and supplied with three days' rations and fifty rounds of cartridges per man. A dense fog hung over the field during the early morning hours, completely concealing the movements of the Federal troops from the eyes of the Confederates.

Nashville was laid out with several main roads stretching out from Nashville like spokes. Hubbard's 2nd brigade, including Michael Herrmann, positioned themselves "near and to the left of the Charlotte pike," a road stretching to the southwest from Nashville, in order to attack the Confederate army on their left. At about 8:30 am the 5th Minnesota and the rest of the 2nd Brigade began marching down Charlotte Pike. After about a mile General McArthur instructed Hubbard to direct his men to leave the road to the left and proceed cross-country toward Hardin Pike (the next spoke to the east) and the 3rd Brigade. This maneuver was slowed when some of Hubbard's men encountered, engaged, and pushed back a small Confederate line. With the thawing earth, fog and mud also impeded their progress. When the 2nd Brigade reached the 3rd Brigade, Hubbard positioned Gere's 5th Minnesota Regiment to the immediate left of the 9th Minnesota. Next in line were the Missouri and Wisconsin infantry regiments, which connected to the 3rd Brigade. The Iowa Artillery were held in reserve.

The Union line pressed forward steadily until about noon with minor Confederate encounters. As it moved, the line angled toward the east in order to approach the left flank of the main Confederate line. The 5th Minnesota crossed a hollow and creek to the crest of a hill and to within about 100 rods (550 yards) of a line of several small, detached forts (called "redoubts") which the Confederates had built along their left flank near Hillsborough Pike. The first redoubt was manned by a detachment of infantry with 4 pieces of artillery. The second armed redoubt was positioned about 400 yards to the rear of the first.

When the Confederate guns of both redoubts opened fire on Hubbard's 2nd Brigade, the Iowa artillery returned fire, enabling one of the Missouri companies to drive the Confederate gunners from the first of their stations. Hubbard re-formed his brigade in two lines, the Minnesota regiments joining forces in the first line (the 5th Regiment on the left of the 9th Regiment), and the Missouri and Wisconsin men following in a second line. In his battle report, Hubbard described the attack: "Simultaneously with the line upon my right I advanced at a double-quick, and crossing a deep ravine, moved in a manner to turn the right flank of the position. The enemy made but a feeble effort to check the assault; his infantry gave way in disorder, and his artillery fell into our possession. Captain Notestine's skirmishers, of the Eleventh Missouri, were the first to enter the work, and assisted in turning the captured guns upon the retreating enemy."

Lieutenant Colonel William Gere described the 5th Minnesota's participation in the attack: "My regiment threw off their knapsacks, blankets, and over-coats, and fixed bayonets ready for the charge. The order to forward was soon given, and our line moved steadily on through the brush and fallen timber in our front under a heavy fire from the enemy, closely followed by the second line; and as we drew near the rebel line of battle volley after volley was poured into their wavering ranks, which soon gave way, and as they fled our forces pursued them, killing and wounding many, and capturing large numbers of prisoners." One of the tiny dirt forts that were captured is still visible today off Abbott Martin Road. As night fell, the Confederates retreated to a new shorter defense line a couple miles further back, and Gere camped his regiment behind the 2nd Iowa Battery. Under the dark December sky, the Minnesota troops dug rifle pits; they occupied the position which had been held by the Confederates a day earlier.

The next morning, Friday, December 16th, Smith's Union troops were facing south in the vicinity of Granny White Pike. Michael Herrmann's 5th Minnesota Regiment and others under the command of Hubbard and McArthur were lined up just west of Granny White Pike. At 8:00am, Gere lined up the 5th Minnesota on the left of the 9th Minnesota. The line advanced nearly a mile, under heavy fire, to within about a hundred rods (550 yards) of the entrenched Confederate soldiers. The 5th Minnesota formed the front line and dug in, waiting under sharp shooter fire for much of the day. Further east at the Confederate right, the Union Army attacked, but the men in gray held their ground. A cold rain began to fall around noon.

At 3:00 PM the regiment received orders to be ready to charge the Confederate line at any moment. At 4:15 the charge order was given, the 5th Minnesota fixed their bayonets, and the volunteers abandoned their makeshift fortifications in a charge across an open, muddy cornfield, crossing stone walls and fences as they advanced. Lieutenant Gere described the Confederate's response as "the most terrific and withering fire of musketry and artillery it has ever been my fortune to behold or encounter." Many Union soldiers were wounded or killed in the charge. The 5th Minnesota succeeded in driving their opposers from their entrenchments and planting their Union colors on the position now known as Shy's Hill (in 1864 it was called Compton Hill). As the regiment pursued the fleeing Confederates, they secured abandoned artillery and captured hundreds of enemy soldiers, including Brigadier-General Jackson and many other officers. They continued their pursuit another mile until they reached the foot of the Granny White Hills, where they camped for the night.

Artist Howard Pyle painted the Minnesota soldiers' charge toward Shy's Hill in "The Battle of Nashville" (1906) , one of six mural-sized paintings of Minnesota's Civil War regiments hanging in the Governor's suite of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.

After additional Union attacks on other fronts, the Confederates fled through Brentwood Pass to the south. The Union men, including the remaining 5th Minnesota Regiment, chased the Confederates for 10 days until they crossed the Tennessee River on December 26th.

At some point on the second day of the Nashville battle (December 16), Michael Herrmann was wounded by one or more gun shots that struck his right forearm and thigh, possibly in the charge on Shy's Hill. Surgeons Vincent P. Kennedy and William H. Leonard attended to the 5th Minnesota's battlefield casualties at Nashville and likely provided medical care for Michael Herrmann. The bullet that struck his thigh remained lodged there for the remainder of his life. The 5th Minnesota Company E's Captain, Henry Stasson, was killed while leading his company in the December 16th charge on Shy's Hill. Colonel Lucius F. Hubbard had two different horses shot out from beneath him. Charles Herrmann escaped injury and continued to serve in Company E of the 5th Minnesota until the end of the war. In all, 2,562 Union soldiers were wounded at Nashville; 387 were killed; and 112 were missing. According to John Ritland of the 32nd Iowa Regiment, "The Battle of Nashville proved to be one of the most complete and decisive victories of the Civil War. Hood's army was practically annihilated, a great many being killed or wounded, and an enormous number taken prisoners. It was rumored that many of Hood's soldiers got so disgusted after the battle that they left his army and went home. Union paper money rose 15 per cent after this battle."

The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, with Robert E. Lee surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant. During four bloody years, Minnesota had sent 25,000 men, about half the state's eligible male population, to fight the South. Of those, more than 600 were killed in battle, and twice that number had died of disease.

According to a March 18, 1874 report signed by J. J. Woodward, Assistant Surgeon in the U. S. Army, Michael Herrmann was hospitalized at the Cumberland General Hospital in Nashville from December 17, 1864 until January 5, 1865. He was then transferred to Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, where he was admitted to Jefferson General Hospital on January 9. It was while he was at Louisville that Lee surrendered to Grant (April 9). On April 14--the day that President Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater (and also Michael and Barbara Herrmann's 13th wedding anniversary)--Michael Herrmann was transferred to Prairie du Chien, southwest Wisconsin along the Mississippi River, where he was admitted to Swift General Hospital on April 17. He was furloughed on April 29, one day before his son, Michael Carl, was born. He was discharged from his regiment on June 17, 1865, and returned to his family and farm in Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota. Statements by neighbors report that Michael Herrmann returned from the war on crutches and for a couple of years could do very little farm work. He received an invalid pension from the government because of his wounds and also because of rheumatism that he contracted, reportedly from exposure while lying wounded on the Nashville battlefield. Every few years he would apply for a pension increase; sometimes he was given one, but the amount was also reduced on several occasions. Two more children would be born to Michael and Barbara after the war. At his funeral in 1908, German-born Michael Herrmann was honored as a United States soldier.

Timeline

NOTE: This timeline focuses primarily on the months in which Michael and Charles Herrmann served in the 5th Minnesota and on events that were part of their experience or awareness.

Date	Event
11/6/60	Abraham Lincoln elected President of United States
12/20/60	South Carolina secedes from the Union
2/2/61	Confederate States of America formed at Montgomery, AL
3/2261	Engagement at Blue Springs, Missouri
4/12/61	American Civil War begins
4/12/61	Battle of Fort Sumter
7/2362	Henry Halleck becomes General-in-Chief, U.S. Army
7/1/63	Battle of Gettysburg
11/19/63	Gettysburg Address
3/9/64	Ulysses Grant becomes General-in-Chief, U.S. Army
7/20/64	Georg Carl “Charles” Herrmann’s 33rd birthday
7/31/64	Johann Michael Herrmann’s 39th birthday
8/8/64	John J. Herrmann’s 2nd birthday
8/23/64	5th Minnesota fights at Abbeville, Mississippi
8/24/64	5th Minnesota fights at Abbeville, Mississippi
9/2/64	5th Minnesota begins participation in Mower’s Expedition to Brownsville, Arkansas (Fri)
9/3/64	Michael and Charles Herrmann enlist with the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Sat)
9/6/64	Albert Underwood arrives by boat in Cairo, Illinois (Tue)
9/6/64	Rosecrans telegraphs General Halleck requesting that A. J. Smith wait at Cairo, Illinois, to help fight against Price (Tue)
9/8/64	Underwood’s whole Brigade is at Cairo, Illinois (Thu)
9/9/64	Underwood receives pay (up to 9/1); the 89th & 58th arrive a Cairo, Illinois (Fri)
9/9/64	Smith receives orders from General Halleck to “operate Price & Co.” (Fri)
9/10/64	5th Minnesota concludes participation in Mower’s Expedition to Brownsville, Arkansas (Sat)
9/14/64	21st Missouri Regiment at Cairo, Illinois (Wed)
9/15/64	Kathrina Herrmann’s 12th birthday (Thu)
9/15/64	7th Kansas arrives at Cairo, Illinois; Underwood leaves Cairo heading north on the Mississippi River aboard the WAR EAGLE, which runs on several bars in the night. (Thu)
9/16/64	Underwood passes Cape Girardeau, Missouri, about 9:00; more problems with bars in the river. (Fri)
9/17/64	5th Minnesota begins participation in Smith’s pursuit of Price through Arkansas and Missouri (Sat)
9/17/64	Confederates at Doniphan (Sat)
9/17/64	Underwood passes Sulphur Springs and reaches Jefferson Barracks about 11:00 (Sat)
9/18/64	Confederates at Thomasville, Texas County (near West Plains) and Doniphan, Ripley County (Sun)
9/18/64	52nd Indiana Regt. at Jefferson Barracks (Sun)
9/19/64	Confederates at Doniphan and Dallas County (Mon)
9/19/64	Cold weather at Jefferson Barracks: almost frost (Mon)
9/20/64	Confederates at Ponders Mill and Little Black River (near Doniphan) (Tue)
9/20/64	Keytesville surrenders (Tue)
9/20/64	Indiana 89th arrives in Jefferson Barracks; Major General A. J. Smith is presented a sword, bolt, and sash; Major General Rosecrans is present and gives a short speech (Tue)
9/21/64	43rd Delaware Regiment present at Jefferson Barracks (Wed)
9/22/64	Confederates at Carthage, Sikeston, & Patterson (Thu)
9/23/64	Confederates at Arrow Rock Road (Lafayette County), Blackwater, Milford, Shawnee Mound, and Rocheport (Rock Port) (Fri)
9/23/64	Rosecrans receives word that Price has crossed “the Arkansas” (Fri)
9/24/64	Confederates at Farmington, Fayette, and Jackson (Cape Girardeau County) (Sat)
9/24/64	Rosecrans receives reports that Shelby is south of Pilot Knob, moving toward Farmington. (Sat)
9/24/64	Cannons are fired at St. Louis in the evening to honor a Sheridan victory (where?) (Sat)
9/25/64	Confederates at Farmington and Huntsville, and occupies Fredericktown (Madison County) (Sun)
9/25/64	2nd & 3rd Brigades of the 3rd Division “and the cars” leave for Pilot Knob (Sun)
9/26/64	From Fredericktown, the Confederates pass through Shut In Gap into the Arcadia Valley, threatening Ironton and Pilot Knob, then the terminus of the Iron Mountain Railway in Iron County. The Federals push the rebels back to the Gap, then fall back themselves toward Ironton in the first two days of fighting in the valley, usually referred to as the Battle of Pilot Knob. (Mon)
9/26/64	21st Missouri & 58th Illinois Regiment leave “on the cars” to DeSoto; Underwood hears report of fighting near Pilot Knob and news that “Price or Shelby is making their way up” (Mon)
9/27/64	Confederates at Irondale, Potosi, and Mineral Point (Tue)
9/27/64	The Battle of Pilot Knob continues (Tue)
9/27/64	Centralia Massacre (Tue)
9/27/64	Underwood leaves Jefferson Barracks by train at 10:00 am; arrives in DeSoto about 2:00 pm (Tue)
9/27/64	Price attacks General Ewing at Pilot Knob (Tue)
9/27/64	Shelby threatens General Smith’s advance, who withdraws back toward De Soto. (Tue)
9/28/64	Confederates at Caledonia and Centralia (Wed)
9/28/64	A rebel guerrilla is hung at DeSoto, MO; the 7th Kansas & 13th Missouri Cavalry arrive in DeSoto (43 miles from St. Louis) (Wed)
9/28/64	General Smith leaves De Soto for the Meramec, a stream 10-15 miles south of St. Louis (Wed)
9/29/64	Confederates at Cuba and Leasburg (Harrison) (Thu)
9/29/64	Underwood & Brigade leave DeSoto at 7:30 am; they stop at the Merimac Bridge (back at Jefferson Barracks?); it takes 2 1/2 hours to travel from DeSoto to Jefferson Barracks by train (Thu)
9/30/64	General Smith is ordered to occupy Kirkwood, Missouri (Fri)
9/30/64	Confederates at Leasburg (Harrison), Sullivan, St. Clair, Waynesville, Mt. Vernon, and Moselle railroad bridge (Fri)
9/30/64	3rd Brigade leaves Jefferson Barracks “on the cars”; Underwood hears that “Price is going in the direction of Jefferson City via Rolla” (Fri)
10/1/64	Hubbard’s Brigade leaves its bivouac on the Black River, near Poplar Bluff, southeastern Missouri, marching via Greenville, Jackson, and Dallas. (Sat)
10/1/64	Confederates at Leasburg (Harrison), Lake Springs (Dent County), Pacific (called Franklin), and Union (Sat)
10/1/64	Underwood’s Brigade comes in from the Merimac Bridge; the 13th Missouri Cavalry passes through; reports of fighting on the South West Railroad and “at the Knob” (Union General Mower) (Sat)
10/2/64	Rosecrans receives reports that Confederates are gathering in the vicinity of Union, Missouri (Sun)
10/2/64	General Smith is ordered to Franklin (county) (Sun)
10/2/64	Confederates at Washington (Sun)
10/2/64	Underwood leaves camp at 9:00 am: up the river to Carrondelet, then toward the Pacific R.R. on turnpike, then arrived at Kirkwood at 3:00 pm; marched 12 miles (Sun)
10/3/64	General Smith ordered to advance to Gray’s Summit (Mon)
10/3/64	Confederates at Millers Station (New Haven), Herman, and Powder’s Mill (Mon)
10/3/64	Underwood leaves camp at 9:30 am traveling on the Jefferson City rock road past Manchester & Baldwin (Ballwin); arrives in camp a little after dark 10 miles from Franklin. (Mon)
10/3/64	West of Union, Confederates execute Major James Wilson and six men captured at Pilot Knob (Mon)
10/4/64	General Smith pushes cavalry toward Gasconade & advances infantry to Union (Tue)
10/4/64	Confederates near Richwoods (Tue)
10/4/64	Underwood marches to Grays Summit, Franklin County, Missouri (4 miles from the Missouri River; 41 miles from St. Louis) (Tue)
10/5/64	Hubbard’s men arrive at Cape Girardeau (Wed)
10/5/64	3rd Brigade arrives at camp near Grays Summit (by train?) (Wed)
10/5/64	Price burns the Gasconade railroad bridge (Osage River) (Wed)
10/6/64	Confederates at Prince’s Place on the Osage river, Cole county (Thu)
10/6/64	Confederates begin crossing the Osage (River?) at Castle Rock (Thu)
10/7/64	Confederates at Jefferson City, Moreau Creek, and Tyler’s Mill, on the Big River, St. Francois County (Fri)
10/7/64	Underwood & 2nd & 3rd Brigades move; travel 12 miles to 2 miles from Union & near Meramac River. (Fri)
10/8/64	General Smith directed to hurry to Jefferson (Sat)
10/8/64	Hubbard’s men embark river transports to travel to Jefferson City, Missouri, via the Mississippi and Missouri rivers (Sat)
10/8/64	Confederates at Jefferson City (Sat)
10/8/64	Underwood marches 27 miles to Beff Creek. (Sat)
10/9/64	Confederates at California, Boonville, Russelville, St. Francois County (Sun)
10/10/64	Confederates at Jefferson City and Boonville (Mon)
10/10/64	Underwood travels 17 miles across the Gasconade River & camp near the river. (Mon)
10/11/64	Colonel L. F. Hubbard gives orders prohibiting “indiscriminate foraging” among the citizens of Missouri (Tue)
10/11/64	Confederates at Brunswick and Boonville (Tue)
10/11/64	Underwood marches 17 miles through Linn (county seat of Gasconade County) to Mary’s Creek (Tue)
10/12/64	Confederates at Boonville (Wed)
10/12/64	Underwood marches 17 miles by Castle Rock and across the Osage River (noon) to (?) Creek (Wed)
10/13/64	Underwood marches 13 miles, beyond Jefferson City about 10 miles, to Gray’s Creek, Coles County (Thu)
10/14/64	Smith’s men pass by Jefferson (Fri)
10/14/64	Danville attacked; Price at Glasgow (Fri)
10/14/64	Underwood marches 20 miles passing Lookout Station to California, Manitou County where the 3rd Brigade is camped (Fri)
10/15/64	Hubbard’s men arrive at Jefferson City and are moved the same day by railroad to La Mine Bridge (Sat)
10/15/64	Confederates at Glasgow, Sedalia, & West Point (Sat)
10/15/64	US garrison surrendered at Paris (Sat)
10/15/64	Underwood marches 25 miles passing through Tipton & Syracuse, across the LaMein River to Otterville (Sat)
10/16/64	US garrison surrendered at Ridgely (Sun)
10/16/64	Underwood marches 14 miles, starting at 3:00 am past Smithton and Farmers’ Town to Sedalia, Pettis County; the infantry arrives at Sedalia from Otterville “on the cars” (Sun)
10/17/64	Confederates at Lexington (Mon)
10/17/64	US garrison surrendered at Carrollton (Mon)
10/17/64	Underwood receives (false) news that the Rebs are near. (Mon)
10/18/64	General Smith ordered to move to Dunksburg near the cavalry headquarters (Tue)
10/18/64	Confederates at Barry County (Tue)
10/18/64	The rest of Underwood’s division arrives near Sedalia, Pettis County, MO (Tue)
10/19/64	Hubbard’s men leave the La Mine, marching via Sedalia to Lexington; then via Independence and Little Santa Fe to Harrisonville, (reaching that point on the 26th). (Wed)
10/19/64	Confederates at Lexington (Wed)
10/19/64	Underwood marches 17 miles on the Georgetown Road through Georgetown & across Muddy Creek past Blackwater. (Wed)
10/19/64	General Smith arrives at Dunksburg/cavalry headquarters (Wed)
10/20/64	Smith ordered to support Pleasonton’s push to Lexington with his infantry (Thu)
10/20/64	Underwood marches 25 miles; snow & misty rain; turns off the Lexington Road and camps at Davis Creek (Thu)
10/21/64	General Smith marches from Lexington to Chapel Hill (Fri)
10/21/64	Confederates at Lexington and Little Blue River (Fri)
10/21/64	Underwood marches 22 miles to Lexington (Fri)
10/22/64	Smith dispatched toward Independance (Sat)
10/22/64	Confederates at Little Blue River, Independence, Big Blue (at and near Byram’s Ford), and the state line of Missouri and Kansas just below Wesport) (Sat)
10/22/64	Underwood marches 18 miles to Little Blue (Creek?)(Sat)
10/23/64	Smith and his men arrive at Indepedance at 5:00 pm; he is then ordered to march by night to Hickman Mills in order to intercept Price (but they arrive too late) (Sun)
10/23/64	Confederates at Big Blue (at and near Byram’s Ford) (Sun)
10/23/64	The Battle of Westport, Jackson County, Missouri; Union victory. Both sides lost about 1,500 men, but the Confederates lost another 2,000 prisoners. Westport was the end of the line for Price’s Raid as an offensive mission. The campaign had already been forced away from its prime objectives, first St. Louis, then Jefferson City, the state capitol. Now it was headed west without clear objectives except to raid and stay effective. Westport was the decisive battle of Price’s Raid, and from this point on the Rebels were at best retreating, at worst fleeing.(Sun)
10/23/64	Underwood marches 20 miles to a point about 8 miles from Independence (Sun)
10/24/64	Confederates at Coldwater Grove (Mon)
10/24/64	Underwood marches 20 miles through Independence to Big Blue Creek; sees many killed & wounded soldiers; Price is heading south (Mon)
10/25/64	Confederates at Marais des Cygnes, Kansas, the Little Osage (or Mine Creek), at Charlot and the Marmiton River, and at Clinton (Tue)
10/25/64	Battle of Mine Creek (Tue)
10/26/64	Hubbard’s men arrive in Harrisonville (Wed)
10/29/64?	Smith directed “to move his command by the most expeditious route to the Mississippi, in the vicinity of Saint Louis, there to embark and proceed to Nashville and report to Major General George H. Thomas.”
10/26/64	Confederates at Carthage, Albany, Glasgow, Pilot Knob, Independence, and West Point (Wed)
10/26/64	Underwood camps a mile southwest of Harrisonville (Wed)
10/27/64	Confederates near Richmond (Thu)
10/27/64	Pleasant weather at Harrisonville; a rebel prisoner is hung at Harrisonville; most of the houses and farms in the area are deserted or burned down; Price is out of reach. (Thu)
10/28/64	Confederates at Leasburg and Newtonia (Fri)
10/28/64	Underwood’s group is short of rations and are waiting supplies (Fri)
10/29/64	Confederates at Upshaw’s Farm (Barry County), Dry Wood, Fort Scott, Warrenton, Pendleton, and Crane Creek (Sat)
10/29/64	Six rebels executed in retaliation for the killing of Major James Wilson and men (Sat)
10/29/64	Underwood receives mail, and the supply train arrives; reports of 2000 prisoners captured and coming (Sat)
10/30/64	Hubbard’s men march toward Warrensburg (Sun)
10/30/64	Confederates at Crane Creek (Sun)
10/30/64	Underwood leaves camp about 8:30 am marching 12 miles in a northeast direction to the Pleasant Hill area (Sun)
10/31/64	Hubbard’s men arrive near the Pacific Railroad, two miles west of Holden Station. (Mon)
10/31/64	Confederates at Big Blue (Mon)
10/31/64	Underwood marches 20 miles to Chapel Hill (about 15 miles north of Holden Station). (Mon)
11/3/64	The 5th Minnesota marches all day through about a foot of new-fallen snow.
11/3/64	About an inch of snow falls in Lafayette County, Missouri (Thu)
11/4/64	Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest subjects a Union supply base at Johnsonville, Tennessee, to a devastating artillery barrage that destroys millions of dollars in material (Fri)
11/8/64	Election day; Abraham Lincoln re-elected as President over Democrat George B. McClellan, the former commander of the Union Army of the Potomac (Tue)
11/12/64	Union General William T. Sherman orders the business district of Atlanta destroyed before he embarks on his famous March to the Sea (Sat)
11/13/64	Union troops hunt down Confederate guerrillas in Pemiscot County, Missouri (Sun)
11/14/64	General John M. Schofield assumes command of the troops in Pulaski, Tennessee. They are the first line of defense against Hood who is near Florence, Alabama. McClellan, Lincoln's opponent in the presidential race, resigns his commission as a Major General. (Mon)
11/15/64	5th Minnesota reaches St. Louis and thus concludes participation in Smith’s pursuit of Price through Arkansas and Missouri (Tue)
11/15/64	Near Shoal Creek (northern Alabama), Hood continues his fight with Union troops (Tue)
11/15/64	Union General William T. Sherman begins his “march to the sea” across Georgia by torching the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply lines. For the next six weeks, Sherman's army destroys most of Georgia before capturing the Confederate seaport of Savannah, Georgia. (Tue)
11/16/64	Hood continues his battle at Shoal Creek. Forrest's calvary arrives and bolsters Hood's forces. (Wed)
11/17/64	In letters to several Georgia state senators, Jefferson Davis denounces any attempts by individual states to negotiate peace with the North (Thu)
11/18/64	Confederate troops and guerilla troops continue their harassment of Union forces in Missouri. Hood begins his return to Tennessee. (Fri)
11/18/64	Underwood arrives at Camp Jackson (near St. Louis, Missouri) (Fri)
11/21/64	Hood crosses into Tennessee at Florence, Alabama. He plans to position his troops between Schofield at Pulaski and Thomas at Nashville. (Mon)
11/22/64	Hood’s troops move towards Columbia in an attempt to cut off Schofield in Pulaski and capture the city. In preparation, Schofield moves his troops toward Columbia (Tue)
11/23/64	Hood’s army continues its journey to Columbia (Wed)
11/24/64	5th Minnesota boards the steamer W. L. Ewing to travel to Nashville. A few miles down the river the boat hits a snag and bottoms out in 10 feet of water. The troops transfer to other boats to complete the journey. (Thu)
11/24/64	Schofield's troops beat Hood to Columbia and help repulse Forrest’s Confederate cavalry (Thu)
11/24/64	Underwood eats Thanksgiving dinner at camp; getting ready to leave on boats. (Thu)
11/25/64	Schofield's troops continue to await Hood. Battle of Spring Hill (Fri)
11/26/64	Hood finally arrives in Columbia (Sat)
11/29/64	In response to the northward movement of the Confederates, Schofield moves north to Franklin and slips by the Confederates (Tue)
11/30/64	5th Minnesota arrives at Nashville (Wed)
11/30/64	Battle of Franklin: Union troops arrive in Franklin and entrench themselves. When the Confederates reach Franklin later in the day and attack, a bloody battle ensues. The Confederates suffer heavy casualties, approximately one-fifth of their men whereas less than one-tenth of the Union troops are lost. (Wed)
12/1/64	Schofield's troops join George's men in Nashville and are followed by Hood (Thu)
12/2/64	Weakened, Hood's army attempts to bolster itself. Union General Haffelk urges General George Henry Thomas to attack Hood’s Confederate forces at Nashville (Fri)
12/3/64	Forrest’s cavalry attempts a blockade of the river near Nashville (Sat)
12/4/64	Thomas readies his forces (Sun)
12/4/64	Eight days of cavalry clashes in Georgia come to an end when Union General Judson Kilpatrick and Confederate General Joseph Wheeler skirmish for a final time at Waynesboro (Sun)
12/6/64	Thomas is once again pushed to attack Hood, this time by Ulysses S. Grant (Tue)
12/7/64	Thomas has still not attacked. Grant threatens to remove him unless he does so (Wed)
12/9/64	Grant orders Schofield to replace Thomas as commander of Union troops in Nashville, but relents when Thomas explains that a severe winter storm was hampering their efforts (Fri)
12/10/64	An ice storm continues to postpone the battle between Hood and Thomas (Sat)
12/10/64	Union General William T. Sherman completes his “March to the Sea” when he arrives in front of Savannah, Georgia (Sat)
12/11/64	Grant presses Thomas (Sun)
12/12/64	The icy weather continues to delay the battle in Nashville (Mon)
12/13/64	Frustrated, Grant orders Major General John A. Logan to replace Thomas in Nashville (Tue)
12/14/64	General Thomas outlines battle plans to his commanding officers and informs Washington that he will attack Hood the next day (Wed)
12/14/64	Charles Jacob Herrmann’s 10th birthday (Wed)
12/15/64	Battle of Nashville (Day 1): attacks on Redoubts. Union troops wage a fierce battle against Hood. They drive the Confederates back a mile (Thu)
12/16/64	Battle of Nashville (Day 2): attack on Shy’s Hill; Michael Herrmann wounded; Hood's army retreats south toward Franklin (Fri)
12/17/64	Michael Herrmann hospitalized at the Cumberland General Hospital in Nashville (Sat)
12/17/64	5th Minnesota begins pursuit of Hood’s Confederate Army (Sat)
12/17/64	Wilson pursues the Army of Tennessee, still without most of its cavalry (Sat)
12/18/64	Union troops follow Hood's men to Rutherford Creek near Columbia, Tennessee and skirmish at Spring Hill (Sun)
12/20/64	Hood and Thomas fight at Columbia (Tue)
12/23/64	The Confederate retreat from Nashville continues with fighting near Columbus, Tennessee (Fri)
12/24/64	Christmas Eve; Skirmishing continues between Thomas' and Hoods' forces near Lynnville and Richland Creek, Tennessee (Sat)
12/25/64	Christmas Day; Skirmishes between U.S. and Confederate troops at Richland Creek, Devil's Gap, and White's Station, Tennessee (Sun)
12/26/64	Hood's men cross the Tennessee River at Bainbridge (Mon)
12/28/64	5th Minnesota concludes pursuit of Hood’s Confederate Army at the Tennessee River (Wed)
1/5/65	Michael Herrmann transferred to Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky (Thu)
1/9/65	Michael Herrmann admitted to Jefferson General Hospital, Jeffersonville, Indiana (Mon)
1/9/65	Hood's retreating forces arrive in Tupelo, Mississippi. There are hopes to reassemble Hood's troops and to send them to reinforce Hardee in the Carolinas. (Mon)
1/13/65	In Tupelo, Mississippi, Hood resigns (Fri)
1/15/65	5th Minnesota fights at Eastport, Mississippi (Sun)
1/17/65	5th Minnesota fights (at Eastport, Mississippi?) (Tue)
2/1/65	Anna (Matz) Herrmann’s 67th birthday (mother of Michael & Charles Herrmann) (Wed)
2/2/65	Battle of Sand Creek (Thu)
2/12/65	Lincoln is declared president by the electoral college by a margin of 212 to 21 (Sun)
2/17/65	Union troops finally re-take Fort Sumter (Fri)
2/27/65	Rosina M. Herrmann’s 5th birthday (Mon)
3/2/65	Lee proposes a meeting with Grant, but Grant demures (Thu)
3/3/65	After hearing of Lee's interest in a peace meeting, Lincoln instructs Grant not to meet with Lee unless to accept their surrender or about a purely military issue. (Fri)
3/4/65	Lincoln is inaugurated for his second term (Sat)
3/24/65	Near Mobile, Alabama, Canby moves towards Spanish Fort, on the eastern side of the bay (Sat)
3/25/65	Canby and his men arrive at Spanish Fort; Mobile, Alabama, campaign begins (Sun)
3/26/65	Union and Confederate forces clash at Spanish Fort outside Mobile (Mon)
3/29/65	5th Minnesota fights at Spanish Fort, Mobile, Alabama (Thu)
4/2/65	5th Minnesota fights at Spanish Fort, Mobile, Alabama (Sun)
4/2/65	Union troops besiege Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, Confederate fortifications protecting Mobile (Sun)
4/4/65	5th Minnesota fights at Spanish Fort, Mobile, Alabama (Tue)
4/5/65	Lincoln and Confederate Assistant Secretary of War John Campbell meet to discuss peace (Wed)
4/7/65	Grant asks Lee to surrender and Lee inquires into the terms (Fri)
4/8/65	Main attack on Spanish Fort, Mobile, Alabama (Sat)
4/8/65	Lincoln returns to Washington. Lee and his staff decide to turn down surrender because of the "exchange" condition. They try to break through the Union lines. Outside of Mobile, Union troops take Spanish Fort and Fort Alexis. (Sat)
4/9/65	Mobile, Alabama, campaign ends: Union troops capture Fort Blakely, which guards Mobile, Alabama (Sun)
4/9/65	Lee's troops surrender at Appomattox. (Sun)
4/9/65	Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant: Sherman and Lee work out the agreement in Appomattox Court House. The Confederates are to turn over all their munitions and supplies and to return home and not fight until a Union prisoner is exchanged for each one. (Sun)
4/11/65	Lincoln gives a speech (his last) to a crowd gathered outside the White House. He speaks about plans for reconstruction and the newly created state government in Louisiana (Tue)
4/12/65	At the Appomattox Court House, there is a formal surrender ceremony (Wed)
4/13/65	Lincoln ceases the draft and further war supply requisitions (Thu)
4/14/65	Michael Herrmann transferred to Prairie du Chien, southwest Wisconsin along the Mississippi River (Fri)
4/14/65	Johann Michael and Magdalena Barbara (Rapp) Herrmann’s 13th wedding anniversary (Fri)
4/14/64	President Lincoln assassinated: While watching the play, Our American Cousin, at Ford's Theater, Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth (Fri)
4/15/65	President Lincoln dies around 7:30 am. At 11 that morning, Andrew Johnson assumes the presidency. Davis and his cabinet leave Greensborough, North Carolina. Fighting continues in West Virginia. (Sat)
4/17/65	Michael Herrmann admitted to Swift General Hospital, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (Mon)
4/19/65	Lincoln's funeral services take place in the East Room of the White House. The casket is moved to the Capitol rotunda for viewing. In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Confederate cabinet learn of Lincoln's assassination. (Wed)
4/21/65	Lincoln's funeral train begins its journey. Its ultimate destination is Springfield, Illinois. (Fri)
4/26/65	Lincoln assassin, John Wilkes Booth, is shot and killed at the farm of Richard H. Garrett, south of the Rappahannock River in Virginia (Wed)
4/29/65	Michael Herrmann furloughed (Sat)
4/30/65	Michael Herrmann’s son, Michael Carl, is born in Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota (Sun)
5/4/65	Confederate General Richard Taylor surrenders last significant force near Mobile, Alabama
5/12/65	Magdalena Barbara (Rapp) Herrmann’s 38th birthday
6/6/65	Maria C. Herrmann’s 8th birthday
6/17/65	Michael Herrmann discharged from the 5th Minnesota Regiment
9/6/65	5th Minnesota mustered out

Biography

Michael (Johann Michael) Herrmann was born July 31, 1825, in Belsenberg, near Kuenzelsau, Württemberg (Germany), the fourth child (third son) of Heinrich and Anna Magaretha (nee Matz) Herrmann. In all, Heinrich and Anna had 11 children: 7 boys and 4 girls. Of the eleven children, two died in childhood. Heinrich Herrmann was a gardener. Michael was baptized at the Evangelische Kirche in Belsenberg. In 1839 he was confirmed at the same church. On April 14, 1852, Michael married Magdalena Barbara Rapp. Michael was 26 years old, and Barbara was 25.

Born May 12, 1827, in Belsenberg, Barbara was the youngest of seven children born to Georg Andreas and Margarethe Dorothea Rapp. She was baptized at the Evangelische Kirche in Belsenberg, but was apparently confirmed at a different church. Barbara's mother died when she was age 5. Her father died when she was age 11. She may have gone to live with another family which might explain why she was confirmed someplace other than Belsenberg. Barbara had 5 older brothers and one older sister. Georg Andreas Rapp may have been a baker.

While living in Württemberg, Michael and Barbara endured potato famines in Germany (1845-1855) and lived at a time when there were revolutions in nearly every German state (1848). The 1848 National Assembly in Frankfurt could not agree on a German Constitution. Michael and Barbara Herrmann migrated from Belsenberg, Württemberg (Germany), to the United States in 1853. Michael and Barbara did not make the move to America alone. Michael's older sister, Anna, and her husband, Jacob Beyer, migrated across the Atlantic in 1852. Michael's younger brother, Georg Karl (aka "Charles") applied to emigrate to North America in April 1853, at the same time as Michael and Barbara applied. Two more of Michael's younger brothers, Johann Georg and Johann Friedrich, both applied to emigrate to North America in September 1865.

At first Michael and Barbara settled in Dodge County, Wisconsin, near Hartford. But three years later they moved on to a 160 acre farm in Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota, where they remained and raised their family of eight children. The oldest child, Kathrina, was born in Germany, and Charles was born in Wisconsin. The rest were born in Minnesota. Michael's sister, Anna, and his three brothers, Charles, George, and Friedrich, also settled in Carver County, Minnesota.

About May 1883, Michael bought the 80-acre farm that belonged to his younger brother, Charles.

A Big Sale.

Michael Hermann [sic] of Schnapsburg, Benton purchased last week the 80 acre farm of his brother Charles, together with the personal property for $4,000. His farm is one of the best in the county and is considered cheap at $4,000.
Mr. H., now owns three farms and is one of the largest land owner [sic] in the County.

Source: Weekly Valley Herald; May 24, 1883; page 4.

About 1894 the Herrmann family hired area carpenters, Albert Hedtke and John Pofahl to build a barns and houses.

There was a mistake in the item, which appeared in last week's TIMES about Albert Hedtke and John Pofahl, carpenters. It should have been as follows: Albert Hedtke and John Pofahl, carpenters and builders, have erected a barn for Michael Herrmann, Sr., another for his son Charles, and houses for his sons Michael and Fred Herrmann. Michael Herrmann, Sr., is very well satisfied with their work, and announces to the public that they do all kinds of carpenter work well, cheaply and in very way satisfactorily. He says that no better carpenters can be found in Carver county.

Source: Norwood Times; September 6, 1894; page 4, column 3.

As reported in the following obituary, Johann Michael Herrmann died at 2:30 on September 16, 1905, at the home of his son, Charles, in Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota. He was 80 years old. Funeral services were led by Rev. Fontana. Michael Herrmann was buried in Zion Evangelical (Schnappsburg) Cemetery, Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota.

OBITUARY OF J. M. HERMANN

Was One of Our Leading Citizens and Early Pioneers of Carver County

Johann Michael Herrmann, an old and highly respected citizen and pioneer of the township of Benton, this county, died on Saturday, September 16th, at 2:30 o'clock p.m., at the residence of his son Charles, on the old farm, where he has resided since 1856. Deceased was 80 years, 1 month and 15 days old, having been born in Ruengolzow [sic], Wuertemberg, Germany, July 31, 1825. He was married to Katherina Rugg [sic] in Germany in 1853 [sic]. Eight children, four sons and four girls, were born to the family and these are all living, viz; Charles, John, Mike and Fred Herrmann, of Schnappsburg; Mrs. John Bovey and Mrs. W. Effertz of Norwood; Mrs. Schubert of Camden township; Mrs. Jacob Nellen of Benton. He belonged to the 5th Minnesota Regiment and served in the war of the Rebellion from '64 '65. His comrades of the Grand Army Post here led the procession of the large funeral that followed his remains to the grave. He was one of the many old pioneers, who did much of the hard work necessary to make a home in Minnesota and leaves behind him his good wife and eight children to mourn the loss of a worthy husband and father. The funeral on Tuesday was one of the largest. More than a hundred carriages were in line. Rev. Fontana conducted the services at the house and grave and preached a lenghty [sic] sermon, eulogistic of the deceased after the burial. --Times.

Source: Weekly Valley Herald; September 28, 1905; page 1.

About two years later, Magdalena Barbara Herrmann died on December 14, 1907, also in Benton Township, Carver County, Minnesota. She was buried with Michael in the Zion (Schnappsburg) Cemetery. A photo of Michael and Barbara was published with the obituary which reads:

DEATH OF A PIONEER

   This time it is our sad duty to chronicle the death of Mrs. Magdalena Barbara Herrmann, who passed away at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 14th, at the ripe old age of eighty years, seven months and two days. The deceased was born on May 12, 1827, in the kingdom of Wuertemberg, Germany. She was united in marriage to John Michael Herrmann in 1851 [sic] and in the year of 1853, with her husband came to America and located on a farm in the state of Wisconsin, where they remained but a few years. Then they moved to Minnesota and settled on the farm where she has lived for a half century and where she died.
   To speak of the hardship of early Minnesota life is only repeating that which has been said so often, but Mrs. Herrmann shared and withstood them all. She was a good faithful woman and one who never complained. Her husband preceded her to the grave two years ago and since then she has resided with her son Charles, where she died. She was the mother of eight children, four boys and four girls. They are all living, viz: Charles, John, Michael and Fred, of Schnappsburg, Mrs. John Bovey, Mrs. Wm. Effertz, of Norwood, Mrs. Wm. Schubert, of Camden, and Mrs. Peter Nellen, of Benton. Besides these direct decendants [sic] there are forty eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren left to remember the one who cared and caressed all of them, when they visited her, or were visited by her.
   The funeral occurred on Monday and was one of the largest ever held here. The interment was at the Schnappsburg church cemetery and Rev. Kuehn preached an eloquent and eulogistic sermon. We sympathiz [sic] with the relatives. May she rest in peace.

Card of Thanks.

We wish to express our sincere thanks to all neighbors and friends who so kindly lent their aid and assistance during the sudden illness, death and burial of our beloved and cherished mother. --By The Children.

Source: Norwood Times; Friday, December 20, 1907; front page.

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