Chickamauga

Because my parent's earliest Detroit ancestors moved to Detroit in 1857 and 1885, when I use the term "Old Neighborhood," I might be speaking of the St. Joe's/Eastern Market neighborhood, the Field/Baldwin/Mack neighborhood, or the Wilshire neighborhood. Today I am going to talk about part of the life of Frank Bieke, my great-great grandfather, who emigrated to the US in 1857, and lived at 238 Maple, near St. Joe's/Eastern Market.

Dierk Stoetzel, a historian from Germany, suggests that Augustin Bieke, one of the three Bieke brothers who came to the US together, might have went up North to work in the mines. We still don't know what happened to Augustin, but we do know some of what happened to Joseph and Frank Bieke. According to Civil War muster records, both mustered into the Union Army in the Spring of 1861. Joseph mustered into the First Michigan Infantry, Company "I." "Houghton" is listed as the county he was from, so I suspect he might have been working up North in the mines when the war broke out? That was before miners had unions, so I suspect fighting in an infantry unit might have been better than working in a non-union mine then. Regardless, Frank A. Bieke mustered into the First Michigan Light Artillery, Battery A, at Fort Wayne in Detroit on May 31, 1861. The records list him as being 21 years of age, 5'9", dark complexion, light hair, blue eyes, birthplace of Germany, residing in Wayne County, and a blacksmith by occupation.

Matt Switlik wrote his Masters Thesis at Wayne State about the First Michigan Light Artillery, Battery A, way back in 1975. This unit is also known as the "Coldwater Artillery" or the "Loomis Battery." This thesis is the most comprehensive record of the unit I can find. He also participates in the Civil War re-enactments of this unit. One of their next projects is going to be to restore an original First Michigan Light Artillery, Battery A cannon and limber in front of the Courthouse in Coldwater. Anyway, this unit started out in Coldwater before the war, and had a couple dozen members. Then the war broke out, they picked up a few more members from Coldwater, then went to Fort Wayne to train, where they picked up more members, including Frank Bieke. This unit was well-trained and equipped, as far as Civil War units go, and there were glowing reports in the newspapers about this unit.

The unit served quite well in many battles, including Rich Mountain, W.Va, Elkwater, W.Va, Green Briar, W.Va, Bowling Green, Ky, Perryville, Ky, Bridgeport, Al, Gunter's Landing, Al, Athens, Al, Whitesboro, Al, Stone River, Tn, Hoover's Gap, Tn, Chickamauga, Ga, Lookout Mountain, Tn, and Mission Ridge, Tn. Total Enrollment--311..... Killed in Action--11..... Died of Wounds--1..... Died of Disease--25.

I was on vacation last week in Tennessee, and stopped at the battlefield at Chickamauga. There are 1,400 monuments on this site to commemorate the men and units that fought there. This was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, with about a 30% casualty rate on both sides. So I asked at the visitor center, is there amonument for the First Michigan Artillery, Battery A? The man at the counter asked if I meant the Loomis Battery, and I responded affirmatively. I added that my great-great grandfather was part of that unit and served here. He asked if I was from Coldwater, and I told him no, I was from Detroit. Anyway, he knew exactly where the monument was, out of the 1,400. I asked him how he could possibly know where it was off the top of his head, and he said this unit was among the bravest and most gallant units in the fight. He showed me a cartoon drawn by Thomas Nest (the guy who drew the original Santa Claus) of the Loomis Battery's commander, Van Pelt, as he was being overrun by the rebels. Apparently this cartoon got a lot of mileage in it's day and "everybody" knew of the heroics of that unit because of it.

Apparently the Loomis Battery fought until 5 of the 6 guns were captured. Van Pelt was killed in action defending the guns and position, along with several others. I really can't do this unit justice in my blog - so I suggest that the interested reader find out more about this battle and this unit!

After this battle, the unit also served at Missionary Ridge and Chattanooga. The last confrontation with the enemy was in November 1863. On December 11, Frank Bieke went to the hospital. He was discharged with 3/4 disability in April 1864. Apparently he had necrosis in one of his shoulders. We don't know how or where he was injured, if he was injured in combat, fell off his horse drunk, had a blacksmithing accident, or whatever. It would seem that if he was a blacksmith prior to the war, he would have been a blacksmith in the unit, with all the horses that needed shoeing, etc. We do know he was a bugler when he was discharged. I suppose it is possible he was a blacksmith until he was injured, then became a bugler. It is also possible he was a bugler the whole time.

I wonder what part he played in the battle of Chickamauga? Was he a bugler, stationed next to Van Pelt, so he could signal commands to the unit? Was he next to Van Pelt when he fell?

Anyway, the rear of the monument says: "The Battery with its brigade advanced from Bird's Mill on the evening of the 18th, arriving at the intersection of the Lafayette and Chattanooga roads at daylight of the 19th, thence from several position to this. Here, after 64 rounds of cannister and shell had been fired, the enemy rushed upon the Battery in overwhelming numbers, compelling the infantry support to fall back. The men remained with the Battery until the enemy's bayonets were at their breasts. Five guns fell into the enemy's hands, one was got safely off the field, one gun was subsequently recaptured. Lieut. Van Pelt and five men were killed, six seriously wounded, and thirteen made prisoners. During the operations at Chattanooga, the Battery occupied a position on Cameron Hill."