Who was in charge of the Baton Rouge Arsenal in 1863?

Mr. Faust,

Please copy and paste this link in your web browser. Looks like Union forces renamed this after Confederate forces failed to re-take the Arsenal and named it. Fort Williams. Also you might want to reach out to the museum that they have.

https://www.visitbatonrouge.com/listing/old-arsenal-museum/250/

http://www.fortwiki.com/Baton_Rouge_Arsenal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Barracks

http://www.simmonsgames.com/research/authors/USWarDept/ORA/OR-S3-V1.html

Hope this helps,

Elliot Schneider

Hi Christopher,

Welcome to History Hub

This article, from the internet, may be of interest to you

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Louisiana/_Texts/LH/2/4/Seizure_of_the_For…

Alice Lane

Research Volunteer

Hi again Christopher,

From this article it looks like Colonel Thomas W. Cahill was in charge in 1863

he took over command after General Williams was killed

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_Connecticut_Infantry_Regiment

Subsequent service in Louisiana and Virginia[edit]

At Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Williams was killed under a Confederate charge on August 5. Colonel Thomas W Cahill took command of all the Union troops and repulsed the attack. The regiment was highly praised after the battle and subsequently assigned to the defenses of New Orleans through the end of 1863.

In the spring of 1864, the regiment arrived home in New Haven on veteran furlough amidst great celebration and parades. The re-enlisted veterans landed at Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, outside Richmond in July and participated in a engagement at Deep Bottom. After a brief trip to the Washington D.C. area, they saw action in the Shenandoah Valley area with battles at Opequon, Cedar Creek, and Fishers Hill. The final veterans were mustered out in August 1865.

A total of 250 men from the regiment died during the war.

John C. Curtis, the regiment's 17-year-old sergeant major, received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Baton Rouge in August 1862.

http://www.fortwiki.com/Baton_Rouge_Arsenal

Union forces took back the barracks and arsenal for the duration of the war after the battle of Baton Rouge, 5 Aug 1862. They constructed an earthworks around both the arsenal and the barracks that was named Fort Williams (2) after Union General Thomas Williams (Cullum 902) who was killed in the battle of Baton Rouge. After the U.S. Civil War the arsenal was used to store surrendered arms and ordnance from dismantled fortifications.

Alice Lane

Research Volunteer

Hi again Christopher,

Don't know if your soldier is listed...would you like to share his name.

Men who served in the 19th Corp.  A-L AND L-Z

tell if living or deceased and resident.

http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/state/military/wbts/units/19th00ak.txt

http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/state/military/wbts/units/19th00lz.txt

Alice Lane

Dear Mr. Faust,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

In regards to your first question about identifying the commander of the Baton Rouge Arsenal in 1863, we searched the National Archives Catalog and located 7 records series created by Baton Rouge Barracks, Louisiana, but none of these series include records from 1862. There may be records relating to the appointment of a commanding officer in 1862 in the various correspondence series in the Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1762 - 1917 (Record Group 94). We also searched online and located an article on the Battle of Baton Rouge which indicates that General Cuvier Grover was left in charge of the garrison at Baton Rouge in December 1862.

In regards to researching the military service of an officer of the 159th New York Volunteer Infantry, we searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War in Record Group 94. Most of the service records in this series have been made available via microfilm and through digitization of the microfilm. Unfortunately, the records for the 159th New York Volunteers have not been microfilmed or digitized. This series is indexed by the Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Civil War, 1899 - 1927 in Record Group 94. Some of the index cards have been digitized and may be searched using “Search within this series” function. There may also be a pension file for him, most of which have not been digitized.

To order copies of service and pension records which have not yet been digitized, please fill out a NATF Form 86 for the service records and a NATF Form 85 for the pension records and mail the completed forms to the address listed on the form. For more information see Requesting Copies of Older (pre-WWI) Military Service Records. Please note that the option to order online using eservices.archives.gov has been suspended.

We also located Regimental and Company Books of Civil War Volunteer Union Organizations, 1861 - 1867 in Record Group 94 that includes Regimental and Company Books of the 159th New York Infantry Regiment. See our blog Records Relating to Civil War Units for a list of additional records series and other sources relating to individual units.

All of the previously mentioned Civil War Army records are in the custody of the National Archives at Washington, DC (RDT1). Please email RDT1 at Archives1reference@nara.gov for more information.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT1. Also, NARA has suspended non-emergency reproduction and digitization services until further notice due to COVID-19. Orders will not be serviced until operations can resume safely. Once operations resume, document reproduction requests will be filled in the order in which they were received. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Since the officer you are researching was part of a New York unit, we suggest that you also contact the New York State Archives.

Please note that there were no official military medals awarded during the Civil War other than the Medal of Honor. It is unlikely that there will be a federal or state record of an unofficial medal that was presented by the men of a unit as a token of appreciation to their officer.

We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!

Christopher,

Found Obituary for Charles Loretz

Alice Lane

Research Volunteer

I'm inclined to think the information Elliot Schneider and Alice Lane found about him being an acting ordnance officer based out of Baton Rouge explains a lot. He may or may not have been the commander of the arsenal, but he was likely assigned to them and at the very least as an ordnance officer he certainly would have interacted with them a great deal.

Still, I'd concur with the suggestion that you request his Consolidate Military Service Record (CMSR) and his pension file. No matter what you found online or at New York Military Historical Research, it isn't going to include his CMSR and federal  pension file which likely has at least some information you haven't already located.

This isn't the full file, just the index card to his CMSR.  You might want to attach it to your order for the service record.

New York] Loretz, Charles Albert - Unit: 159th Infantry, Company: D - Enlistment Rank: 1 Lieut, Discharge Rank: 1 Lieut

Since he was discharged on disability, there might also be something relevant in the Carded Medical Records of Officers, 1861 - 1865 or the Carded Medical Records of Volunteer Soldiers in the Mexican and Civil Wars, 1846 - 1865.  These are ordered separate from the the CMSR.  Email the National Archives to ask about those.

This is his pension index card you can attach to your order for his pension record.