Louis Hoffmann - 1860's U. S. Civil War
Battery F, 4th U.S. Field Artillery
The company left Fort Ridgely Minnesota on the 13th of April 1861 under orders to go to New York. When they arrived at St. Paul, Minnesota, orders awaited it to proceed to Washington City, DC. They arrived there on the night of April 18th 1861. According to Cromie’s “A Tour Guide to the Civil War,” “The first troops to arrive (in Washington, D.C.) were a company of regulars from Minnesota and 460 Pennsylvania volunteers.” I assume the Minnesota regulars are Hoffmann’s company.
I read the muster rolls for his company and pension files at the National Archives. Trying to describe his Civil War service is difficult since it is extensive. So here is a summary of his company's actions through the date he was discharged in 1863 from Source - "A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) Battery F, 4th U.S. Field Artillery. There is one interesting family connection. In 1862 his unit participated in Operations in the Shenandoah Valley and the Battle of Winchester. His wife's two brothers lived ten miles from Winchester on a farm north of Berryville. Diaries written by Berryville area residents describe the Union soldiers coming through their farming community.
I read the muster rolls for his company and pension files at the National Archives. Trying to describe his Civil War service is difficult since it is extensive. So here is a summary of his company's actions through the date he was discharged in 1863 from Source - "A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3) Battery F, 4th U.S. Field Artillery. There is one interesting family connection. In 1862 his unit participated in Operations in the Shenandoah Valley and the Battle of Winchester. His wife's two brothers lived ten miles from Winchester on a farm north of Berryville. Diaries written by Berryville area residents describe the Union soldiers coming through their farming community.
According to his pension file, he incurred deafness at the Battle of Antietam caused by the noise of cannonading. In July 1863 during the Gettysburg Campaign, he contracted rheumatism from exposure and increased deafness in both ears.
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The 4th U.S. Artillery, Battery F, was known as “Best’s.” It was part of the 12th Corps Artillery Brigade: it’s monument is located just off the Baltimore Pike on Hunt Avenue. The battery was commanded at Gettysburg by 2d Lt. Sylvanus T. Rugg (1834-1881), a former enlisted man in the regular service. The battery consisted of 120 men and 6 Napoleans. It suffered one casualty. Source: "Draw the Sword" http://www.drawthesword.goellnitz.org/2008/01/4th-united-states-artillery-battery-f/
Click here for a description of life in an artillery unit. On the tenth anniversary date of his enlistment he was mustered out of the army at Snickersville, Virginia as they were leaving Gettysburg. Once discharged from the US Army, his pension files indicate he worked as a carpenter in Baltimore with the Quartermaster Department from 1863 to 1866.
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