Military Record of Edwin O. Hammond

Edwin O. Hammond (1838-1893) was one of three sons of Ward K. Hammond and Sophronia Hale to enlist for Federal service in the War Between the States, 1861-65. He enlisted with the 45th Illinois Infantry Regiment, Oct. 12, 1861 and served throughout the conflict with the same Regiment, re-enlisting after the Battle at Vicksburg, Miss., in 1864 which assured him of a visit home and a re-enlistment bonus. During his stay at home he married his sweetheart Adeline (Addie) Pamelia Bostwick of Jo Daviess Co., Illinois at Hanover.

David Craig, a brother of Matilda Craig Jameson, mother of Mary Eliza Jameson Hammond, served with the 45th Illinois Infantry Co. D, the same company unit that Edwin O. Hammond was in. This 45th Illinois Infantry was in battles at Fort Donaldson and Fort Hill in Tennessee before coming in April 1862 to Pittsburgh Landing for the battle of Shiloh. In the Battle of Shiloh the 45th reported the losses of 23 killed, 187 injured and 3 missing, a total of 213 men. They later took part in the Battle of Corinth with only slight losses. After the Battle of Corinth the Battalion to which Company D was assigned journeyed to Jackson, Tenn., where they were based for most of the Summer 1862; they camped outside the city to the East, where a marker has recently been placed at Salem Campground on the Old Lexington Rd. In the Fall they were assigned to guard the railroad that ran from Harrisburg (old Malesus) to Medon, Toone and on to Grand Junction to keep rebel troops from destroying this Federally controlled railway line to Memphis and Corinth. Later in 1862 or early 1863 the entire unit was sent to Memphis for some weeks and then sent by river boats south on the Mississippi to help besiege the city of Vicksburg, Miss.

The 45th had many lead miners in it and was known as the ``Lead Miners Regiment''. Therefore as the siege continued, this unit was called on to try undermining the South's defenses at Vicksburg to help the Union Forces get within the defensive walls. Later they were called on to lead an attack once the walls were partially destroyed by the undermined explosives. In this effort virtually the whole 45th Regiment was wiped out by defensive forces. Edwin O. was one of the survivors and by this time was a Sergeant and later made First Sergeant of Company D. We do not know where David Craig was lost or missing, but he was disabled and discharged as such in Jan. 1864 at Hanover, Ill.

Many of the survivors of the Battle at Vicksburg took advantage of an offer to get a furlough home and signed for more years of service. When they returned to service the unit gathered at Cairo, Ill., and proceeded to Chattanooga to join the attack on Atlanta, Ga. In 1864 and afterwards the 45th Illinois Inf. went with Gen. Sherman on the ``March to the Sea'' at Savannah, Ga. As the troops moved on to the north on January 15th, Company D took part in a battle at Pocataligo, So. Carolina, where First Sergeant Edwin O. Hammond was injured in the right arm. Their officers had been killed so he was then commanding his Company. The wound was made by a minnie ball that entered his arm above the elbow and severed vital nerves in the right arm and hand. He was sent to a hospital in New York and then on to a hospital in Illinois for his recuperation. By this time he was well enough to join his unit the war was over. His wound left him a paralyzed right hand and restricted use of the right arm^5.2.