I am writing a regimental history of the 26th Michigan and have found a detailed account of the loss of a member of the 2nd Mississippi that may not have been recorded in published history. If I may share with you a few brief excerpts:

"On the morning of May 23, 1863 Adjutant Nathan Church of the 26th Michigan wrote home from the field: “Hd Qrs 3d Brig - U.S. Infy Forces… We left our camp at Suffolk about 10 days ago and came out about 10 miles where we stayed several days. A few days ago we moved up to a small village called Windsor and yesterday came here. I am writing on my knee - sitting on the ground - leaning up against a shade tree in a fruit yard of what was once a splendid mansion. Fire has left only the chimneys standing. In fact nearly all the houses this side of Suffolk have been burned. A few are still occupied but we find no men remaining at home. We have had small parties of Rebs about us nearly all the time. Yesterday they fired pretty sharply on our pickets. This was the first time our boys have had of returning their fire. This morning we found one dead Reb shot through the head. Several others were seen to fall. We brought the dead one up washed his face & buried him under an apple tree. He was from Mississippi and I should think had been in the service a long time. We are liable to be attacked any moment but do not fear, but rather hope, they will attack us. We left all our tents in camp but as the weather has been warm & no rain have fared well enough.

Col Farrar is in command of a Brigade and therefore acting as Brig Genl. I am acting as Asst Adjutant Genl for him. There are 4 Regt in our Brigade.

I have not had my clothes off since leaving camp so we are looking pretty rusty having to lay down anywhere. We enjoy our trip here first rate, can kill all the sheep pigs & cattle we want to eat... [i]"

Later, Nathan's father, a Captain in Company D expanded:

" Captain Lafayette Church of the 26th Michigan wrote of these events on May 24th: “…this is the ninth day that we have been out of camp - we have no tents with us, but make very comfortable shelters of pine boughs… two or three companies only of our Regt have been under fire and that when on picket (the) night before last, the Rebs advanced upon the pickets about five o’clock. Pretty sharp fireing was kept up until sundown, none of the 26th were hit but the enemy lost seven in killed and wounded, as we learned by two prisoners. One of the killed was found the next morning by pickets and brought in and buried. He was shot in the right ear, the ball passing through his head. On his gun sling was the name of R. W. Nealy 2d Mississippi Regt. He was a very large man, about thirty years old. Last night about the same time three hundred charged upon our pickets yelling like mad. Co A. of the 26th and one company of the 11th R.I. were then out on picket. Co A. stood their ground but the Rhode Islanders gave way at first, but were rallied by Capt Lothian of Co C and Nate (Church, his son), they having just went out to their lines. The bullets were whistling all around them. Capt John Culver of Co E. was the only one wounded of the 26th, he was shot through the right arm shattering it badly. It will have to be amputated, one of the 11th R.I. was slightly wounded by a shell from our own artillery. After dark we fell back to this place, four miles.

In this vicinity there are between 15 and 20 Regts of Inft, 2 Batteries of artilery and parts of two Regts of Cavalry. Gen (Michael) Corcoran is in command of the division, (26th MI) Col. Farrar commands a brigade of 4 Regts, Capt. Stephen Burch is in command of the (26th MI) Regt…”

Five days later Captain Church expanded on these events: “we were out of camp on an expedition towards the Blackwater. We returned to our camp about 12 oclock last tuesday night, having been out just eleven days. The object of the expedition was to tare up the tracks and remove the iron from the Weldon & Seaboard & Portsmouth & Petersburgh Rail Roads which run nearly parralel to each other the distance of 20 miles being some 6 or 8 miles apart.

We left camp at sun rise saturday morning in company with the 11th Rhode Island Regt - 15 Regts of Infty - 2 Battaries and parts of 2 Regts of cavalry having went out the wednesday previous at 9 oclock A.M. we reached a place known as the “Deserted House” being ten miles from Suffolk and about the same distance from Franklin on the Blackwater where the enemy has quite a large force, and strong forts and breast works. There we remained until Tuesday night, a part of our forces were at Carrsville 4 miles further towards Franklin, on the Weldon & Seaboard R.R. At the Deserted House had been in January last, quite a severe battle between Gen Corcorance and Gen Prior of the Rebel Army, the effects are still visable in the carcasses of dead horses and trees cut off by cannon shot, some of them over a foot through. There are two large orchards on the ground occupied by the Rebs, the limbs of the trees were strewn all over the ground and many of the bodies cut entirely off near the ground. One ball passed through a sycomore shade tree where its trunk was two and a half feet through…”…”

Anyway, I felt the loss of this brave Confederate soldier should be noted on your web-site.

Ii: Church Family Collection, Howes & Bowman contributions, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. (Mt. Pleasant, MI). “Lafayette & Nathan Church, Letters from the War, 1862-1864.”

- Excert from "The Lakeshore Tigers & The Bloody Angle" up-coming book by Leonard G. Overmyer III