George Martin
O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXIV/1 [S# 36]
MARCH 14-27, 1863.--The Steele's Bayou Expedition...
No. 20.--Reports of Col. Samuel W. Ferguson, C. S. Army, commanding Detachment.
CAMP ON DEER CREEK, March 30, 1863.
[Ferguson's report in part]
"The artillery, under Lieutenant [R. L.] Wood, behaved as I expected men who fought as they did on the 23d ultimo. Their cool, calm courage and good shooting was a glad sight to a soldier's eye. I would include in this favorable notice the section under Lieutenant [A. P.] St. John, temporarily attached to the command of Lieutenant Wood."
Believe R L. Wood to be 1st Lieutenant, Co. C, 2nd Missouri Light Artillery
Alexander Pope St. John, Co. D, 2nd Alabama Battalion, Light Artillery
Sengstak's Artillery Battery, Company "D", 2nd Light Artillery Battalion
Sengstak's battery, under command of Capt. Henry Herman Sengstak, was organized at Mobile, in December 1861. It was stationed there until the summer of 1862, then moved to Columbus, MS, where it remained until September 1862. It served the greater part of the war in Gen'l Dabney H. Maury's division; it fought at Corinth, where it was specially commended by the division commander, and at the Hatchie Bridge. It wintered in northern Mississippi, 1862-63, and was in the siege of Vicksburg, where it lost 4 k and 7 w, and was captured. After being exchanged, the men on 19 November 1863 were assigned to Barrett's Missouri battery, Army of Tennessee. They were constantly engaged in the Dalton-Atlanta Campaign in the battalion commanded by Major Waddell. It was transferred to the south, took part in the battle of Girard, where all its guns and most of the men were captured.
Officers: Capt. Henry Herman Sengstak; 1st Lt. A. H. Hicks (dropped, 7 Feb 64); Sr. 1st Lt. William Perry Leslie (resigned, 3 Jan 63); 1st Lt. W. S. Newsom (resigned, 26 March 64); 1st Lt. ALEXANDER POPE ST. JOHN; 2nd Lt Stanley Hale Bell; 2nd Lt. Robert B. Patton (dropped, 7 Feb 64).