History of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens.

              HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
209
Arriving at St. Paul on the 20th of Septem¬ ber, 1862, the regiment was divided, five com¬ panies under Lieut.-Col. Nasmith, being sent to Sauk Center, Painsville and Acton; the re¬ mainder, under the command of Col. Mont¬ gomery, was sent to Leavenworth, Fairmounl, Winnebago City and New Ulm, where regi¬ mental headquarters were established.
After service in Minnesota, the regiment returned to Wisconsin, reaching Camp Randall on the 18th of December, 1862. On the 17th of February, 1863, the regiment left, under orders to report at Cairo, III., where they arrived on the 19th, and moved next day to Columbus, Ky., and encamped. Here the regiment was attached to the 16th army corps. From this time until August, which month found the regi¬ ment at Helena, they were variously employed. Lieut.-Col. Samuel J. Nasmith died of disease contracted in the service on the l7th of August, and Maj. Rusk was appointed lieutenant col¬ onel in his place. 1 he regiment remained at Helena until the 1st of February, 1864, when they moved down the river to Vicksburg.
The regiment reached Chattanooga May 5th and immediately proceeded to join the forces of Gen. Sherman. The sixteenth corps formed part of the "Army of the Tennessee" under Gen. McPherson. On the 9th of the month they took part in a movement against Resaca, which was renewed on the 14th, with the fol¬ lowing casualities to company A:
Private Perley. B. Grubb killed; Sergt. J. Williams and Private A. A. Richardson wounded. In attacking the enemy at Peach Orchard on the 15th of June Lieut.-Col. Rusk was wounded in the right arm.
On the 19th of July the sixteenth army corps was at Decatur. About noon on the 22d three regiments commanded by Col. Sprague were attacked by two divisions of Wheeler's dis¬ mounted cavalry. Col. Montgomery, with a force composed of companies B, E, F and I of the 25th Wisconsin, and four companies of the 63d Ohio, was ordered out to ascertain the po¬
sition of the enemy. They advanced about three-fourths of a mile up a road, on the west of which was a narrow but impassable swamp, and on the other a deep, miry ditch. The enemy were met about half a mile from the swamp, by the skirmishers, consisting of coipa- pany F and an Ohio company, under command of Lieut.-Col. Rusk. The enemy opened a se¬ vere fire and the skirmishers were driven down the road back to the reserve, which, under Col. Montgomery, was in position to the left of the road.
The enemy advancing in strong force. Col. Montgomery moved the reserve by the left flank, and in attempting to cross the ditch to reach the battery in the rear, his horse sank in the miry ground, and he was shot by the enemy and captured. Lieut.-Col. Rusk, with the skirmishers, held the enemy in check for a short time on the road, but were soon obliged to re¬ tire. In attempting to do this Lieut.-Col. Rusk was surrounded by six or eight rebels, who came at him with bayonets at a charge. One of them made a dash at him and caught his sword, which hung in its scabbord by his side, the squad crying out for the "Yankee" to sur¬ render. The lieutenant-colonel made a charac¬ teristic reply and very coolly pressed his revol¬ ver to the side of the head of the rebel and gave him its contents. In falling, the fellow still held to the sword, which broke from its fasten¬ ing. Putting spurs to his horse, the lieutenant- colonel dashed down the road, under the fire of the rebels, to which he replied with his revolver and succeeded in rejoining his regiment near the battery in the rear, not, however, until he had his horse shot from under him.
On the 15th of November, 1864, the seven, teenth army corps left Atlanta on the grand march to the sea, the 21st acting as a train guard, as far as MonticeHo, when they rejoined their brigade. At Beaufert, Col. Montgomery, who had been exchanged, returned to the army and was placed in command of the brigade.