Tina's Great Great Grandfather William Harris Rutter served under General Ulysses S. Grant

46th Illinois Infantry Company K

http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/cw46-hist.html

America's civil war from 1861-1865

Companies A, B, C, G and K came from Stephenson County and went directly to Camp Butler on October 4. The 46th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry was formed on 12/28/1861.
Colonel John A Davis of Stephenson County (Freeport, IL being the county seat) was named the commanding officer. He later died in battle and was returned to Davis, IL . The soldiers used Springfield rifle muskets.

After 6 wks of training the regiment took a train from Springfield, IL to Cairo, IL and boarded the steamer Belle Memphis. This took them to a landing near Ft Donelson. There they met up with Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant (from Galena, IL about an hour East of Freeport. He asked the town not to change while he was gone and the town remains the same today. Which makes it a tourist destination. You can still visit Grant's home. The home was donated to him by the town.)

By Fort Donelson the Federal troops had already been fighting the Rebels. Abraham Lincoln was the president at the time. The troops marched to Ft Henry with the objective being Corinth, MS. Corinth being a commercial center for the Confederacy. March 5, the 46th Illinois Regiment was assigned to the 2nd Brigade. March 6, they boarded the steamer Aurora and arrived at Pitssburg Landing, TN on March 19th. They camped near a church called Shiloh Chapel.

They were 48,000 strong and met up with the rebels who numbered 44,700. About 7:30 am April 6, 1862 the Rebels rushed the Federal camps. After receiving heavy losses from the Rebel cross fire on the right, Colonel Davis withdrew his Regiment for a short time. After this retreat they met up with the 49th Illinois Regiment. Around 11 am the fighting started again. The troops again withdrew around 1 pm when they were running out of ammunition. Then marched back to camp for lunch. The Union suffered a huge setback on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh. The Confederates lost General Albert Sydney Johnston. Monday, April 7, 1862 the second day of battle began. Colonel Davis lost his horse in the battle and personally carried colors off of the field. While doing this Colonel Davis was seriously wounded by a shell fragment and after time proved to be fatal. The Rebels were forced to withdraw. The 46th had 31 killed, 148 wounded, and 19 missing in action. Twenty four more died in the days and weeks to follow from their wounds. Combined casualties on both sides for the two day battle was 23,700.

April 24, the Brigade went into camp for a rest and to receive their first Army pay. April 27th, they went on a mission to the rear of Corinth along a large force of Union Calvary. After scouting they returned to camp. The Rebels lost 8 men. The 46th had no casualties. October 5,1862 on the Big Hatchie River, Colonel Davis was hit by a cannon canister in the left side near his previous wound. Lt Colonel John Jones took over command. Colonel Davis passed away that day. His body was sent back to his home town, Davis, IL just North of town under a marble monument.

Vicksburg, MS (western MS) on the East Bank of the Mississippi River with a 200 ft bluff, boarded by swamp land . Lincoln considered Vicksburg the key to ending the war. May 1863, General Grant headed towards Vicksburg. The 46th Illinois was brought in from the North and in position next to the bluff on May 20th. The 46th then marched around Vicksburg to the extreme left of the Union lines. That night Rebels captured 113 officers and men of the 46th. The Confederates surrendered Vicksburg July 4. On the same day there was also a victory at Gettysburg, PA. The 46th then went on to LA. and camped near Natchez. The winter camps were in Vicksburg.

The 46th Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment was mustered out of service of the United States Government on January 20, 1866 at Baton Rouge, LA. The men boarded the steamer Lady Gray for Cairo, Il and arriving the 25th. The went back to Camp Butler by train to await final pay and discharge, arriving home February 1st, 1866.

The majority of the men died from disease more than the death from the war. Their diets were inconsistent and they were exposed to the elements making them susceptible to disease. Which included malaria and yellow fever. Of the men, 191 died of disease in the 46th Regiment.

Ft Donelson and Shiloh still remain preserved today for visitors.

William H Rutter was born 1841 in Freeport, IL and enlisted as a private from Cedarville, IL 12/30/1861 and signed again as a veteran 02/01/1864 in Yellow Creek Twp, Freeport, IL.
He was married to Anna Maria (Diemer) Rutter and they had my great grandfather Claude Lowell Rutter who was married to Ella (Heaney) Rutter. They had Charles William Rutter who married Eleanor Ruth (Kieckhaefer) Rutter who had John (Jack) LeRoy Rutter who married Mary Ann (Marie) (Campbell) Rutter who had Tina Marie Rutter.