Marcus Wellington Murdock
Early Years in Venice Center
Marcus Wellington Murdock was the youngest child of Lyman Murdock and Clarinda Tracy, born 4 May 1837 at the Murdock Homestead. He attended local schools in his youth and subsequently attended the Canandaigua Academy in Ontario Co., New York (1). Marcus presumably completed his education by the age of 18 because the state and federal censuses of 1855 and 1860 respectively show him as a Farmer in his father's household. The ordered and peaceful life of young Marcus would be forever changed by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, shortly before he turned 24 years old, although he continued to farm for the next year.
Captain Marcus Wellington Murdock, 111th Infantry Regiment, New York Volunteers
Raising Company I
Marcus was by some accounts instrumental in raising volunteers for Company I of the 111th Regiment during the summer of 1862 (1). John Porter White of Moravia joined him in this effort.
When the civil war called forth the young men of the country, Murdock was one of the first to respond in Cayuga county, and with John Porter White of Moravia, organized Co. I, of the 111th New York Volunteer Infantry, which went to the front with Murdock as first lieutenant.
-- Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), Captain M. W. Murdock (Genoa, Cayuga Co., NY, The Genoa Tribune, Friday, 1 August 1913), Old Fulton New York Post Cards https://www.fultonhistory.comMarcus himself volunteered on 9 August 1862. On the 15th of August he was enlisted as a 1st Lieutenant in Company I of the 111th Infantry Regiment, New York Volunteers (N. Y. V.), which mustered into federal service on 20 August 1862 at Auburn, Cayuga Co., New York and left on a train late the following afternoon for the vicinity of Washington, D.C. There they would serve "in the Middle Department, 8th Corps, from Aug 24, 1862 (1)(2). . . ."
A stream of volunteers now set in from both counties. Four companies came down from Wayne, and Captains Husk and Northrop reported from Cayuga. Capt. Sidney Mead next brought to camp a band of sturdy farmers from Moravia, and finally, Capt. Tremaine's company from Springport, which, though the first begun, was the last organized, joined the regiment and the command was full. The bulk of this regiment was raised in twelve days, the whole of it in seventeen. Upon the 20th of August, 1862, it was mustered into the service for three years or during the war, as the 111th N. Y. V. Its organization was then as follows. . . . Co. I.--Capt. Sidney Mead; 1st Lieut. Merrill W. Murdock [NOTE: Military records show that his name was Marcus W. Murdock - R. A. Post]; 2nd Lieut. Arthur W. Marshall. . . ."
-- Henry Hall, The History of Auburn (Auburn, New York, USA, Dennis Bros. & Co., 1869), Internet Archive http://archive.org/, The Record of the War; pp. 434-435 https://archive.org/details/historyofauburn01hall/page/434/mode/2up
Marcus received his federal commission as 1st Lieutenant on 9 September 1862 with rank retroactive to 15 August.
Battle of Harper's Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) and Surrender
The 111 Infantry Regiment, N. Y. V. had the great misfortune to be thrown into action at the Battle of Harper's Ferry on 12-15 September 1862 (2), with minimal training, little more than three weeks after they had left Auburn for the battlefront. Colonel Dixon S. Miles, said to have been incompetent, was forced to surrender his 12,000 Union troops, the 111th Regiment among them, to the Confederates. Following their surrender, the Union troops were paroled to Camp Douglas at Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois where they were held by the Union as prisoners under difficult conditions for several months until exchanged for Confederate prisoners. It is hard to imagine that the Union would imprison its own men under such an agreement, but that was preferable to leaving them in a Confederate prison where conditions were even worse.
Once released from Camp Douglas, the 111th was first assigned to the "Defenses of Washington, in the 3d Brigade, Casey's Division, 22d Corps, from Dec., 1862" and then "in the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 2d Corps, A. P. [Army of the Potomac], from June, 1863 (2). . . ." This must have been a time of humiliation for the men of the 111th, with the memory of their surrender and parole fresh in their minds. On the other hand, it also may have been a time to develop the firm resolve that the 111th would show in battles soon to come.
Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Redemption for the 111th Infantry Regiment, N. Y. V. came with the Battle of Gettysburg on 1-3 July 1863.
The One Hundred and Eleventh has good cause to remember Gettysburg and to be proud to have a monument on the slopes of Cemetery Ridge. The regiment served under Hancock, in Hayes' division of the Second corps On July 2, 1863, when the Confederates had broken up Meade's left wing and Sickles' Third corps was engaged against enormous odds, General Hancock, whose line adjoined Sickles' on the right, hastily gathered some troops from his command and went to Sickles' aid. While doing so his own line was attacked by a Confederate line of battle that overlapped Sickles' front. The last brigade in his moving column was led by Colonel George L. Willard, and the One Hundred and Eleventh was the last regiment in the brigade. The danger to his own line caused Hancock to order this brigade to halt, face about and move back obliquely across the Confederate front. During this march and counter march the brigade was subjected to a heavy fire from the enemy's artillery. A charge was ordered upon the advancing Confederates, and was most gallantly executed. Colonel Willard was killed, and the brigade suffered terribly. The One Hundred and Eleventh bore the brunt of the fight on account of its closeness to the enemy. The Confederate charge at this point was repulsed. The next day, July 3, the regiment lay in Hancock's line near Ziegler's grove, and maintained a steady musketry fire upon Pickett's charging column. . . .
-- Mark Hamilton, Thomas Tryniski (scan), Roger Post (transcriber), To The Brave And Wise - Enduring Memorial Commemoriative Of Learning And Valor (Warrensburg, Warren Co., NY, The Warrensburgh News, Thursday, 11 June 1891), Old Fulton New York Post Cards https://www.fultonhistory.com
Detached Duty at Cayuga County and Elmira, Chemung County, New York
Lieutenant Murdock received a slight wound during the Battle of Gettysburg. His Muster Roll records show that after Gettysburg, Marcus was assigned to detached duty at Cayuga Co., New York on 26 July 1863 (1). Possibly some recuperation from his wound was required, and he may have been engaged in recruiting troops. Another document refers to Marcus having duty at Elmira, Chemung Co., New York, apparently prior to his return to the 111th on 7 December 1863 (1). It is likely that the Elmira duty was at Camp Rathbun, a Union training facility until 1864 when it became a prisoner of war camp. The exact nature of Marcus's assignments back in New York State doesn't appear in easily accessible records.
If, in fact, Marcus was on detached duty for the entire time between 26 July and 7 December 1863, he would not have participated in the Battles of Falls Church, Lewinsville, Auburn, Bristoe Station, Blackburn's Ford, and the Mine Run Campaign, all located in Virginia (2). There is some question about this, however, because a Resolution by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States issued in honor of Marcus following his death states that he fought with his regiment at Bristoe Station on 14 October 1863 and during the Mine Run Campaign, among subsequent battles (1).
Battle of Morton's Ford, Virginia and Subsequent Promotion to Captain
On 6 February 1864, the 111th participated in the Battle of Morton's Ford. One enlisted man was wounded and two went missing in this ill-advised probe and light action under winter conditions, which ended with retreat of the Union troops back to winter quarters. The 111th Regiment in March 1864 became part of the 3rd Brigade (also the Consolidated Brigade for a time), 1st Division, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac, where it remained for the duration of the Civil War (2).
Lieutenant Marcus Wellington Murdock apparently received a battlefield promotion to Captain on 2 April 1864, shortly after the 111th moved to the 1st Division (3). His actual Captain's commission would not be presented until 24 May, retroactive to 2 April (1), following several major battles (2). At the time of his formal commission, if not before, Captain Murdock took command of Company A until 9 July 1864 when he transferred to Company G (1).
The Overland Campaign
Captain Murdock, with the 111th Infantry Regiment, N. Y. V., participated in Lieutenant General Ullyses S. Grant's Overland Campaign during May and June 1864. During the month of May, the 111th fought in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, North Anna, and Totopotomoy Creek, Virgina (2). The Battle of the Wilderness on 5-7 May 1864 was a particularly significant and bloody battle. The 111th suffered 178 casualties, killed, wounded, and missing in action, exceeded (after discounting the "missing" count at the surrender at Harper's Ferry) only by the 279 aggregate casualties the regiment had experienced at Gettysburg 10 months earlier (2). (Among those casualties was Private Isaac Darrow, Jr. of Scipio, Cayuga Co., New York, subject of a previous account.) Union and Confederate forces engaged again on 8 May 1864, initiating the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, which would continue in a series of conflicts until 18 May. The 111th took 62 casualies during this period (2).
After Totopotomoy Creek, Union and Confederate forces moved to the Cold Harbor crossroads where the Battle of Cold Harbor took place on 1-12 June 1864 (2). Several days of heavy fighting led to a stalemate that lasted until the Union forces withdrew toward Petersburg. The 111th casualties were light, numbering only seven (2).
Richmond-Petersburg Campaign
Captain Murdock's participation in Civil War combat would not last beyond the summer of 1864, but several battles remained. Grant's forces had begun the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign following the Battle of Cold Harbor. The 111th Infantry Regiment, N. Y. V. fought during the Assault on Petersburg on 15-19 June, followed by the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road (also known as the First Battle of Weldon Railroad) on 21-23 June (2). Aggregate casualties for the 111th from these fights were 77 men.Marcus transferred to command of Company G of the 111th Regiment on 9 July, as mentioned above. His first engagement in this position came with the First Battle of Deep Bottom on 27-29 July followed by the Battle of Second Deep Bottom (also known as Strawberry Plains (2)) on 14-18 August 1864. Neither of these actions resulted in casualties for the 111th Regiment (2). That would change with the Battle of Ream's Station on 25 August when the 111th suffered 36 casualties when Confederate forces broke through Union lines (2).
Captain Murdock's Sickness, Disability, and Discharge
Readily available records do not reveal exactly what beflicted Marcus in the fall of 1864. Muster Rolls show that Marcus was absent from his unit because of sickness from 24 October to 31 December 1864 (1). Captain Murdock was discharged due to disability in mid- to late January 1865. Several discharge dates are given ranging from 14-25 January (1)(4). A later pension record gives his disability as "injury to chest and heart" (4).To be continued.
Sources
(1) State of New York, New York, Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900 (Albany, New York, New York State Archives, Cultural Education Center), Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com, Archive Collection #: 13775-83; Box #: 473; Roll #: 126-127
(2) Frederick Phisterer, New York in the War of Rebellion 1862-1865 (Albany, New York, Weed, Parsons and Company, 1890), Internet Archive http://archive.org/, One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment of Infantry; pp. 463-464
(3) Historical Data Systems of Kingston, MA (compiler), U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 (Duxbury, MA, Historical Data Systems, Inc., 1997-2009), Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com
(4) United States of America, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1890 Veterans Schedules (Washington, D.C., National Archives, Record Group 15, National Archives Microfilm Publication M123), Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com, Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War
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