Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Captain William H. Acker

William H. Acker, was born in New York, and appointed from Minnesota he would died young at the age of about 29, even thought his military career was cut short it was a interesting one. He became Captain of the first Minnesota Volunteers, on April 29, 1861, he would resign on August 20, 1861, only to reenlist as Captain in the sixteenth infantry, on May 14, 1861. On April 7, 1862, he was killed at the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee. He was made a Brevet Major, on April 7, 1862, for gallant and meritorious service in the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee.

Below you will find part of battle report, which his name is stated Those whishing to learn more abut William H. Acker can take this link.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=acker&GSfn=william&GSmn=h.&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=40890910&df=all&

Numbers 91. Report of Brigadier General Lovell H. Rousseau, U. S. Army, commanding Fourth Brigade.

HEADQUARTERS FOURTH BRIGADE, Battle-field of Shiloh, Tenn., April 12, 1862.

GENERAL: I have the honor to report to you, as commander of the Second Division of the Army of the Ohio, the part taken by my brigade in the battle at this place on the 7th instant. After a very arduous march on Sunday, the 6th instant, during much of which I was forced to take the fields and woods adjacent to the highway, from the narrowness of the latter and its being filled with wagon trains and artillery and for me at that time impassable, we reached Savannah after dark. Under your orders and superintendence we at once embarked on steamboats for this place. We reached the Landing here at daylight and soon after reported to you as ready for action. Under your order, and accompanied by you, we marched out on the field of the day before, a little after 6 o'clock a. m. Soon after, General Buell came up and directed you to deploy and form line of battle, our left resting on General Crittenden's right and our right extending in the direction of General McClernand's division, and to send out a company of skirmishers into the woods in front. This was done at once, Major King detailing Captain Haughey for that purpose.

Within a half hour after this you looked over the ground and decided to take a position some 200 or 300 yards to the front, on the crest of a piece of rising ground. I moved up the brigade accordingly, taking the new position indicated. In this line a battalion of the Fifteenth U. S. Infantry, Captain Swaine, and a battalion of the Sixteenth U. S. Infantry, Captain Townsend, both under command of Major John H. King, were on the right; a battalion of the Nineteenth U. S. Infantry, Major Carpenter, on left of King; the First Ohio, Colonel B. F. Smith, on Carpenter's left, and the Sixth Indiana, Colonel Crittenden, on the left flank, while the Louisville Legion, Colonel Buckley, was held in reserve 150 paces in rear of the line. Thirty or forty minutes after this line was formed Captain Haughey's skirmishers were driven in, several of his men shot, and my command fiercely assailed by the enemy. The attack lasted perhaps twenty minutes, when the enemy were driven off. In this contest Captain Acker, of the Sixteenth U. S. Infantry, was instantly killed

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