1861 General Orders for Volunteers Identified to Brevet Brigadier General Jonathan Prince Cilley, 1st Maine Cavalry. Right Arm Shattered at Middletown, Virginia / SOLD

1861 General Orders for Volunteers Identified to Brevet Brigadier General Jonathan Prince Cilley, 1st Maine Cavalry. Right Arm Shattered at Middletown, Virginia - Inventory Number:  HIS 148 / SOLD

General Orders Affecting the Volunteer Force. Adjutant General’s Office. 1861. Printed in 1862 by the Government Printing Office in Washington. The front endpaper bears the ink inscription “Adj. Office 1st Maine Cav. 1862 / J. P. Cilley / Bvt. Brig. Gen. 1st Maine Cav.” Jonathan Prince Cilley was a colorful character, the son of a Maine Congressman killed in a duel in 1838. He was an 1858 graduate of Bowdoin College and a practicing attorney when he enlisted in October 1861 as a captain in the 1st Maine Cavalry. During the May 24, 1862 engagement at Middletown, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley, Cilley’s right arm was struck by a shell and nearly severed. The regimental history relates that Cilley was hurled from his horse “in much the deliberate manner in which a squirrel falls to the ground when shot.” When informed by his orderly that the surgeon considered the wound mortal, Cilley retorted “Well, the doctor doesn’t know as much about it as I do. I intend to see the war finished.” He recovered after multiple surgeries that removed more than 40 pieces of bone from the shattered arm and returned to the regiment in August 1863. He was wounded again at the Battle of St. Mary’s Church in June 1864, when “the enemy interfered with the motion of one of my legs” as he dryly put it. He returned to action in September as Lieutenant Colonel and commander of the regiment. Cilley comically described his final wound at Five Forks. “Suddenly I heard and felt a bullet-whew! And it hurt. Oh! Ough! Confound it! Sergt. Major Tobie, seeing my contortions, hurried to me and asked: ‘Are you wounded Colonel? Will you go to the rear?’ My indignation burst out with “Damn the rear, I am wounded in the rear.” Cilley ended the war as a Brevet Brigadier General, and died in Alameda, California in 1920. The manual remains in overall good condition with all foldout diagrams and typical wear from field use. The top left corner of the binding has a dark stain (possibly blood from one of his several wounds) and some slight loss to the spine. A wonderful, identified piece from a talented and colorful Maine officer.

MAINE 1ST CAVALRY (THREE YEARS)

First Cavalry.-Cols., John Goddard, Samuel H. Allen, Calvin S. Douty, Charles H. Smith; Lieut.-Cols., Thomas Hight, Calvin S. Douty, Charles H. Smith, Stephen Boothby, Jonathan P. Cilley; Majs., Samuel H. Allen, David P. Stowell, Calvin S. Douty, Warren L. Whitney, Jonathan P. Cilley, Charles H. Smith, Stephen Boothby, George M. Brown, Sidney W. Thaxter, Constantine Taylor, Benjamin F. Tucker, Paul Chadbourne, Daniel S. Curtis, Joel W. Cloudman. This regiment was raised at large, consisted of twelve companies, and was mustered in at Augusta, Nov. 5, 1861, for three years. It was the equal of any in the service in the character of its men and the quality of its horses. It remained encamped at Augusta until the following spring. Companies A, D, E and F left the state for Washington on March 14, under command of Col. Allen, arriving there on the 19th. Companies B, I, H and M, under Maj. Douty, arrived on the 24th and C, G, K and L, under Maj. Stowell, on the 28th.  A, B, E, H and M under Lieut.-Col. Douty joined Gen. Banks, corps at Strasburg, Va., on May 11, and were attached to Gen. Hatch's cavalry brigade. The other seven companies were first assigned to Gen. Abercrombie's brigade, and soon afterwards to Gen. Ord's division at Fredericksburg. The men participated in their first severe engagement on May 23, when Lieut.-Col. Douty with his command and two companies of the 1st Vt. cavalry, charged the enemy at Middletown, Va., covering Banks, retreat to Williamsport.

The loss was 176 horses and equipments.  The regiment was reunited at Warrenton, Va., on July 10, and attached to Bayard's brigade, with which it took part in the battle of Cedar Mountain. It participated in the retreat of Gen. Pope's forces to Fairfax Court House, where it arrived on Sept. 3, and reported to Gen. Reno, having engaged the enemy at Brandy Station on Aug. 20, and been present at the second battle of Bull Run on the 30th, under Brig.-Gen. Elliott of Pope's staff. Arriving in Washington on Sept. 4, it was attached to Burnside's corps and engaged the enemy at Frederick, Md., on the 12th. Co. G, acting as Gen. Reno's body-guard, took part in the battle of South Mountain, Cos. M and H, under Gen. Porter, in that of Antietam. The regiment (except Cos. G, M and H) remained at Frederick from Sept. 12, to Nov. 2, up to which period it had lost in action and worn out in service nearly 700 horses. The severity of the service to which the men of this regiment were subjected may be inferred from a bare recital of the battles in which they were subsequently engaged and from data showing some of their heaviest losses.

The list of battles includes, in addition to those above mentioned: Fredericksburg, Rappahannock Station, Brandy Station, Aldie, Middleburg, Upperville, Gettysburg, Shepherdstown, Sulphur Springs, Mine Run, about Richmond, Old Church, Todd's tavern, Ground Squirrel Church, Hawes' Shop, Cold Harbor, Trevilian Station, St. Mary's Church, Deep Bottom, Reams' Station, Wyatt's Farm, Boydton Road and Bellefield. Col. Douty was killed at Aldie, VA, while leading a gallant charge, on June 17, 1863, as was Capt. Summatt while rallying his men under a murderous fire of grape and canister. 

Three hundred selected men from the regiment participated in the daring raid of Gen. Kilpatrick to the vicinity of Richmond, Feb. 27 to March 12, 1864, the loss of the 1st in this famous raid being 93 men killed, wounded or missing and over 200 horses. It also moved with the cavalry corps on Gen. Sheridan's first raid, May 9, 1864, until within 3 miles of Richmond. In the engagement at Trevilian Station, June 24, 1864, its loss was 10 officers and 58 enlisted men. During August of this year its loss in killed, wounded and missing was 49 men and 75 horses, and the total casualties during 1864 amounted to 295 officers and enlisted men. In Aug., 1864, seven companies of the 1st D. C. Cavalry were transferred and assigned to the several companies of this regiment by a special order of the war department.  The original members of the regiment whose term of service expired Nov. 4, 1864, were mustered out at Augusta, Me., on the 25th, while the regiment, now composed of veterans recruits and members of the 1st D. C. cavalry whose term had not expired, participated in the closing battles of the war; was mustered out of the U. S. service at Petersburg, Va., Aug., 1, 1865, and arrived in Augusta, Me., on the 9th.

Source: The Union Army, vol. 1

Jonathan Prince Cilley

Residence Thomaston ME; 25 years old.

Enlisted on 10/19/1861 as a Captain.

On 10/19/1861 he was commissioned into “B” Co. ME 1st Cavalry

He was Mustered Out on 5/31/1865 at Petersburg, VA

He was listed as:

* Wounded 5/24/1862 Middletown, VA

* Wounded 6/24/1864 Saint Mary’s Church, VA

* Returned 9/24/1864 (place not stated)

Promotions:

* Major 4/14/1862

* Lt Colonel 9/2/1864

* Colonel 3/13/1865 by Brevet (For gallant & meritorious services)

* Brig-General 3/13/1865 by Brevet

Intra Regimental Company Transfers:

* 4/14/1862 from company B to Field & Staff

Other Information:

born 12/29/1835 in Thomaston, ME

died 4/6/1920 in Alameda, CA

Comes housed in a display case with black velvet backing and descriptive card.

 Inventory Number:  HIS 148 / SOLD