Folding Knife Etienne Hug, 1st Missouri Infantry, Wounded at Wilson’s Creek / SOLD
Two-bladed folding pocketknife with horn handles inscribed “S. Hug Co. G. 1st Mo. Vol. Inf. 1864.” Etienne (later Stephen) Hug, was born December 24th, 1829, in Alsace, France. At the age of 21 he was drafted into the French army and was sent to Africa, where he served two years in the 3rd Regiment of Zouaves in Constantina. From there he embarked for Gallipoli. During the Crimean War he fought in the battles of Alma, Inkerman, Balaklava, Tcharnaija and Sebastopol, where he received a serious wound in the left temple. According to a newspaper article "His bright and active mind could vividly recall the Charge of the Light Brigade, made famous by Tennyson". He also survived a devastating plague of cholera in which nearly 500 soldiers lost their lives. For his services he was said to have been awarded a medal by Queen Victoria on which were inscribed the battles he participated in.
He immigrated to America in 1860, lived briefly in New York and Pittsburgh, then headed west and settled on farmland near Carondelet, Missouri. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enrolled in Company G, 1st Missouri Volunteer Infantry at Old Armory, Foot of Arsenal Street, St. Louis, Missouri, in April, 1861. With his regiment he was at the taking of Camp Jackson, and the battles of Boonville and Dug Springs. Then came the battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10th, 1861, where the 1st fought as part of Lyons' detachment on Bloody Hill. Isolated and outnumbered, they fought the Confederates to a stalemate at a great price, including the life of General Lyon. Corporal Hug was wounded twice on Bloody Hill, the second time severely. The combat service of this old warrior was over, and after spending many months in a Springfield hospital, he received a discharge in August 1862. As for his unit, they were reorganized after Wilson's Creek into Battery G, 1st Missouri Light Artillery, and went on to further service. Hug returned to his farm. He later moved to an island near Crystal City, in an area still known to this day as Hugs Landing. He engaged in fishing and cultivated one of the most successful farms in the area. He was very well known and respected in his area for his military exploits, and many favorable things were written about him after his death in 1917 at the age of 87.
The knife measures 4 5/8” when folded and has floral decorated German silver fittings. Included with the knife are 60 pages of pension records which verifies his service, and 13 pages of his service record plus other miscellaneous research documents.
First Artillery MISSOURI (3-YEARS)
First Artillery. -- Cols., John V. Dubois, Warren L. Lothrop; Lieut.Cols., W. L. Lothrop, A. M. Powell; Majs., G. H. Stone, Frederick Welker, Nelson Cole, David Murphy, Charles Mann, A. Powell, Thomas D. Maurice. This regiment was first organized as the 1st Mo. infantry in April, 1861. As an infantry regiment it took part in the capture of Camp Jackson, at St. Louis, and the battles of Boonville and Wilson's creek. On Sept. 18, 1861, it was reorganized as an artillery regiment. One battalion -- Cos. E, F and G -- participated in Gen. Fremont's campaign in southwest Missouri. The 2nd battalion - Cos. D, H and K -- was ordered south on Feb. 1, 1862, and fought with Gen. Grant's army at Fort Donelson and Shiloh and then followed that intrepid commander to Corinth.
In the battle of that place on Oct. 3-4, 1862, it was charged several times, but these charges were repulsed, or the battalion withdrew in good order, only to take a new position and renew the fight. The 3rd battalion was also with Grant during the latter part of this campaign and distinguished itself by its accurate fire and stubborn resistance to the enemy.
Meanwhile the 1st battalion was not idle. In the numerous engagements with the guerrillas under Quantrill, Jackman, Freeman, Reeves, Coffee and others this portion of the 1st Mo. artillery was always ready. Sometimes working as a battalion, often by battery, still oftener by sections, and sometimes by a single gun, it was a terror to the desperadoes.
At the battle of Prairie Grove, Ark., the 1st Mo. won the commendation of Gen. Blunt for its effective service. Soon after this the battalion was ordered to St. Louis, where its equipment's were renewed, after which it was sent to Vicksburg and remained there until after the surrender of that place.
Soon after the battle of Corinth the 2nd and 3rd battalions were broken up and the batteries separated.
During the year 1864, Cos. A and B were with the Army of the Gulf, taking part in all the maneuvers of that army in Louisiana.
Cos. C and H were sent to Gen. Sherman and fought in most of the engagements of the Atlanta campaign; Cos. D and G were stationed at Huntsville and Chattanooga; Co. E was mustered out at Brownsville, Tex., Co. F spent the year in Texas and Louisiana.
Co. I was mustered out at Kingston, GA, Co. K was stationed at Little Rock, Ark., where it took part in several expeditions into the surrounding country; Co. L was stationed at Springfield, Mo., and Co. M was in Mississippi, taking part in the Meridian, Red River and Tupelo expeditions.
In 1865, Co. H was with Sherman in the campaign of the Carolinas, and Cos. A and F participated in the reduction of Mobile and Montgomery, Ala.
From Wilson's creek, Aug. 10, 1861, to Bentonville N. C., March 21, 1865, the 1st Mo. was represented in nearly 100 battles, besides numerous skirmishes. The thunder of its guns was heard at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Champion's Hill, Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro and Nashville and on every field it acquitted itself with credit and won the praise of the commanding officers under whom it served.
It fought in nine different states, and when the call came for reenlistments its men were among the first to respond.
The last of the regiment was mustered out on Aug. 23, 1865.
Inventory Number: EDG 097 / SOLD