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CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE AND CAREER OF JAMES HARRY CARDY (1837 1888 CE)
by Donald J. Ivey
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James Harry Cardy (1837-1888 CE). Photographic carte de visite as First Lieutenant of the Third Michigan Cavalry, c. 1863. Signed Yours truly, J. Harry Cardy 1st Lieut, E. Co. 3d Mich Calvary. (Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection, Detroit, MI)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter I.
Page
II.
III.
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE AND CAREER OF JAMES HARRY CARDY (1837 1888 CE)
1837 June or July Born in New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts, the eldest child of David B. and Hannah T. Cardy.
1850 August 7 United States census records for Bristol County, Massachusetts list Cardy as "attending school" in New Bedford while residing with his parents and his younger sisters, Malvina P. and Helen B. Cardy in New Bedford.
c. 1853 Parents separate and divorce; possibly at this period in time, Cardy is taken to the State of Michigan by his father, who settles in West Bay City, Bay County.
c. 1855-1861 Cardy works as a sailor, probably serving aboard commercial merchant ships operating in the Saginaw Bay - Lake Huron Great Lakes region.
1860 November 6 Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, a Republican, is elected as the Sixteenth President of the United States. December 20 In reaction to Lincoln's election, South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the Union. She is followed in rapid succession by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana in January.
1861 February 4-8 Delegates from the first six seceding states assemble in convention in Montgomery, Alabama. There they proclaim the organization of the Confederate States of America and they adopt a provisional constitution for the new government. Eventually, a total of 11 Southern states would secede from the Union and join the Confederacy.
March 4 Lincoln is inaugurated as President of the United States in Washington, District of Columbia.
1861 April 12-13 Confederate artillery batteries under the command of Brigadier General Pierre G.T. Beauregard fire on Federal troops in Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The next day the fort surrenders. April 15 In response to the incident at Fort Sumter President Lincoln proclaims that a "state of insurrection" exists and calls for 75,000 militia volunteers to serve for a period of three months in the U.S. Army. Later, on April 19th, Lincoln orders a naval blockade of the Confederate States. September 21 Cardy enlists as First Sergeant in Captain Thomas Saylor's Company in the Third Regiment of Michigan Cavalry Volunteers at East Saginaw, in Saginaw County, Michigan. October 14 Mustered into United States service as First Sergeant of Company M of the Third Michigan Cavalry at Camp Anderson near Grand Rapids, Michigan to serve for a period of 3 years.
1861-1862 December 1- February 25 Cardy is stationed with his company and the rest of the regiment at Benton Barracks near St. Louis, Missouri.
1862 March 13-14 The regiment first sees action at the capture of New Madrid, Missouri while under Brigadier General John Pope, commander of the Military Division of Missouri. The Confederate defenders of the town subsequently fled to Island No. 10 in the channel of the Mississippi River. March 14-April 8 The Third Michigan serves with the Army of General Pope during the siege of Confederate forces on Island No. 10 while stationed at New Madrid. When the Confederates finally surrender the island on April 8, vast amounts of arms and supplies are captured. The defeat is a major one for Confederate forces in the region, and greatly weakens their control over the Lower Mississippi River. May 10-31 The regiment again serves under General Pope at the siege of Corinth, Mississippi, where it is principally engaged on scouting and reconnaissance missions. The regiment also served in an engagement with Confederate forces at Farmington, Mississippi on May 5. Union troops occupy the town on May 30, only to find that Confederate forces under General Beauregard have already been evacuated south to Tupelo, Mississippi.
May 12 Cardy is promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant and he is transferred to Company L of the regiment for detached service at Rienza, Mississippi. July 26 Third Michigan serves in another engagement with Confederate forces at Spangler's Mills, Mississippi. September-October Company records list Cardy as absent from the regiment on detached service, probably at Rienza. September 10 The regiment serves under Brigadier General William Rosecrans at an engagement with Confederate forces at Bay Springs, Mississippi. September 19 The Third Michigan again serves under General Rosecrans, at the Battle of Iuka, Mississippi. The battle was a major victory for Union forces and the Third Michigan was said to have particularly distinguished itself in action while under the command of Captain Lyman G. Wilcox. October 3-4 The Third Michigan serves at the Battle of Corinth, where General Rosecrans defeated Confederate forces under Generals Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price. October 6-December 5 The regiment sees further action in various engagements with Confederate forces at Hatchie, Hudsonville, Holly Springs, Lumkin's Mills, Oxford and Coffeeville, Mississippi. October 30 Cardy receives and accepts a commission from Governor Austin Blair of Michigan promoting him to the rank of First Lieutenant. He is transferred and mustered into Company E of the regiment at Corinth and is ordered on detachment service by the commander of the regiment, Colonel John K. Mizner. His commission as First Lieutenant is to take rank October 30, 1862 (and is later amended to date from July 13, 1862) .
1863 January Company records list Cardy as returning to the company from detached service at this time. May Company records again list Cardy as absent on detached service at Headquarters, Cavalry Division. June 18-19 A detachment of the regiment skirmished Confederate forces at Coldwater Bridge near Panola. One man in the detachment is wounded, while 1 Confederate is killed and 2 are captured. The detachment also destroys a railroad bridge across the Yockeney Creek along with a flouring mill, a sawmill, a tannery mill with stock, 50,000 bushels of grain and 400 bales of cotton. July 13 The Third Michigan fights in a heavy engagement with Confederate forces at Jackson, Tennessee. A final, desperate charge by the regiment successfully broke
the Confederate lines and forced them to retreat from the town with heavy losses. August 13-14 A detachment of the Third Michigan leads the advance of Union forces capturing the town of Grenada, Mississippi, where large amounts of Confederate machinery and rolling stock were located. Over 60 enemy locomotives and more than 400 railroad cars are destroyed in the engagement, along with an immense amount of railroad stock, machinery, and commissary stores. Cardy saw action in this engagement with his company. October 12-13 The Third Michigan again sees action, this time engaging Confederate forces at Byhalia and Wyatts' Ford, Mississippi. November-December During this period, the regiment is engaged in constant scouting and reconnaissance expeditions in Northern Mississippi and Western Tennessee, where it encounters Confederate forces under Generals Forrest and Chalmers. The regiment participated in several skirmishes at Ripley, Orizaba and Ellistown, Mississippi and at Purdy and Jack's Creek, Tennessee. December 27 Cardy requests a leave of absence to visit his dying wife in Michigan. He asks to be allowed to "visit here in her last moments." Apparently, however, the leave was not granted.
1864 January 27 The Third Michigan is mustered into United States service as Veteran Volunteers while at winter quarters at La Grange, Tennessee, to serve for an additional period of 3 years, or for the duration of the war. February 8-March 9 Cardy is absent with leave on veteran's furlough with the regiment in Michigan. March 16-May 18 The regiment is transferred to St. Louis where it serves as dismounted cavalry on provost duty in the city while awaiting the arrival of horses, arms and equipment. May 24 The Third Michigan is transferred to the Department of Arkansas, where it is remounted and begins operations against Confederate forces under General Shelby. The regiment succeeded in driving Shelby's army beyond the Arkansas River while dispersing various guerrilla bands that also operated in the region. May & June Company records list Cardy as being on detached service at DeVall's Bluff, Arkansas as acting Post Ordnance Officer. July 12 Requests a leave of absence for 30 days to return home to Michigan to recuperate from an unspecified illness or injury. The leave was subsequently granted to August 20.
August 20 Leave expires; reported as being "absent without leave" from the regiment. September 28 Cardy returns to his post at DeVall's Bluff, where he is relieved of duty as Ordance Officer there and is placed under arrest for being absent without leave. October 27 Formally requests that "a Board may be appointed for the purpose of examining into, and reporting upon the circumstances of my case." November The regiment establishes its headquarters at Brownsville Station, Arkansas on the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, where it garrisons the post there until February. While stationed here the regiment was occupied in scouting expeditions along the railroad line while securing large supplies of beef for the Union army. November 1 A military commission convenes at Brownsville to investigate the cause of Cardy's overstayed absence without leave. The commission finds that Cardy "is culpable for failing to procure the necessary documentary evidence relieving him from duty and for not applying to [the] proper authority for an extension of his leave of absence, but consider[s] that he was justifiable in overstaying his leave of absence." Cardy is not court-martialed for the offense, and no subsequent punishment is recorded in the case.
1865 January 24 Cardy receives and accepts a commission from Governor Blair of Michigan promoting him to the rank of Captain of Company E of the regiment. His commission as Captain is to take rank as of January 24, 1865. March 14 The Third Michigan is transferred to the Military Division of West Mississippi to serve under Major General E.R.S. Canby in the impending campaign against Confederate forces at Mobile, Alabama. April 9 Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. April 12 Mobile, the only major city still in Confederate hands, is taken without a fight by General Canby. The Third Michigan is employed there on outpost duty until May, when it is selected to serve as General Canby's escort party on the occasion of the formal surrender of General Taylor's Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River to Canby at Citronelle, Alabama on May 4 . April 14-15 President Lincoln is shot by actor John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington. He dies the next day and is succeeded in office by Vice President Andrew Johnson. April 26 The Confederate Army of the Tennessee under General Johnston surrenders to General William T. Sherman at Durham Station, North Carolina. Johnston's army is the
second major Confederate force to surrender to Union troops. May 17 General Philip H. Sheridan is given command of the Military Division of the Southwest, where scattered units under Confederate General Kirby Smith continue to resist. The Third Michigan is transferred to this Division for duty as part of an expedition which is to be sent into Texas. June 2 General Kirby Smith finally surrenders the Trans-Mississippi Department Army to Union forces at Galveston, Texas. He is the last Confederate general to surrender, and except for minor skirmishes and some guerrilla activity in the West, the war is at an end. July 10-August 2 The Regiment marches from Shreveport, Louisiana across Texas, where it arrives in San Antonio on August 2. Here the regiment established its headquarters and as part of the First Brigade, First Cavalry Division, Military Division of the Gulf, it performed garrison duty, furnished escorts for supply trains and was employed in scouting for the protection of the frontier as far as the Rio Grande. July 10-September 6 Company records list Cardy as absent from the regiment on detached service at New Orleans, Louisiana in command of a unit of dismounted cavalry there. September 6 Cardy rejoins the regiment at San Antonio. After October 8 Cardy is charged by his several of fellow officers with "Drunkeness on Duty," "Conduct unbecoming an Officer and Gentleman" and "Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline" while serving as Brigade Officer of the Day at the regiment's Camp in San Antonio. October l8 Tenders resignation as Captain of Company E, 3rd Michigan Cavalry, possibly as part of a "deal" worked out in order to have the court-martial charges against him dropped, as there are no records extant attesting to a general court-martial. October 22 Requests that he may be ordered to return to New Orleans to await the acceptance of his resignation because "The dangerous illness of a widowed sister, who is alone in New Orleans, makes it a matter of necessity as well as duty that I should immediately attend to her wants and comfort." October 24 Leaves the regiment on leave of absence to await the acceptance of his resignation at New Orleans. His sister eventually died of the unknown illness that afflicted her. November 8 Cardy again tenders his resignation, which is accepted; he is honorably discharged from United States service with the rank of Captain at New Orleans.
1865 late November Cardy probably returns to West Bay City, Michigan. Here he would be employed by James Davidson and (at times) by Spencer O. Fisher as a clerk-bookkeeper and time keeper. By now he was also suffering from an "inflammation of the stomach" and "inflammatory rheumatism" contracted while serving in the Southwest in 1865. Cardy may have been an alcoholic by this time also.
1888 February 9-21 Treated for Bright's Disease and acute lobar pneumonia together with valvular disease of the heart. February 21 Dies of chronic inflammation of the stomach and inflammatory rheumatisim at his residence on the corner of 9th & Adams Streets, 4th Ward, West Bay City, aged 50 years. He was survived by his father, his (apparently second) wife and a stepson, Charles Lessig. February 26 Buried in West Bay City. His funeral was well-attended by the members of the Henry S. Burnett post of the Union veterans' organization The Grand Army of the Republic.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brown, George H. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 18611865. Volume 33. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Ihling Bros, and Everard Printers, 1905. "Cardy, James H." Military service and pension records as Sergeant-Captain, Companies M, L and E of the Third Michigan Cavalry Regiment. Filed with the National Archives and Records Service, Washington, D.C. "Death of James H. Cardy." The Evening Press, Bay City, Michigan, February 24, 1888, page 4. Gillet, Orville. "Diary of Lieutenant Orville Gillet, U.S.A., 1864-1865," The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Ted R. Worley, editor. Volume XVII, pages 164-204 , Summer 1958 "Laid to Rest." The Evening Press, Bay City, Michigan, February 27, 1888, page 4. Linton, Calvin D., Ph.D., editor. The Bicentennial Almanac. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc., 1975. Loescher, Maida H. Military Service Branch, Military Archives Division, National Archives and Records Service, reply to letter requesting information regarding the military service of James H. Cardy, Washington, D.C, August 9, 1984. Pakula, Marvin H., William J. Ryan and David K. Rothstein. Centennial Album of the Civil War. New York: New York: Castle Books, 1960. Robertson, John. Michigan in the War. Lansing, Michigan: W.S. George & Co., State Printers and Binders, 1882. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Microfilm copy. Filed in the Michigan State Library, Lansing, Michigan. Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. Microfilm copy. Filed in the Michigan State Library, Lansing, Michigan. Wilcox, Lyman G. At the Front with the Third Michigan Cavalry. Chicago, Illinois: Samuel Harris & Co., 1918. "The South in Civil War Times," Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S. Volume II, pages 12-38, April 5, 1894. Wood, W. Birkbeck, and William B. Hesseltine. "American Civil War," Encyclopaedia Britannica. Volume 1. Chicago, Illinois, William Benton, 1972, pages 730-742.