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| Col. Charles F. Johnson |
This Veterans Day weekend, as we honor our veterans and also
celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, is perhaps a good
time to reflect wounded warrior members of the Civil War’s Invalid Corps. Some
of these soldiers served in, and saved Laurel, Maryland from attack.
More than 620,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were
wounded during the Civil War. Many of them suffered debilitating injuries and
amputations, others were seriously weakened by disease. Like today’s soldiers,
many still wanted to serve their country. Those discharged because of their condition
often found limited work opportunities outside of the military. They also discovered a society uncomfortable
with people with disabilities. What to do with the many soldiers unfit for
active duty or pensioned because of illness or injury? The Invalid Corps was
the Union Army’s response.
Created in April, 1863 the Invalid Corps was organized by level of
disability. One section was for those who could use a gun and do garrison duty.
A second was for those who were severely disabled, i.e. had lost an arm, but
could do hospital duty. They were issued swords.
The idea was that these men, still able to serve, but in a
limited capacity, could free up others to engage in active combat. Close to
60,000 men served in the Union Invalid Corps. (The Confederacy established a
similar body in 1864.) Within the
military, feelings about the corps were decidedly mixed, with some claiming it
was filled with “ne’er-do-wells and malingerers.”Their distinctive light blue
uniform also singled them out as “different.” The Corps’ name also had an
unfortunate connotation, since in the Union Army its initials “IC” also stood
for “Inspected, Condemned,” As a result, it was renamed in Veterans Reserve
Corps (VRC) in 1864. Despite the
disparagement, the many of VRC’s members served with distinction. VRC units provided
the honor guard for Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg, guarded prisoners, quelled
draft riots, played a critical role in defending Washington and also, importantly
for Laurel, guarded the railroad.
Saving Laurel
While researching the Laurel Museum’s current exhibit
“Stationed in Laurel, Our Civil War Story”(www.laurelhistoricalsociety.org) we
realized that these wounded veterans, members of the Veterans Reserve Corps,
not only guarded Laurel later in the war, but in one case its presence saved the
town from attack. Two VRC units, the 6th and the 18th
Regiments, are known to have been stationed in Laurel while guarding the line
between Washington and Baltimore.
Col. Charles Johnson, who headed the VRC’s 18th
Regiment had been gravely wounded in the groin in June, 1862, and was honorably
discharged. Like many men he found job prospects outside the military limited,
and rejoined upon creation of the Invalid Corps, where he qualified for full
pay, rather than a pension. His 18th Regiment guarded Laurel from July5
to October 5, 1864.
In July, 1864 Brigadier
General Bradley T. Johnson lead a contingent of 1500 cavalrymen. They hoped to
break up the railroad at Laurel on his way to Point Lookout to free Confederate
prisoners. Scouts brought news of a sizable Federal force posted at Laurel, so
the Confederates struck the tracks at Beltsville, instead. The Federal force
was Johnson’s 18th Regiment of the VRC, stationed in Laurel.
In a July 20,
1864 letter to his wife Johnson wrote:
…the “sympathizers” (local
Southern sympathizers)]...endeavored to get this little band of’ ‘Invalids ’gobbled
up” by the enemy…I discovered that the reason that the rebs did not attempt to
destroy the bridge at Laurel was they informed the rebs that it would require
at least 5 or 600 men to dislodge me as I had a good position and …intended to
fight it out at that point..and it would take too long a time to ‘whipe us out’
for them[i.e. Confederate forces] to stop.
Col. Charles Johnson July 20, 1864
Charles Johnson, after service that included working with
Freedman’s Bureaus in the South died in 1867, partially of his wounds. The VRC
was disbanded in 1866 at the end of the war, and is largely forgotten. As we honor the men and women of today’s
military, taking a moment to recall the service of these wounded warriors from
150 years ago seems particularly appropriate.
“Stationed in Laurel: Our Civil War Story” runs through
December 22 at the Laurel Museum, 817 Main Street, Laurel, Maryland. www.laurelhistoricalsociety.org.
For more information on the Invalid Corps see:
The Civil War Letters
of Colonel Charles F. Johnson, Invalid Corps. Fred Pelka. University of
Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 2004. The
introduction gives an excellent overview of the Invalid Corps.
“Invalid Corps” Col.
R. Gregory Lande, MC USA (Ret.); Military
Medicine, Vol. 173, June 2008.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Invalid.Corps
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