Isham Nicholas Haynie (1824-1868) was a lawyer, politician, soldier and officer in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was colonel of the 48th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment at the battles of

Fort Donelson Fort Donelson was a fortress built early in 1862 by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River, which led to the heart of Tennessee, and thereby the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Da ...

and Shiloh.

Early life

Haynie was born in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, Tennessee, later to become site of the battle of Fort Donelson, which Haynie would take part in. At a young age he moved to Illinois where he worked as a farmer before volunteering for service in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. He was appointed first lieutenant of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out of volunteer services in 1848. Following the Mexican War, Haynie graduated from Kentucky Law School in 1852. Returning to Illinois, he served as a lawyer and Illinois Legislator. In 1860 Haynie was a presidential elector who voted for

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...

Civil war

On November 10, 1861, Haynie was appointed colonel of the 48th Illinois Infantry. Haynie's regiment was attached to the District of Cairo. When

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

organized his expedition to Fort Henry, Haynie became part of William H. L. Wallace's brigade in John A. McClernand's division. He participated in the capture of Fort Henry.

Fort Donelson

A week later Haynie was involved in the investment of

. On February 13, a Confederate battery had been plaguing the Union position. McClernand order an assault on the battery despite orders not to bring on a general engagement. McClernand chose his 3rd Brigade under Colonel William R. Morrison to lead the attack. Morrison's brigade consisted of only two regiments and McClernand decided to temporarily attach Haynie's 48th Illinois to Morrison's brigade. As final preparations were made, Haynie realized he was now the ranking officer in the brigade. Morrison willingly consented stating it was no time to argue about rank. To that Haynie replied "Colonel, lets take it together." The two colonels led the men forward. Morrison was struck in the hip, taking him off the field and removing any command ambiguity between him and Haynie. The attack failed and the survivors returned to their lines. Colonel Leonard F. Ross was appointed the new permanent commander of Morrison's brigade and Haynie returned with his regiment to Wallace's brigade. McClernand and Grant were both eager to forget about the incident, but years later McClernand claimed to Haynie's son he wanted Haynie to lead the charge because he felt him an "abler soldier".

Shiloh

Following the reorganization of the Union Army following the

Battle of Fort Donelson The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The Union capture of the Confederate fort near the Tennessee–Kentucky border opened the Cumberland River, an important ave ...

Haynie remained in command of his regiment but the brigade was now commanded by Colonel C. Carroll Marsh as W.H.L. Wallace was promoted to division command. During the fighting on April 6 around Shiloh Church, Haynie was struck in the left thigh and forced to turn over command of the regiment.

Later service

On November 29, 1862 Haynie was appointed Brigadier General of U.S. Volunteers pending the confirmation of the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, having recovered from his Shiloh wound, he was appointed to command of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, XVII Corps. On March 4, 1863 his commission as Brigadier General expired having never been confirmed by the Senate. Haynie resigned from the army two days later on March 6.Eicher p.600 Returning to Illinois he served as adjutant general of the Illinois State Militia. Haynie died on May 22, 1868, in Springfield, Illinois.

References

* Cooling, Benjamin Franklin, ''The Campaign for Fort Donelson'', U.S. National Park Service and Eastern National, 1999, . * Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...