The 111th in Early 1864 and Morton’s Ford
- Oliver Groom
- Aug 24
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Abstract: In the winter of 1863/1864, the men of Wayne and Cayuga Counties found themselves in Virginia for winter camp. Diary entries of soldiers and mentions of Confederate POW, Camp Sumter. Accounts from men of the 111th including Esek Hoff and Thomas Geer.
Originally written by siblings, George & Deb McGraw, September 2023. Revised and edited by Erika Newcombe, Deb Hall, and Oliver Groom, August 2026.
In the winter of 1863/1864, the men of Wayne and Cayuga Counties found themselves in Virginia for winter camp. Cpl. John Paylor of Co. D wrote on January 1, 1864, “In Camp on Dumpling Mt. Got up at 6 a.m. Went to roll call. Then washed and got breakfast. Had sausage, potatoes, bread and butter and coffee … About 10 a.m. the wind came to blow and to freeze like the old Blizi. For dinner we had sausage, tea, bread, butter, minced pie and lots of apples and cheese.”
On January 3, he wrote, “… Went out to roll call then washed and got breakfast. … Then I cleaned my gun and cleaned up the shant. Funeral in afternoon. Had to detail men to bury him and detail them to go and hear sermon. Had the brass band out.”
Cpl. Daniel B. Hutchins of Co. D wrote on January 8, “More pleasant I finished the 39 Regt’s tent for which I receive 6 dollars North wind nothing happened of any note I am … Away a considerable time which I ought not to do Time is precious time is money therefore waste it not every moment brings us nearer the grave We have 3 days … Duty to do now.” On January 22, he wrote in his diary, “Nice & pleasant I built tent door for one of the 39th Regt & built a chimney for Hunter [Pvt. Thomas Hunter, Co. D] in the afternoon. Our mail was robbed last night. Thou shalt not steal Remember thy creator in the days of thy youth.” Daniel B. Hutchins enlisted on August 5, 1862, at Lyons, to serve for three years, and was mustered in as a corporal in Co. D on August 20, 1862.
Sgt. Ezekial Winegar Hoff, or better known as Esek Hoff, wrote home on January 13, “There is not anything of great interest at present transpiring. We had two privates in Co. F [William S. Millons and George Stevens] that died in hospital and another which will not get well if he does not have help. And that is John Winters of our Co. [Pvt. John Winters died on February 4 at Harewood Hospital]. So, you see that sickness kills more than the bullet sometimes.”
Esek Hoff was 28 years old when he enlisted in the war on July 23, 1862, at Union Springs, to serve for three years. He was mustered in as a sergeant in Co. K on August 20, 1862.
While the men were having a fairly easy time in winter camp, Col. Clinton MacDougall was back in New York recruiting to fill the depleted ranks which were down to 137 men on the active-duty roster. The regiment did receive a few replacement recruits but continued to be significantly understaffed.
Cpl. Thomas Geer of Co. A wrote home: “Well we have a Brigade drill this afternoon and that to learn the recruits. I wish they would drill them fellows before they send them down here. I wonder if we were ever as green as some of these fellows are. If we was I don’t see how the officers ever patients enough to learn us anything. Some of these new fellows don’t know enough to know which end of the gun to take hold of … some of them never saw a gun until they came here.”
Thomas Geer was born in Kent, England, but came to the United States when he was around ten years old with his parents and eleven siblings. Thomas and his family lived in Marion, for which he held much pride. At age 22, he enlisted on July 22, 1862, at Palmyra, to serve three years, and was mustered in as a private in Co. A on August 20, 1862. By early 1864, he had been promoted to corporal.
Returning to Marion after the war, Thomas married and had two children. The conditions of the war had marked Thomas with heart problems due to severe malaria. In 1887, he was approved for a pension. He remained active with military and veteran affairs throughout his life in Marion as he was a commander of the John B. Burrud G.A.R. Post in his hometown.
Circling back to the 111th, how quickly they forgot what little they knew when they first met the Confederates at Harper’s Ferry back in 1862 with less than one week of weapons training.
It would appear that things are not good in Confederate camps, as Hoff wrote home on January 26: “What I judge from a favorable is this (and I see no account of it as yet in the paper) that in front of us and across the river, the rebels are coming into our lines every night in squads of eight, then and a half dozen … A few nights ago, the rebels had a fight among themselves.”
The Union generals were concerned that Lee might start moving troops from around Centerville to reinforce Richmond, so they devised a plan to have a demonstration (feint battle) at Morton’s Ford along the Rapidan River. The 111th, then under the command of Lt. Col. Husk, was part of the participating Second Corps. On February 6, the 111th crossed the river as darkness was approaching. The rebels charged the Second Corps, which then returned fire, holding its position despite being greatly outnumbered. Early evening orders were received to withdraw to the other side of the Rapidan; the 111th remained as a rear guard until after midnight when they also moved back across the river. It was a cold, wet night for the 111th.
Sgt. Richard Warren of Co. F recorded in his diary for February 6, “We left camp this morning at day light and marched to Morton's Ford VA. Throw out a line of skirmishers and drove the enemy Pickets after capturing about 20. Forded the River and advanced about a mile and skirmished all day. Just before dark the enemy came down on in heavy force but we held them in Check. We retired across the River about 12 o'clock under cover of the darkness and halted about a half a mile from the river. We all suffered from the cold very much.”
On February 7, he continued, “We drew 50 rounds of cartridges each and staid til about 4 o'clock P.M. when we started for Camp which we reached about 8 P.M. Our loss was 2 wounded and 2 missing.”
Official losses for the 111th were one wounded and two captured. Cpl. George R. Monroe of Co. G and Pvt. William Reamer of Co. B both died during the summer of 1864 as POWs at Camp Sumter in Andersonville, GA.
Although Camp Sumter was only operational for fourteen months in 1864 and 1865, the camp held over 33,000 prisoners at one time, causing severe overcrowding and disease. According to the National Park Service, “… 45,000 Union soldiers were imprisoned there, and nearly 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure.”
Sgt. Samuel Corthell of Co. C, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry remembered: “The camp was covered with vermin all over. You could not sit down anywhere. You might go and pick the lice all off of you, and sit down for a half a moment and get up and you would be covered with them. In between these two hills it was very swampy, all black mud, and where the filth was emptied it was all alive; there was a regular buzz there all the time, and it was covered with large white maggots.”
Returning to the 111th in early 1864 at Morton’s Ford, things were soon back to normal with days of drill, guarding prisoners, and picket duty.
Daniel Hutchins, recently promoted to sergeant in Co. D, recorded daily events in his diary on February 18, “More pleasant I was on duty & but the latter part of the night The prisoners got in a row Gen Hay’s chimney got a fire.” On the 22nd he wrote, “This is the birthday of the Father of our country He was first in peace first in war & first in the hearts of his countryman” On the 27th, he recorded, “Very pleasant & nice all day I did some working etc then spent the rest of the day in reading Capt M- gave the boys a lecture for swearing.”
The Wayne County Historical Society encourages anyone with family members who served and lived in Wayne or Cayuga Counties during the 1860s to contact the Wayne County Historical Society at info@waynehistory.org or (315) 946-4943. If you are not sure about your Civil War ancestry, you can follow up with the link below:
Photos:
Post-war image of Esek Hoff (Courtesy of Ken Harris)
Thomas Geer (Photo from “Each Bee Was A Bullet”)
Sketch of Morton’s Ford, February 6, 1864
Reconnaissance at Morton’s Ford
Sources:
“History of the Andersonville Prison - Andersonville National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service).” National Park Service. Accessed July 1, 2026. https://www.nps.gov/ande/learn/historyculture/camp_sumter_history.htm.
New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, One Hundred and Eleventh Infantry, in Annual Report of the Adjutant-General of the State of New York for the Year 1900: Registers of the One Hundred and Eleventh Infantry, accessed July 1, 2026, “111th Infantry Civil War Roster.”
Wayne Historians Organization. Wayne County Civil War Soldiers. Accessed July 1, 2026. “Wayne County Civil War Soldiers.”
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