CIVIL WAR - YATES' PHALANX

[Camp] Residence: Marseilles, Illinois
Enlistment Date: 11 Aug 1861, Newton, MA
Mustered In: 10 Oct 1861
Side Served: Union
State Served: Illinois

CIVIL WAR Service Record: Enlisted as a Private on 10 August 1861. Enlisted in Company K, 39th Infantry Regiment Illinois on 11 Oct 1861. Died of "lung trouble" on 20 Jul 1862* at U.S. General Hospital, Cumberland, MD.

History of Company "K" 39th Illinois Infantry:
George enlisted 11 Aug 1861 in Newton, MA, on a volunteer basis for a 3 year commitment. There is a story of how these men of all different states got to be with the Illinois 39th in the Adjutant General's Report.

History of the 39th:
11 Oct 1861: Organized and mustered in at Chicago, Illinois
13 Oct 1861: Left state for St. Louis, Missouri.
28 Oct 1861: Ordered to Williamsport, Maryland. Attached to Rail RoadGuard, Depot of West Virginia
11 Dec 1861: Moved from Williamsport, Maryland, to Hancock, Maryland and guard duty at Baltimore for Ohio Rail Road
1 Jan 1862: Attached to 1st Brigade, Lander's Division, Army of the Potomac
3 Jan 1862: Near Bath, Virginia, Confederates "under the command of "Stonewall" Jackson, attacked Companies D, I and K, in the command of Major Mann. After a brisk fight, were repulsed; then, with two pieces of artillery, and a liberal display of strategy and courage the enemy was held in check for nearly twenty-four hours".
*5 Jan 1862: Retreat to Cumberland, Maryland. The Thirty-ninth was ordered to make a forced march of forty miles over poor roads, this was accomplished in just eighteen hours.
Middle of Jan 1862: Moved to New Creek, Virgina, thence to Patterson's Creek and duty there.
7-15 Mar 1862: Advance on Winchester, Virginia, attached to 2nd Brigade, Shields' 2nd Division, Banks' 5th Army Corps
18 Mar 1862: Reconnaissance to Strasburg, Virginia.
22 Mar 1862: Action at Kernstown.
23 Mar 1862: Battle of Winchester.
25 Mar 1862: Pursuit to New Market and Mount Jackson, Virginia.
27 Mar 1862: Strasburg, Virginia.
1 Apr 1862: Woodstock, Virginia.
2 Apr 1862: Edinburg, Virginia.
17 Apr 1862: Occupation of Mount Jackson, Virginia.
Apr 1862: In Luray Valley, Virginia, guarding bridges over South branch Shenandoah River, attached to Department of the Shenandoah.
12-21 May 1861: March to Fredericksburg, Virginia, attached to 2nd Brigade, Shields' Division, Dept. of the Rappahannock.
25-30 Mar 1862: To Front Royal, Virginia.
25 Jun 1862: 7 Days Fight, James River, Alexandria County, Virginia.
26 June 1862: Ordered to Harrison's Landing.
1 Jul 1862: Battle of Malvern Hill.
2 Jul 1862: Attached to 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 4th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac (General McClellan) at Harrison's Landing, Charles City, Virginia.
3-4 Jul 1862: Battle at Chickahominy Swamps, New Kent, Virginia.
*5 Jul-Aug 1862: Back at Harrison's Landing, Charles City, Virginia

From the Diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes:
"Harrison's Landing, Va., July 9/62—The weather is extremely hot, and as the men are at work on the forts they suffer much. The Army is full of sick men, but so far our Regiment seems to have escaped. The swamp in which we lived while in front of Richmond caused chills and fever."

Note: According to Elisha Hunt Rhodes' diary, many of the men at Harrison were ill; and another note from the Adjutant General stated the 39th were in the front lines at the fort at Harrison's Landing, and men were being sent home sick after their skirmish in the swamps.

U.S. General Hospital, Cumberland, MD:
''There was a graveyard next to the hospital, but after the war they moved the Union dead to the Antietam cemetery and a half-dozen Confederate dead to Rose Hill Cemetery in Cumberland," said Scott. According to Scott, and contrary to rumors at the time, no Civil War graves were covered by the construction of the Interstate 68 roadbed just south of the inn, which included the highest bridge over a road in Maryland at the time. ~~ Harold Scott, The Civil War Hospitals of Cumberland and Clarysville, Maryland
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From the Illinois Secretary of State: Illinois Civil War Detail Report Name DRAKE, GEORGE Rank PVT Company K Unit 39 IL US INF Personal Characteristics Residence MARSEILLES, LASALLE CO, IL Age 27 Height 5' 7" Hair DARK Eyes BLACK Complexion DARK Marital Status MARRIED Occupation FARMER Nativity FRANKLIN, MA Service Record Joined When AUG 11, 1861 Joined Where MARSEILLES, IL Joined By Whom A W WHEELER Period 3 YRS Muster In OCT 11, 1861 Muster In Where CHICAGO, IL Muster In By Whom Muster Out Muster Out Where Muster Out By Whom Remarks DIED OF DISEASE JUL 20, 1862 AT CUMBERLAND MD