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Asa M. Hovey was born 24 Aug 1842 in Romeo, Macomb, MI and died on 26 Nov 1904 in Cato, Montcalm, MI. Asa came from ancestors who had been in this country since 1634, when his 5th great-grandfather, Daniel Hovey, settled in Massachusetts. Asa married Thersa M. Butler, who went by the name of Thursey. Thursey was born 17 Sep 1851 in Jasper, Steuben, NY, and died 27 Sep 1902 in Cato, Montcalm, MI.
Children born to Asa and Thursey were:
- *Juliette...13 Jun 1872
- Sarah J...1876
- Edward E...May 1878
- Henry A...Apr 1880
The War Years
The Michigan Cavalry, 4th Regiment was organized at Detroit, Michigan and mustered in August 28th, 1862. The Regiment left for Louisville, Kentucky on September 26, 1862. It attached to the 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, Army of the Ohio, until November, 1862; 1st Brigade, Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland, until January, 1863; 1st Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland, until October, 1863; 2nd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland until November 1863; 1st Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland, until November 1864; 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Wilson’s Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi to November 1864; 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division Cavalry Corps, Military Division Mississippi, to July 1865.
Asa Hovey served in Company H of the Michigan 4th Cavalry. He served for three years, from 28 Aug 1862 at age twenty, until he was mustered out on 1 Jul 1865 in Nashville, TN.
One of the battles he took part in and received a permanent injury to his left foot was at Murfreesboro, TN. The injury occurred during the battle when two horses collided, trapping his leg between them. The following is an historical overview of that battle:
The Battle of Stones River
The only gleam of cheer during the winter of 1862 came from Tenessee as the new year approached. General Don Carlos Buell had pursued retreating Confederates feebly after the equivocal Union victory at Perryville, Kentucky, on October 8th. A disgusted Lincoln removed Buell from command and replaced him with William S. Rosecrans, who renamed his force the Army of the Cumberland. He was brave, well-liked by the men who fought under him, and a brilliant strategist; but he was badly handicapped by a temper and self-complacency. He spent nearly 2 months preparing his offensive, and on December 26th, 1862 he sent his army in 3 columns southeast toward the little town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where Braxton Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee had been encamped for a month.
The day after Christmas Rosecrans moved out from Nashville to attack Braxton Bragg's Army of the Tennessee thirty miles down the railroad at Murfreesboro. The ensuing three-day battle, called Stones River by the Union and Murgreesboro by the Confederacy, resembles Shiloh in two respects: Confederate success on the first day [December 31st] but the defeat on the last; and a devastating toll that left both armies crippled for months...one-third of each army.
Bragg had taken a defensive position above Murfreesboro, astride Stones River, a narrow stream that loops off northward to join the Cumberland River. To the east of Stones River, on the low hills which dominate the terrain, Bragg had posted a detached division under John C. Breckenridge, the former Vice President of the United States. West of the river, where a heavy growth of scrub cedar badly obscured vision, he concentrated his main force. On the evening of December 29th, Rosecrans' army began arriving in the vicinity of Murfreesboro, and by nightfall two-thirds of his force was in position along the Nashville Turnpike, less than 700 yards in front of the Confederate line. By the next day Rosecrans' army numbered nearly 44,000 against Bragg's 38,000, and the two commanders worked out their battle plans. By some wierd coincidence they were identical: each general had decided to hold with his right and attack with his left. Bragg, who had previously reported his troops "All ready and confident," now telegraphed his superiors, "Enemy very cautious, and declining general engagement. Both armies in line of battle within sight."
At dawn on December 31st, Confederate General William J. Hardee moved with clock-like precision against the Union's right flank, catching some of the federal troops cooking breakfast. The Union troops put up a stiff resistance against the relentless tide of Confederates; however, brigade by brigade the Union right flank swung back and by 10:00 a.m. the line stood at almost right angles to where it had begun.
Confederate Cavalry, pursuing the fleeing Union troops, had intercepted Federal Ammunition trains; and, by 11:00 a.m. the Union troops were forced to retire with empty cartridge belts. Some Ohio boys were told to "Fix bayonettes and hold your ground!", and an unfortunate Illinois Regiment, not equipped with bayonettes, was ordered to club their muskets when the ammunition was depleted. Sheridan's men stood fast until the last minute and then executed an orderly retreat to a point behind their own lines.
Inspecting the ford by which he still hoped to cross Stones River and assault the Confederate right flank, Rosecrans rode off. At 6:00 a.m. he had sent a division under General Van Cleve across the River and now, sensing that he was in serious trouble, Rosecrans recalled this force to reinforce the dwindling Union. By 4:00 p.m. he had completely reformed his lines...further Confederate charges were repulsed, and the battle sputtered out.
Bragg was confident that his opponent would pull the battered Union Army back to Nashville the next day, and was surprised to awake on the morning of January 2nd, with the Union Army still confronting him.
By evening the reinforcements for Rosecrans' army had arrived. Disheartened, Bragg retired some 36 miles away for the winter with a loss of nearly 12,000 men. Rosecrans did not pursue, having lost 13,000, and moved into Murfreesboro for a 6 month encampment.
With Bragg's retreat came a Yankee victory. Lincoln heard the news of Stones River shortly after the traditional New Year's Day White House reception. He went into his study after the reception to sign the historic Emancipation Proclamation in the presence of a few friends.
A Picture History of the Civil War: The Epic Struggle of the Blue & the Grey
by Bruce Catton [1899-?]
American Heritage/Bonanza Books; NY, 1982 Edition; pp. 283-89
For additional reading about the 4th Michigan Calvary, Company H, see:
4th Regiment Michigan Cavalry 1862-1865
Michigan in the Civil War
For additional Civil War information, see:
The Civil War Home Page
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