USA > Ohio > Historical sketch of the 56th Ohio volunteer infantry during the great Civil War from 1861 to 1866 > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17
Gc 973. 74 Oh3wim 1681196
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
60
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01084 3024
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH
... OF THE ...
56TH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY
1
DURING THE GREAT CIVIL WAR FROM 1861 TO 1866
... BY ...
THOS. J. WILLIAMS
FORMER FIRST LIEUTENANT OF THE REGIMENT.
T
F8349 6565
F8349.6565
1681196
THE LAWRENCE PRESS CO., Columbus, O.
1
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
--
Organization, Etc.
9
CHAPTER II .-
Fort Donelson, Etc.
13
CHAPTER III .-
Corinth, Siege of. .
18
CHAPTER IV.
-
Helena and Thereabout.
23
CHAPTER V .-
Milliken's Bend and Port Gibson. .
33
CHAPTER VI .-
Champion's Hill.
41
CHAPTER VII .-
Siege of Vicksburg, Etc.
54
CHAPTER VIII .-.
.
The Teche Expedition.
58
CHAPTER IX .-
The Red River Campaign.
65
CHAPTER X.
Snaggy Point on the John Warner.
73
CHAPTER XI.
-
Our Veteran Furlough.
85
CHAPTER XII.
Patrol Duty in New Orleans, Etc.
89
CHAPTER
XIII .- .
.
Our Services in New Orleans, Etc.
101
CHAPTER XIV .-.
. Our Muster Out, Etc.
111
CHAPTER XV .-
Biographical Sketches.
134
ROSTER OF THE REGIMENT.
145
·
.
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012
.....
http://archive.org/details/historicalske00will
"We want the brave old flag to wave, , From Texas up to Maine, From Delaware to Golden Gate, Around and back again ; Over each blade of grass that grows, And every grain of sand, The Stars and Stripes and Union, Thank God, for these we stand."
INTRODUCTION.
(Extract from Official Report of Gen. Alvin P. Hovey, Commander 12th Div., 13th. A. C.)
"It is useless to speak in praise of the 56th Ohio. They have won laurels on many fields, and not only their country will praise, but posterity will be proud to claim kinship. .. . They have a history that Col. Raynor, and their children, will be proud to read."
/
Events, with respect to men engaged in ordinary vocations, are not without interest. When, however, momentous conditions intervene, or arise, to engage men in activities that alarm a con- tinent and astound the civilized world, men stand aghast and propound: "What is to be the end?"
Genial and customary occupations give place to imperious demands, with which most men are unacquainted; then from the field, forge, trade and professions, all avenues of thrift, hope and peace, the cry is heard: "To arms! our civil liberties are assailed!" Men respond with alacrity. They are massed in powerful com- bination, whose business, henceforth, is war. The deal is blood and iron: Hideous spectacle! with which the soldier gradually becomes familiar; grows intrepid and cheerful as he goes marching on. Men of peace, the bulwark of a nation, all transformed.
Comrades and friends, what a scene! Are you reminded of
£
N
INTRODUCTION.
regiment. He was behind the gun, having his eye on the sight, sure! You know how that was done.
The scanning of the pages will doubtless revive sorrows and heartaches, pangs and sighs; yet there will be dear memories, reveries and delights. The tenderness linked to the place clothed in green, where lies the dear one, "Killed in action," or "Died in hospital." Let's see! What would life and history be, stripped of their twinnings and suggestions of immortality? Our comrade wrote to commemorate deeds of valor-and of sacrifices rarely paralelled. Comrades and friends will rejoice with me that the work is well done. To the posterity of the one it will be of ines- timable value, to the descendants of the others it will be instruc- tive. The young will learn of the intense zeal and loyalty neces- sary to maintain freedom's flag unfurled at the masthead, and the student of our national characteristics will be encouraged. In fine, all lovers of good government, and lovers of those who fought to make ours such, will chorus. "Praise God from whom all bless- ings flow."
Apart from all other sterling qualities of the soldier, that of cheerfulness was a distinguished trait of the men of the Fifty-sixth. Most of the comrades have completed the journey of life. To those who are still wending their way over the Bridge of Mirza, let me commend the same cheerfulness, for to him that endures is the victory. To have fought for our country is somewhat. To have fought for it in the Fifty-sixth Ohio, and in the Army of the Ten- nessee, should be counted a badge of distinction, not to be sur- passed by any mark worn, or to be worn, by any soldier in any age and country.
Under the guidance of God, let us continue our efforts in the
8
INTRODUCTION.
cause of humanity, the cause of purity in private and official life, and in the exercise of those duties which promise the only assur- ance of the final rollcall of: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," the eternal welcome. Being always mindful that: "Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people."
GEORGE GRINDLEY.
Washington, D. C., December, 1899.
1
·
9
56TH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
CHAPTER I.
ORGANIZATION AT CAMP MORROW, PORTSMOUTH, OHIO.
In the endeavor to write a short history of the regiment, of the dangers and hardships endured and surmounted, in that great- est of all wars, that was waged for the preservation of the Union, I beg your indulgence. I greatly regret its incompleteness in so many particulars. From my position in the ranks of Company C, until the fall of Vicksburg, my view was limited, and the things I saw may have appeared different to others, and the many things that I failed to see may have been far more important than those which came under my observation. The limited diary I kept during our entire service is correct as to time and place and other matters, so far as it extends. I would much prefer that some other member of the regiment of larger opportunities and greater ability had undertaken this work. That there is so much of it of a personal nature is probably a great fault, but there being no record obtainable of orders to the regiment, or to its officers, is the only excuse offered, and firmly believing that every regiment or separate company that had any service of note should have a history in some permanent form of its services, and in hopes that these few facts, unembelished, may find favor with the comrades who still remain, and their families, as a memorial of our active and long service, and the privations encountered by day and night, and as a slight testimonial to our brave and noble comrades who gave, up their lives on the deadly battlefield, in prison pens, and from hospital cots of affliction, for this great land, is the history written. We uncover and bow low our heads as being unable to sufficiently honor them.
The Fifty-sixth Ohio was simply one of the numerous organ- izations which responded to the call ofPresident Lincoln, when the gloomy clouds of treason hung dark and threatening over the
---------
10
· HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
country. It was composed of men from every calling and vocation in life. The regiment did no more than its duty, going where ordered and performing whatever was required of it. The raising of recruits was slow work, as the region of country had been send- ing a large number of men into the service from the beginning of the war. From this section one full company went into the Twenty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, one in the Thirtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, two into the Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, one into the Twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry,. and four companies into the Second Virginia Cavalry. The Thirty- third Ohio Volunteer Infantry left Camp Morrow for the field a few days before the Fifty-sixth entered it; and the Fifty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry was being recruited at Jackson at the same time the Fifty-sixth was at Portsmouth. After much solicitation the order was given to organize the regiment, and on the 8th day of October, 1861, the camp was organized. Peter Kinney was ap- pointed Colonel, Wm. H. Raynor, Lieutenant Colonel, and Samp- son E. Varner, Major; W. N. King, Surgeon; Henry E. Jones, Adjutant; W. S. Huston, Quartermaster, and Rev. Jonathan E. Thomas, later on, was appointed Chaplain.
THE FIFTY-SIXTH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
The regiment at first contained nearly a thousand men, and was recruited at different times to about 1,200 men, of whom fully one-fourth were killed or died of wounds and disease, and at the final muster out, there were only about 170, the remainder having been mustered out at the expiration of three years.
The original companies of the regiment: Company A, was recruited from the counties of Gallia and Jackson. It was the first company in number, and was composed of an extra good lot of men, both in size and quality.
Company B was recruited in Portsmouth, O., and every mem- ber was of German birth or parentage. The officers and some of the men had seen service in the German army in their Fatherland,
10
11
56TH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
and. in our early service they entertained us very pleasantly with their fine singing of "Litori, Litori," etc.
Company C was recruited about half and half from Scioto and Jackson counties. All but two were young men from 16 to 25 years of age. They were under strict discipline and well cared for by their Captain.
Company D was recruited at Portsmouth, Ohio. Most of the men were from Scioto county, but they had a fine squad of men from Gallia county, led by Lieutenant Schaefer. The great ma- jority were young, active men and made number one soldiers.
Company E was composed largely of Gallia county men, but it also had a number from Jackson county, and was composed of firstclass men in every particular. Their Captain was of fine education, and capable for any position.
Company F was recruited in Scioto county mostly. Like the foregoing, the men were mostly young and equal to any in the land. Captain Wilhelm of this company received a medal for gallantry at Champion's Hill.
Company G. This company was raised in Scioto county, and like other companies this one had some of the best men in the regiment. Captain Stimmell, of this company, made a hazardous escape from the enemy, after being captured.
Company H. This company was recruited mostly in Scioto county from the farmers and the furnaces, and a body of firstclass soldiers they were.
Company I was recruited in Pike county, and, like the others, the men were of the best class, and were not behind the foremost in any thing that made good soldiers.
Company K was composed of Jackson and Scioto county men, and most of them were the equal of the best, and were never backward in the performance of duty.
Men came in steadily, and were mustered in as they volun- teered from time to time. The arms furnished the regiment were the clumsy old Belgium muskets, which, when fired, would almost kick a man over. The time was diligently improved in perfecting the men in the essential duties of a soldier's life. By December
-
12
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
12, 1861, the regiment was filled to the minimum number, and was anxiously awaiting orders to report to the front. On January 23, 1862, the Ohio river was very high, up into the city consid- erably. Camp Morrow having become a sea of mud, on the 21st the regiment moved up on high ground, near Colonel Kinney's residence. On January 30 there was a heavy fall of snow, and it was very cold. The weather was worse than usual that season, and the change from home comforts to camp life was hard on a large number of the men. An epidemic of measles broke out, and fully one-fourth of the command were afflicted with them, and, with the exposure in camp, many of them were unfit for service thereafter. February 6, 1862, the regiment received orders to be ready to move at an hour's notice, and for the next few days our camp was thronged with our relatives and friends, taking a final farewell with many of our comrades.
On the 10th of February, 1862, the regiment was ordered to 1 report at Paducah, Kentucky. On the 11th we were very busy in packing up and getting all ready to move. The regiment was greatly pleased that, at last, it was to start for the front. And on February 12, 1862, late in the afternoon, the Fifty-sixth Ohio went on board the steamboats Champion No. 3 and Poland, and left Portsmouth at Dusk. The wharf was crowded with relatives and friends to bid us a last goodby.
1.
COLONEL WILLIAM H. RAYNOR See page 13+
Colonel, TBrevet Brigadier General U. S Vits.
alcune- 1st Ohio, 3 mes service. RECUL Te SE.0.4 2-3 years service.
13
56TH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
CHAPTER II.
FORT DONELSON, CRUMP'S LANDING AND SHILOH.
There was a very boisterous time the first night out. As a number were trying to drown their grief in the flowing bowl, their conduct was foolish in the extreme, and they kept all awake with their drunken revelry. The regiment was greatly cheered from the north side of the Ohio river, but on the south side it was mostly dark and silent. On the night of the 13th our boat was laid up for some time, having bursted one of her steam pipes.
We reached Paducah, Kentucky, on the 15th, early in the morning, and that afternoon left for Fort Donaldson, Tennessee, a short distance up the Cumberland river, and on the 16th, before day, we tied up just out of range of the guns at the fort. At day- light they saw our boats and opened fire on us, and a number of cannon balls struck quite close to our boats. Here, for the first time, we set foot on the "sacred soil." Soon after day the regi- ment landed and started for our line of battle, around the fortifica- tions; but before we had become established we were recalled, as the enemy had hoisted the white flag in token of surrender. The regiment again went aboard the boats that had brought us there, and they ran up the river and landed us in the Fort grounds.
There were thirteen thousand prisoners, who surrendered to our forces. They made a large army, and seemed surprised to find we were not all savages, their officers having told them that they would be butchered by our troops, if captured. The regiment went into camp just outside of the rebel works. The dead lay as they fell, most of them shot through the head, as they fought behind breastworks. These were ghastly sights for green troops to see, and the awful spectacle can never be forgotten. Here our time was improved by drill, target practice and guard duty. On the 20th, we had our first dress parade after leaving Ohio. Our rations at this time were very poor, and we thought we were half starved.
1
14
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
If there was anything that Captain Williams was particular about, it was cleanliness. While here one Sunday on inspection one of our men of mature age, and noted for being generally dirty, on this day was more so than usual. The Captain detailed myself as Corporal, and two men, to take him to a pond near camp and strip and scrub him with brooms. After that he was much cleaner. On March 6 a heavy snow fell, and we received orders to move to the Iron Landing, on the Tennessee river. On the 7th we left early. It had turned warmer and the snow was going fast, and the mud was ankle deep. We were loaded pretty heavily, and, as this was our first march for any distance, it was very hard upon us, and the road was lined with overcoats, blankets and other things that we thought we could not live without, but we soon changed our minds on that subject. About noon we passed Pey- tona Furnace. Some of the troops in advance had set it on fire, and it was burning as we passed by. We camped that night in a wild looking place within about two miles of the river. This was our first night to lay out without shelter of any kind, but we enjoyed our night's rest first rate.
On the 8th we moved up to within half a mile of the Land- ing. At this point we camped, drilling and performing guard duty until March 13, when we moved to the Landing, and after remaining there for about three hours we went aboard the steam- . boat Tigress, which steamed across the Tennessee river to Paris Landing, and went into camp in a cornfield near the river. We were called out after midnight by the long roll. The night was pitch dark, and no bottom to the mud.
March 15, 1862, we had a hard and cold rain, and at dark we embarked on the steamship Iowa, bound up the Tennesse river. On the 16th the guerrillas fired into us, but fortunately hit no one, and on the 16th we reached Savannah, Tennessee, about noon. Here we lay on the boat, at the wharf, until late in the afternoon of the 17th, when we steamed up the river. After a run of ten miles we landed at Crump's Landing. On the morning of the 18th we moved out about half a mile and went into camp. This was a very fine place to camp.
.15
56TH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
March 20th, 1862, the regiment received their first pay, which rejoiced us greatly, as we had been bankrupt for a long time. On the 21st, while on picket, we captured two of the enemy, and I took them to headquarters and turned them over to the proper authorities. March 25th, our brigade was reviewed by General Lew Wallace, to whose division of the Army of the Tennessee we were attached. On this night, at 9:30, E. D. Evans, a comrade of our mess, who had been poorly for some little time, died in our tent, and the next day, at 5:30 p. m., he was buried with the honors of war, Colonel Kinney kindly reading the beautiful burial service of the Episcopal church at the grave.
On March 27th, an order was issued that the men be vac- cinated, as the smallpox had appeared in some of the commands. We had little idle time, as we were busy in drill and guard duties every day. On March 31, 1862, our division moved up about five miles to Adamsville, a small place, and went into camp a short . distance beyond. This was called Camp Wallace.
Our brigade at this time was composed of the Twentieth, Fifty- sixth, Seventy-sixth and Seventy-eighth Chio Infantry, and com- manded by Colonel Chas. Whittlesy of the Twentieth Ohio, and a part of the Third Division, commanded by General Lew Wallace. The enemy had been very active in our front for several days, and it was rather expected that they would attack our position. From their actions in our front we were put on our guard, and on the mornings of April 5 and 6 Wallace's whole division was in line of battle long before day, looking for the enemy to attack; but the thunder of artillery and the crash of musketry at the break of day, on April 6, 1862, indicated that the battle, bloody and terrible, was on at Pittsburg Landing, and not where we were. Late that afternoon we fell back to Camp No. 2, about halfway back to Crump's Landing. From here the most of our division went on to the battle line. Oui regiment and other troops were left to guard Crump's Landing, where we had a large and valuable amount of stores. Our being left to guard this point caused dis- satisfaction among many of the officers and men, and some at- tempted to go to the battlefield on their own motion.
1
.
16
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
-
Comrade Henry Kugleman, of Company C, and the writer, avoiding the guards, struck out for the battle ground.' We must have gone about two miles in that direction. The woods were full of men falling back. Several officers ordered us to return, but we did not stop until we found our route would take us out in the rear of the enemy, and as our force was rather light to tackle the rebel army, we fell back in good order to our camp, never being missed; but we got drenched by a heavy rain that overtook us. A large number of stragglers from the battlefield drifted to our position, and our officers gathered up and sent back in an organized body eight hundred men to assist their brave comrades. There was a good deal of sickness in the regiment at this place, some sixty of them being sent to the general hospital at Paducah, Ken- tucky.
On April 16, we were called out at 2 a. m., the enemy making an attack on our outposts. We lay in line under arms until daylight, and early in the morning we moved back to Crump's Landing. On the next day we were ordered to Pittsburg Landing, guarding a large train en route, and reached our division at dark.
The next day we pitched our tents in an oats field. Here we were kept busy, drilling by brigades, regiments and companies for as much as six hours a day. At this time they issued whisky to the men, but did not keep it up long. On April 24, our division was ordered on an expedition to Purdy, Tennessee, about twenty miles distant. We went to within five miles of Purdy. We had hard rain mostof the day, and lay out in the woods. We were roused up by heavy firing on our pickets, and formed line and lay on our arms until daybreak. The next morning the division moved early, the Fifty-sixth on the extreme right. We drove the enemy's force to within a mile of Purdy, when we were ordered back on quick time. We had fallen back some little distance, our regi- ment bringing up the rear, when we heard the tramp of horses coming at a charge. The brush and trees shut off the view of the road completely. The Fifty-sixth halted, formed into line, and prepared to meet whatever was coming. When they came into view, we saw they were all our own men except one that was in the enemy's uniform. Two of our officers were on either side
-
8 !
i
17
56TH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
holding him, as he was making a desperate effort to shoot a major in our uniform. Our sympathies were with the man in blue, and we would have been glad to shoot the man in gray, if allowed to do so. We soon heard that the man in gray was Carpenter, a member of the Fifth Ohio Cavalry, and a native of that part of Tennessee. He was a large, strong man, with a long black beard, and appeared to us like vengeance personified. The man he wanted to kill was a so-called Major Bell, who pretended to be on the Union side, but really was in the service of the enemy, and one of them. It was on his report that this expedition was under- taken. He reported but a small force at Purdy, and that it would be to our interests to take the place. The report was that Car- penter came out of their lines, met our skirmishers, asked them to stop, and send him at once to the officer in command. Carpenter reported that there were from twenty to thirty thousand men in Purdy behind strong fortifications. We heard afterward that Major Bell was executed as a spy by our forces. The regiment was highly praised for their conduct on this hard and dangerous expedition, it being said that tried veterans could not have done better. On this expedition it rained nearly all the time, and the mud was awful. We reached our camp at 5 p. m. of April 25. All of the whisky in camp was issued to those who drank the stuff.
April 28, 1862, our division left camp at noon in the direction of Purdy again, and we bivouaced at 10 p. m., within seven miles of the place. Rain fell all that day and night very hard. We lay around in the woods all day of the 29th, and on the 30th we returned to our camp. Our expeditions to Purdy became a byword in the regiment during our entire service. The hard rains, the mud, and the cold could not be forgotten.
.
18
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
-
CHAPTER III.
SIEGE OF CORINTH AND ON TO MEMPHIS.
May 4, 1862, our division was ordered up toward Corinth, Mississippi, and on this day we had a regular deluge of rain. The. regiment was marching through a large body of deadwood timber, and the rain came so hard we had to halt. The thunder and light- ning were fearful. We were completely soaked; there was nothing to be had with which to turn such a flood; even our shoes were filled with water. This rain storm was memorable as being the hardest we encountered in our service. That evening we encamped at Pea Ridge, where we remained for a few days. On Sunday, May 11, a beautiful day, the writer then a Corporal in Company C, and two other comrades, were ordered to report to the Captain for special duty. Captain Williams informed us that orders had been received from General Wallace that a detail of a Corporal and two privates be sent to his headquarters for special duty. The Captain stated for our encouragement that he wanted the company and regiment well represented at division headquarters, and that he felt sure we would do so.
In good time we reached General Wallace's tent and reported to him. As we neared headquarters we "caught on" to the special duty we were to perform, as we saw three comrades of our regi- ment under guard there. General Wallace received us pleasantly, stating that the comrades under arrest were guilty (in violation of orders) of killing a yearling, the property of a family near there. The General ordered us to have them cut a pole, string the beef carcass on it, and to see that the comrades kept up a steady tramp around some large trees near his tent. It was about 10 a. m. when they began their march. The General told the guards to be as comfortable as possible. About 11 o'clock p. m. he came out and ordered that the men dig a hole and bury the beef. That done, we were to turn them over to the commanding officer of the
-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.