USA > Ohio > Miami County > Troy > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 17
USA > Ohio > Miami County > Piqua > Centennial history. Troy, Piqua and Miami county, Ohio > Part 17
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After the battle of Antietam the Elev- enth returned to West Virginia. It took post at Summerville, where it remained until January 17, 1863, when it moved to Ganley, joining General Crook and imme- diately embarking on the Kanawha River, this time for the Army of the Cumberland.
It was on board of boats during the second fight at Fort Donelson. From the time of its transfer to the west the regiment served with the Army of the Cumberland till its muster out. Its loss at the taking of Burn- side's Bridge was one officer and three men killed, one officer and eleven men wounded and five men missing.
There was still a lot of hard fighting in store for the Eleventh. On the 13th of April, 1863, the regiment had an engage-
ment with the enemy at MeMinnville, Tenn., and on the 23d it joined General Reynolds in a move against Wheeler and Forrest's cavalry. June 24th the Eleventh engaged the foe at Hoover's Gap and led the advance into Manchester. On the 29th the command moved on the Tullahoma Road and drove the enemy back. At Dech- erd Station, Tenn., General Turchin as- sumed command of the Second Brigade.
The month of September, 1863, wit- nessed the sanguinary conflict at Chicka- mauga. In this battle the fighting Elev- enth bore a conspicuous part. It was the great grapple between Rosecrans and Bragg. During the forenoon of the 18th the Eleventh changed position several times, and about daylight on the following. day went into line of battle near Lee and Gordon's Mill. Chaplain Lyle rode to the center of the line, and with Colonel Lane's consent addressed the regiment in words of comfort and encouragement and asked the men to join with him in prayer. In- stantly every head was bowed and every hand clasped devoutly on the gleaming muskets. The old colors, pierced and rent on many battlefields, were drooped and amid the rattle of musketry the voice of prayer was heard.
The sacred ceremony ended, the regi- ment moved to the front line. Not a man faltered. It was a day of hard work for the boys of Miami County. Charge after charge was made through the death-struck woods. Sergeant Peck went down with the colors, but they were picked up again and pushed forward. When the enemy hurled his legions against the division Turehin changed front and charged. The next day the Eleventh took position on a slight ele- vation behind a breastwork of logs and
A
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Y. M. C. A., BRADFORD
RESIDENCE OF JOHN SCHRAM, NEWTON TOWNSHIP
MOTHER'S SPINNINGWHEEL (From Painting by Horace J. Rollin)
COVINGTONN WOOLEN MIILLS. COVINGTON
TROY CARRIAGE SUN SHADE CO., TROY
FIREPLACE IN HOME OF HORACE J. ROLLIN, STAUNTON TOWNSHIP
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stones, where it was subjected to a galling fire. The breastworks caught fire several times. In the afternoon the rebels, push- ing through a gap in the Union lines, poured a heavy cross-fire upon the regi- ment. It was more than the men conld stand. The brigade charged and drove the enemy back. That night the regiment withdrew to Rossville, having covered itself with glory in the bloody woods of Chickamauga.
The regiment remained cooped up in Chattanooga until the advance on Mission Ridge, November 24th. In this assault it fought splendidly and bore a prominent part in that memorable battle. One color bearer was struck seven times, and when he (Sergeant Bell) went down they were picked up by Lieutenant Peck, who fell mortally wounded. The Eleventh pursued the flying enemy towards Ringgold, Ga., and after fighting at Ringgold returned to Chattanooga. George Green, of Company H, received a medal for conspicuous brav- ery in the assault on the Ridge. In Feb- ruary, 1864, the regiment was paraded to receive a new stand of colors presented by the ladies of Troy. The next forward move of the regiment resulted in its con- fliet at Buzzard's Roost, after which came some hot work at Resaca. In all these en- gagements the regiment bore an honorable part.
Its term of service having expired, the Eleventh was mnstered out at Camp Deni- son, June 21, 1864. Two companies whose time had not expired and the veterans of the regiment were recognized as the Elev- enth Ohio Battalion and as such took part in the battles of the Atlanta Campaign and the march to the sea. During its whole service the Eleventh Ohio Regiment
proved its worth as a military organiza- tion and reflected credit on the State on many a hard-fought field. During its three years' term it lost 152 men, many on the field of battle and others in the infernal prison hells of the South. The principal engagements in which the regiment took part are as follows :
Hawk's Nest, Gauley Bridge, Princeton, Bull Run Bridge, Frederick, South Moun- tain, Antietam, Hoover's Gap, Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringgold, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca -a list of which the Casarian legion might be proud. It can be said of the Eleventh that it shirked no duty ; it performed nobly every service demanded at its hands, and to-day its survivors are among the best citizens of the Union.
THE FORTY-FOURTH INFANTRY AND EIGHTH
CAVALRY.
The Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, known after veteranizing as the Eighth Cavalry, was organized at Spring- field from September 12th to October 14th, 1861, to serve three years, and was mus- tered in at Camp Clark by J. H. Young, Captain Fifteenth Infantry, U. S. A. Its colonel was Samuel A. Gilbert, who re- signed in April, 1864. After its muster the regiment moved to Camp Piatt, W. Va. Several companies of this regiment were recruited in Miami County. Shortly after the regiment's arrival at Camp Platt, five companies were ordered to Gauley Bridge, where they assisted in driving the rebel general, Floyd, from his camp. Two other companies were sent to Platona, which place they captured, and then moved against Colonel Jenkins at Logan Court House, but the wily colonel fled at
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their approach. Having passed the win- ter in comfortable quarters, the 1st of May, 1862, found the command again at Gauley Bridge, where it was brigaded with the Thirty-sixth and Forty-seventh O. V. I. under Col. George Crook.
The brigade moved to Lewisburg and from there the Forty-fourth penetrated to Dublin Depot and destroyed a portion of the railroad track. Returning hastily to Lewisburg, the enemy was met in full force and a lively battle followed. Great ยท gallantry was displayed by the regiment on this occasion. It charged upon and captured a four-gun battery, took a num- ber of prisoners and contributed greatly to the rout of the rebels. Falling back from before a force of 6,000 rebels, the regiment, with the brigade, reached Meadow Bluffs. On this occasion the Forty-fourth guarded the rear. The regi- ment was attacked, but fell back fighting to the Gauley, where the retreat was be- gun in earnest. All day and far into the night the regiment guarded the rear in a creditable manner. On September 13th the rebels appeared at Charleston and at- tacked. Another spirited contest ensued. The enemy was firmly met and held at bay for some time, but his overwhelming num- bers forced the Unionists back, though every inch of ground was hotly contested. The brigade withdrew across a deep trib- utary of the Kanawha, severed the haw- sers that held the suspension bridge, and retreated safely to Racine, on the Ohio, from which place it was conveyed by steamer to Point Pleasant.
The next campaign of the regiment was on Kentucky soil. For some time it was engaged in watching the movements of Kirby Smith, whom it pursued as far as
Lexington, where it was assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division, Army of Kentucky, commanded by General Gor- don Granger. It returned to Frankfort December 20th, where it was mounted and did some effective work against the rebels. The men from now on lived almost con- stantly in the saddle, and engaged in many hot skirmishes with the enemy. At Dun- stan's or Dutton's Hill it gallantly charged the rebel position and contributed materially to their rout.
Upon Burnside's advance into Tennes- see the Forty-fourth was dismounted and accompanied him. The regiment bore an honorable part in all that took place in this movement. It pursued the enemy with vigor on many occasions and finally went into camp at Strawberry Plains, January 1, 1864; the proposal to re-enlist was made with a proposition that the regiment should be mounted, and nearly the whole six hundred accepted. On the 7th the Forty-fourth marched for Camp Nelson, Kentucky, thence to Cincinnati, where it waited for its muster rolls, after which it went to Springfield, where the men were paid off. This last act terminated the ca- reer of the regiment, after which it be- came the Eighth Ohio Cavalry.
The new organization reported for serv- ice at Camp Denison, March 28, 1864. Cin- cinnati was left behind May 10, and Charleston was reached on the 14th, the men having ridden thither bare-backed. On the 29th the Eighth marched to Lewisburg, and June 1st started with Averill on the disastrous Lynchburg raid. Staunton was reached on the 9th, where a junction was formed with Hunter. The whole com- mand now proceeded toward Lynchburg. The enemy prevented the capture of the
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city by heavy reinforcements and after the elose of a sharp fight the Unionists were obliged to retreat. It was an excit- ing episode in the history of the Eighth Cavalry. There was fighting much of the way. The Eighth was ordered to strength- en the rear guard, which service it did in an excellent manner. Fighting at one time a brigade of the enemy, it lost sev- enty-one in killed, wounded and prisoners.
Upon reaching White Sulphur Springs the regiment was divided and a part sent to Beverly. On the 23d of August three companies of the Eighth were surprised at Huttonville and captured. Later on Company A shared the same fate. Octo- ber 29th three hundred rebels dashed into the camp of the regiment and some des- perate fighting took place. On the 1st of December Col. Moore joined the regi- ment with his detachment from the Shen- andoah. The veterans of the Eighth were almost constantly in the saddle for six weeks previous to the battle of Winches- ter. It made a charge upon the rebel for- tifications at that place, fought bravely at Fislier's Hill and Cedar Creek and fol- lowed Early in his retreat up the Valley. Its work in the Valley elicited the praise of the commanding generals.
At Philippi a part of the regiment was surprised and captured, the prisoners be- ing compelled to march afoot through the snow, then were loaded into stock cars at Staunton at the rate of seventy to a car and taken to Richmond. After suffering in the rebel prison till February 15th, the pris- oners were sent to Annapolis for exchange and thence to Columbus, Ohio. In August, 1865, the regiment was once more ordered to Camp Denison, where it was mustered out of the service. The patriotic service
of the Eighth Cavalry was highly credit- able to its members. It endured many hardships, fought gallantly and sustained to the very last the honor of the Ohio sol- diery. Whether under Hunter, Averill or Sheridan, the regiment made its mark wherever it served.
The Seventy-first O. V. I.
The Seventy-first Ohio Volunteers was recruited in part in Miami County, which furnished companies F, C and E. It was a fighting regiment and covered during its term of service more ground than any one similar command in the Union armies. It was recruited under the superintendency of Barton S. Kyle and G. W. Andrews. In the latter part of October, 1861, the regi- ment rendezvoused on the Old Fair Grounds at Troy, and reached Camp Tod at Columbus February 10, 1862.
It received its baptism of fire at Shiloh on the memorable 6th of April. The regi- ment was unfortunate in the choice of its colonel, who was Rodney Mason, of Springfield, a man boastful when there was no enemy in sight, but not so brave in actual combat. On the fatal morning of the 6th the regiment, fresh from the com- forts of home, was hastily formed in line of battle. I cannot better describe the part taken by the Seventy-first on the 6th of April than in the words of the late Cap- tain E. S. Williams. who was a member of the regiment and an active participant in the scenes.
"We were formed," he says, "under the guns of a rebel battery and in a trap sur- rounded by the advancing lines of seven rebel regiments, and when, to save the regiment from capture, our colonel, in- stead of having us fall back in line as a regiment, led us back at will with the
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motto, 'Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.' We fell back about three hundred yards and formed on the crest of a wooded hill, 250 strong and for two fierce hours we fought, the rebels to gain, we to hold that position, with no reserve, no cannon, deserted by our colonel early in the fight. For two long hours we fought three times our number with that stubborn native valor which was so emi- nently displayed by the army on that ill- fated day. In our front were men who knew how to die, but not how to retreat. Bullets were falling like hailstones and cannon balls were sweeping through our ranks. It was there that Col. Barton S. Kyle, of Troy, received his death wound.
"I remember how we dragged the wounded from the front line, and how we fought by the side of the dead and dying until every regiment of our brigade had retreated and left us to contend alone and single-handed with the rebel brigade. Three times that rebel brigade formed in line of battle and advanced to the charge and were compelled to fall back under our withering, deadly fire, yet with the battle cry of 'Hell or Home,' those brave Tennes- see regiments rallied again and charged. We fell back only when we were literally surrounded by the rebels."
Such was the heroism of the Seventy- first at Shiloh, a battle in which the regi- ment lost 130 men on Monday. It was a stand worthy the patriotism of Leonidas and his Spartans. Colonel Kyle, who was killed in Monday's battle, was one of the prominent citizens of Troy. He was born within the county in 1825. For six years he served as auditor of the county, and was elected as clerk of the common pleas court in 1859. He was a member of the
National Convention which nominated Fremont for the presidency. Full of pa- triotism, he helped to recruit the Seventy- first and took the field with it. He was a vigilant and popular officer and beloved by his men, and his death was lamented by every man in the regiment. Fearless of danger, he fell at the post of duty as the true hero falls, and well deserved the eulo- gism of Whitelaw Reid, who said of him at Shiloh: "Ohio lost no truer, braver man that day than Barton S. Kyle."
After its terrible experience at Shiloh the Seventy-first was ordered to the Cum- berland River to hold the posts of Fort Donelson and Clarksville. Six companies of the regiment were taken prisoners at the latter place August 18th. A gallant fight was made at Donelson. In Carthage, Tenn., three companies of the regiment were stationed and while there they en- countered the rebel guerrillas in numerous bitter fights. It was at Clarksville that Col. Mason cowardly surrendered a part of the regiment when he could have ronted the enemy. For this act Mason was cash- iered.
The Seventy-first after its exchange had a varied and exciting history. In the spring of 1864 it moved south and did ef- fective work at Jonesboro, Lovejoy Sta- tion and Atlanta. When Hood swung northward, leaving Sherman to sweep to- wards the sea, the Seventy-first was among the commands that started on the race for Nashville. It was now a part of Stanley's Corps. At Spring Hill it narrowly es- caped capture by Hood, who blundered there and brought on the bloody engage- ment at Franklin, in which the regiment took no active part. But it was in the bat- tle of Nashville, a battle which destroyed
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Hood's army, that the regiment was again to show its fighting qualities.
Under the leadership of Colonel Hart the Seventy-first dashed np the steep as- cent of Overton's Hill amid a tempest of lead and iron and gallantly carried the rebel position. It was a desperate assault and grandly executed. It placed a new crown on the heads of the men from Miami. In the battle of Nashville the regi- ment lost one-third of its numbers in killed and wounded, including several excellent officers. Nashville was fought December 15, 1864, when the Confederacy was tot- tering to its fall.
After this battle the regiment saw no more active fighting. It had enlisted for the war, but expected that with the sur- render of the rebel armies and the col- lapse of the rebellion it would be mustered out. Such, however, was not the case. It was ordered to the Texas frontier um- der Sheridan to keep watch on the French in Mexico. The regiment, much decimated by its long and active service, its heavy loss in battle and prison, remained on Texas soil until long after the close of the war, when it was finally mustered ont of the service. Its original strength was 879 men; when mustered ont it numbered only 377. It was mustered out at San An- tonio, Texas, and discharged at Camp Chase. Among the battles fought by this heroic regiment I find Shiloh, Clarksville, Hartsville, Fort Donelson, Cumberland Iron Works, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Columbia and Nashville.
For some time the paltroonry of its colonel affected the reputation of the regi- ment and caused it to be considered as an "unlucky command," but all this was wiped out on the field of Nashville and the
bloody slopes of Overton's Hill. The Sev- enty-first came home with honor and fur- nished more men in prominent positions in public life after the war than any regi- ment that left the county. Two of its members, Capt. E. S. Williams and Charles M. Anderson, became members of Congress, and other members made their mark in official capacities. The regiment was among the last to turn northward after the war, proud of its record on some , of the hardest fought fields of that terrible struggle and having in its ranks some of the bravest men that ever shouldered a musket or drew a sword.
THE NINETY-FOURTH O. V. I.
Camp Piqua witnessed during the stir- ring events of 1862 the formation of two fighting regiments. One of them was the Ninety-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, un- der the supervision of Col. J. W. Frizell. Recruiting proceeded so rapidly that in one month one thousand and ten men were mustered into the service of the United States. The mustering took place August 24th. No time was given the regiment for drilling, for Kirby Smith had invaded Kentucky and troops were needed at the front. So the men of Miami were rushed from Camp Piqua to Cincinnati and thence to Lexington. Only three rounds of eart- ridges could be found for the men. The Ninety-fourth reached Lexington and learned of the Union defeat at Richmond a few miles distant. Matters had a gloomy aspect, and the regiment was ordered to Tate's Ford, on the Kentucky River, fif- teen miles east of Lexington. It was the first marching experience for the men, and an exhaustive one it was.
On this occasion the regiment first met
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the enemy and proved that it was to gather fame as it went on. Veterans could not have behaved better. The night was dark, the men lying down, when the rebel volley burst upon them. Hungry and al- most without ammunition, a God-send came with some wagons which put an end to their needs for the present. During breakfast a rebel battery opened on the troops, but Col. Frizell succeeded in safely withdrawing his command.
Back to Lexington went the regiment, and thence to Louisville. Bragg and Buell were facing each other on Kentucky soil, and their maneuvers brought on the des- perate battle of Perryville, October 8th. In this engagement the regiment bore an active part, being in the thick of the fight and acquitting itself with the credit of an experienced command. Perryville, for the numbers engaged, was one of the most sanguinary battles of the war. The Ninety- fourth suffered a loss of officers and men, among the former being Captain John C. Drury, of Troy.
Captain Drury was a Massachusetts man by birth. Coming to Ohio, he en- gaged in the mercantile business, and when the war broke out, being of an in- tense patriotic nature, he recruited a com- pany for the Eleventh Ohio, in 1861, but afterwards took a captaincy in the Ninety- fourth. He was a good officer, much be- loved by his men, and if his career had not been cut short at Perryville would un- doubtedly have reached a much higher command. He fell at the head of his com- pany during the crisis of the battle. Well may it be said of him :
"A soldier true, a patriot tried,
Beneath his country's flag he died."
There was no further fighting for the
Ninety-fourth till it was called on to face the foe at Stone River. It had been Bragg and Buell in Kentucky; it was Bragg and Rosecrans in Tennessee. At Murfeesboro, or Stone River, the regiment maintained its reputation as a gallant body of men. Cast into the whirlpool of that desperate engagement, the regiment had some of the fiercest fighting that fell to its lot during its term of service. It was repeatedly struck by the advancing and exultant reb- els and it gave the enemy as good as he sent, contesting every foot of the ground with great heroism. The battle of Stone River was fought during the closing days of '62 and the first of '63. It resulted in what might be termed a Union victory, since Rosecrans held the field and Bragg was forced to withdraw his army.
During the Tullahoma campaign the Ninety-fourth was in the advance and went gallantly into the fight at Hoover's Gap in June, 1863. After a brisk little affair at Dug Gap came the memorable battle of Chickamauga. The regiment be- longed to the First Division, Fourteenth Army Corps, during the fighting around Chattanooga. Its colonel was Rue P. Hutchins, its brigade Scribner's, its divi- sion Baird's, Thomas' Corps. Crossing the Tennessee at Bridgeport, Ala., the Ninety-fourth marched to Trenton Valley, and, after Dug Gap, remained in McLe- more's Cove till September 18th, when it faced about for Chickamauga. It reached Kelley's farm on the Lafayette Road at daylight on the 19th. The regiment en- countered the enemy a short distance east of Kelley's field and pushed him back. From that time on the fighting was fierce. A part of Cheathan's rebel division at- tacked Scribner's front and right, and the
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brigade was forced back, losing heavily. In this hot work the Ninety-fourth be- haved splendidly.
On the morning of the 20th the regi- ment occupied a position in the front line of the brigade. Barricades of logs and rails were hastily thrown up. At 9:30 Held's brigade assaulted this part of the line and the Ninety-fourth assisted in hurl- ing him back. Again and again the regi- ment was called upon to meet the fieree as- saults of the enemy. Colquit and Walt- hall led their men in gray against the bri- gade, had but to retire. The Ninety-fourth held its position all day and until the gen- eral order to retire was given in the eve- ning. The command retired rapidly through the woods, and, avoiding capture, withdrew wth the whole army to Rossville. Such, in part, was the work of the Ninety- fourth in the battle forest of Chicka- mauga.
On the 23d of November the regiment took part in the assault and capture of Lookout Mountain, and followed up its success by the heroie scaling of Mission Ridge, where Bragg was defeated. In both these engagements the regiment sus- tained its reputation as a fighting com- mand and added to its laurels. Its charge np Mission Ridge is one of the most gallant feats of the war. This battle preceded the memorable campaign of Atlanta by Sher- man, in which the Ninety-fourth took part. It was under fire for one hundred days and fought in numerous pitched battles. When Sherman set out upon his famous march to the sea the Ninety-Fourth was well in the advance. It crossed Georgia, and turned toward the Carolinas, partici- pating in the battle of Bentonville, one of the last of the war. It was the first infan-
try regiment to enter the capital of North Carolina, soon after which it beheld the surrender of Johnston and marched to Washington, where it took part in the mag- nificent review which followed the close of the war. Of the thousand and ten young men who marched out of Camp Piqua in 1862 but three hundred and thirty-eight marched up Pennsylvania Avenue on that occasion. Of the others many had died in battle or from wounds and disease, includ- ing not a few who perished from starvation in rebel prisons. The battles of the Ninety- fourth included Tate's Ferry, Perryville, Stone's River, Tullahoma, Dug Gap, Chick- amauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie River, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Bentonville. The regi- ment is represented by monuments and tablets at Chickamauga and Mission Ridge. but these do not fully tell the story of its service in defense of the Union. This serv- ice given freely is the . Ninety-fourth's guerdon of fame and succeeding genera- tions can point with pride to the heroic manner in which it sustained the honor of the Nation, State and County.
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