USA > Ohio > Wood County > Commemorative historical and biographical record of Wood County, Ohio : its past and present : early settlement and development biographies and portraits of early settlers and representative citizens, etc. V. 1 > Part 27
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and returned to Chattanooga. When the term of enlistment expired, the majority of the survivors re-enlisted and returned to Ohio on a thirty-days' furlough. At the close of this short vacation, the men reported at Cleveland, Tenn., then headquarters of the Fourth Army Corps, and went into the Atlanta campaign with the grit of young patriots, taking part in the affairs at Rocky Face Ridge, May 5 to 9, 1864; Resaca, May 13 to 16; Cassville, May 19 to 22; Pickett's Mills, May 27; Kenesaw Mountain, June 9 to 30; siege of Atlanta, July 28 to September 2, and Lovejoy Station, September 2 to 6, 1864, taking in the Georgia campaign almost in all its details. On November 30, it participated in the battle at Franklin, Tenn., having previously ( from No- vember 24 to 28) been present at Columbia, Tenn. From December 15 to 16, it was engaged at Nashville, and subsequently in the pursuit of Hood's army to Huntsville, Ala., where it was in' camp until March, 1865. On June 15, 1865, it moved to Texas via New Orleans, where it was engaged in guard duty until mustered out there, November 30, 1865. The number of names en- rolled down to that date was 1, 552, of whom 127 men and eight officers were killed in battle, seventy-one men and six officers mortally wounded, 165 men died of disease, seven died in Rebel prisons, while 616 were discharged for wounds or disability. Other losses were also en- tailed, so that at muster-out, the gallant 49th was only a fraction of its original self.
The Fourteenth Infantry was raised in the Tenth Congressional District of Ohio, in and around Toledo. In less than three days after the President's proclamation for 75,000 men, the 14th Ohio was ready for the field, and on April 25, 1861, it started from Toledo to Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, where it was thoroughly drilled and its organization completed. On May 18, the regiment was transferred from the State to the General Government, its leading officers being James B. Steedman, Col .; Geo. P. Este, Lt. - Col., and Paul Edwards, Major. Wood county was represented in the 14th, its men serving mainly in Company A, to the captaincy of which Joseph B. Newton, who was from the county, rose step by step. He was transferred to the field and staff, becoming adjutant ..
The regiment left Cleveland, May 22, for Co- lumbus, thence to Zanesville, thence to Marietta, remaining at Camp Putnam until May 27, when it left for Parkersburg. Va., at which place, for the
first time, the regimental flag was unfurled in the enemy's country. Immediately after its arrival one company was " double-quicked" along the line of the B. & O. R. R., the bridges of which were being destroyed by retreating Rebels. The. railroad was diligently guarded to prevent further destruction. On the 29th the regiment moved forward until it reached Clarksburg. On June 2, it left Clarksburg by rail for Webster, and thence marched to Philippi, a distance of thirteen miles, and surprised a force of 2,000 Rebel car- alry at 5 A. M. The enemy were routed; they scattered to the hills, leaving stores, arms and munitions behind them.
The regiment was engaged before the enemy at Philippi June 3, Laurel Hill July 8, and Car- rick's Ford July 14, with a loss of eight brave men killed and many wounded. It remained in camp on Laurel Hill until July 22, when, its term of enlistment (three months) having expired, it returned home. The regiment was dispersed, and after a few days rest at home the men re- assembled, and again volunteered in a body for three years or during the war. On August 23, 1861, the 14th received orders and moved from Toledo to Cincinnati, and on the morning of the 25th crossed the Ohio to Covington, Ky., where it took the cars for Lexington and Frankfort. Remaining at Frankfort two days, it moved by cars to Nicholasville, thence to Camp Dick Rob- inson, arriving on the evening of October 2. Thence the regiment, with Barnett's Ist Ohio L. Artillery, started at once for Wild Cat, Ky. . there being rumors that the Federal forces were there surrounded by the Rebels. They reached there on the morning of the 21st. Barnett's Artillery was placed in position, and the enemy shelled. Five companies of the 33d Indiana were on a wild knob almost completely surrounded by the Rebels. Under cover of a brisk fire from Bar- nett's battery, two companies of the 14th with picks and shovels, crawled through the bushes over a ravine, and reaching the knob fortified it in such manner that the enemy shortly abandoned the siege, and retreated toward London, Ky .. leaving on the ground about thirty of their num- ber killed and wounded.
At Logan's Cross Roads the Rebels, under Zol- licoffer, were met on December 31st of that year. and defeated. Only one company (C. Capt. J. W. Brown, of Toledo) of the 14th participated. Fol- lowing up their success, the Federal troops pur- sued and drove the Rebels from their fortifications at Mill Springs. The night of the roth of Jan- uary was consumed in cannonading the enemy's works. Early on the morning of the 20th a
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general assault was ordered and executed, the Rebel works carried, twenty pieces of artillery, all the camp equipage, and one regiment cap- tured.
The Federal forces remained at Mill Springs until the 11th of February. Then, with five days' rations, the line of march was resumed toward Louisville, arriving on the 26th. The 14th was placed on board of transports, and in company with 20,000 other troops left for Nashville. Remaining in and around that city, building fortifications and perfecting the drill of the men, until the 20th of March, the necessity of re-enforcing Gen. Grant's forces at Pittsburg Landing being apparent, Gen. Buell marched with the greater part of his army, reaching Savannah on the 6th of April. Taking steam- ers, a portion of the troops were landed on the field, at Pittsburg Landing, on the morning of the 7th of April, in time to participate in the engagement of that day, turning the tide of bat- tle in favor of the Union army. The 14th did not come up in time to participate.
In the summer of 1862, while the troops were on a march from Tuscumbia, Ala., to Nashville, Gen. Robert L. McCook was murdered by guer- rillas near Waynesburg, Tenn., and Col. Steed- man, of the 14th, succeeded hint. Lt .- Col. Este was made colonel July 17, and Major Edwards was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on the same day. Capt. Henry D. Kingsbury, of Company A, was promoted to major, and December 27, 1862, to lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. Capt. Albert Moore, of Company A, was made lieutenant-colonel in 1864, and Capt. John W. Wilson, of Company E, was made major in 1863.
On September 19, 1863, at Chickamauga Creek, the 14th, under command of Lt. - Col. Kingsbury, was engaged in hot and close contest with the enemy from 9 A. M. to 4 P. M. Being then relieved, it replenished its ammunition boxes, and again entered the fight, continuing in it until sundown. That night it fell back one mile and went into camp. The next morning at nine o'clock the regiment again entered the field, and had a desperate encounter with a portion of Longstreet's Rebel division. On September 21 the regiment, with its brigade and division. was in line of battle all day. The regiment went into the battle with 449 men, out of which num- ber it lost 233, killed, wounded and missing. Fourteen enlisted men were captured by the enemy. Of fourteen officers, eight were severely wounded. In the brilliant assault on Mission Ridge the 14th bore a gallant part, charging and | Review at Washington.
capturing a Rebel battery of three guns, which Gen. Hardee in person was superintending. los. ing sixteen killed, ninety-one wounded and. three missing. The regiment was reviewed at Chatta- nooga by Gen. Grant, December 1, 1863. On December 17, of those that were eligible, all but thirty men of the entire regiment re-enlisted for another term of three years.
The regiment performed hard duty at Ring- gold, in March, 1864. On May 9 it moved with its brigade on Dalton, driving in the enemy's vi- dettes to the vicinity of Tunnel Hill, there en- countering the enemy in force. At this point commenced that long, fatiguing campaign for the possession of Atlanta, the "Gate City" of the extreme south. The 14th, in all the marches and the almost incessant skirmishes and flanking movements of that campaign, bore an honorable part. It lost heavily in men and officers. While lying in front of Atlanta the regiment lost twenty men killed and wounded.
At Jonesboro, September 1, 1864, the Third brigade, in command of Col. Este, of the 14th Ohio, was drawn up in line of battle in the im- mediate rear of a regular brigade, of Gen. Car- lin's division, which had just made an unsuccess- ful charge on the Rebel works in the edge of the woods on the opposite side of a large cornfield. Col. Este, with his brigade, consisting of the 14th and 38th Ohio, 10th Kentucky, and 74th Indi- ana, stood ready for the fight. Col. Este gave the order: "Battalion, forward! Guide center!" and Gen. Baird waived his hand for the " for- ward"-the lines moved steadily forward amid a shower of balls. A battery opened with grape and canister, but the brigade moved steadily on. The edge of the timber was gained. and with a yell and a charge the Rebel works were gained. and a hand-to-hand conflict ensued. The Rebels belonged to Gen. Pat. Cleburne's division, and contested the ground with great stubbornness and bravery. It was not until many of them were killed with the cold steel that they the Rebels would surrender. The 14th took nearly as many prisoners as the regiment numbered. a battery of four guns and several stands of colors. All of this was not accomplished without sad cost. The brigade lost thirty-three per cent of its numher. One hundred members of the 14th, whose time had expired, went willingly into the fight, some of whom were killed and many wounded. The 14th joined Sherman's forces at Atlanta, and participated in the "March to the Sea:" then came the march through the Carolinas to Golds- boro and Raleigh. It participated in the Gran I
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The Fifty-seventh Infantry (three years) was organized at Findlay, Ohio, in September, 1861, and mustered in between September 2, that year, and February 5, 1862. Company K, the last mustered, completed organization at Findlay, February, 1862.
Its officers successively were: William Mun- gen, Americus V. Rice, Samuel R. Mott, Cols .; William Mungen, Americus V. Rice, Samuel R. Mott and George D. McClure, Lieut. - Cols. ; Silas B. Walker, John McClure and Squire Johnson, Majors. Company B was recruited from Han- cock, Seneca, and Wood counties, Lieut. Win. S. Bonnell, of "B," was a Wood county man.
On February 10 the new regiment had 956 men and thirty-eight commissioned officers, who set out for Paducah, Ky., eight days after. On March S the command left Paducah for Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, whence it proceeded to Savannah, Tenn., and to the mouth of Yellow creek, with the object of seizing the railroad at Iuka, Miss. High water militated against suc- cess, so that by the 16th the command reported at Pittsburg Landing. From that date to April 6, the command was engaged in a series of little expeditions sent out from camp at Shiloh Church. On the 6th it was, with its brigade, swept back by the furious assaults of the Confederate hosts, and only regained their camp after two days' par- ticipation in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. On the 8th the 57th took part in the pur- suit of the retreating enemy, and suffered further loss, the total in three days being, 27 killed, 150 wounded (16 mortally) and 10 prisoners. During most of the summer and fall after the Corinth campaign, the regiment was on duty in West Tennessee, with headquarters at Memphis part of the time. In the Yazoo and Chickasaw campaign the 57th lost 37 men, killed and wounded.
On January 11, 1863, the attack on Arkansas Post was led by this regiment, it being for two hours within 270 feet of the embrasures in the parapet, before the works were surrendered. In this affair the 57th lost thirty-seven killed and wounded. After this campaign the regiment joined in the operations against Vicksburg until May I, when Grant's soldiers took boats and floated down to Grand Gulf, where the 57th took part in the brilliant campaign which preceded the capture of Vicksburg, including the siege, in which the 57th took a gallant part.
In November, 1863, the 57th, with the rest of Sherman's command, after a toilsome march from Mississippi to Chattanooga, Tenn .. arrived in time to take a hand in the successful assault on Mis- sion Ridge.
In May. 1864, the regiment entered on the Atlanta campaign, having, on March 29, arrived at Nashville, after a long furlough, following the re-enlistment in January. It was present at Snake Creek Gap, May 8; at Resaca, from May 13 to 16; at Dallas, May 25 to June 4; at Kene- saw Mountain, June 9 to 30, where, on June 27, it lost fifty-seven killed and wounded. On July 22 it was a stern wall opposing Hood's sortie from Atlanta, recapturing the works in its front three times, and holding its position. From July 28 to September 2 it was engaged in the siege of Atlanta, took part in the affairs at Jones- boro on August 31 and September 1; at States- boro on December 4, and at Fort McAllister, December 13, 1864, losing, in the bayonet charge at the last named place, ten killed and eighty wounded. On March 13, 1865, at Fayetteville, and on March 19-20 and 21 at Bentonville. N. C., it was in the thick of battle, and remained in the front until after Johnston's surrender. It participated in the grand review at Washington in May, 1865, and moving to Little Rock, Ark., it was mustered out, August 14, 1865. On Aug- ust 25 it was discharged at Camp Chase. Ohio. Of the 1, 594 men enrolled, only 481 were living on date of muster-out.
The Seventy-second Infantry (three years) was organized at Fremont in the last quarter of 1861, with the majority of its members from Sandusky, and some from Wood and Medina counties-in all about 900 strong. The Colonels of the reg- iment, successively, were: Ralph P. Buckland, Leroy Crockett, Charles G. Eaton; Lieut .- Cols. : Herman Canfield, Leroy Crockett, Charles G. Eaton, Eugene A. Rawson, Samuel A. J. Snyder: Majors: Leroy Crockett, Charles G. Eaton, Eugene A. Rawson, Samuel A. J. Snyder, James C. Fernald.
Wood county was represented in companies C, E, I, F, and D, the men going principally from Montgomery, Freedom. Troy and Lake townships. Capts. John H. Blinn and Charles D. Dennis of Company E; Lieuts. Morris Reese, of D, Albert Bates, of I, and Danie! W. Huff- man, of C, were from Wood county; also the chaplain of the regiment, A. B. Poe. The battalion left for Camp Chase on January 24, 1 862, and there Company K, or the Medina com- pany, was disbanded, the privates distributed among the other companies, and the officers dis- charged. Then a company, enlisted for the send Infantry, was assigned to the red as Company K, and, the regimental strength thus attained, the
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command was ordered to report at Paducah to Gen. Sherman, where it was assigned to Col. Buckland's brigade, with the 48th and 70th In- fantry Regiments. In March, 1862, the move- ment up the Tennessee and thence to Eastport, Miss., was carried out, the men suffering severely during their voyage on the "Baltic," and from the effects of bad water at Pittsburg Landing. On April 4, 1862, they met the enemy at Crump's Landing, Tenn., and on the 6th and 7th at Shiloh, where the brigade held the position against a heavy Confederate force, and where it partici- pated in the charge which cleared the field, and in the pursuit as far as Monterey. In this initi- atory work, there were two officers and thirteen soldiers killed, three officers and seventy men wounded, and one officer and forty-five men miss- ing. The siege of Corinth, Miss., continued from April 30 to May 31, 1862. There Col. Buckland resumed command of the regiment, was present at Russell House, Miss., May 17, and at the entry into Memphis July 21, 1862, where it remained on garrison duty until November 26, when it was ordered to the Tallahatchie country. Later it encountered Richardson's guerrillas near Moscow, Miss., and on January 16, 1863, arrived at Cor- inth.
The command was kept moving from place to place, without adventure, until May 14, 1863, when it participated in the decisive affair at Jackson. Arriving before Vicksburg on the 18th, it for the two succeeding days rendered effective aid in assaulting the strong works at that point. After lying down before the city for a little while, it proceeded toward the Big Black, to intercept Joe Jolinston's Rebel cominand; then moved against him at Jackson, and pursued him to Brandon. During the balance of the year it participated in the marching and counter-march- ing between the Pearl river and Memphis, and in January, 1864, in the Meridian expedition, and the affair at Hickahala Creek, Miss., of Febru- ary 10. On February 28, 1864, the remnant of the veterans arrived at Fremont, on furlough, but on April 5 moved to Cleveland, recruited to a strength of 500 men, thence to Paducah, where it skirmished with Forrest's command on April 14, and thence south to its old camp grounds on Wolf river and round Memphis, meeting the enemy at Guntown, or Brice's Cross Roads, on June 10, at Harrisburg July 13, at Tupelo July 14, and Old Town Creek on July 15. The Gun- town affair was disastrous to the Federal force. The officer in charge, seeing defeat inevitable, gathered the cavalry around him, and left the in- fantry to the tender mercy of Forrest's veterans.
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Eleven officers of the 72d and 237 men were killed, wounded or captured, while nine officers and 140 men ran 100 miles in forty-one hours to seek refuge at Germantown. In September, the 72d entered Arkansas and Missouri to aid in op- posing Price, but recrossed the Mississippi in November, and, on December 6 or 7, took part in the affair at Little Harpeth, Tenn., where it lost eleven men killed and wounded. On Decem- ber 15 and 16 it took part in the brilliant fighting at Nashville, and from December 17 to January I, 1865, was engaged in the pursuit of Hood. From March 26 to April 9, 1865, it was engaged in the siege of Spanish Fort, Ala. In April forty veterans received honorable discharge, and Sep- tember 11, 1865, the command was mustered out at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
The Sixty-eighth Infantry (three years) was organized in October, November and December. 1861. Defiance. Williams. Paulding and Fulton counties each furnished one company, and Henry county furnished the majority of the men in the other companies. The officers of the regiment. successively, were Samuel H. Steedman, Robert K. Scott, Geo. E. Wells, Cols. ; Samuel H. Steed- man, Robert K. Scott, John S. Snook. Geo. E Wells, Arthur C. Crockett. Lieut. - Cols .; and Robert K. Scott, John S. Snook. Geo. E. Wells. Arthur C. Crockett, Robert Masters, Majors. Wood was about equally represented in Com- panies H and I, the inen going mainly from Grand Rapids, Freedom, Milton and Lake town- ships. Lieuts. William A. Wood, of Company H, and Lewis F. Dubbs, of Company I, were from Wood county.
The regiment rendezvoused at Camp Latta, in Henry county, in the winter of 1861-62, moving on January 21, to Camp Chase, and from there it moved to Fort Donelson, Tenn., arriving on the 14th. The reginient was assigned to Gen. Charles F. Smith's division, and was constantly engaged in skirmishing on the left of the lines during both days' operations. After the surren- der, the regiment camped near Dover until March 15, when it moved to Metal Landing, on the Tennessee, and from there by boat to Pittsburg Landing. The health of the regiment until this time had been remarkably good; but now bad weather, bad water, and bad rations, reduced its strength from 1,ooo to less than 250 men. The regiment was assigned to Gen. Lew Wallace's division, and during the battle of Pittsburg Land- ing was engaged in guarding ordnance and supply trains. During the operations around Corinthi,
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the regiment was constantly engaged in building roads, bridges, and intrenchments. After the evacuation, the 68th, with the 23d Indiana, was stationed at Bolivar, where they rebuilt the bridges across the Hatchie, and formed the guards along the railroad. The regiment participated in the battles of Inka and Matamora, and for gallantry in the latter engagement was compli- inented in general orders. It closed its part in the campaign of 1862 by forming the advance of an expedition which attempted to penetrate the interior of Mississippi to Vicksburg. During the campaign the regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Division, 17th Army Corps, and continued to serve with them until the close of the war.
While at Richmond. La., in the spring of 1863, Lieut. J. C. Banks, of Company C. and privates John Snyder, of A, Joseph Longberry and William Barnhart, of C, volunteered to take one of the transports-a common river steamer- past the Vicksburg batteries. They accomplished their undertaking successfully on the night of April 21. On April 23, the regiment began its march for the rear of Vicksburg. It marched more than seventy miles over low bottom lands. still partly submerged, crossed innumerable bayous on bridges hastily constructed, and reached the Mississippi at Grand Gulf. It participated in the battle of Thompson's Hill. May 1. 1863, and was engaged in the battles of Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, and Big Black which followed. The regiment sustained considerable loss in these engagements, and especially at Champion Hills. The 68th engaged in an attack on the Rebel works in the rear of Vicksburg. May 18, and it participated in the assault on Fort Hill on the 22nd. During the early part of the siege the regiment was almost constantly in the trenches, and it also furnished large details of sharpshooters. It participated in the engagements at jackson on July 12. On February 5. 1864. it participated in the fight at Baker's Creek, while moving on the Meridian raid.
The regiment was one of the first in the 17th Corps to report three-fourths of its men re-en- listed, it having done so December 15, 1863. On June 10, 1864, the 68th joined Sherman's main army at Ackworth, Ga. During the re- inainder of the Atlanta campaign the regiment was under fire almost constantly. It was on the advance line for sixty-five days and nights, and was engaged at Kenesaw, Nicojack and Atlanta, July 22 and 28, and at Jonesboro and Lovejoy. After the engagement at Lovejoy, the regiment moved in pursuit of Hood. The return march 9
from Gaylesville, Ala., was by way of Cane Springs and Lost Mountain to Smyrna camp- meeting ground, and at daylight on November 15. from Atlanta, commenced the march to the sea. It reached Savannah on December 10, and as- sisted in throwing up a heavy line of works, and furnished two companies daily as sharpshooters. On January 5. 1865, the regiment embarked at Thunderbolt bay for Beaufort, and from there to Pocotaligo, and two weeks later the troops moved on the campaign of the Carolinas. The regi- ment participated in the Grand Review at Wash- ington, May 24, 1865.
The Twenty-fifth Infantry was organized at Camp Chase June 28, 1861. being composed of men from almost every section of the State. It was officered, successively, by James A. Jones. W. P. Richardson, Nathaniel L. Hanghton, Cols. ; William P. Richardson, George Webster, James F. Charlesworth, Jeremiah Williams, Nathaniel Haughton, and E. C. Culp. Lt. - Cols. ; and Will- iam P. Richardson. John Coons. George Webster. James F. Charlesworth, Jeremiah Williams, John W. Bowlus, Nathaniel Haughton, C. E. Randall. E. C. Culp, and Luther B. Mesnard, Majors. Of these Major Randall was from Wood county. Company E was composed largely of men from Wood county, principally from Montgomery township. Major Randall was 2d Lient. of the company, was promoted to ist Lieut. of G. then to Capt. and then to Major of the regiment. Second Lient. Elisha Biggerstaff, of E, became Ist Lieut. in A, and finally became a captain in the regiment. Lient. Andrew J. Hale, of E. be- came regimental quartermaster. Wm. P. Scott was promoted from 2d Lieut. of K to the cap- taincy of A. Jesse C. Chance, of E, was made 2d Lieut. of the Fifth U. S. Colored troops These men were all from Wood. This county had also some men scattered through other com- panies.
On June 29 the regiment proceeded to West- ern Virginia, and was stationed along the B. & O. R. R. from Oakland to the Ohio river, and broke up several gangs of bushwhackers. On August 21, the command reported to Gen. Rey- nolds at Beverly. It then marched to Cheat mountain, and encamped on the summit where the troops suffered severely during the fall and winter. They were continually on duty either in the fort or on the picket-line: sleet or show fell almost daily ; the men of the 25th were to- tally unprovided with overcoats, and many of them were withont shoes or blankets. On the
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