USA > Ohio > Greene County > Greene County soldiers in the late war : being a history of the Seventy-fourth O.V.I., with sketches of the Twelfth, Ninety-Fourth, One Hundred and Tenth, Forty-Fourth, Tenth Ohio Battery, One Hundred and Fifty-Fourth, Fifty-Fourth, Seventeenth, Thirty-Fourth, One Hundred and Eighty-Fourth, together with a list of Greene County's soldiers > Part 10
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Comrade Holbrook, of Company F, responded :
Citizens of Xenia and Friends : - In response to your greet- ing and welcome, in behalf of the members of the Twelfth regi- ment, we tender our sincere thanks. We remember that from
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Xenia came our colonel - whom we revere and honor - than whom upon the field, in the battle, there were none we respected more than Colonel Lowe. It is not proper for us to boast of what we have done; but we are not ashamed of our record in West and East Virginia, at Antietam, or Bull Run. We were of that kind that would not allow a goose to bite us or a pig to insult us. We are glad to be here together. Pardon us, if in our joy of meeting one another, we may seem to be unappreciative of your attentions or kindness as citizens of Xenia, but you know the object of our reunion is to live over the incidents of the war through which we served together as comrades. It may appear selfish in us, but I assure you that it is not selfishness. This is our second reunion. I am glad to see so many here; would like to see more. We hope to so deport ourselves as to be worthy of your reception Please accept our hearty thanks for your kind reception.
Sergeant Stockman, of Franklin, Ohio, the presiding officer, then announced that the minutes of the previous meeting would be read by the secretary. The regiment were banqueted at the St. George, where ample preparations were made.
DINNER.
The large dining-hall of the St. George was elaborately and tastefully decorated with flags, streamers, and evergreens, in reception of the Twelfth regimeit. At about 1:30 P. M., the regiment was dismissed from the Opera House, and marched to the hotel for dinner, which was enjoyed as only ex soldiers know how to enjoy a good thing. After dinner they were again assembled in the Opera House for the afternoon exercises.
Sergeant L. Stockman, presiding officer, announced that the exercises would consist of short speeches, incidents, songs, etc., and urged the boys to take part in the proceedings freely.
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RELICS.
H. S. Day was then called upon to exhibit the relics, which, fortunately, he had been thoughtful enough to save. Mr. Day thereupon ascended the stage, and, after some very appropriate introductory remarks, exhibited the flag of Company C, which was presented to the company by the ladies of New Richmond, Ohio, and which they had carried as far as "Flat Top." The old flag was saluted by three rousing cheers. The next relic called forth much amusement. It was a pen-made poster, an- nouncing the appearance of the " Buckeye Minstrels," at Fay- etteville, West Virginia, at the time that the regiment was winter- quartered there. The minstrel company was formed of the boys of the Twelfth Regiment, and the running remarks made about the poster, and the incidents related of the entertainment, were very enjoyable. The poster was executed by joe Compton. Tickets of admission were also exhibited, and it was claimed that the boys had some way of counterfeiting tickets that annoyed the managers of the minstrel troupe very much. Mr. Day exhibited a pass issued to him while at Fayetteville, which he read, together with several official reports, and announced that he had at home a shoe, cast off by a fleeing rebel, when one of the Twelfth boys was after him; also, a piece of a flag-staff that belonged to one of the North Carolina regiments that fought the Twelfth so stub- bornly. It was remarked that the Twelfth was at one time in an engagement with the Twelfth North Carolina, and in the same battle the Twenty-third Ohio was engaged with the Twenty-third North Carolina. The next relic was a flattened musket-ball that had killed Aaron Sayers at Meadow Bluffs. Photographs of Captain Channel and General J. D. Cox were also presented, together with many other interesting papers and official reports referring to the gallant action of the regiment in the field, in one of which Captain W. H. Glotfelter, of this county, with others,
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was recommended for promotion on account of gallant service. The papers and relics were then delivered to the secretary, to be placed in the archives of the regiment. Messrs. Holbrook, Rigor, Lyons, Steve Mitchell, Captain "Buck " Smith, Captain Hilt, Sergeant Stockman, and many others whose names we could not get, related incidents, eliciting amusement and ap- plause.
A DEAD LIVE MAN.
Thomas E. Gaddis called attention to the fact that there was present in the hall Pat. Pedit, who was reported killed in one of the battles, and his funeral obsequies had been duly cele- brated in Germantown, Ohio. Sergeant Stockman then related the strange occurrence substantially as follows : At the second
battle of Bull Run we were compelled to retreat. I saw comrade Pedit leaning against a stump. I touched him on the shoulder, and told him to get away from there, the rebels were coming. He was wounded badly, and as he looked pale, and did not an- swer me I supposed him to be dead. Captain Sherwood wrote to Mrs. Pedit that her husband had been killed. The friends at his home in Germantown arranged for the funeral, the Odd Fellows conducted services, the minister preached the funeral, and the audience was very large. Some time after - I think it was while we were at Antietam -some one received a letter from Pat. Pedit, asking about his knapsack. Well ! we all had some trouble about our knapsacks, but we all had supposed that
Pedit would never care for his knapsack again. He was cap- tured, and being wounded, was unable to send word home for a long time - this letter was the first heard of him. We are glad to see him here alive to-day, and I request him to stand up that we all may see him. Mr. Pedit, with a wounded arm in a sling, stood up and modestly bowed to his comrades, who greeted him with cheers. Mr. Holbrook was called upon to produce, if it,
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was possible, a large knife which he had captured from the enemy. He said that he did not know where it was at present, but it was quite a large knife, like a corn-cutter, and had in- scribed on it, "Death to Yanks." Some one added that Mr. Holbrook captured the knife from a six-footer.
" MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA."
After frequent calls, Thomas Gaddis, Professor Holbrook, and Iliff, took the positon in front and led the regiment in this stirring song, whose strong chorus-in which the regiment joined - fairly shook the Opera House. After the song William Dingess, of Company D, from Jamestown, arose in the rear of the house and said, "Though we did not march to the sea, I am glad we had the honor of marching to what we did see."
Letters of regrets from the following absent members were read: J. W. Goldener, Greenville, Ohio; F. Gunkle, Dayton, Ohio; J. B. Homan, Blanchester, Ohio; E. K. King, Percival Hawes, Pike, Kansas, and H. F. Cramer. Captain B. Nesbitt, of this city, was then called upon and made a short address.
Resolutions thanking the comrades of Greene County, and the people of Xenia, for their kind reception, were passed with three hearty cheers and a tiger.
The following resolution was then offered by Thomas Gad- dis :
Resolved, That we are acquainted with the facts in the case of our comrade, T. J. Sutton, of Company H, and that we hereby admit him to good standing in our association, and we also authorize our officers to attach their official signatures to his petition for an honorable discharge.
The resolution received a unanimous and emphatic ap- proval. The executive committee was announced, namely, George A. Stivers, Isaac Boswell, and William Quickbaum.
The president then announced the next thing in order to be
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the election of officers for the ensuing year, which was proceeded with, and the following were all elected unanimously : Pres- ident, L. Stockman; Vice-president, J. L. Hill; Secretary and Treasurer, George A. Stivers; Corresponding Secretary, W. B. Nesbit.
Several places were named for holding the next reunion, but after considerable discussion, Ripley, Ohio, was selected, and the third Thursday in October, 1884, as the date.
MEMBERS PRESENT.
The following is a list of the members who were present :
COMPANY A.
James Phillips, Morrow; H. C. Parker, Morrow; James Ireland, Morrow ; C. B. Riley, Blanchester ; John Kline, Cin- cinnati; Edward Mader, Cincinnati; Elias Whitacre, Edwards- ville; James Eagle, Clarksville; H. P. Kiphart, Clarksville; E. R. Grim, Morrow ; G. N. Smith, Dayton ; John Troville, Mor- row.
COMPANY B.
I. M. Duncan, New Vienna; J. W. Matthews, New Vi- enna ; W. H. Glotfelter, Alpha; W. W. B. Alexander, Lagonda; A. L. Wright, Xenia; Robert McCreight, Xenia; Ab. Keble, Xenia ; H. L. Hay, Parkersville, Kansas; R. J. Johnson, Mt. Carmel.
COMPANY C.
J. A. Enson, Berrien Springs, Michigan; G. H. Slade, Bantam ; Charles McMast, Moscow; Steve Mitchell, Cincin- nati.
COMPANY D.
J. E. Brown, Jamestown; F. G. Barber, Garnet, Kansas ;
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R. B. Beard, Clinton County, Kansas; H. D. Kline, Cedar- ville; John Cordingly, Yellow Springs; John Davis, Mechanics- burg; W. A. Doyer, Jamestown; J. H. Davidson, Xenia ; Michael Donelly, Yellow Springs; Ellis Dorriel; H. W. Ford, Cedarville; L. C. Ginn, Yellow Springs; J. S. Harper, Xenia ; J. L. Harper, Eureka Springs, Arkansas; H. C. Huffin; J. F. Harris, Jamestown; W. H. Iliff, Cedarville ; C. W. Stevenson, Xenia; I. H. Iliff, Cedarville; Alex. Turnbull, Cedarville ; I. W. Irwin, Cedarville; John Kirkwood, Springfield; J. T. Wil- lis, Straughn, Indiana; W. B. Smith, South Salem, Indiana; Fred Snively, Xenia.
COMPANY E.
J. L. Van Allen, Utica; J. M. Deboth, Utica; Wilson Lamb, Newark; James Houghy, Newark; Matthias Bigger, Newark ; D. Weaver, Utica.
COMPANY F.
R. B. Wilson, Cincinnati; J. H. Smith, Lebanon; Irwin Snook, Lebanon ; C. K. Dunham, Waynesville; E. K. Snook, South Lebanon; W. P. Bailey, Morrow; H. M. Cox, South Lebanon ; Josiah Holbrook, Lebanon ; John M. Snook, Lebanon.
COMPANY G.
J. T. Hilt, Middleton; J. N. Yager, Jacksonville; N. Miars, Piqua; John Vannote, Lebanon; Joe Pettitt, German- town; Wm. Boore, Germantown; L. Stockman, West Carlisle ; J. Van Tillbury, Germantown.
COMPANY H.
Samuel Yeaton, Ripley ; George Stivers, Ripley; M. Creek- baum, Ripley; H. Fisher, Ripley; G. W. Shaw, Ripley; T. Lowry, Maysville, Kentucky; Tom Sutton, Aberdeen ; T. C. Gaddis, Cincinnati; J. E. D. Ward, Dayton.
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COMPANY I.
Sol. R. Smith, Lincoln, Illinois ; John Schon, Dayton ; Wm. Hink, Dayton; Jacob Yeider, Hartford City, Indiana ; Charles Conner, Oxford, Iowa; J. Garruch, Greenville ; P. Smith, Columbus.
COMPANY K.
R. M. Riley, Blanchester; D. M. Taylor, Hillsboro; W. H. Barker, Centerville; J. W. Eddington, Cincinnati; J. K. Church, Shelbyville, Illinois; E. E. Hixon, Martinsville; H. Earhart, Dayton.
Ninety-Fourth Regiment, O. V. I.
This regiment was organized at Camp Piqua, Miami County, Ohio, under the immediate supervision of Colonel J. W. Frizell. The officers were appointed on the 22d of July, 1862, and so vigorously was the recruiting prosecuted, that in just one month one thousand and ten men were mustered into the United States service.
On the 28th of August, without uniforms or camp equipage, and never having been drilled as a regiment, the Ninety-fourth was ordered to Kentucky - that state being then invaded by rebel forces under Kirby Smith. It proceeded via Cincinnati, and upon arriving in that city, was immediately ordered to Lex- ington. By great perseverance the colonel succeeded in obtain- ing three rounds of cartridges to the man; and being supplied with this very limited amount of ammunition, and sufficient clothing to supply immediate wants, the regiment took the cars for Lexington, arriving at 9:00 P. M., on Saturday night, where they heard, for the first time, an authentic account of the battle of Richmond.
After considerable search the colonel succeeded in finding the officer to whom he was to report, but in such a beastly state of intoxication as to be unable to rise from his bed, and perfectly incompetent to give intelligent instructions. With the assistance of some citizens, passable quarters were obtained for the men. Hungry, tired, and anxious for the morning, the regiment tried bivouacking for the first time.
Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful, disclosing the
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town full of stragglers from the Richmond battle-field, relating. wild stories of defeat and disaster, and though but little confi- dence was placed in their reports, still this, together with the general gloom always attending such a state of affairs as then existed, caused the order for the regiment to proceed to Tate's Ford, on the Kentucky River, fifteen miles east of Lexington, on the Richmond road, to be received with fearful foreboding. However, the order was obeyed without a murmur, and after a hard day's march under a scorching sun, over a dry and du-ty road, with water very scarce, the regiment arrived near the field just at dark. This being the first march the regiment had made, the men were much exhausted, and dropped to the ground as soon as the order to halt was given.
While the colonel was endeavoring - as best he could in the darkness - to select a position which could be easily de- fended, a fire was opened upon the regiment by a rebel scouting party, concealed in the thickets skirting the road, and it was afterward ascertained that the whole of Kirby Smith's army was encamped but a couple of miles north of the Ford. A veteran regiment could not have behaved better than did the Ninety- fourth on this occasion. The night was very dark, the men were lying down, and many had already fallen asleep, but after the confusion incident to their rude awakening, very little trouble was experienced in getting the regiment properly formed. The rebel fire lasted but a moment, yet two men were killed and six wounded.
After posting his men to the best advantage, Colonel Frizell remained with the advance picket-post - which, from the nature of the country, was but a short distance from the regiment - all night, Major King, Captain Drury, and the adjutant occupying intermediate positions between the colonel and the regiment. The night passed slowly and without further alarm, and as soon as daylight appeared the hungry men began looking in some
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wagons that had arrived during the night for the supplies, which the officer in command at Lexington had said he would send. The search revealed one hundred and twenty-five rounds of ammunition to each man, and three sacks of green coffee to the regiment.
While endeavoring to make a breakfast from these "sup- plies," the rebel army was reported advancing, and soon com- menced shelling the regiment from a battery they had placed in position in the woods just across the river. Colonel Frizell watched the maneuvers of the rebels for a few moments, and then ordered his adjutant to form the regiment and march back until past the road, where it was supposed the rebels would attempt to form and prevent a retreat. The movement was effected in good order, but none too soon, as the rear guard had just passed the road when the rebels came trooping from it into the pike, and began firing upon Captain Drury's command, which had been selected as rear guard. Colonel Frizell re- mained in the rear until the advancing rebels were checked, when he directed the regiment to a certain point, and there to form for action. He knew that his force was greatly outnum- bered, but his order was to contest every foot of ground back to Lexington. Just as the movement was begun a messenger arrived with an order from General G. C. Smith, dated the night before, for the Ninety-fourth to return to Lexington with all possible dispatch.
The regiment was now twelve miles from any support, with a fresh and victorious enemy, more than ten times superior in numbers, close in the rear, and to successfully conduct a retreat of raw troops under such circumstances, required the most thor- ough ability on the part of the commander, and the most un - doubted confidence on the part of the men. The regiment toiled along the hot and dusty road, Colonel Frizell and Captain Drury fearlessly exposing themselves, together with the other
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officers, to prevent straggling; but their efforts could not prevent quite a number of the almost exhausted men from falling by the wayside, and becoming an easy prey to the closely pursuing enemy. At four o'clock the regiment reached Lexington, greatly to the surprise of every one who knew that it had gone out on the expedition. The order sending it to the Ford was a blunder, and probably the only thing that prevented its capture was the very boldness of the movements made.
Our army that had retreated from Richmond had already left Lexington, still in retreat toward Louisville, and all stores that could not be easily transferred had been destroyed. With the exception of coffee and crackers on Sunday morning, the men of the Ninety fourth had had little to eat since Saturday morning, were tired and foot-sore, and in bad condition for further marching. In the absence of instructions to the con- trary, it was Colonel Frizell's intention to remain in Lexington, unless driven out, until the men had procured the much-needed food and rest; but the order for continued retreat reached him, and was obeyed. At daylight the retreating army reached Ver- sailles, and a halt for breakfast was ordered, but just as the coffee began to boil another order to fall in came from the officer in command. The season was very dry, and but little water could be obtained. The suffering in consequence of this may be in- ferred from the fact that the Ohio soldiers gave five dollars for a canteen full of muddy water - a dollar a drink - and many drank from standing pools the water that the horses refused to touch. The roads were almost ankle deep with dust, and the sun shone fiery overhead. The day's march began at from two to three o'clock in the morning, and continued until late in the night, and the only provisions issued - or to be obtained - were a few hard crackers each night and what green corn yet remained in the fields adjacent to the camping-grounds. The troops were all, or nearly all, newly enlisted, and being unused to such a life,
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it is not to be wondered at that they fell out of the ranks by the hundred, and were so easily captured by the force of rebels fol- lowing.
Upon arriving at Louisville the Ninety fourth went into camp, without tents, in the woods, but the men were so utterly exhausted that their only need was rest, as best they could get it. Having been deprived almost entirely of sleep, water. and food for seven days, marching night and day, with feet and limbs swollen almost to bursting, and every sense dulled with suffer- ing, many of the men were pitiable objects. In a short time, however, all had regained comparative strength, health, and cheerfulness, and were ready to go where duty called.
The first regular report that the adjutant could make after arriving at Louisville, showed a loss of two hundred and eighteen men. With the exception of the two men killed at Tate s Ford, all eventually returned to the regiment, having been paroled by the rebels almost as soon as captured.
With the exception of some hard work in the trenches and on fortifications, and a participation in two or three " grand re- views." the regiment had very easy times until the first of Octo- ber, when the movement began, which resulted in the battle of Perryville, and the driving of Bragg's rebel army from Kentucky. Previous to the battle of Perryville the Ninety-fourth had been assigned to Rosseau's division of McCook's corps, and took an active part in the engagement, being highly complimented in general orders. The regiment broke camp near Nashville on Christmas-day, 1862, and was in advance of the army marching on Murfreesboro, and during the battle of Stone River was engaged every day-from Wednesday until Saturday. The Ninety-fourth was again in advance on Tullahoma, participating in the fight at Hoover's Gap in June, 1863, had a skirmish at Dug Gap, and were engaged in the hard fought battle of Chicka. mauga. At Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge the regiment
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again took a prominent part, participating in the grand charge upon the Ridge; was with Sherman on the march to Atlanta, taking part in the battles at Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Kingston, Pumpkinvine Creek, Kennesaw Mountain, Chattahoochie River, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, and Jonesboro. After pursuing Hood, the Ninety-fourth participated in Sherman's grand march to the sea, arriving at Savannah before Christmas. On the 20th of January, 1865, it was again on the march through North and South Carolina, and after participating in the battle at Benton- ville, North Carolina, arrived at Goldsboro on the 23d of March, 1865. The Ninety-fourth was the first regiment of infantry to enter Raleigh, North Carolina, and soon 'after the surrender of Johnston marched to Washington, via Richmond and Alexan- dria, participating in the grand review before the President, General Grant, and others, and was mustered out of the service at Washington on the 6th of June, 1865, with an aggregate of three hundred and thirty-eight men - all that were left of them - left of one thousand and ten !
10
One Hundred and Tenth, O. V. I.
This regiment was organized at Camp Piqua, Ohio, on the 3d of October, 1862. On the 19th of October the regiment moved by railroad to Zanesville, thence by steamer to Marietta, and from thence by railroad to Parkersburg, Virginia. On the 3d of November it marched to Clarksburg, where it remained until the 25th, and then took the cars for New Creek, where it arrived the next day. Here it remained in camp, fortifying, and drilling, and performing guard and picket duty, until December 13th, whence it marched, via Burlington and Petersburg, to Moorfield, Virginia. Three hundred men from the One Hun- dred and Tenth joined an expedition to move in the direction of Winchester, Virginia, while the remainder of the regiment moved with another expedition in the direction of Romney. The main portion of the regiment arrived at Winchester, without serious interruption, on the 1st of January, 1863, and joined the detach- ment which had arrived a week previous.
While at Winchester the regiment was assigned to the first brigade, second division, eighth army corps, and companies A and D were detailed as provost guard. The regiment was em- ployed in guard and picket duty, in drilling, fortifying, and making raids and reconnoissances. At one time a detachment went to Front Royal and captured a large amount of stores. At another time a detachment proceeded to Summit Point and other places, dispersing bands of rebels and destroying stores ; and in the early part of May the regiment marched to New Market and returned. On the 13th of June the regiment was
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND TENTH.
moved out to Kernstown, and engaged Lee's advance. This is the first time the regiment was under fire, but they behaved bravely. On the morning of the 14th the One Hundred and Tenth occupied a small earthwork, about three-fourths of a mile from the main fort. In the afternoon the enemy opened on it with twenty-six pieces of artillery, and advanced in strong col- umns to the assault. The regiment held the works until it was driven out at the point of the bayonet by an overwhelming force. It attempted to retire in the night, but was met by the enemy, and a two hours' engagement ensued, in which the regiment succeeded in cutting its way through, and marched to Harper's Ferry.
On the 16th of June the regiment crossed the river and encamped on Maryland Heights. On the 1st of July it went by canal to Georgetown, D. C., then to Tenallytown, then to Washington, and from thence to Frederick City, Maryland. At this place the regiment was assigned to the second brigade, third division, third army corps, Army of the Potomac. Marched in pursuit of Lee to Williamsport, Loudon, Upperville, and Ma- nassas Gap, where it skirmished with the enemy, and reached Fox's Ford, on the Rappahannock, on the 1st of August. On the morning of the 15th the regiment left the Ford, took the cars at Bealton Station for Alexandria, and from there to New York, where the regiment camped for awhile on Governor's Island, and then moved to Carrol Park, South Brooklyn. On the 6th of September the regiment returned, via Alexandria, to Fox's Ford, and marched from there to Culpepper, Virginia, in charge of an ammunition-train. On the 10th of October it moved out to meet an attack, and remained there all night under arms, and the next day marched across the Hazell and Rappahannock rivers, through Centerville, Bristow, Catlett's Station, and at last reached and occupied the first line, near the Rappahannock. On the 7th of November the regiment crossed the river, skir-
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