USA > Ohio > Greene County > Greene county in the war. Being a history of the Seventy-fourth regiment, with sketches of the Twelfth, Ninety-fourth, One hundred and tenth, Forty-fourth, One hundred and fifty-fourth regiments and the Tenth Ohio battery, embracing anecdotes, incidents and narratives of the camp, march and battlefield and the author's experience while in the army > Part 9
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After these expeditions the regiment remained in camp for five months, quietly drilling. Winter quarters were built, and the men comfortably sheltered. During the month of November Cap- tain John M. Bell, of Company K, with an orderly
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GREENE COUNTY IN THE WAR.
sargeant and six men, were drowned while cros- sing the river in a skiff to relieve the picket on the other side. This sad accident cast a gloom over the whole regiment, and it was felt that a serious loss had been sustained. During the lat- ter part of the winter, Companies A, B and K were stationed on the opposite side of the river from Camp Piatt, for the better security of the camp.
On the 1st of May, 1862, the regiment moved up the river to Gauley Bridge, and was brigaded with the 36th and 47th O. V. I. under Colonel George Crook. The brigade moved to Lewis- burg, and from there the Forty-fourth and another regiment penetrated as far as Dublin Depot, on the Jackson River railroad, and destroyed a por- tion of the track. Hearing that a large force of rebels were trying to intercept their retreat, the two companies withdrew to Lewisburg, where the enemy appeared on the 23d of May, and was not only repulsed but routed, leaving most of their dead and wounded to fall into the hands of our trooops, together with three pieces of artillery and many prisoners. They occupied the place for a short time after the fight, then fell back to Meadow Bluffs, where they encamped until the middle of August.
The Forty-fourth took up the line of march on
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THE FORTY FOURTH.
the 15th of August toward the Kanawha, halting a week at Camp Ewing, and then falling back to Camp Tompkins. A force of six thousand rebels was advancing against the four regiments in the valley, and, on the 9th of September, the two regiments on the right bank (the Forty-fourth and another) were attacked and fell back on Gauley, where a stand was made until the teams could be removed from danger, when the retreat began in earnest. The Forty-fourth marched in the rear all day and nearly all night, covering the retreating column until it reached Camp Piatt. The national forces fell back upon Charleston, and on the 13th the rebels made the attack and were firmly met. Superior numbers finally forced the Union lines back, but every foot of ground was hotly contested. Our forces withdrew across a deep tributary of the Kanawha, and with a few blows of an axe, severed the hawsers that held the suspension bridge, and it fell with a crash into the stream. The retreat now continued in safety to Racine, on the Ohio river, and from that place the troops were taken by steamer to Point Pleasant. Transportation was procured and they were sent forward into Kentucky. They en- camped some time at Covington, watching the movements of Kirby Smith, and on his retreat they pursued as for as Lexington. where they
14
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were ordered into camp and assigned to the 2d brigade, 2dl division, Army of Kentucky, com- manded by General Gordon Granger. The regi- ment was actively engaged in scouting, taking in its field of operations Richmond and Danville.
On the 20th of December the regiment re- turned to Frankfort and was mounted, and from that time until Burnside's advance into Tennessee there was but little rest for man or beast. The men almost lived in the saddle. It was continual advance and retreat, with almost constant skir- mishing. The regiment partook in the engage- ment of Dunstan's Hill, charging the rebels and contributing materially to their rout. The regi- ment was frequently engaged in chasing John Morgan, though with not very satisfactory results, as he generally proved the faster rider.
When General Burnside made his advance into Tennessee the Forty-fourth was dismounted and accompanied him. It can claim equality with any other regiment of all that took part in this expedition. Finally, falling back on Knoxville and throwing up fortifications, it lay in the wet, chilly ditches day and night. When the rebels retreated the regiment pursued, and on its return went into camp at Strawberry Plains.
On the 1st of January, 1864, the proposal to re-enlist was made to the regiment, accompanied
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THE FORTY FOURTH.
by the promise that they should be armed and mounted as cavalry. Before the 5th, out of six hundred men, five hundred and fifty had re-enlisted. On the 7th they marehed for Camp Nelson, Ken- tucky, and on the 21st took cars for Cincinnati, where they arrived the next day, and were quar- tered in the Fifth Street Bazaar, erected for the sanitary fair. Here they were obliged to wait until muster-out and muster-in rolls could be made out. This was at last accomplished, and the men were mustered by the 29th, and started on a special train for Springfield. Their arrival was heralded by the booming of cannon, and they were received with joyous shouts and and enthusi- astic greetings. In a few days the men were paid off and furloughed, and when they again assembled it was under the name of the Eighth Ohio Cavalry, of which the following is a brief sketch :
On the 28th of March, 1864, the veterans and recruits of the Forty-fourth Ohio Infantry were ordered to report at Camp Dennison, where they went without delay, and were organized into the Eighth Ohio Cavalry. On the 26th of April six companies, not mounted, were ordered to Charles- ton, West Virginia, and on the 8th of May the detachment remaining in camp was ordered to march to Cincinnati, to be transported thence by steamer to Charleston. On the 10th they. left
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camp for Cincinnati mounted on horseback, with no rein but a rope, and cach man leading two or three horses. They arrived in the city a little after noon in a drenching rain, and by dark were on the boat on their way up the river. On the second morning after they started they landed at Guyandotte, and again mounting barebacked rode to Charleston, arriving on the 14th, very much exhausted.
At Charleston the Eighth was armed with car- bines and drew saddles, and on the 20th of May marched for Lewisburg, where they arrived on the 1st of June, and on the 3d started with Averill on the Lynchburg raid. The regiment was first assigned to General Duffie's brigade, and after- wards to Colonel Schoonmaker's Fourteenth Penn- sylvania Cavalry. On the 9th they arrived at Staunton, formed a junction with General Hunter, and on the 13th moved to Buchannon, where they
rested until the 15th. They had frequent skir- mishes, doing good service, until they arrived at White Sulphur Springs, where they arrived on the 24th, and from thence moved to Beverly, arriving at noon on the 30th, having marched six hundred miles.
On the 23d of August, Companies C, H and K, eighty men in all, were surprised and captured at Huttonsville. The men were released. but all
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THE FORTY FOURTH.
their equipments and horses taken by the rebels. Soon after Company A was captured, and the captain and some of the men taken to Richmond. About the 1st of December Colonel Moor joined the regiment. They were at Winchester, fought at Fisher's Hill, and barely escaped at Cedar Creek. On the 11th of January the rebels sur- prised the camp, killing and wounding twenty-five, and capturing five hundred and seventy men and cight officers. They were taken to Libby Prison, but afterwards paroled at Columbus, Ohio, and in August were mustered out of the service at Camp Dennison.
TENTH OHIO BATTERY.
This battery was organized at Xcnia on the 9th of January, 1862, and was mustered into service on the 3d of March. It was ordered to St. Louis, Missouri, and on the 4th of April moved up the Tennessee river to Pittsburg Land- ing, where it arrived on the 9th. On the 13th it received some twenty men from the Thirteenth Ohio Battery.
With the rest of the Army the Tenth moved upon Corinth, but during the siege it was held in reserve. The battery remained at Corinth from the 25th of June to the middle of September. It then moved to Iuka, and remained at that post on garrison duty.
While at Iuka orders were received to procure forage from the country. A portion of the men under command of Lieutenant Grossekoff, while in the performance of this duty, were at- tacked by Roddy's rebel cavalry, at a point five miles bolow Iuka, and lost by capture, privates William F. Nixon, Richard Sparrow, John W. Shoemaker, Abe Hulsizer, and William Leslie.
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TENTH OHIO BATTERY.
These men were taken to southern prisons, and afterward exchanged.
On the 1st of October the battery moved toward Corinth, and on the 2d it passed through the town and halted for the night at a fort southwest of it. On the morning of the 3d it was ordered to take position near the Chewalla road where it crossed the Memphis railroad. From this place the bat- tery was ordered into position north of Corinth. About 11 o'clock on the morning of the 4th the rebel lines advanced. The battery opened with shell, and one piece was disabled after the first fire by a shell getting fast half way down. Two shells were fired by each of the other three pieces, and cannister (doubled) was used to the direct front. The ground was favorable for can- nister practice, and at each fire gaps of twenty, thirty and forty feet wide were cut into the ad- vancing columns. The battery stopped three columns of rebels. Each piece was pouring out from eighteen to twenty rounds per minute, when the order was given to retire. The rebels had advanced on the right, and the battery was with- out the support of a single musket, right or left. The pintle key of the third piece had to be tied to its place ; and the corporal, while tying it, dis- covered that the sponge bucket was left. He called out, " Get the bucket, No. 2!" George S.
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Wright, a boy of eighteen, acting as No. 1, ran back towards the rebels, picked up the bucket when they were not more than twenty-five rods from him, and returned with it to the gun.
As fast as the pieces were limbered, they went off at a gallop. They were unlimbered east of the town and south of the Decatur railroad, but only for a moment, when they were returned to a point about one hundred yards in rear of the for- mer position. In a short time the enemy retired.
The battery lost only three men wounded. A number of horses were also wounded, including those belonging to Capt. White and the bugler. It pursued the enemy as far as Ripley, and then returned to Corinth.
In the latter part of October the battery re- ceived forty men from an Iowa brigade, but about twenty of them were returned. In November it moved to Grand Junction, and marched with the army into Mississippi, along the Mississippi Cen- tral railroad.
After the surrender of Holly Springs, the bat- tery returned to that point, and formed part of the garrison. It removed from there to Lafayette, and from Lafayette to Memphis. On the 21st of January it moved to Milliken's Bend, and from there to Lake Providence. In April it returned
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TENTH OHIO BATTERY.
to Milliken's Bend, and moved from there to Grand Gulf.
On May the 14th, while the Tenth was at Grand Gulf, General Dwight, of General Banks' army, arrived on a gunboat on his way to General Grant's headquarters, then near Black river. There being no cavalry at the post, Captain White was detailed with thirty men of the battery to act as an escort to the general. They left Grand Gulf May 16th, and rode all night. The battle of Champion Hills being in progress, they were unable to reach General Grant's headquar- ters, and were compelled to remain on the road in their saddles until 2 o'clock in the morning of the 18th, without rations for themselves or forage for the horses. At 6 o'clock in the morning, when General McPherson's headquarter's were reached, the men were completely exhausted, and the horses unfit for further travel.
Later in the day the escort commenced its return to Grand Gulf, having supplied themselves with horses and mules taken from citizens. On its march through the woods the escort ran into a brigade of Pemberton's rebel army, that had been cut off from the main force. Captain White so maneuvered his men as to make the rebels believe he had a large force of cavalry, and actually suc- ceeded in capturing thirty-four rebels. On re-
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turning to camp some of the men of the escort were asleep in their saddles.
On the 13th of June the battery reached Vicksburg, and on the 18th it was posted in Fort Ransom. On the next day one of the guns broke its axle, and another its stock, leaving but two serviceable pieces. On the night of the 19th, Quartermaster McPherson, with the wagon-master and Artificer Cline, procured another carriage from near the rebel lines, cutting it out, as it werc. under fire of the rebel guns. On the 20th Arti- ficers Cline and Wheeler, while under fire from the enemy's sharpshooters, repaired the disabled guns.
The battery remained in the fort until the latter part of June. It then moved to Big Black, and and after the surrender of Vicksburg it marched to Jackson. As soon as it arrived it was ordered back to Champion Hills, to guard the communica- tions. On the 28th of July the battery entered Vicksburg.
In August, of seventy-two men present, only seventeen were reported for duty. The men werc worn out with sickness and service. The well men did guard duty, took care of seventy horses and mules, went for forage and rations, hauled water, fixed shades, and at night cared for their sick comrads.
TENTH OHIO BATTERY.
The garrison went into winter quarters on the bluffs south of Vicksburg - one section was sent to Red Bone Church, twelve miles south of Vicksburg ; the other put on duty at Hall's Ferry road.
During the winter the battery received about ninety recruits. Thirty-two men out of fifty- four who were elligible re-enlisted, and on the 8th of April, 1864, the battery, with one hundred and fifty men for duty, left Vicksburg for Cairo. The battery was attacked on its way up the river by a portion of Forrest's forces, but it used its guns effectually, and drove of the rebels. Fort .Pillow was held by the enemy. The battery returned to Memphis, and remained on duty there until the latter part of April, when it moved to Cairo. The veterans proceeded to Ohio and were fur- loughed.
The Morgan raid through Kentucky prevented the veterans from joining their battery until the 23d of June. They were retained at Louisville, Kentucky. At Cairo the battery received a new outfit. On the 9th of May it moved to Paducah, and on the 13th started up the Tennessee. On the morning of the 14th it disembarked at Clifton, and on the 16th began the march to Acworth, Georgia. The distance was about five hundred miles, the march occupied twenty- four days, and
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the rout lay through Pulaski, Huntsville, Decatur, Rome, and Kingston. The weather was very warm, but the battery did not lose a man.
At Acworth the Tenth was placed in the 4th division of the 17th army corps. On the 10th of June it took position at the front, and with the exception of the 4th of July was engaged every day for a month, most of the time in front of Kennesaw Mountain, but most severely at Nicko- jack Creek. On the 12th of July it returned to Kennesaw, and after remaining a few days took position at Marietta, where it formed a part of the garrison until November.
During Hood's march in October the battery was ordered out frequently, but it was engaged only once. About the last of October the horses and mules were turned over, and the battery was ordered to Nashville. About seven recruits were received from Ohio. On the 2d of November the battery left Marietta, and after more than a week's detention at Chattanooga, it procured transportation, and arrived at Nashville on the 14th. It was posted at Camp Barry, and about the middle of November the majority of the men in the battery were sent about thirty miles up the Cumberland to get timber for winter quarters. They did not return until the 1st of December.
When Hood threatened Nashville, the battery
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TENTH OHIO BATTERY.
was posted at Fort Gillen, but it was not called into action. About the last of December the bat- tery moved to Camp Barry, and erected winter quarters. The men were armed with muskets, and for two months acted as infantry.
On the 13th of March, 1865, the Fourth and Tenth Ohio Batteries were consolidated, and sixty-four men were thus added to the Tenth, which retained its name and organization. The men from the Fourth were mostly Germans. About the 1st of April the battery was ordered to East Tennessee, and after guarding the post of Sweetwater for two weeks, it was ordered to Loudon, where it remained until orders to muster out were received.
The battery was mustered out at Camp Denni- son on the 17th of July, 1865, and paid off and discharged on the 21st. The names of the officers were as follows :
Captain If. Berlace White. Lieutenant W. L. Newcomb. Francis Scaman. Joseph B. Gage.
J. R. Crain.
James E. Gilmore.
Lieutenant W. F. Bardwell. George Kleder.
Ambrose A. Blount. 6: Lanson Zanc.
Edward Groosekoff. 6. James E. Bontico ...
Lieutenant Samuel A. Galbreath .
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FOURTH.
The 154th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, National Guards, was formed by consolidating the 26th and 60th battalions of Ohio National Guards, It was organized at Camp Dennison, and was mustered into the service on the 9th of May, 1864, with an aggregate of eight hundred and forty-two men. Colonel Robert Stevenson. Assistant Sur- gean Leigh McClung, Quartermaster A. L. Trader, several of the line officers, non-commissioned officers, and many of the privates had seen service in other organizations.
On the 12th of May the regiment proceeded, via Columbus and Bellaire, to New Creek, West Virginia, arriving on the evening of the 14th. The next day, in one of the most violent storms of the season, it laid out its camp and pitched its tents. On the 22d, Company F was ordered to Piedmont, West Virginia, where it remained until the regiment started for Ohio for muster out.
The 154th performed guard, picket and escort duty until the 29th of May, when one company moved to Youghiogheny Bridge, and the remain- ing eight companies to Greenland Gap. Scouting parties were out almost constantly, and on the
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ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY FOURTH. 195
4th of June a detachment of the regiment had a skirmish with McNeil's battalion, near Moorfield, in which the rebels were defeated.
About the 12th of June three hundred men from the 154th, with a cavalry force, were en- engaged in a ten-days scout. Skirmishing was frequent, but the enemy kept so securely in mountains that only three rebels were captured in the ten days. On the 23d, another scout, of one hundred men and a small force of cavalry, was ordered out, with three days' rations, but no enemy was discovered.
On the 4th of July, the regiment fell back to New Creek, expecting an attack ; but the enemy having retired, it returned again to Greenland Gap, arriving on the 7th. Company H, until this time at Oakland, joined the regiment at New Creek, and returned with it to the Gap. On the 25th, the regiment again fell back to New Creek, and Greenland Gap ceased to be held as a military post.
On the 4th of August the rebels, under McCaus- land and Bradley Johnson, attacked the force at New Creek, but at night they were compelled to withdraw, leaving their killed and wounded on the field.
On the 10th of August a detachment of the 154th proceeded to Camp Chase in charge of
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prisoners, and remained there until the regiment returned to the state. On the evening of the 22d the regiment started for Ohio, arriving at Camp Chase on the 27th, where it was mustered out of the service on the 1st of September, 1864.
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