USA > Ohio > Historical sketch of the 56th Ohio volunteer infantry during the great Civil War from 1861 to 1866 > Part 9
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"Headquarters Eastern District of Louisiana,
"New Orleans, March 27, 1866.
Commanding Officer, Detachment 1, New Orleans Volun- teers and Fifty-sixth Ohio Volunteers, Carrollton: Sir-You will at once proceed to this city and report your command to the com- manding officer at the Levee Steam Press Stables.
"By order of
"BREVET MAJOR GENERAL SHERMAN. "Z. K. WOOD, Lieutenant A. A. G."
In obedience to the order we reported at our barracks late that afternoon.
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CHAPTER XIV.
THE REGIMENT MUSTERED OUT AND RETURNED HOME, AND A LIST OF THE SURVIVORS AND THEIR POSTOFFICE ADDRESS.
Our patrol duty was very heavy in these days of April, and the rain fell in torrents nearly every day, the streets being flooded in many places, and there was more or less indication that we would be mustered out of the service soon.
While the grateful crowds were showering his subordinates with bouquets, as they rode in the grand parade through the streets of Washington, General Sheridan himself was hastening to a remote region, in obedience to the order requiring him to look after the surrender in the Southwest, and we often saw him while on patrol duty about the city. About this time, while on patrol duty at the St. Charles Theater, while looking in a window at the audience gathering, General Sheridan came up to the window and entered into conversation with me. He was in un-dress uniform, but I was well aware who was talking to me.
On April 17, 1866, we received the following order:
"Headquarters Department of Louisiana, "New Orleans, La., April 16, 1866. "Special Order No. 85:
"Extract 2 .- Pursuant to instructions from headquarters, Mil- itary Division of the Gulf, of this date, the Fifty-sixth Ohio Veteran Volunteers will be immediately mustered out of service in this city, as an entire organization, its service being no longer required. All detached officers and enlisted men of this regiment are hereby relieved, and will rejoin their respective companies without fur- ther orders. Immediately upon muster out, as above, the regi- ment will proceed to Columbus, Ohio (reporting to the chief mus- tering officer of the State), for payment and final discharge. All
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public property (except colors, arms and equipage necessary en route) will be turned over to the proper staff departments in this city. Captain A. McAllister, Commissary of Musters, Department of Louisiana, is charged with the execution of this order, so far as relates to his Department. The Quartermaster's Department will furnish the necessary transportation.
"By order of
"MAJOR GENERAL E. R. CANBY.
"WICKHAM HOFFMAN, Assistant Adjutant General.
"Official Nathaniel Burbank, First Lieutenant, Acting Assist- ant General."
The following notice appeared in one of the New Orleans papers at this time:
"THE FIFTY-SIXTH OHIO REGIMENT.
"This organization, as previously noticed, is about to be mus- tered out of the service, and the officers and men are in high spirits at the prospects of soon again visiting home and friends after their long absence.
"The Fifty-sixth was organized by Colonel Peter Kinney, in October, 1861, at Portsmouth, Ohio, and left home with 896 men. During the campaigns in the West, which followed, Colonel W. H. Raynor took command, and the regiment recruited in numbers some 200 men. After the fall of Vicksburg the regiment came to New Orleans. A large proportion of the members then remaining re-enlisted as veterans, and Lieutenant Colonel Henry E. Jones was promoted to the command. Ever since that time the regiment has remained in and around the Crescent City, and we have never known a more orderly and well behaved body of men.
"The officers have formed many warm, and, we trust, lasting friendships among our citizens. There are now left of the Fifty- sixth 180 men and 10 commissioned officers, the latter being: Lieu- tenant Colonel Henry E. Jones, Assistant Surgeon P. M. McFar- land, Captains Benj. Roberts, James C. Stimmell, William G. Sny- der, First Lieutenants John R. Combs, Thomas J. Williams, C. H. Shaefer, Second Lieutenants Stephen B. Thoburn and H. N. Brid- well.
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"By order of General Sheridan, the names of the following battles are to be inscribed upon regimental banners: Pittsburg Landing, Siege of Corinth, Port. Gibson, Champion's Hill, Siege of Vicksburg, Jackson, Carrion Crow Bayou, Sabine Cross Roads, Monnett's Ferry and Snaggy Point.
"The men will start for home in a few days, and we wish them a very pleasant trip, as well as a welcome home, that will equal their brightest anticipations."
For the next few days we were very busy preparing muster- out rolls, and turning over our camp equipage, etc. April 25, 1866, at 10 o'clock a. m., we were all mustered out after over four and a half years of continuous service. On the 26th we went aboard the steamboat Mary E. Forsyth, bound up the Mississippi, for our northern homes, leaving the city at 5 p. m. We passed Natchez, Miss., where we had formerly camped at daylight on the 28th, and we passed Vicksburg just at dark. All was quiet at this time, but we could not forget our terrible experience when in the country back of there in 1863.
We passed Helena, Ark., at 10 a. m. of the 30th. We had good reason to remember this place and the hardships endured there. We passed Memphis at 10 a. m., and could not help thinking of our heroic comrades, who were so foully murdered on the steam- boat Sultana, above this city, in 1865. They were most all pris- oners, having been long confined at Andersonville and other prisons.
There was this difference between this trip and our former ones. We did not have to keep a constant watch lest we be fired into at every turn. We had a pleasant trip, and reached Cairo, Ills., on May 2, 1866, early in the morning. There was a cold northwest wind blowing, which penetrated through our light- weight clothing, and from our long service in the extreme south we were in poor condition to withstand the cold blasts from the north.
We left Cairo at 4 p. m. of May 2, reached Mattoon, Ilis., at 11 a. m., and Indianapolis at 11 p. m. of the 3d, and arrived at
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Columbus, O., on the 4th in the afternoon. May 5, 1866, we were paid off for the last time, and early on the morning of the 6th the. most of us left for home, by way of Cincinnati, Ohio, and left on the 7th for Portsmouth on the steamboat W. F. Curtis.
We reached Portsmouth on the afternoon of the 8th of May, 1866. There the ranks dissolved into the moving tide of civil life, never more to be re-united, and the Fifty-sixth Ohio Veteran Vol- unteers were only a memory. It was like sundering family ties. . Having been so long together, a strong attachment had grown up between the veterans from long associations and mutual depend- ence and trust, and that feeling of respect and esteem will never be forgotten in this life. In the busy scenes of active life we lost sight of each other for a time, but in later years old memories returned, and our annual reunions brought us together again to rehearse of the days of trial and danger in the great struggle to preserve the Union.
The Fifty-sixth Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry can look. back with pride as having been a part of that Grand Army that saved the Union and vindicated the right of liberty to endure- forever.
The following notice appeared in the State Journal of Colum- bus, Ohio, of our arrival there:
"THE FIFTY-SIXTH OHIO VETERANS.
"The Fifty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Veteran Volunteers, arrived in the city on Friday afternoon, and reported at Tod Barracks, where the men will be finally discharged and paid.
"The regiment is in command of Lieutenant Colonel Jones and consists now of three companies, numbering present for duty 145 enlisted men in all, and commanded as follows: Company A, Cap- tain Benjamin Roberts; Company B, First Lieutenant Thomas J. Williams; Company C, Captain W. G. Snyder.
"The regiment left New Orleans April 26. on the steamer Mary E. Forsyth, took the cars at Cairo May 2, and arrived here May 4.
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"The Fifty-sixth was organized at Portsmouth, Ohio, in Octo- ber, 1861, by Colonel Peter Kinney, and left for the field with 896 men. The regiment joined the Army of the Tennessee. before Fort Donaldson, and remained with that division of the Grand Army until August, 1863, participating in the battle of Shiloh, siege of Corinth, the engagements at Port Gibson, Champion's Hill, and taking part in the ever memorable siege of Vicksburg. During this campaign Colonel W. H. Raynor assumed command of the regiment, and it was increased by two hundred recruits. After the fall of Vicksburg the Fifty-sixth was transferred to the Depart- ment of the Gulf, and was commanded by Colonel W. H. Raynor until October 27, 1864.
"In February, 1864, a large number of the men re-enlisted as veterans. On the retirement of Colonel Raynor from the service, Lieutenant Colonel Henry E. Jones, the present commanding officer, took charge of the regiment. After active operations ceased the Fifty-sixth was stationed in or near New Orleans, and the papers of that city state that a more orderly or better behaved body of men was not known during the war experience of New Orleans.
"There are now on the rolls 180 enlisted men and 10 commis- sioned officers, the latter being: Lieutenant Colonel Henry E. Jones, Assistant Surgeon P. M. McFarland, Captains Benjamin Roberts, James C. Stimmell, Wm. G. Snyder, First Lieutenants John R. Combs, Thomas J. Williams, C. H. Shaefer, and Second Lieutenants Stephen B. Thoburn and Harvey N. Bridwell. In addi- tion to those we named above, the names of the following battles are to be inscribed upon the regimental flags: Jackson, Carrion Crow Bayou, Sabine Cross Roads, Monnette's Ferry and Snaggy Point.
"The conductor of the train and the railroad officials declare the Fifty-sixth the most orderly and quiet body of soldiers that has passed over the road. Our testimony so far must be in their favor. These men were on the streets yesterday, orderly and gentlemanly in their deportment. They will without doubt be paid today and leave for their homes."
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The following extract is from one of the Portsmouth, O., papers, of the first reunion of any part of the regiment, which was held at Portsmouth, O., Feb. 12, 1867:
"On Tuesday afternoon, at the call of a committee of officers- of the above named regiment, eighteen of the line and field officers of the Fifty-sixth O. V. I., together with invited representatives from the press of the city, met at Varner's Hall to celebrate the day the regiment left for the field, and also to organize a perma- nent association to meet each year so long as two or more of the officers are alive.
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"At this reunion there were present: Colonel Peter Kinney, Colonel Sampson E. Varner, Colonel Henry E. Jones, Major C. F. Reiniger, Captain George Wilhelm, Captain J. C. Stimmell, Cap- tain W. G. Snyder, Captain D. B. Lodwick, Captain Thomas Kin- ney, Lieutenant H. C. Shump, Lieutenant Henry Lantz, Lieutenant Thomas J. Williams, Lieutenant Charles Seifer and Chaplain J. E. Thomas, and three others whose names we do not recollect .. The press of the city was represented by D. C. McFarland of the Trib- une, James W .. Newman of the Times and S. P. Drake of the Re- publican. The following were chosen as officers for the ensuing year: Colonel Peter Kinney, president; Colonel Henry E. Jones, Secretary, and Colonel S. E. Varner, Captain George Wilhelm and Chaplain J. E. Thomas, standing committee."
This association did not continue long, as owing to the death of some, and the moving away of others, and its exclusive charac- fer, it could of course but survive a short time; buit it merged in later years into that noblest association of all, and every member of the regiment without regard to rank.
The last reunion was held at Portsmouth, O., September 20, 1899, at which there were 70 of the comrades present. Twelve com- rades were reported as having died the past year. Captain C. Gil- lilan was re-elected president, Lieutenant T. J. Williams vice presi- dent, and Comrade John D. Jones secretary, and after a very pleasant meeting and a free dinner by the good people of Ports- mouth, adjournment was had to meet at Portsmouth in 1900.
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While the regiment was at home on their veteran furlough, Colonel Varner and the men who did not enlist as veterans were assigned to perform duty in Algiers, La., and the high esteem in which this excellent officer was held by the citizens of that city is clearly set forth in the following letter to a son of Colonel Varner, and in the extracts from the newspaper of this unprecedented act of presenting him a sword, sash, etc., and in so far as is known is the only instance of the kind during the great civil war, and assur- edly will be of interest to all:
"Algiers, La., July 11, 1899.
"Mr. J. H. Varner: Dear Sir-Your favor of the 8th received. I appreciate highly your writing to me. I had the honor of pre- senting the sword and accoutrements to your honored father on behalf of my fellow-citizens of Algiers, in July, 1864. If my mem- ory is correct you will find engraved on the hilt or scabbard of the sword, 'Colonel S. E. Varner, from the Citizens of Orleans Parish, Right Bank,' or some such similar inscription. Upon my desk lies now a little Algiers newspaper of 1864, with the following:
"'Military and Civil Directory of the Officials in Algiers.
"'S. E. Varner, Lieutenant Colonel Commanding Post.
"'A. Powell, Captain and Provost Marshal.
"'E. A. Morse (Eighth Vermont), Captain and A. Q. M.
"'Wm. H. Seymour, Justice of the Peace and President of the Town Council," etc., etc.
"Our official duties brought your father and myself oft to- gether. He was a genial gentleman, and one I loved to know. The sword presentation I believe to be without parallel during the whole civil war; the first case of where the people had been con- quered, arose en masse and honored their conqueror. Only a few months before our acquaintance I was a southern soldier, and your dear father knew it-it mattered not.
" 'The blue and the gray are the colors of God, They are seen in the sky at even, And many a noble, gallant soul, Has found them passports to heaven.'
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"It has been my fortune to meet down here near the gulf, since then, Grant, Sheridan, Garfield and other noted men from your sec- tion, but I found none more gentle, kind or truer than your sire. I have often thought of him, and hoped to have the pleasure of meet- ing him again, but now, like Stonewall Jackson, his spirit voices, 'Come, let us cross over the river, and rest in the shade of the trees.'
"I hope to have the pleasure of meeting you some time during the course of my summer vacation, but if I do not, and you visit our dear old New Orleans, hunt me up. I will send to your address. some printed matter for sister to place with the sword and ac- coutrements. Yours truly, (Signed.) W. H. SEYMOUR."
Note .- The above mentioned sword is now in the possession. of Clay Varner Sanford, grandson of Colonel Sampson E. Varner.
(From the New Orleans True Delta, July 1,. 1864.)
1 "COMPLIMENT TO LIEUT. COL. S. E. VARNER - SWORD PRESENTATION AT ALGIERS.
"Yesterday afternoon, when in search of quietness and recre- ation, we had ourselves transported to the opposite side of the- river, and intended to enjoy the breeze across Father Mississippi and a stroll on the grounds where in time of yore the cricket matches were played. Eventually we found that a portion of the- ground in the rear of the city was covered with tents. We awak- ened to the actual state of the country, and were trying the com. pass to get out of the range of the guns and any accidental smell of gunpowder, but we tacked about, as nautical men say, when we- · saw strings of civilians wending their way to that same tented field. We joined them, and had a highly intellectual feast and en- joyed ourselves hugely. Judge Seymour presented a sword and accoutrements to Colonel Varner on behalf of the citizens of Gretna, who had just learned that the Colonel was on the eve of departure under orders, as a token of respect. We give the speeches verbatim:
"'Colonel, learning that you were on the eve of your departure to your own native home in Ohio, we have assembled here to say
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a few words at parting. A large number of the residents of Algiers have done me the honor to select me as their spokesman on this occasion, deeming that their civil magistrate was the proper person to represent them. It is an honor, Colonel, of which I assure you I indeed feel proud. When I look around me, and see others older in years and in wisdom and more versed in the orator's art, the honor then I feel more deeply.
"'It is now, sir, some four months since the citizens of Algiers formed your acquaintance. Since that time the many obligations you have placed us under, by the faithful performance of your many arduous duties, the valuable assistance you have at all times rendered the civil officers of the parish, behooves us to make suit- able acknowledgment of your kindness.
"'For this purpose, Colonel, we are assembled together-an occasion which we will often revert to with manifold pleasure, and one that will indeed be 'a bright spot in our memory's waste,' in future time, when years have passed away. Your mind may per- haps revert to our bright, sunny land, and when it does, think of "Auld Lang Syne,' and give one stray thought to those who are gathered here to do you honor and to praise. Accept this sword, sash and accoutrements from us, believing them to be a proper gift for a soldier.
".'We place this sword in your possession, Colonel, with the assurance that it never will be drawn without just cause or sheathed without honor, and that its bright blade will never be dimmed by a wrong act of yours.
"'In conclusion. Colonel, allow us also to return our thanks to the gentlemanly and ever courteous officers of your battalion; it is owing to their kind guidance that the men of your command have made so many friends amongst us; and when the day arrives that our bright star spangled banner will again float over our once united, happy land, and our 'wayward sisters' are once more gath- ered under its beautiful folds,
"'United in spirit, in heart and in song,'
may we not hope to welcome amongst our best citizens the officers and men that were of 'Varner's Battalion?' "
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"'Judge Seymour, I accept this magnificent present from a portion of the loyal citizens of Algiers with heartfelt thanks, not that I believe it is a compliment to me alone, but as a token of esteem to the officers and men of this battalion, who have so ably assisted me in carrying out my orders while stationed here. We have simply tried to do our duty, and this occasion is an evidence that you deem us worthy of your approbation. I am glad it is so. If I live years hence, I shall look back with pleasure to the time I spent among you. Your present I shall cherish, and never while in my possession shall it be drawn against the flag of our beloved country, and in whose ever hand may the arm be palsied that draws it in an unjust cause. I soon have to leave you. No matter how unpleasant, orders must be obeyed. Again I thank you for your beautiful present.' "
In the History of the Lower Scioto Valley, the author of the . Military History of Jackson county, Ohio, the Hon. H. C. Miller, a gallant comrade of the Eighty-seventh O. V. I. and the First O. H. A., has this to say of our regiment and its service:
"No other men from Jackson county were called to serve so long at such an extreme southern point of latitude, as the regiment passed much of its term of service in the yellow fever district, in the lower Mississippi, and closed by a long garrison duty at New Orleans, and some of its men were not discharged until April, 1866. The Fifty-sixth was a fighting regiment, and in becoming hardened to extreme southern temperature and drinking water from rivers and bayous along the line of its march, the ranks became deci- mated so that there was not much left of the organization when the war was over, and the few who reached home deserve to be all placed on the pension roll as disabled veterans."
The comrades of the Fifty-sixth Ohio will all remember the Eleventh Indiana Infantry, with whom we served so long; and the following short extracts taken from an address of Colonel Dan Macauley before the Loyal Legion society at Columbus, Ohio, will, I trust, be appreciated by all who may read them. "The Private Soldier as a Forager" was his subject:
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CAPT. C. H. SCHAEFER See page 144
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"Camp life, like poverty, made strange companionships, and when we reflect that every hour had its little history, a thousand items spring up to remind us of the peculiar characters who made us laugh in spite of ourselves throughout the entire war. I have in my mind just such an one. I call him 'Sam,' because it really was his name. Tall, very slim, freckled and homely; a born poacher, and his fame as a 'pirooter'-which meant in his vernac- ular, a 'feller that could forage in twelve languages and nary one of them dead'-and his mania for stealing, were only checked by articles too big or hot or wet to carry. It follows naturally that in pure self-defense I detailed him as 'pirooter in chief' of regimental headquarters mess. Some old copies of a comic paper, the Budget of Fun, were much read in camp, and I quietly enjoyed Sam's quaint use of its name as we marched along one afternoon. As we passed a wagon train he sang out to one of the teamsters: 'Say, don't you want a Budget of Fun?' 'Yes,' was promptly answered. 'Take this one,' said Sam, as he shied his heavy knapsack into the wagon for the teamster to carry. One winter we were on a Mis- sissipi river expedition below Helena, Ark., with a fleet of steamers under General Willis A. Gorman. The men suffered from cold and exposure. Sam had taken a violent dislike to General Gorman, be- cause that gallant gentleman had been forced to join in the famous retreat from the first Bull Run battlefield, and several times during . this expedition I learned, when our steamers were sufficiently near, Sam would electrify the General by howling at him most deri- sively: 'Hello, old Bull Run.' Once he made a mistake. Headquar- ters steamer was alongside of ours, and on the hurricane deck stood the General himself. Sam was on the lower forward deck of our vessel, and bracing himself he yelled up into Gorman's very teeth: 'Hello, old Bull Run!' The General was too quick for him; he shouted down to the guard: 'Throw that man on my boat here, quick! And sure enough they did. Sam, sprawling through the air like a frog, was pitched on to Gorman's boat, and during the remainder of the day we could see him, long and lank and lean, tied up like a scarecrow to the jack staff of the steamer. It was a cold and gusty day-for Sam. Along towards night he was chucked back to us, stiff as a wooden Indian. It might be supposed the
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great irrepressible was squelched. No, not the least in the world. He gathered himself together and chilled, blue as he was, came up stairs to me in the cabin. 'Colonel,' he groaned, 'I wish you'd have my discharge made out right away.' 'Your discharge! your funeral, you mean.' 'No, my discharge, Colonel. I've been put on Gorman's staff.' While we were stationed at Helena, Ark., on the bank of the Mississippi, the Twenty-second and Twenty-fourth Iowa came to us direct from home. They were a gallant set of men, bright and fresh, and possessed of camp outfits of elegance. They, had not experienced the miseries of that destroyer of luxury, lack of transportation, and so were fine sport for plucking by old vet- erans of very little worldly fear and less conscience. My tent, at that time, was up on top of the levee, and one moonlight night about midnight. I was aroused by a mysterious shuffling and whis- pering near the back of the tent, where the new regiments were 'encamped. 'Easy, boys" I could hear in stage whispers. 'Easy, thunder! Do you want to wake the Colonel? Steady, now! All to- gether! Easy! Step light-sh-h-h!' and knowing something contra- band would pass the door of my tent in a moment I stepped from bed and waited. Some six or eight of our old soldiers came care- fully tip-toeing past, lugging a gigantic messbox, just stolen from one of the Iowa camps, the whole enterprise under the manage- ment of its natural guide and friend, the redoubtable Sam. 'Good evening, gentlemen" I said, affectionately; 'much obliged! set it right down here and go to bed. You look tired! Good-night" Next morning after guard mounting I sent for Sam and had him call up his fellow villains in front of headquarters. Sam eyed me with eager interest as I sent for a guard and the martial band. His eyes opened wider until at last he burst in an agony of supplication: 'Say, Colonel, wot in thunder you goin' to do to me.' The whole camp, out to see the fun, roared with delight as it was announced that they were to march to the Iowa camp with the messbox, under guard, and with the band at the head. 'You'll probably have a warm reception,' I added, encouragingly. 'Oh, Lord!' he groaned, as he turned white at the prospect. 'Oh! say, Colonel, Lord! You wouldn't do that to me, would you, old pard?' was wrung from
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