USA > Ohio > Ashland County > History of Ashland County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 95
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO.
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of shot in the water attempting to reach shore. The remainder of the regiment were either killed or captured. The steam and hot water escaping from the boilers, drove all who were on the boiler deck into the river, many of them so badly scalded that they afterward died. This occurred about four r. M. Colonel Slocum called the men into line, and marched them some distance back from the river, where they were organized in squads, with a commissioned officer at the head of each. On examination it was ascertained that there were seven rounds of servccable ammunition to each man. Both officers and men supposed, from the dangers surrounding them, that they would be marched down the river under the protection of the gun-boats, but Colonel Slocuni changed the direction and marched up the river in the direction of Alexandria, where General Banks had his headquarters.
Many were the complaints and murmurs of the men at this sudden and unexpected change in their destina- tion -but to no avail. The march was a hazardous one at best, but Colonel Slocum best understood the situa- tion, and pushed forward through an unbroken wilder- ness of pine, nothing to direct their course but drift from Red river. At sundown a plantation was reached. In a field some distance off a man was discovered unhitching a team from a plow. Lieutenant Vanness was directed to bring him in. He proved to be a negro man, and a slave of a man named Grimes. The negro was closely examined by Colonel Slocum as to distance, routes, and the general topography of the country. He gave the distance to Alexandria as twenty-eight miles, and three routes or ways of reaching the place, one being a mule path through the timber, and three miles shorter than either of the traveled roads. The negro was put under charge of Lieutenant Vanness, with a promise that if he piloted them through safely he would be rewarded, but if he led them into the enemy's lines, on another route, he would be shot. They then proceeded to the residence of Mr. Grimes, who met them with a stern rebuke for appearing on his premises with his slave in charge. Col- one! 'Slocum placed a guard around his house, with in- structions to let none of the inmates pass out. The men were nearly exhausted, having had nothing to eat since an early breakfast, and it became necessary that Mr. Grimes supply their wants. He became quite angry, and declared that no provisions could be given the men : he made severe threats as to what he would do if anyone attempted to enter his house in search of provisions. Colonel Slocum stepped on the porch and presented the old man two navy revolvers, which brought him to sub- mission. In a few minutes the men had plenty of corn-meal, side pork, and sour milk, and a number of fires lighted in the yard, cooking their supper -- bak- ing their corn batter on boards, and frying their meat in anything they could find that would grease. When all were supplied they formed in line for the long, dark, and tedious march of the night. Mr. Grimes, unaccustomed to Yankee visitors, failed to bid them goodnight. Vier marching through a wilderness country all night. they reached Red river at daybreak, eight miles below Alex-
andria. There was a wood station on the river and an old log house. Colonel Slocum, with a few trusty men, approached the house and called to the inmates to come out. The first to appear was the owner of the premises, who appeared surprised to see Federal soldiers in his locality. A guard was placed around his house, and Colonel Slocum inquired of him if there were any Con- federate soldiers near. He was informed, after some hesitation, that one mile back from the river there were two regiments of rebel cavalry, and, looking across the river, we could see the rebel out posts, or their horses.
Colonel Slocum determined to cross the river at this point, but on inquiry there were no skiffs nor boat of any kind. A picket line was extended back some distance from the house. A wood-rack was made into a skiff by laying boards in the bottomn; then twenty or twenty-five men would take off their clothing, put them on the skiff, with their guns on top, and the men in the water started diag- onally across the stream. When the shore was reached the skiff was towed up the river and sent back. In this way by ten A. M. the entire command crossed in safety. Major Mckinley was among the first to cross, and took charge of the men as they arrived. Colonel Slocum, before calling in his pickets, cautioned the old man to remain quiet, as there was danger in his communicating with the enemy. They then took possession of the skiff and crossed the river, leaving the skiff to the mercy of the stream Before the colonei was fully dressed, two transports, loaded with infantry, accompanied by two gunboats, were seen descending the river. The colonel made every effort to stop them, that he might warn them of the danger below; but they pushed onward and reached Snaggy Point, and fell into the same trap, and all were captured. The rebel pickets still occupied their post. Not knowing the exact force of the enemy, the colonel determined to put on as bold a front as possible. He prolonged his line a great distance, with battle flag in front and regimental colors in the center, and marched upon the levee-the river and levee bending off in the direction of the rebel post.
When within a few hundred yards of the rebels' ad- vanced line, they mounted their horses and galloped off like so many frightened wolves, thus allowing the colonel, with his handful of men, to pass through to Alexandria without firing a gun. On arriving at Alex- andria the colonel reported in person to General Banks, who at once ordered all necessary provision to be made for the comfort of the men. After remaining in Alex- andria a few days the remnant was temporarily consoli- dated with the Forty-second Ohio volunteer infantry, Colonel Slocum's regiment being again reduced by death and capture to less than a major's command. Ow- ing to severe and permanent injuries received by Colonel Slocum while making his escape from the "City Belle," he was rendered unfit for field service. Before leaving the boat he had his left shoulder strap shet off. He was put on detached duty as chief of staff and pro- vost marshal of the Thirteenth army corps, General M. K. Lawler commanding.
Here practically terminated Colonel Slocum's connec.
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO.
tion with the One Hundred and Twentieth. The regi- ment was reduced by death, disease and capture to a -mere skeleton, yet it kept its distinction up to November 17, 1864, Major John Mckinley in command.
On the thirteenth day of May General Banks com- merced lis memorable retreat from Alexandria to the Mississippi at Chaneyville. The retreating columns of General Banks were attacked in force by the enemy. Colonel Slocum, with the Fourth brigade, took an active part in that engagement, as he did in the battle at Willow bayou, crossing the Atchafainya, arriving at Morganza bend on the twenty-first of May, 1864, where the army went into camp for reorganization.
On the twenty-fifth of May, 1864, Colonel Slocum was appointed provost marshal of the trans-Mississippi, with headquarters at Morganza, Louisiana. Much im portance was attached to this new duty. It involved the trade and commerce of the river for one hundred and eighty miles front and eighty miles back. All the products of the country, destined for market or ship- ment, had to pass through his hands. This duty he continued to perform as long as the army remained at Morganza, and the entire country west of the Missis- sippi had been abandoned by rebel authority.
The monotony of the military post at Morganza was broken on the sixteenth day of November, 1864. Prior to this date, General Lawler spoke of his having a birth- day on the sixteenth, and proposed to celebrate it. Mrs. Breed, a widow lady from New Hampshire, a visiting friend, was married on the sixteenth of November. Mrs. Slocum, the wife of General Slocum, proposed that they ali join in celebrating the event, it being the anniversary of their marriage. Mrs. General Reynolds wished to join in. Genera! Lawler directed General Slocum to take the headquarters boat and go to New Orleans, and lay in a supply for the occasion, and ex- tend an invitation to a number of officers and citizens of New Orleans to join them and partake of their hospi- tality. About sixty invited guests were in attendance, many of them from New Orleans. An elegant dinner was prepared for the occasion, and the table spread in the cabin of the headquarter boat. There were old and young, citizens and soldiers, all commingling together. After dinner they had music and dancing, m which all engaged. The presents brought up from New Orleans were quite profuse. The whole affair was enjoyed by all, and by nout more than the citizens present. The next day General Slocum sent the headquarter boat to the city with all who desired to go down.
On the tenth day of January, 1865, General Slocum was honorably mustered out of the service, when he re- turned to Ashland. The results of the war had so effectually revolutionized the business of the country, that the practice of law was not at all desirable. In the winter of 1865 6, he retinned to Louisiana with the view of purchasing property and making that State his future honk.
After spending some time in different localities, he saw from the impression left on the minds of the ex-confederates, that it was unsafe for any northern
man to remove to that locality with his family, so he returned to Ohio in the spring of 1866, and engaged in civil pursuits.
On the thirteenth day of March, 1865, he received from the President of the United States a brigadier gen- eral's commission by brevet, "for meritorious service in the field." This promotion was given him without so- licitation on his part. On the first day of March, 1867, he received a telegram from the treasury department, wishing to know if he would accept an appointment as assessor of internal revenue for the Fourteenth district of Ohio. The general called a few of his Republican friends together, and made known to them the contents of the dispatch. Among the number was Captain S. M. Barber, a one-legged soldier. After some consultation, be offered to decline the offer himself, if Captain Barber would accept it. The captain considered the matter until the next morning, when he declined, for the reason that he was receiving, as superintendent of the public school, an equal salary. So the general accepted, ard on the sixth of March he was confirmed by the Senate, and his commission forwarded. He held the office uy to June 22, 1872, when the office of assessor was abol- ished by law. Two years thereafter bis accounts with the treasury department were balanced, and a treasury draft for thirty-six dollars and eighty-five cents sent him, as his due. Since 1872 he has been actively engaged in the practice of law.
General Slocum from early manhood has taken an active part in the politics of the country. He was iden- tified with the old Whig party, and commenced his po- litical carver before he became a voter, in the campaign of 1S40. Though always living in a strong Democratic locality, he would enter each succeeding campaign to win. He has for years represented his county in State conventions, and been twice a delegate to Republican National conventions. In August, 1866, the loyal Union inen of the southern States called a convention in the city of Philadelphia. To give to their efforts and man- ifestation of nationality a hearty recognition, the gover- nors of all the northern States appointed two delegates from each congressional district to meet their southern .. brethren in convention. Hon. Martin Welker, then a member of Congress from the Fourteenth district, and General Slocum, were appointed by Governor Brough as delegates to that convention, which in magnitude and grandeur was the most imposing convention ever held in America. Up to the present writing General Slocum is regarded as one of the leaders of the Republican party in central Ohio.
An incident not particularly connected with this sketel:, though one of peculiar historic account, occurred under his observation and direction. Nine days after Colonel M. M. Speigle had been killed, the major of the Second Illinois cavalry, and General Slocum, sought to recover the remains of their colonels. On General Banks' re- trent down Red river, General Slocum and the major, (whose name is not remembered) went down to Snagy l'vier in search of the colonels, and found them both buried in the same grave. General Siocim mounted his
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO.
horse and rode seven miles up the river, where the fleet was tied up, boarded a quartermaster's boat, saw the " officer, and requested him to stop his boat at the place of disaster, and throw off two coffins, for the purpose stated. When the fleet moved down the river the coffins were taken ashore, the major remaining there with his men to place the remains in the coffins, and ship them to the mouth of the river, or to the Atchafalaya. Some of the detail reported to General Slocum that the quar- termaster's boat was crowded into the river before the coffin containing the remains of Colonel Speigle could be put aboard, and consequently left it on the banks of the river. General Slocum procured a detail of twenty men and an ambulance, and sent them down to bring up the coffin, which they did, under the fire of the ene- may on the opposite shore. The detail reported that they had placed the coffin in the ambulance, and it had gone forward to join the ambulance corps. On the night of the battle of Willow Bayou, General Slocum received the following note :
HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS. NEAR SIMSPORT, LOUISIANA, May 18, 1864.
"COLONEL : I have the honor to request that you will make arrange- ment with some transport in the .Atchafalaya to convey the body of Colonel Speigle. It is getting so much decomposed that we cannot carry it in an ambulance any further, or keep it in the train. I know your anxiety to preserve it, and will contribute all in my power toward it.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, G. B. DULLEM, Chief Clerk, COLONFI SLOCUM. One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio volunteer in- faniry.
On the receipt of the above note, General Slocum hurried forward, in advance of the corps, and reached the Atchafalaya, where he found the fleet awaiting the anay, to convey it across the stream. He at once made arrangements with the dispatch boat to carry the remains of Colonel Speigle to fairo, and from there forward then to Millersburgh, Ohio. On making inquiry at headquarters, where the ambulance could be found con- taining the remains of Colonel Speigle, he was informed by the chief clerk that the surgeon of the department had ordered it to be taken from the ambulance and run back in the woods. After getting a suitable box made for the coffin, the general, with a detail of men, went to bring in the remains, and place the same ou the transport. Finding the wagon a hundred rods or more back from the road, in the woods, the coffin was taken from it. It appeared unusually light, and grave suspicions were aroused that the body had been taken from the coffin. The coffin was opened in the presence of at least twenty men, and no corpse had ever been in it. The inside was clean, and contained the shavings of the undertaker. This fact was communicated to the officers at headquarters, who appeared incredulous, and thought they must be mistaken. To satisfy themselves, each examined the coffin, and could see no mark or evidence that it had ever been used. In October following, General Slocum, for the purpose of getting the facts in the case, went to Burwick bay, in southwest Louisiana, where the Second Illinois cavalry were on duty, and there saw the major who had been left in
charge at Snaggy Point. He informed General Slocum that when the fleet went down the river, the quartermas- ter ran his boat to the shore and threw off two coffins, in one of which they put the remains of Colonel Mudd, and carried on board the other coffin, which was too small to receive the remains of Colonel Speigle, so they placed him back in the grave, and covered him over, leaving the empty coffin on the bank of the river, where his remains repose to this day. The medical depart- ment at headquarters even went so far as to say that the stench arising from the decomposed body of Colonel Speigle was creating sickness, and thus ordered out of the ambulance, and sent in an open wagon back in the woods. It has often been wondered by General Slocum if this astute medical corps were not yet inhaling the stench arising from the imaginary decomposed body. They certainly labored under an extreme hallucination of mind.
THE PIONEER SOCIETY.
September 10, 1875, the pioneers met at the court house in Ashland, and organized a pioneer and histor- ical society, adopting a constitution and by-laws for the government of the society. The first officers elected were: Francis Graham, president; George W. Urie of Montgomery, James Kilgore of Orange, Hamilton Por- ter of Sullivan, Henry Summers of Troy, Jacob Hershey of Ruggles, John Bryte of Clearcreek, Hugh Burns of Milton, Thomas Cole of Jackson, Joseph Chandler of Perry, Henry Winbigler of Mohican, Allen Metcalf of Lake, Thomas Bushnell of Vermillion, Daniel Kauffman of Mifflin, C. C. Coulter of Green, and John Bull of Hanover, vice-presidents-one from each township; D :. P. H. Clark of Ashland, secretary; Dr. George W. Hill of Ashland, historian; Isaac Stull of Ashland, treasurer. The election of officers for the society takes place annu- ally. The successive presidents have been: Colonel George W. Uric, 1876; Andrew Mason, 1877; Josiah Thomas, 1878; and Hugh Burns, ISSo. The same sec- retary and historian have been elected annually from the organization of the society. The following honorary members have been elected: Isaac Smuker, esq., New- ark; General L. V. Bierce, Akron; Dr. J. P. Henderson, Newville; President Diefenorf, Hayesville; Professor Sample, Perrysville; Rev. John Robinson, D. D., Ash- land; Dr. J. P. Clark, Ashland; Dr. George W. Hill, Ashland; and M. Ebright, esq., Ashland.
THE LOCUSTS.
Those little pests, the seventeen-year locusts, a great phenomena in their way, made their appearance again in June, ISSo. An old settler says they appeared in 1813, 1829, 1846, and 1863 in Ohio, and remained cach time about thiny or thirty-five days, doing much damage to young timber and fruit. It was noticed that in :8: 3 there was a plain "P" on their wing; in 1829. 18;6 and
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO.
1863, a "W" in the same place, meaning, according to theory, war. They may be expected to return in 1897.
ASHLAND CITY CHURCH. +
The Ashland city church of the Brethren (Dunkard) was organized May 22, 1879, with S. Z. Sharp as elder in charge, and S. H. Basher assistant in the ministry. J. H. Worst was also called to the ministry on the day of organization and J. N. Roop and F. J. Worst, deacons. The number of members emoiled at the time of organi- zation was forty three, which has increased since to sixty- five. The congregation worships every Sabbath in the chapel of Ashland college, and has a Sunday-school of one hundred members. The Gospel Preacher, having a circulation of about five thousand, and Our Sunday School, a juvenile weekly, having nearly six thousand sub- scribers, are published in Ashland under the auspices of the Brethren church.
ASHLAND COLLEGE. t
For many years the church of the Brethren (Dun- kards) had under consideration the propriety of estab- lishing an institution for the higher education of the sons and daughters in that denomination, and had made a number of attempts in this direction, at Berlin, and at Plum Creek, Peunsylvania, and at Bourbon Indiana, all of which efforts had failed, but the friends of the move- ment in northeast Ohio, undaunted by previous reverses, determined to make their enterprise a success, and solic- ited S. Z. Sharp, then professor in Maryville college, Tennessee, to sever his connection with that institution and throw his entire energy into this new enterprise. After several refusals he at last consented, and in June, , 1877, made a tour through a part of this State, in search of a suitable location. The choice of himself and friends was nearly unanimous in favor of Ashland, and when this was well discussed by the friends of the move- 1 ment, the matter was laid before some of the most influ- ential citizens of Ashland, who at once caught the spirit, called a meeting in the city hall, where an unusually large and enthusiastic audience was addressed by the present president of the college, S. Z. Sharp, who set forth the object of the founders to be to establish a col- lege equal to any in the State. That it would be under the care of the church of the Brethren to the same ex- tent that other colleges were under the care of other re- ligious bodies.
That among the prominent features of the institution would be thorough scholarship and the cultivation of a sentiment among students to appreciate solid worth rather than vain show, and that plain neat attire and a richly stored mind were better than a gaudy dress and
an empty mind After hearing the plans and aims of the proposed institution, the citizens of Ashiand unani- mously endorsed the project, and at once raised ten thousand dollars toward the erection of the college building. The most beautiful site in this part of the State was selected. A campus of twenty-seven acres of land was bought for six thousand three hundred and thirty-three dollars, and a building erected, which is at this writing nearly completed, and will cost, including material, work, supervision, furniture, apparatus and cabinet, sixty thousand dollars. The college building is one hundred feet front, one hundred deep, four stories high, built of brick, roofed with slate, and for substan- tial construction and convenience, has few equals. There is also a boarding hall one hundred and ten feet long, forty feet wide, and four stories high, which, when com- pleted, will cost between ten thousand and eleven thou- sand.dollars.
A charter was obtained February 22, 1878, by which the institution is placed under the care of the Church of the Brethien, and put upon an equal footing with any other college in the State. The charter provides for the following courses of instruction: Classical, philosoph- ical, normal and commercial. The college was for- mally opened September 17, 1879, with a full corps of instructors, as follows: Elder S. Z. Sharp, A. M., president and professor of mental and moral philosophy; L. Huber, A. M., professor of Latin and modern lan- guages; J. E. Stubbs, A. M., professor of Greek lan- guage and literature : David Bailey, A. M., professor of mathematics; Jacob Keim, Ph. B., professor of natura! science; J. C. Ewing, professor of music; Mis. C. P. Chapman, teacher of painting and drawing.
The first term closed December 24, 1879, with one hundred and twelve pupils enrolled, and was regarded as a decided success in every respect.
EARLY EVENTS. . FIRST BIRTH.
Of the first birth in Ashland, Mr. Knapp says, on page 203:
"William Sheets, now residing about two miles east of Ashland, was the first male child born within the town, who lived to reach manhood. Lorin Andrews, president of Kenyon college, and lite a colonel in one of the Ohio volunteer regiments, was the second child who attained maturity, born in Ashland."
This takes the advantage of other deserving pioneers born in the township. Messrs. Sheets and Andrews were born a few weeks apart in the spring of 1819, while David Carter, yet living on the old Carter homestead, two and one-half miles south of Ashland, was born March 18, 1815, about four years before either. He has no children, but resides with his lady at the old Carter home, with good mental and physical preserva- tion. Let justice be done, and the truth of history be preserved.
NEW SETTLERS.
Within the six or eight years succeeding the war, John, Henry, and Reuben Newkirk, James Gray, Thomas Ba-
* This article is a revised sketch of this church, received for public- tion after the author's short notice elsewhere published in this volume had been put in type.
f A revised sketch, received after the author's first account of the college wis published.
.
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY, OHIO.
ker, Peter Wicoff, John Emerick, John Riddle, J. C. Young, William Green, John Ewalt, George Marks, Asa- hel Webster, Elijah Oram, John Weatherbee, John Smith, Robert Chandler, the Cornells, Metcalfs and oth- ers settled in Lake township. These settlers located principally cast of the Lake fork, and were from the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vir- ginia. The lands west of the Lake fork remained un- settled for many years after the first pioneers came into the cast part of the township. From 1820 to 1830, the tide of emigration was continuous; and at this period, 1875, very few townships within the limits of this county can exhibit finer farms, better dwellings and more costly bank barns. The valley of the Lake fork for richness of soil and well cultivated farms, cannot be excelled. The lands west of that stream are mostly owned by sturdy farmers from Pennsylvania, and produce an abun- dance of wheat, oats and corn.
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