USA > Ohio > Coshocton County > History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881 > Part 63
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On the night of the 15th of July the rebels evacuated the north side of the Chattahoochie river, and, on the 16th, the regiment, with its brigade and division marched to Rosswell Fac- tories and crossed the Chattahoochie at that place. While the Seventy-eighth was on its march to this point, an affecting incident occurred. Major James Reeves, the surgeon of the regiment, while walking through a clump of bushes, was accosted by a citizen of the country with a request for a national surgeon to administer medical aid to- his sick daughter. The doctor at first demurred, but on reflection concluded to go with the man, who took him down in a valley and into a cave. In this secluded spot were congregated about 200 Union refugees, hiding from the persecution of the rebel authorities.
From Rossville the regiment moved directly on Atlanta. On the 21st of July the regiment participated in the attack on and capture of Bald Knob, a position commanding the city of Atlanta. The rebels occupied it in force, behind strong works. In carrying it the division suffered se- verely. This position being carried, shells were at once thrown into Atlanta by the national artil- lery. This position was considered so important by the rebel commander that in his anxiety to re- take it he, on the next day, threw his whole army on the left flank of the national lines and a terri- ble battle was the result, costing the life of the brave McPherson. The Seventy-eighth Ohio suf- fered severely. It lost 203 officers and men killed and wounded. At a critical moment the Seventy- eighth and Sixty-eighth Ohio held a line near
On the 27th of June the regiment participated in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain. The regi- ment, with the Army of the Tennessee, then swung around the mountain to the extreme right of Sherman's line, extending to the Chattahoochie, at the mouth of the Nicojack creek, thus flanking i Bald Knob, on which the rebels made a deter-
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mined attack. A hand-to-hand fight occurred in which desperate valor was displayed on both sides. Of thirteen flag and color bearers of the Seventy-eighth Ohio, all were either killed or wounded. On one occasion a rebel was about to capture the flag, when Captain John Orr, of Com- pany H, seized a short sword from the ground and almost decapitated him. For this the Cap- tain received a gold medal from the board of honor of the Army of the Tennessee.
The Seventy-eighth participated in the subse- quent movements of the Army of the Tennessee till the fall of Atlanta. It then went into camp near Atlanta, and remained there until about the middle of October, when it was sent up the Atlanta railroad to the vicinity of Chattanooga, to guard that line of supply. When Hood left the railroad and marched toward Decatur, the Seventy-eighth returned to Atlanta, by the way of Lost Mountain, reaching that place on the 13th of November. On the 15th, it started with General Sherman's forces on the March to the Sea.
After the taking of Savannah, and the march through the Carolinas, up to the surrender of Johnston's army, the regiment accompanied the national forces through Richmond, Virginia, to Washington City, and there participated in the grand review.
From Washington it was sent by rail and river to Lonisville, Kentucky. On the 9th day of July it started for Columbus, Ohio, and on the 11th was paid off and mustered out of service.
The Seventy-eighth passed through a series of battles and skirmishes that involved an immense amount of fatiguing duty and severe exposure. One of the saddest results that followed this tax- ing service, finds an illustration in the person of Hamilton Caton, from one of the best families in Coshocton county, and who is still living under the care of relatives in the county, incurably in- sane. William Caton was a faithful soldier, a private in the ranks of the Seventy-eighth; he did not shrink from any task, and met any amount of exposure with a truly Spartan fortitude; the result of this physical drain, combined with the impressions produced by the horrors of war, was to becloud the mind of this patriot and soldier with the dark shadows of the insane, and though
long years have elapsed since the war, and he has been through them all, the recipient of a grateful country's bounty, he still tramps over swamp and through thicket, and digs trench, and stands picket, ever hearing, day and night, the shrieks of shells and the dying.
Coshocton still retains as a citizen, another prominent member of the Seventy-eighth, in the person of A. W. Search, who, entering the ser- vice as a private, at the organization of the regi- ment, was promoted to the first lieutenancy July 1, 1863, and to the captaincy January 11, 1865. While holding the position of lieutenant, Captain Search was assigned to duty as adjutant of the regiment, and was also appointed judge advocate for the Third Division, Seventeenth Army Corps. Captain Search has for quite a number of years edited the Coshocton Age, and has been a prominent citizen in his influence in the county. Within the first three months the year 1881, he has retired from the more pub- lic life of a newspaper man, to that of mercantile pursuits.
The following interesting sketch of personal reminiscence is furnished by Captain Search :
The Seventy-eighth had a few of that class in her private ranks, who were mighty men and brave-in words-and who continually boasted- in camp-of the prowess they would manifest upon the field. A shrewd colonel, having over- heard their warlike speech while the division was on the march from Crump's Landing to Purdy, concluded it was bad to keep them wait- ing, and detailed a small scouting squad, taking in every man " of words " from the various com- panies, at midnight, to go ahead on a corduroy road and be vigilant and brave, and notify the main body if the enemy was found. A staff offi- cer was sent after them to sound the recall in a short time, who in leading his horse over the cor- duroy road and trailing his sword thereon so frightened the scouting squad of braves that they fled incontinently, minus guns, hats, and some- times coats. In going to La Grange. Tennessee, the regiment made a forced march which told so heavily on the boys that only a few men out of each company showed up when the regiment first arrived, the balance coming on behind ex- hausted and spent. At La Grange there was a seminary located, the president of which, like Horace Greeley, prided himself upon "what he knew about farming" and gave good evidence of it, in a large field one side of his residence which
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was crowded with finely growing sweet potatoes; the boys of the Seventy-eighth immediately took possession and commenced digging them out with their bayonets.
The professor came out and ordered them off, and, not a man giving the slightest heed, he then pompously asked: " Is this the manner in which you come to defend a down-trodden country ?" and was answered by a shock-headed Coshocton county farmer in this wise: "Not much, boss; this is the way we dig taters." The professor surrendered and retired. On the Water Valley campaign an interesting incident occurred, show- ing the advantage of being the possessor of inge- nuity. General Logan's division came to the banks of a stream too deep to ford, the bridge over which had been burnt by the rebels. Gen- eral Logan rode to the front with his engineer, and inquired how long it would take to put a bridge over. The engineer said, "Three days." Captain Wiles, of Company C, Seventy-eighth, spoke up and told General Logan if he would furnish three reliefs, of a hundred men each, he would have it ready the next morning. The men were furnished, the bridge was built, and the di- vision was over according to agreement, although the engineer swore it could not be done. It was managed by tearing down a cotton gin on the banks, and by cutting and floating limbs of trees into place.
At Atlanta, during the severest part of the fight, while the Seventy-eighth was behind some earthworks, two brothers belonging to one of the companies of the Seventy-eighth, of the name Cocochnower, were so intense in their fighting hatred that they jumped upon the top of the works and loaded and fired until they were both killed.
Company C, under command of Captain Wiles, was the pioneer company of the corps, and had charge of the mining and sapping, in order to ac- complish which they were compelled to load up a long wagon with bales of cotton, and push it on ahead to cover them from the fire of sharpshoot- ers. Many etforts were made by the rebels to burn it, and they finally shelled it and set it on firc.
While pushing the mining and sapping the men who were so detailed were continually at- tacked; among other methods that of the hand grenade being employed, and, in numerous in- stances, our boys would coolly pick them up, burning fuse and all, and throw them back into the rebel works, not without some fatal results however.
Captain Search, it may be added, was, at one time, captured by a small body of rebels who were hidden in the bush along side of the road
leading to Resaca, and upon which road the Union forces were moving to meet Hood.
Captain Search was then a staff officer, and was coming back on the road with orders to close up the sections of artillery on the road. As he was riding back he met a slouchy appearing man coming toward him, who, in the dusk of the evening, he supposed was one of the gunners or teamsters, when directly opposite Captain Search he seized the lines, thrust a pistol in his face, and, taking him off the road about three hundred yards, placed him in charge of a company of about one hundred.
Considerable badgering was indulged in about appropriating the captain's property, but, finally, when they were ready to depart, he was allowed to mount his own horse, which, being a good one, as they struck the road in crossing he put spurs to and dashed off, succeeding in getting away from his captors, it being too risky for them to pursue him on the open highway.
CHAPTER XLII.
WAR OF THE REBELLION-CONTINUED.
Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry-Its Operations in the Field-Thirty-seventh Ohio-A Record of its Services.
T THE Fifteenth and Thirty-seventh regiments,
in so far as they find a representation in Coshocton county, obtained the Coshocton men somewhat similarly. The men who enlisted pro- posed going into other regiments, but were too late, and consequently became absorbed in the Fifteenth and Thirty-seventh. The following history of the Fifteenth is from "Ohio in the War":
The Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was one of the first to respond to the President's call for seventy-five thousand men for three months' service, and, on the 4th of May, 1861, the regi- ment was organized at Camp Jackson, Columbus, Ohio, and four days after moved to Camp God- dard, near Zanesville, Ohio. Here it spent about ten days, engaged in drilling, disciplining and active preparations for the field. It was then ordered into West Virginia, and, crossing the Ohio river at Bellaire, it was employed for some
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time in guard duty on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, advancing as far as Grafton. It was en- gaged in the rout of the rebels under General Porterfield at Phillippi, on the 13th of June, and afterward took part in the affairs of Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford. The regiment performed a large amount of marching and guard duty, and rendered valuable services to the Government in assisting to stay the progress of the rebels, who were endeavoring to carry the war into the north. Having served its term of enlistment, it returned to Columbus, Ohio, and was discharged about the 1st of August, having lost but two men, one killed and one dying of disease.
The President having issued his call for three hundred thousand men for three years, the sol- diers of the Fifteenth felt the importance of a hearty response, and with their patriotism and ardor not lessened, but rather increased, by the trials and exposure incident to their three months' campaign, they almost immediately and almost unanimously resolved to reenlist; and the regi- ment was reorganized at Camp Mordecai Bartley, near Mansfield, Ohio, and left Camp Bartley for Camp Dennison on the 26th of September, 1861. At this place they received their arms and the remainder of their clothing, camp and garrison equipage. The regiment was armed with old Springfield and Harper's Ferry muskets altered, except Companies A and B, which received En- field rifles. The outfit being completed on the 4th of October the regiment left for the field, its destination being Lexington. Kentucky. It re- mained in camp at Lexington until the 12th, when it was transported by rail to Louisville, and from there to Camp Nevin, near Notin's Station, Kentucky. At this place it was assigned to the sixth brigade, (General R. W. Johnson command- ing) Second Division, (General A. MeD. McCook, commanding) of the Army of the Ohio, then commanded by General W. T. Sherman, subse- quently by General Buell. The regiment re- mained at Camp Nevin until the 9th of Decem- ber. 1861, when the division marched to Bacon creek, and on the following day the sixth brigade occupied Mumfordsville. On the morning of the 14th the second division broke camp, moving in the direction of West Point to embark for Fort Donelson ; but upon receiving intelligence of its
capture the division was marched to Bowling Green. Crossing Barren river on the 27th, the command marched for Nashville, Tennessee, which place was reached on the 2d of March. Camping grounds were selected about three miles from the city, and the army rested until the 16th, when the march to Savannah began; which point was reached on the night of April G, and on the morning of the 7th the regiment embarked for the battle-field and was engaged from about twelve M, till four p. M., when the enemy retreated. In this engagement the regiment lost six men killed and sixty-two wounded.
In the subsequent operations against Corinth, the second division formed the reserve of the army, and did not take the front until the 27th of May.
It was continually skirmishing with the enemy until the 30th, when the town was occupied by our forces. On the 10th of June the division marched to Battle Creek, Tennessee, crossing the Tennessee river at Florence, and, resting there several days, arrived at Battle Creek on the 18th of July. The regiment was engaged in building a fort at the mouth of Battle Creek and in the or- dinary duties of camp until the 20th of August, when General MeCook's command moved to Al- temonte, on the Cumberland mountains, in which direction the invading army under Bragg was marching. From Altemonte the division marched, rin Manchester and Murfreesboro, to Nashville, arriving there on the Sth of September. After halting two or three days the army marched to Bowling Green, and thence, by way of West Point, to Louisville, arriving on the 25th of Sep- tember. On the 1st of October the second divi- sion marched on the Shelbyville pike in pursuit of the enemy, reaching Shelbyville the second day. Remaining in camp a few days, the march was resumed to Lawrenceburg, where a skir- mish was had with the enemy in which the regi- ment was engaged. The division then marched to Perryville, which was reached a few days after the battle of Chaplin Hills, and there joined the main army and marched in pursuit of Bragg as far as Crab Orchard, where it remained several days, and then marched to Nashville, where it arrived on the 7th of November, 1862.
The army was reorganized and thoroughly
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drilled here, and, on the 26th of December, ad- vanced on the enemy's position at Murfreesboro. In the battle of Stone River the regiment was heavily engaged, losing eighteen killed and eighty-nine wounded. After the occupation of Murfreesboro by the army, under General Rose- crans, the Fifteenth was engaged in drilling, foraging, fortifying and picket duty until the 24th of July, when an advance was ordered on Tulla- homa and Shelbyville, which places were occu- pied by our army after the enemy was dislodged from his strong position at Golner's and Liberty Gaps, the latter being carried by the second di- vision, and the Fifteenth taking a very promi- nent part therein.
In this engagement, one officer and seven men were killed, and twenty-three wounded. The second division was stationed at Tullahoma till the 16th of August, when it was ordered to Bello- fonte, Alabama, marching via Winchester and Salem, and arriving at its destination on the 22d. Remaining there about a weck, the division marched to near Stevenson, Alabama. On the 2d of September the march was resumed in the direction of Rome, Georgia, crossing Lookout Mountain and camping at the eastern foot, near Alpine, on the 10th. After remaining in posi- tion for ten days, the command recrossed Look- out Mountain to Winson's valley, and, on the 11th, marched to a position in connection with main army in Lookout valley.
The regiment remained in position on the ex- treme right flank of the army until the morning of the 19th,when it marched for the battlefield of Chickamauga, a distance of thirteen miles, and was engaged soon after its arrival. At Chickamauga the regiment lost one officer and nine men killed, two officers and sixty-nine men wounded, and forty men missing. The regiment bore its share in the arduous labors and privations of the seige of Chattanooga, and on the 25th of Novem- ber participated in the brilliant assault of Mission Ridge, capturing a number of prisoners and some artillery.
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moved to Strawberry Plains by way of Flat creek. On the 14th of January, 1864, the greater por- tion of the regiment having re-enlisted as veter- ans, it started for Columbus, Ohio, via Chatta- nooga, preparatory to being furloughed. The regiment arrived in Columbus, with 350 veterans, on the 10th of February, and the men were fur- loughed on the 12th.
On the 14th of March the regiment assembled at Camp Chase to return to the field, having re- cruited to upward of 900 men. Upon arriving at Nashville, on the 22d, the regiment was ordered to march to Chattanooga, arriving on the 5th of April. On the 8th the regiment moved to Cleve- land, Tennessee, meeting with a serious accident near Charleston, Tennessee, by a railroad train being thrown from the track, by which twenty men were more or less injured.
The regiment moved to McDonald's Station on the 20th, and remained there till the opening of the spring campaign. At noon, on the 3d of May, the regiment broke camp and marched to Tunnel Hill, where General Sherman's army took position, and was constantly skirmishing with the enemy, this regiment being frequently engaged until the 13th, when the enemy evacu- ated Rocky Face Ridge and our army took pos- session of Dalton.
The Fifteenth participated in the subsequent pursuit of the rebels, in the battle of Resaca and again in the pursuit and engagement near Dallas, where the regiment suffered severely, losing nine- teen men killed, three officers and sixty-one men wounded and nineteen men missing, who were supposed to be either killed or severely wounded. The color guard, with the exception of one corpo- ral, were all either killed or wounded, but the colors were safely brought off by the surviving member of the guard, Corporal David Hart, of Company I. The rebels having evacuated their works on the 5th of June, the army moved to the vicinity of Acworth, and on the 10th advanced to near Kenesaw Mountain. While skirmishing sharply, on the 14th of June, the regiment lost wounded, all belonging to Company A. On the morning of June 18, the rebels having withdrawn, a party of three or four men advanced to recon- noitre, and picking up a couple of stragglers, they
On the 28th of November the regiment, then | one officer and one man killed, and five men belonging to the First Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Army Corps, marched with the corps to the relief of Knoxville, Tennessee, arriving on the Sth of December; on the 20th the command
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were sent back in charge of Peter Cupp, a private of Company H, who, in returning to the regiment, suddenly camě upon a rebel outpost, which had been left by accident. Cupp announced the with- drawal to them and ordered them to stack their arms and surrender, which they did, and one cap- tain, one lieutenant and sixteen men of the First Georgia volunteers were marched into our lines by Private Cupp. While in the vicinity the reg- iment was engaged in scouting and skirmishing, frequently capturing prisoners.
After crossing the Chattahoochie the regiment moved down the river on the 11th of July, and in connection with the division, drove back the en- emy's cavalry .and covered the crossing of the Fourteenth Corps. The line was advanced each day until it closed in around the rebel works be- fore Atlanta. On the night of August 25, the command to which the regiment belonged with- drew from the works in front and commenced the movement upon the communications in the rear of Atlanta, skirmishing with the enemy at Lovejoy's Station on the night of September 5, and, reaching Atlanta the 8th, the Fourth Corps encamped near Decatur.
When the army of Hood began its raid upon our communications the regiment marched via Marietta and Rome, to the relief of Resaca, Oeto- ber 3, and from Resaca it marched through Snake Creek Gap, by way of Salesville, Chattanooga and Pulaski to Columbia, where it was engaged in a slightskirmish. From Columbia the army moved toward Franklin, passing in view of the camp-fires of a corps of the enemy near Spring Hill, Ten- nessee. The regiment did not participate in the battle of Franklin, but was assigned the duty of covering the withdrawal of the forces and the re- treat to Nashville. At Nashville the regiment formed the extreme left of the army, and when the order came for the left to move forward the regiment advanced rapidly, capturing a fine bat- tery of four brass guns and some thirty prisoners
On the 16th of December, the enemy was found entrenched in a strong position on Frank- lin pike, about five miles from the city. The regi- ment participated in a movement upon these works, capturing prisoners to the number of two commissioned officers and one hundred men. The entire loss sustained by the regiment in the
two days of the fight was two officers and one man killed and two officers and twenty-four men wounded. The most vigorous pursuit was made by our army, but the infantry was unable to over- take the flying enemy, and after following the rebels to Lexington, Alabama, the corps moved in the direction of Huntsville, and the regiment went into camp at Bird Springs about the 4th or 5th of January, 1865, and remained until the 15th of March when it was ordered to move into East Tennessee. It moved by rail to New Market, Tennessee, and then took up the line of march to Greenville, to assist in preventing the escape of Lee and Johnson, while Grant and Sherman pressed them to a surrender. The Fifteenth ar- rived at Greenville on the 5th of April, and on the 22d was ordered back to Nashville. On this march the regiment acted as train guard and reached Nashville about the 1st of May, 1865. From this time till the 16th of June, the regi- ment was in camp near Nashville, Tennessee, when orders were received to move to Texas. With a good degree of cheerfulness the men turned their backs once more upon their homes, went to Johnstonville and thence by boat to New Orleans. Moving down a short distance below the city they bivouacked in the old Jackson bat- tle ground till July 5, when they shipped for Texas.
The regiment arrived at Indianola, Texas, July 9, disembarked, and in order to obtain a sufficient supply of water, marched that same night to Green Lake, a distance of about twenty miles. Remaining here just one month, on the 10th of August it marched for San Antonio, a dis- tance of one hundred and fifty miles. The scarcity of water, the extreme heat, the want of suitable rations, together with inadequate transportation, all combined, made this one of the most severe marches the regiment ever endured. It reached the Salado, a small stream near the San Antonio, on the 21st of August, and remained there until October 20, when it was designated to perform post duty in the city, and it continued to act in this capacity till November 21, when it was mus- tered out and ordered to Columbus, Ohio, for final discharge.
The regiment left San Antonio on the 24th of November and marched to Indianola, proceeding
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thence, by way of New Orleans and Cairo, to Columbus, Ohio, where it arrived December 25, and was finally discharged from the service of the United States, on the 27th of December, 1865.
The Fifteenth was among the first regiments to be mustered in, and among the last to be mustered out, having been in the service as an organization about four years and eight months.
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