USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > History of Cuyahoga County soldiers' and sailors' monument. Scenes and incidents from its inception to its completion.--Description of the memorial structure, and roll of honor > Part 35
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a part of Lander's division. On the famous raid to Bloomery Furnace, where the command captured more prisoners than its own men numbered, he had acted as aid to the general. The most important battles in which he was engaged were Winchester, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain and Antietam, though there were a host of smaller engagements.
Capt. Molyneaux has the esteem and respect of his fellow-citizens. He was elected a member of the Per- manent Commission and was unanimously chosen its Secretary.
CAPTAIN EDWARD H. BOHM.
One of the most influential members of the Mont- ment Commission is Captain Edward H. Bohm, who has been associated in the Monument enterprise ever since its inception. He was born in Alstedt, Saxe- Weimar, on February 7, 1837. His father was well supplied with the good things of life, being a member of the judiciary of the country, and up to the time hie was fourteen years of age, Captain Bohm remained in his native land, in study in a private school. The family removed to this country in 1851, arriving in New York on August 28, and after a week spent in that city, they came West, intending to settle on a Western farmi. When they arrived in Cleveland, however, young Bohm was taken seriously ill and a stop of some time was necessitated. When he had recovered sufficiently to go on with the journey, his father had found that the cli- mate of the Forest City was to his liking and it was de- cided to remain in Cleveland. A farm in Newburg township was purchased, and there the family took up their abode. Young Bohm staid on the farin until 1856, when he went to work on the old Cleveland & Toledo Railroad. There he was when the War broke out. He enlisted in Company K, Seventh Ohio Volunteer In- fantry,'on April 18, 1861, under Captain J. G. Wiseman.
CAPTAIN EDWARD H. BOHM.
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A short time was spent in Camp Taylor, and the com- pany started for Camp Dennison, in Cincinnati, on the first Sunday in May. He remained with the company in its career through West Virginia until August 20, 1861. On that day he was sent out with a reconnoiter- ing party of nineteen inen in citizen's clothes. Their route led them across the Gauley River and into an ami- bush of two companies of rebel cavalry. Young Bohm was a sergeant by this time. The members of the party who had escaped the first murderous fire that was poured upon them ran for safety. But Sergeant Bohm, himself uninjured, staid with his captain, who had re- ceived a mortal hurt. He saw his captain pass from life, and for his devotion he paid the penalty of being captured by the Confederates. For nearly nine months, until May 30, 1862, he remained a captive in various rebel prisons, being released on the latter date at Little Washington, N. C. He at once returned to Cleveland, and in January, 1863, was commissioned by Governor Tod as second lieutenant in Company D, in his former regiment, his commission dating from November 1 of the previous year.
On March 17, he was given command of the com- pany, and was at its head during the battles of Chan- cellorsville, Gettysburg, and Ringgold. In the first- named battle his company lost more than any other in the regiment. Out of fifty-three men in line, twenty- three were lost, four being killed, eleven wounded, and the remainder missing. For his valor in that engage- ment he was named in general orders. At the battle of Gettysburg the only man in the regiment killed was a member of his company. Captain Bohm was wounded in the fierce charge made by the regiment in the battle of Ringgold, when, in less than thirty minutes, of the fifteen officers in the regiment, five were killed and the remaining ten wounded. After he was cured of his
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wound he remained with the regiment until it was inistered out in Cleveland on July 6, 1864. He was several times recommended for the rank of inajor, and once the commission was sent to him. He refused thie rank, however, being on the eve of marriage, and he did not re-enter the army, the struggle being nearly over. In January, 1865, he was married, and he then opened an office for the prosecution of Soldiers' claims against the Government. In 1870, he was elected to the Public School Board, and while in that capacity introduced the resolution which created the present Normal Train- ing School. He was County Recorder for six years, be- ginning with 1870, and the Anzeiger was founded by him as a daily German newspaper while he held that position. In four years he succeeded in losing $20,- ooo in that venture and he then gave up the control of the paper. He was president of the North American Sængerbund and the Sængerfest, in 1874, and in 1876 he was Presidential elector at large on the Republican State ticket. In 1875, he lost his wife and the year fol- lowing he married again. He was elected as Justice of the Peace in 1885, and he has held that office until tlie present. In all the matters of the Monument Commis- sion, he has exerted a strong influence.
CAPTAIN LEVI T. SCOFIELD.
In the presence of the huge work which is formally dedicated to the people of Cuyahoga County, in honor of the brave men who upheld the Union in its dark- est days, something about the designer and architect of the structure is of especial interest. It was Cap- tain Levi T. Scofield, a member of the Commission, who prepared the designs and had personal super- vision of the work from the beginning to the pres- ent time. Captain Scofield was born in Cleveland on November 9, 1842, and has resided here inost of his life. His father had been an old settler, coming here-
CAPTAIN LEVI T. SCOFIELD.
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in 1816, and had erected the first house on Walnut Street. The lad was brought up in this city, and studied engineering and architecture. The year before the War he went to Cincinnati to continue his studies, but came home when men were needed, and enlisted in Company D, First Ohio Light Artillery. He re-enlisted in the infantry when his teri expired, and was com- missioned Second Lieutenant in Company E, One Hun- dred and Third Regiment. At intervals he received promotions, being made a First Lieutenant in February of 1863, and a Captain in November of 1864.
His time was divided between service in the infantry and in the engineer corps. His ability as an engineer was recognized and he was often assigned to that duty. His early training in that work proved valuable to him. The duty of the engineer corps often takes it ahead of the lines of the army in its work of laying out roads, building bridges or making maps of the country. The advanced positions are dangerous in an enemy's country. In time of battle the engineers serve on the staff of the commanding officer, and are exposed to the fire of the enemy and other dangers in carrying orders.
The company of which Scofield was a member did first service in Kentucky. It participated in the pursuit of Kirby Smith in 1862, and John Morgan in 1863, and many small engagements. It went with Burnside in his campaign across the Cumberland Mountains to Tennessee. Here Scofield had his first experience in army engineering and found it no easy work. He was at the siege of Knoxville and the repulse of Longstreet. In March of 1864 he was Provost Marshal of the Third corps, and soon after was appointed an Aid-de-Camp on a commander's staff.
The troops marched southward to participate in the Atlanta campaign. They were engaged at Resaca and other engagements in that neighborhood. From June,
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1864, Scofield did continuous work as an engineer. He was in the fight at Kenesaw Mountain and took part in the siege and capture of Atlanta. Soon afterward came the Nashville campaign, in which the Union troops oc- cupied the city while Hood invested it. He participated in the pursuit of Hood to Tennessee, and did duty in North Carolina early in 1865, being present at the cap- ture of Raleigh and the surrender of Johnston.
After the War, Captain Scofield resided in New York for a short time, but removed to this city and has re- sided here permanently. Since 1867, he has been en- gaged in the erection of many public buildings, such as the Central High School in this city, Athens and Columbus Asylumns for the Insane, Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Xenia, Penitentiary at Raleigh, House of Cor- rection at Cleveland, Mansfield Reformatory, and he designed the Ohio Monument at the World's Fair.
COLONEL E. W. FORCE.
Colonel Emory W. Force was born at Morrisville, Madison County, N. Y., December 25, 1840. He was the son of a prominent woolen manufacturer, who re- moved to Ohio, settling at Chagrin Falls in 1847. When the War broke out, Colonel Force enlisted as a private in the Seventh Infantry. He was injured in the intrenchments at Sutton, W. Va., and at the end of one year's service was discharged for disability. He partici- pated in the battles of Cross Lanes and Winchester and in Banks' retreat down the Shenandoah. He was the first Colonel of the Fifth Regiment, O. N. G., being its organizer, and he held the position for eight years. He spent five years as Captain in the Fifteenth Regiment, O. N. G., and when the latter was inustered ont he was given a commission by Governor Foster as Major of the Fifthı Battalion. He removed to Cleveland in 1886, and is now teller in the Merchants' Banking and Storage Company, and secretary of the Seventh Regiment or-
COLONEL EMORY W. FORCE.
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ROTARY
GENERAL JAMES BARNETT.
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ganization. He was one of the original members of the Committee on Monument, and, as a member of the Commission, has been an earnest, active, reliable worker.
GENERAL JAMES BARNETT.
The people of Ohio need no introduction to General James Barnett. As a Soldier, a business man, and a philanthropist he has ever occupied the front rank of citizens, and he is one of the rare mnen whose achieve- ments and honors fail to arouse jealousy in some quar- ters. General Barnett has been a member of the Mont- ment Commission since June 20, 1884. He bears the distinction of having commanded the first artillery opened on the Union side in the great Civil War. For twenty years previous to the beginning of the War, he was a member of an independent artillery company known as the Cleveland Light Artillery. When the menaces of the rebels began to take on a serious ap- pearance, the battery offered its services to the Govern- ment. Five days after the fall of Fort Sumter, Colonel Barnett was ordered to report at Columbus with his battery, and from there he soon went into the heat of the conflict. His guns were used at the battle of Phil- ippi, at Laurel Hill, and Carrick's Ford, and then the battery returned to Cleveland, the period of its enlist- ment being over. Colonel Barnett was detailed by Governor Dennison to raise a twelve-battery regiment of artillery, and this he did, sending the batteries into the field as they were organized. With a portion of this command he participated in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, having charge of the artillery reserve of the Army of the Ohio. Later he was ordered to Ohio on recruiting service and returning to the army he was as- signed for duty on the staff of General C. C. Gilbert. At the battle of Perryville he was transferred to the staff of General N. McCook, as Chief of Artillery, and
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in the latter part of the year 1862 lie was appointed by General Rosecrans as Chief of Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland. The battles of Stone River, Chicka- manga, Mission Ridge, and others were participated in by his command, and for his conduct in these battles he received special commendation from General Rose- crans. He was mustered out of the service at Nashville, on October 20, 1864. In May, 1865, he was brevetted Major-General for "gallant, efficient and meritorious service."
Since the War he has been with the same firm as be- fore the War and is now president of it. He is a phil- anthropic man, and gives much time to charitable work. He is president of the Bethel Associated Charities and the Humane Society, and a trustee of the Military Homes of the United States. He was the first president of the Board of Elections, and is engaged in several business enterprises, being president of the First National Bank. He has the respect of every Soldier to whom he is known, and in this community stands high as an estimable citizen. In war, our leading Soldier; in peace, our foremost citizen. None know him but to love and admire him.
GENERAL J. J. ELWELL.
From "Ohio in the War," "Bench and Bar," and other printed sketches is made up the following in re- gard to the career of General J. J. Elwell :
He was born in Warren, O., June 22, 1820. General Elwell is a graduate of the Cleveland Medical College ; was admitted to the bar in 1854 and has since been a member of the Cleveland bar. He was a member of the Ohio Legislature from 1853 to 1855, and was editor and publisher of the Western Law Monthly ; also a profess- or in the Ohio and Union Law College and Cleveland Medical College. During this time he wrote a work on
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GENERAL, J. J. ELWELL.
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medical jurisprudence, which is a standard work on that subject, and has passed through four editions.
He entered the military service in August, 1861, bringing an order from the Secretary of War for the raising of the Second Ohio Cavalry on the Western Re- serve, which he helped raise and equip and was 1,200 strong. He also equipped the Third Ohio Cavalry and Sherman's Brigade. Early in 1862, he joined General David Hunter and proceeded with him to Port Royal, S. C., and was promoted to Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the South, with the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel. He served in this department two years and participated in all the operations against Charleston under Hunter, Gillmore and other generals. He took a hand in the bloody assault on Fort Wagner on the night of July 18, 1852, where the Union troops were repulsed with a loss of 1,500 men in an hour. General A. C. Voris, who was terribly wounded at the time and carried off the field by General Elwell, in "Sketches of the War," published by the Loyal Legion of Ohio, says : "Colonel J. J. Elwell, a wonderfully brave man, rode clear up to Wagner, cheering on the men to hold the fort. He did on that occasion what I never saw during the War done by a staff officer whose duties did not call him to thus expose himself, and lead troops in places of the greatest danger, requiring the highest degree of courage."
On many an occasion he was seen in the midst of the fray, having for the time abandoned his post as Quarter- master-General, and fighting with all the vin and energy of the most valorous. It was his habit to go into battle with his hat off, and as he rushed forward with his long hair flying in the wind, he made a picture of eagerness and forgetfulness of self which was an inspiration to the other Soldiers.
General Elwell was brevetted four times during the
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War for great and gallant services. The last two years of the War he was in charge of the prison camp at El- mira, N. Y., where there were from 12,000 to 15,000 prisoners of war. He was also connected with the cav- alry bureau at Washington at this time.
His medallion stands in the tablet room of the Monu- ment among the distinguished generals of Ohio, having been placed there by his associates of the Commission, without his knowledge, for distinguished service, espe- cially at Fort Wagner.
A medal was presented to General Elwell by General Gillmore, commanding the Department of the South, upon which Forts Sumter and Wagner are engraved, appreciative of his gallant services in that famous siege of two years.
He was severely injured several times, and narrowly escaped death from yellow fever at Port Royal in 1862. He is still in good health and active business in this city.
He has been a valuable and enthusiastic worker for the Monument and its site from the first. He was made a member of the Commission June 20, 1884, and was re-elected as one of the five Permanent Commis- sioners.
COLONEL CHARLES C. DEWSTOE.
Colonel C. C. Dewstoe is a New Yorker by birth, his early days having been spent in Ontario County, in that State. He was born on May 10, 1841, and when he was six years of age his parents removed to Flint, Mich., where he went to school and where he enlisted in the Second Michigan Infantry, in May, 1861. After the first battle of Bull Run he was ordered transferred to the signal service, and lie participated in all the battles of the Army of the Potomac. He was discharged in June, 1864, after he had risen to have charge of a detachment in the signal corps. Two years afterward he removed
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COLONEL CHARLES C. DEWSTOE.
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SERGEANT JAMES HAYR.
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to Cleveland, since which time he has been in business in this city. He was a member of the Board of Health and was sheriff of Cuyahoga County two years. He has been connected with the Monument enterprise ever since its inception and has been an earnest worker in the Commission. In all affairs pertaining to the wel- fare of the Soldier element he is earnest and active. He stands in the front rank as a post-prandial speaker, possessing many genial traits of character added to a fund of wit and clever stories. He is in constant de- mand on the occasion of " surprise presentations," army re-unions, symposiums and other first-class social gath- erings.
SERGEANT JAMES HAYR.
A foreign country produced. James Hayr, but that makes him none the less a brave Soldier. On July 1, 1838, he was born at Hamilton, Ont. When he was nine years old the family removed to Niagara Falls, and at thirteen he was apprenticed to a firm of painters. He followed this work at Rochester, New York City, and later came to Cleveland.
He enlisted in 1861 in Company B, Zouave Light Guards, under command of James P. McIlrath. When the company re-enlisted for three years it was assigned to the Twenty-third Regiment, O. I. V., and called Company A. The regiment was officered by Col. Rose- crans, afterward general ; Lient. Col. Stanley Matthews and Major R. B. Hayes. During the first year of the War the regiment was engaged principally in West Vir- ginia. The next year operations were extended to Vir- ginia and Maryland, and the men were engaged in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam and lesser fights. During 1863, the command was assigned to sconting and raiding expeditions. The next year it assisted in the destruction of the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. In the raid on Lynchburg the inen were constantly under
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fire for seventy days. Later they participated in the famous campaign of Sheridan. At Cedar Creek, Com- rade Hayr was severely wounded in the abdomen while engaged in getting a gun off the field of battle, and this kept him from active service until the next Spring.
On Independence Day of 1864, he was promoted to corporal, and for exceptional bravery in the face of the enemy at Fisher Hill he received the appointment of sergeant in September.
He was mustered out August Ist, 1865, at Cumber- land, Md., having seen four years, three months and twelve days of service. At the close of the War he re- turned to this city and renewed his old trade.
Since the War, Sergeant Hayr has been active in the duties of peace which show patriotism. He has been closely allied with affairs pertaining to the veterans. He was commander of Hampson Post and has held sev- eral official positions in the Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Union and in the Union Veterans' Union. He has been vice-president of the Twenty-third Regi- ment Association, and on several occasions has been Marshal of Memorial Day parades.
His record is good, his bravery undoubted and his works in behalf of his veteran comrades fully appreci- ated. He has been a member of the Monument Com- mission since June 20, 1884.
DR. R. W. WALTERS.
Dr. R. W. Walters, of Chagrin Falls, was born in Russell, Geauga County, on August 22, 1838. Having received a good education at high-class seminaries, he made choice of the medical profession. He commenced the study of medicine early in the year 1861. O11 August 15, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company D, Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to Hospital Steward on Marclı 14, 1864. He partici- pated in the following battles: Wauketchie, Tenn.,
DR. R. W. WALTERS.
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GENERAL M. D. LEGGETT.
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night of October 28 and 29, 1863; Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge and Ringgold, November, 1863; Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca and Dallas, May, 1864; Kenesaw Mountain, June, 1864; Peachtree Creek, July, 1864, and siege of Atlanta.
When the gallant Seventh Ohio was mustered out le, with about two hundred others, was transferred to the Fifth Regiment, Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, and was inustered out of service March 17, 1865, on account of being supernumerary, by order of the War Depart- ment.
On his return from the army he resumed the study of medicine and attended the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, Pa. He attended his second course of lectures at the Cleveland Medical College (now Western Reserve University), and graduated from that institu- tion. Feeling that he would derive benefit from a course of study in a homeopathic college, he entered as a student at the Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital Col- lege (now the Cleveland University of Medicine and Surgery), from which he graduated. He was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Fifteenth Regiment, O. N. G., Colonel E. W. Force commanding, by Governor Bishop, July 17, 1878.
He is an ardent believer in religious liberty, and is an active member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He has practiced medicine in Chagrin Falls since April, 1867.
He became a member of the Commission on June 20, 1884. Though residing in the country, he has been prompt in attendance at all meetings, and has ably rep- resented the townships.
GENERAL M. D. LEGGETT.
An officer high in rank in the Union armies, and as a soldier, citizen, and attorney; crowned with a record as brilliant as it is stainless, is General Mortimer D. Leg-
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gett. Besides being one of the Monument Commission- ers, he has been awarded the honor of directing the movements, as Chief Marshal, of the grand body of men who composed the dedication procession. During the War he was a confidential friend and adviser of General Grant, General Mcclellan, General Sherman, and other prominent officers. He was born at Ithaca, N. Y., April 19, 1821. His father, a farmer, removed to Montville, Geauga County, in 1836, and the son spent several years on the farm and in study, leaving home when he was eigliteen years old to go to the Teachers' Seminary in Kirtland. There he remained until he was gradu- ated, at the head of his class, and he then became a teacher. He soon commenced the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1844, although he did not begin active practice until six years later, at Warren. He was one of the first in the State to give attention to the subject of free public schools conducted on the graded plan, and he spent some time in agitating the question. Through his efforts, and those of two or three other gentlemen, he secured the passage of a spe- cial school law for Akron, and later he organized the first system of free graded schools west of the Allegha- nies in that city. In 1845, he graduated from the Willoughby Medical College, and in 1856 he became Professor of Pleading and Practice in the Ohio Law College. When the War began, he accompanied Gen- eral Mcclellan to West Virginia, and in the latter part of 1861 was commissioned by Governor Dennison to raise and organize the Seventy-eighth Regiment of Infantry, which he accomplished in a very short time. He en- listed in the same organization as a private, his name being the first to go on the list, and within forty days he was private, Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and Colonel. He took his regiment, which consisted of 1,040 mien, to Fort
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Donelson, where it performed valuable service. Imme- diately after this, General Grant attached him to his staff, and the young officer went into the battle of Shi- loh, where he received his first wound. While com- manding an advance upon Corinth, on May 16, 1862, one horse he rode was killed under him, and another was wounded, he escaping uninjured. As a recognition of his service at this time, he was commissioned a Brig- adier-General. His next notable service was the battle of Middleburg, Tenn., where, with 500 men, he defeated Van Dorn, who had 4,000 troops. For this he was com- plimented by General Grant, and received a special letter of thanks from the Secretary of War. He partici- pated in the battle known as "Hell on the Hatchie," the battle of Inka, and in all the movements against Vicksburg, including the running of the blockade, the battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, Big Black, and the siege of Vicksburg. At the battle of Champion Hills, he received a severe wound in his thigh. He was then transferred from the Second Brigade of Third Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps, which he had been commanding, to the First Brigade of the same division, which held the only posi- tion in front of Vicksburg where there was thought to be a possibility of breaking the rebel line of works by assault. Here the rebels had erected a heavy fortifica- tion to protect the exposed part. Under this fort Gen- eral Leggett's command placed a mine, and when it was exploded a large force of picked men, under his personal command, rushed into the breach. They were inside before the rebels understood what had happened, but a fight lasting twenty-three hours was required before the Confederates were finally subdued. In this engagement General Leggett was wounded in several places, but when the negotiations for the surrender of Vicksburg had been completed on the morning of the
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