History of Delaware County and Ohio : containing a brief history of the state of Ohio biographical sketches etc. V. 1, Part 51

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : O. L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 788

USA > Ohio > Delaware County > History of Delaware County and Ohio : containing a brief history of the state of Ohio biographical sketches etc. V. 1 > Part 51

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the battle of Cross Keys, but without serious loss to the Eighty-second.

In the organization of the Army of Virginia, the Eighty-second was assigned to an independent brizade, under Gen. Milroy. The severe cam- paigning it had undergone had thinned its ranks, until it numbered but 300 men. On the 7th of August, Sigel's Corps, to which it belonged, moved toward Culpepper, and, on the following morning, halted in the woods south of the village, but was too late at Cedar Mountain to participate actively in the battle. During the fighting on the Rappahannock, Milroy's brigade (of which the Eighty-second was a part) was for ten days within hearing, and most of the time under fire of the enemy's guns. On the 21st and 22d, McDowell had severe engagements near Gainesville. In the fight of the 22d, Milroy's brigade led the advance. The Eighty-second and the Third Virginia were deployed, driving back the rebel skirmishers to their main force. In this battle the regiment suffered severely, Col. Cantwell, its commander, being killed, with the words of command and encouragement upon his lips. On the 3d of Sep- tember, Sigel's Corps arrived at Fairfax Court House, and the Eighty-second was detailed for provost guard duty. In the early part of 1863, at the request of its Colonel ( Robinson), it was relieved from duty at headquarters, and ordered to report to its division commander. Gen. Schurz. By him it was designated as a battalion of sharp- shooters for the division, and held subject to his personal direction. The next engagement in which it participated was the sanguinary battle of Chan- cellorsville, on the 25th of May. It suffered terri- bly in this fight, at the close of which there were but 134 men with the colors. Among the dead was the gallant Capt. Purdy, of Company I. On the 10th of June. it moved with its brigade and division, on the Gettysburg campaign. In the battle which followed, the Eighty-second was placed in support of a battery. It went into action with 22 commissioned officers and 236 men ; of these, 19 officers and 147 men were killed, wounded and captured, leaving only 3 officers and 89 men. This little band brought off the colors of the regiment safely. On the 11th it was assigned to Gen. Tyndall's brigade, the First Brigade of the Third Division. The Eleventh Corps, to which the Eighty-second belonged, was transferred on the 25th of Septem- ber to the Army of the Cumberland, then com- manded by Gen. Hooker. The next battle of

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. 290- 299

consequence, in which the regiment took part, was that of Mission Ridge. It was also engaged in the Knoxville campaign, and, in December follow- ing, re-enlisted as veterans. Out of 349 enlisted men present, 321 were mustered into the service as veteran volunteers, and at once started for home on furlough. It returned to the front with 200 new recruits. On the 3d of March, 1864. it joined its brigade at Bridgeport, Ala., and, in the consol- idation of the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps (thus forming the Twentieth), the Eighty-second was assigned to the Third Brigade of the First Division, of this corps. On the 30th of April, 1864. the regiment, with its brigade and division, started on the Atlanta campaign, and bore an active part in most of the battles and skirmishes which followed. It particularly distinguished itself at the battles of Resaca and Kenesaw Mountain. After the capt- ure of Atlanta, it remained in camp there until the 15th of November, when it started with Sherman's army to Savannah. It took part in the siege of Savannah, and, after its fall, moved with the army into the Carolinas.

While the army was at Goldsboro in April, 1865, the Eighty-second and Sixty-first Ohio were consolidated, and the new regiment thus formed denominated the Eighty-second. On the 10th, the troops moved to Raleigh, where they remained until after the surrender of Gen. Johnston. On the 30th of April, the corps marched for Wash- ington, by way of Richmond, and on the 19th of May, arrived at Alexandria. It took part in the grand review at Washington on the 24th of May. after which it started for Louisville, Ky. At Parkersburg, the troops embarked on transports, and, when they arrived at Cincinnati, the boats carrying Robinson's brigade, of which the Eighty- Second was still a part, stopped a short time, and Gen. Hooker came down to the wharf. He was greeted enthusiastically by his old soldiers, and made them a brief speech. On arriving at Louis- ville, the regiment went into camp on Speed's plantation, south of the city, where it remained until the 25th of July. It then proceeded to Columbus, and was paid off and discharged.

The Eighty-sixth Infantry was a three-months organization, and contained a company from Dela- ware County, which was mustered in with the following officers: A. N. Mead, Captain ; E. C. Vining, First Lieutenant, and H. S. Crawford, Second Lieutenant. The regiment was recruited under the President's call for 75,000 men, made in May, 1862, and so promptly was the call responded

to, that the Eighty-second was enabled to leave Camp Chase on the 16th of June, for the seat of war. Upon its arrival in West Virginia, it was stationed at Grafton, where it was occupied in guard duty. On the 27th of July, four compa- nies of the Eighty-sixth, under Lieut. Col. Hunter, were ordered to Parkersburg by Gen. Kelley, in anticipation of a raid upon that point. It re- mained here until August 21, when it returned to Clarksburg, in consequence of the whole regi- ment having received orders from Gen. Kelley to proceed to Beverly, to prevent a rebel force under Col. Jenkins from crossing Cheat Mountain for the purpose of destroying the railroad. The rebel chieftain not making his appearance at that point, the Eighty-second was ordered back to Clarksburg. The force at Clarksburg then consisted of the Eighty-sixth Ohio, and a detachment of the Sixth Virginia, placed at different points around town. so as to make a vigorous defense in case of an attack. The term of service of the regiment hav- ing now expired, it was placed under orders for Camp Delaware, and started for that place on the 17th of September, where it arrived the next day. On the 25th it was paid in full, and mustered out of the United States service.

Two companies of the Ninety-sixth Infantry* were raised in Delaware County, viz., Company F and Company G. The original commissioned officers of Company F were : S. P .. Weiser, Cap- tain; J. N. Dunlap, First Lieutenant, and H. C. Ashwell, Second Lieutenant. Dunlap died at Young's Point, La., March 17, 1863. Ashwell resigned March 17, 1863. Levi Siegfried was commissioned First Lieutenant, but illness, from which he afterward died, prevented his being mus- tered. John A. F. Cellar, of Company F, was promoted to First Lieutenant, and transferred to Company A by consolidation, November 18, 1864. Lieut. E. M. Eastman, of Company G, was pro- moted to Captain, and transferred to the command of Company F April 1, 1863. The original com- missioned officers of Company G. were ; J. H. Kimball, Captain; H. J. Jarvis, First Lieutenant (died at Memphis, Tenn., December 2, 1862); E. M. Eastman, Second Lieutenant. promoted to First Lieutenant, December 2, 1862, afterward to Captain, and transferred as above ; O. W. Cham- berlain, promoted to First Lieutenant, died at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, while on leave of absence, August 22, 1863; L. S. Huntley, promoted to First Lieutenant, January 19, 1864; Peter Marmon, promoted * The sketch of this regiment was written by Maj. C. H. McElroy.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

to Second Lieutenant, November, 1864, and trans- ferred from Company H. E. L. Baird, First Lieutenant, Company H, was promoted to Captain, November 18, 1864, and transferred to the com- mand of Company G. The regiment went out with Joseph W. Vance, Colonel, Mt. Vernon; A. H. Brown, Lieutenant Colonel, Marion, and C. H. McElroy, Major, Delaware.

A camp was established for this regiment on the Fuller farm, one and a half miles south of the city, known as Camp Delaware, the ground occupied lying between the Columbus road and the river. On the 1st day of September, 1862, the Ninety-sixth left camp 1,014 strong, for Cincinnati, and, on the evening of the same day of its arrival there, crossed over the river, and went into camp at Covington, Ky. From that time until the close of the war, it was on continuously active, and most of the time hard, service. In the fall of 1862, the regiment, in the brigade of Gen. Burbridge, and under command of Gen. A. J. Smith, marched from Covington to Falmouth, thence to Cynthiana, to Paris, Lexing- ton, Nicholasville; through Versailles, Frankfort, Shelbyville to Louisville ; leaving Covington on the 8th of October, and going into camp at L'ouis- ville on the 15th. From Louisville it proceeded to Memphis, and, on the 27th of December, with the forces under command of Gen. Sherman, left for "down the river" to Chickasaw Bayou. From there it went to Fort Hyndman, or Arkansas Post, where it was in the left wing, under command of Gen. Morgan. Sergt. B. F. High, Joseph E. Wilcox and W. P. Wigton, of Company F., were killed here ; and Isaac Pace, David Atkinson of Company G., were wounded and soon after died. After the battle of Arkansas Post, the regiment was at the siege of Vicksburg, where it formed a part of the Thirteenth Army Corps. Then fol- lowed the battle of Grand Coteau, La., a desperate struggle against fearful odds. After this the regi- ment was sent into Texas on an expedition of short duration. Returning to Brashear City, La., it en- tered upon the famous Red River campaign, under Gen. Banks. The battles of Sabine Cross Roads (where Col. Vance was killed), Peach Orchard Grove, and Pleasant Hill, followed. The regiment had, by continued losses, become so reduced in numbers that a consolidation became necessary and was effected under a general order from Maj. Gen. Reynolds, commending the Department of the Gulf. At the request of the officers, and as a special honor to the regiment, it was consolidated into the Ninety-sixth Battalion, and not with any other

regiment. This was the only instance in that de- partment of any such favor being accorded. Soon after this the regiment (now the Ninety-sixth Bat- talion ) was ordered down the river, and to Mobile, and was engaged in the capture of Forts Gaines. Morgan, Blakely and Spanish Fort, resulting finally in the capture of Mobile. The division was un- der command of Col. Landrum, of the Nineteenth Kentucky, and formed a part of the Thirteenth Corps, under Gen: Granger. The Ninety-sixth was mustered out at Mobile, and, on the 29th of July, 1865, was paid off and discharged at Camp Chase. During its service, the regiment marched 1,683 miles; traveled by rail 517 miles, and by water 7,686 miles, making a total of 9,886 miles. exclusive of many short expeditions in which it took part. Of Company F., there had died of wounds and disease, 23; discharged for same, 26; total, 49. Of Company G., there had died of wounds and disease, 30; discharged from same causes, 16; total, 46. These figures may not be exactly correct, but are as nearly so as it is possi- ble now to obtain such statistics.

To the One Hundred and Twenty-first Infantry. Delaware County contributed more men than to any other military organization during the late war. except, perhaps, the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment of National Guards, called out for one hundred days in the early part of 1864. Com- panies C, D, H and K, of the One Hundred and Twenty-first, were made up wholly or in part from Delaware County ; the first two were entirely " Delawares," while the two latter comprised much of the same patriotic material. At the organiza- tion of the regiment, Company C, one of the com- panies from this county, was officered as follows : N. W. Cone, Captain ; Joshua Van Bremer. First Lieutenant, and F. T. Arthur, Second Lieutenant ; and Company D had for its first officers, Samuel Sharp, Captain ; Joseph A. Sheble, First Lieu- tenant, and S. B. Moorehouse, Second Lieutenant. As a matter of some interest to our readers, we will add the names of all commissioned officers in the regiment from this county, during its term of service : William P. Reid, Colonel ; Joshua Van Bremer. Major (entered as First Lieutenant) : Thomas B. Williams, Surgeon ; Rev. L. F. Drake, Chaplain ; N. W. Cone, Samuel Sharp and Peter Cockerell, as Captains ; M. B. Clason and Silas Emerson, as First Licutenants, and promoted to Captain ; S. B. Moorehouse, W. F. Barr, J. A. Porter, T. C. Lewis, Benjamin A. Banker, M. H. Lewis, Daniel Gilson and O. M. Scott, as Second

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Lieutenants, Sergeants, etc., and promoted to Cap- tains ; Joseph A. Sheble and Eli Whitney, as First Lieutenants, and F. T. Arthur, J. F. Glover, M. D. Wells, Andrew Stephens, Charles P. Claris, E. B. Cook, Eli Whitney and Silas Long, Second Lieutenants.

As an act of justice to a good man and a brave soldier, we give place, parenthetically, to the fol- lowing, as narrated by one familiar with the facts: Hon. John L. Porter, now Judge of the Common Pleas Court in an adjoining district. entered this regiment at its organization, as Fourth Sergeant of Company A, Capt. Lawrence, in which capacity he served faithfully. One day, as the regiment was on the march, it met with a fallen tree across the road, when Sergt. Porter, with a squad of men, was detailed by Col. Banning, then in command, to have it cut and removed. He did as ordered, but exercised his own judgment as to the exact place of cutting the tree in two. When Banning came along, he asked in a gruff manner why he had not cut the tree where he had ordered it done. Sergt. Porter replied that he did not think it made any particular difference where it was cut, so that it was cut and removed out of the way, to enable the regiment to pass. At this Banning gave him a terrific cursing, and reduced him to the ranks. After Col. Robinson succeeded to the command of the regiment, a number of Porter's friends, headed by Capt. Banker (of Delaware) interested them- selves in his case, and finally procured his re-in- statement to his former position. This made him the oldest Sergeant in the regiment, which, united with his soldierly qualities, soon led to his promo- tion, and, when the regiment was mustered out, he was First Lieutenant of his company, a position that he well deserved and one that he creditably filled.

until January, 1863, when it proceeded to Nash- 'ville, and then to Franklin, Tenn., where it was engaged protecting the right flank of Gen. Rose- crans's army, then lying at Murfreesboro. When the army moved forward from Stone River, the One Hundred and Twenty-first moved with it, and was attached to the reserve corps under Gen. Granger. At Triune they had a slight skirmish with the rebels under Gen. Forrest. The next en- gagement in which the regiment took part (and its first severe battle) was the battle of Chickamauga, where it lost heavily. It made a gallant charge to , save the only road to Chattanooga, and, in the charge, encountered the Twenty-second Alabama Rebel Infantry, capturing its colors, and a major- ity of the regiment. The loss sustained by the regiment was : Lieuts. Stewart, Fleming and Porter, killed ; Capts. David Lloyd and A. B. Robinson, and Lieuts. Marshall, Stephens, Moore, Mather, Patrick, Bryant and Mitchell, wounded ; privates killed, 14; and 70 wounded. For its bravery in this engagement, the regiment was highly compli- mented by Gen. Granger. After the battle, it fell back with the army behind the intrenchments at Chattanooga, where it remained until the battles of Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge, in both of which it took a prominent part. It then returned to its old camp at Rossville, and remained there until May, 1864, when it moved with the army on the Atlanta campaign. It participated in the battles of Buzzard Roost, Resaca, and. as a part of Gen. Jeff C. Davis' division, was at the capture of Rome, Ga. It was at Kenesaw Mountain, and participated with its accustomed bravery. It made a lodgement under the enemy's works, and held it, thereby securing possession of the National dead and wounded ; but dearly did it pay for its bravery. Among the commissioned officers killed were Maj. Yeager, Capts. Lloyd and Clason, and Lieut. Patrick ; and 8 officers wounded. At Chattahoochie River, on the 9th of July, it lost. in a skirmish at the railroad bridge, 5 men killed and 4 wounded. At Atlanta and Jonesboro it performed its usual hot work, where it lost several men killed and wounded. About the 29th of September the regiment was sent back to Chatta- "nooga, where it was attached to an expedition against Forrest's cavalry, then raiding on the rail- road at some distance. They followed the rebel cavalry, and drove it across the Tennessee River into Alabama, when they returned and joined in the chase of Hood. The regiment joined Sher-

The One Hundred and Twenty-first was organ- ized at Camp Delaware, the old camp of the Ninety-sixth, in September, 1862. On the 10th of the same month, the regiment, 985 strong, left for Cincinnati, where it was placed on guard duty for a few days, but on the 15th crossed over the river and went into camp at Covington, Ky. From there it moved to Louisville, and was assigned to Col. Webster's brigade, Jackson's division, and McCook's corps. Without an hour's drilling the regiment marched with Buell's army in pursuit of Bragg. In this condition, it participated in the battle of Perryville, in which Capt. Odor, of Com- pany K, was killed. It was detailed to bury the | dead, and remained in Kentucky on guard duty man at Rome, Ga., and marched with his army to

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

Savannah and the sea. After the fall of Savannah, the One Hundred and Twenty-first, then com- manded by Lieut. Col. A. B. Robinson, went with the expedition into the Carolinas, and participated in the battie of Bentonville. It lost 6 men killed and 20 wounded. Capts. Charles P. Claris and M. E. Willoughby were among the wounded. The former afterward died from the effects of the wounds received in this battle. On the 1st of May, 1865, it joined the march of the National forces through Richmond to Washington, where it took part in the grand review, after which it was mustered out and sent home, and, on the 12th of June, was paid off and discharged at Columbus.

The One Hundred and Forty-fifth Infantry was raised under the President's call, in April, 1864, for one hundred days' men, and was designated National Guards. It was made up wholly in Del- aware County, and officered as follows: H. C. Aswell, Colonel; Lloyd A. Lyman, Lieutenant Colonel; H. C. Olds, Major; Henry Besse, Sur- geon; J. D. Janney, Assistant Surgeon; William E. Moore, Adjutant; J. H. Stead, Quartermaster ; Rev. W. G. Williams, Chaplain ; E. M. Jones, Lewis Moss, James Wallace, James M. Crawford, R. W. Reynolds, J. J Penfield, D. H. James, Arch. Freshwater, W. H. Wilson, John Cellar, Captains; Hugh J. Perry, F. W. Cogswell, C. Hull, D. G. Cratty, J. A. Cone, W. E. Bates, G. W. Flemming, J. S. Post, J. W. McGookey, I. S. Hall, First Lieutenants; J. S. Harmon, H. M. Bron- son, Johu Urley, J. T. Nunsel, J. D. Van Deman, E. H. Draper, H. B. Wood, C. R. Caulkins, S. M. White, Jr., A. M. Decker, Second Lieutenants.

The regiment was organized at Camp Chase on the 10th of May, 1864, and immediately ordered to Washington City. Upon its arrival, it was as- signed to Gen. Augur, as garrison for the forts comprising the southern defenses of Washington, on Arlington Heights. The service of the regi- ment consisted principally of garrison and fatigue duty, in which, during its whole term, it was in- cessantly employed. It was drilled in both in- fantry and heavy artillery tactics under Gen. De Russy. Although not engaged in battle during its term of service, the One Hundred and Forty- fifth performed the most valuable duties, taking the place of veteran soldiers, who were thus per- mitted to re-enforce Gen. Grant in his advance on Richmond. Its term of service expired on the 20th of August, when it was sent home to Camp Chase, and, on the 23d, mustered out of the United States service.

One company of the One Hundred and Seventy- fourth Infantry was recruited in Delaware County, and officered as follows: J. H. Bassiger, Cap- tain; D. M. Howe, First Lieutenant, and W. E. Webber, Second Lieutenant. Col. Jones com- manded the regiment, and Dr. F. W. Morrison, of Delaware, was appointed its Surgeon. D. M. Howe was promoted to Captain and attached to the staff of Gen. Thomas, and W. E. Webber was promoted to First. Lieutenant.

The One Hundred and Seventy-fourth was one of the last series of regiments raised in the State, to serve one year, and was composed chiefly of those who had seen service in the older regi- ments, and, tiring of the monotony of private life, eagerly re-enlisted for another year's campaign. It was organized at the old rendezvous, Camp Chase, September 21, 1864, and left on the 23d for Nash- ville, and ordered to report to Gen. Sherman, then commanding the Department of the Mississippi. It arrived at Nashville on the 26th of September, and was ordered to Murfreesboro, which point was threatened with a raid from the cavalry of Gen. Forrest. On the 27th of October, it left Mur- freesboro, with orders to report to the command- ing officer at Decatur, Ala. From Decatur, it moved to the mouth of Elk River, leaving four companies as a garrison for Athens. In a few days it returned to Decatur, and, on the 26th of November, it was again sent to Murfreesboro. It remained at Murfreesboro through the siege, and participated in the battle of Overall's Creek, where it behaved with great gallantry, and was compli- mented by Gen. Rousseau personally, for its brav- ery. Its loss was six men killed, two officers and thirty-eight men wounded. It took part in the battle of the Cedars, on the 7th of December, where it fully maintained its reputation. In a gallant charge during the fight, it captured two cannon, a stand of colors and a large number of prisoners. Its loss was quite severe. Among its killed was Maj. Reid, who was shot through the head while urging his men on to the charge. The regiment participated in all the fighting around Murfreesboro ; and after the siege, was assigned to the Twenty-third Army Corps, which it joined at Columbia, Tenn.

In January, 1865, the regiment was ordered to Washington City, which place was reached on the 20th. It remained here until February 21, when it proceeded to North Carolina. Here it was placed in the column commanded by Gen. Cox, and took part in the battles of Five Forks, and at

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Kingston, in both of which it acted with its ac- customed bravery. This was the last fight the regiment was in. It was mustered out June 28, at Charlotte, N. C., and left at once for home, arriving at Columbus on the 5th of July, where it was paid off, and received its final discharge.

The One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Infantry drew one company from Delaware County. Com- pany B was recruited almost wholly in the county, and was mustered in, under the following commis- sioned officers: R. C. Breyfogle, Captain; O. H. Barker, First Lieutenant, and Shadrack Hubbell, Second Lieutenant. Lieut. Hubbell was a son of Hon. J. R. Hubbell, of Delaware, and was but eighteen years of age when he enlisted in the army. He raised most of this company, many of its members being his schoolmates, and, in ac- knowledgment of his services, he was made Second Lieutenant of the company. After the close of the war, he was commissioned in the regular army, and died at New Orleans, in 1867, of yellow fever. He was on Gen. Hancock's staff at the time of his death.

The One Hundred and Eighty-sixth was raised under the President's last call for one-year troops. It was mustered into the United States service at Camp Chase, March 2, 1865, and, on the same day, started for Nashville by way of Louisville. On the 8th of March, it left Nashville for Mur- freesboro, and from there proceeded to Cleveland, where it went into camp, and where it remained until the 2d of May, when it moved to Dalton. The Colonel of this regiment (Wildes), having been promoted to Brigadier General, was assigned to the command of a brigade at Chattanooga, and, at his request, the One Hundred and Eighty-sixth was transferred to his command. On the 20th of July, the regiment was relieved from duty at Chattanooga and ordered to Nashville. Orders were received on the 13th of September to pre- pare rolls for the muster-out of the regiment. On the 19th of the same month, it started for Co- lumbus, where it was mustered out of the service. It was never in an engagement as the One Hun- dred and Eighty-sixth Regiment, but it was no fault of the regiment. It faithfully performed every duty required of it, and would doubtless have acquitted itself with honor on the battle- field.

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History of Delaware County and Ohio : containing a brief history of the state of Ohio biographical sketches etc. V. 1, Part 51

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : O. L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 788

Author: O.L. Baskin & Co. cn
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : O. L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 788