USA > Ohio > Erie County > History of Erie County Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 11
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furnished detachments for service elsewhere, including a short and very active campaign in pursuit of rebel troops in West Virginia, in 1862.
"The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth having been chiefly occupied at the frontier posts of Johnson's Island and Sandusky, its service necessarily involves much of the military history of these posts, and can better be understood by giving a brief synopsis of that history.
"Early in 1862 Johnson's Island became a depot exclusively for rebel offi- cers who were held as prisoners of war.
" The records of the post show the strength of the prisoners in 1862 as follows : Average for April, 444; for May, 1,074; average for June, 1, 105 ; July 31, 1, 149; August 31, 1,452; exchanged September 1, 1, 123; average for September, 595 ; aggregate October 31, 893 ; aggregate November 30, 295 ; aggregate December 31, 209.
" It should be remembered that a cartel for a general exchange of prison- ers of war had long been expected, and was finally agreed upon July 22, 1862. Under that cartel and special arrangement exchanges went on until July, 1863, and a continuance was expected. This expectation, with the belief of general loyalty in the north, and the want of help in Canada, had their legitimate influ- ence on the prisoners, and undoubtedly prevented efforts at outbreak and re- sistance until late in the fall of 1863.
"The number of prisoners of war at the depot during 1863 will be sufficient- ly understood from the following : January 31, 308; February 28, 347; March 31, 105 ; April 20, 59; May 31, 40; June 30, 806; July 31, 1668; August 31, 1,817 ; September 30, 2,155 ; October 31, 2,156; November 30, 2,381 ; December 31, 2,623.
"In the spring and summer of 1862 the garrison on the island was strength- ened by one company of the Sixty-first Ohio, relieved by one company of the Eighty-eighth. The stoppage of exchanges, followed by the assembling of considerable forces from the rebel army and navy in Canada, and the machin- ations of disloyal organizations in Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere known to in- tend to rescue these prisoners with attendant devastations on the lake towns and commerce, showed these posts to be unsafe without considerable rein- forcements. Six companies of the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry (dismounted), with the Twenty-fourth Battery (six guns), and two detachments of the First Ohio Heavy Artillery (with seven heavy guns) were sent to the island early in No- vember, 1863, followed promptly by the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Regiments of the National Guard and a Pennsylvania Battery. The Forty-ninth and Fiftieth remained only eight or ten days, and the Pennsylvania Battery was soon relieved. The other troops remained all winter.
"The First Brigade, Third Division, Sixth Corps, including five regiments, attended by two brigadier-generals from the Army of the Potomac, reached Sandusky on the 13th of January, 1864. Four of the regiments, with General
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Shaler, were stationed on the island. The other regiment, with General H. D. Terry commanding the whole, was at Sandusky. They all remained until April 14, 1864, when three regiments under General Shaler left to rejoin the Sixth Corps. The Twenty-fourth Battery was stationed in Sandusky, and the six cavalry companies left for Camp Dennison in March. Soon after, the six new companies of the Twenty-eighth, pursuant to orders from Washington, were moved to Sandusky, and on the 14th of April, 1864, with the colonel, were stationed on the island. The whole regiment was thus, for the first time, assembled as one command.
"On the 8th of May, 1864, Colonel Hill, of the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth, succeeded General Terry in the command, and the two remaining reg- iments from the Sixth Corps moved off to rejoin that corps. On the 12th of July, 1864, the detachments from the First Heavy Artillery returned to their regiment, and on the 7th of August following the Twenty-fourth Battery left for Chicago. Other troops came to the island and departed as follows : May II, the One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio National Guard ; it left June 9 for Cleveland and Kentucky ; returned June 20 much reduced, eight of the companies being then paroled prisoners, not subject to duty ; they were mus- tered out August 20. The One Hundred and Thirtieth National Guard re- ported for duty May 21, and left June 6. The One Hundred and Sixty-fifth Ohio National Guard (five hundred and forty- nine men) reported for duty May 21, and left July 16. The Eighth Battery Ohio National Guard reported September 22, and left October 19, and was succeeded by the Second Battery Ohio National Guard, which left November 26. These National Guard troops were sent to the island chiefly as a place of rendezvous, equipment and in- struction preparatory to service elsewhere. On the 24th of September the Sixth Veteran Reserve Corps (five hundred and sixty -three men) from Wash- ington, reported for duty.
"The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth from the time its being first assem- bled on the island was kept under strict drill and discipline.
"The condition of the island, and of the docks, roads and barracks upon it required heavy details of working parties to open ways of communication for defense, complete and improve the quarters, enlarge the prison grounds and accommodations, and improve the sanitary condition of the island, which had been much neglected for many months.
"The strength of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, present for duty from early in May until late in the fall, was much reduced by detachments sent off by order of the commandants of the department, and kept away for long periods, so that on account of absent detachments and heavy details for special duty and necessary working parties, the guard-duty became very severe ; often, and for considerable periods, requiring the majority of the men remaining for that service to go on guard every other day.
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"The number of prisoners of war confined on the island during the year 1864 ranged as follows, varied chiefly by new acquisitions and special ex- changes : January, 31, 2,603 ; February 29, 2,206; March 31, 2, 192; April 30, 2,088 ; May 31, 2, 134 ; June 30, 2,309 ; July 31, 2,441 ; August 31, 2,- 556; September 30, 2,663 ; October .31, 2,621 ; November 30, 2,747 ; De- cember 31, 3,209.
" From the foregoing tables it appears that the average strength of prison- ers for the different years was as follows : Average for 1862, 788 ; 1863, 1,205 ; 1864, 2,480.
"In 1865, until discharges on oath of allegiance or parole became more numerous, following the surrender of Lee's army, the number of prisoners ranged considerably higher, and excepting about one hundred, they were all officers of the rebel army and navy, of all grades, from second lieutenant to major-general.
" Here were officers enough for an army and navy of eighty thousand men. They were within a short distance of the Canada main, and still nearer to a Canada island. The prevailing sympathy in Canada was largely in favor of the rebels; and their every facility and encouragement, short of direct par- ticipation in our war, was extended to the large rebel force from the rebel army and navy maintained in Canada to effect a rescue of these rebel officers. If by such efforts war should be brought on between the United States and England a great point would be gained by the rebels. No other depot of prisoners of war was on a frontier or exposed like this. During the season of naviga- tion it could be reached from Canada in a few hours' night run, and during the winter season men and teams could conveniently cross the lake from island to island, not over five miles of ice intervening in any place. During the season of ice the location of the depot of prisoners practically ceased to be an island. The capture of that depot or the rescue of the prisoners confined there, would not only be of immense advantage to the rebel cause and give them great éclat, but would be a deep humiliation to our government and people, and would almost certainly be attended by attacks upon our lake commerce and devastation upon our lake towns. The rebel officers confined at the island had a large range of acquaintances and friends in the loyal States. For them the rebel emissaries traveling in those States, and the secret orders known as the ' Knights of the Golden Circle' and ' Sons of Liberty,' had an especial sympa- thy, and were anxious to aid them by means of rescue, or with places of refuge and concealment. They had the means of knowing each other. These facts, with the difficulty about exchanges, stimulated machinations for rescue, front and rear, and kept the prisoners constantly on the qui vive, ready for any desperate adventure until after the fall of Petersburg."
It appears that there was but a single well organized attempt to effect a rescue of the prisoners on Johnson's Island, and that attempt was made in the
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month of September, 1864, although prior to that it was well known that the Canadian side of the lake swarmed with agents of the rebel government and sympathizing residents, subjects of England, who were ever willing to lend aid to the Confederate cause in an under-handed manner, but were not so willing to participate in open, warlike hostilities.
The plan of rescue that led to the open attempt on the 19th of September was conceived by John Yates Beall. He was to conduct the operations from the Canada side while one Cole was entrusted with the work of gaining the confidence of the officers at Sandusky, and particularly of the commanding officers of the gun-boat Michigan, that lay in the waters of Sandusky Bay in the immediate vicinity of the island. The Michigan was the only government boat then acting in the defense of the island, and with an ample crew of marines, and her eighteen guns she could repel any attack that might be made, especially when acting in conjunction with the guard force of infantry and artillery on the island and at Sandusky. The first step, therefore, in accom- plishing the main undertaking was to obtain control of the boat, and this was the part of the programme assigned to Cole. He is well remembered by many of the present residents of Sandusky as an active and energetic fellow, possess- ing education beyond the average, a fine conversationalist, and a royal enter- tainer. He made a prodigal use of his money, with which commodity he ap- peared to be abundantly supplied. He dined and wined the officers of the Michigan and sought to ingratiate himself wholly in their favor. But in the chivalrous acts of this daring young fellow he rather overdid the matter, and Yankee cunning proved more than a match for his arts. When he thought he had the officers just about where he wanted them the picture reversed, and the officers had Cole just where they wanted him, and he fell a prisoner into their hands and custody.
Cole arranged a wine party at the time that affairs were expected to cul- minate, and the liquor was heavily drugged, but the officers never partook of his bounty, and instead of their falling victims to his plans he himself fell into theirs.
The plans of Beall were equally well formed but through the failure of Cole's were also futile so far as carrying out the main effort was concerned. Beall, with a few rough characters, took passage on the steamer Philo Parsons, as that boat was making her passage between Detroit, the islands and Sandusky, and at Malden, in Canada, twenty other men also came on board having as baggage a heavy and well bound box. This was not an unusual circumstance and nothing was thought of it. After passing from the landing place at Kel- ley's Island the men approached the clerk of the boat, who in the absence of the captain seems to have been in command, and with revolvers pointed at him demanded a surrender. The others at once opened the box and provided themselves with revolvers and knives sufficient for a small arsenal. Without
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much resistance the steamer passed into charge of the piratical crew of board- ers and was turned back toward Middle Bass Island, where a landing was made.
About this time the Island Qucen reached the dock at Middle Bass, but no sooner had she touched than she was boarded and captured, not, however, with- out a stout resistance from her commanding officer and the engineer, but both were overpowered, the latter being shot in the face. On board the Island Queen was a party of about a hundred recently discharged soldiers on their journey home, but being without arms were powerless in the face of a score or more of heavily loaded revolvers in the hands of determined, desperate men. The Queen was scuttled and sent adrift, after which the prow of the Parsons was turned toward Sandusky Bay. After cruising about for a long time, anxiously watching for the proper signal from the land party supposed to have been suc- cessfully organized by Cole, Beall wanted to make the attempt at rescue with- out the assistance of Cole's co-operating force, but knowing the power of the Michigan's guns, and fearful of the result, Beall's desperate crew weakened and declined to take the chances. Disheartened and discouraged, the daring leader reluctantly put about and made for the Canada side, where the steamer was abandoned and her former crew released from their temporary imprisonment.
This was the only open attempt made to effect the rescue of the officers confined on Johnson's Island, and it proved a dismal failure. What the result would have been, had Cole's effort proved successful, is wholly a matter of speculation. Several prominent citizens of Sandusky were soon after arrested and charged with complicity in this attempt. They were temporarily confined on Johnson's Island but afterward released. Cole was also subsequently re- leased. But Beall seems to have been less fortunate. He was captured near Supension Bridge, on the New York side, and taken to New York and con- fined on Governor's Island.
Beall was charged before a military court with the seizure of the steamer Philo Parsons ; with the seizure of the steamer Island Queen : with being a spy in the employ of the rebel service, and with an attempt to wreck an ex- press train between Buffalo and Dunkirk, in New York State, for the purpose of robbery. He was tried, found guility, and sentenced to be hanged. The day fixed for his execution was the 18th of February, 1865, but that the mother of the condemned man might have an opportunity of seeing her son once more in life, President Lincoln granted a respite for six days. Beall paid the penalty of his crimes on the 24th of February, 1865, on Governor's Island, in New York Bay.
Upon the occasion of the trial of Beall, as a part of his defense, there was produced a letter from that old arch traitor, Jefferson Davis, in which he as- serted that these acts, meaning Beall's exploits upon the border, were commit- ted by his authority, and should be recognized as the acts of " lawful belliger- ents." Without doubt they were recognized as the acts of belligerents, but the
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lawful part failed to impress the court so favorably. Could that military court have had a chance at Davis just then he might have got a taste of " lawful bel- ligerent " medicine that might have surprised him even if it did not seriously endanger his " health."
John Yates Beall, the leader of this bold attempt at rescue, was a Virginian by birth, a native of Jefferson county. He is said to have possessed, at the time of the breaking out of the war, a large and valuable plantation, and was a young man of large means and great promise. He organized and became captain of a company attached to one of the regiments in Thomas J. Jackson's command, the latter general being a person none other than the intrepid "Stone- wall" Jackson, the idol of the Confederacy. Beall was engaged in several battles prior to his conception of the idea of rescuing the rebel officers on John son's Island.
His depredations on the Ohio frontier have been by some writers charac- terized as " piratical," but such seems hardly to have been the case. He sought to effect the rescue of the prisoners and in that attempt adopted such measures as he thought would most surely accomplish that result, but he did not seek to, neither was he charged with any attempt at plundering any vessel, or of steal- ing any money or merchandise for the purpose of gain, except the act alleged to have been committed in New York State, and that was, if true, an attempt at train robbery and not piracy. His personal motives are pretty well shown in a letter written his brother on the evening prior to the day of execution, an extract from which was as follows : " Remember me kindly to my friends ; say to them that I am not aware of, committing any crime against society. I die for my country. No thirst for blood or lucre animated me in my course. My hands are clean of blood, unless spilled in conflict, and not a cent enriched my pocket. 'Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I will repay.' Therefore do not show unkindness to the prisoners; they are helpless."
Having digressed somewhat from the narrative of events to relate the ad- ventures and exploits of Captain Beall and his associates, we may now return to the general history of affairs at Johnson's Island and the regiments there on · guard.
"Soon after the arrival of the Sixth Veteran Reserve Corps considerable de- tachments were sent from it for provost and other duties elsewhere, for of those who remained, infirm as many of them were by wounds and disease, the cli- mate and exposure proved too severe, so that all who remained for guard duty did not make good the absent detachments of the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth. The Sixth Veteran Reserve Corps left the command early in 1865.
" In view of the contingencies on the frontier, and in order to hold these posts with a less force, the United States Engineer Crops, under the direction of the war department, began the construction of three forts in the fall of 1864; one on Cedar Point, at the mouth of Sandusky Bay opposite the island, and two
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on the island. The expectation was to do this work with hired labor, but la- borers were so scarce that men could not be obtained at the wages offered. At this juncture the colonel of the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth detailed par- ties from his regiment who did at least two-thirds of the whole work, includ- ing the mechanical part, and completed all three of the forts with their maga- zines and mounted the guns. This work was done in the most inclement sea- sons of the year, without extra pay, and at a time when the other details were very heavy. But in this instance, as in all others, officers and men applied themselves to the duties before them with an intelligence and zeal which prompt- ly overcame difficulties and attained the desired result in a very creditable manner.
" Although the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth was often scattered by detachments, and much burdened with fatigue duty, its drill, including infantry and a considerable range of heavy artillery, was accurate and thorough, and its equipment, discipline, and constant readiness for emergencies and service wher- ever ordered, gave assurance that it would meet the just expectations of the government in any line of duty. Many of its officers and men had served the government during the war with credit in other organizations, from which they had been discharged on account of disability by wounds or sickness.
"In hastening the completion of the defenses at Sandusky Bay it was antici- pated that the regiments would soon be relieved by troops of the Veteran Re- serve Corps, and that then the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth would be sent to join some army in the field. Measures were taken to have it ready for such an event. Fortune did not give the regiment the opportunity, as a body, to earn laurels in battle, but it performed its duty always with faithfulness and efficiency.
"Soon after the surrender of the rebel armies in the spring of 1865, the pris- oners on the island were reduced by discharges on parole to about one hundred and fifty. The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth left the island on the 10th of July, 1865, and was mustered out on the 17th at Camp Chase."
This is the history of Johnson's Island as a place of confinement of captured rebel officers during the war 1861-65, and almost inseparably connected with that appears the history of the One Hundred and Twenty- eighth Infantry.
It is proposed in the following pages to devote some attention to the other individual regiments, the companies for which were made up in whole or in part of Erie county men. But in furnishing company rosters the greatest diffi- culty has been encountered in ascertaining the names of the men who were resi- dents of county, and there will be found instances in which no roster is given from the fact of the writer being unable to locate the men, or from the fact of the contingents having been so small that no necessity exists for giving the ros- ter, could it even be accurately ascertained.
Again the adjutant-general of the State has not yet completed the work of
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making up the official roster of Ohio's volunteer soldiery; therefore, being un- able to furnish a correct record, one that can be confidently relied upon, it is deemed prudent to furnish none at all. Some of the commands that were repre- sented by men from this county are given nothing beyond a mere mention from the fact that the contingent of men from the county was so exceedingly small as not to entitle them to a space, and it is, therefore, only those parts of regi- ments, or companies of regiments that contained as many as would constitute a "corporal's guard" that receive extended notice.
That the reader may have something of an understanding as to the number of commands represented by Erie county volunteers during the war of 1861-5, it may be stated that companies or parts of companies of the following named regiments were composed of men from the county : The Seventh, Eighth, Six- teenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-fourth, Thirty-fourth, Forty-first, Forty-ninth, Fifty-fifth, Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth, Sixty-fifth, Sixty-sixth, Seventy-second, One Hundredth, One Hundred and First, One Hundred and Seventh, One Hundred and Twenty-third, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, One Hundred and Forty-fifth, One Hundred and Ninety-seventh, Third Cavalry, Tenth Cav- alry, First Heavy Artillery, and possibly others that cannot be definitely ascer- tained by reason of the very small number of men contained in them.
THE SEVENTH INFANTRY.
The Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry was raised within a very few days after President Lincoln issued his first call for troops for the three months service. It required but a very short time to recruit a regiment in this section of the State, and while the sturdy young men of Northern Ohio were not anxious for war, they were, nevertheless, anxious and ready to do their duty. The ranks were quickly filled with men averaging from twenty to twenty-five years of age, strong, willing, determined and loyal young men.
To the formation of this regiment Erie county contributed one company, E. Three companies were raised at Cleveland, and one each at Oberlin, War- ren, Painesville, Youngstown, Norwalk, Franklin, which with the Erie county company made a full regiment.
As a three months regiment the Seventh performed no active service on the field of battle. They were mustered in on the 30th of April, 1861, and ren- dezvoused at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, until early in May, when they went by rail to Camp Dennison near Cincinnati. Upon the organization of the Sev- enth the officers were chosen as follows: Colonel, Erastus B. Tyler, of Ravenna; lieutenant-colonel, William R. Creighton, of Cleveland ; major, John S. Case- ment, of Painesville.
The first duty of the command after the election of officers was to prepare for active field service, and at this time the boys knew but little of military tac- tics, drill and discipline, but before they left Camp Dennison they were as well prepared for the field as any regiment of infantry at the front.
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But the Seventh Infantry never faced the enemy as a three months regi- ment. When they were well versed in drill, then came Mr. Lincoln's call for three hundred thousand men for three years, and the Seventh Regiment, almost to a man, enlisted under that call, and were thus transformed from the three months to the three years service, and as such first donned the blue. They were mustered into the United States service on the 19th of June, 1861, retain- ing, substantially, their former commanding officers.
After a brief leave of absence at their homes, the men reassembled at Camp Dennison, and on the 26th of June, 1861, started for the field, having been as- signed to the campaign in West Virginia. None of the command will ever for- get the march of June 29th, and it was this event as much as any, that gave them an idea of the hardships that were in store for them. Their destination was Weston, and the object of the march was the hope of possessing a goodly sum of gold on deposit in a bank at that place, which was designed to be used for the erection of an insane asylum. The boys got it without meeting any armed opposition.
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