USA > Ohio > Union County > Jerome > History of Jerome Township, Union County, Ohio > Part 13
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Sixteen men of Jerome Township responded to this call and went to Cincinnati. Some of them crossed over the Ohio River into Kentucky and assisted in building the breastworks around Covington. While their service was not arduous, yet they responded to the call cheerfully and patriotically, and no doubt this prompt response had a great moral effect and was a revelation to the rebels that the North had a great re- serve army ready at all times to respond to the call "to arms," as did the "Minute Men" of the War of the Revolution.
About 14,000 assembled at Cincinnati under this call of Governor Tod, and a few years ago the Legislature of Ohio made an appropriation to pay each survivor $13.00 in full for his services, this being the regular pay per month of volun- teers at that time. They were all given discharges, of which the following is a copy :
Our Southern Border was menaced by the enemies of our Union. David Tod, Governor of Ohio, called on the Minute Men of the State and the "Squirrel Hunters" came by thou- sands to the rescue. You ( .. ) were one of them and this is your HONORABLE DISCHARGE.
September, 1862.
CHAS. W. HILL,
DAVID TOD, Governor. Adj. Gen. of Ohio.
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18TH REGIMENT, UNITER STATES INFANTRY. THREE YEARS' SERVICE.
The 18th Regiment, United States Infantry, was organized and largely recruited at Camp Thomas, near Columbus, Ohio, in the summer and fall of 1861. It was the intention to or- ganize a regiment of twenty-four companies in three battal- ions of eight companies each, but the third battalion was not fully recruited and the regiment was organized in two battal- ions of ten companies each.
Henry B. Carrington, who was Adjutant General of Ohio, was appointed the first Colonel, but never served with the regiment in the field, although he remained in the service on detached duty and was promoted to Brigadier-General. About forty men were recruited in Union County for this regiment, and of this number fifteen died on the field. Twelve enlisted from Jerome Township, and of that number six died in the army.
In the winter of 1861-62 the regiment was on duty in Kentucky and was ordered to Nashville in the early spring of 1862. From Nashville they marched with General Buell's army to Pittsburg Landing in General George H. Thomas' Division, but did not arrive in time to participate in the battle of April 6th and 7th.
The regiment was actively engaged in that terrible cam- paign of rain and mud from Pittsburg Landing to Corinth during the months of April and May. After the evacuation of Corinth they moved with General Buell's army east toward Chattanooga, and on to Nashville during the summer. Up to this date the regiment had not been engaged in any hard battles, but had some sharp skirmishes during the siege of Corinth.
A brigade of Regular Army regiments was organized at Nashville, Tenn., in December, 1862, composed of battalions from the 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th U. S. Infantry and the 5th U. S. Battery. Lieutenant Colonel Oliver S. Shepherd of the 18th Infantry was assigned to command the brigade. The brigade was designated as the Fourth Brigade, First Division,
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14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland. This was one of the best organized fighting machines in the "Grand Old Army of the Cumberland," and a brief statistical history of its campaigns, terrific fighting and great losses on the battle lines is all that can be given in the limited space that can be taken in this Township History.
On the 31st of December, 1862, the 18th Regiment, with the brigade, was engaged in the battle of Stone River. The regiment was under fire continuously during the day and was ordered to different weakened lines on the field and suffered its heaviest loss in the cedars, as they were in such close con- tact with the enemy the Union lines were being driven back when the 18th Regiment arrived as support. General Rous- seau, commanding the Division, says in his report :
"On that body of brave men the shock fell heaviest, and the loss was most severe. Over one-third of the command fell killed or wounded, but it stood up to the work and bravely breasted the storm. Without them we could not have held our position in the center." The 18th Regiment went into this battle with 571 men and the loss in killed and wounded was 278.
The campaign closing with a victory for the Union arms, the brigade, having buried its dead on the battlefield, where there is now a monument erected to their memory, marched on the fifth day of January, 1863, from its last position on the field to Murfreesboro and encamped between the Shelby- ville and Salem Turnpikes, near the town.
The regiment moved with the army from Murfreesboro on the Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaign, June 24th, and took a prominent part in all of that campaign up to the battle of Chickamauga. Just before this battle the brigade was placed under command of General John H. King. The regi- ment participated in the battle of Chickamauga on both the 19th and 20th of September, 1863. The fighting was terrific and some of the battalions were almost annihilated.
Here the battery of the brigade was captured, but was soon retaken by a charge of the Ninth Ohio Infantry. The
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loss in the regiment in the two days' fighting was 291. In the battle of Missionary Ridge the regiment captured a battery with a loss of twenty-nine. During the fall and winter months of 1864 the regiment was in camp near Chattanooga, but was sent out on a number of reconnoitering expeditions. When the Atlanta campaign commenced, in May, 1864, the 18th Regiment had been recruited up to 650 men from 270 after the battle of Chickamauga.
On the Atlanta campaign from May 5th to September 1st, 1864, the regiment participated in almost every battle for 100 days, and in the last battle of the campaign, at Jonesboro, the loss was forty-eight. The total loss on the Atlanta campaign was two hundred and twenty-six. After the fall of Atlanta the regiment was sent back to Lookout Mountain, where it remained on duty until August, 1865, and the battalions were sent to different parts of the country. Colonel Oliver L. Shepherd commanded the regiment during the greater part of the Civil War with most distinguished ability.
The battalions were under command of line officers in many of the campaigns. Major Frederick Townsend was in command of a battalion during many of the hard battles and until he was promoted successively to Colonel and Brigadier- General. Many other officers whose names might be men- tioned commanded battalions, but they cannot all be named. The percentage of killed and wounded among the officers was very heavy, and among others Lieutenant James Mitchell of Union County died near Chattanooga, Tenn., a short time before the battle of Chickamauga.
The regiment served continuously in the Army of the Cumberland and participated in every great battle of that army and in scores of skirmishes. The best evidence of their hard service is a statement of the losses :
Total losses by death. 470
Killed and wounded
606
Missing in action 135
Total casualties ....... 741
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The reports of the officers of the command, from brigade to company commanders, which have been examined, speak in the highest terms of the bravery and devotion of both of- ficers and men in the many hard battles in which the regiment participated, in many cases mentioning the names of private soldiers for heroic deeds on the battlefield. To the boys who served in this regiment from Jerome Township is due the gratitude of all patriotic citizens for their devotion to the cause of the Union.
27TH REGIMENT, U. S. COLORED INFANTRY. THREE YEARS' SERVICE.
This regiment was organized at Camp Delaware, Ohio, from January 16th to August 6th, 1864, to serve three years. Shortly after being mustered into the service of the United States the regiment was ordered to Camp Casey, Washington, D. C., where it was stationed awhile, doing garrison duty. Thence the regiment went to City Point and Petersburg, Va., it being at the latter place that it distinguished itself for un- surpassed gallantry and good conduct upon the battlefield. The bravery of this regiment was also displayed at Chapin's Farm and at Weldon Railroad.
The regiment was sent down into North Carolina, where it was engaged a part of the time in doing garrison duty, and the other part of the time in taking part in the operations, including the skirmishes in and around Fort Fisher, Wilming- ton, Goldsboro and Raleigh. It did heroic service, won the confidence and approval of its superior officers, and after as honorable service as any of the regiments, it was mustered out of the U. S. service September 21st, 1865, at Smithville, N. C. The Roll of Honor of this regiment will show eighteen killed in action and one hundred and forty-nine died in hospital of disease or wounds received in battle.
Joseph Butcher of Jerome Township served in this regi- ment with nine other soldiers who enlisted in Union County.
Wherever colored troops were engaged in battle during the Civil War they acquitted themselves in a manner which
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fully justified the Government in enlisting their services. The first colored regiment organized during the war was recruited in New Orleans, was mustered into the service September 27th, 1862, and was known as the First Louisiana Native Guard. The first colored regiment organized in Northern States was the 54th Massachusetts, recruited in the spring of 1863.
The total number of colored troops enlisted during the Civil War was 178,975, and the losses by death were 36,847.
47TH REGIMENT, U. S. C. T.
The 47th Regiment, United States Colored Troops, served in the Southwest and participated in the battles of Milliken's Bend, the campaign against Mobile, Alabama, the siege and storming of Fort Blakely, and other minor engagements. The total losses in the regiment by death were four hundred and thirty-two.
Dunallen M. Woodburn of Jerome Township served in this regiment from the summer of 1864 until January 5th, 1866, as Drum Major. He first enlisted in the 58th Regi- ment, O. V. I., January 16th, 1862, and was transferred to the 47th Regiment, U. S. C. T., having a total service of three years and eleven months.
UNITED STATES NAVY.
Major Llewellyn B. Curry, Paymaster.
Daniel R. Cone.
So far as can be ascertained by careful inquiry, the above named are the only two young men who enlisted from Jerome Township in the U. S. Navy during the Civil War. They served under Admiral Farragut in the Mississippi Squadron on the same gunboats, and participated in some of the hardest naval battles on the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers. They were first assigned to the gunboat "St. Louis," and during their service the name was changed to the "Baron de Kalb," which was sunk on the Yazoo River by a torpedo.
They participated in the battle of Fort Henry on the Ten-
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nessee River; Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River ; Island No. 10, Columbus, Ky; Fort Wright; the destruction of the rebel fleet off Memphis, and an expedition up White River, Ark. They were afterward on duty at Memphis.
The Baron de Kalb was in continuous service patroling the river and shelling forts until she was sunk. Admiral Farragut was one of the most distinguished naval officers of the war, and these boys were very fortunate in having had the opportunity to serve under him and participate in these decisive naval battles.
Fort Donelson surrendered February 16, 1862, and my regiment passed up the Cumberland River on boats about the 1st of March and saw the wreck and havoc of the fort, and timber along the river banks mowed down by the shells from the gunboats, which gave us the after-glimpse of that terrible battle.
Daniel R. Cone wrote a letter to his family at home, in which he gave a most thrilling description of the battle of Fort Danelson, equal to that given of the storming of the castle in "Ivanhoe." A part of this letter was written during the engagement, giving the time and the location on the gun- boat where the balls from the guns in the fort were striking the vessel with such terrific force that it was expected the hulls of the boats would be pierced and the boats sunk at any moment.
They enlisted January 14th, 1862, and were discharged September 30th, 1862, and during that period were in a suf- ficient number of engagements to have satisfied even Paul Jones.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
In the Spanish-American War, 1898, soldiers of Jerome Township served in three different regiments. Three served in the Fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and were engaged in a battle with the Spaniards at Guayama, Porto Rico, August 5, 1898. Three served in the First Ohio Cavalry, but did not leave the United States. Three served in the
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Seventeenth Regiment, United States Infantry, and partici- pated in the battle of El Caney. Cuba, July 1, 1898. The his- tory of the services of each of the above named regiments ap- pears in this volume.
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR-1898. 4TH REGIMENT, OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
After the sinking of the battleship "Maine" at Havana, Cuba, and declaration of war with Spain, the Ohio National Guard responded to the first call for troops and were the nucleus to which the volunteers rallied, and with their well- drilled and disciplined officers, within thirty days a great army was organized and ready to take the field.
The United States was at peace with the world and had a standing army of 25,000 men. In three months after war was declared an army of a quarter of a million men was or- ganized, equipped, and a campaign was conducted on both land and water, separated by thousands of miles, and the enemy was defeated without a single reverse-all in a period of but one hundred days. As a writer has stated, "It was an achievement unparalleled in the history of warfare, which will be referred to by military critics of the future as the military marvel of the age."
Many members of the National Guard Volunteers were sons of veterans of both the blue and the gray ; they were of the same blood and had the vim and pluck of their fathers who fought the battles of the war which cost nearly 1,000,000 lives. These soldiers marched shoulder to shoulder and touched elbows on the line of battle, under the same flag.
The Fourteenth Regiment, Ohio National Guard, with headquarters at Columbus, Ohio, was the first regiment to go into quarters at Camp Bushnell, near Columbus. On the 9th day of May, 1898, the regiment was mustered into the United States service, and the designation was changed to the Fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The field officers were Colonel Alonzo B. Coit, Lieutenant Colonel Barton Adams,
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and Majors of the three battalions were John C. Speaks, John L. Sellers and Charles V. Baker.
The Fourteenth Regiment was organized during the sum- mer of 1877, had been in the state service continuously, and had been called into active service in the state during strikes and riots, fifteen times. Company D was mustered into the state service at Marysville July 18th, 1877, and the writer was the first Captain of the Company. There had been many changes in the company officers as well as in the rank and file. During the more than twenty years' service, several hun- dred men had been in the ranks and the esprit du corps was always of a high standard.
Company D of Union County was mustered into the United States service for the Spanish War under Captain Charles F. Sellers, one hundred and five strong. Captain Sellers was a charter member of the company, as was Major John L. Sellers, when the company was organized in 1877. Three Jerome Township soldiers served in this company during the Spanish War. They have the proud distinction of serving in the only Ohio regiment which was under fire during the war, and this baptism of fire was at Guayama, Porto Rico, August 5, 1898.
May 15th the regiment was ordered to Camp George H. Thomas, Chickamauga Park, Ga., and on arrival was assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division, First Army Corps. The regiment was in camp at Chickamauga Park, drilling and equipping, until orders were received to proceed to Newport News by rail, July 22nd.
Arriving at Newport News the regiment boarded the steamer St. Paul, commanded by Captain Sigsbee, and on August 1st arrived off Guanico, Porto Rico. General Miles boarded the St. Paul at this point and ordered the regiment armed with the Krag-Jorgensen rifles, of which a supply was aboard the ship. The regiment arrived at Arroyo August 2nd, and was immediately landed. Under orders from General Haines the regiment made a demonstration toward Guayama with a section of artillery and the Third Illinois in support.
With Major Speaks conducting the advance, the regiment
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moved forward. The advance soon struck the enemy, the skirmishers were hotly engaged and the enemy fell back. The flankers advanced cautiously and balls from the Mausers whis- tled thick and fast, but too high to do much damage, as the Spaniards were firing from an elevation, and were overshoot- ing.
The regiment, after the first skirmish, moved forward rap- idly and the firing was general all along the line. The city was soon reached by the advance, and finding that the enemy had retreated, the American flag was hoisted over the city build- ings. The Spaniards kept up a desultory fire as they fell back until the dynamite guns of the Fourth Regiment were brought into action, which soon silenced their Mausers.
Reconnoitering parties were sent out frequently for some days. A number of skirmishes were had with the enemy, and the dynamite guns were brought into action a number of times. In one of these skirmishes six men were wounded, including William Walcutt of Company D, wounded in the foot.
In their baptism of fire at Guayama, the officers and men acquitted themselves like veterans of long service and were highly complimented by the commanding officer.
After the signing of the peace protocol, August 13th, the regimental headquarters were retained at Guayama until the 5th day of October. A number of the companies were sent out to various parts of the island on detached duty, while others were retained as Provost Guards at headquarters. Com- pany D was sent to Humocoa under Captain Sellers and he proved himself a diplomat in the reorganization of civil affairs, as he was the governor in fact during the time he occupied the town with his command.
There was a great deal of sickness in all of the commands, the prevailing diseases being some form of tropical fever, and the surgeons and hospital corps were kept busy.
The regiment sailed from San Juan on the U. S. steamship Chester, October 29th, arriving at Jersey City November 3rd. By telegraphic orders from President Mckinley the regiment
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was ordered to Washington, where it was reviewed by the President and arrived in Columbus November 6th. Sixty days' furlough was given and the regiment again assembled at Columbus and was discharged January 20th, 1899.
The citizens of Union County were particularly interested in the service of Company D of the Fourth Regiment, as there was scarcely a family in Marysville or vicinity that did not have some member of the family in the company during the many years' service in the National Guard. Two Lieutenant Colonels of the regiment, W. L. Curry and Wm. M. Liggett, were from Jerome Township. Colonel Liggett had been seri- ously wounded in the Cincinnati riots in 1884. Therefore, not only the families of the members of the Company in the service during the war were solicituous to hear from the front as the war progressed, but all patriotic citizens were interested.
While the company was not permitted to participate in any severe battles, yet it had many hard marches in that trop- ical climate, and I confess that I was very much delighted when the news was received that the regiment had been "under fire" and heard the whistling of the Mauser balls from the guns of the Spaniards.
Had the war continued and the opportunity been given for further service and severe fighting, the Fourth Regiment would not have been "found wanting," no matter what the service may have been. The members of the regiment and their friends can always point with pride to their good work, both in the National Guard and the Spanish-American War.
THE FIRST OHIO CAVALRY - SPANISH- AMERICAN WAR.
Eight companies of cavalry were recruited and organized in Ohio for the Spanish-American War. The two battalions of four companies each were mustered into the service at Camp Bushnell, near Columbus, Ohio, May 9th, 1898. On the 14th day of May the regiment was ordered to Camp Thomas, Chickamauga Park, Ga. By the 1st of June the com- panies were fully recruited, equipped and mounted. The com-
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mand was to be armed with Krag-Jorgensen carbines and their mounts and equipments were of the best that could be fur- nished by the government. They were assigned to the Second Brigade, Cavalry Division, General Joseph Wheeler com- manding.
The regiment proceeded to Lakeland, Florida, by rail, leav- ing Camp Thomas July 13th, and was entrained at Ringold, Ga. Before transportation could be secured for either Cuba or Porto Rico, the peace protocol was signed and the services of the regiment were not required. They went into camp at Lakeland and were employed in camp duty and drill until Au- gust 20th, when they were ordered to Huntsville, Alabama.
The regiment was encamped at Huntsville until September 13th ; then proceeded to Columbus, Ohio, for muster out. The troops were given thirty days' furlough. Troops A, B, and C were mustered out at Cleveland, Ohio, October 22nd, Troop H was mustered out at Cincinnati, and the other four troops were mustered out at Columbus, Ohio, on expiration of their furloughs.
The regiment was composed of good material, was well officered, and had become quite efficient in drill for the short period of their service. It was unfortunate that they were not fully armed when General Wheeler's command embarked for Cuba, as they would have had opportunity for active serv- ice under a cavalry leader who had seen long and hard service during the Civil War.
Troop G of this regiment was largely recruited in Union County, and three members of the troop were Jerome Town- ship soldiers. It was no fault of officers or men of the com- mand that they did not have opportunity for active service, as every effort was made to secure arms and full equipment before the cavalry command embarked for Cuba, but the fates were against them, much to their disappointment.
THE 17TH REGIMENT, UNITED STATES INFANTRY. SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR, 1898.
When war was declared against Spain, the Seventeenth Regiment was stationed at the U. S. Barracks, Columbus,
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Ohio, where they had been on duty for several years. They were a splendid body of men and many of the officers had seen long service, a number of them having served in the Civil War. Among the names recalled are Major Sharp, Captain O'Brien, Captain Roberts and Captain Rogers. Colonel Po- land and Lieutenant Colonel Haskell had long service, and it may well be doubted if there was a better officered or better equipped regiment in the service of the 25,000 men composing the United States Army at that time.
Having been personally acquainted with many of these officers, some of whom were members of the military order of the Loyal Legion and others of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, now that the majority have been mus- tered out by the Great Commander, the cherished memories of those pleasant meetings come trooping thick and fast. Not only were they brave soldiers, but gentlemen of intelligence and high character.
Under orders the regiment left the Columbus (Ohio) Bar- racks in April, 1898, under command of Colonel Poland, for Tampa, Florida, and was encamped at Tampa, employed in usual garrison duty, drilling and equipping for an active cam- paign in the field. Colonel Poland died of disease at Tampa and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph T. Haskell succeeded to the command of the regiment. June 2nd, under orders, the regi- ment embarked on transports and landed at Bagarie, Cuba. General Shafter, commanding the United States Army, num- bering 15,000 men, was preparing for an aggressive campaign against the Spaniards, who were strongly fortified at El Caney.
The regiment had their first skirmish with the Spanish army in the advance on El Caney, June 30th. The battle of El Caney was fought July 1st, 1898, in which the regiment participated, together with the United States Army of 15,000 soldiers under General Shafter, and was particularly distin- guished for the bravery of the officers and men. The losses in the regiment is the best evidence of the prominence of the regiment in that battle, there being forty-four killed and wounded and seven missing.
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