USA > Ohio > Knox County > History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present > Part 51
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There was another reminiscence of that same field, which it gives me a sad pleasure to recall.
George Lincoln was as true a type of genuine chivalry as ever shivered lance in tournament, or bore a sword upon a battle- field. I knew and loved him well.
In that headlong fight, a few against many, Lincoln, with a handful of comrades, was surrounded by the enemy. What sometimes happens, the fight was hand to hand, and the Mexicans bore themselves in a manner worthy of a better fate; but destiny was against them. Lincoln. wore a heavy Prussian sabre, which none but a Hercules could wield on foot. At one time he was assailed by three Mexicans with bayonets. The odds were formidable; but one thrust and two cuts lay his three antagonists dead at his feet, and their congealed blood was still on the sword which was in the hero's grasp when he died upon the red, red field of Buena Vista.
The President's proclamation for troops quickly followed the victories of Palo Alto and Resaca. The requisition was promptly filled by every State called upon, and amidst the heat of summer, northern, western, and southern soldiers hast- tened to that far-off land of the sun.
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60
THISTLE RIDGE "Residence of
. S. BRADDOCKb., Mt. Vernon Ohio.
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
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It wes at Monterey that Ohio soldiers first tasted the smoke of battle. The First Ohio, under Mitchell, and the First Ken- tucky, under Ormsby, formed the brigade of the loved and la- mented Hamer, which was greatly distinguished on that memo- rable day. "Old Zach," for so the boys delighted to call him, attacked the city in front with the divisions of Twiggs and But- ler, while Worth executed a brilliant but not bloody flank move- ment by Federation hill. In Taylor's front the city was com- pletely masked by groves of orange, fig, and pomegranate, and each grove was an ambuscade. There the fight was murderous and destructive, for the Americans were exposed while the Mex- icans were concealed.
On the right stood Worth, the Bayard of the army, uttering words of cheer to his troops as they ascended the hill. At the head of the Fourth infantry advanced Martin Scott, whose name was then a household word throughout the land.
Monterey fell, and new laurels clustered round the brows of Taylor and his heroes. Scott arrived. The regular divisions under Twiggs and Worth were embarked for Vera Cruz, and Taylor was left with the volunteers to protect a line which was believed to be free from danger. At this time the First Ohio was at Monterey; the Second held the line between that place and Camargo; and the Third under Curtis was at Matamoras.
One evening, while at Camargo, I had strolled with George Lincoln to the tent of the sutler, and soon afterward the famous Thomas E. Marshall entered. He was in one of his moods, and talked ramblingly. Just then we heard the nearing clatter of a horse's hoofs, and a moment after the rider dismounted and entered. "Where are you from?" "Monterey," was the quick question and prompt reply. "What news?" "As Randolph Ridgley was galloping along the flintly streets of Monterey, his horse's feet flew from under him, and Ridgely was killed." Marshall drew himself up, and exclaimed "Great God! As well might you expect an eagle to die from the fall of his own pinions, as Randolph Ridgley to die from the fall of his horse."
The great souled-orator and the great souled-warrior, both, are asleep now, and may the memory of their virtues be long cherished.
Old Zach with his volunteers had advanced to Aqua Nueva, nineteen miles beyond the defile of Angostura. Rumor followed rumor of the advance of a large army under Santa Anna, but Taylor had learned to regard his enemy with contempt, and would not believe that he was coming. But had he remained twenty hours longer in that exposed position his army would have been overwhelmed and destroyed, for he would not have surrendered.
Upon the urgent advice of Wool, Taylor fell back upon Buena Vista, and at the moment the head of his column passed the defile, Santa Anna established his headquarters at Aqua Nueva.
You can all bring back to memory the beautiful field of Beuna Vista, with its web of impassable ravines extending from the right of the defile to the mountain wall which abruptly rises two thousand feet above the plain, and to the left, the small but ragged hills, which form a cordon to the grand plateau which lies at the base of the opposite mountain wall.
Despite all the advantages of the ground, Taylor's little army, deployed in a single line, was too small to extend across the plain.
This morning thirty-two years ago, there stood arrayed five thousand volunteers, with a few hundred regulars, against a splendidly appointed army of nearly thirty thousand regulars, under the command of one of the best generals of the age.
For two long days, from noon till night, from night till morn, and from noon till night again, our citizen soldiers held the field, and the third morning found the immortal band stiff with cold and sore from wounds, ready to renew the battle, determined to conquer or to die.
McKee, Hardin, Clay, Yell, and Lincoln of the lion-heart, and hosts of other heroes, died upon that field, and by their deaths made their country's flag victorious.
I do not intend to describe that battle. None Lut giants could have held that field against such odds, and even they would have failed under the lead of any other man, then living, save Zachary Taylor.
Another reminiscence and I will have done:
"A little more grape, Captain Bragg." So says fiction, but it is not history. No, no ; such is not the impassioned language of battle. A large body of the enemy's cavalry had turned Taylor's left, and was doing severe execution in his rear. Bragg, with his battery, almost unsupported, dashed forward to resist them, and while the battle uneasily balanced in the scales of fate, old Zach. galloped up and exclaimed, "Give them hell, Captain Bragg!" Bragg did give them hell, and the huge col- umn of the enemy's cavalry rolled back to their own lines.
For a moment before I close let me call the roll of our great chiefs: Taylor, Scott, Wool, Worth, Twiggs, Kearney, Ha- mer, Pierce, Cadwalader. From the far off camp in the spirit land, they answer "Here !"
Ohio had five volunteer regiments, five companies of the Fif- teenth infantry, and several independent companies, with its full proportion among the regulars, in the war with Mexico.
Our brigadier-where is he? Dead. The colonel of the First? Dead. The colonel of the Third? Dead. The colonel of the Fourth ? Dead. The colonel of the Fifth? Dead. And of the other field officers-Howard and Mills, of the Fifteenth in- fantry; Irwin and Wall, of the Second and Fifth Ohio; Weller, of the First, and McCook, of the Third-all are dead; and of seventy thousand men enrolled, less than six thousand live to day.
This is the anniversary of the great battle on what was known as the upper or northern line, and I will leave for some other tongue, or till some other time, the splendid campaigns of Scott, from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico, during the second year of the war. It was my fortune to command a regiment under each of the great captains-the Second Ohio under Taylor, the Fifteenth infantry under Scott. They were composed of my comrades and my brothers, and are equally dear to my heart.
Thinned by the bullets and the diseases of two wars, it is not strange that after the lapse of a third of a century so few of us should be still lingering along the lines. But while we do re- main, let us often meet as now, to recall the legends of the past, cherish the memory of the heroic dead, and offer up our earnest prayers for the liberty, peace and prosperity of our glorious land.
Muster roll of Captain Charles Colerick's com- pany, of Mount Vernon, Ohio, volunteers, tempo- rarially attached to the First regiment of volunteers in the Texan service, commanded by Colonel Rogers, December 31, 1836:
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. [Enrolled August 22d.]
Charles Colerick, captain.
John Lemon, first lieutenant.
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278
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
Edward Smith, second lieutenant.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. [Enrolled August 22d.]
Thomas W. Carter, first sergeant.
Joseph Meix, second sergeant.
Jackson Blackmore, third sergeant.
Lorenzo Jones, fourth sergeant. Benjamin West, first corporal, Jesse Axtel, second corporal.
Benjamin Downs, third corporal.
Orlando Forest, fourth corporal.
PRIVATES. [Enrolled August 22d. ]
D. Campbell Dunlap,
Stephen Cook,
Thomas R. Gaplet,
Ebenezer Ingraham,
John Lewton,
John Snider,
James H. Larabee,
Charles Cosner,
First Corporal N. F. Johnson.
Second Corporal John Watson.
Third Corporal Charles White.
Fourth Corporal Manly Foote.
Musician John P. Miller.
Musician J. I. Antrim,
PRIVATES.
Anderson, James
Allen, David
Barry, Joseph
Berry, James
Bower, Adam Bull, William
Bolger, Abraham
Cullen, Peter
Coyle, William
Cochran, John
Clarke, Luke
Dixon, Joseph
Elliott, David Farnum, E. B.
Fuller, John
Fishburn, Elijah
Flemming, J. C.
Greenlee, Robert
Glancy, James
Huntley, G.
Harle, James E.
Huffman, George
Henry, W. N.
Holbrook, William
Heddington, Jesse
Hacken, Samuel
Ireland, David Ireland, Samuel
Johnston, Noah F.
Krider, Robert
Leonard, Joseph
Lafever, James
Laton, Isaac W.
Luke, Jackson
Marker, John D.
Mitchell, B. K.
McWilliams, Charles
Murphy, Michael
McNulty, C. J.
Morningstar, Philip
Menyhue, W.
Murphy, David
Miller, John
Moore, John
Norton, D. S., jr.
Norton, Henry C.
Nichols, Elijah
Peterson, Henry
Robertson, J. A. Ridgely, William
Ream, Andrew
Scott, James F.
Smith, Jabez
Spry, Sylvester
Showers, William
Sullivan, John
Smith, N. H.
Sweeny, Alexander
Smith, J. P.
Smith, F. M.
Vanloon, John
Wadsworth, T. B.
Warden, James
Winne, F. J.
Williams, J.
Wolfe, George
Wrightmire, A. D.
Wolford, George
Akins, George
Freeman, A.
Underwood, W.
Mc Williams, W.
GENERAL LAND OFFICE, AUSTIN, TEXAS, June 16, 1880. I, W. C. Walsh, commissioner of the general land office, hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the record of the original muster roll now on file in this office. In testimony whereof I hereto set my hand and affix the im- press of the seal of said office, the date last above written. W. C. WALSH, Commissioner.
Muster-in-roll of Captain Simon B. Kinton's com- pany, in the Second regiment of Ohio volunteers, commanded by Colonel George W. Morgan, called
into the service of the United States by order of the President, under the act of Congress approved May 13, 1846, from the first day of July, 1846 (date of this muster), for the term of twelve months, unless sooner discharged.
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Colonel G. W. Morgan.
Captain S. B. Kinton.
First Lieutenant C. D. Miller.
Second Lieutenant T. P. Morton.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
First Sergeant F. B. Davis.
Second Sergeant A. J. McFarland.
Third Sergeant William Watson.
Fourth Sergeant William N. Color.
Edward Money,
Joseph Preston,
John Hughes,
Enoch Poland,
Benjamin F. McMiller,
George McKee,
Robert Hunter,
Samuel Mott,
E. H. Shryock,
Gordon N. Mott,
Marvin Dellano,
Mile Jones,
Joseph Cummings,
Seth Corpaning,
Jeremiah Tracy,
Alexander McMiller,
N. C. Griffin, John J. Akin,
John Dermis,
Eli Shriver, Oct. 28, 1836.
John Culleth, Nov. 16, 1836. John Mathias, Nov. 20, 1836. John P. Mills, Nov. 20, 1836. Joseph Sharp, Nov. 23, 1836.
Lewis Marwell, Nov. 1, 1836. Thomas Sargent, Nov. 20, '36. John Guisar, Nov. 21, 1836. Robert Martin, Nov. 26, 1836. Alexander S. Green, Nov. 22,'36 Ed. Williams, Nov. 20, 1836. James P. Dial, Nov. 21, 1836. Henry Carheart, Nov. 21, 1836. George Hall, Nov. 24, 1836. James Franklin, Nov. 24, 1836. Wm. Collins, Nov. 22, 1836. John T. Violet, Nov. 21, 1836. Wm. Hudson, Nov. 22, 1836. Wm. Muller, Nov. 23, 1836. S. W. Upshaw, Nov. 24, '36. Andrew Moore, Nov. 20, 1836. Robert Kennedy, Nov. 21, 1836. David Lockhard, Nov. 22, '36. Warren Sanes, Nov. 20, 1836. Aaron Edwards, Aug. 22, 1836. Benj. F. Adams, Nov. 20, '36.
I hereby certify that this muster roll exhibits the true state of the company of Mount Vernon, Ohio, volunteers now in the Texan service, and temporarialy attached to the First regiment of volunteers, commanded by Colonel Rogers, for the period designated in this roll.
Given at Camp Independence this thirty-first day of Decem- ber, 1836. CHARLES COLERICK, Captain.
George Miller,
George W. Duff.
Thomas Rock, Oct. 29, 1836.
Harrod, Joseph Underwood, O.
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
279
Muster-in roll of Captain James E. Harle's com- pany, in the Second regiment of Ohio foot volun- teers, commanded by Colonel William Irvin, called into the service of the United States by the presi- dent of the United States, under the act of con- gress approved May 13, 1846, from the fourth day of September, 1847, [date of this muster], for dur- ing the war with Mexico, unless sooner discharged :
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
James E. Harle, captain. Robert B. Mitchell, first lieutenant.
Stiles L. Thrift, second lieutenant.
Jabez J. Antrim, second lieutenant.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
Peter T. Morton, first sergeant.
Andrew S. Glessner, sergeant,
Jared M. Hord, sergeant.
John Hawn, sergeant.
Lemuel L. Ireland, corporal.
Hiram Miller, corporal.
James J. Runyan, corporal. William Campbell, corporal.
PRIVATES.
Ayres, Washington G.
Ball, William T.
Bechtel, Charles
Beckwith, Thomas
Bell, George H.
Bennett, Henry P.
Cable, George R.
Carper, George W.
Critchfield, Jefferson
Camp, Balsar
Darling, John Davison, James Eaton, John
Edwards, Jared L.
Gamuel, John M.
Gunning, Jesse
Gibbons, Theodore Harle, William
Haywood, Thomas I.
Harrod, Jesse B.
Hammon, Robert
Ireland, David
Johnson, Jesse
Leighty, Alexander M.
Jordan, Peter Morton, David Morris, William F.
Marble, Warren Mimtis, Malon
McGugin, Charles
McKinzey, Joseph L.
Norton, Henry C.
Perkins, William
Parnell, Peter Reece, William
Rhoding, Ambrose
Smith, Caleb Siler, Jacob Simkins, Benjamin
Sprague, William E. D.
Taylor, William H.
Taylor, Joseph Fayman, Benjamin
Welker, Hiram
Tucker, Jones Wagner, Lewis
Wagner, George
White, Thomas P.
Yeitman, Peter
Zales, Joseph.
CHAPTER XXXI. WAR OF THE REBELLION.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CONFLICT-NUMBER OF SOLDIERS FROM KNOX COUNTY-WAR MEETINGS AND RESOLUTIONS -COMMITTEES APPOINTED-HOME GUARDS-SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF C. P. BUCKINGHAM- BOUNTY MONEY FOR THE VOLUNTEERS OF 1862-ADDRESS OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEE-METHODS OF SECURING VOLUNTEERS- DRAFTING-WAR FUND-KNOX COUNTY MILITIA-LA- DIES' AID SOCIETIES-LADIES' UNION LEAGUE-THE MONUMENT.
The drum's wild roar awakes the land, the fife is calling shrill, Ten thousand starry banners blaze, on town, and bay, and hill; Our crowded streets are throbbing with the soldier's measured tramp,
Among the bladed cornfields gleam the white tents of the camp. The thunders of the rising war hush Labor's drowsy hum, And heavy to the ground the first dark drops of battle come. The souls of men flame up anew; the narrow heart expands; And woman brings her patient faith to nerve her eager hands. Thank God! we are not buried yet, though long in trance we lay;
Thank God ! the fathers need not blush to own their sons to-day. ELDRIDGE JEFFERSON. CCORDING to the figures in the provost mar- A
shal general's office, Ohio furnished during the war of the Rebellion, the great army of three hundred and ten thousand men; of these, two hundred and forty thousand five hundred and fourteen were actu- ally sent into the field against the enemy ; of this lat- ter number Knox county furnished about three thousand. The larger proportion of these went in detached fragments, making it a very difficult matter to give a correct and consecutive account of their operations during the great struggle. Something more than twenty organized companies went from the county, as well as a large number of detach- ments in various regiments and companies raised in other counties. In addition to these a large num- ber of men, residents of the county, enlisted singly, in regiments and companies raised elsewhere, and Knox county boys were found in scores of regi- ments in other States; especially was this the case among the western regiments-those from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.
When, in April, 1801, Sumter was fired upon, the whole country was in a blaze of war; it was like a match touched to a powder magazine-there was an instantaneous explosion. Ohio immediately offered more men to the Government than was called for from the United States. Knox county was not behind in this excitement. Meetings were
McChristie, John O'Donnel, Uriah Pazig, Ferdinand Parker, William Robeson, Robert Searles, William Smith, Jeremiah Simpkins, George Simpkins, Charles Shekels, Noah
Dower, Peter
Fearne, Charles G.
Hyatt, John W.
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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
held all over the county, and companies of men quickly enlisted.
April 20, 1861, there was a great mass meeting in Mount Vernon, presided over by Hon. Henry B. Curtis. Thousands of people were present, and party lines, which up to this time had been tightly drawn, were in a great measure obliterated. Re- publicans and Democrats, with a few exceptions, met on common ground, to consult together for the safety of a common country. This was more the case and more noticeable in the beginning of the war than a little later, when party lines were again drawn on the great issues involved in the war.
This mass meeting was held in front of the court house. Speeches were made by Hon. Columbus Delano and others, and the following resolutions adopted :
Resolved, That civil war exists by act of the seceding States; and we hold the traitors banded together under the "Southern Confederacy,"or otherwise, reponsible before God and the world for all the evil that may arise from the unnatural war, thus in- augurated.
Resolved, That in this crisis the people of Ohio know but one party-the friends of the Union. We ignore all former partisan distinctions and declare with one voice for our country, our whole country, and nothing less than our country.
Resolved, That we pledge to our Government, in support of the constitution and laws, our property, our lives and our sacred honor,
Resolved, That we hereby pledge ourselves to the volunteers who may go from this county that we will support their families during their absence in the service of their country; and for that purpose, therefore
Resolved, That there he a central executive committee of five in the town of Mount Vernon, and a county committee of twenty-two-one from each township-appointed.
The above resolutions, which were offered by a committee consisting of C. Delano, Mr. Rigby, L. Harper, Major Sapp, and William Dunbar, were quickly adopted amid much cheering and excite- ment.
The central executive committee then appointed consisted of W. Sapp, William Dunbar, William Mefford, A. J. Beach, and C. Delano. This com- mittee soon had its hands full of business, which continued during the war. The following gentle- men constituted the township committees:
A. J. Butler, Jackson township; James McCammet, Butler; Doctor Moffet, Union; Mark Greer, Jefferson; Wait Whitney, Brown; Samuel Popham, Pike; U. T. Porter, Howard; James Head, College; George Hughes, Morgan; Thomas Rogers, Clay; Moses Dudgeon, Harrison; L. W. Gates, Miller; Nathan
Bostwick, Milford; Robert Graham, Pleasant; William Mitch- ell, Hilliar; James Severe, Liberty; John Welsh, Clinton; John Mcintyre, Morris; John D. Struble, Wayne; Stephen H. Sher- wood, Middlebury; James Markley, Berlin; Peter Hoke, Mon- roe.
In addition to the above, one was added for each ward in Mt. Vernon, and soldiers' families were generally, in various ways, well provided for during the war. The two companies that went out in the Fourth Ohio, in the three months' service, were more than filled up at this time. More men could easily have been had, but could not be accepted.
Meetings of a similar character were held in Amity and Brownsville. In the latter place a com- pany was immediately formed, and elected John F. Cunningham captain; William L. Brook, first lieu- tenant, and Squire Workman, second lieutenant. W. Frazier was orderly sergeant. The meeting was held in the Methodist Episcopal church, and after the volunteering, one side of the house was cleared, and those who would contribute to the support of the families of the volunteers requested to take that side. Immediately that side of the house was refilled.
An enthusiastic meeting was also held in Mor- gan township, April 23d, at which a company of home guards was formed.
A company of home guards was about the same time formed in Mt. Vernon, consisting of about eighty members, mostly old or middle-aged men. C. P. Buckingham was captain of this company, Jo- seph W. Vance, first, and William Dunbar, second lieutenant. The two first named officers subse- quently rose to high positions.
C. P. Buckingham was born March 14, 1808, at Putnam, then Springfield, Muskingum county, Ohio. His father, Ebenezer Buckingham, was one of the early settlers in the State, and his mother was a daughter of General Rufus Putnam, a sol- dier in the Revolution, the first chief engineer in the United States army, and the first man to lead a band of settlers to Ohio. Young Buckingham was appointed a cadet by President Monroe, and at the age of seventeen entered West Point. His application was such that at the end of one year he was appointed acting assistant professor of mathematics, and for two years, besides prosecuting his own studies, he spent several hours each day in teaching. At the end of four years he gradu-
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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
ated second in mathematics, philosophy and en- gineering; and sixth in general merit. Among his classmates were General Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, O. M. Mitchell, Thomas A. Davis, James Barnes, Thomas Swords and others of less note.
In 1829, he was commissioned by President Jackson as second lieutenant in the Third United States artillery, and before the expiration of the usual furlough he was ordered to join a party en- gaged in surveying Green river, with a view to ren- der it navigable. The next winter was spent in Washington completing maps of the survey, and in the following September, after a furlough of four months, he was ordered to West Point as acting assistant professor of natural philosophy. After serving one year in this capacity, Lieutenant Buckingham decided to quit the service, and de- vote himself to civil pursuits.
In 1833 he was called to the professorship of mathematics and natural philosophy in Kenyon college, which position he held three years; and upon his retirement he was chosen trustee of the institution. Professor Buckingham settled in Mt. Vernon, and in 1849 became senior partner in the Kokosing iron works. In 1856 he removed tem- porarily to Chicago, where he spent two years in building and putting in operation the grain houses of the Illinois Central railroad. At the end of that time he returned to Ohio and resumed the management of the Kokosing iron works.
A few days after the fall of Sumter Governor Dennison offered Mr. Buckingham the position of assistant adjutant general of Ohio, and he at once repaired to Columbus and reported for duty. At that time the State was organizing twenty-two regi- ments; these troops to the number of seventeen or eighteen thousand were collected in several camps and fed by contract at the rate of fifty cents per day for each man. The necessity for an organized commissary department was very urgent, and within a week after arriving in Columbus, Mr. Buckingham was appointed commissary general of the State. He immediately established depots of provisions, purchased supplies, appointed assistant commissaries, and within two weeks the troops were put upon regular army rations, and were fed at an average cost of fourteen cents per day for each man.
After the commissary department was fully or- ganized, General Carrington, the adjutant general of the State, was commissioned in the regular army, and General Buckingham was appointed to succeed him; and for nine months he labored incessantly in raising regiments and forwarding them to the field. Special difficulties arose between the State authorities and the authorities at Washington in re- gard to the recruiting service, and to give a minute account of General Buckingham's efforts to bring order out of confusion; to establish a system of re- cruiting on fixed principles; to organize and ar- range the records of the office so that the informa- tion they contained should be reliable and easily accessible; to bring the war department into proper relations with the State authorities; to reconcile the conflicting claims of officers, and, in a word, to meet all the wants and requirements of his position -to give a minute account of all this would require the publication of a voluminous correspondence, and an innumerable number of official documents. It is sufficient to say that by the end of the year eighty thousand men had been organized and equipped for the three years' service. Upon the accession of Governor Tod, General Buckingham still continued in his position, and nothing ever oc- curred in his private and official intercourse, either with Governor Dennison or with Governor Tod to interrupt for a moment the confidence that existed between them.
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