USA > Ohio > Logan County > History of Logan County and Ohio > Part 46
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The regiment joined Gen. Hunter's com- mand on the 8th of June at Staunton. The first term of service of the Twenty-Third hav- ing expired, those not re-enlisting as veterans were sent home, also the old colors, which were no longer in condition for service. From June IOth to July Ist the regiment was con- (inually on the march, skirmishing, in which it suffered greatly from fatigue, as well as in being continually harassed by the enemy. It reached Charleston July 1, and remained there until the 10th, when it embarked for Parkersburg. On the 24th a battle was fought at Winchester, in which the National forces were defeated, after a hard fight, last- ing from early in the morning until 9 o'clock at night. The Twenty-Third lost in this on- gagement 153 men, ten of whom were com- missioned officers. Lient .- Col. Comly was among the wounded. During the month of Angust a series of marches " up and down the Valley," with numerous skirmishes, were indulged in by both armies. Nothing impor- tant, however, occurred until the Bed of Sep- tember, at Berryville, when a desperate light took place, which lasted from just before dark until 10 o'clock at night. The Twenty-Third lost Capts. Austin and Gillis, both brave ofli- cars. On the 15th the battle of Op quan was
fought. It was a severe one, and both sides lost heavily, but the National forces were finally victorious. Large numbers of the rebels were captured, together with eight bat- tle flags. The battle of North Mountain fol- lowed on the 20th, and was more a charge than a regular battle. One man killed and one wounded was the loss sustained by the Twenty-Third. The next fighting occurred on the 19th of October, at Cedar Creek. A historian of the war thus concludes his description of this battle: "The situation in a few minutes after the attack was about thus: Crook's command, overpowered and driven from their advanced position, were forming on the left of the Nineteenth Corps, which corps was just getting into action, the left being hotly engaged, but not so much so as Crook's command yet. The right of the line had not been engaged at all, and was not for some time after. While the line was in this situation the trains were all slowly mov- ing off. A desperate stand was made by the shattered lines of Crook's command to save the headquarters' train of the army, which rame last from the right, and it succeeded. Many brave men lost their lives in this. Col. Thoburn, commanding First Division; Capt. Bier, Gen. Crook's Adjnant-General, and oth- ers. Col. Hayes, commanding the Second Division, had his horse shot under him, and narrowly escaped with his life; Lieut .- Col. Hall, of the Thirteenth Virginia, was killed." Soon after the scene above described, Sheri- dan, who was " sixteen miles away," appeared on the field, and seemed to infuse new spirit into the troops. A few changes were made, a few orders given, and the day was won.
On the 4th of November the Twenty-Third was detailed as train-guard to Martinsburg, and, on the march, the men voted at the Pres- idential election. On the 13th it returned to Winchester with a supply train of 200 wagons, and on the 14th went to camp at Kerustown,
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where the army of the Shenandoah was lying. Here the regular camp routine en- sued, until the 29th of December, when the regiment marched to Martinsburg, and went into camp. On the 1st of January, 1865, it embarked for Cumberland. Here Col. Hayes was promoted to Brigadier-General and Lieut .- Col. Comly to Colonel, both to date from Oc- tober 19, 1864. Its operations to March 1, 1865, were confined to Grafton, Beverley, and Cumberland, with occasional skirmishes with the enemy. The hard fighting of the war was now over, and the regiment lay at "inglorious ease " through May, June, and a part of July. On the 20th of the latter month it was mus- rered out of the service at Cumberland, took the cars for Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, when the men were paid off and discharged.
Probably no regiment of the war furnished more brave and distinguished officers than did the gallant old Twenty-Third. Its first Colonel, Rosecrans, had few superiors in the army as a strategist and commander. Al- though his sun went down in clouds, there is little doubt to-day, that others received the laurels that Rosecrans actually won. And then there were Gen. Scammon, Gen. Hayes, Gen. Matthews, Gen. Kennedy, Gen. Comly, Gen. Hastings, and many others, who, though not adorned with the Brigadier's star, were equally as brave. Scammon was the first Colonel after Rosecrans; Ilayes was also Col- onel; Comly was the first Major, afterwards Colonel, and promoted to Brigadier-General for meritorious service; Hastings entered the regiment as Second Lieutenant, and worked his way up to Lieutenant-Colonel, and was breveted Brigadier-General for gallant ser- vices at the battle of Opequan in Virginia. It eventually became proverbial in the army that the Twenty-Third Ohio was a regiment of officers.
The Forty-Sceond Infantry, Gen. Garfield's old regiment, contained a company from Lo-
gan County. Company K was from this county, and officered as follows : Andrew Gardner. Jr., Captain; Thomas L. Hutchins, First Lieutenant, and Porter H. Foskett, Sec- ond Lieutenant. The following information, pertaining to Company K, is from a his- tory of the regiment written by F. H. Ma- son, of Company A: "Capt. Gardner re- signed on the 28th of January, 1863, and Lieut. Hutchins was promoted to the vacancy thus created. Capt. Hutchins continued in command until the final discharge of the regi- ment from the service. Lieut. Foskett was promoted to First Lieutenant, and afterward to Captain, and transferred to Company I; thence he was transferred to Company D, and finally resigned in 1864. A. L. Bowman, who was originally an enlisted man of Com- pany K, was made Sergeant-Major of the regiment, then promoted from that grade to Lieutenant, and was mustered out at the close of three years' service as First Lieutenant of Company K. George K. Pardee, another en- listed man of the same company, joined the regiment in the fall of 1862 on its arrival at Oak Hill, after the Cumberland Gap cam- paign. After three days' fighting at Chicka- saw Bluffs, during which he had behaved with conspicuous credit, he was promoted upon the recommendation of Col. Sheldon to a lieuten- ancy. He was consequently made Adjutant, and in the latter part of 1863 received pro- motion to a captainey. He commanded vari- ous companies during the temporary absence of their officers, and was finally transferred to the captaincy of Company D, which command he retained until the regiment was mustered out of service. Company K lost six men killed in battle, and at the breaking-up of the regiment in Arkansas, in November, 1864, sent twenty-nine of its men who had enlisted in 1862, to join the Ninety-Sixth Ohio In- fantry."
The Forty-Second was organized at Camp
HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
Chase, in September, 1861. Being fully com- pleted and equipped it took the field on the 15th of December. Its first service was in Eastern Kentucky, where it operated against Gen. Humphrey Marshall. On the 10th of January, 1862, a lively skirmish was had with the enemy at Middle Creek, in which Maj. Parder, with 400 of the Forty-Second took an active part. The arduous duties of the campaign in Erstorn Kentucky, the exceed- ingly disagreeable weather, and the want of supplies, were disastrous to the health of the regim .nt, and some eighty-five died of disease. It was brigaded at Cumberland Ford with the Sixteenth Ohio, the Fourteenth and Twenty- Second Kentucky, Col. John F. De Courcey, (Sixteenth Ohio) commanding. In the skirmishing, and the retreat before Kirby Smith, the Forty-Second suffered severely from a lack of suitable supplies, and of water. On the long, weary march from Cumberland Gap to the Ohio River, the regiment, acting as rear guard, lost but one man. At Portland, Jackson Co., Ohio, it received clothing and other necessary equipag ., and on the 21st of October it proceeded to Gallipolis, thenee up the Kanawha and into Virginia. It returned to the Ohio in November, and embarked for Cincinnati, and from there it proceeded to Memphis. Gen. Morgan's Division to which the Forty-SE cond belonged, was here re-or- ganized, and designated the " Ninth Division, 'Thirt outh Army Corps."
In December the regiment with other troops under Gen. Shormin embarke I at Memphis, and proceeded to the Yazon River Country. During some hot fighting which followed around Vicksburg, the Forty-Second was ap- tively engaged, and lost several men killed and woun le 1. In January, 1563, the regi- ment. with it- division, went on the exp alition to Arkansas, and was engaged in the assault on Fort Hynchinin, in which it Led the advanc .. A few day after the fall of Fort Hyndmin
the troops returned, and went to Milliken's B nd, where preparations were made for the coming campaign. The Ninth Division, to which the Forty-Second belonged, took the advance in the movement toward the rear of Vicksburg, and in all the fighting and skir- mishing around that rebel stronghold, the Forty-Second bore an honorable part; partic- ularly in the action on the 22d of May it lost heavily. After Vicksburg had fallen, the reg- iment marched to .Jackson and assisted in the reduction of that place. Its next service was in Louisiana, where it went in August, partic- ipating in all the skirmishing, marching and scouting of the Louisiana Campaign of the Jatter part of 1863, wintering at Plaquemine, La. In March, 1864, it moved to Baton Rouge, where it was detailed as Provost Guard for the city. During the summer the Forty-Second was attached to the First Bri- gade. Third Division, Nineteenth Corps. Soon after a test drill was held in the Nineteenth Corps, and Company E, of the Forty-Second, carried off the first prize. The regiment en- gaged in several expeditions, but had little more hard fighting. On the 15th of Septem- ber, Companies A. B. C and D were ordered to Camp Chase, where they were mustered out on the 30th. Companies E and F' were mustered out on the 25th of November, and the other four companies December 2, 1864. One hundred men remained, whose term of service had not expired, and they were organ- ized into a company and transferred to the Ninety-Sixth Ohio. The regiment partici- pated in eleven battles, in which it lost one officer and twenty men killed, and eighteen offers and 325 men wounded.
To the Forty, Fifth Infantry Logan County furnished more men than to any other one regiment during the war. Three whole com- panies-C. D. and E-were mainly recruited in this county, while some of the other companies contained Logan County men.
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
Company C, when mustered in was officered as follows: James D. Stover, Captain; W. G. Franklin, First Lieutenant, and William Mc- Beth, Secord Lieutenant. Capt. Stover was honorably discharged July 20, 1864; Lieut. Franklin was promoted to Captain, November 27, 1862, and to Major, June 16, 1865, but was mustered out as Captain; Second Lieut. McBeth was promoted to First Lieutenant, October 24, 1862, and to Captain, February 1, 1864, but mustered out as First Lieutenant; Samuel E. Allman, was promoted to Second Lieutenant, November 16, 1862, to First Lieutenant, February 1, 1864, and resigned September 15, 1864.
Company D was originally officered as fol- lows, viz : Robert Dow, Captain; Adam R. Eglin, First Lieutenant, and William Gee, Second Lieutenant. Capt. Dow resigned Oc- tober 24, 1862; Lieut. Eglin was promoted to Captain, and as such mustered out with the regiment. Stephen L. Dow was promoted to Second Lieutenant, but was mustered out with the regiment as Sergeant.
Company E organized with the following officers : Lewis Taylor, Captain; John M. Holloway, First Lieutenant, and Joseph R. Smith, Second Lieutenant. Capt. Taylor was honorably discharged January 4, 1865; Lieut. Holloway resigned November 20, 1862; Lieut. Smith was promoted to First Lieutenant No- vember 16, 1862; to Captain, July 13, 1864, and assigned to the command of Company B, and in that capacity was mustered out with the regiment. A. A. Stewart, of Company E, was promoted to Second Lieutenant April 16, 1863; to First Lieutenant, July 13, 1864, and resigned July 24, 1865. J. H. James was pro- mnoted to Second, and then to First Lieuten- ant and mustered out as Regimental Quarter- master. Alonzo Grafton was promoted to Second Lieutenant and mustered out as Ser- geant.
The Forty-Fifth Infantry was organized at
Camp Chase, in August, 1862, and was mus- tered into the United States service on the 19th of the same month. The following genial sketch of the movements of the regi- ment was written by Col. Humphreys, in com- mand at the time it was mustered, and with it during its whole term of service :
" The regiment left Camp Chase on the 20th day of August, crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky, and became part of the Army of the Ohio, under command of Gen. Wright. When Gens. Bragg and Kirby Smith invaded Kentucky, the first duty of the Forty-Fifth was guarding the Kentucky Central Railroad; after that it went into camp at Lexington, Ky., and was placed in the brigade of Gen. Green Clay Smith, (Gen. Gilmore's Division). Early in the winter of 1863, the regiment was mustered, and took an active part in the campaign in Kentucky during that spring and summer, participating in the battles of Dut- ton's Hill, Monticello and at Captain West's. When Gen. Morgan made his raid through Indiana and Ohio, the Forty-Fifth, forming a part of Col. Wolford's Brigade of Mounted Infantry and Cavalry, followed him from Jamestown, Ky., and took part in the engage- ment at Buffington's Island and Cheshire, where most of Morgan's army surrendered. The command was pushed back to Kentucky, as that State had been invaded by the rebel Gen. Scott. In the fall of 1863 Gen. Burn- side entered East Tennessee, and on that cam- paign the Forty-Fifth formed for a time a part of Col. Byrd's brigade, Gen. Carter's divi- sion, but soon after entering Tennessee, was transferred back to Wolford's brigade, and while stationed at Philadelphia, the brigade was surrounded by a large force of the enemy. The command cut its way out, but lost many men, killed, wounded and taken prisoner. The Forty-Fifth again suffered severely south of Knoxville; being for the time dismounted, they were attacked by a large Cavalry force,
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and many of the regiment came up missing. * *
* A few days later the division commanded by Gen. Saunders was covering the retreat of Burnside's army from Lenore Station toward Knoxville, hard pushed by Longstreet. The order was to hold the enemy in check as long as possible, so as to complete the defenses of Knoxville. The National troops took position on a hill south of the town, where the enemy in force charged them, mortally wounding Gen. Saunders and Lieut. Fearns, the latter of Company G, of the Forty-Fifth. During the siege of Knox- ville, the regiment occupied a position south of Holston River, and when the siege was raised by Sherman's advance, it followed the retreating rebels toward Virginia.
" In the spring of 1864 the regiment was dis- mounted, and ordered to join Sherman at Dal- ton, Ga., and was then assigned to the First Bri- gade, Second Division, Twenty-Third Army Corps. It participated in the battle of Resaea, where it suffered severely. About the 1st of July it was transferred to the Fourth Army Corps, and served with that body until the close of the war. It participated in the battle of Ken- nosaw Mountain, and all the battles from that time until the fall of Atlanta. It came back with Gen. Thomas and took part in the hard- fought battle of Franklin, Tenn., where the whole of Hood's army was hurled against the Fourth and Twenty-Third Corps. This, con- sidering the number of men engaged, was one of the most terrific battles of the war. The Forty-Fifth was in the two days' fighting in front of Nashville, when Thomas' army com- platoly routed the enemy. After following Hood's army (or what was left of it) across the Tennessee River, the regiment went into camp at Huntsville. Ala .. and just before the surrender of Lor it, with the Fourth Corps, was ordered to Bull's Gap, in East Tennessee. near the Virginia hne, and was there when
turned to Nashville from Bull's Gap, and was there mustered out of the service on the 12th of June, 1865, the war having closed."
The Fifty-Fourth Infantry drew a compa- my from Logan County. Company II was mostly from this county, while other compa- nies of the regiment also contained men from the same locality, as well as several officers. Companies E and II were consolidated, and afterward known as Company E. It was originally officered as follows: W. D. Starr, Captain; Samnel Starr, First Lieutenant, and J. Il. Snyder, Second Lientenant. Capt. Starr died June 5, 1862; First Lieut. Starr re- signed on account of ill health, came home, and recovering his health went into the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth, as Captain of Company H. and served with it until mus- tered out. Second Lieut. Snyder was pro- moted to First Lieutenant, and to Captain, March 3, 1864, and was mustered out with the regiment. Capt. Ashmead, who went out originally as Captain of Company-, went with this regiment as Second Lieutenant of Company C, and was afterward promoted to Captain and transferred to another company. John F. Cutler was made Second Lieutenant of Company E, August 19, 1862, and promoted to First Lieutenant November 27, 1863.
The material composing the Fifty-Fourth Regiment was from Allen, Auglaize, Butler, Cuyahoga, Greene, Hamilton, Logan and Pre- ble Counties. The regiment went into the field on the 14th of February, 1862, with an aggregate of 850 men. It reached l'aducal, Ky., on the 20th, and was assigned to a bri- gade in the division commanded by Gen. Sherman. On the 6th of March the command ascended the Tennessee River, to Pittsburg Landing, and encamped near Shiloh Church. The regiment took part in the battles of the 6th and 4th of April, and in the two days' fighting lost 198 men, killed, wounded and the surrender took place. The regiment re- [ missing. On the 29th of April it moved in the
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HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
army against Corinth, participating in all the fighting, and when the place was evacuated, was the first organized body of troops to enter the town. After several short expeditions it accompanied Gen. Sherman to Chickasaw Bayon, and was in the engagements of Decem- ber 28 and 29, in which it lost twenty men, kill- ed and wounded. It was next at the capture of Arkansas Post, after which it proceeded to Young's Point, La., and was employed in dig- ging a canal,and other demonstrations connect- ed with the siege of Vicksburg. On the 6th of May, 1863, it began its march to the rear of Vicksburg, by way of Grand Gulf, and took part in the battles of Champion Hills and Big Black Bridge. It was engaged in a general assault on the enemy's works on the 19th and 22nd of June, losing in the two engagements forty-seven killed and wounded. It was al- most continually employed in skirmishing and fatigue duty during the siege of Vicksburg, and after the fall of that stronghold it moved with the army on Jackson, Miss., skirmishing constantly from the 9th to the 14th of July. In October, 1863, it proceeded with the F'if- teenth Army Corps to Memphis, and from there moved to Chattanooga. It took part in the battle of Missionary Ridge, November 26th, and the next day moved to the relief of Knoxville, after which it returned to Chat- tanooga, and on the 12th of January, 1864, it went into winter quarters at Larkinsville, Ala.
The Fifty-Fourth re-enlisted as veterans on the 22nd of January, and went home to Ohio on furlough. It returned to camp in April with 200 recruits, and entered on the Atlanta campaign on the first of May. It took part in the battles of Resaca and Dallas, and was also in a skirmish at New Hope Church on the "th of June. In the assault on Kennesaw Mountain, June 27, it lost twenty-eight men killed and wounded. On the 3d of July, in a skirmish at Nicojack Creek, it lost thirteen killed and wounded, and in a battle on the
east side of Atlanta, July 21 and 22, it lost ninety-four, killed, wounded and missing. It lost eight men killed and wounded at Ezra Chapel on the 28th, and from the 29th of July to the 24th of August it was almost continu- ally engaged in skirmishing before the works at Atlanta. It was in a heavy skirmish at Jonesboro, August 30, and in a general action at the same place two days immediately fol- lowing.
On the 13th of November the Fifty-Fourth started with Sherman on his famous " March to the Sea," and was engaged in the assault on Fort McAllister, near Savannah. The reg- iment assisted in the destruction of the Gulf Railroad, and on the 7th of January, 1865, marched into Savannah. It moved with the army through the Carolinas, and participated in its last battle at Bentonville, May 21, 1865. The war was now virtually over, and the reg- iment marched to Richmond, the Confederate capital, and from there to Washington, where it took part in the grand review. On the 2d of June it proceeded to Louisville, Ky., where it remained two weeks, when it was ordered to Arkansas. It performed garrison duty at Little Rock until August 15th, when it was mustered ont of the service.
The aggregate strength of the regiment at its muster out was 255-twenty-four officers and 231 men. It marched during its term of service a distance of 3,682 miles, participated in four sieges, nine severe skirmishes, fifteen general engagements, and sustained a loss of 506 men killed, wounded and missing.
The Fifty-Seventh Infantry, Gen. A. V. Rice's old regiment, was the next in which Logan County was represented. Company K was mostly from this county, and its original officers were Daniel N. Strayer, Captain; John A. Smith, First Lieutenant, and George Ber- gher, Second Lieutenant. Capt. Stray- er was mustered out in August, 1862. First Lieut. Smith was promoted to Captain,
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IHISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY.
August 19, 1862, and in that capacity mus- tered ont with the regiment. John A. Plumb was promoted to Second Lieutenant, August 3, 1863, assigned to Company E, and was killed at the battle of Resaca. Stephen Il. C'arey was promoted to Second Lieutenant, September 11, 1862; to First Lieutenant, May 9, 1862, and was honorably discharged December 2, 1864.
The Fifty-Seventh left Camp Chase on the 18th of February, 1862, under orders to report at Fort Donelson, but the order was subse- quently changed, and it reported at Paducah, Ky., instead. It left Paducah on the 8th of March, and was engaged in scouting most of the time until the battle of Pittsburg Land- ing. It was engaged nearly the entire day of the 6th; lay on its arms all night in a drench- ing rain, and at daylight the next morning again went into action. It was engaged dur- ing the second day, and again laid on its arms through a night of rain. In both battles the regiment lost twenty-seven killed and 150 wounded (sixteen mortally) and ten captured. On the 20th of April the army commenced its advance on Corinth, and the Fifty-Seventh was assigned to the First Brigade of the Fifth Di- vision. From the beginning of the advance, until Corinth was evacuated by the en- emy, the regiment was day and night marching, picketing, skirmishing, or building breastworks. It was engaged most of the summer in scouting in Tennessee and Missis- sippi, and skirmishing. While at Memphis, in December, the regiment received 11S vol- unteers and 205 drafted men, making its ag- gregate force 605 men. It soon after went down the river with the Fifteenth Corps, reaching Young's Point, La, on the 20th of D. comber. From here it proceeded to Chick- asw Bayon, where it took part in the engage- ment, losing thirty-seven men killed and wounded. The next battle in which the Fif- ty-Seventh participated was the capture of
Arkansas Post. It was actively engaged here and lost heavily.
In January, 1863, the forces of which the Fifty-Seventh was a part, moved toward Vicksburg, where the regiment spent some time at work upon the canal. It was en- gaged, when not at work on the canal, in scouting, until the battles of Raymond, Cham- pion Ilills and Black River, in all of which it. participated with its accustomed bravery. At Champion Hills it suffered severely. In the fighting around Vicksburg it was almost con- tinually engaged. and during the siege lost many men killed and wounded. After the fall of Vicksburg the regiment was sent on several scouting expeditions, and on the 8th of October marched to Chattanooga as a part of the First Brigade, Second Division, Fif- teenth Corps. It took part in the battle of Mission Ridge, with heavy loss. On the 29th of November it started to the relief of Burn- side at Knoxville, but upon its arrival. Long- street raised the siege and retired into Vir- ginia, and the Fifty-Seventh returned to Chattanooga. On the 19th it was again on the march, and on the 20th it arrived at Bellefonte, Ala. By this time the regiment was almost exhausted by fatigue, privation, hunger and exposure. The men were hatless, shoeless, and half naked; yet not withstand- ing all this, the regiment re-enlisted on the 1st of January, 1864, being the first regiment to re-enlist in the Fifteenth Army Corps.
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