USA > Ohio > Noble County > History of Noble County, Ohio: With Portraits and Biographical Sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 33
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nesses acquainted with the affair, who would make oath to the same es- sential statements.
SOLDIERS' REUNIONS.
Army societies had had their re- unions from the days of Washington, who organized a society composed exclusively of officers of the Revo- lution. The Army of the Tennessee was formed on that model. It and other similar organizations organized at the close of the war have always had their annual meetings, from which all soldiers below the rank of second heutenant were rigorously ex- cluded.
J. M. Dalzell issued his call for a general national reunion, of all ranks of the Union army, to meet in Lansing, Mich., March 4, 1872. For some reason it was a failure.
ITis next call was for one of sim- ilar character, to meet in Washington City, on the same date of the follow- ing year. IIe had industriously ex ploited his novel departure in the daily press, to which he had universal entrée, and the rank and file had come to understand his idea quite thoroughly. But the place chosen was a bad one for the experiment, and the reunion of 1873 was a fail- ure like its predecessor at Lansing. Everybody now gave over the proj- ect but Mr. Dalzell.
Even more earnestly than ever he set about making preparations for another reunion on the old plan, and accordingly, in 1874, issued his call for a national reunion to be held at Caldwell, Ohio, September 15, 1874. That place then had about four hun
dred inhabitants, and but a single line of railway. Mr. Dalzell had learned something from repeated failure, and this time determined to hold his reunion at home, where he could control it by the help of his old friends. Ile was the president and secretary. The papers of the whole North threw open their columns to his ready pen, and he spent the most of that year in writing up his be- loved project. Letters of encourage- ment came from near and far, and the press editorially commended the experiment to its readers in every State. It grew in popularity with the boys as they came to understand it better. Mr. Dalzell easily pro- cured the passage of bills by Con- gress recognizing it as national, and affording it the use of a large number of cannon, and any quantity of am- munition. General Sherman prom- ised to preside. After that all was plain sailing. The reunion came off in splendid style, in the woods west of Caldwell, and Mr. Dalzell was happy.
General Sherman lent it the influ ence of his presence, and indorsed the idea unequivocally in an address of rare power and eloquence. Almost every State was represented, and no one estinated the crowd at less than 25,000. It is still remembered as not only the first, but the greatest, national soldiers' reunion ever held, though it has often been imitated since.
BIOGRAPHIC.
GENERAL WILLIAM H. ENOCHS, one of the most gifted sons of Noble Coun- ty, and the only native of the county
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who attained to the rank of general in the late war, is now a prominent lawyer and an influential citizen of Ironton, Ohio. Ilis parents were Ilenry and Jane (Miller) Enochs. IIe was born near Middleburg, in Noble County, March 29, 1842. He was reared on his father's farm and at- tended the common schools in winter with the advantage, however, of one term at the Ohio University. When Fort Sumter was fired upon he was a student at the Ohio University, and on the 19th of April, 1861, he en- listed in Company B, Twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry; soon after he was promoted to corporal and sent to guard the railroad between Mar- ietta and Parkersburg, thence to West Virginia, participating in the numer- ous marches and skirmishes of his command, and the battle of Rich Mountain. He was promoted to fourth sergeant, and in that rank was mustered out of the service July 24, 1861. He at once re-enlisted in Company K, Fifth West Virginia Infantry, an organization composed almost wholly of Ohio men. In Oc- tober he was elected captain of his company, but owing to his youth the colonel of the regiment refused to recommend him for a captain's com- mission, and he was made first lieu- tenant of the company. Ilis drill and discipline soon attracted the at- tention of army officers, and he was frequently complimented for the manner in which he had brought up the company. His regiment was or- ganized and camped at Ceredo, West Virginia. Rebel regiments were also being organized within a few miles
of its camp, the surrounding country swarmed with bushwhackers, and his company and regiment was in active service from the time of their enlist- ment. In the winter of 1862 the reg- iment was ordered to Parkersburg. Soon afterward Lieutenant Enochs was sent with his company to New Creek Station and assigned to the command of that outpost. At this time there was a vacancy in the major- ship of the regiment, and Lieutenant Enochs was recommended by the of- ficers of the regiment for the position, but again his youth prevented his pre- ferment, and he was promoted to cap- tain and assigned to Company E. This company soon became the best drilled and disciplined company in the regiment, and in the spring of 1862 led the advance at the battle of Moorfield, participating in all its marches and skirmishes along the south branch of the Potomac, includ- ing the battle of McDowell, May 8, 1862. Returning to Moorfield, the regiment crossed the mountains with the army under Generals Schenck and Milroy, striking the rear of the Confederate army under Stonewall Jackson, where the regiment was en- gaged. The Union armies, united under General Fremont, followed Jackson up the Shenandoah Valley, skirmishing and fighting day and night until the battle of Cross Keys, June 8, 1862, when Jackson crossed the river under cover of night, burn- ing the bridge behind him; Fremont's army went down the valley. Schenck's division and General Mil- roy's brigade (to which the regiment then belonged) marched from Luray
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Valley across the Blue Ridge and afterwards it was transferred to the Kanawha Valley, West Va. In the spring of 1863 it was ordered to Gauley Bridge on the Kanawha, where it remained the greater por- tion of that year, scouting and skir- mishing through the mountains of that country. August 17, 1863, Capt. Enochs was commissioned lieutenant- colonel of the regiment. May 4, 1864, his command broke camp and started toward Louisburg, West Va. At Meadow Bluffs it joined the army under General George Crook, and crossed the mountains, destroying the railroad and bridges. It joined the army under General Ilunter at - Staunton, Va., and under that general made the raid upon Lynchburg. In joined the army of Northern Vir- ginia commanded by General John Pope. The division was assigned to the Eleventh Corps, then commanded by General Franz Sigel. The regi- ment participated in numerous skir- mishes until the terrible battle of Cedar Mountain was fought, which was one of the most desperate bat- tles of the war. The regiment after- ward participated in the battles along the Rapidan and Rappahannock Rivers, including Freeman's Ford and Sulphur Spring, being under fire every day for about twenty days. In the first day of the second battle of Manassas, although the junior cap- tain of the regiment, Captain Enochs was in command. The regiment ; its endeavor to get into Lynchburg. went into the fight near the stone house, and in the woods some dis- tance beyond, the regiment fought al- 1 most the entire two days of the bat- tle over the possession of a railroad cut in the woods. The cut was taken and re-taken, until one fourth of the regiment was either killed, wounded or missing.
History has never given the facts concerning this battle; the loss and disaster to the Union army there has never been fully told. The regi- ment next participated in the battle of Chantilly. In all these marches, skirmishes and battles Captain Enochs took an active part, being in command of either his company or the regiment. After the battle of Chantilly the regiment, being almost entirely destroyed, was ordered to the fortifications around Washington to obtain shoes and clothing. Soon
Colonel Enochs with his regiment charged the breast-works but was re- pulsed and driven back with heavy loss. The Union army was compelled to retreat to the Kanawha Valley. This was one of the longest and hard- est raids of the war. It was, as the general states it, "days and nights of marching, starving and fighting." The regiment remained but a short time in the Kanawha Valley, when it was ordered to Harper's Ferry and the Shenandoah Valley. The army start- ed up the valley, fighting the rebels at Bunker's Hill, July 19, 1864, and at Carter's Farm, July 20, 1864, and at Winchester, July 24. The Union army was driven north of the Poto- mac River and soon became a part of the army under General Sheridan, and under him was in the battles near Ilalltown, Va., August 22, 23 and 24, 1864. At the battle of Berry-
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ville, September 3, 1864, Colonel Enochs' regiment made a brilliant charge on a Mississippi brigade of four regiments, driving them from the field and capturing a number of prisoners. At the battle of Win- chester, September 19, 1864, Colonel Enochs' regiment was in the front on the extreme right of the Union army. Shortly after going into the fight the rebels were found behind stone walls on the opposite side of a deep slough, the regiment waded through and charged the rebels, driving them from their chosen positions until their for- tifications were reached. le this charge Colonel Enochs was severely wounded when within one hundred yards of the fortifications, a ball striking him in the head and cutting through a heavy felt hat. IIe was supposed to have been instantly killed, and was left where he fell. . During the night he was conducted to his regiment, and the next morn- ing was again in command, following the retreating rebels toward Fisher's Hill, which point they had strongly fortified. September 22, Colonel Enochs' was given charge of the ad- vance, which climbed the mountain and got in the rear of their works before they were discovered. When the signal was given, the whole army charged the fortifications, capturing most of the enemy's artillery and routing their army. The regiment under Colonel Enochs participated in numerous other skirmishes up to the battle of Cedar Creek.
the youngest man of his rank in the Army of the Potomac. During this service his regiment had become so depleted that it was consolidated with the Ninth West Virginia, and was afterwards known as the First West Virginia Veteran Infantry. The regiment remained in the valley under General Hancock until near the close of the war, when it was sent to Cumberland, Md., where Colonel Enochs was assigned to the command of the department of Maryland, and on March 13, 1865, he was commis- sioned brigadier general. General Enochs saw much hard service during the war, and distinguished himself for bravery and gallantry, as is shown by his successive promotions. His fellow officers speak in the high- est terms of his intrepidity, and the fact that he commanded a brigade at the age of twenty-two years is the very highest possible testimony as to his superior abilities as a soldier and officer. Ile was mustered out of the service July 24, 1865. He studied law as he could during the war, and on being discharged, entered the Cin- cinnati Law School, from which he graduated in 1867. He began prac- tice in West Virginia, removing in the fall of 186s to Ironton, Ohio, where he soon rose to prominence and is still in successful practice. General Enochs was married in 1875 to Miss Annis Hamilton. Ex-Presi- dent Ilayes thus speaks of General Enochs :
" Brigadier-General William II. Enochs served in my command as " colonel of the Fifth Virginia Infan-
For gallant and meritorious serv- ices during this campaign, Colonel Enochs was brevetted general, being | try, and after the re-enlistment of
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the regiment and its consolidation with the Ninth Virginia as colonel of the First West Virginia Veteran In- fantry - that being the title, as I re- call it, of the consolidated veteran regiment. Of course I knew him intimately as a soldier and as a regi- mental commander. Ile was con- spicuous and a man of mark always. Ilis courage, promptness and energy were extraordinary. Ile was faith- ful, cheerful and hopeful. His dili- gence was great, and bis ability and skill in managing and taking care of his regiment were rarely equaled. If called upon to give his distinguish- ing merits as a soldier, I should say force, energy, intrepidity. I have often said that the old Kanawha Di- vision could make its fastest and longest march in a day with an en- emy in front, trying to retard and obstruct, and with Colonel Enochs and his regiment in the advance clearing the way. Ilis military record is in all respects honorable and bright. In the language of the old iron-clad oath, "it is a pleasure to commend his soldierly qualities, without any mental reservation whatever." General I. II. Duval, of Wheeling, speaks of General Enochs as follows :
" I first met General W. II. Enochs early in the war in the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia. I think he ! was at that time major of the Fifth West Virginia Regiment. I was very favorably impressed with him at sight, and soon discovered that he was a remarkable man for his age. We were intimately associated dur- ing the war, and I can safely say
that I did not meet an officer dur- ing that time in whom I had more confidence. Ile was brave, daring and efficient, always ready for what- ever duties were required of him. Later in the war his regiment and mine were consolidated and formed, the First Veteran Regiment of West Virginia. I was retained as Colonel, and General Enochs was the lieuten- ant-colonel. I was proud of the as- sociation, feeling that I had an offi- cer upon whom I could rely under all circumstances. Soon after the consolidation he was promoted to the colonelcy of his regiment. At the head of the regiment he dis- tinguished himself on all occasions. wherever he fought, and I think commanded one of the grandest regi- ments I ever saw. It was thorough- ly drilled and disciplined."
GENERAL CHARLES S. SARGEANT WAS born in Morristown, N. J., Septem- ber 5, 1839. At the age of eighteen he entered the service as private in the First United States Mounted Rifles, and at the breaking out of the war was stationed at the St. Louis arsenal, at St. Louis, Mo. In 1861 he entered the volunteer service as sargeant of Co. G, First Missouri In- fantry, a three months' organization, and shortly after was promoted to second-lieutenant of the company. U'pon the re organization of the regi- ment for the three years' service, he was again commissioned second-lieu- tenant. Ilis command was engaged in the capture of Camp Jackson, at St. Louis, Mo. This is now regarded as one of the important events in the history of the Rebellion, as it
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placed the city in the possession of the Union army. He was in the fight at Boonville, which was the first en- gagement in the West. August 10 the regiment was engaged under General Lyon at the battle of Wil- son's Creek. General Lyon was killed and Captain Cavender seriously wounded, thus devolving the com- mand of company upon Lieutenant Sargeant. In September of 1861, the regiment was again re-organized as the First Missouri Light Artillery, and he was commissioned first-lieu- tenant, and assigned to Company II. With this command he remained until he was detailed as aide-de camp on the staff of General Schofield. March 27, 1862, he was promoted to a cap- taincy and placed in command of Company I, First Missouri Light Artillery. This battery was brig- aded with the Second Division of the Army of the Tennessee, and was engaged in the battles of Shiloh and the siege at Corinth. August 31, 1862, he resigned his commission to accept promotion to major and as- sistant adjutant-general, and was assigned to duty on the staff of Gen- eral Schofield. December 4, 1862, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colo- nelcy of the Eighteenth Missouri Infantry, and to colonel August 15, 1864. The regiment was in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign, Colonel Sargeant being in command of the regiment. At the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1863, his command held a position on the extreme right of Fuller's division, and were hotly engaged in repulsing the terrific at- tacks of a division of the enemy
under General Walker, in one of which the Confederate commander was killed. In this engagement Col- onel Sargeant distinguished himself by the able manner in which he commanded his regiment. He was with Sherman in "The March to the Sea," and the advance through the Carolinas. Ilis regiment took a prominent part in the battle of Ben- tonville, N. C., in which Mower's division gained the rear of the rebel army and forced the evacuation of their lines of intrenchment. With his command he participated in the closing events of the war, and the grand review at Washington, D. C, in May of 1865, after which the regiment was ordered to St. Louis, where it was mustered out of the service. in July of 1865.
March 13, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier-general United States vol- unteers, for "gallant and efficient services during the war."
Lack of space prevents a detailed statement of the service of General Sargeant. For the greater portion of the time he was connected with the Army of the Tennessee, and par- ticipated in all the notable battles in which it was engaged. Ilis success- ive promotions (from a private to that of brigadier-general) is all the evidence required to show his record as a soldier. At the close of the war he engaged in the commission busi- ness at St. Louis, Mo .; thence to Iowa and to Caldwell, in 1870, where he is now engaged in the produce business. Is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
In April 8, 1874, he was married
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to Miss Anna Keeler, of Muscatine, i served with the Twenty-fifth in the Iowa. They have three children liv- West Virginia campaign of 1861. -- ing, Stella, Fanny and Florence. Hle was with the Twentieth at Fort COLONEL HARMON WILSON was born near Cadiz, Ohio, March 15, 1840. When thirteen years of age he en- tered the manual labor school at Albany, Ohio, where for two years be supported himself by his labor mornings and evenings, at eight Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg, and was with Sherman on "The March to the Sea," and after the bat- tle at Atlanta was in command of the regiment. After the close of the : war he studied law with Attorney- General James Murray, at Sidney, cents per hour. At the age of fif- , Ohio, where he is now engaged in the practice of his profession.
teen he began teaching winter terms of school in Noble County, using his earnings to defray his expenses in
COLONEL FRANCIS M. SHAKLEE .- The people of Noble County take a summer at the Ohio University. In : just pride and evidence a commenda- the spring of 1861 he took his salary for the preceding winter and invested in an outfit to bore for oil on Duck Creek. Failing in this enterprise, he . returned to the school room. At the expiration of the first month, after the dismissal of his school in the evening, he wrote upon the black- board. "Gone to the war." That ble interest in the perpetuation of "the names and records of her brave I boys, who for four long weary years fought for the maintenance of the patriotic principles taught them by their fathers. Among the number entitled to special mention in this chapter, is Colonel Francis M. Shak- lee. Ile was born near Moscow night he walked to Summerfield, and ! Mills, Morgan County, Ohio, August ' 30, 1828. Ilere his youth was passed attending school and learning the . trade of millwright, that being his father's vocation. In 1850 he en- tered the Meadville, Pa., college, be-
enlisted in Captain John Moseley's company (I, Twenty-fifth Infantry). Upon the organization of the com- pany he was made corporal. De- cember 7, 1861, he was promoted to second lieutenant, and assigned to ting the first student from Noble the Seventy-ninth. When this regi- County. In 1852 he left college to 1 try his fortunes in the gold fields of California. Ilis journey there, which occupied seven months, was one of adventure. He visited the Sandwich Islands, and made quite an extended trip into Mexico. Arriving in Cali- fornia, he first engaged in mining, but not meeting with desired suc- cess he turned his attention to ranch- ment was consolidated with the Sev- enty-fifth he was transferred to the Twentieth, and became first lieu- tenant of Company I. February 11, 1862, he was made the adjutant of the regiment; October 5, 1862, pro- moted to captain of Company F, and to major. January 6, 1865; January 11, 1865, to lieutenant-colonel; to colonel June 20, 1865; was mustered : ing, in which he was engaged for two out July 15, 1865. Colonel Wilson , years. In 1857 he returned to Illi-
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nois, whither his parents had immi- grated in 1853. Two years later he returned to Noble County and began teaching. which he followed success- | fully until June 26, 1861, when he enlisted in Company I, Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and upon the organization of the regiment was given the position of corporal. Ile was with the regiment until some time after the death of Captain John Moseley, when he received from Governor Todd a recruiting commission. Returning to Noble County, he enlisted in Company I, Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was commissioned its captain, fill a vacancy in the picket line. In posting his men he got bevond the lines, and making a mistake in the countersign it was with some ditfi- culty that he established his identity. After this battle his regiment was for some time engaged in guarding the base of supplies. During this time he signalized his thirty-fourth birthday by gallantry in the battle of Bolivar, where Armstrong's cav- alry of fifteen regiments were re- pulsed and routed. From this time he was with Logan's division and participated in all its battles and skirmishes. On the 12th of May the Twentieth deployed in advance of Ile joined the regiment at Cincin- the Seventeenth Corps, Colonel
nati, where he taught his company Shaklee commanding the skirmishers of _General Logan's division. The regiment participated in the battle of Champion Hills, and were placed under such severe fire that it was dangerous for a staff officer to ap- proach with orders. Crossing the Big Black, his regiment reached the rear of Vicksburg, and acted as sup- port to the assaulting party on the 21st of May. June + Colonel Shak- lee took command of the regiment, which position he filled with credit afterwards. In January of 1864 the . regiment re-enlisted, and returned to their homes on veteran furloughs. ! During this time he received his commission as major. In April he returned to his regiment. In the battle of Atlanta he had his horse shot from under him, and was in- jured by explosion of a shell. the rudiments of a military educa- tion, and from there was ordered to join the army in front of Fort Don- elson. After the battle the captain was detailed to guard 1,000 prison- ers, whom he conveyed to St. Louis. Mo. Fearing that an attempt to rescue them would be made by the rebel element of the city, he took them to Bloody Island, where his command remained for three weeks. Their sufferings were great, owing to the inclement weather and the inade- quate provisions for comfort. April 6, 1862, his regiment was engaged in the battle of Pittsburgh Landing. On the second day of the fight his company made a gallant charge. gaining possession of one of the I'nion hospitals, which had been captured by the Confederates, and . rescuing a body of I'mion prisoners, The regiment left Atlanta with Sherman's army, but was detached in the evening of the same day he was sent with a detail of 100 men to , on the 19th of December at Marietta,
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Ga., there the colonel was detailed to vices." After resigning his commis- sion he returned to Middleburg, and engaged in merchandizing until 1869, when he began milling, in which he conduct eighty men, whose terms of enlistment had expired, to ('hatta- nooga, Tenn., to be mustered out. At that time that section was over- ' is now engaged. April, 1864. he was run with Mosby's guerrillas. Com- married to Miss Margaret, daughter ing up to the rear guard of the Four- , of Alfred Cgle. She died in Feb- ruary of 1877, and in December fol- lowing he was married to Miss Frances Simmerman. Four children were the result of the first marriage - Alfred O., Norville E . Mattie S., and Bertha M. In closing this biog- raphy, it is but just to say that the. career of Colonel Shaklee, both as a citizen and soldier, is an unspotted one, and that he is entitled to a prominent position among the offi- cers from Noble County. He was a rigid disciplinarian, and still retained the confidence and esteem of his command. He was regarded by his superior officers as not only brave and daring, but entirely trustworthy. teenth Corps, in command of Gen. eral Davis, he learned that the guer- rillas were harassing our men and that further advance was exceed- ingly dangerous. He called upon General Davis, who advised him to halt. The colonel, upon consulta- tion with the men. decided to make the attempt. As soon as he had left the protection of the rear guard he directed his men to cut sticks. which they carried to represent muskets, their arms having been taken from them on leaving the regiment. At Kingston they came upon a force of rebel cavalry. The colonel imme- diately deployed his men as skir mishers, and giving his commands in COLONEL. JOHN C. PAXTON was born in Gettysburg. Pa., Feb. 22, 1824, and died in Marietta, Ohio, Feb. 28, 1881. He began life for himself at the age of ten years He came to Ohio at an early age, and for some years was engaged in the mercantile business at Sharon, where he remained until his removal to Marietta in 1853. In 1845 he wedded Agnes, daughter of Alexander Greenlee, one of the pio- neers of Olive Township. They had five children, of whom three survive - Augusta J., wife of M. W. Down- ing, an oil operator at Dexter City ; Mary A., wife of D. C. Blondin, of Nebraska, and Margaret II., wife of Dr. A. E .. Osborne, Santa Clara, Cal. In 1857 he married Sophia L. Reed, a loud voice, convinced the rebels that it was the advanced line of a heavy force. The rebels retreated, and he ordered his men to charge, and pursued them for eight miles, when he learned that they had gone into camp. By taking a devious course he got in the advance, and at midnight they went into camp. This illustration is given to show that while possessing other qualifications of an officer, he was not lacking in expedients. At this time his health had become so impaired that he ten- dered his resignation, which was ac- cepted November 25, 1864. Jan- uary, 1865, he was brevetted lieuten- ant-colonel for "meritorious ser-
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