History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 44

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Ohio > Summit County > History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio > Part 44

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*Contributed by W. H. Perrin.

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vicissitude of this contest, the conduct of Ohio was eminently patriotic and honorable. When the necessities of the National Government compelled Congress to resort to a direct tax, Ohio, for successive years. cheerfully assumed and promptly paid her quota out of her State Treasury. Her sons volunteered with alacrity their services in the field ; and no troops more patiently endured hardship or performed better service. Hardly a battle was fought in the Northwest in which some of these brave citizen soldiers did not seal their devotion to their country with their blood." And what is true, and to the honor of the State at large, is equally true of the soldiers from this particular section.

As a matter of some interest to our modern soldiers, we give the following abstract from the Quartermaster's Department during the war of 1812 : Rations : One and a quarter pounds of beef, three-quarters of a pound of pork, thirteen ounces of bread or flour, one gill of whisky. At the rate of two quarts of salt, four quarts of vinegar, four pounds of soap, and one and three-quarter pounds of candles to every 100 rations. And from the Paymaster's Department : Colonel, $75 per month, five ra- tions and $12 for forage ; Major, $50 per month and three rations ; Captain, $40 per month and three rations; First Lieutenant. $30 and two rations; Second Lieutenant, $20 and two rations ; Ensign, $20 and two rations; Ser- geant Major, $9; Quartermaster's Sergeant $9; other Sergeants, $8; Corporals, $7; Musi- cians, $6, and Privates, $6 per month.

It has been a matter of much difficulty to learn the particulars of this war, so far as the few settlers of this section participated in it. Most of these old veterans have met and con- quered the last enemy-death. A very few of them are known to be now living. Nor could the names of all who went from what is now Summit County be obtained, but it is believed that most of the able-bodied men of requisite age took part in this war. Among those who served from this county, we have the names of the following: Col. Riall McArthur, Joseph D. Baird. John Hall, Timothy Holcomb (a Lieu- tenant), Alexander Hall, James Baird, Lee More, Nathaniel De Haven, Martin Willis, Hiram King (an Ensign), - Lusk (a Captain), William Prior, Timothy Sherwood, William Wright, Joseph Foster, Henry Wood, George

Showandy, Timothy Clark, John Ellsworth, MeCook, - Buck, Alfred Parker, Benjamin Stark, John Dillamater, Andrews May, Israel Lacy and Jacob Harter. A few years ago, when these old veterans were pen- sioned by the Government, there were then thirty-three living in the county, but, with per- haps two or three exceptions, they are now all gone.

" Soldiers, rest, thy warfare o'er, Sleep the sleep that knows no waking."

After the close of the war of 1812, our peace was no more disturbed, except by an occasional Indian skirmish, until the war with Mexico. If war with " blood-red tresses deepening in the sun," and " death-shot glowing in his fiery hands," raged in countries of the old world, his thunder came to us but as the " mutterings of a distant cloud, whose lightnings could harm us not.

The Mexican war grew out of the admission of Texas, as a State, into the Federal Union. The circumstances were briefly these: Texas had been a province of Mexico, but had seceded (as she tried to do from Uncle Sam in after years, but with less success), and for years its citizens had been carrying on a kind of guerrilla warfare with the mother country. This war- fare had been attended with varying results, sometimes the one party, and sometimes the other, being successful. But in 1836, the famous battle of San Jacinto was fought, in which the Texans were victorious, and cap- tured Santa Anna, then Dictator of Mexico, while his whole army was either killed or made prisoners. Santa Anna was held in strict con- finement, and finally induced to sign a treaty acknowledging the independence of Texas. But the Republic of Mexico, in violation of every principle of honor, refused to recognize this treaty, and continued to treat Texas and the Texans just as she had previously done. From this time on, petitions were frequently presented by the Texans to the United States Government, praying admission into the Union. But Mexico, through sheer spite, endeavored to prevent this step, constantly declaring that the admission of Texas would be regarded as a sufficient cause for a declaration of war, of the opinion, doubtless, that this would serve to in- timidate the United States.

In the Presidential contest of 1844, between Henry Clay, of Kentucky, and James K. Polk,

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of Tennessee, the annexation of Texas was one of the leading questions before the people, and Mr. Polk, whose party (the Democrats) favored the admission of Texas, being elected, this was taken as a public declaration on the subject. After this, Congress had no hesitancy in grant- ing the petition of Texas, and, on the 1st of March, 1845, formally received the " Lone Star" into the sisterhood of States. In her indigna- tion, Mexico at once broke off all diplomatic relations with the United States, calling home her Minister immediately. This, of itself, was a declaration of war, and war soon followed. Congress passed an act authorizing the Presi- dent to accept the services of 50,000 volunteers (which were to be raised at once), and appro- priating $10,000,000 for the prosecution of the war. In this call for 50,000 troops, Ohio was required to furnish three regiments. With her characteristic patriotism, she filled her quota in a few weeks. Upon the organization of these regiments at Cincinnati, the place of rendezvous, there were almost men enough left to form another regiment. These were fur- nished transportation to their homes at the ex- pense of the Government. The regiments, as organized, were officered as follows : First Regiment, A. M. Mitchell, of Cincinnati, Colonel ; John B. Weller, of Butler County, Lieutenant Colonel ; T. L. Hamer, of Brown County, Ma- jor. Second Regiment, G. W. Morgan, of Knox County, Colonel ; William Irvin, of Fairfield, Lieutenant Colonel ; William Hall, of Athens, Major. Third Regiment, S. R. Curtis, of Wayne County, Colonel ; G. W. McCook, of Jefferson, Lieutenant Colonel, and J. S. Love, of Morgan, Major. Under a second call for men, which was known as the " Ten Regiments Bill," Ohio filled up her quota without delay. Upon this second call, made just after the fall of Mon- terey, and in opposition to the war generally, Hon. Thomas Corwin in the United States Sen- ate made one of the ablest speeches of his life. In this speech it was that he used the memora- ble language, since grown almost into a prov- erb : " If I were a Mexican I would tell you, ' Have you not room in your own country to bury your dead men? If you come into mine, we will greet you with bloody hands, and wel- come you to hospitable graves.'"

The majority of the Whig party, as we have said, opposed the annexation of Texas upon the grounds that it would cause a war between

the United States and Mexico, a war that, they held, would be unjust and uncalled for. As Summit County at that time was largely Whig in its political sentiments, like a great majority of that party it opposed the war, and declined taking any active part in it. Hence, the num- ber of men furnished by the county in the different calls for troops was exceedingly small. We have been enabled to learn the names of only the following : George, Otis and Eliphaz Capron, Oliver P. Barney, Joseph Gouder, - Zettle, William H. and Ezra Try- on and Adam Hart. There were, perhaps others, but diligent inquiries have failed to " materialize " any of them. Of those men- tioned, Hart enlisted at Pittsburgh, Penn., and Gouder, in Tennessee. Two of the Caprons and O. P. Barney are dead ; Eliphaz Capron lives at Ellis' Corners ; Zettle and Gouder live in Akron, and Hart lives in Middlebury. Bar- ney was a Sergeant in the Mexican war, and the following incident is still remembered by many, as having been told by himself: When Gen. Taylor's little army was encamped at Matamoras, Barney was on picket duty, and was lassoed by the Mexicans and pretty roughly handled. The following paragraph in regard to it, is from an old file of the Akron Democrat : " We are sorry to observe that Sergt. O. P. Barney of this place has had both his feet frozen during the late cold weather. The gal- lant Sergeant has seen service on the line be- tween Matamoras and Buena Vista, but he has found a more formidable antagonist in Jack Frost, than in the Mexican troopers and their lassoes." Mr. Barney entered the late war, and some years ago, died at the Soldiers' Home at Dayton.

The great rebellion burst upon the country in the spring of 1861, threatening to sweep everything before it to destruction. Hitherto, we had been called to measure arms with for- eign foes, or with the howling savages, but now a war among ourselves was inaugurated-a civil war without parallel in the annals of his- tory :

"O war ! begot in pride and luxury. The child of malice and revengeful hate : Thou impious good, and good impiety ! Thou art the foul refiner of a State, Unjust scourge of men's iniquity, Sharp caser of corruptions desperate !"

Of all the wars that have ever scourged God's

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earth, a civil war, wherein " the brother betrays the brother to death, and the father the son, and children rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death," is the most dreadful. The rival houses of York and Lan- caster, with their emblems of " White" and " Red," shook old England to her center, filling her honses with mourning, her fields with car- nage, and wasting the blood of her bravest and best ; but compared to our " war between the States," it is dwarfed into insignificance. A per- fect history of our great civil war has never been written ; it never can be written. Though the " pen of inspiration were dipped in the gloom of earthquake and eclipse," it could not write a true history of those four long dreary years as they were. All the evils of war, and all the horrors of civil war were crowded into them, and the refined cruelties known to the civiliza- tion of the enlightened age in which we live, were practiced by the opposing parties. Starva- tion, the prison-pen, and the tortures incident to the times, were the common doom of the unfort- unate who fell into enemy's hands. But after four terrible years of strife, the Goddess of Peace once more waved the olive branch over the land, and the unnatural war was brought to a close. That which had so long been deemed a curse to the country, was developed into a blessing, and it is safe to predict that the same canse will never originate another war on Ameri- can soil. Now that the trouble is over, and peace and prosperity smile upon the land from one end of the nation to the other, it is a source of congratulation that the cause for strife be- tween the sections is forever removed. In the union of " the Roses" was found the germ of England's future greatness and resplendent glory, and in the harmonious blending of " the Blue " and " the Gray," who shall limit the greatness and the glory of America ?

It is highly creditable to Summit County that she was represented in some of the first regi- ments organized in the spring of 1861. When the news was sent flying over the country that the flag had been insulted, the people were aroused to instant action. Who does not re- member the blaze of excitement which followed the bombardment of Sumter, when martial mu- sie was heard in every town and hamlet, and tender women, no less than brave men, were wild with enthusiasm ? Wives encouraged their husbands to enlist ; mothers urged their sons to

patriotic devotion, and sisters tenderly gave their brothers to the cause of their country. But no reminders are necessary to revive a rec- ollection of those stirring scenes, nor to recall the names of the patriots who participated in the struggle ; who " fought the good fight unto the end," or, from the prison, the hospital and the battle-field, crossed over to mingle with the grand army beyond the river. Some of them sleep in unknown graves, " in the land of cotton and cane," where the palm-trees wave over their tombs ; where the birds carol their matins above them, and where the flowers sweeten the air around them with their fragrance ; and it is no reproach to their valor that they fell before foes as brave as themselves. They are held memoria in æterna, and their patriotism is recorded in the nation's history. Those who survived and returned in safety to home and friends, have their reward in the knowledge that the old flag still floats over all the States.

A brief sketch of the regiment, containing organized bodies of men from this county, will now be given, together with all the local facts to be obtained, of the companies recruited here and mustered into the United States service. Every exertion has been made to get the list of county organizations complete. Newspaper files have been examined, ex-officers and soldiers consulted, and all publications on the subject perused with care. And while there may be slight errors and omissions in some cases, we believe, however, that in the main the record will be found substantially correct.

The first regiment in which Summit County was represented was the Nineteenth Infantry. This regiment was originally organized for three months, and drew two companies from this county, viz., G and K. Company G. was recruited as "Company A, Akron Light In- fantry," but, in organizing the regiment, was changed to G. The original officers were Lewis P. Buckley, Captain ; A. J. Fulkerson, First Lieutenant, and G. S. Carpenter, Second Lieu- tenant. Capt. Buckley was promoted to Major, and, at the expiration of the term of service of the regiment, was appointed Colonel of the Twenty-ninth Infantry. Company K was re- cruited as "Company B, Akron Union Light Infantry," and, upon organization, became Com- pany K, with the following officers : Andrew J. Konkle, Captain ; Paul T. Kirby, First Lieu- tenant, and James Nelson, Second Lientenant.

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The regiment was filled up by the 15th of May, and on the 27th it left Camp Taylor- the place of rendezvous-for Columbus, and occupied Camp Jackson. Here it elected reg- imental officers. Companies A and B were armed and equipped and sent to Bellaire, where they were employed guarding the ferry until June 3, while the other eight companies were sent to Camp Goddard, at Zanesville, to perfect themselves in the drill. On the 20th of June, Companies A and B joined the reg- iment, and, with the Seventeenth and Twenti- eth, were sent to Parkersburg. At Parkers- burg the Nineteenth, Eighth and Tenth Ohio, and Thirteenth Indiana were organized into a brigade, under Brigadier-General W. S. Rose- crans. The regiment, with its brigade, went to Clarksburg on the 25th, and to Buckhannon on the 29th, where it arrived on July 2. It participated in the battle of Rich Mountain on the 7th. The behavior of the Nineteenth in this engagement, won from Gen. Rosecrans the following : "The Nineteenth distinguished itself for the cool and handsome manner in which it held its post against a flank attack, and for the manner in which it came into line and delivered its fire near the close of the action." The term of service expired on the 23d, and it returned to Columbus, Ohio, and was mustered out of the service. Many of the officers busied them- selves in recruiting for the three years' service, and with such marked success that by the 26th of September, nine full companies had reported and were mustered in.

In the re-organization of the regiment for three years, Company K was made up of Sum- mit County men, and went into the service with the following officers : Panl T. Kirby, Cap- tain ; G. R. Lentz, First Lieutenant, and J. J. Agard, Second Lieutenant. Capt. Kirby re- signed December 2, 1862. Lieutenant Lentz resigned August 1, 1862. Lieut. Agard was promoted to First Lieutenant February 9, 1862, to Captain June 19, 1863, and honor- ably discharged January 27, 1865. Albert Upson was promoted from First Sergeant to Second Lieutenant February 9, 1862, to First Lieutenant January 2, 1863, and to Captain July 25, 1864, and. as such, mustered out with the regiment. Wesley Upson was promoted from Third Sergeant to Second Lieutenant January 2, 1863, and to First Lieutenant July 2, 1864. J. S. Cochran was promoted from

Second Sergeant to Second Lientenant July 2, 1864. Of other promotions we could obtain no information.

The re-organization of the Nineteenth took place at Camp Dennison, and, by the 7th of November, 1861, it was fully armed and equipped and ready for the field. It left camp on the 16th and proceeded to Louisville, Ky., by way of Cincinnati, and was the first reg- iment to go into Camp Jenkins, five miles from Louisville. It remained here, in command of Gen. O. M. Mitchell, until the 6th of December, when it moved to Lebanon, Ky., and thence to Columbia, where it arrived on the 10th, and was brigaded with the Fifty-ninth Ohio, Sec- ond and Ninth Kentucky Infantry and Hag- gard's Regiment of Cavalry, Gen J. T. Boyle commanding.

The following pleasant episode occurred while stationed at Columbia : A beautiful silk flag was received as a present from the ladies of Canton to the Nineteenth. It was presented to the regiment in a neat little speech by Mr. A. Kitt. Capt. Manderson received it, and, in behalf of the Nineteenth, made appropriate acknowledgment.

The Nineteenth, together with the Third Kentucky Infantry, was ordered to the mouth of Renick's Creek, near Burksville, on the Cumberland River, on the 17th of January, 1862, and soon after moved to Jamestown, where they were joined by the Sixth Ohio Battery of Artillery. The battle of Mill Springs took place soon after, resulting in the defeat of the rebels under Gen. Zollicoffer, when the troops returned to Columbia. While lying at Colum- bia, the men suffered severely from sickness, and a number of the Nineteenthi died, among them Lient. S. Lentz, of Company E. The regiment was finally ordered to Nashville, where it arrived on the 10th of March, and went into camp five miles out on the Murfrees- boro Pike. On the 18th of March it left Nash- ville, with its brigade, for Savannah, on the Tennessee River, and on the 6th of April, when within fourteen miles of that place, the heavy booming of cannon was heard in the direction of Pittsburg Landing, and the troops started on the double-quick, hoping to get there in time to participate in the battle. But owing to a lack of transportation, it was dark before they arrived, and the dreary, rainy night was spent in line on the battle-field. In the second day's

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fight, the Nineteenth took an active part. Gen. Boyle, who commanded the brigade, said of the Nineteenth : "The Colonel and Capt. Man- derson (acting Major) held their men steady, and deported themselves, as did their officers and men, with coolness and courage, until the Colonel ordered them back to a position from under the fire of the enemy's battery. This position was held until the guns of the enemy were silenced by the well-directed fire of Capt. Bartlett's battery. Maj. Edwards, acting Lieu- tenant Colonel, was shot dead from his horse, and a number of privates were killed and wounded." Among the killed and wounded of the gallant Nineteenth, were Privates O. T. Powell and Horace H. Bailey, of Company C, and Corporal W. E. Gibson, of Company H, killed ; Lieut. William A. Sutherland, of Com- pany H, severely wounded.

The next active duty of the regiment was at the siege of Corinth. It entered that place on the 29th of May, with the army, and on the 3d of June marched in pursuit of the enemy, pro- ceeding as far as Brownsboro, when it returned to Iuka and joined Gen. Buell's forces. It marched with his column to Florence, Ala., and to Battle Creek, where it arrived on the 14th of July. On the 21st of August, it moved to Nashville with Gen. McCook's division, where it became a portion of Gen. Buell's army, and with it made that famous march to Louisville, Ky. The Nineteenth marched out of Louisville on the 1st of October, with Gen. Crittenden's division, and reached Perryville on the 8th, in time to witness a portion of that battle, but not to participate. Upon the retreat of the rebel army from Kentucky, the Nine- teenth marched through Somerset and Glasgow, to Gallatin, Tenn., where it remained two weeks on provost duty, then joined its division at the "Hermitage," and, passing through Nashville, went into camp near its old quarters on the Murfreesboro turnpike. It moved with the army on the 26th of December, in the advance on Murfreesboro. In command of Maj. Charles F. Manderson, it was thrown across Stone River on the 31st, with a view of swinging around into Murfreesboro, but the disaster of McCook's right wing compelled its withdrawal, and, recrossing the river, it passed to the right, and by a determined resistance, aided to check the advance of the rebels. Under the personal lead of Gen. Rosecrans, Beatty's brigade

charged the enemy, drove him about three- fourths of a mile, and held the position until relieved by Col. M. B. Walker's brigade. On the 2d of January, 1863, the Nineteenth, with its division, crossed Stone River, and received the charge of the rebel column under Gen. Breckenridge. They were forced to retreat, but the pursuing rebels coming under the range of the masked artillery, were driven back over the river and beyond it with great slaughter. The Nineteenth Ohio and the Ninth Kentucky were the first to cross Stone River, and with the assistance of men of other regiments, capt- ured four pieces of artillery from the famous Washington (La.) battery. The regiment suf- fered severely in this battle. It entered it with 449 men, rank and file, and lost in killed, wounded and missing, 213, nearly one-half. Upon the fall of Murfreesboro, the regiment went into camp on the Liberty turnpike. The whole army remained at Murfreesboro until the 29th of June, during which time the Nine- teenth guarded an ammunition train to Man- chester, and thence proceeded to McMinn- ville, where it remained until the 16th of August. It then crossed the Cumberland Mountains to Pikeville, and with the division passed over Lookout Mountain to Lee & Gor- don's Mills. arriving on the 13th of September. At Crawfish Springs, the regiment had a brisk skirmish with the rebels, in which several men were killed and wounded.

In the battle of Chickamauga, the Nineteenth did its part of the hard fighting. On the 18th of September, it was, together with the Seven- ty-ninth Indiana, supported by the Ninth and Seventeenth Kentucky, ordered to advance up- on the enemy. With a cheer they advanced, drove the enemy and captured a rebel battery, with some prisoners. In the second day's battle, the Nineteenth held an important posi- tion, and performed its full share of hard fight- ing. As a proof of the gallantry of the regi- ment, a private of Company G received severe wounds during the first day's battle. Capt. Irwin received a wound from which he after- ward died ; Lieut. McHenry was also severely wounded. The aggregate loss was 100 men killed, wounded and missing. At Orchard Knob, on the 23d of November, the Nineteenth lost twenty men killed and wounded. On the 25th, it took part in the charge of the rebel works at the foot of Mission Ridge, where it

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lost one man killed and thirteen wounded. It was next sent with Sherman toward Knoxville. This march was one of unexampled severity. The men were ragged and shoeless, and their footprints were marked with blood on the snowy ground. Finding that Gen. Longstreet had raised the siege of Nashville, the army moved to Strawberry Plains and Flat Creek. Here, on the 1st of January, 1864, 400 of the Nineteenth re-enlisted as veteran volunteers, and, upon reaching Chattanooga on the 4th of January, the three years' regiment was mus- tered out, and the veterans mustered into serv- ice for another three years. It then returned home on furlough, reaching Cleveland on the 16th of February. Upon the expiration of their furlough, they returned immediately to the front, arriving at Knoxville on the 24th of March. The first active duty of the Nineteenth was in the Atlanta campaign, which opened on the 6th of May, and the regiment was sent to Parker's Gap, to hold that pass. On the 20th, it rejoined its brigade, and, moving with the column, it participated in the fight at New Hope Church, in which it lost forty-four killed and wounded. Capt. Brewer, of Company E, was killed ; Maj. Nash lost his left hand, and Capt. Smith, of Company G, was severely wounded. It was engaged at Kenesaw, at Peach Tree Creek, and at the crossing of the Chattahoochie River, and was under fire daily up to the evacuation of Atlanta. The regiment participated in the action of Lovejoy Station and lost seventy men killed and wounded. Capt. Miller, of Company I, was killed; Col. Manderson was severely wounded, also Capt. Agard, of Company K. The entire loss of the Nineteenth in the Atlanta campaign was, killed, two commissioned officers and twenty-eight men ; wounded, six commissioned officers and ninety-six men ; missing, thirteen men ; total, 145. Lieut. McHenry, of Company I, was killed in front of Atlanta on the 24th of Au- gust, and Capt. Fix, of Company B, wounded on the same day.

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History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 44

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104