USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107
From August 17 to 24, 1882, the regiment encamped on Belle Isle, near Detroit, Michigan.
The original enrollment of "Curry Cadets," Company D, was as fol- lows: William L. Curry, Charles W. Radebaugh, C. W. Snyder, John L. Sellers, Steadman W. Coe, O. W. Ingman, Charles F. Mason, F. J. Hill, J. D. Buxton, Charles L. Ousler. C. F. Wilkins, J. R. King, Frank Winget, A. G. Winget, A. G. Wetzel, F. N. Hamilton, L. R. Newhouse, W. C. Ful- lington, John T. Cartmell, J. F. Baker, L. Hoffman, John Shadrack, C. F. Sellers, John St. John, William M. Liggett, John 11. Kinkade, John V. Pearse, Jr., Oscar R. Barbour, Charles W. Stuart, J. W. Cassil, Lester Tur- ner, Joe S. Wilkins, Edward W. Porter, A. H. Beightler, S. C. Thompson, John M. Broderick, Joe W. Cartmell. John F. Zwerner, Charles W. South- ard, S. W. Peacock, H. L. Snyder, G. W. Morlin, LeRoy Turner, J. Weis- brodt, C. L. Rose, DuRele S. Porter.
At first the old town hall was used as an armory; the state not yet making appropriations for such expenses, the company paid it themselves.
Companies from the Fourth or Fourteenth regiment have seen active service in the preservation of life and property in Ohio at the following points : Railway riots, Columbus and Newark, 1877: incendiary fire troubles. Columbus, 1879: Perry county labor troubles, 1880; Ashland, aid of civil authorities, 1884: Cincinnati riots, 1884; Hocking Valley miners' riots, 1884; Carthage rendezvous, 1886; G. A. R. encampment, police duty at Columbus, eight days, 1888: Mount Sterling "Hobo War." 1894: Colum- bus west side flood, 1894: Wheeling creek, 1894; Washington Court House, aid of civil authorities, 1894: Cleveland street railway riot, 1899; Akron riot, 1900; Springfield riots, 1906: Jefferson county mine strike, 1906; Bridgeport riots, 1910; Columbus street car riots, 1910: Columbus flood. 1913.
Among other encampments since the Spanish-American war are the fol- lowing: Beaumont, Ohio, 1904: Strasburg, 1906; Fort Benjamin Harrison, 1908; Marietta, Ohio, 1910: Camp Sharp, Delaware, 1912; Columbus Cen- tennial. 1912: Camp Perry, 1913: Camp Maple Grove, Ohio, 1914.
After the discharge of the company January 20, 1899, at the close of the Spanish-American war, there was an interval until March 14, 1900, be- fore another company was organized, the same designated as Company E. Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On the formation of the company. Edward
318
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
W. Porter (now probate judge) was elected captain : George B. Hush, first lieutenant : Abe Newlove, second lieutenant.
The officers serving at this time (January 1, 1915) are as follows : Captain, Abe Newlove: first lieutenant, Herman Dollinger ; second lieuten- ant, Robert H. Beightler : first sergeant, William C. Sellers; quartermaster sergeant, Antony Pfarr : sergeants, Benjamin Cook, George Curl, G. Mc- Cracken, William Sellers and Fay Turner ; corporals, Fred Moder, Lewis Donley, John Daily, Francis Trumby, Harry Burgy, Frank Blair; artificer, Ralph Holycross ; cook, Ernest Keller; musicians, Karl Kreakbaum, Gordon Beightler. There are now thirty-four privates in this company.
LIST OF CAPTAINS.
Since the organization of this company the following is the order in which the captains have served: William L. Curry, July 20, 1877: William M. Liggett, John D. Buxton, John L. Sellers, John F. Zwerner, Frank F. Ford. Charles A. Hopkins, William B. Hershey, John L. Sellers, Charles F. Sellers, E. W. Porter, Abe Newlove, Joseph A. Johnson, Frank D. Hender- son, John T. Snitzler and Abe Newlove.
OHIO GENERALS AND FIELD OFFICERS IN THE CIVIL WAR.
In every crisis through which our nation has passed since the firing of that shot at Concord, April 19, 1775, that "was heard around the world," there seem to have been men born to meet every emergency ; statesmen and men of military genius called from the walks of civil life to carry the ship of State safely through ; both in peace and war. Therefore when the first gun of the War of the Rebellion was fired on Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, and while the smoke still hung over the battered walls the call came for volun- teers, Ohio, with all the loyal North, was awakened to the danger of the hour.
But little did the citizens of this state realize the part their sons were to take in this great drama of war to follow. Ohio was fortunate in having leaders among her citizens who were to play an important part both as states- men and soldiers. During the war Ohio furnished a larger number of dis- tinguished generals than any other state in the Union.
.At the very outbreak of the rebellion Ohio generals were at the front organizing our volunteer armies, and in the first battle of any note, Bull Run in 1861, General Irwin McDowell of Ohio commanded the Union army. .At the close of the war, the vanquished and beleaguered Confederate armies of Lee and Johnston surrendered to Grant and Sherman, both Ohio generals.
319
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
After the battle of Bull Run, Virginia, July 21, 1861, General George B. McClellan, a citizen of Ohio, was appointed to the command of the Army of Virginia. General W. S. Rosecrans, a native of Ohio, was assigned to the command of the army of West Virginia. General Don Carlos Buell, a native of Ohio, was called to the command of the Army of Ohio and drove the Confederates from the Ohio river across the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, and marched on to the relief of Grant's army at Shiloh, in April. 1862.
General Ormsby O. Mitchell of Ohio, cutting loose from Buell's army at Nashville, Tennessee, in March, 1862, swept to the southeast, through Huntsville, Alabama, and then east to Chattanooga. General Mitchell was called by death, and General Q. A. Gilmore, another native of Ohio, was as- signed to command Mitchell's division.
General Philip Sheridan, who gained such fame as the great cavalry commander of the Union army, was from Ohio. General James B. Mc- Pherson, who cammanded the Army of Tennessee in the Atlanta campaign and was killed on the battle line July 22, 1864, was a native of Ohio and was the only army commander of the Union forces killed during the war.
Major General Thomas J. Wood, a gallant soldier of the regular army, was a division commander in the Army of the Cumberland in many decisive battles, and was especially distinguished at the battle of Missionary Ridge. Tennessee.
Many other Ohio generals rendered distinguished service on the field in almost every great battle of the war, among whom may be named Hayes, Schenck, Crook, Garfield, Walcutt, Custer, the MeCooks, Steadman. Stanley, Grosvenor. Beatty. Keifer, Harris, Lytle, Long, Hurst. Hamilton, and scores of others of exalted fame and under whose leadership our armies were led "Always to honor and often to victory."
There were two families of the "Fighting MeCooks." The sons of Major Daniel McCook were Surgeon Latimer A. McCook: Col. George W. McCook; Brigadier General Robert L. McCook, killed August 6, 1862; Major General Alexander McDowell McCook; Major General Edwin S. McCook: Brigadier General Daniel MeCook ; Private Charles M. McCook, killed at the battle of Bull Run, Virginia. July 21, 1861, and Colonel John J. McCook: midshipman J. James McCook, who died in the naval service be- fore the war-ten in all. The father, Major Daniel McCook, was in the service as paymaster and was killed July 22, 1863. while leading an advance against the rebel General John Morgan in his raid through Ohio.
320
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Of the other family. sons of Dr. John McCook, brother of Major Daniel McCook, there were engaged in the service, Major General Edward M. Mc- Cook; Brigadier General Anson G. McCook; Chaplain Henry C. McCook ; Commander Roderick S. McCook, U. S. navy, and Lieutenant John J. Mc- Cook, in the two families, fifteen.
GALAXY OF OHIO GENERALS.
The total number of generals furnished by Ohio during the war was two hundred and twenty-seven, divided by rank as follows :
Major Generals 20
Brevet Major Generals 27
Brigadier Generals
30
Brevet Brigadier Generals
150
1 1
1
227
In this number were some whose military fame was known and praised throughout the whole of the civilized world, and it may be well doubted if there was an officer in any of the European countries that stood as high as a military leader as did General Grant at the close of the war, and it is a fact and rather remarkable that the only officers that have ever attained the rank of general, excepting Washington, were Grant, Sherman and Sheridan, all Ohio soldiers.
Grant was commissioned lieutenant general, March 2, 1864, and held that rank until July 25. 1866, when he was promoted to general and was suc- ceeded by William T. Sherman, who became a general in full March 4, 1869, upon Grant's election to the Presidency. Phillip H. Sheridan was promoted to lieutenant general and held that rank until June 1. 1888, when he was promoted to full general. He died August 5. 1888. The act promoting Sheridan to the rank of general provided that the rank should end with the life of General Sheridan. Grant and Sherman and Sheridan may well be named "Ohio's Immortal Trinity."
Many persons are laboring under the mistaken idea that a general is usually in a place of safety during the battle and directs the movements of his troops from a position far from the point of real danger. This is all a delusion, as a good officer never hesitated to go where duty called him, and the most convincing evidence of this is the long "roll of honor" of the gen- erals who were killed on the field in both the Union and Confederate armies.
321
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Two notable instances come to mind. General McPherson of the Union army and Stonewall Jackson of the Confederate army, both of whom were killed while in advance of their lines of battle. At least six Ohio generals were killed on the field, viz .: McPherson, Sill, Robert McCook, Dan McCook. Lytle and Harker. A score of others were severely wounded.
OTHER FIELD OFFICERS OF OHIO TROOPS KILLED IN BATTLE.
Colonel John H. Patrick. 5th O. V. I., fell mortally wounded dur- ing the Atlanta campaign, May 25. 1864, while actively engaged.
Colonel John T. Toland, 34th O. V. I., was killed at Wytheville, Va., July 18, 1863.
Lieutenant-Colonel Barton S. Kyle. 71st O. V. I., fell at the battle of Pittsburg Landing. April 6, 1862.
Colonel William G. Jones, 36th O. V. I., fell at the battle of Chicka- mauga. September 19. 1863.
Colonel Fred C. Jones, 24th O. V. I., held command of the Tenth Brigade and was killed December 31, 1862, at the battle of Stone's River.
Colonel Minor Milliken, Ist Ohio Cavalry, was killed in saber charge at battle of Stone's River, December 31, 1862.
Colonel George P. Webster. 98th Ohio, fell in the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, September 8. 1862, and died on the field of battle.
Colonel Leander Stem. IOIst O. V. I., was killed at Stone's River. De- cember 31, 1862.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jonas D. Elliott, 102nd O. V. I., was killed at Athens, Alabama. September 23, 1864.
Colonel Joseph L. Kirby Smith. 43rd O. V. I., fell at the battle of Cor- inth, October 4. 1862.
Lieutenant-Colonel James W. Shane, 98th O. V. I., fell June 27, 1864, in an assault upon the enemy's works at Kenesaw.
Colonel Augustus H. Coleman, uIth O. V. I., was killed at the battle of Antietam. September 17. 1862.
Colonel J. W. Lowe. 12th Ohio, was killed in the battle of Carnifix Ferry. September 18. 1861.
Lieutenant-Colonel Moses F. Wooster, IOIst O. V. I., was mortally wounded on the 31st of December. 1862. at Stone's River.
Lieutenant-Colonel Valentine Cupp, commanding the First Ohio Cav- alry, was killed in the battle of Chickamauga, September 20, 1863.
(21)
322
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
The loss of officers in both the Union and Confederate armies in killed and wounded, according to the best of authority, is larger in proportion than in the rank and file. This rather explodes the story of the private who claimed that he never got behind a tree in any battle, and who, when asked for his reasons, stated that "There weren't enough trees for the officers." The officers and the privates were equally brave and did their duty on every battlefield, and among the soldiers of both armies who saw actual service, which means "soldiers who were in battle," there is no contention.
There are good reasons why the casualties among the officers would be in excess of that of their men ; not that they were any braver, but they were exposed in passing along the lines. This was especially true when troops were protected by breastworks or barricades, while the duties of the officers were such that he was more exposed and sharpshooters and crack shots were always on the lookout for such marks in skirmishing or picket firing.
In the Union army there were six thousand three hundred and sixty- five officers killed during the war, which is about one to each fifteen or six- teen men.
In a good organization the average in the army was about one officer to twenty-five men, so that to have made the proportion equal, the loss would be one officer to each twenty-five men. At the battle of Shiloh, which was fought without breastworks or any protection excepting trees and logs, the loss in officers was about sixteen per cent, which is perhaps a fair average, but at Gettysburg the loss in officers was about twenty-eight per cent., and in men about twenty per cent.
The following incident is related by an officer who served under General Dan McCook :
General Dan McCook, when he enlisted in the war for the Union, said : "Here is for a general's star or a soldier's grave."
He was selected by his law partner, General Sherman, to lead the assault on Kenesaw Mountain on June 27. 1864. After all the arrangements for the assault had been made, the brigade was formed in regimental front, five deep. Just before the assault Colonel MeCook recited to his men in a per- fectly calm manner the stanza from Macaulay's "Horatius," in which occur these lines :
"Then out spake brave Horatius, The captain of the gate; To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late.
323
UNION COUNTY, OIIIO.
And how can men die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers And the temple of his gods?"
Then the brave general gave the word of command and dashed forward. He had reached the top of the enemy's works and was encouraging his men to follow when he was riddled with minie balls and fell back into their arms, wounded unto death.
The summer of 1864 was known as the great battle summer of the war, and the two most distinguished soldiers commanding the Union armies were Grant and Sherman. While Grant, commander-in-chief, was with the Army of the Potomac battling through the Wilderness on toward Richmond, the goal for which that great army had been fighting for more than three years, Sherman, with his magnificent army. one hundred thousand strong, was driv- ing the Confederates across the rivers and through the mountain passes of northern Georgia in that "One hundred days under fire from Chattanooga to Atlanta."
Atlanta fell September 30, 1864, and that brief. terse dispatch from Sherman to President Lincoln was flashed-"Atlanta is ours and fairly won." Then came the "march to the sea." cutting the Confederacy in two, and the march up through the Carolinas. The surrender of the Confederate army under fighting Joe Johnston to General Sherman, at Durham's Station, North Carolina, occurred April 26, 1865. During the early spring days of 1865 Grant had been closing up the lines around the Confederate army under their greatest general. Robert E. Lee, and the cavalry under dashing Phil Sheridan at Five Forks was blocking every avenue of escape in the forlorn hope of the Confederate army to break through the lines. Then came the climax by the surrender at Appomattox. April 9. 1865, with Grant, Sherman and Sheridan the great central figures in the closing scenes. An Ohio soldier command- ing in the first battle of importance and Ohio soldiers receiving the surrender of the Confederate armies at the close of the Civil War are historical events in which every patriotic citizen of the state can take a just pride.
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
The last war in which Union county has been called upon to send forth her brave sons in defense of the rights of humanity and the honor of our flag, was the war brought on by the sinking of the "Maine" in Havana harbor
324
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
in the spring of 1898-at least that act was the direct cause of action against Spain. It resulted in the independence of Cuba and the acquiring of the Philippine Islands.
The National Guard was used from which to gain soldiers for the Spanish-American War. The company at Marysville was organized for the volunteer service, April 25, 1898, and was mustered into the United States service as Company D, Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. the Four- teenth being changed to the Fourth regiment May 9, 1898, the date of the muster-in of the regiment.
The regiment left Camp Bushnell at Columbus, May 15, for the front, arriving at Camp Thomas, Georgia, on the 16th, and were assigned to the Second Brigade, First Division, First Army Corps.
Company D served continuously with the regiment in all of its cam- paigns during the war, leaving Camp Thomas July 22, and traveling by rail to Newport News. At that point they embarked on the steamer "St. Paul." July 28, arriving at Arroyo, Porto Rico, August 2. On debarking they were ordered on August 5 to march toward Guayama. The regiment moved out promptly, soon struck the enemy, and received a volley from the enemy in the ambuscade. An interesting account of this fight was written by Charles E. Creager, sergeant-major of the regiment, from which we are at liberty to quote :
"After an advance of perhaps a mile had been made, the flankers were strengthened in numbers and C Company was brought forward to serve as support of the advance. C Company advanced to within about five hundred yards of Company A and at about the same distance in advance of the main column, at that time consisting of B Company of the First Battalion and E and 1 of the Second, and the whole of the Third Battalion.
"When this disposition of the advance had been made, the march was pushed with considerably more caution than had hitherto been observed. Finally a house was reached over which the colors of the French nation were flying. The occupant of the house spoke English, but with a strong French accent, and in his characteristic way explained to Major Speaks and Captain Wilson that the Spaniards would be found in trenches about two thousand yards away up the road. Their position, he said, could be distinguished by the presence of a cluster of trees bearing red blossoms.
"The flankers were warned to proceed cautiously and they were advised as to the carrying of their guns. The extreme advance was again strength- ened and the line lengthened so that the whole of Company A was now in the
325
UNION COUNTY, OIIIO.
skirmish line, the extreme right extending as far as the hills to the right of the road, a distance of about three quarters of a mile.
"About the time the point had reached the top of the slope, and the officers and party had reached where the road parted into the field, a sharp- crack was heard from the top of the hill. An instant later, a shrill, whirring noise was heard in the air directly over head; this was succeeded by another and then in rapid succession a score of other sharp reports followed by the whirring, singing noise.
"Several members of the point had advanced so far beyond the crest of the hill that they could plainly see about fifty Spanish soldiers in position to defend the approach to the city. It did not require a long-drawn-out discus- sion to determine what the noises were, and it did not require an eloquent appeal for the men to dodge behind trees, rocks and cactus bushes. It was the report of the deadly Mauser that the boys had heard and the disturbances in the air were made by the leaden messengers that had called home the sons of Columbia at Santiago a few brief weeks before.
"Just who was the object of the first fire will probably never be known, but whoever he was he may congratulate himself upon the fact that the Spaniard who fired it was not an expert in the use of a rifle, for not a mem- ber of the advanced guard was struck at any time. The honor of firing the first shot at the enemy, however, is laid claim to by private Charles Hughey, a member of the company which had reached the hilltop.
"The members of this squad returned this fire of the Spaniards, and then slowly retreated to the culvert referred to above. Every one present, as a matter of course, sought shelter and then a steady fire was poured into the place where the enemy was supposed to be. This was a matter that had to be guessed at. for there was not a Spanish soldier in sight and as they used smokeless powder, there was nothing to mark their position. It was reasoned, in as much as the bullets were whizzing either directly over the heads of the men, or striking the gravel in the immediate vicinity, and that while they were at the foot of the hill, those who were firing were surely somewhere at the top, certainly not behind the ridge. The order was, there- fore, to shoot at the top of the hill or at any object that might be used as a shelter for the lurking Spaniards.
"As evidence of the fact that the Spaniards were over-shooting their mark, if indeed they were shooting at the Americans nearest them, is the circumstance before mentioned that not a single member of the extreme advance was wounded. Private John O. Cordner, however, a member of Company C, the command which now acted as support to the advance guard.
326
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
was wounded in the right knee. The ball passed directly through the limb, without striking any bones, but at the time the regiment was mustered out of the service of the United States the wound had not entirely healed. About the same time Clarence Riffle, a private in A Company, was struck by a Mauser, the bullet passing through the fleshy part of both legs. His wound, like that of private Cordner, was not healed at the time of his discharge.
"On the 8th day of August, the regiment had another engagement with the Spaniards, in a reconnoissance toward Cayey, in which five members of the regiment were wounded, and the enemy was driven from the field and up the mountain. On the 13th of August the regiment made another recon- noissance toward Pablo Nasquez, under command of General Haines, where it was thought the Spaniards were in strong force in the mountains, toward San Juan. The regiment moved forward carefully, with a strong advance guard, and under a boiling sun. About noon, or soon after, a dispatch was received from General Brooke with the information that a peace protocol had been signed.
"The regiment did garrison duty until about the middle of September at Guayama and detachments were then dispatched to different points on the island, and some of the companies were ordered to other islands. Company D was ordered to Humacoa in the east part of the island, and they raised the American flag at Humacoa, Yabacao, Nanzabo Juncos Piedras and San Lorenzo, and remained on duty in that district until October 25.
"During all the period from about the latter part of September until relieved, as above noted, Captain Sellers had full command of the district and he, with his company, had some thrilling experiences with the natives. The Captain was highly commended for his judicious administration during that time. Many of the natives were very bitter, and opposed the new administration of officers and, in some instances, were treacherous and vicious. The company remained on duty at Humacoa until the latter part of October. when the regiment arrived on the United States steamship "Chester," and the company was taken aboard. That transport sailed from San Juan. October 29, and arrived at New York, November 3. The regiment was, soon after arrival, ordered by President Mckinley to report at Washington, where it was reviewed and received at the White House by the President. The regi- ment arrived in Columbus November 6, were given sixty days furlough, and were mustered out January 20, 1899.
"The above is but a brief sketch of the services of Company D during the Spanish-American war, but it may furnish some data for the future historian to write fully an interesting account of their services."
327
UNION COUNTY, OIIIO.
Suffice it to say that their history is identical with the history of the regiment. They obeyed orders and did their duty, from muster in to muster out, and their relatives, neighbors and friends may well take a just pride in the record of their services. Every guardsman who has at any time been a member of the Fourteenth or Fourth Regiment, either before the Spanish War. during or since that war. may take pride in the fact that the regiment was under fire during that war, and was the only Ohio organization so favored.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.