USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > History of the Cuyahoga County soldiers' and sailors' monument > Part 26
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"SECRETARY OF WAR EDWIN M. STANTON.
"One of them is Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who was appointed to that position by President Lincoln in 1862. Previous to that time he had been a reporter of the decisions of the Ohio State Supreme Court, and Attorney-General under President Buchanan. He was born in Steubenville, in December, 1815, and received his education in the public schools of that place and in Kenyon College. Throughout the administration of President Lincoln, his influence was all-powerful.
"He was strong-willed, and often succeeded in secur- ing action desired by him against the heaviest opposi- tion. The war triumphs won under the administration of President Lincoln are inseparably connected with his name.
" MAJOR - GENERAL JAMES B. MCPHERSON.
"General James B. McPherson, who was the highest ranking officer from Ohio that fell in the War, has a medallion next to that of Secretary Stanton. In the service of his country he was gallant and able, as well as lovable to such a degree that lie was regarded with feelings of warm friendship by those who knew him. He fell just on the eve of triumphs that were sure to have given him prestige and honor beyond any he had
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received. In the minds of those who were familiar with his history, he ranks high among those who fell martyrs to the cause of the Union. He was born in Clyde, November 14, 1828. He entered West Point, and graduated at the head of his class, being assigned to the Department of Engineers. He was recalled to the academy, and for a year taught in that institution. During the War he served as Chief of Engineers under Grant, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier- General. His death occurred before Atlanta, when he was engaged in seeing to the formation of the Union lines previous to the battle. In appearance he is spoken of as extremely prepossessing, being six feet in height, well formed, and graceful.
" MAJOR - GENERAL WILLIAM B. HAZEN.
"The features of General William B. Hazen look down from a medallion at the side of that of General McPherson. This officer, who was born in Vermont in 1830, and who came to Ohio with his parents three years later, made an enviable record on the field as a Soldier. He was a brave fighter, and made few inis- takes. He rose to the command of the Fifteenth Ariny Corps, and he made his organization efficient through his method of careful instruction of his officers and the great care which he took in making his plans. He was educated at West Point, graduating from the academy in 1855.
"MAJOR - GENERAL JAMES B. STEEDMAN.
"General James B. Steedman, who was one of the famous Ohio officers during the War, was living at Toledo when the War began. He was born in Penn- sylvania in 1818, and previous to the War he had filled various positions of public trust. Two days after the call for volunteers, he telegraphed to Governor Den- nison, offering a regiment of troops, and three days
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after he was appointed Colonel the regiment was ready to take the field. The regiment, after a time spent in Camp Taylor, passed through many engagements, and in July, 1862, he was appointed a Brigadier-General. His service during the War was distinguished and highly honorable, and was regarded as most valuable. He was bold and energetic, and his troops possessed unbounded confidence in him.
" MAJOR-GENERAL MANNING F. FORCE.
" Major-General Manning F. Force was born in the District of Columbia in 1824. He passed through the law college of Harvard University, and then removed to Cincinnati, where he practiced law. - When the Re- bellion broke out, he at once began to prepare for the crisis, and in July, 1861, he was appointed Major of the Twentieth Ohio Infantry. His regiment was mainly used at first for the guarding of prisoners on the way to the North, but during 1862 and 1863 he was a partici- pant in a number of hard-fought battles. He was pro- moted to Colonel soon after the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and in August, 1862, he was made a Brigadier- General for gallant service at the siege of Vicksburg. He was wounded in the face by a bullet in front of Atlanta. At the close of the War he was brevetted Major-General.
" MAJOR-GENERAL EMERSON OPDYCKE.
"Another of the medallions is in honor of Major- General Emerson Opdycke, who enlisted in the Army as a private and rose to the high rank given him at the close of the War, through his gallantry and ability as an officer. He was born in Trumbull County in 1830. Within a month after his enlistment, which was in the Forty-first Ohio, he was made First Lieutenant, and the success that attended his efforts soon after gave him the
Brig. Cren George W
BRIGADIER - GENERAL GEORGE W. MORGAN.
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rank of Captain. He commanded a regiment of the 'Squirrel Hunters,' the minute men who marched to the defense of Cincinnati when it was threatened by the Rebels under Kirby Smith, and while home from the War at that time, he organized the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Infantry. At the battle of Mission Ridge he commanded five regiments, and made several large captures. He was a fierce fighter, and did not hesitate to leave his horse and fight on foot when the occasion demanded. He received the highest commendation from General George H. Thomas when promoted to Major-General. He is now the Manager of the Soldiers' Home at Sandusky.
"BRIGADIER - GENERAL GEORGE W. MORGAN.
"General George W. Morgan had just returned from acting as Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal when the War opened. He was born in Pennsylvania, and he passed several years in the Military Academy at West Point, although he did not graduate. He served in the war with Mexico, receiving the rank of Colonel, and was later appointed a Colonel of the Fourteenth Regular Infantry. He served until the close of the Mexican War with distinction, and when the Rebellion broke out he was made a Brigadier-General of Volunteers. He was a man of military appearance, polished manners, and was every inch an officer.
" MAJOR-GENERAL ALEXANDER MCDOWELL MCCOOK.
"Another of the Ohioans who received a West Point education, and rose to prominence in the War of the Rebellion, was Major-General Alexander McDowell McCook, a native of Columbiana County. He was graduated from the academy in 1852, and afterward engaged in the campaign against the Apache Indians. In the Civil War, he participated in the battles of
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Vienna and Bull Run, and was made in December, 1861, a Brigadier-General of Volunteers. He organized and equipped the Second Division of the Army of Ohio, but met with many reverses in the latter part of the War, and was relieved from his command. He received many brevet appointments for meritorious services, however, and retaining his rank in the Regular Army, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
"SURGEON C. A. HARTMAN.
"The features of Dr. C. A. Hartinan, who was killed at the battle of Chancellorsville, are molded in one of the bronze medallions which ornament the shaft. Dr. Hartman was a practicing physician in this city at the time the War broke out, and the recognition of him in this manner is due largely to the uncommon occurrence of a surgeon being killed in battle. The Fifth Ohio, to which he was attached, had just completed the march to Chancellorsville when it was surprised by a large force of the Rebel troops. The men were at rest, their arms were stacked and not in readiness for use, and the surprise resulted most disastrously for the Union force. In the heat of the surprise, when some of the inen were rushing for their guns and others were trying to get away as fast as they could, the surgeon, sword in hand, rushed into the fight. He held aloft the colors and endeavored to rally the men around him, when he was struck by a Rebel bullet and killed.
"BRIGADIER - GENERAL J. J. ELWELL.
"General J. J. Elwell, whose features are shown in one of the medallions, is a member of the Monument Commission, and his biography is referred to elsewhere.
"BRIGADIER - GENERAL J. S. CASEMENT.
"A dashing fighter and a brave man is General J. S. Casement, who is a resident of Painesville. He entered
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the service May 7, 1861, as Major in the Seventh Ohio Infantry. When the regiment was reorganized for the three years' service, he retained the same rank, and in 1862 he resigned. In August of the same year he was appointed Colonel of the One Hundred and Third Infantry, and he was awarded the rank of Brevet-Briga- dier-General January 25, 1865. He was a commanding officer who was not feared, but was much loved and re- spected by the men under him. When he called upon them to follow him into the conflict, they were not backward in doing so, and he always led them.
"MAJOR - GENERAL A. C. VORIS.
"General A. C. Voris, of Akron, was one of the prompt and ever ready Soldiers of the War, and for his services in the great conflict he received high commendation from his superior officers. He was born in Stark County in 1827. When the Rebellion commenced, he was a member of the Ohio Legislature, and in Septem- ber, 1861, he enlisted in the Twenty-ninth Ohio In- fantry. Without solicitation on his part, he was ap- pointed a Second Lieutenant for the recruiting service, and soon afterwards he became the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sixty-seventh Regiment. Just preceding the battle of Winchester, his command took part in the only engagement where Stonewall Jackson was beaten by the Union troops, and he was shortly afterward pro- moted to be a Colonel. He took part in a large number of engagements, and was successively promoted to Brigadier-General and Major-General, and at the close of the War he was placed in command of the Military District of South Anna, Va., where he was for six months absolute ruler. His men were full of admira- tion for him, and at the close of the War they presented him with a magnificent sword and trappings as a token of their esteem. He is a lawyer of large practice, and is also interested in politics."
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NORTHERN OHIO SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY.
We have very much pleasure in recognizing the noble and telling work performed by the women of the Northern Ohio Soldiers' Aid Society and their auxil- iaries during the entire period of the War, and gladly devote a part of our volume to the achievements of that organization, and to a brief sketch of its principal factors.
Agreeable to our earnest request and cordial invita- tion, this part of our volume was written by an accom- plished and gifted native of Cleveland, a lady who is held in the highest esteem by hundreds of the old families of this city for her modesty and patriotic worth; one who is capable and familiar with her sub- ject. We present the valuable contribution of Miss Ellen F. Terry, now Mrs. Charles F. Johnson, of Hartford, Conn .:
The Northern Ohio Soldiers' Aid Society was organ- ized April 20th, 1861, five days after President Lincoln's first call for troops, and somewhat earlier than any other relief association.
Its first efforts were directed towards supplying com- forts to the Soldiers at Camp Cleveland, and relieving the wants of the families of enlisted inen. Like the goverment and people of the Union, they struggled blindly towards the best, learning what that best was only after repeated experiment. Out of not infrequent failure was at length evolved systematic plans and methods of operation.
On July ist, 1861, No. 95 Bank Street, Cleveland, was rented for the uses of office and store-room-as the serious nature of the national struggle became apparent and the hopes first entertained of its temporary charac- ter faded. Impressed by the magnitude of the task be- fore it, and convinced that individual effort must always be less efficacious than concerted action, the society,
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PANEL COMMEMORATING NORTHERN OHIO SOLDIERS' AID SOCIETY AND SANITARY COMMISSION.
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October Ist, 1861, became auxiliary to the U. S. Sanitary Commission, as its Cleveland Branch ; thence- forth directing its contributions chiefly through the Commission's channels, taking advantage of its agents, and availing itself of the privileges granted that body by the general Government. One of the most impor- tant advantages gained by this connection was the con- stant advice and assistance of the Western Secretary of the Sanitary Commission, Dr. J. S. Newberry, a most dis- tinguished and patriotic citizen of Cleveland, whose serv- ices were ever after invaluable to the Cleveland Branch.
From April 20th, 1861, to the close of the Free Claim Agency, in 1868, the Soldiers' Aid Society continued its existence as the exponent of the patriotic sentiment of the people of Northern Ohio. The systematic ar- rangement of its supply and relief work rendered its operations regular and important and, it is believed, in the direction of the greatest utility. Drawing its sup- plies from a comparatively small area-not greater in extent than one-eighth part of the State of Ohio-the results of the society's efforts, thus systematized, showed, when summed up at the close of the War, a total dis- bursement of hospital stores, not only far greater, pro- portionally, than that of any other branch of the Sani- tary Commission, but actually, in certain respects, in excess of that of societies which received contributions- from states, not counties.
By gradual accretion, the number of societies in Northern Ohio whose combination formed the Cleveland Branch Sanitary Commission was five hundred and twenty-five. The connection between these branches and the central office was a close one, and in time the contributions of each toward the general cause became as regular as the operations of a business house, and to stimulate and encourage this systematic activity was the duty of the parent society at Cleveland. Corre-
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spondence with each branch was regular and frequent, not only by personal letters but through the Cleveland press, and by means of circulars and bulletins. Thus an interchange of interests was made possible ; all re- ports of agents in the field were promptly communi- cated, and suggestions and information conveyed from the central office to each branch. Through its greater opportunities, the Cleveland office was able to extend temporary help to its auxiliaries. When the funds in the local treasuries were low, hospital garments, cut out and prepared, were sent them to make, or material for such sold them at reduced rates, to tide over pass- ing difficulties. Through these close relations, the central society gained its knowledge of the innumera- ble instances of self-sacrifice, unconscious and unre- corded, which made possible the great work done by the people of Northern Ohio. To deny themselves comfort and luxury, and to know no pause in earnest effort and generous giving was, till the end of the War, the privilege of the women who formed the Northern Ohio Soldiers' Aid Society.
At the central office, at 95 Bank Street, Cleveland, all hospital stores received were examined, assorted and classified, being also repacked, according to such classi- fication, in specially prepared boxes to insure safety in transportation, and to facilitate shipments to definite points. For regular, unfailing work in this direction the society depended upon its Cleveland members, many of whom were in attendance at stated periods from the beginning to the end of the War. Others, who could not give regular service, would render assistance when- ever required, and on many occasions a call through the daily papers for help in filling some unexpected de- mand from camp or hospital has secured the manufac- ture of several hundreds of hospital garments in twenty- four hours' time.
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To facilitate frequent communication with branches, a printing office was established, when the society's re- moval in 1864 to No. 89 Bank Street gave it enlarged quarters. In this office were set up and worked off the labels required for the various hospital stores, the cir- culars to auxiliary societies, letters from agents in the field and the association's monthly reports.
Another story of the building was used for the stor- ing of material and the cutting out of hospital sheets, pillow cases and clothing which were issued to the branches, or made up in Cleveland.
The shipment of hospital supplies was chiefly to the Western depot of the Sanitary Commission at Louisville, Ky., whence they were forwarded, through the Commission's transportation facilities, to the hos- pitals in the South and Southwest, to the various Soldiers' Homes along the rivers, and for the use of the hospital trains and steamers. There were over one hundred and fifty of these objective points in Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, Army of the Potomac, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and to most of these camps, hospitals and homes, repeated contributions were made.
To the issue of hospital stores was added a new feat- ure in 1863. The Army of the Cumberland was seri- ously threatened with scurvy, a disaster only averted by the prompt action of the U. S. Sanitary Commission. A steamer-load of fresh vegetables was at once for- warded to Nashville and issued to the men in camp, while a hundred barrels of potatoes and onions were shipped to Gen. Thomas every day during the Summer. Of these shipments, the contribution weekly of a car- load of fresh vegetables from the Northern Ohio Sol- diers' Aid Society formed a part. The auxiliary so- cieties planted gardens, to aid in the " vegetable raid;"
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one small neighborhood sending sixty barrels of potatoes, and a little cross-road settlement twenty-eight barrels at single installments. The great quantity of dried fruit shipped during the War by the last-named small society was explained by the fact that the entire product of the neighborhood was reserved for use of the sick Soldiers. The systematic methods employed in collect- ing and shipping fresh vegetables enabled the Sanitary Commission to supply the Army of the Tennessee with potatoes and onions until, as it was said, " they captured Vicksburg." In one shipment to this point, the Sol- diers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio sent five hundred boxes of hospital supplies. To accomplish such im- portant results, even with unflagging individual support, would have been impossible but for the assistance which the various corporate bodies tendered the Cleve- land Branch throughout the War. The contributions of the railroad companies were unparalleled in magni- tude. Not only were favors in transportation for Soldiers and their families freely granted to the request of the officers of the Soldiers' Aid Society, and freight charges often remitted on goods consigned to the Cleve- land office, but all shipments of hospital stores to the front were carried free of expense by the Cleveland & Pittsburg, the Cleveland & Toledo, the Lake Shore and the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati railroad com- panies. The extent of the Sanitary Commission's obli- gation to the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Rail- road Co. may be inferred from the fact that the North- ern Ohio Aid Society was allowed the use of a car on the passenger trains once every week, and cars 011 freight trains as many and as often as desired. To these favors was added the personal kindness of the officers of the companies.
Other corporations-though less heavily taxed-con- tributed as freely. The Western Union Telegraph Co.
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sent the Aid Society's dispatches free; the Omnibus Co. gave passes to the officers, after the establishment of the Soldiers' Home; the frank of the society was for three years recognized by the Post Office Department, which made possible the vast circulation of documents containing information and issued from its office, amount- ing to one hundred and twenty-five thousand. To the Cleveland daily papers the indebtedness of the Aid Society was very great. The columns of all were open to the bulletins and reports of the sanitary work, and a large space in the Cleveland Herald and Cleveland Leader was weekly occupied by material prepared at the Bank Street office. From the United States and Ameri- can express companies, innumerable favors were re- ceived, as also from the Cleveland gas and water com- panies. It is, of course, impossible to record within the present limits the great obligation of the Soldiers' Aid Society to individuals.
To acquaint themselves with the method of distribut- ing hospital stores, and to obtain specific information as to supplies most urgently needed, the officers of the Aid Society from time to time visited the front, inspected the Commission's depots and its Soldiers' Homes and went to Pittsburg Landing on the hospital steamers. The reports rendered of these inspections did much to encourage and stimulate the Soldiers' Aid Society and its branches, since not only was the efficiency of the Sanitary Commission's system confirmed, but the need of further effort established.
The hospital steamer Lancaster No. 2, which carried down cargoes of sanitary stores and brought up the wounded from the South to the hospitals along the Ohio River, was, from the first, very largely fitted out and supplied on every trip by the Cleveland Branch.
One of the most important departments of the sani- tary work was called the Special Relief Service. From
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the first days of the War, cases where personal aid could be given were numerous, and a small room in the Union Depot was occupied in April, 1862, for the ac- commodation of invalid Soldiers in transit. The occa- sional services of a nurse were secured, and the patients fed from the depot restaurant. These limited quarters proved inadequate, when the two years men, returning from the lower Mississippi, brought with them so great a number of sick and wounded. By the favor of the railroad companies, a site was secured upon the wharf, parallel with the Union Depot, and a building put up for the purposes of a Soldiers' Home. This building, which was on several subsequent occasions enlarged, was opened on December 12th, 1863. During its existence, nearly fifty-eight thousand Soldiers received aid and comfort within its walls. This number comprised inen in transit, who if able to proceed upon their journey received only food, lodging or clothing; sick and wounded men unequal to further travel who remained under skilled treatment until convalescent ; patients consigned to Camp Cleveland and awaiting transfer to that hospital ; regiments en route for other States, upon their discharge, who were fed and had their sick cared for ; the sick of those Ohio troops who were entertained upon their return by the City of Cleveland ; and dis- charged and disabled Soldiers, awaiting the settlement of claims for pension and bounty, or out of work and seeking employment. The number of cases where in- dividual relief was required made serious demands upon the sympathy and attention of members of the Soldiers' Aid Society, and no branch of the general work excited more interest. In October, 1865, the furniture and out- fit of the Soldiers' Home, as well as the patients therein resident, were transferred to the Home at Columbus, O., which was maintained by the State until the general Government could make permanent provision for its
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pensioners. Two rooms in the Cleveland institution were kept open until 1866, for use in occasional cases and as a point from which patients could be sent to Columbus. In June, 1866, it was finally closed and the building sold.
The Aid Rooms were from the first a center of inquiry regarding Soldiers in the field or in hospital, and the society early availed itself of the Sanitary Commission's Hospital Directory service. This record of Soldiers in hospital in the Western Department, daily posted, enabled the friends of a patient to obtain reliable infor- mation regarding his condition. Through the field- agents of the Commission, also, the graves of Union Soldiers could be often identified and their bodies sent home, in the care of the Cleveland office.
Another department of the Soldiers' Aid Society's work was its employment agency, whereby occupation was secured for disabled Soldiers which was suited to their physical capacity. Out of three hundred applica- tions made to this agency, situations for two hundred and six men were obtained-an unexpected result under the limitations of the applicants.
At the close of the War, the Cleveland Branch as- sumed a work which the General Sanitary Commission then laid down. The society established an agency for the collection of pension and bounty claims, free of charge to the Soldiers. This business was put in charge of Jasper E. Williams, a brilliant young lawyer, whose subsequent illness threw upon the secretary and treas- urer of the society the conduct of the agency until it became apparent that the work must go into other hands. About two thousand Soldiers' claims were filed, through this agency, and all valid ones collected with- out charge to the applicants.
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