History of the Fire lands, comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers, Part 16

Author: Williams, W. W. (William W.)
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : Press of Leader Printing Company
Number of Pages: 726

USA > Ohio > Erie County > History of the Fire lands, comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 16
USA > Ohio > Huron County > History of the Fire lands, comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 16

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The Thirty-second had been hurried to the field without discipline of any kind-in fact, it was hardly organized. Here, upon the rugged heights of Cheat Mountain, amid the wild scenery of the Alleghanies, the regiment received its first lesson in the art of war. On the 3rd of October, 1861, the Thirty-second led the advance of the army against Greenbrier, Virginia, through the mountains and pines of that region by midnight. It remained at Greenbrier during the fall of 1861.

On December 13th, it engaged in the advance on Camp Alleghany. In his report General Milroy com- plimented the regiment very highly on its gallantry and good conduct in its charge into the camp of the enemy. The loss of the regiment in this affair was four killed and fourteen wounded, -some severely.

On its return from this expedition, it was ordered to Beverly where it remained the remainder of the

winter. In May it was at the engagements in the Bull Pasture valley. In the pursuit of Jackson up the Shenandoah Valley, the regiment participated in the battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic, on the 8th and 9th of June, 1862. Returning to Win- chester, it did garrison duty until September 1st, when the place was evacuated by General White. The regiment then moved to Harper's Ferry, and assisted in its defence. After making a hard fight and losing one hundred and fifty of its number, the regiment with the whole command, was surrendered by the commanding officer of the post to the enemy as prisoners of war. The history of this unaccount- able affair is yet to be written. The Thirty-Second was paroled, and finally transferred to Chicago, Il- linois. December- 1, 1862, it was transferred to Camp Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio. January 12, 1863, it was declared exchanged, and on the eighteenth, received orders to report to Major-General U. S. Grant at Memphis, Tennessee. It reached that point on the 25th of January, and was assigned to the Seventeenth Army Corps. At the battle of Champion Hills the Thirty-Second made a bayonet charge, and captured the First Mississippi Rebel Battery-men, guns and horses, with a loss of twenty- four men. For this gallant achievement the captured battery was turned over to the regiment, and manned by Company F, during the entire sieze of Vicksburg. The total loss loss of the regiment, during the campaign and siege of Vicksburg, was two hundred and twenty-five, rank and file. It participated in the battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson and Champion Hills; and was in the extreme front of Logan's Division when Vicksburg surrendered. It was identified with its corps in Sherman's advance against Atlanta: participated in the assault on Kene- saw Mountain, June 27, 1864, and Nicojack Creek, July 10th. Also, in the battles of July 20th, 21st, 22d an 28th, before Atlanta, and lost more than half its number in killed and wounded. After the fall of Atlanta the Thirty-Second moved with the army in pursuit of Hood, after which it rejoined General Sherman and accompanied him on his "March to the Sea." It participated in the grand review at Wash- ington, and remained in camp near that city until June 8, 1865, when it took the cars for Louisville, Kentucky. It lay there until July 20th, when it was mustered out of the service, and proceeded to Coluni- but, Ohio, at which place the men received their final discharge, July 26, 1865.

The Thirty-Second entered the field September 15, 1861. nine hundred and fifty strong, and during the war, received more than sixteen hundred recruits. Only five hundred and sixty-five remained at its muster-out. It is believed that the regiment lost and recruited more men than any other from Ohio.

THE FORTY-FIRST OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.

Immediately after the battle of Bull Run a number of the citizens of Cleveland, Ohio, set abont raising

HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

a regiment, and the result of their labors was the Forty-First Ohio Volunteers, of which Capt. William B. Hazen, Eighth U. S. Infantry, was appointed colonel. The camp of rendezvous was established near Cleveland .. By the 1st of September a large number of men were in camp, and the work of in- struction had commenced. The regiment was mus- tered as complete, October 31, 1861. November 6th, the regiment moved by rail to camp Dennison, where arms were supplied. These consisted of the "Green- wood Rifles," a weapon nearly as dangerons as the scythes and pitchforks of our revolutionary ancestry. From this point the regiment went to Gallipolis, and thence to Lonisville. It remained during the winter at Camp Wickliffe, Kentucky, and was assigned to Nelson's Division. February 14, 1862, the active ser- vice began. First came the battle of Pittsburg Land- ing. Here the Forty-First did noble work. Of the three hundred and seventy-three men who entered the engagement, one hundred and forty-one were either killed or wounded in half an hour. It was next en- gaged in the seige of Corinth ; then at Perryville, Murfreesboro', (where one hundred and twelve were killed or wounded, out of four hundred and ten.) January 10, 1863, encamped at Readyville, where it remained until June 24th. August 15th tents were struck and the regiment moved against Chattanooga. September 19th the regiment was actively engaged in the battle of Chickamauga, during the entire fight, and soon after retired to Chattanooga. At three o'clock in the morning of October 2"th, fifty-two pon- toons, bearing the Forty-First and its brigade, pushed out silently from Chattanooga, and floated down the river. In half an hour the leading pontoons were passing in front of the enemy's pickets on the bank, hundred feet above. The conversation of the rebels could be distinctly heard, but their attention was not once directed to the twelve hundred silent enemies floating past within pistol-shot. Just as the first pontoon arrived opposite its landing, it was discovered; but the landing was effected, the pickets driven in, and the hill gained. When the morning haze cleared away the rebels on Lookout mountain saw the hills beneath them, commanding two roads to Bridgeport, covered with blue-coats, in a position from which they could not be driven, with a pontoon bridge to connect them with Chattanooga almost completed. The engagement which followed was the most severe in which the Forty-First was ever engaged, and it was personally thanked by General Thomas for its gallant conduct on the occasion. At Mission Ridge the regi- ment lost one hundred and fifteen in killed and wounded. At Clinch mountain the regiment re-en- listed, and was furloughed home for thirty days, reaching Cleveland, Ohio, on the 2d of February, 1864. Returning to the front, they were at Rocky · Face Ridge, Resaca, Piney Top mountain, Peach Tree creek, and numerous smaller encounters. July 28th the regiment was in front of Atlanta, and was en- gaged more or less during the seige, and lost one

hundred and fifty men in battle and eighty by disease. The regiment was with General Thomas in his move- ment against Hood, and had "hot work" on Overton knob. It finally rested at Huntsville, Alabama. In June, 1865, the corps embarked at Nashville for Texas. Near Cairo the steamer collided with a gun- boat and sunk immediately. Fortunately no lives were lost. In Texas the regiment was stationed near San Antonio until November, when it was ordered to be mustered out. It was discharged at Columbus, Ohio, November 26, 1865, after four years and one month's service.

FIFTY-FIFTH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.

This regiment went into camp at Norwalk, Ohio, on the 17th of October, 1861. Companies A, C, D, and I, were recruited from the counties of Huron and Erie, as was also the field and staff.

On the 25th of January, 1862. the regiment left Norwalk for Grafton, West Virginia, and after a short stay here, it moved to New Creek. From this point it made two severe marches, one to Romney, and the other to Moorefield; at the latter place it participated in a slight skirmish. The regiment re- turned to Grafton on the 19th day of February. Here it suffered greatly from measles and other dis- eases, by which more than twenty men lost their lives, and many more were rendered unfit for field service. At one time over four hundred men in the regiment were unfit for duty. On March 31st, the regiment was ready for service again. It moved by rail to Green Spring river, and marched from thence to Romney, where it joined General Schenck's brigade, moved to Moorefield, and went into camp, some four miles north of the town.

In the latter part of April, seven companies of the Fifty-Fifth moved with the brigade to Petersburg, and to McDowell, leaving companies D, E, and G, at Moorefield. In the battle of McDowell, or Blue Pas- ture mountain, the regiment constituted the reserve, and after the battle fell back to Franklin. On this march, and during the stay at Franklin, the regiment suffered severely on account of the scarcity of rations. On the 26th of May, the army broke camp at Frank- lin, and moved rapidly to Strasburg, a distance of ninety miles, a large portion of which had been passed over before Stonewall Jackson knew that the army had left Franklin. The regiment was present at Cross Keys, but was not engaged. July 7th, the regiment marehed to Sperryville. Here it remained until August 8th, when it moved in the direction of Culpepper C. H., and at three o'clock, a. m., on the 10th, arrived on the battle-field of Slaughter mountain. On the morning of the 19th, the army commenced a retrograde movement northward, cross- ing the Rappahannock at White Sulphur Springs. On the 25th, the regiment was under severe artillery fire from Jackson's troops, and at night fell back to Centerville. Here it remained until November 2d, when it proceeded to Hopewell, via Manassas Junc-

HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

tion. It remained here until November 20th, when it moved to the neighborhood of Chantilly. On the 10th of December, the regiment broke camp, and after a series of severe marches, arrived at Stafford C. H., on the 17th. On the 20th of Jannary, 1863, General Burnside moved his army with the intention of attacking the enemy at Fredericksburg, and the regiment, with the division, was sent to Belle Plain landing, to defend that point. Heavy rains and bad roads arrested the movement of the army, and the regiment went into winter quarters at Brooks' sta- tion. On the 27th of April, the army moved upon Fredericksburg. The Eleventh Corps, to which the Fifty-Fifth was attached, marched up the Rappahan- nock, arriving at Chancellorsville on the 30th. The next day the army went into position. The Eleventh Corps occupied the extreme right, and the Fifty-Fifth was in the second brigade from the right. On the 2d of May the battle opened, and the result is too well known to be repeated here. In this engagement the Fifty-Fifth lost one hundred and fifty-three men, killed, wounded and missing, On the 5th, the army retreated, and the regiment went into its old camp, near Brooks' station. About the middle of May the regiment was transferred to the Second Brigade of the Second Division, and it remained in this brigade during the remainder of its term of service. The regiment marched into Pennsylvania with the army, and was present at the battle of Gettysburg. The battle-line of the regiment was not engaged, but the skirmish line was subject, most of the time, to a severe fire. The Fifty-Fifth lost in this battle about fifty men. The regiment followed the retreating enemy, and went into camp on the 25th of July, in the vicinity of the O. & A. R. R. Here it performed heavy picket duty. On the 24th of September, the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps took cars at Manassas Junction, and moved to Bridgeport, Alabama, arriv- ing on the 30th. On the 25th of October, the troops moved for Lookout valley, and encamped in full sight of Lookout mountain. The enemy attacked the troops in the valley. The Fifty-Fifth was not in the early part of the engagement, having been on picket. The regiment moved to Chattanooga, on the 22d of November. In the battle of Mission Ridge the corps formed line to the left and front of Fort Hood, and moving forward rapidly, drove the rebel skirmish line beyond the East Tennessee railroad. On the after- noon of the 25th, the regiment was posted on the ex- treme left, and guarded the flank during the remain- der of the battle. Immediately after this the regiment entered on the Knoxville campaign, and returned again to Lookout valley, December 17th. This cam- paign was made in extremely cold weather, without tents or blankets. On the 1st of January, 1864, three hundred and nineteen men in the Fifty-Fifth re- enlisted, and were furloughed home. Returning, it again encamped, on March 4th, mn Lookout valley. Abont this time the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps were consolidated, and denominated the Twentieth, and

the regiment formed a part of the Third Brigade of the Third Division.

The regiment started on the Atlanta campaign on the 2d of May, and participated in all the battles in which the Twentieth Corps was engaged. At the battle of Resaca, on May 15th, it suffered severely, los- ing upward of ninety men. It was engaged also at Cassville, Dallas, New Hope church, Marietta, and Kenesaw. On the 20th of July the regiment took position on the right of the Fourth Corps. During the seige of Atlanta the Fifty-Fifth occupied its place in the lines, assisting in the gradual but sure advance- ment of the parallels toward the city. On the 2d of September the troops entered the city. The Fifty- Fifth lost over two hundred men in this campaign. The regiment left Atlanta November 15, and moved toward the sea-coast. On the 21st of December it entered Savannah and camped near the city. Here it remained until early in January, 1865, when it was thrown across the Savannah river. On the 29th of January the regiment started on the campaign of the- Carolinas. No incident worthy of mention occurred until March 16, when, at the battle of Smith's Farm the Fifty-Fifth lost thirty-six men killed and wounded; and again, on the 19th, it was engaged and lost two men killed, one officer and twenty-three men wounded, and seven men missing. On March 24th, the regiment reached Goldsboro' and was reviewed by General Sher- man. On the 30th it commenced the march to Wash- ington. On May 24th it crossed Long Bridge and par- ticipated in the grand review, after which it went into camp near Washington. On the 10th of June it proceeded to Louisville, Kentucky, where, on the 11th of July, the Fifty-Fifth was mnstered out of the service. The regiment was transported to Cleveland, Ohio, where it was paid and discharged on the 19th of July, 1865.

During its term of service the regiment enrolled about one thousand three hunded and fifty men, and of these about seven hundred and fifty were either killed or wounded in battle. Ten officers were wounded once or more, and eight officers either died of wounds or were killed in battle.

Jay Kling, M. D., now of Monroeville, surgeon of the regiment, was mustered out after three years ser- vice. Embarking for home a few days subsequent, he was captured by the rebels and although paroled, yet he was obliged to remain with them many months before being allowed to pass through the union lines to freedom and home.

SIXTY-FIFTH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.

This regiment was one of those included in the brigade raised at Mansfield, Ohio. It was organized at Camp Buckingham, on the 3d of October, 1861, and was mustered into service on the Ist of December.

The regiment left Mansfield for active duty Decem- ber 18th, and moved to Lomisville, Kentucky, where it remained for a week, and then marched to Camp Morton, four miles east of Bardstown, arriving on the

HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

30th of December. Here it was brigaded with the Sixty-Fourth Ohio, the Fifty-First Indiana, and Ninth Kentucky. It was assigned to General Woods' di- vision.

On the 13th of January, 1862, the regiment moved to Hall's Gap. Here it was engaged in building cor- duroy roads until February 7th, when it marched to Lebanon, and on the 12th embarked on cars for Green river. It arrived at Mumfordsville, on the 13th, and remained there until the 23d, then marched for Nash- ville, where it arrived on March 13th. On this march the troops were forced, at times, to transport the con- tents of the baggage wagons on their backs over steep hills.

On March 29th, the regiment, with General Gar- field in command of the brigade, marched to Savan- nah, where it arrived on April 6th, and the next morning moved on steamer to Pittsburg Landing. At four o'clock p. m. it was on the battle field, but was not actively engaged. It lost two men wounded. The regiment next participated in the movements against Corinth, and during the seige was under fire almost hourly. After the evacuation it moved to Bridgeport, where it did guard duty until the 29th of August, when it marched northward in pursuit of Bragg's army, arriving at Louisville September 24th. After resting a week it moved to near Perryville, and from there marched to Nashville. On December 26th the brigade moved on the Nashville pike, fighting its way to La Vergne and Stone river. On the night of the 29th, the brigade crossed Stone river, the men wading in the water to their armpits, in the face of a murderous fire. The opposite bank was gained, and a line formed, but supports failing to come up the brigade was forced to retire. This it did in good or- der. It lay on its arms all that night, and during the whole of the next day; it was waiting for McCook to move on the right. Early in the morning of the 31st, McCook's corps was driven back, and Harkness' brigade, in which was the Sixty-Fifth, was ordered to its support. The brigade met a storm of bullets, and a solid column. of exultant rebels. For eight hours the brigade was heavily engaged, and at last succeeded in checking the rebel army. In this en- gagement the Sixty-fifth lost two officers killed and eight wounded, (one mortally), and thirty-eight men killed, one hundred and six wounded, nineteen miss- ing, and three deserted in the face of the enemy. The regiment was under fire throughout the entire engagement. The regiment remained at Murfrees- boro' until June 7, 1863, when it moved to near Chattanooga, and on the 7th of September skirmished with the enemy, losing one man.

During the first day of the battle of Chickamauga, the regiment was in reserve until five o'clock in the afternoon, when it became briskly engaged. It moved to the left center, and lay on its arms all night. The next day fighting was continued, with alternate suc- cess and reverse. On the night of the 20th, the entire army fell back finally to Chattanooga. The regiment

participated in the battle of Mission Ridge, with a loss of fifteen killed and wounded. In the Atlanta campaign the Sixty-Fifth was under fire almost con- stantly. At Lookout Mountain it lost four men; at Resaca it lost twenty-eight men killed and wounded; at Dallas it lost six killed and wounded: at Marietta it lost twelve in killed and wounded. It was in a fight at Peachtree creek, at Atlanta, July 22d, and in the movement at Jonesboro'. After the evacuation of Atlanta, it went into camp there. After some three weeks there, it went in pursuit of Hood. On November 29th, it participated in the battle of Spring- field, losing forty-one men killed, wounded and miss- ing. November 30th, in the battle of Franklin, it lost forty-four killed, wounded and missing. The non- veterans were discharged October 3, 1864. The regi- ment was engaged in the battle of Nashville, and in pursuit of the rebel army across the Tennessee, after which it returned to Nashville, and went into camp. In June, 1865, the regiment embarked on transports for New Orleans, where it remained several weeks, and was ordered to Texas. At San Antonio it did garrison duty until December, 1865, when it was ordered to Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, where it was mastered out, paid and discharged on January 2, 1866.

SEVENTY-SECOND OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.

This regiment was organized at Fremont, Ohio, during the months of October, November and Decem- ber, 1861. It was recruited from the counties of Sandusky, Erie, Medina and Wood.

On the 24th day of January, 1862. the regiment, numbering about nine hundred men, left Fremont for Camp Chase. Here it was fully equipped, and, in February, reported to General Sherman, at Padu- cah. Early in March, 1862, Sherman's Division pro- ceeded up the Tennessee to Fort Henry, where the main army was concentrated. The Seventy-Second was on the steamer Baltic. From here the main army proceeded to Savannah; Sherman's Division, however, was ordered up to Eastport, Mississippi, intending to cut the Memphis and Charleston rail- road. Heavy rains and consequent high water de- feated this plan, and the men returned to Pittsburg Landing, encamping near Shiloh Church.

On the morning of April 6th, Buckland's Brigade, in which was the Seventy-Second Regiment, met the enemy and withstood the onset of three successive rebel lines; and held the position two hours, and was ordered to retire. At eleven o'clock it was again in position on the right of the national line. It was at the front constantly, and, on the 7th, participated in the final charge which swept the enemy from the field. The regiment lost in this affair one hundred and thirty-four, killed, wounded and missing.

In the siege of Corinth the Seventy-Second bore a conspicuons part. During the siege General J. W. Denver assumed command of the brigade. July 21st. the regiment entered Memphis. No clothing had

HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO.

been drawn since the battle of Pittsburg. Landing, and the men were covered with rags. Jannary 9, 1863, it was ordered to Corinth. The Seventy-Second reached White's Station, nine miles east of Memphis. on January 31st.

On the 13th of March, the regiment moved to Memphis, embarked on steamer, and proceeded down the river. April 2d. it encamped near Young's Point. The regiment commenced the march for Vicksburg on May 2d. It participated in the battle of Jackson on the 14th, and the next day continued the march to Vicksburg, where it arrived on the 18th. It partici- pated in the assault on the rebel works on the 19th and 22d of May, and then came the labor of the siege. It occupied a position on the right.

On the ?2d of June, the regiment formed a part of the force ordered to Big Black river to intercept General Joe Johnson, who was attempting the relief of Vicksburg. The Seventy-Second was thrown out on the advance picket-line, and continued to hold that position until the surrender of Vicksburg. The regiment then moved against Johnson at Jackson, and, after the battle, pursued the rebels to Brandon, where it had an engagement After destroying a por- tion of the railroad, it returned to Big Black to rest and refit. About the middle of November the division was ordered to Memphis. January 2, 1864, the regi- ment re-enlisted, and, on February 23d, received its veteran furlough; returning to Fremont it was heartily welcomed. Returning to the front, it moved, on the 8th of April, by rail to Cairo, and from there to Padu- cah, Kentucky, to assist in the defense of that place against Forrest. Nothing of importance transpired here, and, on the 22d. the regiment embarked for Memphis, where it arrived the next day.

On the 1st of June, the regiment formed part of an expedition against Forrest; the result of which, through the incompetency of the commanding officer, was a total panic-the baggage trains were captured, as were a large portion of the men. The above re- ferred officer in command, at an early stage of the affray, surrounded himself with cavalry and started for Memphis, leaving the infantry, as he expressively and feelingly (?) remarked, "to go to the devil;" and it was only by the most arduous effort on their part that they did not all go where he designated, or to an infinitely more barbarous locality, a rebel prison. We are unable to give the name of this unfeeling brute, very much to our regret.

Incredible as it may seem, nine officers and one hundred and forty men of the Seventy-Second reached Germantown, one hundred miles, in forty-one hours after the battle, and this, too. without a morsel of food. Eleven officers and two hundred and thirty- seven men of the regiment were killed, wounded, or captured; the greater portion were of the latter class, and but few ever returned to the regiment. June 22d, the Sixteenth Corps, to which the Seventy-Second Reg- iment was now attached. started on an expedition in

the direction of Tupelo, Miss. In this movement Mc- Millan's Brigade, barely nine hundred strong, was in the rear of the infantry column, and just in advance of the wagon train. When two miles west of Inpelo, Bell's Brigade of N. B. Forrests' command, which was in ambush, attacked the column. This fell mainly on the Seventy-Second. The Regiment at once charged the enemy. The remainder of the Brigade was brought into action, and within twenty minutes the rebels driven from the field, utterly routed. On the return march McMillan's Brigade again marched in rear of the infantry column; and just as it was going into bivouac for the night, Bell's Brigade fell upon the Cavalry rear-guard and drove it into camp. Mc- Millan's Brigade formed rapidly and advanced. A volley checked the enemy, and a charge drove him from the field. On the 1st of September the division started on a wild-goose chase into Arkansas and Mis- souri, resulting in nothing except an immense amount of marching and hardship. It finally reached St. Louis on November 16th. Its rest was brief. The division was ordered up the Cumberland, and on the 30th of November it joined the forces under General Thomas, at Nashville, and was posted on the right of line. On the 7th of December the Seventy-Second was on a reconnoisance, and became warmly engaged, losing eleven men killed and wounded. During the first day of the battle of Nashville, the regiment par- ticipated in a charge, in which three hundred and fifty prisoners and six pieces of artillery were cap. tured. It also took part in the fight on the 16th, and was engaged in the charge on Walnut Hills. In this battle McMillan's Brigade, numbering less than twelve hundred men, captured two thousand prisoners and thirteen pieces of artillery, while its total loss was only one hundred and sixty. The division moved to Eastport, Mississippi, and went into camp. Supplies were searce, and the troops subsisted for some days on parched corn.

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History of the Fire lands, comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers, Part 16

Author: Williams, W. W. (William W.) Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : Press of Leader Printing Company Number of Pages: 726

Author: Williams, W. W. (William W.)
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : Press of Leader Printing Company
Number of Pages: 726