History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, Part 48

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company
Number of Pages: 1408

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It is reported that our Corps is to be stationed at Atlanta, and are expected in every day. I will be glad when they come. Samuel Wood was wounded. Ilis was a flesh wound. Thos. Scott was slightly scratched on his back, but he did not leave his Con- pany. The rest of the Genoa Boys are well, and I feel first rate, also. It is most excellent weather for the wounded. We have good care taken of us.

Now, my dear parents, I do not want you to fret about me, for I suffer very little, and get first rate

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care taken of me, and as soon as our wounds get a little better, we will be sent North to Nashville, and the better we get the farther they send us toward our homes. We have been moved round from place to place, to get us the most comfortable places they could. We are now in large hospital tents, with a bunk for each man, and on each bunk is a tick filled with straw or cotton. These ticks were furnished by the kind and patriotic Women of the North, and many a poor Soldier's life have they saved by this means, too.

I will bring this to a elose, for the Surgeon is coming around dressing our wounds, and it will be my turn pretty soon.

From your affectionate Son, WILLIAM H. COALWELL.

Among the true heroes without the com- missions requisite to command special mention in official reports, was " Little Johnny Mitch," of Toledo. Before the war he had gained dis- tinetion there as a waif, and for years divided the attentions of Sunday School Teachers and the Police. While not really vicious, he was yet unable to withstand the evil influences in- cident to his unguided life. A correspondent, writing of the battle of Chickamauga, in Sept., 1863, made this record of the Toledo waif:

Bnt yesterday I met a little hero of Chickamauga, whose name, like the many thousands of others that deserve a Nation's reverence, has not been men- tioned in any reports. Two years ago, when only 15, he tried to enlist at his home, in Toledo, but was re- fused, on account of his extreme youth. Intent on getting into the Army, he then applied to the officers of the Third Ohio Cavalry, as a stable boy. But when the Company arrived at Louisville he made another effort to enlist, and finally succeeded in getting into the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, with which he went into active service. Noted for his promptness at any duty, however hard-never asking to be excused from any undertaking, however des- perate-he soon became the favorite of his Company. lle passed through three hard-fought battles, without the slightest injury, though always in the thickest of the fray. But at bloody Chickamanga he was left on the field. Many eyes were moist that evening when it was found that the saddle of " Little Johnny Mitch" was empty. He was shot three times in that fight. First, a piece of shell took off' a thumb and forefinger; then a musket-ball grazed his head, laying the skin open just above the right eye, which staggered him, but still he stuck to his horse and went for the Rebs till one of their bullets entered his mouth and lodged in the back part of his neck. This brought him senseless to the ground, where he was left for dead, and he lay on that bloody battlefield 10 days, when he was taken into a Rebel hospital where he could receive food and medical attention. His career was not to end here, however, for a few days since he was paroled and sent under flag of truce into our lines, and is now recovering so rapidly, that, to use his own words, he "will soon be ready for them again."

It is much regretted that the subsequent history of "Johnny Mitch "-made so inter-

esting by what is known of him - cannot here be written.

The Toledo Blade, of November 24, 1862, had this item :

In recently looking over a file of letters written by a Soldier boy in an Ohio Regiment, we were forcibly struck by the character and uniformity of his closing paragraph, which invariably was in these words: " Mother, pray for me." One of his letters gave a very intelligent account of the battle of Winehester, in which he took an active part. After discussing the terrific conflict which took place in front of the cele- brated Stone Wall [which gave to " Stonewall" Jack- son his war title], where the whistling bullet was heard in all directions, and his comrades fell on every hand, he said: "I was not in the least afraid, for I felt that you were praying for my safety. Mother, always pray for me, that I may always feel so." Since then he has been in other battles, the last being the fearful one at Antietam, where he received a slight wound. He there felt the same reliance on a kind Providence, and in his letter makes appropriate acknowledgment for his preservation amid the terri- ble slaughter of his companions.

Among those who constituted Company I, Fourteenth Ohio Regiment, for the three months' service, was Langdon P. Smith, of Waterville. He was then just 17 years of age. Serving out his enlistment, he remained home for a time, but ere long re-enlisted for three years in the Sixty-Seventh Regiment. At the first battle of Winchester, he was shot, the bullet entering the side of his neck, passing through and coming out in the opposite shoul- der. No proper treatment being possible for him at the front, he was brought home to To- ledo, in care of two comrades. It was with great difficulty that he could breathe, as the ball had so injured his wind-pipe, that it was fast closing np. At the suggestion of his brother, Captain John W. Smith, One Hun- dred and Eleventh Regiment, a council of Sur- geons was held, which decided, as the last resort, to make an incision in the throat below the wound and insert a silver tube into the wind-pipe. This was done by Drs. W. W. Jones and J. B. Trembley. The operation . was successful, and the invalid wore the tube for 14 months, though a sufferer until the wound healed. He is now in good health, breathing wholly through the aperture in his throat. When examined for final discharge from the Army, Dr. Weber, Surgeon-General of Ohio, told him he knew of no such case on record, and regarded the operation and the fact of his living as simply marvelous.

CHAPTER XI.

HONORING THE SOLDIERS. - MEMORIAL DAY. - TOLEDO MEMORIAL HALL.

T' THE practice of annual decorations of the graves of Union Soldiers, was instituted at Toledo at an early day. The first occasion of the kind took place May 30, 1868, under the anspices of Forsyth Post, Grand Army of the Republic. At two o'clock, P. M., a procession was formed at the corner of Summit and Mad- ison Streets, in the following order, to wit: 1. The Union Band. 2. Forsyth Post, carrying the National colors and a large supply of bouquets and wreaths. 3. Citizens on foot. 4. Carriages. Arrived at Forest Cemetery, the column halted, when General Charles W. Hill, Commander of the Post, briefly stated the order of exercises for the occasion. Reverends Wm. W. Williams of First Congregational Church, E. B. Raffensperger of First Presbyterian Church, S. H. Camp of Unitarian Church, and H. M. Bacon of Westminster Church, by re- quest, briefly addressed the assemblage ; when the ceremony of placing flowers on the graves of the dead was proceeded with. This accom- plished, the procession was re-formed and marched to the Catholic Cemetery, where ad- dresses were made by Reverends George W. Collier of Ames Chapel, and S. M. Beatty, City Missionary, and the proper graves decorated as in the former case. A party detailed for the purpose, and under direction of Colonel Na- thaniel Haughton, visited other localities where Soldiers had been buried, adorning their graves in like manner, while the procession returned. This fitting practice, since that time, has been maintained with great regularity and interest, as it no doubt will continue to be for many years to come.

MEMORIAL HALL.

The matter of the erection in Toledo of some suitable memorial to the fallen Soldiers of the Union Army during the late Rebellion, had been under discussion for some time, when, on the 16th of July, 1879, different Committees in charge of the subject met for consultation. The result of the meeting was the appointment of

a Committee to prepare papers for the incor- poration of a " Sokliers' Memorial Association," under an act of the Ohio Legislature, passed March 3, 1865. At a subsequent meeting (July 23, 1879), it was resolved to organize " The Toledo Soldiers' Memorial Association." Au- gust 16th, the following Trustees were selected, to wit : From the Citizens of Toledo-John R. Osborn, Frank J. King, Jacob Romeis, S. F. Forbes, and W. T. Walker. From Forsyth Post -Charles L. Young, HI. G. Neubert, C. W. Everett and E. H. Norton. From Ladies' Aid Society-Mrs. Kate B. Sherwood, Mrs. D. R. Locke, Mrs. S. H. Bergen, Mrs. Milton Taylor, and Mrs. E. R. Collins. J. R. Osborn was elected President ; Mr. Walker and Mrs. Sher- wood, Vice Presidents, and W. W. Jones, Treasurer.

With such organization and a financial nu- cleus, consisting of $49.60, contributed by For- syth Post, G. A. R, the Association set abont its work, with much hope of success. The City set apart for the site of a building a portion of the old Canal bed between Madison and Adams Streets. The sum of $2,736.55, known as the " Third Ward Bounty Fund," was, with the consent of the subscribers to the same, turned over for the use of the Memorial Hall. This sum was from the balance on hand of the money raised by voluntary contributions of citizens of the Third Ward, Toledo, in 1864, for the pur- pose of promoting enlistment in the Union Army. So liberally was such call responded to, that the quota of the Ward was promptly met

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on every call of the Government for troops, without necessity there during the War for a draft. The original balance was $1,500. This soon after the close of the War was invested in the municipal bonds of the City of Jackson, Michigan, being part of $50,000 of same secu- rities taken at Toledo, on condition that such purchase would secure permanent traffic con- nection between the Jackson & Grand Rapids Railroad (then building) and the Lake Shore Road at Jackson, whereby the traffic of the former would be secured to Toledo. Such stip- ulation was not made good, the connection being made with the Michigan Central Road, instead. Subsequently the Michigan Courts undertook to relieve the City of Jackson of its obligation to pay such bonds, when the case was taken to the Supreme Court of the United States, where the Michigan decision was re- versed and judgment given the Toledo holders of the bonds. The same were finally paid, and with accrued interest amounted to $2,736.55, when the fund was turned over to the Memorial Hall Trustees. Thus was the money, raised in 1864 as bounty for Soldiers in the Union Army, some 20 years later bestowed by its contributors upon a fitting recognition of the grand service performed by that Army in defense of the Na- tion's life. Other contributions from citizens of Toledo carried the aggregate of eash means to abont $20,000. In September, 1882, the Asso- ciation added to its site a small triangular piece of ground for the sum of $1,640. January 4, 1883, the Association resolved to erect such a Memorial Building as "should not only do honor to our fallen Comrades, but be of material benefit to the City," the cost of which was esti- mated at 860,000, and appointed a Committee to prepare an appeal to the citizens of Toledo for contributions for such purpose. Plans for the proposed structure were ordered. At the annual meeting held February 26, 1883, it was resolved to proceed with the erection of the Building, and to lay its corner-stone July 4th, ensuing, in connection with a general celebra- tion of the day. Such purpose was executed, and was attended by immense numbers of citi- zens and visitors. The corner-stone was laid at 10:30 A. M., the ceremony being conducted by Right Worshipful C. C. Kiefer, Grand Mas- ter of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, assisted by R. C. Lem- mon, as Worthy Deputy Grand Master ; R. E.

Richards, as Worthy Senior Grand Warden ; C. T. Wales, as Worthy Junior Grand Warden ; and D. W. Gibbs, as Architect. Colonel L. F. Lyttle acted as Marshal of the Day, with Major H. S. Bunker as Chief of Staff. At the conclu- sion of laying the corner-stone,* the Civic So- cieties proceeded by Railway cars to the Fair Grounds, whence they had been preceded by the military and vast numbers of citizens. J. R. Osborn acted as President, and read a his- torical sketch of the Association, when General William II. Gibson delivered an appropriate oration. A feature of the occasion consisted in a Sham Battle (of Shiloh), the Union forces under command of Adjutant W. W. Alcorn, and the Confederates under Captain T. B. Terry, the engagement taking place in a driving storm of rain.

The annual meeting of January, 1884, found

* The box deposited under the stone contained the following articles :

1. List of National Executive and Judicial Oilicers.

2. Executive and Judicial Officers of the State of Ohio.

3. Mayor, Common Council and Executive Officers of the City of Toledo, and Population of the City.

4. A list of Deceased Soldiers who went out from the County of Lucas.

5. Roster of Forsyth Post of the G. A. R. Roster of Ford l'ost of East Toledo, G. A. R.

6. Constitution and By-Laws of the T. S. M. Association, and names of Trustees and Officers.

7. Names of Officers and Members of Auxiliary to Forsyth Post of G. A. R.

8. Names of Masonic Commanderies and other Societies uni- ting to lay the Corner Stone.

9. Sketch of the late Frederick Il. Brown, of Toledo, killed in an Indian battle ou the Frontier.

10. Pamphlet and Sketch of Northwestern Medical College of Toledo.

11. U. S. Fractional Currency issues during the War.

12. Copy of the Toledo Papers, issued last before this date.

13. Historical Sketch of the Rise and Growth of the Toledo Soldiers' Memorial Association.

14. Sundry Maps.

15. Roster of Fourth Battery, O. N. G., Capt. O. J. Ilopkins.

16. Roster of Toledo Cadets, O. N. G., C'apt. W. V. MeMaken.

The Military and Civic Societies present were as follows :

MILITARY.

First Regiment, Michigan State Troops-Cos. B and G, Jack- son ; Co. D, Monroe; Co. C, Detroit.

Emmett Rifles, Jackson, Michigan.

Sixteenth Regiment, Ohio National Guard-Co. A, Toledo ; Co. B, Sandusky ; Co. C, Toledo; Co. D, Fostoria; Co. E, Bryan; Co. F, Napoleon ; Co. I, Clyde.

Findlay Guards, Findlay, Ohio.

Fourth Ohio Battery, Toledo.

Co. C, Eleventh Regiment, O. N. G., Lima.

Kirby Light Guards, Upper Sandusky, Ohio.

Gatling Gun Battery, Cleveland.

Toledo Cadets.

CIVIC SOCIETIES,

Patriarchal Circle Lucas Temple No. 6, 1. O. of O. F.

Defiance Commandery No. 30, K. T., Defiance.

Shawnee Commandery No. 14, K. T., Lima.

Toledo Commandery No. 7, K. T., Toledo.

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the Association in no assuring condition. At that time new officers were chosen, as follows : President, W. T. Walker; 1st Vice President, Mrs. Kate B. Sherwood; 2d Vice President, C. L. Young; Secretary, C. S. Brown ; Treasurer, H. S. Bunker. It was then proposed to turn the Building over to the City, and at a meeting April 14th following, a resolution to that effect was passed by the Directors. The result of such action was the passage of an ordinance by the City Council, June 14, 1884, accepting a transfer of the property and providing for the completion of the Building by the issue of $30,000 of City Bonds, the same to be finished by July 1, 1885. The following named persons were chosen as Trustees, to manage the con struction of the edifice : Robert Cummings, George Scheets, W. W. Jones, John S. Kountz, T. B. Terry and L F. Lyttle. These, with Mayor Jacob Romeis, ex officio President, and L. F. Lyttle, as Secretary, were organized July 15, 1884.

The Building having been completed, Wash- ington's birthday ( February 22), 1886, was ap- pointed for its formal opening and dedication to the purposes of its erection. The total cost of the same was then $65,000, exelusive of site, and was believed to be the only edifice of the kind in the United States. About 2 o'clock P. M., on the day named, Mayor Forbes called to order a vast assemblage that had convened in Drill Hall, and asked Rev. H. M. Bacon to offer prayer. The Mayor then addressed the audience briefly, setting forth the object of the Building, and was followed by John R Osborn, Esq., who delivered the principal address of the occasion, when Mrs. W. W. Ainsworth

sang the National air, " America." Colonel Lyttle read a historical sketch of the Building ; D. R. Austin, Esq., delivered an address upon the Soldiers in the War, and Mayor Forbes, in the following words, dedicated the Building to the purpose of its erection, to wit : " On behalf of the citizens of Toledo, I hereby dedicate this Building to the honor of the Soldiers and Sailors of Lucas County in the late war, and in memory of those who gave up their lives in the mainte- nance of our country, and to be the home of the military of our City forever. And may the God of battles smile auspiciously upon this memento of patriotism and loyalty."

In the evening a memorial address was de- livered by Capt. J. Kent Hamilton, in Memorial HIall, and a public Ball took place in Military Ilall, above. Letters of acknowledgment and regret were read in the afternoon from many invited guests, including President Cleveland, Chief Justice Waite, Ex-President R. B. Hayes, Senator Sherman, Ex-Governor Charles Foster and Governor Foraker.

The Officers and Trustees of the Toledo Sol- diers' Memorial Association, for 1886, were as follows : President, L. F. Lyttle; Ist Vice President, Mrs. Kate B. Sherwood ; 2d Vice President, C. L. Young; Secretary, R. H. Cochran ; Treasurer, W. T. Walker ; Trustees, S. F. Forbes, Mayor, and C. A. Vortriede, County Auditor, ex officio ; Mrs. Kate B. Sher- wood, Mrs. Milton Taylor, Mrs. D. R. Locke, Mrs. S. H. Bergen, Mrs. Joel W. Kelsey, J. K. Osborn, W. T. Walker, C. L. Young, L. F. Lyttle, J. S. Kountz, H. G. Neubert, II. S. Bunker, T. B. Terry, William Corlett, George Scheets.

CHAPTER XII.

IN REBEL HANDS.

SAD as War is, under any circumstances; and specially sad as Civil War always has been and must be; the worst and most cruel of all the sad features of the War of the American Rebellion, was found in the experience of the loyal Soldiers of the Union when falling into the hands of their disloyal countrymen. Noth- ing in modern warfare, and nothing in history outside the lawless ferocity of savages, has equaled it. The brutality of the Rebel author- ties in that one particular, manifested beyond dispute the spirit which dictated and directed their assault upon the life of the Republic. Such treatment of one semi-savage people by another, would have aroused the indignation, if not the interposition, of the civilized world. The pretext employed in mitigation of such inhumanity, that the Confederate authorities were deficient in supplies and other means for the proper care of prisoners of War falling into their hands, might be accepted in exceptional cases. But no such ptea can avail with them. The wrong was the rule, instead of the excep- tion. There was not a prison established and maintained by them for the occupancy of Union Soldiers, which was not the scene of abuse, in some form or other, and to greater or less ex- tent. Prisoners were taken and held with full purpose and intent of savage maltreatment. Such were thrust into prison-pens, with knowl- edge that all of them would be subjected to in- human abuse. Aye, worse than that-with guilty foreknowledge, that a large per cent. of them never would come out alive. Conceding that the desperate condition of the Confederates was so great, that such was the best care they were able to give to their prisoners of War, how utterly insufficient is such pretext for their inhumanity. If they knew that they had reached the condition which forbade to them the continuance of warfare in modes recognized among civilized Nations as consistent with common humanity, but one thing was left for them to do, and that was, to cease warfare. They could hardly proclaim in more distinct

form, their wicked persistence in useless and hopeless war, than by their confession that they were no longer able to conduct hostilities according to civilized nsages.

No attempt will be made here to present more than brief mention of a very few cases of Confederate brutality toward Union Soldiers falling into their hands. A few cases-by no means the worst-will be presented, as indi- eating what was the character of the treatment experienced by loyal, at the hands of disloyal citizens.

Lieutenant-Colonel E. L. Hayes and Captain W. W. Hunt, of the One Hundredth Ohio, who were of the detachment of that Regiment (300 strong) captured by the Rebels September 8, 1863, near Limestone Station, Tennessee, hav- ing been exchanged, reached Toledo, Angust 19, 1864, where they had an enthusiastic recep- tion by the citizens at White's Hall. They were introduced to the meeting by .I. R. Osborn, Esq., who briefly stated their services in the Army, when each of them responded in thanks for their reception, and in statements of their experience. Lieutenant-Colonel Hayes said that among the officers taken with him were Captains Hunt, Taylor, Blinn and Greene. They were hurried off from Jonesboro. At Bris- tol. the people clamoring to see the " Yankees," Colonel Hayes was taken out to give them " the sight of an Abolition Colonel." At Lynchburg, Virginia, they were confined in jail and illy treated by an officer, who was a renegade from Mount Vernon, Ohio. Thence they went to Libby Prison, Richmond, where, in three rooms, 40x100 feet, were 600 officers, without seats of any sort, and three weeks without blankets. Hearing the ery of " Fresh Fish !" on entering the room, they were elated by the thought of such diet, but soon learned that, as the latest recruits of the place, they were themselves what among War prisoners were known as " Fresh Fish." By November, the number of prisoners was increased to 1,050, reducing each man's space to 2x6 feet. An or-

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ganization for escape was then effected, includ- ing 900 members, with Colonel Straight, of Indi- ana, as leader, which was defeated through the treachery of a member. In May, 1864, on the approach of Grant, they were hurried off to Macon, where were 1,700 prisoners. Lieuten- ant-Colonel Hayes was among 40 or 50 officers taken to Charleston, where for 53 days they were under the fire of Union guns. August 30th they were released under exchange, when he left for home. Captain Hunt gave a graphic account of different attempts at escape made by him, and of the ways and means by which he finally succeeded. At Macon eight or 10 tun- nels were dug from the prison, one of which was 50 feet in length and within 30 feet of com- pletion when discovered. July 27th, 600 Union officers at Macon were directed to prepare to leave for Charleston. A concerted plan for escape had fallen through, when he and Lieu- tenant John W. Jaquett, One Ilundredth Ohio, who was captured May 24, 1864, at Cass Sta- tion, Georgia, determined to try it alone, The train was moving about 10 miles an hour, and while the guards on each side of the door of the freight car in which they rode were asleep, they jumped out between them, lighting on a bank. Ere long they met a couple of colored men, and learned that they were not far from Port Royal Ferry. Mistakenly suppos- ing themselves discovered by a white man, they fled to the woods, finally arriving at the Coosaw River, three miles from the Ferry. On the fourth day of their severe journey they reached the River bank. Lieutenant Jaquett not being a swimmer, Captain Hunt, though very weak, had to cross in search of a boat. This occupied two hours, he swimming most of the way on his back, owing to weakness. But he found himself among friends when he crawled up the bank. Arrangements made by the Soldiers of the Fifty-Sixth New York Infantry, Colonel Van Wyck (recently United States Senator from Nebraska), soon brought Lieutenant Jaquett across the River, whence the two went to Hilton Head, where they met Lieutenant Colonel IIayes, on his way North, the three coming on together. Lieu- tenant Jaquett reached home three weeks after the arrival of Captain Hunt. Throughout his perilous escape he was in poor health, suffer- ing from diarrhea, lasting the five days they were out. Ile could not continue the journey,

and must have failed, but for the great kind- ness of Captain Hunt, who refused to leave him, saying they " would escape together or be captured together." While at Libby, Captain Hunt and Lieutenant Jaquett, in common with most other prisoners, craved acids constantly. Vinegar of the poorest sort, cost $2.00 per pint, and they conceived the plan of starting a vine- gar factory. They secured a barrel. In that they put apples, apple parings, blackberries (costing $1.00 per quart, Confederate money), so-called molasses, the rinsings of molasses barrels, &c. The result was a supply of vinegar which met rapid sale at $2.00 per pint. This trade soon met the protest of the Rebel Sutter, and the Yankee vinegar dealers were com- pelled to " wholesale " to him at $1.00 per pint, while he sold at the snug advance of 100 per cent. This arrangement continued until the manufactory closed by the removal of its pro- prictors to the Rebel prison at Charleston. The common trials which Captain Hunt and Lieu- tenant Jaquett shared in Rebel hands, naturally drew them together in bonds of special attach- ment. From the time of their association as prisoners in Rebel hands until death finally separated them, they were warm friends. Often had they discussed with glee the happy times they would have in coming years of peace, when they should meet to recount common ex- periences met in defense of their country's life. But all such bright visions were doomed to sad disappointment. Their last association was in the battle of Franklin, November 30, 1864. As that terrific engagement opened, Captain Hunt became possessed by the premonition that he would not live to its close, and so expressed himself freely to his friend, who sought to dis- pel his apprehension, but in vain. But a very brief space of time was required for the verifica- tion of such sad presentiment, in the prostrate form of the Captain on the field of battle, where he had been killed by a Rebel bullet. At night when the fight was over, Lieutenant Jaquett sent a detail to take charge of the Captain's body, who found the same, but were unable to take it along or even to bury it. Suffice it here to say, that the body was at last buried, and after much anxiety and persistent efforts by Lieutenant Jaquett, it was secured and re- turned to Mrs. Hunt and buried at Cleveland, Ohio. Captain Hunt was in the Boot and Shoe trade at Toledo before the Rebellion, and was

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History of the city of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, Part 48

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company Number of Pages: 1408

Author: Waggoner, Clark, 1820-1903
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: New York and Toledo : Munsell & Company
Number of Pages: 1408