USA > Ohio > The Biographical encyclopedia of Ohio of the nineteenth century. Pt. 2 > Part 2
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thought in the excitement of the hour that the severest punishment would be far too mild, forgetting that nearly the whole of the able-bodied population of these States were either conscripts or enlisted soldiers in the rebel army, and far away from their defenceless families. At one time it was intended to transport the victorious army by water to the aid of Grant before Richmond, but this was abandoned, and the army took up its march through the Carolinas, in pursuance of his policy that the speediest method of closing the war was to impoverish the enemy. Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, fell into the hands of the march- ing army, and was soon after destroyed by fire. The com- manding general has been blamed for this, some saying it was done through his orders. When he rode into the town large piles of cotton, which Wade Hampton had fired, lay smouldering in the streets. Ilis soldiers made an attempt to extinguish it, but were not so successful as they supposed, for in the night the fire broke out anew, consuming nearly the whole of the city. The General says the enemy him- self had burned the city, " not from malicious intent, but from folly and want of sense." In the same paragraph he says : " Officers and men not on duty, including the officers who had long been imprisoned there, may have assisted in spreading the fire after it had once begun, and may have indulged in unconcealed joy to see the ruin of the capital of South Carolina." The matter has been a subject of con- troversy since the war, and there are those who will always blame the General as the author of the calamity. The army marched pitilessly on, destroying much valuable property. The brave Johnston, again in command, but only of the fragments of his once fine army, made an unsuccessful but bold resistance. But one attack, and that desperate in its character, was made upon the Union troops, and this was repulsed with great loss. And thus ended the campaign of the Carolinas. The victor was herakled as the greatest hero of modern times, and parallels sought in vain. The bril- liancy of the march was the all absorbing topic of the hour. The General made a hasty visit to Grant, where he met and received the congratulations of the President. He then re- turned to his command, and put into operation the plan to make a jointure with Grant. Before he had fairly com. menced came the news of Lee's flight. Pushing vigorously after Johnston, the latter retreated to Raleigh. While fol- lowing him up there came the news of Lee's surrender. A proposition from Johnston to do likewise followed. The terms of the surrender were refused by the Cabinet at Washington, and Lieutenant-General Grant heartily ap- proved its action. The General afterwards admitted his folly, which consisted in discussing the political status of the South in the terms of surrender. He immediately re- commenced his operations against the enemy, who finally surrendered on a fairer and less conditional basis. After the surrender he began to prepare for the mustering out of his army, went further south, and then returned for the " grand review " at Washington. His action in the first
proposition from Johnston to surrender caused ill-feeling between himself and Secretary Stanton, but the general verdict was that he had committed an indiscretion, and he came very near falling into unpopularity through it. Noth- ing but his brilliant " march to the sea " saved him. After the war what errors he had committed were soon forgotten, and he was loaded with honors. A fine residence at St. Louis was presented to him. After the grade of General was created for Grant, he succeeded to the vacant Licu- tenant-Generaley. Ile was assigned to the frontier to look after the Indians. Ile has ever believed in an aggressive policy toward these children of the forest, and has no very high opinion of them. But he has never been allowed to fully have his way in this. The tragic death of Canby would never have occurred had he been in full power in controlling the Indian, for he would never have brooked the interference of a civilian in any of his plans. lle believes in bringing the Indian to terms, or exterminating him, and heartily disapproves of the " Quaker " policy of petting them. All this is consistent with his conduct in the war. The most triumphant general in this conflict, he was also the most stern in his orders, making the enemy's country support his vast army, even though it deprived them of their last crust. No general of the war was more loved by his troops, and none more solicitous for their welfare. After General Grant was elected to the Presidency, he sue- ceeded to the vacant Generalship of the army, which position he still holds. The head-quarters of the army having been transferred from Washington to St. Louis, he now resides in the latter city. Recently he has published a work in review of the war, and his very plain language in reference Lo men and events connected therewith raised quite a buzz about his cars. The book has had an immense sale, not a newspaper in the land having failed to notice it in lengthy review. Many military officers have felt aggrieved at his strictures upon them, but he bears it all with stoical indif- ference. To define the General politically would be a diffi- cult undertaking, but he may be said to be rather conserva- tive than otherwise. Of late years his name has been fre- quently mentioned in connection with the Presidency, and so persistently within the last twelve months that he deemed it necessary to write a letter, which found its way into all the journals of the day, denying that he was a candidate for the office, or that he would become one under any circum- stances. Ile was reared a Roman Catholic, but is not a communicant of the church now. At least he has so ex- pressed himself in a recent communication. The mother of his children is a strict Roman Catholic, and they have been reared as such. The constant newspaper discussion in regard to this is very distasteful to him, as he has broad and liberal views in matters of this kind, and only came under Catholic influences when he entered Mr. Ewing's family at the age of nine. In person he is above the middle height, spare, thin, and sometimes careless in dress. This carelessness especially characterized his appearance in the
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Geld. His face is narrow, widening at the top into a capa- cions forchead. There is nothing about him that would attract attention when his features are in repose, but in con- versation he brightens up and appears at once a different ' to be corporal and mustered out as fouth sergeant. The person. He is domestic in his habits, having a strong love for children and the comforts of home.
UCE, CHARLES LEVERETT, Merchant, was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, August 12th, 1826. Ile obtained his education in the common schools. When about ten years of age he re- moved with his parents to Indiana, remaining there until he attained his majority, and being employed a portion of the time on his father's farm, and the remainder in his carding and cloth-dressing mill. Having become tired of this occupation he effected an engagement as a clerk in a dry goods store, where he remained a year, and when twenty three years of age commenced business on his own account in general merchandise. He continued in the same until 1865, when, closing out his stock, he re- moved to Toledo, and formed a copartnership with two asso- ciates, establishing the firm of Luce, Chapin & Bloss, which engaged in the wholesale dry-goods trade. This partnership existed for the space of nine years, when it expired by limi- tation, in 1874. He then purchased the interests of the retiring partners, himself continuing the business. During the existence of the firm already named, the senior partner was largely instrumental in building up a trade which is second to none in the city, and to his energy, indomitable perseverance and business ability, the great patronage and excellent reputation that the house sustains through the States is wholly due. The business is still increasing under his personal supervision, and is not confined to his native State, but extends through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebra-ka, and also to the Territory of Mon- tana, evidencing that by his business tact and great courage he is determined to extend the reputation of his house. In political ideas he has been an old- line Whig, and is now a Republican. Although frequently importuned to accept office, he has steadily refused.
NOCIIS, W. II., was born in what is now Noble county, Chia, on March 29th, 1842. He is the son af Henry Enochs, who was one of the first white children in the boundaries of the above 6 county. The grandfather of the general was 0 Elisha, who settled near where the town of Carlisle now stands. The grandfather was in the war of 1812. The general was raised on a farm until he was eighteen years old, attending school in the winters only. He taught school and went to college at the Ohio University ; I Granais entered Oberlin College in 1841, and after pursuing
entered the army in 1861 as a private soldier in Company B, 22d Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; served four months in the campaigns of West Virginia; was promoted
quota of Ohio being full, he enlisted again as a private sol- dier in Company K, 5th West Virginia Infantry; soon after was appointed First Lieutenant in this company ; was pro- moted to a Captaincy in 1862, and assigned to the command of Company E of that regiment. In 1863 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and in 1864, the 8th and 9th West Virginia Infantry regiments being consolidated by order of the Secretary of War, he was promoted to the Coloneley of the new regiment. For gallant and meritorious services, on the field he was brevetted Brigadier-General, and was mustered out in July, 1863. General Enochs in 1862 was with Fremont in his Shenandoah valley campaign, participating in the battles of Cross Keys and Strasburg. Ile was with General Pope in his Virginia campaigns of Freeman's Ford, Sulphur Springs, Waterloo Bridge, Second Battle of Bull Run, Chantilly. When his command re- turned to West Virginia in 1863, his regiment re-enlisted as veterans, and in the spring of 1864 he was with Crook and Hunter in their raid to Lynchburg. Returning, he joined Sheridan's army at Harper's Ferry, and was with Sheridan in all his battles in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia, and was severely wounded in the battle of Winchester, Sep- tember 19th, 1864. He was in active service from the be- ginning to the close of the war. It is claimed by good authority that his regiment was the best drilled and disci- plined in the army. General Enochs studied law on the march or in camp as he could, and on being mustered out, entered the Cincinnati Law School, and graduated there in 1866. In 1867 he commenced the practice of law. He was elected to the Legislature of Ohio, where he served during the sessions of 1870 and 1871. This Legislature passed the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which measure was earnestly supported and voted for by the general. At the close of the session of IS71 he resmed the practice of law. General Enochs is five feet eight inches high, and weighs one hundred and seventy five pounds. Ile was married in 1874 to Annis Hamilton. They are now residents of the city of Ironton.
RANNIS, JOIIN C., Lawyer, was born, Novem- ber 10th, 1825, at Woodstock, Vermont, and is a son of John Grannis, originally from Claremont, New Hampshire. When very young the family removed to Canada, where his father engaged in mercantile pursuits, and was a member of the Provincial Parliament. Ile was a member of that body at the outbreak of the rebellion of 1837-38, and during those troubles removed to Ohio, locating at Oberlin, Young
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the usual four years' course, graduated from that institution in 1845. During the winter vacations he taught school in order to meet the expenses of his education. After gradu- ating, he removed to Cleveland, where he entered the office of Payne, Wilson & Wade, whom he had selected as his preceptors in the study of the law. Ile was admitted to the bar in 1848, and shortly thereafter formed a copartnership with llon. S. O. Griswold, with a view to the practice of his profession. In 1852 he was elected City Attorney, to which office he was re-elected. He was appointed Collector of Customs for the port of Cleveland by President Lincoln, and was Presidential Elector in 1872. The same year he was elected a member of City Councils. At present (1875) he is engrossed by the duties of his profession. His specialty is admiralty practice, in which he stands very high. lle was married in 1856 to Flora M., daughter of O. J. Wheaton, of Syracuse, New York, and is the father of four sons,
cCOOK, GENERAL ROBERT LATIMER, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December 28th, 1827. His father was Major Daniel McCook, who gave to the service of the Union eight sons, three of whom were killed. Ile himself, although old and infirm, entered the service after the mur- der of his son Robert by guerillas, and was mortally wounded by Morgan's men at Buffington Island, July 21st, 1863. Robert grew up a remarkably vigorous lad, mentally and physically. Until the age of fifteen he attended school, when he entered the office of his father, who was then Clerk of the Court of Carroll county, as deputy. He was a grave and studious boy, rather old-fashioned in his manner. In the office he became familiar with legal forms, and soon conceived a strong liking for the law. Ile was first placed under the tutorship of Hon. Ephraim R. Eckley, but con- cluded his studies at Steubenville, and began the practice of law there, Rising steadily in his profession, he removed to Columbus, and finally settled in Cincinnati, where he formed a partnership with Judge Stallo, a prominent German lawyer. The firm was in very successful practice when the war broke out. His law business had brought him a large practice and social acquaintance among the Germans, and he was at once selected by them as commander of the first German troops raised in Ohio. In April, 1861, he was commissioned Colonel of the 9th Ohio Volunteers (three months' service). At the end of their term of service the men re enlisted for three years. Ilis regiment acquitted itself with gallantry in several engagements, and he was commissioned a Brigadier-General of Volunteers. Given a brigade under General Buell, he insisted that his old com- mand should be included therein. In his new position lie did good service. In the second year of the war he fell sick with the camp dysentery, and was urged to leave the service for a time, This he refused to do, and accompanied | and jealousy were sown in this appointment, and a charge
his brigade in an ambulance. The guerilla Morgan had commenced huis depredations. The division of which the sick general's brigade was a part was ordered to go in pur- suit, On the 5th of August, 1862, while in the advance and almost unprotected, his ambulance was surrounded by guerillas, Although he offered to surrender, he was mor- tally wounded by a shot from a weapon in the hands of a guerilla named Frank Gurley. The assassins did not cap- ture their victim, and he was carried to a neighboring house, where, after being discovered by his command, he died on the following day. This murder was one of the greatest outrages perpetrated by the guerillas. He had great affec- tion for the soldiers of the 9th Regiment, and they were with difficulty restrained from perpetrating acts unworthy of their record, in their strong desire for revenge.
ILLIKIN, COLONEL MINOR, was born in Hamilton, Ohio, July 9th, 1834. Ilis father, Major John M. Millikin, was a highly respected citizen of the State, and for a long time President of the State Board of Agriculture. He attended the high schools at Ilamilton preparatory to enter- ing college, and after a course at Ilanover College, Indiana, was graduated at the Miami University in 1854. At college he was noted for his gentlemanly bearing, faultless toilet, and chivalric tone. After leaving the university he entered the llarvard Law School. In the school debates there he took a prominent part, and on the question of slavery was bold in his denunciation of the institution. In the follow- ing year he entered the law office of his father's friend, Hlon. Thomas Corwin, at Cincinnati, and a year later was married to Miss Mollyneaux, of Oxford, to whom he had been en- gaged while at college, and was absent for another year in Europe on his bridal tour. On his return he purchased the Ilamilton Intelligencer, the Republican organ of his county, and for the next two years edited it. He never intended to practise the law, but nevertheless improved his knowledge during this time. Disposing of his newspaper, he retired to his farm near Ilamilton, and was devoting his time to improving it, when the war broke out. Though possessed of wealth, and engaged in pursuits most to his taste, his patriotic convictions led him to the field. Ile was a fine horseman, and naturally he preferred the cavalry service. Re- cruiting in this department was slow work. Ile enlisted as a private, and the government not furnishing horses in time, he purchased twenty-four from his private purse. His re- cruits were merged into Captain Burdsall's Cincinnati com- pany, and he was presently made Sergeant, and then Licu- tenant. After three months' service in West Virginia, he was appointed Major of the first regiment of cavalry raised in Ohio for the three years' service. On the resignation of the colonel he was appointed to fill the vacancy. Trouble
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of incompetency was made. He appeared before a board of regular army officers for examination, and triumph antly received the warm indorsement of the examiners as to Lis fitness. While this matter was pending, he served on the staff of General George Il. Thomas, who was his warm per- sonal Giend. Ile returned to his regiment after the exami- nation, but he was not destined to remain at its head very long. At the battle of Stone River he was detailed to repel an attack of rebel cavalry in the rear. He led a charge to protect a train, and was surrounded by a superior force. lle refused to surrender, and encouraged his men to cut their way out. A fine swordsman, he was enabled to successfully defend himself with his sabre. Enraged at this a rebel shot him with a revolver. The body was recovered, but not before it had been stripped of valuables. In a letter to his father, General Thomas said : " It affords me the most sincere pleasure to express to you, and to Mrs. Millikin, my utmost confidence in him, both as a friend, and as a brave, accom- plished and loyal officer -- one on whose judgment and dis- cretion I placed the greatest reliance. . . . While mourning his loss, you have the consolation of knowing that he fell, a Christian and patriot, gallantly defending the honor of his country."
1 USTER, GENERAL GEORGE A., was born at New Rumley, Harrison county, Ohio, December 5th, 1839. After receiving a fair education he became a teacher. In 1857, through the influence of llon. John A. Bingham, he was appointed to a cadetship at West Point, entering the academy in June. Four years later, in June, 1861, he was appointed Second Lieutenant in Company G, Second United States Cavalry, formerly commanded by Robert E. Lee. Leaving the academy July 18th, 1861, he reported to General Scott on the 20th, the day preceding the battle of Bull Run, The chief offered him the choice of a position on his staff, or of joining his company, then under MeDowell at Centreville. Having a strong desire to be in active service, he chose the latter, and started at once for the scene of the impending battle, riding all night alone. Reaching head-quarters early in the morning, he delivered despatches from Scott to McDowell, and partook of a hasty breakfast, He then joined his company, which was among the last to leave the field on that fatal day, and which bore with it General Ileintzelman, who had been wounded. Ile served with his company until the lamented Kearney was appointed Brig- adier-General of Volunteers, when he was appointed to his staff. Ilere he remained until the order was issued pro- hibiting regular army officers from doing staff duty, when he returned to his company, after receiving flattering testimony of his efficiency. Moving with the army that followed up the evacuation of Manassas, he was in the advance under Stoneman, and made his first cavalry charge at Catlett Sta- tion. In this charge was drawn the first blood in the cam.
| paign under Mcclellan. After the army had invested Yorktown, he was detailed as Assistant Engineer, under Sumner, in which position he threw up the nearest earth- work to the enemy's lines. He was in the advance under Umcock in the pursuit of the enemy from Yorktown, and at Williamsburg he was an Aide-de-camp to that general, and took the first battle- flag captured by the Army of the Potomac. He was the first to cross the Chickahominy, wading the river in full view of the rebel pickets, and for his gallantry was made a personal aide to MeClellan, with the rank of Captain. He took part in the seven days' battle, and marked out the position occupied by the Union forces at the battle of Guines' Mills, and participated in the campaign ending with Antietam. When MeClellan was relieved of command, he accompanied him on his retirement, and was not again in active service until the battle of Chancellors- ville, in which he served as First Lieutenant, Company M, . Fifth Cavalry, his rank of Captain having been disallowed. After this battle he was made a personal aide to General Pleasanton, and participated in numerous cavalry engage- ments. When Pleasanton was made a Major-General, and placed in command of a cavalry corps, upon his recom- mendation, strongly indorsed by llooker and Meade, his young aide-de-camp was made a Brigadier General, and assigned to a brigade composed of Michigan cavalry. At the battle of Gettysburg his services were very con- spicuous, his greatest achievement being the utter rout of Hampton's division of cavalry, which was trying to reach the train 'of the Union army. In this battle he had two horses shot under him. In the retreat of the rebels he was sent to harass their rear, and captured cigliteen hundred prisoners, besides destroying Ewell's entire train. In an engagement at Hagerstown he again had his horse shot under him, and at Falling Waters he attacked the enemy's entire rear-guard, killing its commander, and capturing thirteen hundred prisoners, four battle-flags, two pieces of cannon, and utterly routing it. During the ensuing fall he was constantly worrying the enemy with raids and skirmish- ing, and in the winter was engaged in picketing the Rap idan between the two armies. In the spring he took part in the battle of the Wilderness, and early in May set out with Sheridan on his raid toward Richmond. In the advance as usual he captured Beaver Dam, burned the station with considerable supplies, and released a large number of Union prisoners. Rejoining Grant on the Pamunkey, he was again in the front, and had another horse shot under him. Being sent out to surprise the enemy's rear at Trevillian Station, he was so unfortunate, through the failure of another com- mand to co-operate, as to be surrounded. With five brigades against him, he fought desperately for three hours. One of his guns was captured twice, and cach time retaken. The color-bearer was killed, but the general saved the flag from capture by tearing it from the standard and concealing it about his person. The arrival of the tardy reinforcements enabled him to extricate himself from his perilous position.
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In Sheridan's great work in the Shenandoah valley he made | mustered out of the volunteer service and returned to the a brilliant record, excelled only by his commander. When regular army. He was, when appointed General, the youngest officer of his rank in the army, and, after Sheridan, the most dashing cavahyman. He never lost a gun of a color, and captured more l'ags, prisoners, and munitions of war than any other officer not in command of an army. These were all captured in actual fight, and not in aban- doned forts or arsenals. His appearance is thus described in Colonel Newhall's " With Sheridan in Lee's Last Cam paign : " the former reached the end of his famous ride, his first anders were, " Gio m, Custer." In he went, and with such dash and effect that he captured forty five out of the entire number of forty-eight pieces of artillery taken from the enemy, besides several hundred prisoners, including a Major-General. For this achievement he was brevetted a Major-General of Volunteers, and was further honored by being detailed to bear the report of the battle and the cap- tured flags to Washington. On the 9th of October, 1864, he routed the rebel General Rosser, capturing six pieces of " At the head of the horsemen rode Custer, of the golden locks, his broad sombrero turned up from his hard, bronzed face, the ends of his crimson cravat floating over his shoulders, gold galore spangling his jacket-sleeves, a pistol in his boot, jangling spurs on his heels, and a pon- derons claymore swinging at his side, a wild, dare-devil of a general, and a prince of advance guards, quick to see and act." artillery, two battle-flags, his entire train, and a large num- ber of prisoners. Again, in the winter, he attacked, with a force of one thousand, a force of two thousand under Jubal Early. A rout and pursuit resulted in the capture of eighteen hundred prisoners, eleven battle-flags, fourteen pieces of artillery, and a large wagon train, including Early's private baggage. Euly made a narrow escape himself. In politics the general made himself more conspicuous after the war than most prominent regular army officers. He sympathized with Andrew Johnson, and accompanied him ou his famous trip. He also took an active part in the Philadelphia Union Convention in 1866, and in the Sol- diers' Convention at Cleveland afterward. But of late years he has had but little to say in these matters. He has been brevetted a Major-General in the regular army. Since the war he has done good service in the Indian country, he and Sheridan and Crook being the best Indian fighters in the army. The Union loss was one man killed and four wounded. Ile did noble service in the encircling of Richmond. At the battle of Dinwiddie Court House his division reached the field when the Federal troops were slowly losing ground. Ordering the band to strike up a national air, he charged the advancing column so impetuously that it retreated back- ward over the lost ground. At Sailor's Creek, Sheridan or- dered Crook and Merritt to break the enemy's line and delay his retreat. Their effort, were not effectual. Sheridan called for Custer, at the same time making a characteristic remark with regard to his mettle. His division threw themselves savagely upon the enemy, actually leaping their horses over the breastworks. In this, his greatest cavalry charge, the cap- tures consisted of seven general officers-among them Custis, son of R. E. Lee, Ewell, and a brother of the pirate Semmes -- sixteen pieces of artillery, thirty-one battle-flags, and five thousand prisoners. After the charge, the hero of it rode by Sheridan and a number of other officers of rank, when three rousing cheers were given for him. He was in the advance when Lee's surrender took place, and was the first to receive the white flag sent in by the rebel com- mander. He still possesses this trophy. 'After the sur- render, General Sheridan purchased the table upon which the terms were made, and presented it to Mrs. Custer, with these fitting words :
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