USA > Ohio > The Fourteenth Ohio national guard- the Fourth Ohio volunteer infantry > Part 3
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"At 2 P. M. orders were received relieving us from further duty and we left for home at 4:30 P. M. Two companies of the Thirteenth Regiment were left at Loveland and Corwin respectively. The remainder of the command arrived at Columbus about 10 o'clock,
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where we proceeded to our armory and dismissed the city companies. The companies outside the city were quartered in the armory for the night and returned to their respective homes Wednesday morning. It is my painful duty to report one fatal casualty in my command, that of Private Israel Getz, of the Gov- ernor's Guard, who lost his life by the accidental dis- charge of a gun while on duty Monday afternoon. I here desire to express my thanks for the courtesies extended to me by my superiors while at Cincinnati and to every officer and man under my command for their alacrity and promptness in doing every duty assigned them and for their coolness and soldierly bearing under the most trying circumstances.
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"GEO. D. FREEMAN, "Colonel Fourteenth Regiment."
The regiment suffered heavily in the duty at Cincinnati. Their suffering from loss of sleep, con- tinued fatigue and the great mental strain, however, was as nothing as compared to the casualties. The effect of the fighting was as follows:
KILLED.
Private Israel Getz, Governor's Guard, accident- ally shot. Ball entered right eye, penetrating brain, death ensuing in almost twelve hours.
WOUNDED.
Lieutenant Colonel Liggett, shot through calf of leg, presumed to be a No. 32 pistol ball; Captain Slack, Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, shot in right hand
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with medium size shot; Sergeant C. S. Amy, Com- pany F, Fourteenth Regiment, shot in head, neck and shoulder, receiving a full load of medium sized shot; Corporal Morrison, Company F, Fourteenth Regi- ment, shot in face and hand with medium sized shot; Corporal U. S. Rogers, Company F, Fourteenth Regi- ment, shot in face and leg with small shot and struck in chest with boulder, and in falling injured his back; Charles W. Berry, private Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, contused wound of left knee from boulder; Charles Yeiser, Private Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, shot in center of forehead with pistol ball; William Scobey, private Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, lacerated wound of left upper lip produced by brick or boulder; J. F. Kelly, Private company F, Fourteenth Regiment, slight wound in leg produced by small shot; George Borches, private Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, contused wound of scalp pro- duced by small shot; George Dowdall, private Com- pany F, Fourteenth Regiment, contused wound of face produced by a blow of the fist; E. C. Neiderlander, private Company F, Fourteenth Regiment contused wound of shoulder produced by club; Grant Thomas, private Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, shot in both hands with small shot, one shot penetrating joint, producing a painful wound; Oakey Armsted, private of Governor's Guard, wounded in leg by the accidental discharge of musket.
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CHAPTER III.
AN EPOCH OF EXCURSIONS.
Trouble in Hocking County-Companies K and B on Duty- Camp at Detroit-The Field of Gettysburg-Colonel Freeman's Proposition-Corporal Grisso Killed-The Fourteenth at Philadelphia-Inconveniences Suffered by Ohio's Soldiers-Columbus Armory Burned-Hospital Corps Organized-State Encampment at Columbus- Ohio's Centennial-The Fourteenth in New York-An- nual Encampments.
Colonel Freeman in his report has told as fully as could be related in so few words of the excellent service performed by the regiment in the times which certainly "tried men's souls" in Cincinnati. It is very gratifying indeed to note that in all the state and par- ticularly in Cincinnati there has not since been so troublesome a period. The regiment had another opportunity of showing what they were and what they could do in a call to Ashland, where Company G was sent to protect the county Court House from mob violence. As the regiment had been successful at Cincinnati, so were the boys who went to Ashland, and the press of the whole country paid glowing tributes to the bravery of the "Gallant Fourteenth."
The echoes of the Cincinnati riots were still re- verberating through the state when the miners of Hocking, Perry and Athens counties rose up in their might against a reduction in the wages paid for the mining of coal. They were thoroughly organized
AT THE SCENE OF THE GREAT STRIKE,
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and at a fixed day every one of them stopped work and refused to resume operations in the mines until their employers should agree to restore their former wages. This was in June and the trouble continued through- out the summer until the following August.
In the meantime, the mining companies had em- ployed men to take the places of the strikers, and this move was met with determined opposition on the part of the miners. No demonstrations were made, how- ever, until in August, when, on the 30th, matters assumed a very serious phase at Longstreth and Snake Hollow in Hocking county and at Straitsville in Perry county. The old miners here had determined to compel the "scabs," as those who had taken their places were called, to quit work. They had tried reason and pursuasion, and these methods failing, force was resorted to.
Telephone and telegraph wires were cut, and with communication thus shut off, the strikers imag- ined that they commanded the situation. Armed with shotguns, revolvers and other weapons, an assault was made at Snake Hollow and one man killed. A house in which quite a number of people were asleep was attacked, but fortunately no casualties resulted. A four thousand dollar hopper was burned with a large quantity of coal and some other property destroyed. Fearing that further trouble would follow, Sheriff McCarthy, of Hocking county, appealed to the gov- ernor for military aid. The appeal was joined in by the prosecuting attorney of the county and the mayor of the town where the rioters were in force.
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Colonel Freeman was at once ordered to get his command ready to move at a moment's notice and the regiment was accordingly assembled ready for duty. Companies of the Sixth and Seventeenth regiments wre sent to the scene of the trouble, and at first it ap- peared as though the trouble would soon end. All of the Fourteenth except Company K was relieved, the company mentioned having received orders to report to Assistant Adjutant General Colonel Dill, who took command of all the troops in the field. Rumors ob- tained general circulation that the situation was be- coming more serious and a great deal of uneasiness was felt among the troops and at the State House. The companies above mentioned remained on duty with Colonel Dill until September 12th, when they were relieved by companies of the Second and Eighth regiments and B of the Fourteenth, Captain Coit commanding. When B company reported it was as- signed to duty at Sand Run, a detail also being made to report for duty at Murray City. The company remained on duty until September 27th, when the trouble was all over. Lieutenant H. A. Guitner, of the Fourteenth, acted as quartermaster for the troops during the time they were at the mines, and Dr. F. Gunsaulus, of the Fourteenth, acted as surgeon.
Flushed with victory and feeling justly proud of the record they had made, but still suffering from the severe loss which they had sustained during the past year, the boys went into camp at Columbus in August. There was no official duty to perform after the en- campment, and what had been the busiest year in the
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history of the regiment was quietly ushered out with nothing to occupy the minds or the time of the boys as soldiers, but regular drill and application to the study of military matters.
In 1885 Lieutenant Colonel Liggett severed his connection with the regiment and his place was filled in June by the promotion of Major Andrew Schwarz. The regiment was treated to a pleasant excursion in the autumn of this year, having been sent to Belle Isle, near Detroit, for the annual encampment. While there the regiment participated in the memorial service at the time of the death of General Grant. Their fine appearance and soldierly bearing was favor- ably commented upon by the people and the press at Detroit.
The next year the Governor's Guard, or as it was "officially" called, "The Governor's Guard Gatling Gun Company," was attached to the regiment and designated as Company L. It was not long after the regiment had been thus strengthened that another riot was threatened at Cincinnati, and it was feared that the trying experience of two years before would be repeated, but fortu- nately the trouble was settled without the service of the regiment. The boys had been ordered into camp, however, at Carthage, and had their services been need- ed they would have been ready to go "where duty called." It was this willingness and this spirit which has won for the regiment the reputation it enjoys now, even beyond the continent. The annual encampment was held in this year at Springfield and was a brigade
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camp, with Colonel Freeman in command. In July, Captain A. B. Coit of B Company was made major.
The encampment in 1887 was held in the Fair Grounds near Lancaster, O., and the tents stood in the shadow of the historic old Mt. Pleasant. On the ar- rival of the train, September 6, arches were found over the streets, houses, private and business were dec- orated, and an immense crowd cheered the boys con- tinually. At the camp grounds it was found that floors had been provided for every tent. Until Sat- urday the time was spent in the most severe drill and preparation for the most pleasant and extensive trip ever enjoyed by a regiment of O. N. G.
The dedication of the Ohio monuments at Gettys- burg, Pa., and the Constitutional Centennial celebra- tion at Philadelphia, were the two occasions in which the Fourteenth was to officially represent the state, but at their own expense.
The regiment was sadly in need of new service uniforms and equipment. Many of those in use had been worn since the organization of the regiment, and in that time many calls for active duty had put them to the most severe tests. In a conversation between Colonel Freeman and General Axline, the latter re- marked that it was unfortunate that the legislature had made no appropriation to defray the expenses of a regiment or a portion of one to represent the state. Colonel Freeman thereupon tendered the services of the Fourteenth at their own expense, providing the state would properly equip those needing it.
The offer was accepted, the officers and men turned their camp pay into a common fund and Ohio
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was represented at an expense to the members of the Fourteenth regiment of over $5000. At 8 o'clock Sunday evening, a special train was boarded and with a short stop in Columbus, the run was made over the picturesque Baltimore and Ohio to Gettysburg, which was reached on Tuesday morning, September 13. The boys disembarked in a drizzling rain, marched through the old town and pitched their tents on East Cemetery Hill. The location of the camp was in the rear of the position occupied by Weidrick's New York Battery, and was near the point where the famous Ohio Brigade under General Carroll repelled and for the first time defeated the Louisiana Tigers.
In honor of General W. S. Hancock the camp was named after him. The tents had scarcely been pitched when the rain descended in torrents and every- thing was thoroughly soaked. On account of the condition of the ground, the rink was secured as a sleeping place, but in all other respects the camp was maintained. The day for exercises, Wednesday, opened clear and bright and was ushered in by a salute by a section of Battery E of the First Artillery, which accompanied the regiment. The boys brushed and cleaned up to receive Governor Foraker and the Ohio Memorial Commission, and to escort them to the Na- tional Cemetery, where the formal dedicatory exer- cises were held.
Upon the conclusion a salute of nineteen guns was fired. While this was in progress a sad accident marred what would otherwise have been a trip of un- alloyed pleasure. On the fifteenth discharge, Cor-
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poral Orris Grisso was fatally injured by the premature discharge of the gun. Grass and weeds were being used as wadding and while Corporal Grisso was in the act of ramming it home, the discharge took place. His right arm and shoulder were almost torn off. He lingered for eight days, when death relieved him. He was not at any time able to be taken to his home. A delegation from Columbus formally represented the regiment at his funeral services in Springfield.
At 5 o'clock that afternoon tents were struck and the train again boarded for Philadelphia, where the Fourteenth was Ohio's only military representative in one of the most magnificent military pageants since the close of the war. Thursday morning the train rolled into Philadelphia and the regiment took possession of its quarters.
The state had made no provision for the trip whatever and the regiment was tendered their quarters by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. These consisted of the depot, platforms and an en- closed yard. On these the boys nightly rolled up in their blankets and slept soundly. In striking contrast to these quarters were those of the First Massachusetts Regiment, which was located directly across the street. Massachusetts had appropriated $40,000 for a proper and fitting representation. Housed in an elegant and well built rink, the members of the First Massachusetts slept on mattresses, those of the Fourteenth Ohio were housed in blankets and slept on the ground. Long tables were provided by Massachusetts from which her representatives ate from china dishes and were
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waited upon by colored servants. Frugal Ohio had her men eat from the tin plates and tin cups that they had brought with them. Massachusetts paid her rep- resentatives for going, while Ohio permitted hers to pay all the expenses for the trip out of their own pockets.
On Friday morning the regiment formed at the Baltimore and Ohio depot on Chestnut street bridge and proceeded to the rendesvous after formally re- ceiving Governor Foraker and staff.
At midnight of the same day the regiment board- ed the special train and left for Washington City, where Saturday was spent in sight-seeing. Sunday noon, after a long ride, the Fourteenth pulled into Co- lumbus after two weeks of continuous service and travel.
Several changes in the organization of the regi- ment took place at the beginning of the year 1888. Major A. B. Coit was promoted to the rank of lieuten- ant colonel. He was succeeded by Adjutant Thad. R. Fletcher.
In January of this year the Columbus Battalion met with a severe loss. Its Armory on Spring street, at the corner of Front, which had been purchased two years previous, was entirely consumed by fire with all its contents. Among the property lost by the fire was the stand of colors presented to the regiment and car- ried through the several engagements. In addition to these, a new stand was also burned which had been presented by the ladies of Columbus that winter and had only been carried once, on the inauguration of
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Governor Foraker for his second term. It was in the same week that they were burned.
On March 3 an order was issued from general headquarters for the formation of a hospital corps. This regiment was the only one in the service which complied promptly with the order, and it went into camp with a well drilled corps. It had also a regula- tion ambulance and equipage for field work. "Com- pany bearers" had hitherto performed the work which now came in as the duty of the hospital corps.
For the first time in the history of the Guard all the troops in the state were brought together in gen- eral encampment, from August 28 to September 4 in- clusive. The camp was located two miles north of Columbus on the Bee Line Road. It contained 500 acres and was under the command of Major General Axline. Special attention was given to division work. The purpose in bringing the organizations together was for the companies and regiments to see the degree of efficiency reached by the others. Special attention was given to the formation and maintainance of all forms of guard duty applicable to a division in active service. In the evening parades, by special arrange- ment, men would often become overcome with heat or get suddenly sick, so the other regiments could see the value of an efficient hospital corps.
This being the Ohio Centennial year, a large demonstration was held in Columbus, and on breaking camp the entire division made a parade in honor of the event.
On September 9, 10 and 11 the regiment was or- dered on special duty in Columbus incident to the
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general encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic.
In 1889 regimental camps were entirely dis- pensed with and the entire Guard was ordered to rep- resent the state at the centennial celebration of the inauguration of Washington as President of the United States, in New York City. The Guard was divided into brigades, the Fourteenth being placed in the Second Brigade, of which Colonel Freeman was in command. The Fourteenth left Columbus on Sunday, April 28, via the Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo and the Erie Roads, and arrived in New York on Monday at 3 P. M. On Tuesday, the 30th, the parade was held. All other Ohio regiments left for home on Tuesday night or during Wednesday, but the Fourteenth remained until Saturday evening and arrived home on Sunday night. The boys were thus given an opportunity to visit the places of in- terest in and about New York. A very pleasant treat was accorded by the commanding officer, who char- tered a boat and took the command out to sea. Quarters were furnished by the committee of arrange- ments until Wednesday morning. The regiment then moved over to Jersey City, swung cranes and went into camp. The Erie Railroad and the Pullman Car Company officials did everything in their power to make the boys comfortable. They placed extra cars at their disposal, so that each man had plenty of room to lie in at night and they arranged room for cooking purposes in the yards.
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The Fourteenth had no reason to feel ashamed of its appearance in the parade here. The usual de- gree of efficiency was maintained and brought forth praise from all who were conversant with military matters. The entire command appeared in heavy marching order and prepared for field work.
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CHAPTER IV.
STRIKES AND RIOTS.
Resignation of Colonel Freeman-Election of Colonel Coit- General Sherman's Funeral at St. Louis-Duty at Chi- cago-Howe on 1894-The Wheeling Creek Campaign- Causes for the Strike-Troops Called Out-Services of the Fourteenth-The Result-Galvin's Army-Trouble at Washington C. H .- Colonel Charged With Murder- Annual Encampments.
For almost twelve years the destinies of the regi- ment had been in the hands of Colonel George D. Freeman. He had received every success, every re- verse, with the fond interest of a father. He had sur- mounted difficulties which would have driven many a Napoleon to despair. He had taken charge of the regiment when it was made up of scattering groups of awkward men, and with this material he had con- structed a military organization which was now known and loved all over the United States. It had been the hope of his early military experience and it has ever since been the pride of his ripened career. Other duties made it impossible for him to devote the time and energy which according to his ideas of administra- tion were essential in keeping the regiment what he had made it, so on October 9, 1889, he tendered his resignation. The regiment lost his presence and abil- ity, but never his interest or his sympathy. He has watched with a jealous eye every movement of the command, and when it became a part of the United
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States army, no one more than he offered every possible assistance. Even while in a foreign land his influence was ever manifest, and when the regiment returned home covered with glory, no hand of welcome was offered with a warmer heart than his.
When officers and men realized the loss they had sustained, they began to look about for material with which to repair the breach. In this effort they were exceptionately fortunate. On November 8, the next in command stepped forward and upward, and at the call of the regiment took up the work where their be- loved leader had left off. Lieutenant Colonel Coit immediately assumed command and when the war with Spain came on he was found at his post of duty, where he remained until the close of the war. He was succeeded as lieutenant colonel by Major Fletcher who in turn was succeeded by Captain Speaks.
The following year, 1890, the miltary laws of the state were changed, making fewer but stronger regiments. The Sixth regiment was disbanded, and the companies at Mt. Sterling, Washington C. H. and Circleville were attached to the Fourteenth. The organization was patterned after that of the German army, comprising three battalions of four companies each. This organization differed from that observed in the regular army, but it was maintained throughout the war. The regiment encamped in 1891 at Presque Isle and did no duty of any consequence until Febru- ary of 1892, when on the 20th, they left Columbus to attend the funeral of General William T. Sherman at St. Louis, Mo. The annual encampment was held
U SV
ALONZO B. COIT.
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at Marion. Colonel Coit at this time was assistant adjutant general of the state. The next year the regi- ment went to camp at Logan, O. In October they attended the dedication of the World's Fair Grounds at Chicago and the following year went to Chicago to. camp and attend the World's Columbian Exposition.
In his report for 1894, Adjutant General Howe said: "The year has made history for the Ohio Na- tional Guard more extensive in operations, exacting and arduous in execution than any year since its or- ganization. The unsettled conditions existing not only in Ohio, but throughout the whole country, seemed to bring with the idleness imposed, lawlessness in different forms, and in different counties civil au- thority was set at naught, and the strong arm of the state government was called upon to aid and uphold law and order."
The first trouble of the year occurred at Toledo on January 4. On the 19th a great fire at Springfield made it necessary to call out the militia. Again on February 23, trouble was feared at Cincinnati, but fif- teen men were all that were needed to restore order. On April 15, the sheriff of Logan county was com- pelled to call upon the Second Infantry to aid in protecting a prisoner from mob violence.
Again Adjutant General Howe is quoted: "Fol- lowing this trouble came the holding up of a train on the Bailtimore and Ohio Railway, at Mt. Sterling, by a body of men calling themselves "Galvin's Army." These men, 215 in number, had taken possession of a train of sixteen cars, and would not leave the same,
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even after the civil authorities had called to their aid as many deputies as they could secure to serve. The railroad company also selected a picked body of men from the city of Columbus, and had them sworn in as special deputies and tried to eject the men, but failed in their efforts. The sheriff of Madison county, seeing his inability to enforce law, called upon the Governor for military assistance, and there was ordered to Mt. Sterling on the morning of April 28, the First Bat- talion, Companies A, B. C and F, and Company L, 14th Infantry, and Battery H, First Light Artillery, under command of Colonel Coit. The troops arrived at Mt. Sterling and, after warning the offenders to vacate the property they were unlawfully holding, in a good, soldierly way proceeded to displace them, which was done without serious resistance, and trains were at once started on schedule time. The conduct in this affair of both officers and men is to be com- mended, and the summary dealing with these offend- ers of Ohio's laws, we believe, saved the State much expense during the year from the same class of people, of whom many bands entered the State and departed without conflict with the civil authorities."
No comment is needed to these words of praise. The regiment had again done its duty and the glowing report quoted above is merely the official one of many favorable reports of this tour of duty.
The call for troops coming from the sheriff of Guernsey county, June 6, 1894, proved the greatest of the year. There was called into service besides the 14th, the 8th Infantry, seven companies of the 17th
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