The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record;, Part 48

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1254

USA > Ohio > Union County > The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record; > Part 48

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Under the call of July 1. for 300,000 troops, two companies were recruited for three years' service, and left Marysville about the 1st of September, for Camp Delaware; they were assigned as Companies A and I, of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

At this period Union County was in a blaze of excitement; the rattling drums of the recruiting officers were heard in every town and at every cross road. It seemed as if the whole country had been converted into a recruiting rendezvous.

We now had in the field ten companies, and many detachments in various other organizations. Many of the soldiers who had enlisted at the first call had been killed or wounded, and many others had died of disease and had been brought home and buried by their friends. "Mourners were going about the streets," and the weeds of mourning were to be seen in many families.

Ransom Reed. the first to fall, had been brought home and buried with the honors of war, amid a large concourse of people, on the 6th of October, 1861. The funeral services of four soldiers-Cyrus Thompson, Delmore Robinson and two brothers, sons of Henry Crist-were held in the Presbyterian Church at Marysville, on the same day, July 23, 1862.

The people now began to see and realize some of the results of the war, for now there were broken hearts, bitter tears of sorrow and desolate homes. Many of the soldiers who enlisted in the last companies had left families. The citizens realized the necessity of the hour, and relief societies began to work with renewed energy. The military committee was active, and in July appointed com- mittees in each township to take subscriptions for the relief of soldiers' families, and fair hands were busy making clothing and preparing sanitary stores for the hospitals.

At this time, Gen. Buell's army was falling baek rapidly toward Louisville. and one column of Gen. Bragg's army was advancing by forced marches on Cincinnati.

Gov. Tod issued a proclamation in September, 1862. calling upon the cit- izens of Ohio to rally to the defense of Cincinnati. He said : " Our Southern border is threatened with invasion. I therefore recommend that all loyal men form themselves into military companies to beat back the enemy at all points he may attempt to invade the State." In response to this call. two companies went from Union County, aggregating about one hundred men in all. many of them old and gray-headed, prominent among whom was the Rev. B. D. Evans, a very intel- ligent old Welshman and Presbyterian minister of Jerome Township. They went with their shot-guns, ritles. powder horns and shot ponches ; " they responded gloriously to the call for the defense of Cincinnati. and you should acknowledge publiely this gallant condnet." said Gov. Tod in a dispatch to the Secretary of War. These men were denominated " Squirrel Hunters." and were. by act of Legislature, given honorable discharges.

419

MILITARY RECORD.

During the winter of 1862-63, a law was passed by the Ohio Legislature, organizing the militia so as to drill the entire militia force of the State, including every able-bodied man between the age of eighteen and forty-five, to be armed, uniformed and equipped so as to be instantly available in case of invasion. This was the nucleus of the " National Guards of Ohio, " the next year to be thrown into the field on two days' notice, 35,000 one hundred days' men. Under this law, 3,631 militia were enrolled in this county ; below we give the election of officers in these companies. so far as can be learned:

Paris Township. East District .- Captain, L. Sellers ; First Lieutenaut, Leo- nard Geer ; Second Lieutenant, G. A. Fox. West District .- Captain, W. H. Doll ; First Lieutenant, W. P. Welsh; Second Lieutenant, Robert Snodgrass.

Leesburg Township, Southern District .- Captain, A. E. Rosencranz ; First Lieutenant, P. Hildreth ; Second Lieutenant, 1. Konkle.

Jerome Township .- Captain, J. Ewing; First Lieutenant. T. Killberry ; Sec- ond Lieutenant, D. G. Robinson.

Darby Township .- Captain, George Starr; First Lieutenant, J. G. Homes- ker; Second Lieutenant, D. Marquis.

Dover Township .- Captain, Samuel McAllister ; First Lieutenant, James Briggs ; Second Lientenant, W. B. Harriott.

Jackson Township .- Captain, J. M. Baldwin ; First Lieutenant, C. W. Bur- goon ; Second Lieutenant, G. S. Robinson.

Washington Township .- Captain, Jehu Grey ; First Lieutenant, H. Toby ; Second Lieutenant, Daniel Miller.

Taylor Township .- Captain, William Folk ; First Lieutenant, S. Graham; Sec- ond Lieutenant, H. Thompson.

Claibourne Township .- Captain, Joseph Swartz; First Lieutenant, T. M. Betlard; Second Lieutenant, V. Collier.

The large number of men recruited during the summer and fall of 1862, were immediately thrown into the field, without any experience in camp life or drill, and these men suffered very much during the severe winter. At no other period during the war did so many soldiers of Union County die of disease and exposure in the same length of time. Among the heaviest sufferers were the soldiers of the Ninety-sixth and the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiments.

Under the call in June. 1863, for six months' regiments, this county sent one company, which was assigned to the Eighty-sixth Regiment. It entered the field in August, took part in the campaign after John Morgan, and was then ordered to Cumberland Gap, Ky., where it operated until the expiration of its term of service.

Many recruits were sent from the county during the summer of 1863 to the old regiments, but no other full companies were raised that year.

The next enlistments in which the county figured prominently was that in which the citizens at home had but little to do ; this was the veteran enlistment of the old regiments in the field that had gone out under the first call in 1861. " Their terms of enlistment were expiring long before the great campaign to which they were looking forward should be ended." Their ranks were thinned by serv- ice on the field of battle, in the camp and in the hospitals. These soldiers knew what war was. with all its horrors ; yet they, with a patriotism never before or afterward equaled during the war, stood by the flag and again enlisted for " three years or during the war." This gave a new inspiration to the recruiting service. More than 20,000 veterans re-enlisted. and when they came home on their thirty days' furlough, their decimated ranks were rapidly filled up by new recruits, and a thrill of patriotism swept over all the land. The first regiment to re-enlist was the Sixty-sixth, which was soon followed by the Thirteenth, Thirtieth, Thirty-first, Thirty-second, Fifty-fourth and Eighty-second and the First Ohio Cavalry.

During the winter of 1863-64, these veterans were honored. feasted and toasted by almost every family in the county. and they had never felt until then

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UNION COUNTY

how " warm was the gratitude of these loyal men, women and children at home for the boys who were fighting the battles of the great war." Many men enlisted from the county in these old regiments, which returned to the field in the early spring with full companies and with renewed devotion to the cause of the Union.

In the spring of 1864, it seemed that the critical point in the war was ap- proaching. Great armies were in the field, all preparing for a forward movement. The Army of the Potomac, under Grant, was preparing for the campaign of the Wilderness ; the Army of the West was active, and Sherman, with his grand army in Georgia was about to attack the well-guarded works of the rebel army in the center ; that was to prove a bloody summer's campaign.

It was at this critical period that the National Guard. or " Hundred Days' Men," were called out to man the forts, that all the veterans might march to the front for the great struggle of the bloody battle summer of 1864; 30,000 of Ohio's Guard went into camp in one day in response to the call of the Governor. Union County contributed to this number three full companies that were assigned to the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment Ohio National Guards, and several detachments for other regiments. Quoting from a newspaper of that date :

" Fortunate was it for the country that the Governor of Ohio held in his hand this reserved thunderbolt of war. The crisis of the rebellion was upon us. The rebel foe was insolent and sanguine. They were gathering their whole military power and preparing to hurl it upon the Union columns in one deadly and decisive conflict. The hearts of all brave men throbbed in unwonted anxiety as they looked upon the formidable array of rebel hosts. They saw that the impending conflict must speedily occur. They knew that failure to our arms would be an inexpressible disaster to the National cause; and all wanted the assurance of our success made doubly sure By giving additional strength to our armies in the field. To render that strength effective. it must be added at once. The exigency per- mitted of no delay: The re-enforcements must come then, or their coming would be useless for the critical moment of the campaign. It was at this moment of public anxiety-a moment pregnant with the Nation's future-that Gov. Brough sent forth the reserved power of thirty-five thousand brave and gallant National Guards. At the very moment when most needed, the Ohio army stepped into the place of veterans and thereby enabled the Government to send that many veterans forward to sustain Gen. Grant's advancing columns. Our State mili- tia organization was made the means for meeting the emergency ; and most nobly and gallantly did the members of that organization respond to the call of the Governor.

In response to the call in July, 1864, for one year regiments, two companies were organized in the county, and were assigned as Companies B and C, of the One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; and under the last call, in December, 1864. for 26,000 men to fill the last quota of Ohio, one company was recruited for the one year service, which was assigned as Company B of the One Hundred and Eighty-seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

This was the last company recruited in the county, and it entered the field in February, 1865.

Many of these soldiers were lads thirteen or fourteen years of age when the war began, but now they had grown to manhood, and went forth to take the places of their fathers and brothers who had fallen upon the field of battle or died of wounds and disease. Thus Union County responded to every call, from the first gun at Fort Sumter to the sounding of the re-call at Appomattox Court House in 1865. Every quota was filled. and at the end of the war Union County stood eleven ahead of her quota on the last call, as shown by the records in the Adjutant General's office.

Her loyal citizens at home stood by the soldiers in the field, by contrib- uting money by thousands of dollars for the relief of soldiers' families and by relief societies to give aid and comfort to the wounded, sick and suffering sol- diers in the field.

451

MILITARY RECORD.

Ah, the history of this work of love and devotion of the mothers, wives, sis- ters and sweethearts never can be written ! We can only get a glimpse of it; for who can tell of their anxiety or of the many weary and wakeful nights as they watched and prayed for their loved ones, many of whom were never to return. The tender, sad memories of the war, speak to all more eloquently than can be written on the page of history, as they sweetly and pathetically remind us how the mothers and women of the land, touched by the fires of patriotism, hade their sons gird on the armor of their country; how, through the long and bitter years of the war, their faith was unbroken and their loyalty was firm; and how, when their dear ones were borne home cold and lifeless, they, like the Spartan mothers, " thanked God that their boys had died that their country might live."

" The wife who girds her husband's sword, 'Mid little ones who weep or wonder, And bravely speaks the cheering word- What though her heart be rent asunder? Doom'd nightly in her dreams to hear The bolts of death around him rattle, Hath shed as sacred blood as e'er Was pour'd upon a field of battle!

"The mother who conceals her grief While to her breast her son she presses, Then breathes a few brave words and brief, Kissing the patriot brow she blesses, With no one but her secret God To know the pain that weighs upon her Sheds holy blood as e'er the sod Received on Freedom's field of honor!"

The record of the war is not complete without the history is written of the part borne by our loyal women. How much we owe to their love, care and en- couragement for all we have achieved; and how we strive in all the laudable am- bitions of life to win their smiles of approval.

In these few pages, thie services of the soldiers of Union County have been but briefly sketched, and may we not, in this brief retrospect of a few of the great results of the war, justly congratulate ourselves as soldiers that we have borne a part, however humble our position, in the accomplishment of that "great and mighty drama of a nation preserved?" And it is not taking to ourselves any un- merited honors, either for our patriotism or for our services; but we can say truly, without the charge of egotism, that the soldiers of this county did their duty, honestly, faithfully and patriotically, in the day of our Nation's peril. Almost twenty years have passed away since the close of the war, and when peace spread her mantle over the land. the ranks of the army melted away like the smoke of battle. The soldiers laid aside their uniforms as quickly as they had donned them when the first drum-beat sounded "to arms !" and soon took their places in the busy marts of industry and the peaceful avocations of life.

A million soldiers laying down their arms after four years of sanguinary war, and quietly taking their places in the civil walks of life without any unusual com- motion, was a sublime spectacle upon which all civilized nations looked with won- der and admiration. These were the volunteer soldiers of a free country.

The soldiers of Union County were no exception to this rule, and the boys of twenty years ago have become the good and substantial citizens of to-day. The " good soldier is the good citizen," and in all the positions of life they bear themselves as becomes brave and gallant soldiers of the Republic. They are found as farmers, merchants, in the counting-room, in the halls of legislation and in places of honor and trust all over the land.

From disease contracted and from wounds received during their service, the soldiers are falling rapidly, one by one-falling by the wayside, comrades of all ranks passing away.

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UNION COUNTY

" A chosen corps they are marching on In a wider field than ours: We shall meet and greet with elosing ranks In time's declining scenes, When the bugles of God shall sound recall And the battle of life is won."

And as one by one our comrades are mustered out of life's service. let us cherish more warmly each succeeding year the memory of their services, and as our heads are bowed and sprinkled with the frosts of many winters, let us be bound more closely by that friendship formed during our service on the march and in the camp, and " welded in the fire of battle;" and let us not forget the widows and orphans of our late comrades. They are the wards of the nation; let us " guard them with a jealous eye," and keep them in our fostering care, for no man can give better proof of devotion to friend or country than that he will " lay down his life for them."

ROSTER.

ABBREVIATIONS.

Adjt.

Adjutant

inf. .infantry

Art.

Artillery

Lieut

Lieutenant

Bat.

Battalion

Maj

. Major

Col.

Colonel

Regt Regiment

Capt.

Captain

re-enlisted

Corp ..

Corporal

.resigned

com

commissioned

Sergt

.Sergeant

cav

cavalry

trans.

transferred

disc.

discharged

vet.

veteran

.. wounded e

Gen

FIRST OHIO INFANTRY.

The First Ohio was organized in April, 1861, for three months' service, under Col. Alexan- der M. McCook; it served near Washington City, in Schenck's brigade. Re-organized for three years' service in August, 1861, under Col. Benjamin F. Smith, it served under Buell, at Shilob; with Rosecrans, at Stone River and Chickamauga; with Grant at Mission Ridge and with Sherman on the Atlanta campaign.

The regiment was mustered ont October 14, 1864. During its term of service, the First. Ohio was engaged in twenty-four battles and skirmishes, and lost 527 officers and men. It. saw its first battle at Pittsburg Landing, and closed its career in front of Atlanta. It marched 2.500 miles, and was transported by car and steamboat 950 miles.

COMPANY K. Thompson, M. L., e. February 23, 1864, disc. June 6, 1865.

SECOND OHIO INFANTRY.

This regiment served in the three months' campaign near Washington City, under Col. Lewis Wilson, and was organized for three years' service in August and September, 1861, under Col. Leonard A. Harris. It operated with

Gen, Buell s army in Kentucky; with Gen. Rosecrans, at Stone River and Chickamauga, and with Sherman on the Atlanta Campaign.

The Second Ohio lost severely in battle, hav- ing 111 killed and 425 wounded; and after thirty-eight months of active service, it was mustered out and honorably discharged at Co- lumbus, Ohio, in August, 1864.

COMPANY A.

Sergeant S. B. Price, e. August 20, 18G1, disc. October 10, 1864. Wounded

Corporal C. M. Winget, e. August 24, 1861, killed at Stone River, December 31, 1862.

Fritz, Michael, e. August 24, 1861, died in hospital at Nashville, Tenn., September 10, 1862.

COMPANY C. Sells, J. M., e. August 20, 1861, disc. June 10, 1864.

COMPANY E.

Robinson, W. R., e. September 23, 1861, disc. 1864. COMPANY K.

Chapman, James, e. April, 1861; wounded.

Doudna, George, e. July 25, 1861, disc. 1864.

Doudna, Benjamin, e. July 25, 1861, dise. May, 1865. Musician C. L. Winget.

THIRD OHIO INFANTRY.

The Third Ohio was organized for three mouths' service, April 16, 1861, and for three years, May 3, 1861, under Col. Isaac Morrow

.enlisted

wd.

General

re-e ..

res

453

MILITARY RECORD.

It served under Gen. McClellan, in West Vir- ginia, with Gen. Mitchell, in Kentucky and Tennessee, and with Gen. Rosecrans, at Stone River.

In the spring of 1863, the Third Ohio took part in the celebrated raid of Col. Streight, whose command was captured by Forest on the 3d of May and taken to Belle Isle. The men were soon after exchanged, but the officers were incarcerated in Libby Prison.

The regiment did good service in Tennessee during 1863, and until mustered out, June 23, 1864.

COMPANY B.

I'emorest, John P., e. June 13, 1861, wonnded at Perry- ville, Ky., October 8, 1862, disc. March 5, 1863.

COMPANY D.

Corporal George Hoss, e. June 11, 1861, disc. June 21, 1864. Wingfield, William, e. April 14, 1861, wounded at Perry- ville, Ky., October 8, 1862, disc. June 21, 1864.

Wingfield, Samuel, e. June 11, 1861, disc. June 21, 1864.

COMPANY F. Turner, John, e. June 15, 1861, disc. August, 1864.

COMPANY H.

McPherson, Robert H., e. August, 1862, disc. 1865. Smith, Thomas F., e. June 13, 1861, disc. June 21, 1864.

COMPANY K.

Corporal S. II. Woodruff, e. Jnly, 1861, died at Perryville, Ky., October 9, 1862, of wounds received October 8, 1862.

FOURTH OHIO INFANTRY.

The Fourth Ohio was organized on the 25th of April, 1861, for three months' service, under Col. Lorin Andrews. A few weeks later, when the President called for three years' men, the majority of this regiment was mustered in for three years' service, on the 5th of June, 1861. It took the field under Mcclellan in West Vir- ginia, and was present at the battle of Rich Mountain, though not actively engaged. On the 7th of September, three companies, A, F and K, were engaged in a skirmish at Peters- burg, Va., and captured a large quantity of provisions and a number of prisoners. On the 24th, six companies proceeded to Romney, and after a sharp encounter drove the enemy from that place. The regiment lost on this occasion thirty-two men wounded. Col. Andrews having died, John S. Mason was made Colonel and as- sumed command on the 14th of October. The Fourth then marched to New Creek, where it joined Gen. Kelly's command and moved on the rebels at Romney and Blue Gap, capturing · all the camp equipage, several pieces of artil- lery and many prisoners. The regiment was transferred to the Army of the Potomac and served in the Peninsula campaign. In Decem- ber it was engaged in the battle of Fredericks- burg, losing five officers and forty-three men, out of the 115 engaged. From this time until the movement upon Chancellorsville, the Fourth remained quietly in camp, near Falmouth. On the 3d of May it was actively engaged, captur- ing a stand of colors and over 100 prisoners. The regiment lost in this affair seventy-eight killed and wounded out of the 352 engaged. In

July it participated in the battle of Gettys- burg, Penn., with a loss of three officers and thirty-four men killed and wounded, and after the battle followed in pursuit of the retreating rebels as far as the Rappahannock ; then moved to New York to enforce the draft. In Septem- ber it proceeded to West Virginia and partici- paled in the movements of Gen. Grant until its term of service had expired. The main part of the regiment was mustered out in Septem- ber, 1864. Those who had re-enlisted as vet- erans were organized into a battalion called the Fourth Ohio Battalion, and operated in or near Washington D. C., until mustered out at the close of the war.

COMPANY A.

Bidwell, Benjamin.

COMPANY B.

Shirk, Jesse, e. May 10, 1864, disc. July 12, 1865.

COMPANY H.

Marsh, Milton, e. April 12, 1861, disc. July 24, 1865. Bell, John M., e. February 29, 1864, transferred to Fourth Battery, June 5, 1864.

Beckley, John, e. February 26, 1864, transferred to Fourth Battery, June 5, 1864. Wounded.

Mannasmith, James, e. August 26, 1862, transferred to Fourth Battery, June 5, 1864. Wounded in Va., 1864.

COMPANY I.

White, Isaac, e. October 1, 1863, killed at Petersburg, Va.

COMPANY K.

Carter, J. C., e. June 6, 1861, disc. June 5, 1864.

Doran, John, e. June 4, 1861, died at Harper's Ferry, Va., March 9, 1863.

Filler, Frank M., e. June 6, 1861, disc. February 1, 1864. (Enlisted in three months' service April 17, 1861. )

Kile, W. W., e. June 5, 1861, disc. December 13, 1862. Smith, George W., e. June 4, 1861, disc. February 14, 1864. Tanner, Joseph.

SIXTH OHIO INFANTRY.

This regiment was organized April 18, 1861, for three months' service, and June 18, 1861, for three years' service, under Col. W. K. Bosley. It entered the field in West Virginia, took part in the battle of Shiloh and in all the operations before Corinth. It was engaged in the battles of Stone River and Chickamauga and in the assault upon Mission Ridge. It was mustered out June 23, 1864.

COMPANY B.

Adams, James, e. April, 1861, disc. June 23, 1861.

COMPANY E.

Malone, James, e. April, 1861, disc. June 23, 1864.

COMPANY F.

Dean, James, e. April, 1861. Killed. McClurg, John, e. June 18, 1861, disc. July, 1864

SEVENTH OHIO INFANTRY.

The Seventh Ohio Infantry was organized April 30, 1861, for three months' service, and July 25 for three years. It served in West Virginia until December and was then trans- ferred to the Army of the Potomac. It participated in the battles of Antietam, Chan- cellorsville, Lookout Mountain and Resaca. Its term of service having expired, it was mustered out July 8, 1864.

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UNION COUNTY

COMPANY C.

Matery, Thomas L., e. June, 1861. Wounded at Harper's Ferry, Va., disc. 1864. COMPANY D. Johnson, James, e. November, 1863, disc. August, 1865.

EIGHTH OHIO INFANTRY.

This regiment was organized May 2, 1861, for three months' service, and June 26 for three years' service. It was engaged in the battles of Cedar Creek, Winchester, Port Royal, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chineellorsville and Gettysburg. It partici- pated in Grant's movements in the Wilderness and was withdrawn from the trenches at Peters- burg to be mustered out July 13, 1864.

COMPANY C.

Curry, David.

TENTHI OHIO INFANTRY.

The Tenth Ohio Infantry was a three months' organization, but before half of its time ex- pired it volunteered for three years' service, and was mustered in on the 3d of June, 1861. It operated in West Virginia under McClellan and Rosecrans, and in Kentucky under Gen. Mitchell. It was in the engagements at Perry- ville and Stone River, and with Gen. Thomas was present at Mission Ridge, Buzzard's Roost, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca and as far in the Atlanta campaign as Kingston, when its term of service expired. It was mustered out in June, 1864.

COMPANY B.

Lieutenant W. M. Hlayden, e. May 7, 1861, disc. June 17, 1865.

COMPANY C.

Urten, Thomas, e. May 7, 1861. Died.

COMPANY D.

Mattex, J. A., e. May 7, 1861, disc. June 17, 1865.

COMPANY E.

Sergeant J. P. Martin, e. 1862, disc. 1865.

ELEVENTH OHIO INFANTRY.

This regiment was organized in April, 1861, for three months' service, and June 20, for three years. It took part in the battles of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Chickamauga, Mis- sion Ridge and Buzzard's Roost.

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The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record;, Part 48

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1254

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1254