USA > Ohio > The history of Fuller's Ohio brigade, 1861-1865; its great march, with roster, portraits, battle maps and biographies > Part 30
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"E. B. TYLER, Colonel commanding Seventh Regiment."
In July, 1861, he assisted in recruiting a company of men in Cleveland, Ohio, for three years service. The organization was ordered by Governor Dennison to Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, and assigned as Company G of the Twenty-seventh Ohio Regiment of Infantry. He was appointed Sergeant, July 27th, 1861 ; Orderly Sergeant, May 12th, 1862; commissioned Second Lieutenant, November 2nd, 1862. The last named promotion was for meritorious conduct at the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, October 4th, 1862, in leading a charge in which the Ninth Texas battle flag and Color Guard were captured. He was assigned to Company B by Major Mendal Churchill's special order number 196; commissioned First Lieutenant, May 9th, 1864, and assigned to Company A; promoted to Captain, November 3rd, 1864 and assigned to Company K; promoted to Major, May 3rd, 1865. He took part in all campaigns in which the regiment was engaged and was in command of its skirmish line in nearly every battle, and was never dis- abled by wounds during his four years and three months of continuous service.
By special order number 24, on April 25th, 1864, Brigadier-General J. C. Veatch, commanding the Fourth Division, Sixteenth Army Corps, he was appointed on a board of survey to determine and fix the amount and responsibility of loss of certain ordinance stores. By special order number 44, May 10th, 1864, General Veatch, commanding, he was ap-
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pointed Assistant Commissary of Subsistence, and was relieved from that duty to receive promotion.
On September 6th. 1864. by special order of Samuel Ross, command- ing the post at Marietta. Georgia, he was sent to Atlanta, to procure negroe> to work on the fortifications and in the department.
He was appointed by Major-General J. A. Mower (special order num- ber 53) November 9th, 1864, on a Board of Survey, for the purpose of examining upon the loss of certain camp and garrison equipage, for which J. C. Denise, Surgeon of the Twenty-seventh Ohio Veteran Volunteer In- fantry was responsible. Again, by special order number 179, December 30th, 1864. he was appointed on a Board of Survey to report upon the condition of certain hospital blankets for which Acting Staff Surgeon J. M. Cook was responsible.
He was appointed by Major-General J. A. Mower's special order num- ber 179, January 9th, 1865, a member of a General Court Martial for the trial of prisoners.
He was appointed by Brigadier-General M. F. Force (special order number 77) April 9th, 1865, a member of a General Court Martial, and again by special order number 11, on May 28th, 1865.
These Courts Martial were held at times when the troops were at rest and when the army resumed operations, each officer of the court rejoined his command.
Major Smith was mustered out with his regiment after the close of the war, on July 11th, at Louisville, Kentucky, and discharged at Camp Chase, Ohio, July 20th, 1865.
Major Smith's five brothers were sailors and soldiers-a remarkable in- stance in one family of patriotic devotion to their country. They were John C. Smith, served in the U. S. merchant marine-was lost on a vessel that toundered in the Atlantic ocean; Private Thomas Smith, Twenty-seventh Ohio Infantry ; Captain George C. Smith, Eighty-first New York Infantry ; Lieutenant Joseph C. Smith, One Hundred and Twelfth New York In- fantry, wounded at Cold Harbor, Virginia, in June, 1864, and Sergeant Robert F. Smith, Forty-ninth New York, wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia.
Major Smith was married in Cleveland, Ohio, November 26th, 1868, to Louisa M. Johnson. daughter of Colonel Luke Dewey Johnson and Lu- cinda Ely, his wife. Their children are Mrs. Mildred Lovisa Coulton. Ely Clark (deceased), Mrs. Nina Louise Dodd and Edith Roberta. Since the war, he has been engaged in business as a merchant and banker. He is a member of the Loyal Legion, the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, the Grand Army of the Republic, is life President of Fuller's Ohio Brigade and a thirty-second degree Mason.
CAPTAIN CHARLES WILLIAM GREENE.
Twenty-Seventh Ohio Veteran Vounteer Infantry.
Captain Charles William Greene, of the Twenty-seventh Ohio veter- an Volunteer Infantry, died August 29th, '90.
Captain Greene was born a few miles above Ironton, in Lawrence Co., Chio, March 20th, 1941 and spent his boyhood and early manhood in South- ern Ohio. In July, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Co. E. 27th regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry; was elected 2nd Lieutenant, when the company was mustered, promoted to 1st Lieutenant, March 27, 1862 and to Captain Nov. 2nd, 1862. He served with his regiment with credit in Missouri, Ten- nessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, was twice wounded, being struck with a fragment of a shell in the battle of Corinth, Miss., October 4th, 1862 and shot through the foot at Dallas, Ga., May. 30th, 1864. The latter wound disabled him for further service, lamed him for life, and he was honorably discharged September 1st, 1864.
He was manager of Keystone Furnace in Jackson Co., Ohio, from 1866 to 1872 and came to Zanesville the latter year and was afterward connected with the management of this Company to the time of his death, though unable to participate actively for the past two years because of failing health.
He was married to Miss Isabel Blocksom in Zanesville, January 20th. 1876: she died January 27th, 1887, leaving two children who still survive.
Captain Greene united with the Presbyterian Church in early life and was a consistent Christian ; a brave and capable soldier upon whose army record there was never stain or blemish and as a business man, citizen and neighbor he was universally esteemed and respected for his manhood, sterling worth, integrity and high character.
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COL. JOHN GROSBECK. 39th O. V. V. I.
COLONEL JOHN GROESBECK.
BY CAPTAIN ETHAN O. HURD, Company B, Thirty-ninth Ohio Regiment · Veteran Volunteer Infantry.
Colonel John Groesbeck was the first Commander of the Thirty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
His own prominence gave it standing at once and it was called "The Groesbeck Regiment."
A man of magnificent physique, a fine swordsman, his thorough gentle- manliness, dignity, geniality, keen sense of humor and bravery made him beloved by his men.
Under fire at New Madrid and at the Siege of Corinth he rode around on his grand bay horse with cannon balls and shells whistling by without ever making the slightest effort to shield himself from them by taking advantage of the ground, or showing the slightest consciousness of them.
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COLONEL JOHN GROESBECK.
As senior officer of the four regiments, the Twenty-seventh. Thirty- ninth, Forty-third and Sixty-third, forming the Ohio Brigade, its command was from its formation thrust upon him, and had he remained in the ser- vice he would undoubtedly have been appointed a Brigadier-general.
He resigned in July. 1862, after one year of service, in order, as he told the writer, to make room for the promotion of his Major. E. F. Noyes to the Colonelcy of the regiment.
On his return to Cincinnati he was nominated for Congress on the Republican ticket, against the Honorable George H. Pendleton on the Democratic side.
Before the close of the war he was married to Miss Genevieve Wilson. but his life was saddened by her early death in 1865.
For many years he rocided in New York City until his death there in 1879. His remains were brought to Cincinnati and interred by the side of his wife in our beautiful Spring Grove Cemetery.
He left an only child, a daughter, who married George Hoadly, Jr .. son of ex-Governor Hoadly of Ohio.
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COL. EDWARD F. NOYES, 39TH O. V. V. I. Brevet Brigadier General. Governor of Ohio.
BREVET BRIGADIER GENERAL EDWARD F. NOYES.
Thirty-ninth Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry.
FROM "OHIO IN THE WAR," REVISED BY CAPTAIN W. H. H. MINTURN.
Edward Follensbee Noyes was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, Octo- ber 3, 1832. His parents died in his infancy and at the age of thirteen years, he was apprenticed as a printer boy. In this position he remained four and one-half years. He entered Dartmouth College in 1853, and graduated four years afterward. He immediately removed to Cincinnati and studied law, graduating in the Cincinnati Law School in 1858. He practiced law successfully until the breaking out of the rebellion. On July 8th, 1861, his law office was changed to recruiting headquarters, and in less than a month a full regiment was raised and ready for the field. Of
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GENERAL EDWARD F. NOYES.
this regiment (the Thirty-ninth Ohio Infantry) he was commissioned Major to rank from July 27th, 1861. He continued with the command during all its marches in Missouri, and under General Pope during the advance upon and final capture of New Madrid and Island Ten. He took part in all the skirmishes and engagements of General Halleck's left wing in front of Corinth, and on the heights of Farmington. Upon the resigna- tion of Colonel Groesbeck, he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel on July 8th, 1862, and in this rank took part under General Rosecrans in the battle of Iuka, September 19, 1862, and in the bloody engagements at Corinth October 3rd and 4th. On the 1st of October, 1862, he was com- missioned Colonel, and in December following, he commanded the regiment in the battle of Parker's Cross Roads, where General Forrest and the rebel forces were defeated with great loss. From this time until the beginning of the Atlanta campaign he commanded his regiment in its various move- ments and its garrison duty at Corinth and Memphis, and in its bridge- building on the railroad in middle Tennessee.
While engaged in this latter duty at Prospect, Tennessee, Colonel Noyes with quick perception of its necessity, threw the whole weight of his influence into the work of re-enlisting his regiment. He fully aroused the spirit of his excellent regiment, and as a result the Thirty-ninth Ohio gave to the country a much larger number of veterans than any other Ohio regiment. His zeal had its effect also on other officers in the command, and was doubtless instrumental in rendering the veteran movement so popular in General Dodge's district. In the Atlanta Campaign, he took part until July 4th, 1864, being at the engagement of Resaca, Dallas and Kenesaw Mountain. On the 4th of July, while in command of an assault on the enemy's works near Ruff's Mills, on Nick-o-jack Creek, he received a wound which resulted in the loss of a leg. This compelled him to relinquish for the first time his active connection with his command. After having par- tially recovered from two amputations, and while yet on crutches, he reported for duty to General Hooker, and was by him assigned to the com- mand at Camp Dennison, where he remained until April 22nd, 1865, when he resigned to accept the position of attorney (city solicitor) for the city of Cincinnati. In October, 1866, he was elected Probate Judge of Hamilton County on the Republican ticket. That he had the love and respect of his men is evident from the fact already stated that he induced so many of them to re-enlist. He enjoyed the confidence of his superior officers, as is shown by the warm recommendations he received for promotion from Generals John Pope, W. S. Rosecrans, D. S. Stanley, G. M. Dodge, and W. T. Sherman. The latter says: "I was close by when Colonel Noyes was shot. We were pressing Johnston's Army back from Marietta when he made a stand at Smyrna camp ground, and I ordered his position to be
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attacked, by the 27th and 39th Ohio Regiments. It was done successfully with some loss. Colonel Noyes fully merits his honorable title." Colonel Noyes was a strict disciplinarian, and it was said of him that he in some way managed to have a greater number of men "present for duty" than any other equal regiment in the command. Yet he was impartial and uni- formly kind to all who were disposed to do their duty. While he insisted upon being implicitly obeyed by his subordinates, he was always ready to obey without questioning the commands of his superiors, and he had the satisfaction of knowing, when the war was over, that his regiment never turned their backs to the enemy in any battle or skirmish from first to last.
Having been recommended for promotion to the full rank of Brigadier- General before he was wounded, he received, after he was disabled for active service, a commission as Brevet Brigadier-General, to date from March 13, 1865.
General Noyes' career after leaving the Army was conspicuous and brilliant and his fellow citizens freely bestowed great honors upon him. Besides the offices above mentioned which he had held, he was, in 1871, made Governor of the State of Ohio and in 1877 was appointed to repre- sent the United States as Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordin- ary to the government of France. The same magnetism which had drawn men to him in his own country, now brought friends to his side in France. Marshall, McMahon, Lafayette, Rochambeau, Leon Say and Gambretta received him with cordiality and regarded him as a friend and a great soldier. On his return to Cincinnati after four years in Paris, he resumed the practice of law, until his neighbors, delighting again to do him honor, chose him to serve as Judge of the Supreme Court and it was while serv- ing upon this bench, that the country was startled by the news of his sudden death which occurred September 4th, 1890.
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COLONEL DANIEL WEBER.
Thirty-ninth Veteran Volunteer Infantry.
BORN, LANCASTER, PA, DECEMBER 13, 1833. DIED, CINCINNATI, O., OCTOBER 7, 1892.
Daniel Weber came to Ohio in early childhood, and lived in Cincinnati at the time of the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion. He enlisted as a private soldier in Co. D, of the 39th Ohio Infantry. He was made Orderly Sergeant of the company, and was elected Second Lieutenant before the regiment took the field. Exhibiting unusual capacity for mili- tary life, he was soon promoted to be Adjutant of the regiment. The date of his commission was March 25, 1862; and on the 2d of March, 1864, he was commissioned Captain of Co. I. On January 11, 1865, he was made Major. February 10. 1865, he was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel ; and in May 1865, was commissioned and mustered as Colonel of the regi- ment. He served as Colonel until the regiment was finally mustered out of the service. He was justly considered one of the best soldiers in the old Army of the Tennessee. He had the entire confidence of his command- ing officers, Sherman, Logan, Pope, Stanley, Dodge, and Fuller, under whom he served in Missouri, at New Madrid, at Island No. 10, Corinth. all the battles of the Atlanta Campaign, during Sherman's March to the Sea, and in the many engagements in which the Army of the Tennessee took part. In all of these he bore himself with distinguished gallantry and efficiency.
After the close of the rebellion he was appointed Deputy Surveyor of the Customs at the port of Cincinnati. He was Clerk of the Probate Court of Hamilton County while E. F. Noyes was Judge, and was afterward elected as Sheriff of Hamilton County. In all of these positions he acquit- ted himself to the entire satisfaction of the community. In later years he was actively engaged as a live stock commission dealer at the Cincinnati Stock Yards, in the firm of Weber, Loper & Co., which did a large and successful business. He was also appointed as Quartermaster-general of the State of Ohio, with the rank of Brigadier-General, upon the staff of Governor E. F. Noyes. He was one of the Police Commissioners of Cin- cinnati at the time of the railroad riots in 1887, and rendered most efficient service in the preservation of law and order.
As a soldier there was none in the army more patriotic, brave, and efficient. As a business man he had the respect and confidence of all his associates. His integrity was beyond the reach of temptation. As a friend
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he was loyal and true, and there was no labor, risk or sacrifice which he was not ready to undertake for those whom he loved.
He had four children, all of whom died before him. A widow mourn- his loss. His old comrades of the army, his business associates, and a wide circle of other friends, will sadly miss the presence of one who walked uprightly among his fellowmen, and who was honorable and lovable in all the relations of life.
W: H. H. MINTURN.
Thirty-Ninth Veteran Volunteer Infantry.
W. H. H. Minturn was torn at Nelsonville, Ohio, February 25th, 1840. He enlisted as a private in Company B, Twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. April 21st, 1861, under Lincoln's first call for three month's vol- unteers. After his promotion to second Sergeant, he was honorably mus- tered out on August 19th, but enlisted again in the Thirty-ninth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry.
His knowledge of the arini and reports gained in three month's service made him very useful in the Thirty-ninth, and after a year's service in the ranks, he was promoted to Quarter-master-Sergeant. to Second Lieutenant. and to Captain. He re-enlisted with his company as a veteran, serving, in all, four years, two months and nineteen days.
He was never absent from the regiment when it was in an active cam- paign, and never missed a march nor a battle. Though twice captured by the enemy, on both occasions, he made his escape at the risk of his lite.
He joined Post number 2 at Zanesville, in 1866, and later, the Phil. Kearney Post at Nelsonville. He was a charter member of Columbus Golden Post and in 1883, on his removal to Cincinnati, he joined W. H. Lytle Post, of which he was Adjutant for three years. Upon moving to New Lexington, he joined John W. Fowler Post, and was elected Com- mander in which position he served two terms.
He organized the Perry County Battalion of the Grand Army, and was elected Colonel. two terms. He organized the Perry County Soldier's and Sailor's Association of which he was twice elected President. He served as an aid to Commander-in-chief Alger and accompanied him to Boston in 1890. He served Department Commander Conger as an assistant inspector on his staff.
Captain Minturn has the welfare of his comrades at heart and no man in Ohio has given more of his time, nor, according to his ability, more help to the old soldiers. He is lawyer of ability and none stands higher at this bar; he is a Christian gentlman, a man of intelligence and education and as an orator and public speaker, he has no superior in the country.
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COLONEL JOSEPH L. KIRBY SMITH.
COLONEL JOSEPH L. KIRBY SMITH.
BY JAMES E. GRAHAM, Company C., Forty-third Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry.
Joseph L. Kirby Smith was of New England origin. His grandfather Joseph L. Smith was a lawyer in Lichfield, Connecticut, served as a Major in the War of 1812, and was promoted to Colonel. Afterward he became United States Judge. His son. Ephraim K. Smith, the father of Joseph L. Kirby was a Captain in the United States Army and was killed at the battle of Molino-del-Ray. in Mexico. Another relative was the distin- guished Edmond K. Smith of the Confederate Army.
Joseph L. Kirby Smith was born at Syracuse, New York, on the 25th of July, 1836. He entered the academy at West Point in 1853, and remained in the army from that time until the day of his death. In 1860. he accompanied the Utah expedition as Aid-de-camp to General Patterson.
He was commissioned as Colonel of the Forty-third Regiment of Ohio Infantry Volunteers, on the 28th day of September, 1861, and at once entered into the work of organizing and disciplining the men who were being recruited for the command. The first two or three companies went into barracks at Camp Chase near Columbus, but on the 5th day of Novem- ber, 1861, they removed to what was afterwards known as Camp Andrews at Mount Vernon, Ohio. Here the organization was completed and no regiment ever received more thorough training in the arts of the soldier than this peerless commander gave the men he commanded.
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COLONEL JOSEPH L. KIRBY SMITH.
On the night of the 21st day of February, 1862, J. L. Kirby Smith rode at the head of what was admitted to be one of the best, if not the best equipped and drilled regiments that ever left the State of Ohio. He was continually with his command until that fatal never-to-be-forgotten 4th day of October, 1862, when he led his command into the sanguinary contest He only lamented that we was kept so long without an opportunity to lead his men into a hotly contested battle. That he was loved and trusted by the men he commanded. was most eloquently shown when the word passed along the line that he was killed, by the diamond tear-drops that coursed down every cheek. Although he was only twenty-six years old when he died, and had been permitted to serve but eight months in the Volunteer Army, he had rendered such signal service by his prowess and valor at New Madrid, Island Ten, advance on Corinth and Tuka. and had shown such superior qualities as a superb soldier that he was looked upon by his superiors as one who was sure to reach the highest rank of a Commander.
He was a master of tactics, a prince of a disciplinarian, as brave as the bravest, with a heart as tender as a woman. The true soldier of the line found in him an unswerving friend. while the laggard had better have been in some other place.
The writer hereof was only a Private in the ranks, and the first time I saw Col. Smith was on the 5th day of November, when he rode at the head of the nucleus of his regiment, and he then so impressed me that he became my Beau-ideal of a soldier and has so remained until now. Col. Smith was a Christian without cant, a soldier without ostentation. The brightest gem in his life was his child-like devotion to his mother. which the writer had the pleasure of seeing exhibited on several occasions. Her word was as law unto him. There was a beauty in his daily life that won not only the esteem and admiration of those who came in contact with him. but their love. One who knew him well and intimately, has said of him, he was cheerful, religious, faithful. sincere, frank, brave, affectionate, and dutiful. Having been reared most of his life amidst the scenes of the military camp, and then in the military school. he fully appreciated both the propriety and necessity of obedience, that dominating attribute which must control every true soldier, this qualification he possessed, seldom equalled and never excelled, and one of the greatest efforts of his service as a Commander was to instill this characteristic into the mind and heart of every officer and soldier under his instruction, and woe be unto him who failed to obey. He had the reputation of having discharged every duty assigned to him by his superiors in command. in such a satisfactory and fearless manner as to attract the special attention of not only his command- ers but of the enemy who had observed his gallantry in leading his com- mand against them.
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From those who were of sufficient rank to become intimate with him. we learn that he was a companionable, charming associate, far above the average conversationalist. and possessed of a vein of humor, rarely possessed.
He was never known to speak in derision of another, but always in commendation of their virtues, and with such a charm that pen cannot describe his manner at such times. But the bright future predicted for him by his friends was not to be realized, and on the 12th of October, 1862. this loyal citizen, typical American, matchless soldier, obedient, loving son, and devouted lover laid his life upon his country's altar.
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COL. WAGER SWAYNE, 43d O. V. V. I. Major General U. S. V.
MAJOR-GENERAL WAGER SWAYNE.
BY GEORGE M. WISE, Adjutant Forty-third Ohio Veteran Vol. Infantry.
Wager Swayne, the oldest son of Noah H. Swayne, associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was born in 1835 at Columbus. Ohio. Although a delicate boy he graduated at Yale, studied law and began his practice prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. In the autumn of 1861. when the magnitude of the approaching struggle became apparent. he offered his services to Governor Dennison and was commissioned Major of the 43rd Ohio. The people were depressed by the reverse at Bull Run and the dread of what was to come and recruiting was slow. He threw himself into the work with that energy and perseverance which was a trait of his character and by February, 1862 the 43rd was ready for the field with 1,100 men. The recruiting of the regiment was largely his work. His first battle was at New Madrid, Missouri, and while in action with his regiment, his horse was shot under him. He was soon appointed
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Lieutenant-Colonel and on the 4th of October. 1862, succeeded to the command of the regiment at the beginning of the battle of Corinth. when Colonel Smith was mortally wounded. The opposing lines were but a few feet apart and the struggle was most desperate. It was a trying ordeal for . a young officer fresh from civil life. For a moment the line wavered ju-t a little, then in conjunction with the 63rd and 27th Ohio to the right. it dashed with re-doubled energy into the great rebel charging column and drove it back in utter rout. During these trying moments he was twice slightly wounded but remained on the battle field.
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