CHAPTER V.
WAR OF THE REBELLION.
THE mutterings of internal strife, which had engaged the attention of statesmen for some years prior to 1860, in that year began to take tangible shape, and the people came to realize that the questions of state right, slavery extension, and secession of the slaveholding states portended national disaster. In exactly what form the trouble should come, was not realized, even by national leaders, nor was the enormity of the civil strife fully comprehended until the national disaster at Bull Run. But the public press began to take sides in the controversy, and to educate the people in the doctrines of non-coercion or war for the Union, according to the views of editors and writers. All were not of one mind. Certain prominent dailies in Ohio, surviving at the present day, were opponents of the war, and to that extent gave aid and encouragement to the seceding states. Such publications were snuggled through to the Confederate army, and there welcomed with all the enthusiasm aroused by the Richmond "Enquirer." Notable among the newspapers that supported the war for the Union was the Scioto Gazette.
There was no halfway station in this great controversy. Popular sentiment was keyed up to the highest pitch, and deeds of violence and bloodshed often accompanied animated discussions of the all-absorbing theme. The coming war overshadowed everything else. In this frame of mind the people came down to the period of the Baltimore riot and the firing on Fort Sumter. The national treasury had been robbed by the friends of secession ; the government arsenals had been plundered and arms and equipments seized, with the double purpose of weakening the strength of their prospective opponents, and equipping the Confederates. Men highly schooled in the arts of war, at the government expense, turned their backs upon "Old Glory" and chose the "Stars and Bars" as their country's emblem. These things fanned the flame of patriotism among the loyal people of the North, until it burst into an unquenchable sea of patriotic fire, and every man was required to declare himself. Secession sentiments
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would not be tolerated, and violence or banishment followed such a declaration.
The news of the firing on Fort Sumter was followed in a few days by the president's call for seventy-five thousand troops. By the 29th of April, just seventeen days after the first shot was fired, the loyal old Buckeye State offered seventy-one thousand soldiers, and eight days later increased her offering to eighty-one thousand ! The first mass meeting in Chillicothe was held at the city hall on the evening of April 15th. Speeches were made by W. T. McClintick, S. H. Hurst, Noah Wilson, Theodore Sherrer and others. But those were days of deeds, and not of words. Col. William E. Gilmore was the first man to tender his services as a volunteer. By the 20th of April he left for Columbus at the head of a company. George Reed was first lieutenant and Charles Schultz, second. On the 23d of April another company was organized, and left under command of Capt. S. S. Robinson, a veteran of the Mexican war. J. H. Nugent was first lieutenant and James R. Blackburn was second. "Wes" McLean, another veteran of the Mexican war, where he served as a drummer, and had subsequently served five years in the regular army, in the same capacity, now accepted his old position and started for the front with this company.
Enlistments and company organizations followed in rapid succession. The German population furnished two companies among the early enlistments, one being a company of dragoons, which went out under Captain Pfau, and the other a company of infantry, with Captain Rehwinkle in command, and Lieutenants A. Kessinger and Paul Wittich, as subordinates. This last named organization grew to be a regiment, of which Captain Rehwinkle became the colonel before his term of service expired. The professions, merchants, mechanics, farmer boys and laborers, all were imbued with the same spirit of patriotism, and promptly laid aside their several vocations, and joined in the supreme effort for national preservation. Rev. Z. Wharton, of Twin township, once a pastor of Trinity Methodist church, laid aside his shepherd's crook for a sword, and went to the front at the head of a company. During the four years of bloody warfare, Ohio met every call for troops in advance of the time limit, and Ross county was always among the first to respond with her quota.
While the "boys" were at the front, the loyal citizens at home were not idle, and the devoted mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts, imbued with the same spirit of loyalty and devotion to country which had taken their loved ones from them, were the first to organize a relief association. On the 19th of April, that day memorable in our national history, while the booming of cannon at Fort Sumter was scarcely silenced in the shadows of rapidly occurring events, the Ladies' Union Relief Society was organized. Mrs. Nancy Waddle
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took the initiative in the matter, and the organization was effected by the election of Mrs. Cary A. Trimble as president; Mrs. Dr. Fuller ton, vice-president; Mrs. Albert Douglas, treasurer, and Mrs. James Silvey, secretary. Resolutions of loyalty to country, and devotion to the wards of the nation, were passed, and a flag was presented to Captain Gilmore's company, the first to depart from the county for the seat of war. This was an imposing ceremony, and a feature then new to the young people of the generation. The presentation took place in front of the courthouse just before the company left for the front. The flag was escorted by thirteen little girls dressed in red, white and blue, and representing the thirteen original colonies that achieved national independence. There was much of this outward show of sympathy and interest during the first year of the war, and flags and swords were presented on every available occasion. But by the following year, after the disasters of the Peninsula campaign, matters settled down to a war basis, and sentiment was banished in the interest of helpful deeds. The statement is made without authority, yet in the light of reason, that the Ladies' Relief Society was instrumental in securing the appropriation of a thousand dollars by the city council as the nucleus to a general relief fund. This action was taken by the council in April, 1861, and public and private donations to this worthy cause were kept up from that day until the final capitulation at Appomattox.
A military committee was formed, consisting of leading business men, which acted in conjunction with the ladies' society, in looking after the needs of Ross county soldiers' families. William T. McClintick, James Rowe, Addison Pearson and William Poland, were members of this committee. The colored men of the city showed their loyalty and interest with great fervor; and as soon as the enlistment of colored troops was authorized, one hundred men left Chillicothe and went to Massachusetts, where they enlisted in the Second Colored infantry of that state. After the emancipation proclamation became operative, enlistments were general throughout Ohio, and Ross county colored men responded to the first call.
It would be impossible to trace the record of Ross county's valiant soldiers through the ranging fortunes of four years of bloody war; neither would space permit, should such be possible. Without disparagement to the heroic services of any, it shall be the purpose of this article to mention the organization, which, as a whole, is more closely connected with Ross county than any other military organization. Reference is here made to the Seventy-third regiment of Veteran Volunteer Infantry. While other regiments and companies may have achieved equal honors on the bloody field, it is morally certain that none surpassed the Seventy-third in the performance of stern duty. The war had been in progress over six months and the "before breakfast-job" of the three months men had been prolonged
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to more than twice their term of service, and up to this date, the Confederates had been successful on every field. An enlistment for three years' service at this time meant more than a brief term of a few months. The first spontaneous outburst of patriotism had been succeeded by a candid and thoughtful consideration of the momentous task before us, with the record of past events pointing to possible failure. This was the condition of affairs when it was decided in September, 1861, by a group of young men in Chillicothe, to raise a regiment in response to the President's first call for three hundred thousand troops for a period of "three years, or during the war." After due consideration, these young men determined to make the attempt, and Capt. Orland Smith, then in command of the Chillicothe Greys, was invited to accept the colonelcy, and the second position was offered to Jacob Hyer of Greenfield. Both these gentlemen accepted, and at once began the establishment of recruiting stations in Ross and adjacent counties. The headquarters of the embryo regiment was established at "Camp Logan," near Chillicothe. Company encampments were opened at Hallsville, Clarksburg, and Massieville, in Ross county. Enlistments moved along slowly, but by the 12th of November, the first company (A) with a complement of one hundred men, was organized. November 20th companies B and F were completed, and company G was organized on the 13th of December. In the meantime a number of parts of companies were brought into camp by the recruiting officers, and all were being drilled and schooled in the art of war.
On the 30th of December, these detachments were consolidated, by which means ten minimum companies were organized and the regimental organization completed, and mustered into the service of the United States. The work of drilling and equipping the regiment went steadily on, and by the time it was ordered to the field, the discipline, drill and apparent efficiency of the regiment were alike creditable to the officers and the men.
The "Chillicothe Greys," a company organized just prior to the war, was the nucleus of this regiment, and, as before intimated, its captain was chosen as the colonel of the new organization, and subsequently became the commander of a brigade, in the Eleventh Army corps. That the reader may have some idea of the casualties of the regiment, let it be said that eighty men were commissioned as field, staff, and line officers, while thirty-six is the complement for a regiment. Of these, a few resigned, and some were promoted, but it is safe to assert that at least thirty officers were killed or disabled in the service. The regiment lost one hundred and fifty-six enlisted men, killed in battle, or died of wounds ; five hundred and sixty-eight were wounded in battle, and one hundred and twenty-nine died of disease. A "minimum" company was sixty-one men, hence the cas-
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ualties exceeded, by forty per cent, the number of men entering the service with the organization of the regiment.
The active service of the Seventy-third began in the army of West Virginia, under Gen. W. S. Rosecrans. It would be interesting to follow the regiment through its wonderfully active career of nearly four years at the front ; but a brief resume of events must suffice. It participated in twenty hard-fought battles, some of which were the most disastrous in the annals of the war. To reach these various scenes of carnage in a half dozen different states, it traveled thousands of miles on weary marches, through rain and snow and mud ; in intense heat, or equally uncomfortable cold ; wading streams, climbing and descending mountains, each soldier carrying, in full equipment, some sixty pounds of baggage. It is estimated that in ordinary warfare, a soldier is under fire in skirmishing, and other desultory fighting, at least five times to each general engagement in which he participates; hence a record of battles is no fair estimate as to a soldier's actual service.
The Seventy-third fought under Rosecrans, Schenck, Milroy, and Fremont in West Virginia ; under McClellan, Sigel, Howard, Pope, Burnside, Hooker and Meade, in the Army of the Potomac; and under Rosecrans, Thomas, Sherman, Grant and Hooker in Tennessee, and on the Atlanta campaign, thence on the memorable "March to the Sea." It received complimentary mention by General Grant for valiant services in the "midnight charge" in Lookout Valley, which Gen. S. H. Hurst, its colonel, characterized as "the hottest and most bravely contested battle of any in which the regiment had participated." General Grant in his official report, pronounced the charge of the Seventy-third Ohio and Thirty-third Massachusetts in this engagement "one of the most daring feats of arms in the war." The campaign in East Tennessee followed this, and after much weary and apparently fruitless marching, the regiment returned to Lookout valley, and there re-enlisted, almost to a man. But four men in the entire regiment refused to continue in the service after the expiration of the first term of enlistment. January 15, 1864, the regiment reached Chillicothe on veteran furlough, being accompanied by the Sixty-third regiment, and a grand ovation was tendered to both. A procession was formed under the direction of Col. William E. Gilmore, as chief marshal, which met the soldier boys at the depot. The procession returned with the guests to the front of the courthouse, where a most hearty welcome was accorded them in cheering, singing and speech making. But the veterans, after two years' absence, were more anxious to meet loved ones around the home firesides, and so dispersed to their several homes to enjoy a thirty days' respite in the quiet pursuits of civil life. The regiment reached its former camp in Lookout valley, on the 2nd of March, and there resumed the routine of camp life, until the beginning of the
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thrilling events in the campaign of 1864. It participated in the battles, marches and skirmishes of the Atlanta campaign, and the skirmishers of the Seventy-third were the first to enter the beleaguered city. Continuing the triumphal march to the sea, and up through the Carolinas, fighting its way, as enemies confronted it, the Grand Review at Washington put a fitting finale to the record of the preceding years.
The Rebellion was crushed, and the citizen soldiery was no longer imbued with the military spirit. It was "Home, Sweet Home," in the minds of all. The Cincinnati Gazette of July 25, 1865, thus summed up the homecoming of the gallant old regiment: "The Seventy-third regiment was mustered out at Camp Dennison today. The history of this noble veteran organization is a record of heroism and endurance, of which every Ohioan should be proud. Its flag bears the names of twenty bloody fields, where the regiment. fought and suffered. Its roll of honor shows seven hundred and fifty killed and wounded in battle. The graves of its three hundred dead mark its victorious pathway through six states of the Union. In the midnight charge at Lookout, it performed a feat unsurpassed in the annals of war. It has been in the front of many battles and its old flag has never known repulse."
The field and staff officers of the Seventy-third were subject to frequent change, there being ten resignations, one discharge, and one death. A number of resignations were due to promotions to higher rank in other organizations, and the places thus made vacant were filled by promotions from the line officers. The distinguished Chillicothean, now serving as postmaster, and who has filled several other prominent positions in civil life, passed up from the position of second lieutenant in 1861, to the rank of brevet brigadier general. Reference is made to Gen. S. H. Hurst, who commanded the regiment for nearly two years, passing through the various grades of second lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, colonel and brigadier-general. This is a most distinguishing honor, and an attainment seldom reached in the annals of the civil war. It speaks of faithfulness to duty, efficiency in office, bravery on the field, and confidence of the men under his command.
A number of line officers were chosen from the ranks of the Chillicothe Greys, that company being specially well drilled at the organization of the regiment, and hence capable of instructing others. But usually promotions were made from the companies where the vacancies occurred. Some of the Ross county officers in this regiment were the following: Brig.-Gen. Orland Smith; Col. Richard Long, who was detached on the staff of Major-General Howard; Surgeon Jones P. Safford, who suffered humiliation but was subsequently vindicated, and restored to former rank of major; Adjutant John Spence, who rose from the ranks ; Adjutant John B. Smith, who
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served until the end of the war, and was mustered out with the regiment; Quartermaster William D. Wesson, promoted from the rank of first lieutenant to captain. Quartermaster James Earl rose from the ranks, and served the full term; Assistant Surgeon William Richeson resigned ; Assistant Surgeon Smith D. Steer was mustered out with the regiment.
Line officers : Capt. Edward H. Allen, promoted from second lieutenant--resigned; Capt. Lewis H Burkett, promoted from second lieutenant, died of wounds received in second battle of Bull Run ; Capt. Thomas Beach, commissioned second lieutenant in October, 1861, and promoted to captain the same year, discharged for physical disability December 24, 1862; Capt. Justus G. McSchooler, discharged in 1862, by reason of physical disability; Capt. John Earhart, resigned April 17, 1862; Capt. Luther M. Bookwalter, promoted from first lieutenant August 5, 1862, and died of wounds October 29, 1863, received while gallantly leading his company in the "midnight charge" at Lookout Valley, Tennessee ; Capt. John D. Madeira, promoted from the rank of second lieutenant, served the full term of enlistment, and accepted his discharge at. expiration of three years' service ; Capt. George M. Doherty, fell mortally wounded at the battle of Gettysburg and died July 13, 1863 ; Capt. Archibald Lybrand, resigned October 8, 1864, after nearly three years of active service ; Capt. Benjamin F. Stone, served the full period of enlistment, and accepted his discharge December 29, 1864, since the war prominent in political life, and now one of the English consuls from the United States; Capt. Henry Hinson, served until October 20, 1864, when he resigned his commission ; Capt. James S. McCommon, received a disabling wound in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, and resigned by reason of disability thus incurred; Capt. Abisha Downing, rose from the rank of second lieutenant to that of major, passing the grades of first lieutenant and captain, but owing to the decimated ranks of the regiment, not mustered in the higher position ; Capt. Presley T. Talbot, promoted from the ranks, serving as captain from April 18, 1864, until June 25, 1865, when he resigned, pending the final muster-out of the armies; Capt. James C. McKell, passed through the various grades from private to captain, attaining that position by promotion, on April 18, 1864, resigned January 1, 1865; Capt. Samuel R. Peters, passed through the various grades from private to second lieutenant, first lieutenant, adjutant and captain, and resigned May 28, 1866; Capt. William A. Pontius, enlisted as a private, October 26, 1861, passing up through the grade of second lieutenant and first lieutenant, and receiving his commission as captain, March 26th, 1865 ; was severely wounded in the battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, one of the last battles of the war, and was discharged by reason of his wounds May 19, 1865 ; Capt. Samuel Ambrose, enlisted in the ranks, and attained the rank of captain
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on the 28th of March, 1865, having been a commissioned officer from the 23rd of September, 1864. Capt. John W. Adams, served in the capacity of private, second lieutenant, and first lieutenant, and attained the rank of captain on the day of Lee's surrender; Capt. Martin L. Buchwalter, attained to his highest rank after the war was over, becoming a distinguished lawyer and jurist, and occupying the position of judge in the courts of Cincinnati; enlisted as a private, October 12, 1861, on January 1, 1865, was commissioned first lieutenant, in which position he served until the 22nd of May, 1865, when he was promoted to a captaincy; Capt. Asa F. Couch received his most distinguishing military honors just prior to the homecoming period, being promoted from first lieutenant to captain, on the 25th of June, 1865.
First Lieut. Rufus Hosier enlisted October 26, 1861, and served in the ranks until October 25, 1862, when he was commissioned as second lieutenant. After two months' service in this capacity, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant, this commission dating from the 23rd of December, 1862. He received a disabling wound in the battle of Peachtree Creek, Georgia, by reason of which he was discharged, on the 24th of November, 1864. Mr. Hosler is at present a member of the board of county commissioners of Ross county, and a well known and highly honored citizen. First Lieut. Isaac N. Hawkins was discharged May 15, 1865, by reason of wounds received in battle at Atlanta, Georgia. The following named first lieutenants served the full term with their respective companies, and were mustered out with the regiment: John Burke, John Hildebrand, James Ferguson, James Ross, and Michael S. Mackerly. Second Lieut. Igdaliah B. Dresbach resigned his commission August 12, 1863, after nearly two years of service.
Should space permit it would be a pleasure to include the names and service of the "men who bore the guns," many of whom performed feats of daring, and services of incalculable value to the cause, wholly prompted by the innate desire for national preservation, and without the hope of official reward. Some even declined promotion, on the conscientious ground that they would then be serving for the emoluments and honors of office, while the charge would be groundless if the salary remained at thirteen dollars a month ! The title of "Lincoln hirelings" and "coffee coolers" hardly applied to such men as these.
The Sixty-third Ohio Veteran Infantry was another military organization in which Ross county had more than ordinary interest. Five companies were recruited at Chillicothe for the Twenty-second regiment, largely through the efforts of Col. William E. Gilmore, after his return from the "three months" service ; but the organization did not materialize as rapidly as was desired, and these companies (F, G, H, I, and K) were consolidated with a like number
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organized elsewhere, completing a regiment, which took the number designated by the ranking officer, the Sixty-third, and started for the front on the 23d of January, 1862, reaching Paducah, Ky., on the 18th of February. There it was assigned to the Army of the Mississippi under Maj.-Gen. John Pope. William E. Gilmore, of Chillicothe, was commissioned lieutenant-colonel. It would seem from the meager record at hand, that the five companies from Ross county did not have a fair representation in the list of officers, since First Lieutenants Elias V. Cherry and James A. Gilmore are the only line officers appearing at the time the regiment started for the front, though some of the non-commissioned officers were subsequently promoted. Of these, Hospital Steward James McFadden was promoted captain of company K. and killed in battle, and Quartermaster-Sergeant Edward B. Boyd was promoted second lieutenant. The regiment participated in the battles of New Madrid, Island No. 10, Iuka, second battle of Corinth, Atlanta and Savannah. It performed its whole duty as a military organization in the stirring times of its existence, and returned home, wearing the laurels it had so dearly won. There are many survivors of this distinguished organization still living in Chillicothe, and Ross county.
There were many other companies recruited in Ross county, in whole or in part, among which may be mentioned Company E of the Thirty-seventh, a German company, and the third German regiment raised in the State. Company H of the Thirty-third regiment was recruited in Chillicothe, and commanded by Capt. Thaddeus A. Minshall, who was promoted from the ranks, October 14, 1861. This was the beginning of an honorable public career which has followed the distinguished captain through life. He has filled some of the highest civil offices within the gift of his county and State, and has recently retired from a long term of service on the supreme bench of Ohio. The first lieutenant of this company was Angus L. Waddle, who was transferred to staff duty. Daniel Dorsey was second lieutenant ; Sergeant Henry Hoadley died while a prisoner; Sergeant James P. Roby was a prisoner and discharged after liberation.
Company B of the Twenty-sixth regiment was organized in Ross, and some well known families of the county are represented in the list of members. It was one of the veteran organizations, enlisted in July, 1861, and served until peace was declared, in 1865. The regiment saw hard and continuous service at the front and participated in all the historic battles of that grand old army of the Cumberland. Nor was this all: it followed Sherman to Atlanta, fighting its way at Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, and skirmishing daily with the Confederates. When a halt was called in front. of Atlanta, it was with the troops who retraced their course, followed and passed Hood on his march to Nashville, and defeated, demor-
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alized and scattered his army. The Twenty-sixth then went on the memorable march through Texas, fighting, for their lives, against the aggressions of intense heat, dust, thirst, mosquitoes, centipedes and rebels, but the latter were the least annoying to personal comfort at that season. The officers of the Ross county company were: Capt. Raymond Allston, resigned; Capt. Samuel H. Ewing, mustered out; Capt. Erastus Guy, resigned. First Lieut. John L. Watson, resigned ; First Lieut. Asahel R. Franklin, promoted captain of Company C; First Lieut. Samuel Chestnut, promoted captain; Second Lieut. Morris Renick, promoted first lieutenant and assigned to Company F: Second Lieut. John W. Raley, killed at Chickamauga. The following non-commissioned officers were discharged to accept promotion : Sergt. Richard Long; Sergt. Felix Renick ; Sergt. Louis C. Amberg; Sergt. Henry J. McLandburg; Corp. Henry R. Miller, Corp. Jesse M. Darrah. Eight members of the company were killed in the battle of Chickamauga : Lieut. John W. Ruley, Corporal James M. Cosgrove, privates William Finley, Frank Hess, John Haas, Arthur H. Ingram, James H. Smith and Joseph Vangundy. Three were missing : James Graves, Henry Ludwig and Frederick Miller. Nearly every member of the company present in the action was either killed, missing or wounded, and many of the latter died as a result of their wounds. The following named private soldiers of the company were discharged to accept promotion in other organizations: Francis Aid, Frederick K. Focke, John P. McDougal and John Spence.
There were representatives of Ross county in nearly every regiment organized in the southern part of the State, either by original enlistment, transfer or promotion ; and wherever they were, and by whatever organization they were known, the famous Buckeyes always performed their duty, and reflected honor upon themselves, and credit upon the noble State which they represented.
Since the days of the Massie expedition up the Scioto valley, to the present, Ross county heroism and courage have been demonstrated whenever the country demanded the service of soldiers. While all have done their parts nobly, some have achieved distinguishing honors on sea and land, and passed their names down the corridors of time as worthy examples to future generations. Nor were these achievements, wrought by officers alone. The humble private, whose name is seldom known in military reports, was the motive power, without which the men of fame would have been nonentities. Intelligence and culture permeates the citizen soldiery of America, as in no other country; and the private soldier is as ready to see a military advantage as is his commander, and he is usually just as courageous and fearless.
Among the Ross county men who served with distinction for the Union were Rear Admiral David Stockton McDougal (son of John
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McDougal) and his brother, Hon. Charles McDougal, Rear Admiral Walke, Commodore Joseph S. Skerrett, Commodore David B. Macomb, Paymaster-General T. H. Looker, Gen. Joseph Sill and Gen. George McGinnis, a Ross county man who was in the Mexican war and was an Indiana general in 1801-65.
Rear Admiral Henry Walke, born in Virginia the day before Christmas, 1S08, came to Chillicothe with his father, Anthony Walke, in 1811, and was educated at the Chillicothe academy with Thurman and Allen and the other boys of that period. He went into the navy as a midshipman in 1827, took part in the Mexican war, and in January, 1801, when Florida was seceding, commanded the ship Supply in Pensacola harbor. There was treachery among those higher in command, and much doubt among the most loyal as to what should be done when Florida demanded possession of navy yard and forts. But Walke stood firmly for the supremacy of the United States and sustained the gallant Slemmer in saving Fort Pickens from surrender. Furthermore, though he had been ordered away to Vera Cruz, he took the paroled soldiers and loyal citizens to New York, and therefor was courtmartialed and censured, but the public applauded his action. Being given command on the Mississippi, he aided General Grant in his first battle at Belmont and saved him from disaster. He commanded the Carondelet at the siege of Fort Henry and was thanked by Congress and the Ohio legislature. He ran the batteries at Island No. 10 and compelled their surrender, and opened the battles near Forts Pillow and Memphis that destroyed the rebel fleet. He was also in command of the Carondelet at Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and when he was through on the Mississippi the river was open and he was a full captain in rank. Then, in the latter part of 1863, he took the Sacramento out on the Atlantic to hunt for Semmes' Alabama, and afterward chased the Rappahannock into the harbor at Liverpool. He was made a commodore in 1866, a rear admiral in 1870, and retired at his own request in 1874.
General Joshua W. Sill, most distinguished of the sons of Chillicothe in the great war, was born at Chillicothe, December 6, 1831, son of "Father" Joseph Sill, a lawyer of prominence and beloved as a citizen. Losing his mother in infancy, General Sill was reared and educated by his father, who was a man of scholarly acquirements and tastes. In 1850 he was appointed to West Point, where he graduated third in his class. After that he was an officer in the old army, on duty much of the time in Oregon, where he was chief of ordnance for General Harney. In the spring of 1860 he resigned his commission and became professor of mathematics in the Brooklyn Polytechnic college, but on the approach of war he left this place to serve his country. Refusing the tender of command of a regiment in New York he returned to his native state and rendered services of great value in organizing and equipping the first Ohio regiments. Then,
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when McClellan and Rosecrans went into West Virginia, he accompanied them as colonel of the Twenty-third regiment, but in command of a brigade. In the winter of 1861 he was promoted to brigadier-general. In that capacity he served under Nelson and Thomas in Kentucky, and when Buell's army was organized at Bardstown he was given command of a division of McCook's corps. He commanded his division, performing the duties of major-general with notable ability through the Bragg and Buell campaign, and under Rosecrans in Tennessee, until, in the great battle of Stone River, December 31, 1862, he was killed while leading a desperate charge upon the triumphant enemy. The left wing of the Union army had been routed, and if the center could not be held a terrible disaster must follow. Sheridan told him to charge. He did his duty and died, and the day was saved. General Sill was not a man of imposing frame, military air and theatrical manner. He was a plain, simple, mild-mannered gentleman, very modest, never assertive, always kind and fair to his men, who loved him as very few officers were loved in the army.
Gen. Joseph S. Fullerton, a native of Ross county, and a graduate of Miami college, was a resident of St. Louis at the beginning of the war, and became a prominent staff officer, serving as adjutant-general of Howard's corps in the Atlanta campaign and earning the brevet of brigadier-general.
Ross county has furnished several men to the country who are worthy of special mention because of their grand achievements; and while they commanded "men" equally as brave and fearless as themselves, and without whom the heroic deeds could not have been accomplished, yet credit is due to the commanders of the expeditions for the successful results attained, in obedience to orders from superior officers. Commander Walke, during the Confederate blockade of the lower Mississippi, successfully ran the rebel blockade through a veritable storm from all the Confederate batteries on shore and water, and safely landed his boat at New Madrid. This was an act of heroism, coolness and bravery not excelled by any commander during the naval operations of the civil war.
Lieutenant Franklin, of the gunboat Heizel, another Chillicothean, performed an act. of cool thoughtfulness during an action which has seldom been equaled in the annals of warfare. A bombshell burst in close proximity to the powder magazine of the Heizel, and immediately the magazine was enveloped in flames. With the coolness and courage born of the emergency, he sprang down and extinguished the flames, thus saving the boat from destruction, as well as the lives of those on board.
During the battle of Pittsburg Landing, a position of great importance had to be held at all hazards. The tide of battle was temporarily against the Union arms, and men were falling everywhere, while
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pandemonium reigned. At this juncture, Col. Job R. Parker, commanding the Forty-eighth Ohio, was directed to seize and hold the coveted position. This he did amid the most unfavorable and demoralizing surroundings, and received the compliments of General Sherman for his valiant services. This was the first battle in which the regiment participated, and a very trying initiation into the horrors of war. Colonel Parker, and his invincible regiment, received the most flattering encomiums, not only in his home city of Chillicothe, but in the army, where the gallant service could be more fully appreciated by those already driven to the last ditch by superior numbers.
Another Ross county man of early family here was Col. Beroth Eggleston. The crowning events of his life came to Colonel Eggleston in later years, though he achieved distinguished honors as an officer in the civil war. He was one of the first to enlist, and was made captain of a company in the First Ohio cavalry. Passing through successive promotions, he received a colonel's commission in May, 1863, and was detached on staff duty under the commanding general. He was a lineal descendant of Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga. After the war, Colonel Eggleston remained in the government service in the south, and settled in Mississippi, of which state he was governor, and represented the same in the United States senate.
Richard Enderlin, a prominent business man in Chillicothe, was made the subject of congressional action because of gallant deeds performed at the battle of Gettysburg. Enderlin was a musician, and hence not required to carry a gun, or to participate in battle; but he did both. Securing permission from the commanding officer, he took a rifle and went in with the boys, fighting valiantly. During the action, Capt. Frank Esker, now of Chillicothe, fell seriously wounded, at an advanced position on the line. Mr. Enderlin sought permission to enter the enemy's lines and recover his wounded comrade. This he did at the peril of his life, and brought Captain Esker safely to the rear. For these gallant services Congress voted Mr. Enderlin a medal of honor, which is a precious souvenir among the family treasures. These men were members of the Seventy-third Ohio.
To counteract the unwholesome effects of the "Knights of the Golden Circle," a society of rebel sympathizers which existed during the war, a patriotic society known as the "Union League" was organ= ized, and generally established throughout the North. Ross county patriots were aggressive in the furtherance of its principles, and prompt in joining its ranks. All prominent loyal citizens of Chillicothe were members of the local organization, which contained on its roll the names of one hundred and eighty-one men, mostly non-combatants by reason of age, or physical infirmities, though many
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returned soldiers united with the organization, from time to time. The constitution required a solemn and binding obligation, couched in the following language : "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign; and that I will bear true faith, allegiance and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolution or law of any State Convention or Legislature to the contrary notwithstanding; and, further, that I do this with a full determination, pledge and purpose, without any mental reservation or evasion whatsoever. So help me God."
It should not be forgotten that while the soldiers were at the front the people at home were at, times under alarm from threatened invasion. This was the case during the "siege of Cincinnati," described in the State history, and, with more reason, on the occasion of Morgan's famous raid. Gen. John Morgan was a brave and fearless rebel raider, who, after several successful incursions into Kentucky, his native State, made the greatest raid of his career in the summer of 1863, that momentous period when Grant was at Vicksburg and Lee was in Pennsylvania. Crossing the Ohio below Cincinnati, into Indiana, he and his men rode swiftly around Cincinnati and east-ward toward the Ohio river, picking up horses and plundering country stores and farm houses. His reported approach upon Chillicothe was heralded far and near, and created the greatest consternation. But Morgan was about as anxious to get. out after attending a few "receptions" along his route as the people were to have him, and was hurrying forward with all possible haste. He had no intention of attacking towns, but desired, rather, to avoid them. But "Morgan is coming" was the watchword, and Chillicotheans made all possible haste to receive him. The home guards and militia were ordered to he in readiness; the men, old and young and halt and blind, of each ward, were organized into companies, and the Second regiment of Ross county militia braced up and beat the long roll. It had as officers some of the most prominent citizens of that day, but they were strangers to the military profession. These names sound more like bankers, lawyers, merchants, capitalists and manufacturers than men inured to bloodshed: F. H. Rehwinkle, colonel ; William T. McClintick, lieutenant-colonel; William Poland, major; W. A. Gage, captain and adjutant; D. Dustman, quartermaster; J. D. Miller and R. C. Galbraith, assistant surgeons. After this array of talent on field and staff, came the line officers, equally distinguished: W. E. Gilmore, J. H. Bennett, Samuel Leffingwell, Isaiah Lord, S. S. Cook, J. L. Dunlap, Job Stevenson, Otho L. Marfield, Philip Gartner, W. M. McKee and Felix Renick. The hastily improvised "army" was disposed to the best advantage and awaited "coming events." On Tuesday, July 14, 1863, Morgan was reported to have destroyed the railroad at. Loveland, and was heading for Chillicothe ! The "long
96 - THE COUNTY OF ROSS.
roll" was sounded and the troops paraded the streets, some with guns but more without, but all paraded. There was a mass meeting at the court house to devise means of defending the town.
On the 15th of July, Colonel Runkle arrived from the front and took command. By Wednesday night six thousand men were centered here, ready to deal the death-blow to Morgan and his men. In the adjustment of affairs it was thought best to guard the bridge at the lower end of Paint street, and a detachment of brave souls was sent down there to give the alarm, and stop Morgan at the bridge until the "reception committee" was ready to receive him. About six o'clock in the evening, some scouts sent out from town to reconnoiter came galloping up the pike, and the bridge guard had a sudden call to go home. They fired the bridge, though there was but a foot of water in the creek, and came tearing back to town. But the distinguished guest did not arrive. This serious disappointment culminated in the determination to go after him. About six hundred of the militia regiment had no arms, so they remained at home under command of Major Poland. The others, augmented by the reserve column, and their allies from the "squirrel-hunters" brigade, struck the trail, and followed on. They found Mr. Morgan at Berlin Heights, near Jackson. Morgan shot his artillery at a hill, and as the pursuers had no artillery they prudently left the hill between them and Morgan's destructive guns. This is characterized in the public press as a "gallant battle ably fought." The editor of the "Scioto Gazette," with the ready aggressiveness of the press in the search for news, allowed his "daredevil bravery" to get the better of his discretion. He started out to find Morgan. He found him and his men. Then the raider rode off on the editor's fine horse, and the newspaper man walked twelve miles back to camp ! This was the first time in the history of journalism when the newspaper man got beat out of anything. But the provocation was great, and the "item" was forthcoming. The troops left on the Pith of July and returned on the 25th. Morgan was captured in Columbiana county, and thus ended the great raid.
It is needless to recount the closing events of the civil war, the triumphal home coming of the survivors of the great struggle, and the universal grief of all loyal people over the tragic ending of the usefulness of the martyred Lincoln ; these things are familiar to every school child in the land. Succeeding this, we have a long period of peace, with unparalleled development and prosperity.