150 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. fondly cherished that he might survive his injuries. Newspaper extras were issued at various times during the day, and also on Sunday morning, April H. Religious services announced, for two P. M. of that day, at the East Terrace, drew thither, it is said, the largest crowd which had ever assembled in the Capitol Square. Part of the assemblage consisted of soldiers from Tod Barracks, who came in a body, bearing the National and State flags dressed in mourning, and marching to dirge music played by their bands. The crowd being too great for one speaker to address, services were also held at the West Front, where a discourse was delivered by Rev. A. G. Byers. The speaker at the East Front was Rev. Granville Moody, whose text was : "And the victory of that day was turned into mourning unto all the people." (II Samuel, 19, 2.) " During Mr. Moody's discourse," said a report of the services, "the vast concourse of faces, expressing each emotion of the speaker, heads bowing in grief, eyes wet with tears or flashing with indignation, presented a scene impressive beyond description. The same may be said of those addressed by Doctor Byers, and never, perhaps, did the appearance of a crowd indicate in itself so deep and general a sorrow." At five o'clock P. M. on Saturday the City Council convened in special session, President Reinhard in the chair, and adopted resolutions expressing abhorrence of the murderous deed which had deprived the Nation of its Chief Magistrate, tendering condolence to his family, recording appreciation of the great and good qualities and services which had distinguished him, and particularly of his fitness for the work of pacification upon which he had entered ; giving assurances of sympathy for the wounded Secretary and Assistant Secretary of State ; and directing that a committee of nine be appointed to act in conjunction with committees representing the State authorities and the citizens in making suitable preparations for reception of the remains of the President, should they be conveyed through the city. An additional committee was appointed to drape the city buildings in mourning. On Tuesday, April 18, a large meeting of citizens, to take proper action upon the death of the President, convened at the City Hall. Hon. Samuel Galloway was called to preside, H. T. Chittenden was appointed secretary, and prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Felton. Messrs. L. J. Critchfield, George M. Parsons, C. N. Olds, B. F. Martin and Peter Ambos were appointed to report resolutions, and, on invitation, appropriate remarks were made by Rev. J. M. Trimble. At the conclusion of Mr. Trimble's address Hon. Samuel Galloway was called for, and narrated some personal reminiscences of the late President. The resolutions reported recommended that the people close their places of business on the next day, nineteenth, during the progress of the funeral services at Washington, between the hours of eleven A. M. and three P. M., and that during that time the bells of the city be tolled. In pursuance of a further resolution offered by William G. Deshler the following committee was appointed to cooperate with that which had been appointed by the Council in arranging a suitable reception of the late President's remains and procuring the delivery of a suitable oration upon his life and services: William G. Deshler, David S. Gray, J. E. St. Clair, W. Failing, Isaac Eberly, K. Mees, L. Kilbourn, C. P. L. Butler, and Starling Loving. VICTORY AND SORROW —1865 - 151 In accordance with the recommendations of this meeting, business was suspended, bells were tolled and minute guns were fired on the nineteeth, while the funeral at Washington was in progress. During the same hours appropriate religious services were held at the First Presbyterian Church and at the Methodist Episcopal Church on Town Street. A few days later it was ascertained that the train bearing the remains of the President would arrive at Columbus, via Cleveland on the morning of April 29, whereupon the Adjutant-General of Ohio, B. R. Cowen, issued an order appointing Major John W. Skiles, of the Eighty-eighth Ohio Infantry, as chief marshal for the ceremonies of that day, and directing that all organizations desiring to participate in those ceremonies should report to him. Numerous aides to the chief marshal were appointed; also the following pallbearers : Doctor John Andrews, Robert Neil, F. C. Kelton, John Field, Augustus Platt, Christian Heyl, E. W. Gwynne, W. B. Hubbard, Judge Taylor, John Brooks, William B. Thrall, D. W. Deshler, L. Goodale, Joseph R. Swan, William T. Martin, William M. Awl, G. W. Manypenny, John M. Walcutt, F. Stewart, John Noble, F. Jaeger, Senior, and Amos S. Ramsey. The Executive Committee comprised W. G. Deshler, C. P. L. Butler, James Patterson, S. N. Field, and F. Jaeger ; the Finance Committee, B. Gilmore, Walstein Failing, Isaac Eberly and S. N. Field ; the Escort Committee, Samuel Galloway, L. Kilbourn, S. Loving, James Patterson, John Miller and Jacob Reinhard ; the Decoration Committee, D. S. Gray, A. B. Buttles and William Gayer ; the Music Committee, A. B. Buttles, Rev. K. Mees, B. Gilmore and William Naughton; the Reception Committee, Walstein Failing, B. Gilmore, and J. E. St. Clair. The order of procession announced that the funeral escort would consist of the Eighty-eighth Ohio Infantry ; that army detachments and volunteer organizations would wear sidearms only ; that the usual badge of mourning would be worn on the left arm and swordhilt ; that the procession would be organized in five divisions ; that it would move from the railway station south on Fourth Street to Broad, east on Broad to Fourth, south on Fourth to State, east on State to Seventh, south on Seventh to Town, west on Town to High, and north on High to the West Front of the Capitol ; and that a cavalry force would be suitably stationed to keep High Street north of Town clear of vehicles. The funeral train quitted Cleveland precisely at midnight, and from that time until it reached Crestline was drenched with rain, falling in torrents. It was preceded by a pilot engine, the Louisville, under charge of Assistant Superintendent Blee and Master Mechanic W. F. Smith, with E. Van Camp as engineer and C. Van Camp as fireman. The engine of the train was the Nashville, George West engineer, and Peter Hugo fireman. Mr. T. J. Higgin, superintendent of the telegraph, accompanied the train with instruments for sending messages in case of accident or other need. Notwithstanding the darkness and rain, people gathered in crowds along the route, and, with lighted bonfires and torches, tolling bells and saddened countenances, manifested their deep sorrow. After daybreak—morning of the 29th—the demonstrations were more general, but not more impressive. At Cardington an immense crowd of citizens assembled, bells were tolled, minute guns were fired, and over the doors of the station building, dressed in crape, was 152 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. stretched a white banner bearing the words : "He sleeps in the blessings of the poor, whose fetters God commanded him to break." At the appointed hour the funeral train arrived at the Union Station at Columbus amid the ringing of muffled bells, and halted in such a position that the car containing the President's remains lay nearly accross High Street. An immense crowd of spectators had congregated about the station, and military bands discoursed solemn dirges while the coffin, attended by the pallbearers and Guard of Honor, was taken from the car and laid in the hearse. The procession then formed, and, according to contemporary description, was the most imposing and impressive which had ever been seen in Columbus. Let the accomplished pen of William T. Coggeshall describe its appearance and movements :2 The hearse was the great centre of attraction. All along the line of march it was preceded by hundreds of all ages, sexes and conditions, striving to keep as near as possible to the sombre structure. It was 17 feet long, Si feet wide and 17i feet from the ground to the apex of the canopy. The main platform was four feet from the ground, on which rested a dais for the reception of the coffin, twelve feet long by five wide, raised two and a half feet above the platform. The canopy resembled in shape a Chinese pagoda. The interior of the roof was lined with silk flags and the outside covered with black broadcloth, as were the dais, the main platform, and the entire hearse. Black cloth, festooned, depended from the platform within a few inches of the ground, fringed with silver lace and ornamented with heavy tassels of' black silk. Surrounding the cornice of the canopy were thirtysix silver stars, and on the apex and the four corners were five heavy black plumes. The canopy was appropriately curtained with black cloth, lined with white merino. On each side of the dais was the word Lincoln in silver letters. The hearse was drawn by six white horses, covered with black cloth, which was edged with silver fringe. The heads of the horses were surmounted with large black plumes, and each was led by a groom dressed in black, with white gloves and white band round his hat. On the dais, nearly in the centre of the hearse, the coffin was placed, nearly in full view of the multitudes on the streets. Every window, housetop, balcony, and every inch of the sidewalk on either side of High Street was densely crowded with a mournful throng assembled to pay homage to departed worth. In all the enormous crowd profound silence reigned. Conversation was carried on in whispers. The completeness of every detail of the procession was remarked by all, and much praise awarded to the committee of arrangements. The display made by the various orders and associations in the procession elicited universal commendation. The Fire Department was the subject of especial notice and praise. The neat clean uniforms of the men, the splendid condition of the steamers and hosecarts, and the decorated car filled with fortytwo young ladies habited in deep mourning, were among the notable incidents of the day. A very impressive feature of the occasion was the singing by the young ladies in the mourning car of the Fire Department of the 1027th hymn of the Methodist Episcopal collection, commencing with : " Great Ruler of the earth and skies," and the 1018th hymn : " Behold, 0 Lord, before thy throne." . . Along the entire line of march, dwelling houses, shops, stores, and other places of business, as well as all public buildings, were tastefully and solemnly decorated. . . . The great feature of the decoration was found at the clothinghouse of Marcus Childs in the Neil House building. Thousands of persons were attracted by the beauty and appropriateness of the designs and the very elegant manner in which they were carried out. . . . At the base of the front windows a draped portrait of Mr. Lincoln was exhibited, and each doorway was hung in heavy festoons of black cloth. Over all a draped flag was extended. VICTORY AND SORROW-1865 - 153 The west gateway of the Capitol Square was arched and bore the simple inscription Ohio Mourns. The columns at the West Front of the Capitol were tastefully draped in spiral turns of mourning cloth from top to bottom. Immediately over the entrance (west front) was placed the inscription, God Moves in a mysterious way, and over the cornice of the columns was placed a quotation from President Lincoln's inaugural address : With Malice to none, with Charity for all. Each of the windows in the west front was heavily draped. About nine o'clock the head of the procession arrived at the west entrance of Capitol Square. The Eightyeighth Ohio Infantry, acting as a special escort, passed in immediately, forming lines in two ranks on each side of the passway from the gate to the steps of the Capitol. During the momentary delay the silence and deep feeling manifested by the people in the procession, by those crowding the streets in every direction and by those gazing from every available window was without precedent. .. . As the coffin, borne upon the shoulders of eight of the sergeants constituting the Veteran Guards, passed towards the archway, the bands gave expression to the solemn emotions of the hour in a dirge.. . . Slowly and solemnly the escort, headed by General Hooker and staff and Governor Brough and staff, passed to the Capitol entrance and reverently the coffin was lowered from the shoulders of the veterans to the flowery bed awaiting it. The officers named, with their attendants, Major-General Hunter and staff, the general officers in charge of the corpse from Washington, General Wager Swayne and staff, the pallbearers and members of committees, assumed their proper places around the catafalque with uncovered heads; the guard from the Veteran Reserve Corps formed in line on each side, and as soon as the corpse was in place, Rev. C. E. Felton offered an appropriate prayer. Impressive as was the scene, it was surpassed by the one that followed immediately on opening the coffin. Amid silence almost painful the lid was raised--a sigh from those present—a slight movement by the undertaker—and for minutes all was again as still as death. The veteran officers and soldiers, with bowed beads, seemed immovable as statues, unconsciously every face mirrored the contending emotions of the heart and the grouping around the dead -of citizens and soldiers, seen by those forming the head of the procession at the foot of the western stairway formed a scone never to be forgotten, and not to be described. Mrs. Hoffner, representing the Horticultural Society of Cincinnati, the only lady present, stepped softly forward and placed at the foot of the coffin an anchor composed of delicate white flowers and evergreen boughs, a wreath of the same upon the breast of the dead and a cross at the head. Instructions were given more by signs than words, and arrangements made for the people to look upon the remains. The rotunda of the capitol, well calculated for display, grand in its loftiness and much the resort of our people, was transformed into a gorgeous tomb. The column of light streaming down from the lofty dome made distinct and impressive each feature of the solemn scene below. There was no stiffness to jar with softened feeling. . . . The entrance ways and the corresponding panels were uniformly draped with black cloth falling in heavy folds from the arches to the floor. In the panels the drapings were gathered to the sides equidistant from arch to floor and then allowed to fall in full volume and closing at the bottom as at the top. In three of these central spaces thus formed were grouped the warworn battle flags of veteran Ohio regiments. In the other panels, the one between the north and east entrances, tastefully mounted and appropriately draped, was Powell's painting, Perry's Victory. . .. Above the panels, entirely round the dome; were three rows of festoons with black and white pendants, the whole joining appropriately the general drapings below. On a platform with the base of 21i x 28 feet, rising by five steps until it presented a top surface perhaps onehalf as large, was placed the dais for the recep- 154 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. tion of the coffin. This platform, tastefully carpeted, the rise of each step dressed in black, was ornamented with emblematical flowers and plants in vases so arranged as to present with their impression of beauty, the sorrow for the dead. At the corners facing the west entrance were large vases containing beautiful specimens of amaranth, and midway between them a grand central vase glowing with the richness and beauty of the choicest flowers of the season. A similar disposition of vases faced the east entrance, from the corner ones the flowers of the emblematical Justitia reaching to the height of the dais. Around these large vases were grouped smaller ones, rising in gradations of beauty with the steps of the platform. The dais was most properly the crowning beauty of the structure, and in a brief description it is impossible to do it justice. Rectangular in form, with a side elevation of two feet, it was without canopy and beautifully oramented. The sides were covered with black broadcloth, over which drooped from the top festoons of white merino and tassels of white silk. The end facing the vest entrance bore, inscribed on a black panel with white border, in silver letters, the word "Lincoln." From the festooning at the top, rose in graceful swell a bed of white roses, immortelles and orange blossoms, the pure white relieved only by the deep fresh green of the leaves and sprigs accompanying. The Guard of Honor was relieved by the following named officers, acting in the same capacity and under the immediate charge of Colonel J. A. Wilcox and Major L. S. Sullivant : Captain Douglas, 13th 0. V. I.; Captain Stivers, U. S. A.; Captaint Wikoffr, 5th 0. V. C.; Captain McGroatikoff, 91st 0. V. I.; Captain MeGroat ; Captain Hull, 18th 0. V. I.; Captain H. P. Wands, 22d Michigan ; Captain Davis, 18th 0. V. I.; Captain Hanna], 124th 0. V. I.; Lieuteant Horringer, Second 0. V. C.; Lieutenant J. IL Orr, 109th 0. V. I.; Lieutenant H. B. Freeman, 18th 0. V. I.; Adjutant D. C. Patrick and Lieutenants J. B. Dague, G. I. Davison, J. D. Wilson and Norris Killen, of the 88th 0. V. I. The officers, pallbearers and committees after looking upon the remains retired, excepting those having the body in charge. The officers forming the guards were assigned their positions, and without delay the people commenced moving into the rotunda. First came the various military organizations of the procession, the men formed in four ranks, marching without noise upon a carpet to the catafalque, passing by twos on each side of the coffin — the face and upper part of the body being brought in full view of each individual—and then those on the right passing out at the south and those on the left turning to the north. Then followed in order the various delegations of the procession, succeeded by the people en masse; the same order being preserved throughout the day. . . . By actual count it was found that over eight thousand passed in and out every hour from half after nine until four o'clock, and, making due allowance, 'tis thought that over fifty thousand people viewed the remains in that time. The unparalleled good order prevailing at all times must remain ever a source of pride to all participating. Many scenes during the day were affecting and impressive, but to chronicle them would fill a volume. All felt the sorrow, and countenance and act mirrored it with striking plainness. Thousands of persons stood in line on High Street, four abreast ; the lines extending in either direction north from the west gateway to Long Street, and south from the west gateway to Rich Street, patiently awaiting their opportunity. For more than six hours a steady stream of humanity poured through the channel, all eager to gaze at the martyred President on his bier. The time appointed for the oration was three o'clock P. M. ; the place, the East Front of the Capitol. The orator was Hon. Job E. Stevenson. An immense audience gathered around the platform which was erected for the speaking VICTORY AND SORROW-1865 - 155 immediately in front of the eastern entrance, and upon which appeared, besides the orator, Major-Generals Hunter, Hooker and Barnard, Brigadier-Generals Townsend and McCallum, Colonels Swords, Simpson and Lathrop, Captain Taylor, Hon. T. B. Shannon of California, Hon. T. W. Ferry of Michigan, Hon. Mr. Clarke of Kansas and Reverends E. P. Goodwin and C. E. Felton, of Columbus. After military music, and a hymn sung by a choir, directed by J. A. Scarritt, prayer was offered by Mr. Goodwin, another hymn was sung and the oration was delivered. Mr. Coggesliall thus descrihes the departure of the remains: At six o'clock in the evening the doors of the Capitol were closed, the bugle sounded the assembly, the soldiers took arms and the procession began reforming for the final escort to the depot. As the body was being borne out to the funeral car at the west gateway of the Capitol grounds a national salute was fired. Soon after, the procession moved, and the remains of the President were transferred to the funeral ear at the depot of the Indiana Central Railway for transportation to Indianapolis. The committee superintending the catafalque in the rotunda determined to allow it to remain until the remains of Mr. Lincoln were consigned to the tomb at Springfield, and it is to be recorded as a memorable deed for the citizens of Columbus, that every morning until that fourth of May fresh flowers were placed around the dais where the President's coffin had rested, and thousands of men, women and children visited and revisited the catafalque, and again and again with sad emotion viewed the symbols of grief which decorated the rotunda of Ohio's Capitol, in which, in February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln had been given the most enthusiastic reception ever bestowed by the people of Ohio upon a citizen of the Republic. NOTES. 1. Ohio State Journal, April 10, 1865. 2. Lincoln Memorial, 1865. CHAPTER XIII. RETURN OF THE VOLUNTEERS. With the victories in Virginia the prodigious activities of war preparation came to a sudden halt. By order of April 14 all further recruiting in Ohio was suspended. Up to that date, however, the work of organizing and forwarding troops was in no wise relaxed, and during the first months of the year various military movements of local interest took place. On January 8 the Fiftyeighth Ohio Infantry arrived from Vicksburg for musterout, which took place January 14. On February 22 the One Hundred Eighty-fourth, a one year regiment organized at Camp Chase, quitted that camp for Nashville. The One Hundred Eighty-fifth, oneyear, organized at Camp Chase February 26, set out the next day for the same destination. The One Hundred Eightysixth, oneyear, which completed its musterin at Camp Chase March 2, left for Tennessee the following morning. The One Hundred Eightyseventh, oneyear, organized at Camp Chase March 1, left for Nashville March 3. The One Hundred Eighty-eighth, one year, organized at the same camp March 4, left on the same day for the same destination. The One Hundred Eighty-ninth, organized at Camp Chase for one year March 5, left for Huntsville, Alabama, March 7. The One Hundred Ninety-first, organized for one year at Camp Chase March 10, left the same day for Winchester, Virginia. The One Hundred Ninetysecond, organized at the same camp on the same date and for the same term, left for Halltown, near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, March 12. The One Hundred Ninety-third organized at Camp Chase for one year, left for Harper's Ferry March 13. The One Hundred Ninety-fourth, organized for one year at Camp Chase March 14, left the same day for Charlestown, Virginia. The One Hundred Ninety-fifth, organized at Camp Chase for one year, left for Harper's Ferry March 20. The One Hundred Ninetysixth, organized for one year at Camp Chase March 25, set out immediately for Winchester, Virginia. The One Hundred Ninetyseventh, which completed its organization at Camp Chase April 12, for one year, left on April 25 for Washington City. The recruits for new organizations received at Camp Chase from January 2 to February 4, 1865, numbered 2,480. Seven hundred and sixty paroled Union soldiers arrived from Annapolis February 23. The military arrivals and departures at Tod Barracks during the first months of 1865 were almost continuous. On March 15 five hundred _exchanged soldiers [156] RETURN OF THE VOLUNTEERS - 157 arrived from Annapolis. On April first 650 substitutes and recruits were sent to the field ; on April fifth 1,086 paroled men were received. A general court-martial held its sittings at the barracks during the same month. Among the arrivals in May were five or six hundred paroled from Annapolis, Maryland, and 125 sick, disabled and paroled from Alexandria, Virginia. On June fourth 350 drafted men and substitutes returned to the barracks from Alexandria for musterout. They had been assigned to various Ohio regiments in the Army of the Cumberland and had reached Atlanta just in time to participate in Sherman's march to the seacoast. One of the earliest Confederate arrivals of the year was that of 2,200 captives taken by General Thomas, and delivered at Camp Chase January 4. Twelve hundred more taken from Hood's army arrived January 6. During the month of February Lieutenant-Colonel R. J. Breckenridge, supposed to have been sent into Ohio by the Confederate authorities to induce deserters from their armies to return, was arrested and confined in the Penitentiary. In May he was transferred to Johnson's Island. An order of the War Department authorizing the organization of a battalion of the Confederates at Camp Chase for western service being announced to the prisoners in March, two thousand of them offered to volunteer for that service. On May fifth 522 captives from North Carolina were received. On May fifteenth, 108 took the oath of allegiance, and were furnished transportation to their homes. The number of Confederates in Camp Chase June 10 was 3,200. Six hundred who had taken the oath of allegiance left for their homes June 12; seven hundred more who had taken the oath were at the same time awaiting transportation. By June 28 the camp was entirely cleared of Confederates, a few only having refused to take the oath of allegiance. A good many of the released captives sought employment in and about the city. In the early spring refugees from the South arrived at Columbus almost daily. Forty-three prisoners from Arkansas who had been convicted as spies, guerrillas, etc., were delivered to the Penitentiary June 26. The discharge of Government employes at Columbus began early in May. A committee of citizens to arrange suitable receptions for the returning volunteers was appointed June 5, with J. J. _Janney as chairman, and C. S. Dyer as secretary. This committee soon had plenty to do. Among the very first to command its attentions were various detachments from Sherman's army which were received at Tod Barracks June 8. Several more detachments from the same army arrived June 9 and were marched to the capitol, where they were addressed by Hon. David Tod and Hon. Charles Anderson. They were then conducted to Goodale Park where they were served with a dinner, and further addressed by Governor Brough, Colonel Given, Samuel Galloway and Granville Moody. The Ninety-seventh and One Hundred Twentyfirst Ohio Infantry arrived at Camp Chase for final pay and musterout June 14. These regiments and detachments of various others were dined at Goodale Park on that date and were on that occasion addressed by Hon. Samuel Galloway and others. On the same day the Twenty-fourth Ohio Independent Battery passed through the city en route to Camp Dennison. The One Hundred First passed Columbus to Cleveland June 15; on the 158 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. same date the Fortyfifth arrived and was mustered out at Tod Barracks. The Seventyeighth was paid and discharged at Tod Barracks June 16. On the next day a reception was given to the Fortyfifth and various other troops at Goodale Park. Speeches were made on this occasion by Governor Brough, Peter Odlin and State Treasurer Dorsey. For a time these formal receptions were kept up, but the daily arrival of battalions and regiments for several successive weeks soon made their repetition monotonous, and after some further heroic efforts to maintain them they were discontinued. The One Hundred Seventy-sixth arrived and was paraded in the Capitol Square June 17. It was mustered out at the Tod Barracks June 18. On June 20 the One Hundred Seventyninth was formally received at Goodale Park. The speakers of the occasion were Messrs. Galloway and Dorsey. Eight hundred and eighty men were discharged at the barracks June 24. The One Hundred Fifteenth passed the city en route to Cleveland June 28. On June 29 a wagontrain of 250 vehicles from General Sherman's army passed through the city going westward on the National Road. The wagons, each drawn by a team of six mules, were accompanied by a drove of 500 of these animals. The One Hundred Twenty-second, One Hundred Twentysixth and part of the One Hundred Tenth were formally received at Goodale Park June 29. Speeches were made by Chief Justice Chase and Hon. Samuel Galloway. Among the July arrivals for musterout were those of the One Hundred Seventyfourth, July 5; the One Hundred Seventyeighth, July 8 ; the Twenty-second Independent Battery (Neil's), same date'; the One Hundred Twentyeighth, from Johnson's Island, July 11 ; the Twelfth •Independent Battery, July 10; the Seventyeighth Ohio Infantry. July 11 ; the Fortythird, July 13 ; the Twentieth, July 16 ; the Sixtysixth, July 19; General Sherman's Headquarters Guard, July 20; the One Hundred Eightieth, July 23; the One Hundred Eighty-third, same date ; the Ninety-sixth, July 24; the Twenty-first, July 26; the Fortysixth, same date; the Eighty-second, July 28; the One Hundred Eightythird, same date ; the Thirtysixth, same date ; the Ninth Cavalry, July 31. The Twenty-third Ohio Infantry arrived from Cumberland en route to Cleveland. On July 8 the One Hundred Thirteenth was given a formal reception and dinner in Goodale Park. Speeches were made by General J. G. Mitchell, H. C. Noble, Colonel James A. Wilcox, Lieutenant-Colonel D. B. Warner and General J. D. Cox. The ceremonies were interrupted by rain. The One Hundred Ninety-seventh arrived at Tod Barracks August 3, and the One Hundred Ninetythird at Camp Chase August 6. On August 15 the One Hundred Fourteenth arrived at Tod Barracks and the Seventeenth Independent Battery at Camp Chase. The Ninetyfifth arrived at Tod Barracks August 16, and on the seventeenth was banqueted at the Neil House. Before an unoccupied chair at this banquet was placed a garland of white flowers bound with red, white and blue ribbon and occupied by a card inscribed : " Captain Oscar Dwight Kelton." Captain Kelton bad been killed at the battle of Guntown. Tod Barracks received the Thirtieth Ohio Infantry August 21, the Eightieth August 23, and the Fifty-seventh August 24. The Second Heavy Artillery was discharged at Camp Cuase RETURN OF THE VOLUNTEERS - 159 August 29. Camp Dennison having by this time been broken up, and Tod Barracks appropriated for other purposes, Camp Chase was the only remaining rendezvous for the payment and discharge of Ohio troops. The socalled Permanent Party, organized by Major Slides for guard duty at the Tod Barracks, and consisting of about one hundred disabed veterans from various Ohio regiments, was disbanded June 15. Of ten companies of the Veteran Reserve Corps which arrived from Baltimore for guard and garrison duty in Ohio July 22, four companies were assigned to Tod Barracks and six to Camp Chase. The barracks ceased to be a military post September 11. Major Skiles had been relieved from duty some days before to accept a ticket agency on the Columbus & Indiana Central Railway. He was a onearmed veteran, and had discharged the duties of his arduous position with great efficiency. The barracks were reopened as a military rendezvous January 23, 1866, and were not finally closed until August 1 of that year. The last commandant was Lieutenant F. W. Robinson, successor to Colonel George A. Woodward. The material composing the barracks buildings was sold April 11, 1867, for about $1,400. Further arrivals of returning volunteers in 1865 were as follows : One Hundred Ninety-second, September 3 ; Seventy-second, September 16; One Hundred Eighty-sixth, September 22; One Hundred Eighty-eighth and First Ohio Cavalry, September 25 ; One Hundred Twenty-seventh Colored Infantry, October 5 ; One Hundred Twentyfifth, October 15 ; Eighteenth, October 22 ; Fifty-first, October 30 ; Fifth Cavalry, November 10; Twenty-sixth Infantry, November 12; Twelfth Cavalry, November 17; Fortyfirst Infantry and Fifth Cavalry, November 18 ; Twelfth Cavalry (mustered out), November 22 ; Forty-first Infantry (mustered out), November 26; Sixty-seventh, December 12 ; One Hundred Ninety-fifth, December 21 ; Sixty-fifth, December 27 ; Forty-ninth, December 28. An army train of 250 wagons, each drawn by six mules, passed through the city, bound for Fort Leavenworth, September 22. It had come, by the National Road, from Washington. Another train of 256 wagons, bound for the same destination, under Captain Hoskins, Assistant-Quartermaster, arrived September 28, and was corraled over night at Franklinton. It had traveled from Washington by the National Road at the rate of 15 ½ miles per day. This train also was bound for Fort Leavenworth, but its march ended at Springfield, Illinois, where the mules were sold and the wagons forwarded by rail. The last of the volunteers to return to Columbus from the field arrived in the year 1866 as follows : Sixtyfourth, January 3; Eightyeighth (Camp Chase guard), July 3; Thirteenth, January 11 ; One Hundred Eightyseventh, January 27 ; Seventyseventh, March 23 ; Fiftysixth, May 4; Fortyeighth, May 23; Twentyfifth, June 12. The last Ohio troops in the field were the Eleventh Cavalry, which had been engaged in service against the Indians on the Western Plains. This regiment arrived at Tod Barracks July 18 and was there mustered out July 20 and 21. The last volunteers to be discharged in Ohio were Lieutenant F. W. Robin-son's detachment from the Fourth Regiment of Veteran Reserves. The. soldiers of this detachment, twentyseven in number, were from other States than Ohio. They were mustered out August 3. 160 - HISTORY OP THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. Thus the volunteer army reached its final extinction so far as it was enlisted from or held organized connection with the State of Ohio. Under date of June 17, 1865, the Ohio Statesman thus vouched for the good behavior of the returning veterans: For a week or more soldiers have been arriving at this point and daily departing for their homes, having received their pay and discharge at Camp Chase and Tod Barracks, yet every citizen will bear witness that fewer soldiers have been seen loitering about town than at any former period since the commencement of the war. While civilians are daily arrested and fined for drunkenness and disorderly conduct, it is rare, indeed, that a soldier is found at the morning levees of Mayor Bull. One of many interesting incidents of the return is thus recorded in the Ohio Statesman of June 12, 1865 : Some three years ago a young man, Gershom Rose, residing at Claypoole's Mills, near Zanesville, in Muskingum County enlisted in Company B, Seventyeighth 0. V. I. He left a most affectionate and devoted mother, of whom he was both the darling and the pride. For a long time past she had not heard a word from him, as he was with Sherman's army in its grand sweeping campaign through the South. She had almost given up her darling boy as lost. But, unexpectedly, about ten days ago, a letter came from him saying that a detachment of men from the Seventy-eighth would start in a few days for Columbus, and he should come home with them. The fond mother could scarcely believe her eyes when she read this letter. The news was too good to be true. It formed the subject of her thoughts by night and by day. At length, on Saturday morning last, as she was out in the yard of her dwelling attending to some household work, a neighbor called and stated that the expected detachment of the Seventy-eighth had arrived at Tod Barracks, and that her son was among the men. The full realization of the actual truth that her longlost boy was so near home was too much for the mother's physical frame. That loving heart throbbed violently for a few moments, and then was still forever. On Saturday evening a friend of the family arrived at the barracks and announced to the young soldier the sad news of his mother's death. That night he left for home to attend his mother's funeral yesterday. A soldier eager to return to civil life without unnecessary formality wrote as follows to the Governor: CAMP NEAR SWEATWATER, TENASEE, August 4th, 1865. Governor Brough, Sir: — The demoraliseing effect of woods life having become so vividly portraid to me I would earnistly recomend that the 12th 0. V. C. now at this place be mustered out of the U. S. Servis at the earlist posable oppertunity. ADREAN SHAW. Resolved also that I Adrean Shaw do hereby the as presents respectfully tender my resignation with I hope will meet with the necessary Promptitude of action required. PRIVATE A. SHAW. The Ohio State Journal of March 27, 1866, contained the following: Soldiers on their entry into a city, after discharge, with pockets full of money sometimes do very foolish things and make odd purchases. Not least among the last mentioned are the suits of new and awkwardy fitting clothes that they jump into at the first opportunity. On Monday evening a returned veteran glorying in all the finery of a new rig, not excepting kid gloves, was marching along High Street in a pair of bootees just purchased. They were several sizes too small, and the feet, so used to the freedom of the fiatbottomed army shoes, rebelled. Veteran was in misery ; veteran couldn't walk and immediately resolved that RETURN OF THE VOLUNTEERS - 161 "something must be done." He had been too many years a soldier to be disconcerted long, so he seated himself on the pavement, took off shoes and socks, but not his kid gloves, and resumed his march toward the harracks with a free, round swinging gait that spoke of the " Grand March " and of many a raid on the Rio Grande and total indifference as to cold and the observation of spectators. The prison property at Camp Chase was offered for sale at public auction July 14, by order of General Richardson. An inspection of the camp was made October 12 by General Thomas M. Vincent of the United States Army, and a general courtmartial was held there in November, 1865, and again in January, 1866. By order of the Secretary of War Camp Thomas was discontinued as a recruiting depot for the regular army early in October. During the first week in February, 1866, the military records and documents at Camp Chase were removed to Columbus, and that camp ceased to be considered as an army post, although, for safety of the public property it was still under guard of a detachment of the Veteran Reserve Corps. A sale of the Government property at the camp began in March but was suspended by order from the War Department. By the middle of April all the Government property had been removed except the buildings, and these were tenantless. On May 3 the condition of the camp, a few months previously the scene of so much activity and excitement, was thus described It is no longer a military centre, no more a living thing ; the city is deserted, the giant form a skeleton. Hundreds and thousands of armed men paraded as the guardians of the living thing ; a single man unarmed keeps watch and ward over the remains of the thing dead waiting for burial. Two years ago you entered the precincts of Camp Chase armed with passes signed and countersigned ; were directed by shortspoken orderlies ; warned by straight up-and-down sentinels ; received with punctilious standoffishness by officials ; and came away duly impressed with the military power of the country. Now, you drive up to the gate as you would to that of a cemetery ; the guardian presents himself in his shirtsleeves ; you tell him your desires ; he kicks away a huge stone ; opens the gate ; cautions you a little, and you enter unchallenged and unheralded to the mighty presence of the great solitude of loneliness. The rows of barracks remain unchanged ; the flowers planted by some careful wife of some careless officer are ready to record that " the hand of woman has been here ;" the flagstaff stands without pulley, rope or flag ; the chapel with its halfchange in the latter day to a theatre remains a monument of the one, a telltale of the other ; the prison pens frown still with barred gates, but are silent within. In one, the scaffold on which Hartrup and Oliver were executed 2 stands firm — the grim guardian of the ghostly solitude and with beam in place and trap half sprung seems waiting for another victim. Everywhere are the marks of the skeleton. The pumpstocks have all been withdrawn from the wells ; the windows from the buildings ; grass growing on the paradeground. Old shoes tumbled into promiscuous groupings tell which buildings have been last occupied, and the martin boxes give some signs of life. A little fruittree in the midst of all this loneliness blossoms and puts forth leaves with all the proud defiance of nature, and with a scornful fling with every wave of wind for the works of man perishing on every side.. For the military post of Columbus very few noteworthy events remain to be recorded. Toward the end of September, 1865, Surgeon J. Y. Cantwell was relieved from duty as post surgeon, his services being no longer needed. In November General James A. Wilcox, Provost-Marshal-General for Ohio, was directed to close all the offices of district provost-marshals and transfer their 11 * 162 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. records to Columbus. General Wilcox assumed command of the Military District of Ohio January 30, 1866, but in the following September we find him out of the service and resuming the practice of law. 3 In July, Major Henry Douglas, who had for more than a year been mustering and disbursing officer at Columbus, was relieved by Captain George Motown. Early in August, Colonel H. P. Wolcott, who was for a long time paymaster at the post, was ordered to Washington. At this point of transition from the turbulent conditions of war back into the serene atmosphere of peace, some further retrospect of the soldiers' relief work in Columbus may properly be taken. During the summer of 1861 a branch of the United States Sanitary Commission was organized in the city. Its President was William M. Awl ; Vice President, J. B. Thompson ; Secretary, John W. Andrews ; Treasurer, T. G. Wormley ; Executive Committee, J. B. Thompson, Peter Ambos and F. C. Sessions. The latter, on the resignation of Mr. Andrews, succeeded him as secretary. On April 22, 1862, a Soldiers' Home was established by this society at the railway station, with Isaac Dalton in charge. A twostory building erected near the station during the spring and summer of 1883, for the use of the Home, was occupied during the ensuing October. Additions to this building afterwards increased its dimensions to 24x140 feet, besides a small annex, the whole costing about five thousand dollars and being chiefly furnished by citizens of Columbus. The superintendents were T. E. Botsford and Isaac Dalton. It was their duty to provide for the sick and wounded, to furnish transient soldiers with meals and lodging, to advise and assist them at the arrival and departure of trains, and to be generally helpful to all sojourning and traveling soldiers while in the city. To keep soldiers from being swindled or otherwise imposed upon a police force at the station was maintained. The Home was finally closed May 7, 1866. During the period of its operations it gave lodgings to about fifty thousand men, and dispensed 136,000 meals. It also fed a considerable number of refugees from the South. The buildings were finally sold by the trustees on March 16, 1867. The Columbus Society sent to the front large quantities of supplies for the sick and wounded, and also sent its agents to accompany them. Conspicuous among these agents were Doctor S. M. Smith, Doctor Starling Loving and Mr. F. C. Sessions. Without compensation, Mr. Sessions spent the greater part of his time for two years in this relief work, in the course of which he visited Kentucky, Fort Donelson, Pittsburgh Landing, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Antietam and the armies of Fremont and Grant in Virginia. Under direction of the Society a sanitary committee made frequent inspection of the hospitals and camps around the city to see that they were properly provisioned and policed. The Ladies' Aid Society was indefatigable in its efforts from the beginning of the war to the end. Its president during the greater part of the time after Mrs. Dennison, was Mrs. W. E. Ide. Among its most active members were Mrs. S. J. Haver, Mrs. George Heyl, Mrs. Lewis Heyl, Miss M. L. Swayne, Mrs. S. M. Smith, Miss Pamelia Sullivant, Mrs. H. C. Noble, Mrs. Harvey Coit, Mrs. Alexander Houston, Mrs. Joseph H. Geiger, Mrs. Isaac Castor, Mrs. James Beebe, Mrs. John S. Hall, Mrs. William G. Deshler, Mrs. Walter Brown, Mrs. E. T. Morgan, Mrs. F. C. Sessions and Mrs. John W. Andrews. RETURN OF THE VOLUNTEERS - 163 The disbursements of the Franklin County Relief Fund, as reported to the Governor, were as follows: To September, 1861, $345.50; 1862, $997.13 ; 1863, $11,789.98 ; 1864, $24,535.00; 1865, $36, 556.49.; to April, 1866, $9,294.00. In January, 1864, the Ohio Senate passed a resolution introduced by Mr. Gunckel looking to the establishment of a State Soldiers' Home. A bill reported by Mr. Gunckel in pursuance of this resolution having passed the Senate, and become a law, a board of trustees was appointed by Governor Anderson, and the Tripler Hospital," located near Camp Chase and used for the sick of that camp during the war, was donated to the State for the Home by the National Government. The board held its first meeting at the hospital October. 3, 1865, and organized by electing Surgeon-General Barr president, and L. B. Gunckel secretary. The Superintendent of the Home appointed hy the board at this meeting was Captain Isaac Brayton, of Newburg; the Resident Surgeon, Dr. J. C. Denise, of Dayton, and the Consulting Surgeon, Doctor Barr, Surgeon-General of Ohio. Doctor Denise had been executive officer at the Tripler Hospital from its opening to its close. The Home was formally opened October 17, and on that date received fifteen disabled veterans. On the occasion of the opening an address was delivered by Governor Anderson. By November 20 the number of inmates had risen above one hundred. A considerable quantity of public property which had been used at Tod Barracks was donated to the Home by order of the Secretary of War. By March 1, 1866, the number of disabled soldiers at the Home had increased to 190, of whom ten were of African descent. One year later the number of inmates was 250. On March 2, 1866, Doctor C. McDermott was appointed trustee, vice Doctor R. N. Barr, resigned. On March 26, 1867, the State Home was formally tendered to and accepted by the trustees of the National Soldiers' Home, to be used temporarily by that institution until its trustees should erect its permanent buildings. In May, 1867, the officers of the Home under its National management, were as follows : Superintendent, Captain E. E. Tracy ; Surgeon, Doctor C. McDermott ; Chaplain, Rev. Mr. Tolford, succeeded shortly afterward by Rev. Mr. Hill ; Secretary and Steward, A. P. Woodruff; Matron, Mrs. E. L. Miller. Expectation was then current that the Home would be permanently located at either White Sulphur Springs, in Delaware County, or at Dayton. It went to Dayton. The construction of buildings for the United States Arsenal located at Columbus in 1863, as already narrated,' was carried on during the war as rapidly as circumstances would permit. It was supervised by Colonel T. C. Bradford, assisted by Joseph 0. Sawyer. George W. Bradford receiving and time clerk ; Captain E. Penrose Jones, military storekeeper ; Daniel Barnhart, master mason ; and Colonel Cyrus Reasoner, master carpenter, were also connected with the work. The main arsenal building, 180 feet long, sixty wide and three stories high was built on plans furnished by the Ordnance Department of the National Army and composed exclusively of stone, brick, iron and slate. Officers' quarters, a magazine 30x50 feet, and temporary buildings for the repair and storage of arms were also erected. During the summer of 1865 proposals for a twostory artillery storehouse were invited. The main building and magazine having been by that time completed, the transfer thither of stores from the eastern 164 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. Ten buildings, in all, were erected, and were so grouped as to form a square with the commandant's office in the centre. The first commandant at the arsenal was Captain J. W. Todd, who took charge September 3, 1863, and whose successors down to 1869 were as follows : December 3, 1863, Colonel George B. Wright ; February 10, 1864, Captain T. C. Bradford ; July 13, 1869, Major Theodore Edson; July 30, 1869, Captain E. P. Jones; November 19, 1869, Major John McNutt. On November 19, 1875, the arsenal changed its character to that of a United States military post for rendezvous and recruiting as well as equipment, and received the garrison which had occupied the barracks at Newport, Kentucky. The Newport garrison was.accompanied by its famous military band of fortyfive pieces. The new commandant, who took charge at the time of this change, was Colonel E. C. Mason, who had commanded at Newport. Since this epoch the concerts, dress-parades and reunions at the garrison have contributed much to the social interest of Columbus. When the General Assembly authorized the sale of the Old Penitentiary lots in 1860, three of them were reserved as a site for a State Arsenal to be erected with the proceeds of the lots sold. For the erection and equipment of the building, the cost of which was forbidden to exceed $14,000, the General Assembly appropriated $6,000 additional to the amount real zed from the sale of the Penitentiary lots. A further appropriation of $2,500 was made in 1863 for the improvement of the building and its grounds. On July 3, 1865, while the great volunteer armies of the Republic were rapidly dissolving into the general mass of the people, the City Council of Columhus adopted resolutions extending the hospitalities of the city to General William Tecumseh Sherman. The invitation was accepted, and Mayor J. G. Bull, G. Douty, President of the Council, and Councilman D. Gilmore, L. Donaldson and Jacob Reinhard were appointed a committee to arrange for the reception of the distinguished chieftain. On July 13 General Sherman, who had been sojourning at Lancaster, journeyed thence to Columbus, halting by the way to visit Mr. John S. Rarey, the famous horsetamer, at Groveport. Here the general was intercepted by a part of Governor Brough's military staff and a delegation from the City Council of Columbus. He was also greeted by several hundreds of citizens and former soldiers from the neighborhood. When he resumed his journey in the early forenoon, the train bearing him was heavily crowded, and became still more so as it passed from station to station. At Columbus the general alighted amid the welcoming shouts of an immense multitude which awaited him, and was saluted by the firing of artillery. As he was escorted up High Street, its sidewalks and buildings were densely crowded with people, roses and garlands were showered upon him and thousands of fair admirers signaled their compliments with waving handkerchiefs. Alighting at the west entrance of the Capitol he made his way with some difficulty through the enthusiastic throng, which for hours had here awaited him, and proceeded to the Governor's office, from whence, after brief delay, he was conducted to the North Front, and there, in the presence of the people, was formally welcomed to the city by Hon. W. B. Hubbard. Greeted by what is described as "a perfect hurricane of applause," General arsenals began in August. RETURN OF THE VOLUNTEERS - 165 Sherman responded briefly and appropriately. In the course of his remarks occurred the following passages: I take pride in referring to Ohio as my home, though I have been thrown hither and thither so much that I scarcely know where I belong. I have been a long time separated from you, but still when I return to you I find all the same. There have been changes, of course, but these are entirely superficial. Here the same old flag floats from the Capitol, the same good government secures peace and prosperity, and more than all, the same green fields give forth abundant crops. I recollect when that old flag many years ago floated above the Old Statehouse. Now the Statehouse is gone, but "the flag is still there," and has been carried in triumph by Ohio's sons wherever they have gone. . . . I can tell you nothing new about the war, can describe no new scenes in our long campaigns, for, from Columbus to Portsmouth, from the Ohio River to the Lakes, you will find in every house and every hamlet a bluecoated boy who marched with Sherman from Tennessee down through Georgia to the sea and who has told the story better than I can do it, because he saw it inside and outside. In pursuing his theme General Sherman paid a glowing tribute of praise to the soldiers of Ohio, particularly naming Generals McPherson, Cox and Walcutt. He retired amid great cheering to the rotunda, where he spent some time with the surging thousands who pressed in to take him by the hand. His exchanges of greetings during this episode, particularly with wounded soldiers and little children, were often touching or amusing. At two o'clock r. M. he was banqueted at the Neil House as the guest of the City Government. About 150 representative citizens were present at the tables. Responses to the toasts proposed were made by General J. D. Cox, Hon. H. C. Noble, J. H. Geiger, and others. In the course of the response to which he was invited, GeneraL. Sherman again highly complimented the soldiers and military leaders which Ohio had furnished to the war, particularly mentioning Generals Grant, McPherson and Swayne. A portion of his remarks personal to himself' was thus recorded : He alluded with feeling to misrepresentations to which he had been subjected; to distorted statements of his views— sometimes, doubtless, from misapprehension and sometimes from motives he did not comprehend. He said that it had been surmised that he had political aspirations. That was a great mistake. He would not accept the office of President were it offered to him today. . . . He would prefer to retain the military position he now holds. He was quite satisfied with the reputation he had gained in it, and he intended to take care of it. In the evening, after the banquet, General Sherman attended the opera, where another most enthusiastic welcome awaited him. Attended by General Cox and others, he took his seat in a private box which was decorated with flags and flowers. As soon as he entered the opera house, the great audience which crowded the building broke into prolonged cheering, at the subsiding of which a patriotic medley was played by the Eighteenth Infantry band. Following this, Mr. Howard, of the theatrical troupe then engaged, recited a poem entitled " Sherman's March to the Sea." After the opera General Sherman was serenaded at the Neil but responded merely with thanks. He departed from Columbus early the following morning for St. Louis. On September 22, 1865, General Grant was invited to accept the hospitalities of Columbus by a committee of citizens which visited him at Cincinnati for that 166 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. purpose. On Tuesday, October 3, the same committee, Hon. George M. Parsons, chairman, intercepted the train bearing General Grant and party at Xenia, and accompanied him thence to Columbus. At Xenia, London and other stopping points on the way the General was greeted by enthusiastic crowds of people, but resisted all solicitations to address them. He was accompanied by his family and members of his staff. The train arrived at Columbus at noon. The city was dressed with flags, and its streets were crowded with waiting throngs, all eager to see and welcome the great, victorious commander of the Nation's armies. His arrival was announced by the firing of artillery mingled with the shouts of eager and admiring multitudes. From the railway station a procession, comprising Governor Anderson and staff, officers of the city government, military detachments and the Fire Department, escorted the city's guest to the Capitol where, as along the line of march on High Street, he was saluted by the plaudits of the people assembled in many thousands. From the Governor's office, where he remained but a few minutes, he was escorted to a suitable point, and introduced to "one of the largest crowds ever assembled in Capitol Square." His appearance was a signal for great applause, but he declined to say anything in response except to express his thanks for the compliment. He was then conducted to an appointed station in the rotunda, whither thousands upon thousands eagerly surged to claim the privilege of taking him by the hand. Among the most earnest of these were two thousand children from the public schools. From the Capitol, after this levee, General Grant was conducted to the Asylum for the Insane, and the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, for an inspection of these examples of Ohio's public charity. At four o'clock P. M. he was banqueted at the Neil House, where covers had been laid for about two hundred guests. Governor Anderson presided on this occasion. Among the other prominent persons present were Major-General E. 0. C. Ord, then commanding the Department of the Ohio, and Ex-Governor David Tod. At the table brief addresses were delivered by Governors Anderson and Tod, Hon. Samuel Galloway and Joseph H. Geiger. General Grant again declined to attempt anything in the nature of a speech, but gracefully expressed his thanks for the honors and hospitalities bestowed upon him in Columbus. In the evening he attended a theatrical performance at the Opera House, where he was received with prolonged cheering by an audience which packed the building. About ten o'clock in the evening he departed by rail for Pittsburgh. NOTES. 1. Ohio State Journal. 2. An account of this execution will be found in another chapter. 3. Ohio State Journal, January 10, 1866: " We stated some days ago that General Wilcox had been directed by Major-General Ord, commanding the department, to assume command of the District of Ohio. General Wilcox, as Provost Marshal and Chief Mustering Officer of the State, was subject only to orders of the War Department, and could not comply with the request, or direction, and for some days the District remained without a recognized RETURN OF THE VOLUNTEERS - 167 commander. Yesterday, in accordance with orders from Department Headquarters, Colonel George A. Woodward, Twentysecond Veteran Reserve Corps, late Post Commandant at Camp Chase, assumed command, with Lieutenant H. M. Jewett as Assistant-Adjutant-General. Colonel Wood, of the Fourth Veteran Reserve Regiment (Hancock's Corps), succeeds him as commander of the post at Camp Chase." 4. This hospital took its name from Surgeon C. S. Tripler, Medical Director at Cincinnati. Its location was about three miles west of Columbus. 5. The grounds comprised 77 3/4 acres, and were bought of Robert E. Neil for $112,377. CHAPTER XIV. WAR EXPERIENCES AT COLUMBUS. BY GENERAL GEORGE B. WRIGHT, LATE QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL OF OHIO. [George Bohan Wright was born near Granville, Licking County, Ohio, December 11, 1815. His grandfathers, both maternal and paternal, were officers in the War of Independence. His father was an officer in the war of 1812. His parents emigrated from Massachusetts to Ohio in 1808. George B. Wright was the youngest member of the family, comprising three brothers and two sisters. His earlier education was obtained at the district school and the Granville Academy ; he afterwards spent a year at the Western Reserve College and also a year at the Ohio University at Athens. After having studied law and been admitted to the bar at Newark he became interested as attorney and director in the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark, the Central Ohio, the Steubenville & Indiana, and later the Scioto and the Hocking Valley railways. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 he engaged actively in promoting enlistments for the Seventy-sixth Ohio Infantry. Solicited by Governor Dennison to assist in the organization and equipment of the Ohio troops he became at once engaged in that service at Columbus, where he was appointed Assistant Quartermaster-General of Ohio, and three months later was appointed Chief Quartermaster of the State with the rank of Brigadier-General. Governor Tod recommissioned him to this office, in which he also served fora time as Commissary-General of the State. At later dates he was appointed Colonel of the One Hundred Sixth Ohio Infantry and was detailed on commission from President Lincoln as military storekeeper in charge of the Columbus Arsenal. In manufacturing fixed ammunition, shipping the same to the armies in the field, and purchasing clothing, equipments and supplies for the Ohio regiments, General Wright expended over three millions of dollars in the Quartermaster's Department alone, and not one of his vouchers was ever questioned. The first soldiers' aid organization for the State, with agencies at Cincinnati, Nashville and other places, was established by him ; he also first introduced the use of transportation tickets at reduced rates for needy soldiers, on a plan afterward adopted by the Government. The " conscientious fund," with which the expense of the draft in Ohio was mostly paid, was collected and disbursed by him. In 1862, he was nominated for Congress by the Republicans of his district, but was defeated. In 1867, by appointment of Governor Cox, he became the first Commissioner of Railways and Telegraphs for Ohio, to which office he was reappointed by Governor Hayes. While in this position he made a valuable compilation of the laws of Ohio pertaining to railways and telegraphs. He resigned the office of Railway Commissioner to accept the Vice Presidency of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway Company, of which General George B. McClellan was President, with his office in New York City. General Wright had charge of the legal department of the company and resided at Meadville, Pennsylvania, where the company's general [168] WAR EXPERIENCES AT COLUMBUS - 169 offices were located. In 1873, he was appointed receiver of the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railway Company (now the Ohio, Indiana & Western), and thenceforth resided at Indianapolis until 1887, when he returned to Columbus, his present home.] On April 12, 1861, when the war was inaugurated by the firing on Fort Sumter I was residing at Newark, Ohio, engaged as receiver of the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Railroad Company. The excitement there, as everywhere at the North, was intense, and when, three days later, a call for seventyfive thousand volunteers was made by President Lincoln, the fife and drum were heard in the streets, bells were rung, and the people, men, women and children flocked to the Courthouse, which was soon filled to overflowing with an excited and anxious audience. A meeting was organized, voluntary patriotic speeches were made, and a resolution was adopted to raise at once a company of volunteers. Leonidas McDougal, one of the most popular young men of the town, immediately stepped forward and volunteered, offering to lead a company to the field. He had had some military education at Annapolis and had been a volunteer in the Mexican War ; was at the bombardment of Vera Cruz, and marched with our army into the City of Mexico. He was the first volunteer in the county for the War for the Union. He fell at the battle of Perryville October 8, 1862, at head of his company. He was a brave soldier and his memory is cherished by all who knew him. As soon as McDougal volunteered he was joined by others, and on April 19, four days after the call for volunteers, he reported with a full company at Columbus. They were attached to the Third Ohio Infantry as Company H. I recall the departure of the company from Newark as one of great interest. The company was drawn up in front of the hall and received a beautiful silk flag presented by the ladies of Newark. The Captain responded in glowing, patriotic words. The company.marched away amid the shouts and cheers of citizens and the waving of handkerchiefs and tears of the ladies. I mentioned this as one of many similar instances all over the State indicative of the patriotic feeling and love for the Union prevailing at the North. Every heart was stirred, and more volunteers were offered in three days than Ohio's quota of the seventyfive thousand. I was well acquainted with Governor Dennison, then Governor of the State, and immediately wrote him tendering my services in any capacity where I could be serviceable. 1 heard nothing from the Governor until two months later when he telegraphed me to come to Columbus. Although confined to my house and under the care of a physician, I took my doctor's prescription and the first train to Columbus. I reached the Governor's office a little after midnight and found it full of men and officers receiving and executing orders. The Governor welcomed me cordially and said he had sent for me to assist in the Quartermaster-General's Department in the purchase of army supplies for the Ohio soldiers. I told the Governor I was entirely unfitted for such duty, having never had any experience; but if he would send me into the field I would do the best I could. He insisted that very important work was needed in the Quartermaster's Department, and he be- 170 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. lieved I could aid him and the Government more there than anywhere else at that time. He explained the difficulty he had encountered, in the rush of troops to the capital, in providing tents, clothing and other equipments for the soldiers. Thousands had come to the capital eager to get to the field, and the State had not on hand arms, tents or equipments sufficient to supply one regiment. The newspapers of the State, were full of criticisms and faultfinding for the management of military matters at Washington and at Columbus. Accordingly, on the next day, I entered the department and remained there until the close of Governor Tod's term, January 1, 1864. General C. P. Buckingham had, only a few days previously, been appointed Adjutant-General of the State, and Columbus Delano Commissary-General. I was handed a commission by General Buckingham as Assistant Commissary of Subsistence, with the rank of captain, and was escorted by him to the office of General Wood, then Quartermaster-General of the State. General Wood assigned me a desk and I at once began to study the business and duties of the department. The office was full of clerks and General Wood was giving orders in an imperative and earnest manner. I was quite impressed with the importance and responsibility of the work in hand. I found General Wood ready to aid me in obtaining a knowledge of the duties of the office. He assigned me to the duty of contracting and inspecting all clothing and equipments for the troops, except ordnance stores and the fabrication of ammunition, which he superintended himself. The office was full of soldiers coming and going constantly, day and night. The office was never closed before midnight, and often was kept open all night. I found the business of the office in a very crude state. Supplies of all kinds had been purchased wherever they could be found and sometimes at extravagant rates and of poor quality. The rush of volunteers to the capital had greatly embarrassed the Governor and overwhelmed the several departments with orders and requisitions which could not be instantly filled, and when they had been filled complete records had not been kept. The State had no clothing, blankets or tents, and the volunteers as they came in were quartered in the Statehouse and at hotels and boardinghouses. The defeat of the National army at Bull Run aroused the people of the North and encouraged the rebels. The general feeling in the Northern States was well expressed by Rev. Henry Cox at a campmeeting in Illinois. The news of the battle came while he was preaching, and he closed his sermon with these words : " Brethren, we'd better adjourn this campmeeting and go home and drill." Ohio's quota under the 500,000 call was fixed at 67,365, divided into infantry, cavalry and artillery. Enlistments and new organizations rapidly followed and work in all the departments was greatly increased. As soon as I began to understand and appreciate the magnitude of the work in hand, I suggested to General Wood certain changes in the organization of the department and the division of duties, which he readily adopted and in a short time the department was put in good running order. Books were opened, blank forms were printed and used and a record was kept of everything done. All purchases thereafter, as far as possible, were made after advertisements for bids made upon samples and speci- WAR EXPERIENCES AT COLUMBUS - 171 fications furnished. Contracts for tents, clothing, blankets, shoes and ordnance stores were given out to the lowest responsible bidders. From that time forward little fault was found or complaint made of the character or quality of the equipments furnished the troops except as to the guns furnished the infantry regiments. It was impossible for the General Government to furnish a sufficient number of arms for the various states, and we went into the market and purchased many thousands of guns of different makes and quality, among them the Enfield rifles, French and Prussian guns, some of poor quality and varying in caliber. Every regiment wanted the best gun to be had. The Springfield musket was a favorite arm, but could only be got through the General Government and Ohio could procure none, or only a very few ; hence complaints came to us often from regiments in the field that their guns were worthless. In some cases these complaints were well founded. I was greatly aided in the inspection of blankets, clothing, etc., by Colonel A. D. Bullock, of Cincinnati, who was a member of the Governor's staff and was connected with a firm in Philadelphia largely engaged in the manufacture of army cloth ; also by Dwight Stone, then a merchant in Columbus, and well posted in the quality and value of all needed supplies. I had very soon contracted for over $500,000 worth of supplies of clothing, shoes, etc., alone. The legislature, at its session in April and May, had appropriated $2,550,000 " for the purchase of arms and equipments and for the defense of the State against invasion and in aid of the Federal Government, for the suppression of the rebellion." Before the first of August this entire appropriation was expended, my own department was in debt and contracts were maturing for over $500,000. The Governor's contingent fund was exhausted and the Commissary's Department was in debt. The credit of the State was seriously impaired and supplies from the National Government could not be procured in sufficient quantity to supply onetenth of the needs of the Ohio troops. Requisitions were daily and hourly arriving for tents, blankets, overcoats, shoes and every variety of equipments, none of which could be procured on the credit of the State. No funds were on hand to meet current expenses. The employes in my own department were without pay for more than two months, and the prospects were daily becoming more and more gloomy. In the meantime I had received several promotions and been appointed Quartermaster-General in lieu of General Wood who had resigned. My duties were now largely increased. The transportation of troops and army supplies was transferred by General Buckingham to my department, and the settlement of accounts with all of the railroad companies of the State, which had accumulated from the first call of volunteers, and were brought into my office in the form of slips of paper signed by some one in charge of squads or companies of men who had been transported over different lines of railroads to Columbus, as volunteers. These papers were generally signed with a pencil certifying that such a number of volunteers had been brought in by trains to Columbus. They were very difficult in many cases to decipher. The railroad companies had not required volunteers, or their escort, to purchase tickets in all cases, but simply to certify the number carried, trusting to the State to settle and pay for the transportation in 172 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS. the future. The claims were difficult of adjustment, and the railroad companies were anxious for payment. There was, at this time, in the State treasury over eight hundred thousand dollars, being forty per cent. paid back to the State on its advance " for enrolling, subsisting, clothing, equipping and transporting troops for the Federal Government ; but not a dollar of this money could be drawn from the treasury for want of an act of the legislature appropriating the same. The Governor and the members of his staff besought the Auditor (R. W. Taylor), to make partial advances to relieve the several departments and maintain the credit of the State, with the assurance that the legislature would, at its next meeting, make the necessary appropriation and sustain his action. The Auditor declined to issue his warrant and advised calling a special session of the legislature. This the Governor declined to do. This state of things continued and kept growing worse until about the first of November, when the Governor requested me to visit Washington and urge upon the several departments our pressing necessities and beg for some relief. As soon as I reached Washington I called on Mr. Chase, then Secretary of the Treasury, with whom I was well acquainted, and explained to him the deplorable condition of matters at Columbus, and begged of him to furnish the State sufficient money to relieve the present embarrassment. He claimed that it was impossible to make further advances to the State, as he had already paid back to all the States forty per cent. of their expenditures for the Government, and he could do no more for Ohio than for other States. I spent nearly two hours with the Secretary, but could not then prevail upon him to furnish any money. I called on him again the next morning and suggested that the State had made large additional expenditures for the Government since the forty per cent. had been paid, and suggested that another forty per cent. be paid on these expenditures. To this he agreed if I could satisfy the Second Comptroller of the Treasury that my statement was correct, and upon a statement of account approved by the comptroller, showing the additional advances made by the State, he would advance forty per cent. on that sum. I immediately set about making up an account from the data I had, and the former account filed, by which I was able to show a further advance by the State of $444,000, to which amount the Second Comptroller certified, and Secretary Chase immediately ordered the forty per cent. ($177,600), to be paid to me. After running the gauntlet of the War and Treasury Departments for several hours I reached the Treasury with my warrant for the $177,600, which was paid to me in greenbacks, filling a large mail bag. With this money I hastened to the express office and shipped it to Mr. Deshler, then President of the Clinton Bank, at Columbus, telegraphing the Governor the result of my efforts. I was required to give a very lengthy receipt to the Treasurer for the money as agent for the State, in which it was recited that the State had on a former statement of expenditures, amounting to $2,100,000, received forty per cent., and on the present showing of $444,000 additional expenditure I had also received $177,600, being forty per cent. on the same ; the receipt reciting further that the WAR EXPERIENCES AT COLUMBUS - 173 State had advanced in excess of $2,500,000, on the whole of which the Treasurer had paid the sum of forty per cent. As this money was entirely inadequate to relieve the wants of the State, I called the next morning on General Meigs, Quartermaster-General of the United States, and suggested to him that as the Government had a Quartermaster at Columbus Captain Myers, and Captain Dickerson, at Cincinnati, and they were competing in the same market with me for army supplies, would it not be better for the Government to assume all purchases and the State go out or the market? To this suggestion General Meigs readily agreed, and furnished me an order on Captain Myers to receive all my Quartermaster's stores on hand, and assume, on behalf of the Government, all my outstanding contracts that were in accordance with regulation standard. Thus armed I returned to Columbus greatly relieved. The $177,600 was not certified into the State treasury, but divided between the Executive, Commissary and Quartermaster-General's departments. I turned over to Captain Myers all my supplies on hand, and he assumed all my outstanding contracts, amounting to over a half a million of dollars. Thus was the credit of the State restored, and my department, as well as the Executive, relieved of great anxiety and a heavy burden. My department was now actively employed in transporting volunteers to the various camps of rendezvous, purchasing and procuring from the National Government tents, clothing, blankets, arms and equipments, and distributing them to Ohio troops in camp, and in the field ; also in the fabrication and shipment of ammunition. From one hundred and fifty to two hundred hands were employed in the laboratory, and about two millions of elongated bullet cartridges were turned out monthly of 54, 59 and 69 caliber. These various duties made the department still a very busy one. From this time to the close of the year 1861, my department was actively employed in the fabrication and shipment of ammunition, and in the purchase and procuring from the government arms and equipments, and distributing them to Ohio troops. I have already referred to the meagre supply of arms and equipments belonging to the State at the breaking out of the rebellion ; not enough to equip a battery or arm a regiment. Some idea of the magnitude of the work necessary to supply this deficiency and properly arm the Ohio volunteers during the first eight months of the war may be formed from the record of issues of arms from my department down to December 31, 1861, showing that 118,821 muskets and rifles of different kinds were supplied to the infantry, 164 cannon to the artillery, and 15,185 carbines, pistols and sabres to the cavalry. The variety of the style and calibre of the firearms will account for the complaints which came from many regiments as to the character of their weapons. The State was compelled to take such arms as could be procured, or else leave many of her troops unarmed for the time being. The difficulty of procuring firstclass guns continued as long as I remained in the department. I cannot close my record for the year 1861, without speaking of Governor Dennison. He was my friend and cordial supporter from my entrance into the 174 - HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS department until the close of his term in January, 1862. I was constantly in communication with him and enjoyed his fullest confidence. I can bear testimony to his vigilance, great industry, earnest efforts and steadfast patriotism. He was a zealous supporter of Mr. Lincoln and his administration in their efforts to suppress the rebellion, nor did his interest in the cause cease with the close of his term of office. He was often called upon by his successor, Governor Tod, and was always ready to go upon important missions to Washington, to the battlefield, or in aid of sick and wounded soldiers. The State and National Governments owe him a great debt of gratitude and his memory will ever be cherished by all who knew him. 1862-1863. I expected my service as Quartermaster-General to close with Governor's Dennison's term, but soon after Governor Tod's election he called on me and requested me to remain with him at least a few months, only asking that Colonel Stoughton Blisted with the administration of Mr. Lincoln and he assumed his office fully appreciating the magnitude of the war and anxious to perfect the organization of the Ohio troops in the best possible manner. On January 5, 1862, he sent a patriotic message to the General Assembly in which he presented a statement of the military preparations made by the State up to that time and earnestly appealed for further efforts for the preservation of the Union. Most of the prisoners taken at Fort Donelson were sent to Camp Chase, and the duty of building prisons, and guarding and caring for the prisoners, devolved upon my department. This required active and vigilant work day and night. Either Colonel Bliss or myself was at the camp constantly and the Governor often visited there. From the time the first prisoners were taken at Fort Donelson in March until July 22 I was charged with the duty of looking after and caring for the prisoners, the large number of whiiss, of Cleveland, should be one of my assistants. This was very agreeable to me, as Colonel Bliss had previously served in the department with General Wood. He was an efficient officer and rendered excellent service. One of Governor Tod's first inquiries after entering upon the duties of his office was to examine critically into the condition of my department ; its supplies and resources for providing arms, equipments and transportation for Ohio soldiers. His sympathies were strongly each sent to Camp Chase February 27, rapidly followed by other detachments of captives, involved the immediate erection of increased prison barracks and quarters for the men at a season of the year when it was difficult to provide material and labor. The building of the new prisons and and improvement of the old ones cost over $5,000, which was paid for by the Governor out of his contingent fund. The regulations for the police and care of the prisoners and their money and property were entrusted to the Governor for a time by the War Department. One of the rules established by the Governor was that all the prisoners having National money should deposit the same with the Quartermaster-General to be drawn out by checks not exceeding five dollars at a time except for clothing or other necessaries desired by the prisoners. This rule was at first strongly objected to by the pris1.oners and involved what I feared would be an unpleasant duty together with increased responsibility upon me. But the