Preble County, Ohio - Chapter 12: Mexican War - Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1881

THE Mexican war grew out of the question of the annexation of Texas, then a province of Mexico, whose territory extended to the Indian territory on the north, and on up to the Oregon territory on the Pacific coast. Texas had been settled largely by Americans, who saw the condition of affairs that would inevitably ensue did the country remain under Mexican rule. They first took steps to secede from Mexico, and then asked the aid of America to sustain them, and annex the country to itself.

The Whig party and many others opposed this, chiefly on the grounds of the extension of slave territory. But to no avail. The war came on, Mexico was conquered, the war lasting from April 20, 1846, to May 30, 1848. Fifty thousand volunteers were called for the war by the Congress, and ten million dollars placed at the disposal of the President, James K. Polk, to sustain the army and prosecute the war.

The part that Ohio took in the war may be briefly summed up as follows: She had five volunteer regiments, five companies in the fifteenth infantry, and several independent companies, with her full proportion among the regulars. When war was declared, it was something of a crusade to many; full of romance to others; hence, many more were offered than could be received. It was a campaign of romance to some, yet one of reality, ending in death, to many.

When the first call for troops came, the First, Second and Third regiments of infantry responded at once.. Alexander Mitchell was made colonel of the First; John D. Weller its lieutenant colonel; and Giddings, of Dayton, its major. "Thomas Hanna, one of the ablest lawyers in Ohio, started with the First as its major, but, before the regiment left the State, he was made a brigadier general of volunteers, and, at the battle of Monterey, distinguished himself; and there contracted disease and laid down his life. The regiment's colonel, who had been wounded at Monterey, came home, removed to Minnesota, and there died. Lieutenant Colonel Weller went to California after the close of the war. He wasa representative from that State in the halls of Congress, and, at last, died in New Orleans.

The Second regiment was commanded by Colonel George W. Morgan, now of Mount Vernon; Lieutenant Colonel William Irwin, of Lancaster, and Major William Wall. After the war closed, Irwin settled in Texas, and remained there till he died. Wall lived out his days in Ohio. The regiment was never in active field service, but was a credit to the State.

The officers of the Third regiment were, Colonel Samuel Curtis, Lieutenant Colonel G. W. McCook and Major John Love. The first two are now dead; the major lives in Connellsville.

At the close of the first year of the war, these regiments (First, Second and Third) were mustered out of service, as their term of enlistment had expired.

When the second year of the war began, the call for more troops on the part of the government induced the Second Ohio infantry to reorganize, and again enter the service. William Irwin, of the former organization, was chosen colonel; William Latham, of Columbus, lieutenant colonel, and Link, of Circleville, major. All of them are now dead.

The regular army was increased by eight Ohio regiments of infantry, the Third dragoons, and the Voltigeurs - light-armed soldiers. In the Fifteenth regiment of the United States army, there were five Ohio companies The others were three from Michigan, and two from Wisconsin. Colonel Morgan, of the old Second, was made colonel of the Kifteenth, and John Howard, of Detroit, an old artillery officer in the regular army, lieutenant colonel. Samuel Wood, a captain in the Sixth United States infantry, was made major; but. was afterward succeeded by Mill, of Vermont. The Fifteenth was in a number of skirmishes at first, and later in the battles of Contreras, Cherubusco and Chapultepec. At the battle of Cherubusco, the colonel was severely wounded, and Major Mill, with several officers, and a large number of men, killed. For gallant service at Contreras, Colonel Morgan, though only twenty-seven years old, was made a brevet brigadier general in the United States army. Since the war he has delivered a number of addresses in Ohio, on the campaigns in Mexico.

The survivors of the war are now few. Though seventy-five thousand men from the United States went into that conflict, less than ten thousand now survive. They are now veterans, and as such delight to recount their reminiscences on the fields of Mexico. They are all in the decline of life, and ere a generation passes away, few, if any, will be left.

After the war, the continual growth of Ohio, the change in all its relations, necessitated a new organic law. The constitution of 1852 was the result. It re-affirmed the political principles of the "ordinance of 1787" and the constitution of 1802, and made a few changes, necessitated by the advance made in the interim. It created the office of lieutenant governor, fixing the term of service at two years. This constitution yet stands, notwithstanding the prolonged attempt in 1873 - 74 to create a new one. It is now the organic law of Ohio.

From this time on to the opening of the late war, the prosperity of the State received no check. Towns and cities grew; railroads multiplied ; commerce was extended; the vacant lands were filled by settlers, and everything tending to the advancement of the people was well prosecuted. Banks, after much tribulation, had become in a measure somewhat.secure, their only and serious drawback being their isolation or the confinement of their circulation to their immediate localities. But signs of a mighty contest were apparent - a contest almost without a parallel in the annals of history; a contest between that could only end in defeat to the wrong. The Republican party came into existence at the close of President Pierce's term, in 1855. Its object then was, principally, the restriction of the slave power; ultimately its extinction. One of the chief exponents and supporters of this growing party in Ohio, was Salmon P. Chase - one who never faltered nor lost faith; and who was at the helm of State; in the halls of Congress; chief of one of the most important bureaus of the government, and, finally, chief justice of the United States. When war came, after the election of Abraham Lincoln by the Republican party, Ohio was one of the first to answer to the call for troops. Mr. Chase, while governor, had re-organized the militia on a sensible basis, and rescued it from the ignominy into which it had fallen. When Mr. Lincoln asked for seventy-five thousand men, Ohio's quota was thirteen regiments. The various chaotic regiments and militia - troops in the State did not exceed fifteen hundred men. The call was issued April rs, 1861; by the eighteenth, two regiments were organized in Columbus, whither these companies had gathered ; before sunrise of the nineteenth the first and second regiments were on their way to Washington city. The President had only asked for thirteen regiments; thirty were gathering; the government not yet fully comprehending the nature of the Rebellion, refused the surplus troops, but Governor Dennison was authorized to. put ten additional regiments in the field, as a defensive measure, and was also authorized to act on the defensive as well as on the offensive. The immense extent of southern border made this necessary, as all the loyal people in West Virginia and Kentucky asked for help.

In the limits of this history, it is impossible to trace all the steps Ohio took in the war. One of her most talented sons, now at the' head of one of the greatest newspapers of the world, says, regarding the action of the people and their legislature:

*' In one part of the Nation there existed a gradual growth of sentiment against the Union, ending in open hostility against its integrity and its constitutional law; on the other side stood a resolute and determined people, though divided in minor matters, firmly united on the question

And, witha voice that shook the land, the guns of Sumter spoke ; a * NS det x * * * * * And whereso'er the summons came, there rose the angry din,

All:waverings then ceased among the people and in the Ohio legis" lature. The Union must be preserved. The white heat of patriotism and fealty to the flag that had been victorious in three wars, and had never met but temporary defeat then melted all parties, and dissolved all hesitation, and, April 18, 186r, by a unanimous vote of ninety-nine representatives in its favor, there was passed a bill appropriating five hundred thousand dollars to carry into effect the requisition of the President, to protect the National Government, of which sum four hundred and fifty thousand dollars were to purchase arms and equipments for the troops required by that requisition as the quota of Ohio, and fifty thousand dollars as an extraordinary contingent fund for the governor. The commissioners of the State sinking fund were authorized, by the same bill, to borrow this money, on the six per cent. bonds of the State, and to issue for the same certificates, freeing such bonds from taxation. Then followed other such legislation that declared the property of volunteers free from execution for debt during their term of service; that declared any resident of the State, who gave aid and comfort to the enemies of the Union, guilty of treason against the State, to be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for life; and, as it had become already evident that thousands of militia, beyond Ohio's quota of the President's call, would volunteer, the legislature, adopting the sagacious suggestion of Governor Dennison, resolved that all excess of volunteers should be retained and paid for service, under direction of the governor. Thereupon a bill was passed, authorizing the acceptance of volunteers to form ten regiments, and providing five hundred thousand dollars for their arms and equipments, and one million five hundred thousand dollars more to be disbursed for troops in case of àn invasion of the State. Then other legislation was enacted, looking to and providing against the shipment from or through the State of arms or munitions of war, to States either assuming to be neutral or in open rebellion; organizing the whole body of the State militia; providing suitable officers for duty on the staff of the governor; requiring contracts for subsistence of volunteers to be let to the lowest bidder, and authorizing the appointment of additional general officers.

"Before the adjournment ef that legislature, the speaker of the house had resigned to take command of one of the regiments then about to start for Washington city; two leading senators had been appointed brigadier generals, and many, in fact nearly all, of the other members of both houses had, in one capacity or another, entered the militaty service. It was the first war legislature ever elected in Ohio, and, under sudden pressure, nobly met the first shock, and enacted the first measures of law for war. Laboring under difficulties inseparable from a condition so unexpected, and in the performance of duties so novel, it may be historically stated that for patriotism, zeal and ability, the Ohio legislature of 1861 was the equal of any of its successors; while in that exuberance of patriotism which obliterated party lines and united all in a common effort to meet the threatened integrity of the United States as a nation, it surpassed them both.

"The war was fought, the slave power forever destroyed, and under additional amendments toher organic law, the United States wiped the stain of human slavery from her escutcheon, liberating over four million human beings, nineteen-twentieths of whom were native-born residents.

. course of the war, she had furnished two hundred and thirty regiments, besides twenty-six independent batteries of artillery, five independent companies of cavalry, several companies of sharpshooters, large parts of five regiments credited to tbe West Virginia contingent, two regiments credited to the Kentucky contingent, two transferred to the United States colored troops, and a large proportion of the rank and file of the Fifty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Massachusetts regiments, also colored men. Of these organizations, twenty-three were infantry regiments furnished on the first eall of the President, an excess of nearly one-half over the State's quota; one hundred and ninety-one were infantry regiments, furnished on subsequent calls of the President - one hundred and seventeen for three years, twenty-seven for one year, two for six months, two for three months, and forty-two for one hundred days. Thirteen were cavalry, and three artillery for three years. Of these three years' troops, over twenty thousand re-enlisted, as veterans, at the end of their long term of service, to fight till the . war would end."

As original members of these organizations, Ohio furnished to the national service the magnificent army of three hundred and ten thousand six hundred and fiftyfour actual soldiers, omitting from the above number all those who paid commutation money, veteran enlistments, and citizens who enlisted as soldiers and sailors in other States. The count is made from the reports of the provost marshal general to the war department. Pennsylvania gave not quite twenty-eight thousand more, while Illinois fell forty-eight thousand behind; Indiana one hundred and sixteen thousand less; Kentucky, two hundred and thirty-five thousand, and Massachucetts, one hundred and sixty-four thousand. Thus Ohio more than maintained, in the national army, the rank among her sisters which her population supported. Ohio furnished more troops than the President ever required of her; and at the end of the war, with more than a thousand men in the camp of the State who were never mustered into the service, she still had a credit on the rolls of the war department for four thousand three hundred and thirty-two soldiers, beyond the aggregate of all quotas ever assigned to her; and, besides all these, six thousand four hundred and seventy-nine citizens had, in lieu of personal service, paid the commutation; while Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New York were all from five to one hundred thousand behind their quotas. So ably, through all those years of trial and death, did she keep the promise of the memorable dispatch from her first war governor: "If Kentucky refuses to fill her quota, Ohio will fill it for her."

Of these troops eleven thousand two hundred and thirty-seven were killed or mortally wounded in action, and of these, six thousand five hundred and sixty-three were left dead on the field of battle. They fought on well-nigh every battle-field of the war. Within forty-eight hours after the first call was made for troops, two regiments were on the way to Washington. An Ohio brigade covered the retreat from the first battle of Bull Run. Ohio troops formed the bulk of the army that saved to the Union the territory afterward erected into West Virginia; the bulk of the army that kept Kentucky from seceding; a large part of the army that captured Fort Donelson and Island No. ro; a great part of the army that from Stone River and Chickamauga, and Mission Ridge and Atlanta, swept to the sea and captured Fort McAllister, and north through the Carolinas to Virginia." -

When Sherman started on his famous march to the sea, some one said to President Lincoln, "they will never get through; they will be all captured and the Union will be lost." "It is impossible," replied the President; "it cannot be done. There is a mighty sight of fight in one hundred thousand western men."

"Ohio troops fought at Pea Ridge. They charged at Wagner. They helped redeem North Carolina. They were in the sieges of Vicksburgh, Charleston, Mobile, and Richmond - at Pittsburgh Landing, at Antietam, Gettysburgh, and Corinth, in the Wilderness, at Five Forks, before Nashville and Appomattox Court House; "their bones, reposing on the fields they won and in the graves they fill, are a perpetual pledge that no flag shall ever wave over their graves but the flag they died. to maintain." dren of the country, reared at West Point for such emergencies. Ohio's war record shows one general, one lieutenant general, twenty major generals, twenty-seven brevet major generals, thirty brigadier generals, and one hundred and fifty brevet brigadier generals. Her three war governors were William Dennison, David Tod, and John Brough. She furnished, at the same time, one Secretary of War - Edwin M. Stanton, and one Secretary of the Treasury - Salmon P. Chase. Her senators were Benjamin F. Wade and John Sherman. At least three out of flve of Ohio's able-bodied men stood in the line of battle. On the head-stone of one of these soldiers, who gave his life for the country, and who now lies ina National cemetery, is inscribed these words:

The close of the war and return of peace brought a period of fictitious values on the country, occasioned by the immense amount of currency afloat. Property rose to unheard-of values, and everything with it. Ere long, however, the decline came, and with it "hard times." The climax broke over the country in 1873, and for awhile it seemed as if the country was on the verge of ruin. People found again, as preceding generations had found, that real value was the only basis of true prosperity, and gradually began to work to the fact. The government established the specie basis by gradual means, and on the first day of January, 1879, began to redeem its outstanding obligations in coin. The effect was felt everywhere. Business of all kinds sprang anew into life. A feeling of confidence grew as the times went on, and now, on the threshold of the year 1881, the State has entered on an era of steadfast prosperity; one which has a sure and certain foundation.

Over four years have elapsed since the great Centennial exhibition was held in Philadelphia; an exhibition that brought from every State'in the Union the best products of her soil, factories, and all industries. In that exhibit Ohio made an excellent display. Her stone, iron, coal, cereals, woods, and everything pertaining to her weltare, were all represented. Ohio, occupying the» middle ground of the Union, was expected to show to foreign nations what the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio could produce. The State nobly stood the test, and ranked foremost among all others. Her centennial building was among the first completed, and among the neatest and best on the grounds. During the summer, the centennial commission extended invitations to the governors of the several States, to appoint an orator and name a day for his delivery of an address on the history, progress and resources of his State. Governor Hayes named the Hon. Edward D. Mansfield for this purpose, and August gth that gentleman delivered an address so valuable for the matter which it contains, that we here give a synopsis of it.