Stark County, Ohio - Chapter 12: Mexican War, 1881

THE Mexican War grew out of the question of the annexation of Texas, then a province of Jlexico, 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 bj' 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, 18-46, to May 30, 1848. Fifty thousand volunteers were called for the war by the Congress, and $10,000,000 placed at the disposal of the Pre.sident, 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 Reuimi'iils nf infantry responded at once. Alexander Mitclicll was made Colonel of the First; John B. Wellerits Lieutenant Colonel ; and Major L. Giddings, of Dayton, its Major, Thos. L. Hamer, 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 hi.s life. The regiment's Colonel, who had been wounded at Monterey, came home, removed to 3Iinnesota, and there died. Lieut. Col. Weller went to California after the close of the war. He was United States Senator from that State in the halls of Congress, and, at last, died at New Orleans.

The Second Regiment was commanded by Col. George W. Morgan, now of Mount Vernon ; Lieut. Col. William Irwin, of Lancaster, and Maj. 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. Col. Samuel R. Curtis; Lieut. Col. G. W.'McCookand JMaj. John Love. Tlie first two are now dead ; the Major lives in McConnellsville.

At the close of the finsl 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 re-organize, and again enter the service. William Irwin, of the former organization, was chosen Colonel; William Latham, of Columbus, Lieutenant Colonel, and William H. Link, of Circleville, Major. Nearly all of them are now dead.

The regular army was increased by eight Ohio companies 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. Col. Morgan, of the old Second, was made Colonel of the Fifteenth, and John Howard, of Detroit, an old artillery officer in the regular army. Lieutenant Colonel. Samuel Wood, a captain in the Sixth

The Fifteenth was iu 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 Maj. Mill, with several officers, and a large number of men, killed. For gallant service at Contrcnis, Col. Morgan, though only twenty-seven years old, w.is made a Brevet Brigadier Genend 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 arc 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 tlie fields of Mexico. They ai'e 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, [t created the office of Lieutenant Governor, fixing the term of service at two years. This Constitution yet stands notwithstanding the prolonged attempt in 187"5-74: 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 w;ls extended; the vacant lands were raj)idly 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 freedom and slavery ; lictwcen wrong and right; a contest that could only end in defeat to the wrong. The Republican party came into existence at the close of President Tierce's term, in 1855. Its object then was, principally, the restriction of the slave jiower ; ultimately its extinction. One of the chief e.xponcntsand supporters of this growing party in Ohio, wa.-^Salmon P.

Chase; one who never faltered nor lost faith; and who was at the helm of Stale; in the halls of Congress; chief of one 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 (juota w:is thirteen regiments. The various chaotic regiments and militia troops in the State did not exceed 1 ,500 men. The call was issued April 15, 18()1 ; by the 18th, two regiments were organized iu Columbus, whither tlu^se companies had gathered; before sunrise of the l!)th the Jii-xt and second regiments were on their way to Washington City. The President had only a.skcd for thirteen regiments; thirty were gathering; the Government, not yet fully comprehending the nature of the rebellion, refused the surplus troops, but G<iv. Dennison Wiis authorized to put ten additional regiments in the field, as a defensive measure, and was also authorized to act on tlie defensive as well as on the offensive. The immense extent of southern bordt^' 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 senliiMcnt against the Union, ending in o|ien hostility against its integrity and its Constitutional law; on tint other side stood a resolute, and determined people, though divided in minor matters, firmly united on the question of national supremacy. The jieojile of Ohio stood squarely on this side. Belore this her people had been divided up to the hour when - preserved. Tlie wliite heat of patriotism and fealty to the flag that had beeu vietoriou.s in three wars, and had never met but temporary defeat then mehed all parties, and dissolved all hesitation, and, .Vjiril 18, 18G1, by a unanimous vote of ninety-nine llepreseutativcs in its favor, there was passed a bill appropriating §500,000 to carry into effect the requisition of the President, to protect the Xational tlovernment, of which sum §450,000 were to purchase arms and e(pipments for the troops requireil by that re(juisition as the quota of Ohio, and §50,00(1 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 G 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 tor 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 hail 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 Gov. 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 §500,000 for their arms and equipments, and §1,500,000 more to be disbursed for troops in case of an 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 oiEcers for duty on the staff of the Governor ; re- (juiring contracts for subsistence of volunteers to be let to the lowest bidder, and authorizing the appointment of additional general oificers.

" Beibre the adjournment of 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 liad beeu appointed Brigadier Generals, and many, in fact nearly all, of the other members of both houses had, iu one capacity or another, entered the military 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 fljr 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 surjsassed them both.

" The war was fought, the slave power forever destroyed, and under additional amendments to her organic law, the Ll^nited States wi]ied the stain of human slavery from her escutchenn. lilnTatingover four million human beings, niuetccn-twentieths of whom were native-born residents.

" When Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Ohio had two hundred regiments of all arms in the National service. In the 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 sharii.-.h(Mjters. largf jiarts of five regiments cvi'ilited to the AVest A'iigiuia contingent, two regiments ereilited to the Kentucky contingent, two transferred to the United States colored troops, and a large proportion of the rank and file of the Fitly-fourth and Sixty-fifth Massachusetts lii'giuieuts. also colored men. Ofthe.se organizations, twenty-three were infantry regiments furuished on the first call of the President, an excess of nearly one-half over the State's quota ; one hundred and ninety-one were infantry regiments, furnished on sui>sequent calls of the President - one hundred and seventeen for three years, twentyseven for one year, two for six uinnths, 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 cml of their long term of service, to fight till the war would end. "

As original members of these organizations, Ohio furuished to the National service the magnificent army of 310,G54 actual soldiers, omitting from the above number all those who paid commutation money, veteran enlistments, and citizens who enlisted as soldiers or sailors in other States. The count is made from the reports of the Provost Marshal General to the War Department. Pennsylvania gave not quite 28,000 more, while Illinois fell 48,000 behind; Indiana, 116,000 less;

Kentucky, 235,000, and Massachusetts, 104,000. Tims Oliio more than maintained, in the National army, tiie ranic 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 mu.stered into the .service, she still had a credit on the rolls of the War Dejjartment for 4,332 soldiers, beyond the aggregate of all quotas ever assigned to her; and, besides all these, 6,479 citizens had. in lieu of ])ersonal service, paid the commutation ; while Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New York were all from five to one hundred thousand behind their quota-s. So ably, through all those years of trial and death, did she keep the promise of the memorable disj)atch from her first war Governor : " If Kentucky refuses to till her quota, Ohio will fill it for her."

"Of the.se troops 11,237 were killed or mortally wcmnded in action, and of these 6,563 were left dead on the field of battle. They fought on well-uigh every battle-field of the war. AVithin forty-eight houi-s after the first call was made for troops, two rcgiment.s 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 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 F(jrt Donclson and Island No. 1 0 ; a great part of the array that from Stone River and Chiekamauga, 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 all be captured, and the l.'nion will be lost." " It is impossible," re])lied the President ; "it cannot be done. Thrre is a ml;iliii/ sight of fight in one hundred thousand iVfsti^rn men.'

Ohio troops fought at Pea Ridge. They charged at Wagner. They helped redeem North Carolina. They were in the sieges of A'icksburg, Charleston, Mobile and Richmond. At Pittsburg Landing, at Antietam, Gettysburg 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 fliur shall ever wave over their graves but that flag they died to maintain."

Ohio's soil gave birth to, or furnished, a Grant, a Sherman, a Sheridan, a McPherson, a Rosecrans, a MeClellan, a McDowell, a Mitchell, a Gilmore, a Hazen,a Sill, a Stanley, a Stcadman.and others - all but one, children ofthe country, reared at West Point for such emergencies. Ohio's w;ir record shows one General, one Lieutenant General, twenty- Major Generals, twenty-seven Brevet Major Generals, and thirty Brigadier Generals, and one hundred and fifty Brevet Brigadier Generals. Her three war Governors were William Dennison, David Todd, 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 five 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 in a 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 currenc)' 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 countr}- 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 1st day of January, 1879, began to redeem its outstanding obligatiims in coin. The efi"ect 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 1 880, the State is entering on an era of steadfast prosperity ; one which has a sure and certain foundation.

Nearly four years have ela])ed 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, fiictorias, and all industries. In that exhibit Ohio made an excellent display. Her stone, iron, coal, cereals, woods and eveiything pertaining to lier welfare were all represented. Ohio, occupying the middle ground of tlie Union, was expected to show to foreign nations what the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio coukl jmiducc. The State nobly stood the test aud 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, progi'ess and resources of his State. Gov. Hayes named the Hon. Edward D. Mansfield for this purpose, and August 9th, that gentleman delivered an address so valuable for the matter wliieli it contains, that we here give a synopsis of it.