Summit County, Ohio - Chapter 16: Military History, 1908

Chapter 16: Military History

Few, if any, communities have been more patriotic than Akron, and indeed all of Summit County. Her sons have gone forth willingly and gladly to fight their country's battles, on many occasions not waiting to be called upon. Akron's volunteers were numerous and acquitted themselves manfully in 1898, and during the stirring years from 1861 to 1865 the city and the county furnished their full quota of defenders of the Union. Akron sent forth her brave and strong to the Mexican struggle of 1846, within her gates are buried men who fought in 1812, and in her soil rest even a few of those heroes who fought in 1776, and the years following, to give the nation birth. There is no chapter of local military history that were best skimmed lightly over. Glory, unselfishness and patriotism are written large on every page that tells the story of her soldiery.

Revolution.1Ry War

A few of the names of the veterans of the Revolution, who became settlers of the county and were buried in it, are preserved to us. Among them were Captain Nathaniel Bettes, buried in the family lot at Bettes' Corners; Daniel Galpin and Elijah Bryan.

War Of 1812 Mexican War

Akron citizens who served in the Mexican war were: Jeroboam B. Creighton, Adams Hart, George Dresher, Ezra Tryon, Oliver P. Barney, Joseph Gonder, Thomas Thompson, Cornelius Way and Valmore Morris.

From the time Akron was a small village her citizens were appreciative of military glory. They did their full share of the service required of the citizen-soldiers under the early militia laws. Among the early militia organizations to win renown were the "Summit Guards," commanded by the late General Philo Chambeilaiu. From that time down t:i the present Akron has seldom been mthout a military company. Now her organizations are companies B and F of the Eighth Regiment, Ohio National Guard, commanded respectively by Captains William F. Yontz and William E. Walkup.

Civil War

It was in connection with the Civil War, however, that Akron achieved the larger measure of her military glory. Immediately folowing President Lincoln's first call for troops, in 1861, two companies of volunteers were mustered, and, their services being accepled, were sent into the service as companies G and K, Nineteenth Regiment, O. V. I. Company G was commanded by Captain Lewis P. Buckley, First Lieutenant Andrew J. Fulkerson and Second Lieutenant Gilbert S. Carpenter. The oflicers of Company K were Captain Andrew J. Konkle, First Lieutenant Paul J. Kirby and Second Lieutenant James Nelson. A third company, formed shortly after, in response to the same call, was not required to help make up the 75.000 volunteers called for and was accordingly disbanded. When Companies G and K joined their regiment at Columbus, May 16, there was an election of officers. Captain Buckley being promoted to the rank of major at that time. Assigned to the command of General Rosecrans, the Nineteenth was in the battle of Rich Mountain, July 7, being especiallj^ mentioned for its good conduct and bravery. Having enlisted for only ninety days, the Nineteenth Ohio was mustered out in July, 1861, but was immediately reorganized, many of the Akron men remaining. Its excellent conduct so long as it remained in service is a matter of national history. Major Buckley, at the expiration of the three months' ser\'ice of the original Nineteenth, was made colonel of the Twentyninth Regiment, 0. V. I., serving with credit until physical disability forced him to leave the sei-vice in 1863. He died in Akron in 1868. Buckley Post, G. A. R., Akron's present organization of Civil AVar veterans, wa? named for him.

Of the Twenty-ninth Regiment, 0. V. I.. three companies, D, G and H, were composed largely of Summit County men. In 1862 the regiment, after some delays, got into active service under General Shields, and remained in the service until the close of the war. The Twenty-ninth was in the folloT^ang battles, as well as many others. Antietam, Chancellorsville. Gettysburg, and with Sherman on his march "from Atlanta to the Sea," remaining in service continuously for over four years. Akron, Middlebury and Portage contributed largely to the Twenty-ninth.

Senator John Slierman's regiment, contained many Summit County men. This was Company G. The Sixty-fourth saw much fighting; among the battles in which it took part were the following: Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Siege of Atlanta, Franklin and Nashville. The 238 survivors were mustered out at Victoria, Texas, December 3, 1865.

Those who remember Akron's part in the struggle of the North and the South, thrill at the name of the Sixth Ohio Battery, a section of which was made up of Akron and Summit County men. The Akron section was formed November 21, with Captain Cullen Bradley, an army officer of experience, in command, the other two commissioned officers being 0. H. P. Ayres and A. P. Baldwin. The Sixth Ohio Battery saw much hard service, some special incidents in its career being its almost continuous fighting for 120 days in the siege of Atlanta, and its mention by General Howard for its accurate firing before Kenesaw. The battery was mustered out at Huntsville, Alabama, September 1, 1865.

In the gallant One Hundred and Fourth, 0. V. I., Akron had nearly all of Company H, and was represented in several other companies. The regiment was formed in August, 1862. Captain Walter B. Scott commanded Company H. His immediate subordinates were First Lieutenant Hobart Ford and Second Lieutenant Samuel F. Shaw. The One Hundred and Fourth was under fire within a month, its first assignment being to head off General Kirby Smith's advance on Cincinnati. The first clash came near Covington, Kentucky, September 10, 1862, the Confederates being repulsed. Shortly after this the regiment went on guard duty at Frankfort, Kentucky. In February, 1863, it was relieved, and in September of the same year became a part of General Burnside's command. It took the Confederate arms and stores at the surrender at Cumberland Gap; it took an active part in the Atlanta campaign in 1864; had almost daily exchanges of the "courtesies of war" with Hood's men, near Nashville, and cuptui-ed eleven battle flags at the battle of Frankfort. It was a part of the Army of the Potomac and was detailed to receive the surrender of Johnston. Six hundred and forty survivors were mustered out at Camp Taylor, Cleveland, June 27, 1865.

The One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment, 0. V. I., like the One Hundred and Fourth, was formed at ^lassillon, in August, 1862, and went int&the United States service in September. Companies C, G and I contained many Summit County men. It was assigned to various re.sponsible duties, guarding prisoners, doing provost work, and in all things acquitting itself well until October, 1863, when on orders it joined General Rosecrans at Chattanooga. Here part, of the regiment was put into guerrilla warfai'e, and the remainder assigned to guard duty along the line of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. In December, 1864, while engaged in guarding this railroad, being stationed in block houses. Companies C, F and G were captured by the enemy. Among the prisoners were two-thirds of the Summit County men in the regiment. Many of these Summit County prisoners, upon being exchanged for Confederates, near the close of the war. were unwilling participants in, and some of them victims, of the famous Sultana disaster. They were confined during their captivity at Andersonville and at Meridian, Mississippi. April 25, 1865, the exchange took place at Vicksburg, and the Summit County men, with some 2,000 others, were packed aboard the river steamer Sultana for tran.sportation to Cincinnati on their way home. Shortly after leaving Jlemphis, past midnight of April 27. as the homewardbound soldiers either .slept upon the decks or lay awake thinking of their loved ones, and anticipating .joyful reunions, one of the Sultana's boilers exploded, wrecking her and seting her afire, so that she burned to the water's edge. Half of her passengers were lost, either killed by the explosion, or drowned when they were hurled into the water. Thirty of the victims were Summit County men, though no .\kronians are known to have lost their lives. The One Hundred and Fifteenth wa« assigned to active and dangerous work at Murfreesboro, where it also performed garrison and .guard duty for a time; it continued in the same kind of duty until mustered out at Cleveland at the close of the war. As provost marshal at Cincinnati, Captain Edward Buckingham, of Company I (an Akron man), was practically in command of the city during the Vallandingham afi'air. Lieutenant George S. Waterman, of Cincinnati, was shot and fatally wounded at Cincinnati by "Copperheads," as one of the incidents of that affair.

John Morgan and Kirby Smith, rebel raiders, caused Ohio much uneasiness in 1862. Cincinnati was threatened; all available troops were stationed near the border, but even then the presence of more defenders seemed advisable. So Governor Tod issued a call for volunteers to defend the borders of the state, his message, dated at Columbus, September 10, 1862, calling for the transportation of "all armed men that can be raised, immediately to Cincinnati," being responded to with commendable promptness by citizens in all walks of life. Akron and the vicinity sent two hundred. Many of them were "fearfully and wonderfully" armed and accoutered, but all had the fighting spirit. Some placed their faith in the old-fashioned rifles, with which they had picked squirrels out of Summit County trees in Summit County guUie.", and the presence of this variety of arms caused the volunteer defenders of Cincinnati to be called "The Squirrel Hunters." When thev arrived at Cincinnati, however, the enemy had retreat-ed and the "Squirrel Hunters" returned to their homes, not having fired a shot. Daniel AV. Storer was captain of the company from Akron and vicinity.

The Second Ohio Cavalry was recruited entirely in the Western Reserve, and three companies were largely made up of Akron men. Then as now, more sentiment attached to the cavalrj'- branch of the service than to either artillery or infantry, and the career of the Second was watched closely from old Summit. The regiment began its existence late in 1861, Colonel Charles Doubleday being in command. Among Akron men prominent in its affairs were George A. Purington, captain of Company A (promoted to be a colonel and afterwards entering the regular army), and Dudley Seward, who rose to be colonel of the Second before the war was over. The regiment joined General Porter in Missouri early in 1862, engaging in skirmish work against the guerrilla Quantrell soon after. It assisted in the capture of Fort Gibson and after about a year of active, wearing work on the border, returned east and was reorganized and reequipped -at Columbus. In 1863 it was in the pursuit and capture of Morgan, the rebel raider. In the same year it joined Rosecrans, engaging in numerous hot fights, seeing the hardest kind of service and gaining death and glory quite impartially. Half the command re-enlisted Januaiy 1, 1864, and fought, first under Burnside, and then with Sheridan, behaving brilliantly throughout, and taking part imder this dashing commander in the la«t raid of the war, which resulted in the capture of Early's army. The Second was mustered out at Camp Chase September 11, 1865. It had marched 27,000 miles and took part in ninety-seven fights of various magnitudes.

In the First Ohio Light Artillery, formed in 1861, were two batteries composed largely of Akron and Summit County men, A, Captain Charles Cotter, of Middlebury, commanding, and D, Captain Andrew J. Konkle, of Cuyahoga Falls. The First immediately got into the fighting, firet with McCook, then with Buell in Kentucky, again M'ith McCook in 1863, doing fine work at Chickamauga, and, after re-enlisting as veterans, taking part in the entire Atlanta campaign. After making a record that was full of fight, it ended its .service in Texas, when the war ended, and was anu.stered out at Cleveland, having tiravcled 6,000 miles and fought the enemy thirty-nine times.

Akron was represented honorably in the Fifty-eighth Regiment, 0. V. I., a German regiment, organized by Colonel A^alentine Bausenwein in 1861, which remained in the service till the close of the war, taking part

The One Hundred and Seventh 0. V. I., also a German regiment, was organized in 1862. It contained Akron men, among them being Captain George Billow, the well-known local undertaker. The local men were in Company I. The One Hundred and Seventh fought under General Franz Sigel, and lost 42 per cent of its men in the Gettysburg campaign. It was mustered out at Charleston, South Carolina, July 10, 1865. Among other fights in which it took part may be mentioned Chancellorsville, Getty,sburg, Hagerstown, Sumterville and Swift Creek.

In the Ninth Ohio Battery the following Akron men played their parts in the war: Robert Cahill, Adam France, Charles Gifford, Martin Heiser, F. A. Patton, Frederick Potter, Caleb Williams, Thomas Williams and C 0. Rockwell.

The Sixty-seventh 0. V. I. was the vehicle that started the late General A. C. Voris on his way toward the military eminence which he attained during the war. He and two other Akron men, C. W. Bucher and C. A. Lantz, were, however, the only local representatives in that famous command. When the war broke out, Hon. A. C. Voris was a representative in Ohio's General Assembly. He enlisted as a private in the Twenty-ninth Regiment, 0. V. I. Soon after he received a second lieutenant's commission and left the Twenty-ninth to help form the Sixty-seventh, being elected lieutenant-colonel when the regiment was organized. In 1862 he became colonel and entered upon a series of events which stamped him as a man of dashing courage, and paved the way to the promotions which he earned so hardly and deserved so richly. He was made a major-general in 1865, after a life of real leadership, plenty of fighting and wounds and great glory. General Voris was one of Akron's most distinguished soldiers in the Civil War.

The One Hundred and Sixty-fourth Regiment, 0. N. G., composed of "100 day men," contained a host of Summit County men. Its service consisted of guarding the capitol at Washington in 1864, and, although it took part in no battles, several of the local men died of disease. The One Hundred and Sixtyfourth was mustered out at Cleveland, August 27, 1864.

Akron was represented by a half-dozen soldiers, including Captain Josiah J. Wright, in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Regiment, 0. V. I., organized August 10, 1863, and mustered out in March, 1864.

Several Summit County men were also in the One Hundred and Ninety-seventh Regiment, 0. V. I., Ohio's last complete regimental contribution to the Civil War.

The service of Ulysses L. I\Ia.r\'in was unique, as he was probably Akron's only officer of colored troops between 1861 and 1865. He enlisted in 1862 as a private in the One Hundred and Fifteenth 0. V. I., was commissioned a lieutenant in the Fifth U. S. Colored Infantry in 1863, took part in the Peninsula campaign, was promoted to captain during the siege of Richmond, was at the final surrender of the Confederate army at Releigh, N. C, was brevetted major at the clo.se of the war and made judge advocate on the staff of General Paine.

Another Akron soldier who won promotion was George T. Perkins. He was a volunteer in 1861, joining the Nineteenth Regiment, 0. V. I., as a second lieutenant. In August, 1862, he enlisted for three years as a major of the One Hundred and Fifth. This regiment has a glorious history. Major Perkins was made a lieutenant-colonel in 1863 and colonel in 1864. He ser\'ed until the end of the war.

Among other regiments besides those which have l)een mentioned, in which Akron's soldiers fought during the Civil War, were the following: Forty -second 0. V. I., Eightyfourth 0. V. I., One Hundred and Twenty- Fifth 0. V. I., One Hundred and Eightyeighth 0. V. I., One Hundred and Seventyseventh 0. V. I., Seventv-sixth 0. V. I., Seventy-fifth 0. V. I., Twenty-fourth O. V. I. Sixteenth 0. V. I., Twenty-fifth 0. V. I., One Hundred and Twenty-fifth O. V. I., and many others.

ThvLs far the reader has followed in brief fashion the fortunes of those who went to the front, those who smelled the powder, faced the bullets, endured the discomforts and the dangers of camp, march and battle. All through the Civil War, however, Akron and Summit County had a full share of heroes and heroines who worked, not on the firing line, but right here at home. The departure of so many men from this city and surrounding territory left hundreds of families to be provided for. And the boys at the front must have comforts and necessities, and money and hospital supplies. Patriotic citizens, unable to enlist themselves, gave fortune after fortune to the cause. In the later days of the war there were the drafts to encourage. And all through the great struggle Akron women praj'ed and worked, and their toil and their unceasing interest gave many a dying soldier a moment of comfort and made many a forced march endurable. The woanen of Akron did their full share toward the preservation of the Union.

After the Civil War there was a natural return to the pursuits of peace. Akron's cemeteries contained numerous green, yet grim, reminders of the thing that had been. There were aching hearts in numberles.s homes, yet time applied its healing lotion, and the deep.^r wounds in human hearts were eventually healed, so far as such wounds may be. For a full generation there was peace. The militia man was the only reminder of war to be met with frequently in the flesh.

Under the militia law passed by the legislature in 1870, interest in citizen soldiery, which had lagged considerably after the war. was revived. In 1875 the "Porter Zouaves" were organized, under command of Henry Porter, a veteran soldier. Shortly aftenvard the organization changed its name to "Bierce

Cadets," in honor of the late General Lucius V. Bierce, who had backed the organization financially. M. W. Santry was the first captain under the reorganization.

In the same year the "Akron City Guards" were organized, many of the members being veterans. D. \V. Thomas was the first captain and the official membership was thirtyseven. A new election was held January 3, 1876, D. W. Thomas being re-elected.

These two organizations saw some strike and riot service within a reasonably short time. Both companies were included in the Ninth Regiment, when organized in 1877, and the first regimental encampment was held in Akron in October, 1877. Captain Thomas of the City Guards was the regiment's first colonel.

In 1878 the Ninth was mei'ged into the Eighth Regiment, and the City Guards, which had become Company A of the Ninth, now became Company B of the Eighth. Company B continues till thLs day. Colonel Thoma* took" command of the regiment by reason of his rank, being succeeded by Colonel A. L. Conger, and then by George R. Gyger, of Alliance, in 1891. The regiment was frequently called upon for strike duty, riot duty and annual encampments, until 1898, when a war cloud again appeared above the horizon and the stirring scenes of 1861 were, in a mca.sure, repeated.

Akron was also represented in the artillery branch of the Ohio militia for manv years. The Sixth Battery, 0. N. G., was formed in 1877. Joseph C. Ewart was the first captain. The organization thrived from the beginning. In 1886 a regiment of Ohio artillery was formed, and the Sixth Battery became Battery F, First Regiment, 0. N. G., retaining that dftsignation until the outbreak of the Spanish-American war. This organization w-as called upon for important services and invariably acquitted itself in soldierly fashion.

Unique in Akron's citizen army was "Company Buchtel," composed of veterans of the German army, who organized in Akron in 1883, with a membership of twenty-five. Its first captain was Paul E. Werner. The company retained its identity for a number of years. It was named after the late John R. Buchtel, who assisted the organization financially at the beginning.

War with Spain was declared April 21, 1898. There Avas little fighting; peace returned after a few months, so far as the Cuban campaign was concerned, yet it was a deadly campaign. When President McKinley called for volunteers, Akron boys responded as promptly and as patriotically as many of their fathers had done in 1861. The two local military organizations, Company B of the Eighth Infantry, 0. N. G., Captain H. 0. Feecferle, commanding, and Battery F, First Regiment Light Artillery, 0. N. G., volunteered as one man. The infantrymen were accepted. The artillerymen were not taken on the first call. There was a special reason for the acceptance of the one organization over the other. The home of President McKinley was in Canton, and that city was represented by three companies, F, L and I, in the Eighth Regiment. It was a matter of considerable gratification to the President that the boys from his home and regiment of which they were members (including Akron and Company B) should be among the first to respond to his call for troops. He demonstrated his appreciation of that promptness by accepting the proff'ered .seiTices immediately. Moreover, the Eighth was at that time considered one of the most compact and best drilled bodies of citizen troops in Ohio.

The regiment, consisting of twelve companies, was mobilized at Akron, April 26, 1898, and then embarked for Columbus, where it was drilled thoroughly and on May 18th was mustered into the vohniteer service of the ITnited States as Company B. Eighth O. V. I. Colonel C. V. Hard, of Wooster, was in command of the regiment, LieutenantrColonel Cluarles Dick, of Akron, since commander-inchief of the Ohio guard, being second to Colonel Hard under that organization. Company

B was a part of the Third Battalion, commanded by Major C. C. Weybrecht, of Al- Hance. On May 16th the Eighth proceeded to Camp Alger, near Falls Church, Virginia, and was assigned to the Second Brigade, First Division, Second Army Corps, under Brigadier-General George A. Garretson, of Cleveland. Here, under the sun of Virginia, the regiment was prepared for service in the tropics, attracting much attention from visitors from Washington by reason of its designation as "The President's Own," and the fact that two nephews of President McKinley were enlisted in Canton companies.

On July 4 the Eighth was ordered to Cuba to re-enforce General Shafter before Santiago. A quick run was made from Camp Alger to New York and on the evening of July 6 the regiment, on board of the auxiliary cruiser St. Paul (Capt. Sigsbee), steamed out of New York harbor, bound for Cuba. Five days later they arrived off Santiago, and were landed in small boats at Siboney. One battalion was landed that night and the remainder the next day. One hundred rounds of ammunition and three days' rations were issued, and the march inland began.

On July 13 the Third Battalion, including Company B, was detached from the remainder of the regiment for special guard duty and did not rejoin the main body until the time came for departure for tlie United States. The surrender of Santiago came almost simultaneou.sly with this detail, and the long wait and the battle with sickness began, ending in the embarkation of the regiment at Santiago, Augvist 18. The Eighth was taken to Montauk Point. Long Island, whence, after a rest, the health of the men being extremely bad, the various companies returned home September 6. After sixty days' furlough, the Eighth was mustered out at Wooster, Ohio, November 10. The regiment lost seventy-two men by death between the muster in and the mu.ster out, yet did not fire a single shot. Company B's death roll during that time numbered eight.

was .reorganized as a militia company, and continues as such today. Its present officers are: Captain, William E. Walkup; fir.st lieutenant, Royal A. W^alkup; second lieutenant, Austin B. Hanscom. The Eighth Regiment Band, composed mostly of Akron musicians, accompanied the Eighth Regiment on the expedition to Cuba.

Though Battery F's offer of its services came just too late to be available under President McKinley's first call for volunteers, that organization was later mustered into the service of the United States and did its pan faithfully and well in the War with Spain.

The Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was formed of the militia organization remaining after Ohio's quota of the first call troops had been filled. It contained naval militia, light artillerj', engineers and infantry, all organized as infantry for the purposes of the campaign. The regiment was formed in response to President McKinley's second call for volunteers, Battery F repeating its offer and cheerfully giving up its heavy guns and shouldering Springfield rifles in compliance with the conditions governing acceptance. The organization retained its letter, becoming Company F. Mobilization was at Camp Bushnell, Columbus, June 25th, the company being mustered into the United States service July 7th, with the following officers: Captain, Herman Werner; firsst lieutenant, John M. Straub; second lieutenant, J. P. Caldwell (afterwards transferred to signal service) ; second lieutenant, Ora F. Wise. Uniforms were issued to the regiment on July 13th. On AugiLst 18th the regiment was ordered to Camp Meade, Middletown, Pennsylvania, where it became a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Second Army Corps, under command of General Graham. Here the Tenth remained until November 12th, when it was ordered to Augusta, Georgia. At this place "Camp Young" had been established, this name being afterward changed to "Camp MacKenzie." The Tenth remained at Camp MacKenzie until March 23rd, when it was mustered out.