Hanover Township (part 25 of 29)

On the 13th of October it carried the advance of Garrard's division in the fight near Rome, Georgia, resulting in the complete discomfiture of General Armstrong's division of rebel cavalry. The regiment, with others, was then sent to Louisville, Kentucky, to be entirely refitted for the field, arriving there on the 17th of November. On the 22d of March the cavalry, which had been at Chickasaw Landing, on the south side of the Tennessee, moved out, and on the 26th Company A, - of the First, struck a body of rebels at. Jasper, and - routed them. On the 27th they forded the Black Warrior River; 29th burned a large iron furnace, and drove Patterson's cavalry across the Catawba River; 31st, about noon, the pickets were attacked at Montevallo, but were r charged and routed by the Fifth Iowa. They proved to be a part of Lyon's brigade of Forrest's cavalry, which were here found in strong position defending the road and ford. Lyon was dislodged, and again put upon the retreat. 3

On the morning of the 1st of April the regiment again took the advance, and Forrest's pickets were driven out of Randolph, and considerable skirmishing continued all day, until at last the head of the column struck Forrest's command in position near Ebenezer Church. The First Ohio was on the right, and the enemy's battery, of three guns, was on a wooded hill by the church, directly in front. After a severe struggle all along the line the First took the battery of artillery, and Forrest's farfamed horsemen were routed in twenty minutes from the - main attack. Here fell the gallant Frank P. Allen, the quartermaster's sergeant of the regiment. On the 2d of April Selma was taken; the 9th the command began crossing the Alabama; 12th and 13th it rested in Montgomery; 14th, took up its march towards Columbus, Georgia; 15th, Buford's division was driven ahead of us, and on the 16th the advance met the enemy near Crawford, Georgia, and charged them fine miles across the Ogeechee River. About a mile and a half from Columbus the first battalion of the First Ohio encountered the enemy, drew sabers, and charged down the hill into the town of Girard, under the fire of twenty-five guns that had been worked until then. The regiment was also engaged in the night attack upon Columbus, the capture of the works, and the saving of the two bridges which opened up Columbus, its arsenals and factories, and gave, as the result of one of the most desperate night assaults ever made, twelve hundred prisoners and ninety-six cannon. On the 22d Macon was entered, when the troops heard of the surrender of Lee. The regiment then garrisoned Georgia and South Carolina until the 13th of September, when it was mustered out, paid off, and discharged at Columbus, Ohio, on the 28th day of September, 1865.

Colonel Minor Millikin, whose death we have noticed above, was the son of John M. Millikin and Mary G. Hough. He was born on the 9th of July, 1834. An account of his early training is given on a preceding page. We can not describe his character better than in the following words of Professor David Swing, the great preacher of Chicago, who was intimately acquainted with him :"

"The battle of Murfreesboro has brought to this region some realization of the sadness of war. The desolation of which we have read so much, we are at last compelled to see face to face. The tears of the widow fall before our own eye, and the home once so happy becomes the asylum of almost broken hearts.

"The dispatch which announced the death of Colonel Millikin announced the fall of a gifted man, a brave soldier, an ardent patriot. The soul of Minor was of the intense schoo]. What he was, he was thoroughly; whom he loved, he loved deeply; whom he disliked, he disliked cordially; and this intensity of feeling led him early to grasp his sword in defense of the government despised. The character of Colonel Millikin can not be pictured at a stroke. His mind was many sided. To the taste for literature he added a love of the practical in ordinary life. He was philosophic and romantic, ready to lecture upon reform or to weave together such thoughts as might win for one the title of a poet. He loved that progress which comes by a better education, and he loved also that progress of ideas which comes through the sword. He was ready to teach kindly a little child or to meet his foe with terrible force upon the battle-field. Talented, original, independent, brave, he was also affectionate and religious. He had some faults, but far more virtues, and the deformity of the former fades from our sight while we look upon the beauty of the latter, just as the spots upon the sun are not remembered while we stand in the fields of June. But his heart, so strong and yet so kind, so patriotic, so chivalrous and mindful of duty, has grown quiet. Amid the clash of swords and the awful din of the battle-field of Murfreesboro, Minor Millikin fell, and for his country yielded up his young life."

''T know nothing of his parentage, but if the blood of the Puritans did not run in his veins (which I think probable) their spirit at least animated his soul. That sterling love of truth and justice, that nice regard for right in business transactions, that prompt and thorough doing of what ought to be done, that constant outlooking for the path of duty (which clearly seen, men's opinions to the contrary, were as chaff before the wind), that ever present recognition of God's law and special providence, that unswerving obedience to the almighty ought, so that if he saw he ought to do, to speak or not to speak, that ought was his Shekinah, and finally, that plain steady piety, which made his tent a 'house of prayer,' are manifest characteristics of the man I mourn.

'Quick to perceive and relieve sorrow; free, but humble in the social circle; liberal, but exact in business; economical in his living; strictly temperate in his appetites and habits; free from vulgarity; affable and polite; these were qualities that made him an agreeable associate, while the others would make him a strict disciplinarian, a rigid commander, a fearless warrior, and, if the path of duty led to a dozen batteries, to them would he go without a quiver of hesitation. The scarcity of such men in our army makes his loss doubly severe." first campaign of Western Virginia he saw severe service, and acquired a reputation for bravery and fidelity. At the expiration of this term an unsolicited appointment as major of the First Cavalry was conferred upon him. Scarcely had the regiment been set to active service before he was promoted to the coloneley, just then vacated. The title to this position, which was not reached without opposition, he had since made good - fairly and fully winning it by diligence, zeal, and the exhibition of more than ordinary capacity. The great esteem in which he was held by his superior officers is acknowledged by all who know their opinions, and these opinions were not concealed. More than once was. it intimated that yet higher promotion would soon be conferred. The high place which he held in the affections of the officers and men of his regiment was the result of the uniform courtesy and real kindness which accompanied the most rigid discipline, combined with a consistent and high toned morality; and both commended to the true soldier by daring and skill. In all the expeditions of greater or less importance with which he was intrusted, the men of the First Ohio Cavalry followed their colonel with confidence, and were rewarded by success. But all the previous instances of this were eclipsed by the history of the 31st of December. At 'early morning the regiment was called to arms. Its position was on the advance of _ our right wing, under General McCook. While the second major had just given the command to fall in, the regiment lost his valuable services, and he was deprived of life by the explosion of the first shell fired by the enemy. Left thus, without the assistance of a single field officer, Colonel Millikin led his regiment through the enemy, by whom they were quickly surrounded. During the whole day he maneuvered the regiment with the greatest coolness, gallantry, and skill, and beyond this there was, on that day, a peculiar tenderness in his care for the regiment, and a peculiar gentleness in the tone of his orders, which more than once brought tears to the eyes of his brave men. Their battle-field was but two miles and a half in width, and was fought over from four o'clock A. M. to three P. M. Forced back by superior numbers, every inch was stubbornly contested. Three separate and successful charges were led by the colonel in person. Alas! the third was only too succéssful. The regiment formed the center of the charging column, and pierced the center of the enemy, but the right and left supporting regiments failing to drive the foe, the gallant First was speedily flanked. It was at this point, while occupying an exposed position, that a squad of the enemy made a bold dash, distinctly to capture him. They reached and surrounded him. The demand for his surrender was made, but though one of his own men cried out, 'O, colonel, do give up; they 'll kill you,' it was answered only by the heavy swinging of the colonel's saber. With a cut to the rear, one assailant was cloven down, and with a stroke to the front another; but just as valor seemed ready to be crowned by success the fatal shot was fired. The ball, supposed to be from a carbine, entered the neck and severed the jugular vein. Unconsciousness must have immediately ensued. The body was recovered within thirty minutes, stripped of oyvercoat, saber, and valuables while in the throes of death, and life ended with one gasp as it was committed to the ambulance. Thus was death braved and met by as lofty courage as ever inspired a soldier, whether the records of this war or others be searched.

'Colonel Millikin had entered the army from principle at the first, and at the same high behest he continued in it to the end. His cup of earthly happiness was filled by a circle of warmer friends than most men know, by ample means, by literary plans and pursuits, and by an affectionate family. The persuasion of being in the ~ line of duty was his constant solace, and he sought to make it such to those whom he loved as his own life. In his private character the same qualities which made Colonel Millikin liked as a good officer were even more conspicuous. Here there was firmness, but no rudeness; there was lofty purpose unaccompanied by petty ambition; there was the tendency to the exaction of all duties from others characteristic of a strong mind, but it never became tyranny. Indeed, it was not the least remarkable of his traits that he combined the most gentle and delicate feelings with the greatest strength of character. A more thoroughly honest man than Colonel Millikin did not breathe. He hated dishonesty of every kind and of every shade with a perfect hatred.

"It was within the circle of warm friendship that his peculiar power and influence were felt. He universally secured respect, even from opponents. It is thus that one writes who was once a chaplain to the regiment: 'Brave, strong, noble, full of life and hope and love, happy himself, and making others happy, filling so nobly and well his part in the world, who that knew Minor Millikin, though only to respect him while living, will not mourn that he is dead? For us who knew him better and loved him there will be more than transient regret.'

'Colonel Millikin's mental powers were rapidly maturing into a gratifying fulfillment of earlier promise. None were able. more fully to transfuse the soul into whatever was to be written. The productions of his pen were children of his heart always, and bore witness to their parentage. Lectures or letters, addresses or editorials, every thing was terse, vigorous, and strong, yet smooth.

'Colonel Millikin possessed that true courage which distinctly apprehends danger, but in the strength of high principle defies it. This appeared every way, but in none more clearly than in the habitual preparation for death which he sought to maintain. In camp, near Nashville, on the 9th of December, he thus prefaced his will: 'Death is always the condition of living, but, to the soldier, its imminency and certainty seems also the condition of his usefulness and glory. It has been my habit to keep a will, but as my last is uselessly long, and, as to my human gaze, life seems less than likely to stay long with me, I write now another.'

«The remains were brought home. It was his high wish, expressed in his will, that he should be buried without pomp; that a slab of native stone, plainly engraved, might mark his resting place; that over it wild vines might grow unrestrained; 'and then,' it was added, 'let it be forgotten that I am there.'"

The first entire regiment that went out from Butler County and vicinity was the Thirty-fifth. Nearly all of its members came from this county; it suffered more severely than any other, and many of its men are now residents of this vicinity. On the field of Chickamauga the dead of Butler County lie thickly. Companies A and F were recruited in Warren County, H in Montgomery, E, and part of G, in Preble, and the others in Butler County. :

It was organized at Hamilton during the months of August and September, 1861, although some of the companies had been begun earlier. On the 26tlt of September the regiment broke camp at Hamilton and moved to Covington, Kentucky, and, on the same night, under orders from General O. M. Mitchel, took a train on the Kentucky Central Railroad, and placing parties at all the bridges along the road through Harrison and Bourbon Counties made the headquarters of the regiment at Cynthiana. It was at this time apprehended that the rebels would burn these bridges before troops could reach them ; but by seizing the telegraph offices at every point on the way the movement was a complete surprise, and entirely unsuspected until guards had possession of every bridge.

Afterwards the regiment was removed to Paris, where it remained until the first days of November, when it marched to Somerset, and reported to Brigadier-general Schoepff.

At the battle of Mill Springs they were not actively engaged, having been ordered by General Thomas to remain at Somerset. Here they were brigaded with the Eighteenth Regulars, Ninth Ohio, and Second Minnesota, under the command of Brigadier-general Robert L. Mc- Cook, remaining with the last two regiments during their entire term of service. This was one of the brigades long composing General George H. Thomas's division. After the battle of Mill Springs the regiment marched to Louisville, and thence took steamer to Nashville. Soon after, Buell having organized the Army of the Ohio, they marched to Pittsburg Landing. Thomas's division, being the rear guard, did not get up in time for the fight at Pittsburg Landing.

The Thirty-fifth participated in some of the skirmishes during the siege of Corinth, and was among the first to enter the works at that place. Afterwards they marched to Tuscumbia, Alabama, and about the last of July,

Shortly after began that memorable race between Buell and Bragg, the goal being Louisville. From Nashville northward the regiment made about twenty-eight miles per day. In the movement on Bragg, the fight at Perryville, and the pursuit to Crab Orchard, they have an honorable part. After Buell had been superseded by Rosecrans the division, then commanded by General Speed 8. Fry, marched to Bowling Green, and thence to a camp near Gallatin, Tennessee. In February, 1865, Colonel Van Derveer was assigned to the command of the brigade, and Lieutenant-colonel Long assumed command of the regiment. All through the campaign, which began at Murfreesboro and ended at Chattanooga, the Thirty-fifth was in the front of the marching and fighting. In July of that year Lieutenant-colonel Long resigned, and Major Boynton was promoted to the vacancy, Captain Budd receiving the majority. From this time until it left the service the regiment was under Colonel Boynton's command when he was able to do duty, but for much of the time was under the command of Major Budd and Captain L'Hommedieu.

Captain John S. Earhart died at the headquarters of General Brannan, at Winchester, Tennessee, August 10th, at eleven o'clock. His remains reached Hamilton Friday morning the 14th, and were buried from the Presbyterian Church at four o'clock P. M. of that day, with military escorts and honors.

On the first day of the fight at Chickamauga, says Reid in his ''Ohio in the War," the Thirty-fifth and the other regiments composing Colonel Van Derveer's brigade were stationed on the extreme left of our line, where they engaged, and, after several hours of a fair, stand-up fight, repulsed and beat back three several attacks of Hood's division of Longstreet's corps, the pick of the rebel army. On the next day, September 20th, they were again brought early into action, and with the rest of the brigade made a charge upon Breckinridge's division, which at that time had passed entirely around the left of our fortified line. The conflict, like that of the previous day, was severe and desperate in the open field, and without any protection. Here was presented the uncommon spectacle of two armies charging each other at the same instant. That of the enemy was disorderly, and with but little attention to discipline, while our men moved as if on drill, and under complete control. The brigade had been moving through the woods in two lines,

| the first composed of the Second Minnesota and Eightyseventh Indiana, the second of the Thirty-fifth and Ninth Ohio. Suddenly, emerging from an open field, they found themselves exposed to a murderous fire from artillery and musketry, under which they changed front, and, in pursuance of orders, laid flat on the ground. The enemy were then about one hundred and fifty yards dis- tant, and charging on a run. When the distance was decreased to seventy-five yards, the first line rose and delivered their fire. Immediately the order was given: "Thirty-fifth and Ninth, pass lines to the front! Brigade, charge!" The order was executed promptly, and the rebel line hurled back for almost half a mile at a double-quick, finally making a stand in the woods, where they were effectually protected by their reserves. For more than an hour an obstinate contest was kept up, most effectually ending the attempt to flank the federal line upon the left. When the order was given to return to the position occupied by the brigade previous to the charge it was done in order, by passing lines to the rear, each regiment delivering its fire as it retired.

At half-past two on that day the brigade was reported for duty to General Thomas, who was then holding a ridge to the rear and right of the line of the morning. Here the Thirty-fifth was placed in the front line, where it built a slight work of wood. and stone, less than a foot in height. Behind this it remained until the last enemy had retired, repelling repeated charges of the most formidable and desperate character. Line after line of fresh troops of rebels were sent to the attack, always meeting the same reception, always beaten and crushed. Late in the day anxious inquiry was made for ammunition, but the wagons had been ordered to Chattanooga. Then men and officers could be seen searching the cartridge-boxes of the dead and wounded, and finally, when the brigade commander ordered them to hold their places with the bayonet, these heroes laughed, and promised to stay there.

When night came the Thirty-fifth was formed on and facing the left of the line, and when it was too dark to recognize friend from foe a force of the enemy appeared before them. Those who had ammunition fired, and the enemy precipitately retreated. Those were the last shots fired on the battle-field of Chickamauga by either side. Not a single musket was heard afterwards; and the whole army having marched on the road towards Rossville, Van Derveer's brigade, the last to leave the field, under orders from General Thomas, followed.

In the two days' fight at Chickamauga the Thirtyfifth Ohio lost just fifty per cent of those engaged. Colonel Boynton was conspicuous during the whole fight for his gallantry and the skill with which he managed his men, and the regiment was highly commended in the reports of that action.

Lucius B. Potter sent home a letter descriptive of the battle, in which he says the brigade, after marching all night on the 18th, and going without breakfast the next morning, was engaged over six hours on the 19th, and then bivouacked on the battle-field without blankets or fires, although a white frost covered the ground. On the 20th they were engaged from ten A. M. until seven P. M. In no case did the Third Brigade, or any part of it, re- within an hour and a half. On the 20th the brigade charged and drove back a greatly superior number for a third of a mile at the point of the bayonet. Even when the ammunition gave out the old Third stood its ground, and maintained its position until relieved and ordered back. The musketry was terrific, and was pronounced more severe than in any other engagement during this war. Men who were at Stone River said that battle was a skirmish by the side of this. The loss of the regiment was as follows: Killed, 21; wounded, 146; missing, 27; total, 194. Most of the missing were known to be captured. Both of the surgeons were in the hands of the enemy, having remained to care for the wounded. The regiment took into the fight 394 officers and men. Of this number 194 were lost. From this it can be judged whether the regiment fought or not. The loss of the brigade was 843, and of the division 2,353.

During the two days' fighting they were never driven back, never gave an inch until ordered, and repeatedly repulsed and drove back four times their number. The Ninth Ohio retook a battery which had been captured from the regular brigade. The brigade captured a good many rebels, the exact number not being ascertained. Colonel Boynton in his report said: 'To have belonged to the Third Brigade will be the crowning glory of your old age." And not a soldier's heart but swells with pride at the thought of the deeds done by Colonel Van Derveer's command during those two bloody days. Colonel Van Derveer, said Mr. Potter, would undoubtedly get his "'star." No braver or cooler man was ever seen in action. The manner in which he handled his brigade won the admiration of his superior officers.

Colonel Boynton did nobly, and had doubly endeared himself to his men. Not an officer in the regiment flinched. Mr. Potter's horse was killed in the first fight, being shot through the belly with a minie, and a bullet grazed Potter's hat band.

'"'On-Saturday, September 19th, soon after the commencement of the battle of Chickamauga, I was ordered by the medical director of my division to the division hospital. It was on Cloud's farm, and at that time nearly two miles north of the left wing of our army. Early on Sabbath morning, in consequence of repeated flank movements on our left by the rebels, our hospital became exposed to a fire of shell and solid shot. The most of these deadly missiles passed over us, but some fell in our midst.

About eleven o'clock a line of rebel skirmishers were seen to emerge from a wood about four hundred yards distant, followed by a large force of Forrest's cavalry. All the ambulances we had were loaded with wounded and sent to Chattanooga, and many of the slightly wounded were sent on foot. The enemy continued to advance until they ascertained it was a hospital, when a squad of them rode up, and for the first time we were in the hands of the rebels.

''Soon afterward Granger's forces approaching from toward Chattanooga, the rebels fell back, and we saw no more of them until the following morning, when they took us into custody, and from that time on we were prisoners. Generals Forrest, Cheatham, and Armstrong honored us with their presence. General Forrest told us to go ahead and attend to our wounded, and we should not be molested. He also told us that our wounded yet on the field should be. removed to the hospitals and receive precisely the same treatment that their wounded received ; also that parties had been detailed to bury the dead on both sides. In a conversation I had with Dr. Fluellan, medical director of Bragg's army, the following day at Cheatham's division hospital, he made the same promises. These promises may have been in good faith, but from observation I know - and every other medical officer who fell into their hands knows - they were not realized.

I was over a portion of the battlefield three days after the battle, and the rebel dead were buried and ours unburied, and nearly all of them were stripped of their pants and shoes. Their appearance was most revolting, having been exposed three days to a September sun; they were so swollen and changed in appearance that recognition was impossible. I found also at least three hundred of our wounded, all suffering from the gnawings of hunger. Every last wounded rebel had been removed. Some of our men were in cabins, some had been gathered in groups and laid on the ground, and some were still in the fields and woods, where they were wounded, in the immediate vicinity of the dead bodies of their comrades. To the credit of the rebels, they did furnish them some rations the following day. Some of these poor fellows remained in this condition for eight days.

"The question might be asked, Why did we not have them removed to our hospital? We had no ambulance, no wagon, no vehicle of any kind, and the rebels refused to furnish us any; in addition, we had a contract already at one hospital of such magnitude that our energies were taxed to their utmost. Our provisions ran out at our hospital two days after our capture, and then starvation stared us in the face. Finally, after two days' entreaties, we were furnished with fresh beef, hard bread, bacon, and corn meal. The bacon and hard bread were good in quality, but very deficient in quantity. The beef was of Pharaoh's lean kine, but we were glad to get it. Some of the corn meal was musty and scarcely fit for the swill barrel.

''Monday, September 28th, General Rosecrans sent us rations, and from that time, as long as we remained at Chickamauga, Uncle Sam was our commissary, and we fared sumptuously.

''Friday, October 2d, our wounded having been paroled and sent through the lines, we were taken, eighty in number, seven of whom were surgeons and the remainder enlisted men, to Chickamauga Station, seven miles distant, where we took the cars for Atlanta. We reached Atlanta the following evening, and were lodged in the prisoners' barracks. These barracks consist of about two acres of ground, inclosed by a board fence twelve feet high. The few blankets the privates and non-commissioned officers had were taken from them on entering that filthy hole, and those poor fellows, while they remained there, were without blankets or overcoats, and spent the cold frosty nights with the earth for a bed and the sky for a blanket.

'"There were two board shanties in these barracks, in which were about forty of our wounded, all of whom were lying on the 'floor with but a single blanket, and all of them suffered terribly from cold during the night. Dr. Ashman, one of our surgeons, repeatedly asked the surgeon in charge for straw, and in response received some glorious promises, but the straw never came. Major Morely, of Tennessee, was in those barracks, and had a fifty pound ball and chain for his bed-fellow. He was at the time, dangerously ill with typhoid fever, and finally died. Surgeon Young, of the Seventy-ninth Illinois, who remained several weeks at Atlanta with our wounded, told me that the major had to wear the ball and chain until within twenty-four hours of his death. Two days after our arrival at Atlanta forty surgeons, captured at Chickamauga, and several hundred other prisoners arrived.

'October 6th, all the surgeons but those who remained with our wounded and enlisted men, numbering in all three hundred, were put aboard the cars for Richmond. We passed through Augusta, Georgia; Hamburg, Branchville, and Columbia, South Carolina; and Salisbury, Raleigh, and Weldon, North Carolina, and reached Richmond, Sabbath, October 11th, and all the surgeons were lodged in Libby Prison.

'"'Libby is a substantial brick building, one hundred and fifty feet long, and one hundred and ten feet wide, and three stories high besides the basement. The upper two stories are each divided into three rooms, and in these six rooms, before our release, were over one thou-

Libby & Son

'Each room has a sink, immediately contiguous to it, and the stench coming therefrom is almost unendurable. The windows were all unglazed when we arrived, and at times we suffered terribly from cold. The most of them were still open when we left, and as the mercury may fall to zero any day in Richmond during the Winter, no one knows what tortures the inmates of Libby may have to endure the coming Winter. Three days before our as to furnish two stoves for each room, but strange to say, we suffered with cold just as we did without them, for the simple reason that we were not furnished with a single stick of wood, and such will probably be the case through the Winter, as they sometimes refused to furnish us a single stick of wood to cook with for nearly a whole day at a time.

"At one time some of our soldiers, who had been wounded at Chickamauga, were quartered in one of the lower rooms of Libby, immediately under one of the rooms occupied by us. Through a small opening in the floor they told us they had been without food for twentyfour hours, and implored us for something to eat. We had little to spare, but what we had we divided with them. Captain Turner, officer in charge of the prison, them severely, and ordered that the men should go forty-eight hours longer without food for the crime of talking to the officers. Whether this order was enforced or not we never could learn, as the boys were removed to other quarters. Some of our soldiers came to one of the lower rooms of Libby daily after rations. Some men were barefooted, some bareheaded, and I once noticed one poor fellow barefooted, bareheaded, and without a shirt. We never were allowed to ask them any questions in reference to their treatment, but the mere appearance of their faces told us starvation and exposure were closing the work of death. November 20th, I saw twenty of our boys at work on the street, cleaning one of the gutters, and nine of them were barefooted.

"*T will here mention an act of brutality that oceurred at Augusta, Georgia. When we reached Augusta we had with us a wounded man, who had become go ill that his surgeon, Dr. McGavyrin, of the Twenty-sixth Ohio, proposed to Lieutenant Bass, officer in charge of us, to leave him in the hospital. Lieutenant Bass presented the case to Captain Rains, commandant of the post. The captain refused to receive him into the hospital, but told Lieutenant Bass to knock him in the head.

and relate some of the horrors of Belle Island, the terrible mortality among our men at Richmond, the manner in which we were tortured by the lice in Libby, also the - quality and quantity of our rations. But this is unnecessary, as those facts are all embraced in a report, adopted unanimously, and published by the-surgeons released from Libby Prison. 'Sparta knew the names of the men lost in her cause at the pass of Thermopyle,' but America will never know how many of her noble sons perished in the dens of Richmond.

'"The manner in which most of us were swindled out of our money at Richmond makes theft and highway robbery honorable. There is no state-prison in North America that can belch forth a more infamous pack of liars and thieves than the officers in charge of Libby Prison. When we entered the prison we were told by Captain Turner that we must hand over our greenbacks and gold and silver, if we had any, and should we need money while in prison we should have Confederate money at the rate of seven dollars for one, and when released or exchanged our money should be refunded in kind; and if we refused to hand it over, we would be searched, and if money was found it would be-confiscated. This proposition was so fair that about nine-tenths of us deposited our cash in the Libby Bank. When we left, November 24th, they commenced paying us off in Confederate money. A few who had small sums deposited received greenbacks, but a large majority had either to take Confederate money or nothing.

''Of the cleared land we saw traveling from Chickamauga to Richmond, a diStance of nine hundred miles, I do not think more than one acre in twenty was tilled this year. What little was tilled was in corn, except a few cotton fields. I do not think the corn would have yielded over five bushels to the acre."

During the Fall of 1863 the Thirty-fifth lay with the rest of the army at Chattanooga, and frequently engaged in skirmishes before that place. They were on the front line at Mission Ridge, and were among the first to reach the enemy's works on the crest, from which they drove the rebel force and captured three pieces of artillery. Early in the fight Colonel Boynton was severely wounded while leading his men up the height, when the command devolved upon Major Budd. Next morning the enemy was pursued to Ringgold, Georgia.

The Thirty-fifth took an active part in the storming of Mission Ridge, capturing three twelve pounders and two flags. Lieutenant-colonel Boynton received a flesh wound in the thigh, which disabled him for several weeks.

'Well, here we are, snug in camp again, after a flying trip to Ringgold, Georgia, and back, which we completed on the evening of the 29th of November, and to tell the truth, after writing on the 25th of .November, about four o'clock P. M., I thought it was somewhat doubtful whether I would ever get back to camp or not.

"Colonel Van Derveer was ordered to take his brigade and move to the left, which he did immediately, and, after some maneuvering, we were thrown into line, and marched toward Missionary Ridge. After gaining good ground, within five or six hundred yards of their first line of works, at the extreme foot of the Ridge, we were halted, and laid down, not thinking for a moment that they would attempt to charge the Ridge. The brigade now was in two lines, with the Second Minnesota as skirmishers. The signal to advance, which was six guns, was soon heard, the sound of which had not died away before I saw the Second Minnesota take the first line of the enemy's works, and the graybacks flying toward the top of the Ridge. By this time we had advanced into an open field, where the rebels began to try their batteries upon us. We were ordered forward on the doublequick, and I thought the rebels were loading and firing double-quick the way the shells flew around and among 'us. I saw one burst in the very midst of Company E, and saw several men stagger, but strange as it is, not a man was hurt from it, and I believe all reached the first line in safety. After resting, for we were all out of breath, we were again ordered forward under a most desperate fire. Shot, shell, grape, canister, old musket barrels, ram-rods, and everything else flew around thickly. Lieutenant-colonel H. V. N. Boynton, commanding the Thirty-fifth, was wounded shortly after leaving the first line of works, but I am happy to say not mortally. He thinks he will soon be able to lead us again. As soon as we gained the top the rebels fell back on our left, where they concentrated, and a desperate fight was the result. But darkness coming on enabled them to escape next morning.

"After burying the dead and taking care of the wounded, we started in pursuit, and came up: to the enemy just in time to see them driven from Ringgold, Georgia, and out of Taylor's Gap. Here the Seventh Ohio lost heavily; all their officers but one were killed or wounded as they attempted to charge Taylor's Ridge. This was on the 27th. On the 29th we marched back to camp, and now all appears quiet. The loss of the Thirty-fifth was five killed and twenty-eight wounded."

At the storming of Missionary Ridge, near Chattanooga, November 25th, Sergeant William C. Stokes, of Company C, son of James M. Stokes, was killed. He was in his twenty-first year. At the same place and time, Simon Kumler, private in Company ©, son of Jacob Kumler, was killed. He was in his twenty-second year. The former was shot through the head and lived but three hours, the latter shot through the abdomen and living twenty-four hours. They were young men

In February, 1864, the regiment was engaged in the first battles at Buzzard's Roost, near Dalton, after which they were stationed at Ringgold until the beginning of the Atlanta campaign. They were with Sherman from the initiation of this movement until the expiration of their term of service, which occurred while lying before Atlanta. They were engaged at Dalton, Resaca, Pine Mountain, Kenesaw, Peachtree Creek, and several other of the fights of that bloody contest.

Lieutenant-colonels - Charles L'H. Long, resigned July 13, 1863, on account of disability. Henry V. N. Boynton, July 13, 1863; wounded at Mission Ridge, November 25th; resigned September 8, 1864.

Adjutants. - George B. Wright, resigned September 18, 1863, on account of disability. John Van Derveer, promoted to captain of Company C, March 19, 1864. James H. Bone, September 24, 1863; promoted to captain Company D, March 17, 1864. James E. Harris, April 10, 1864.

Sergeant-majors. - Benjamin Clark, reduced to the ranks May 1, 1862, for continued absence. John Adams, May 1, 1862; promoted to second lieutenant October 4, 1862; wounded at Chickamauga. Lucius B. Potter, October 14, 1862. |

Commissary Sergeants. - George W. Leitch, discharged for disability June 30, 1862. Joseph S. Claypoole, promoted from sergeant Company C, July 1, 1862; second lieutenant September, 1862. Lorenzo Brown, October 1, 1862.

Captains - Joseph L. Budd, promoted to major July 9, 1863. Lewis F. Daugherty, promoted from first lieutenant August 9, 1863; killed in action at Peachtree Creek, Georgia, July 20, 1864,

First Lieutenants. - James H. Bone, promoted from second lieutenant August 9, 1863; promoted to captain March 30, 1864, and assigned to Company D. James Sabin, promoted

First Sergeants - Selby Wiley, promoted from ranks September 21, 1863; died from wounds received in action at Pine Pasi Georgia, June 16, 1864. George W. Keever, killed at battle of Chickamauga, September 20, 1863.

Sergeants - Thomas Starry, promoted from corporal September 3, 1863. Albert S. Mercer, promoted from the ranks July 1, 1862. Samuel A. Spurgeon. Archelus D. Strickler, from corporal, August 20, 1862. John Linber, discharged August 9, 1862, for disability. Oliver H. Parshall, promoted to captain, and transferred to Company F, September, 1861. Perry Gregg, promoted to first lieutenant, and transferred to the Mississippi marine service.

1, 1862. John Adams, promoted to sergeant-major. Lemuel B. Stump, assigned to Company K. Company B. Capiains - Thomas Stone, resigned June 6, 1862. Ransford Smith, from first lieutenant June 6, 1862; resigned February 28, 1863. Jonathan Henninger, first lieutenant February 24, 1863; captain, May 12, 1863.

_ First Lieuvtenant. - Samuel L. Houser, corporal, October 16, 1861; sergeant, October 16, 1862; second lieutenant, February 24, 1863; first lieutenant, May 12, 1863.

Second Lieutenants - William H. Eacott, resigned January 30, 1863; Robert B. Davidson, promoted from corporal to sergeant October 2, 1861; first sergeant, February 24, 1863; second lieutenant, May 12, 1863; first lieutenant, Company I, April 1, 1864.

Sergeants. - George W. Kimble, from corporal, February 24, 1863. George W. Leitch, commissary sergeant, August 20, 1861. Robert C. Nicholas, assigned to Company K; promoted to lieutenant September 2, 1861. Robert J. iy ingston, corporal, October 2, 1861; promoted February 24, 1863; assigned to Company K. James D. Ratcliff, corporal, November 12, 1861; sergeant, March 12, 1863; assigned to Company K.

Corporals. - John West, January 20, 1862. David W. Brady, reduced to ranks from sergeant; made corporal February 28, 1863; wounded at Chickamauga. Enos Wilson, September 24, 1862; wounded at Chickamauga. George Baur, May 12, 1863. Jacob W. Houser, July 16, 1863. William G. Mass, February 28, 1864. Solomon W. Smith, died in hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, November 14, 1863. Abraham S. Bell, discharged for disability September 16, 1861. James W. Coppage, discharged for disability April 5, 1863, at Nashville, Tennessee. George N. Lewis, transferred to invalid corps March 15, 1864; wounded' at Chickamauga. Alonzo Runyan, transferred to invalid corps April 30, 1864; wounded at Chickamauga.

Mustered into service August 20, 1861, and entered Kentucky September 26, 1861. This company entered the field 102 strong - commissioned and non-commissioned officers and privates - and received four recruits during term of seryice. The losses were 16 discharged for disabilities; 2 dis- charged to accept promotions; 13 died of diseases; 2 died of wounds received in action; 6 killed in action. Sixtyseven commissioned and nots duomrianinnenedl officers privates were mustered out at expiration of service at tanooga, Tennessee, 1864. It was at the battles of

Hoover's Gap, Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Buzzards' Roost, Tunnel Hill, Resaca, Pine Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, and Siege of Atlanta.

Captains - John S. Earhart, detached as topographical engineer on General Steadman's staff; died at Dechart, Tennessee, August, 1863.. John Van Derveer, never with the company; detailed as quartermaster of regiment. Fred. W. Keil, first lieutenant; promoted to be captain June, 1864.

Sergeants. - Leonard Allen, first sergeant, discharged. Jos. S. Claypool, sergeant; promoted to be second lieutenant, Jas. E. Hains, sergeant; promoted to be first lieutenant and adjutant of regiment. Jas. A. Huginin, sergeant, discharged. Saml. M. Hippard, sergeant; promoted to first sergeant. Mark B. Price, color sergeant. _ -

Regimental Appointments - Lucius B. Potter, promoted to sergeant-major. Frank A. Lighter, regimental postmaster Jno. M. Bradstreet, commissary sergeant.

Died of Wounds received in Action. - Jos. H. Vannatta, in field hospital, Chickamauga. Cassius C. Brown, Nashville, Tenn., wounded at Chickamauga.

Capiains. - Nathaniel Reeder, dismissed the service by general court-martial, August 24, 1863, for absence without leave; afterwards reinstated. ant Company A, July 19, 1863; adjutant, September 24, - 1863; captain, March 19, 1864, and assigned to Company D, April 12, 1864.

First Lieutenants - William C. Dine, resigned February, 1863. Julian H. Fitch, September 4, 1863. J. Adams, second lieutenant, October 16, 1862; first lieutenant, March 19, 1864. J. F. Saunders, second lieutenant, November 19, 1862; first lieutenant, March 19, 1864.

arch 28, 1862. Tipton W. Clary, discharged for disability, December, 1863. Clark S. Thompson, discharged, September 23, 1864, on expiration term of service. John S. Shedd, died March 14, 1864, at Hamilton. Joseph W. Myers, promoted to first sergeant. Hiram Shedd, April 1, 1863.

Corporals. - William Walters, deserted. David S. Pegan, seriously wounded at Chickamauga. Hezekiah Campbell, discharged for disability, March 28, 1862. William B. Long. Charley S. Wilson. John Spencer, seriously wounded at Chickamauga, September 20, 1863. Samuel Russell.

Capiains. - William H. C. Steele, mustered as captain of Company E, May 16, 1864; in command Company G, from May 16, 1864. David M. Gans, died at Eaton, Ohio, November 25, 1863. ;

Corporals - Andrew I. Stakbake, wounded at Mission Ridge. Philip Bladner. Charles C. Gavin. William Wilson, captured September 17, 1863. John W. Cottingh, killed at Chickamauga. William H. Bowles, died of wounds received at Chickamauga, October 24, 1863. Charles H. Thompson, died at Chattanooga, September 27, 1863, of wound received at battle of Chattanooga. Joseph Larrison.

Sergeants. - James Jackson, June 19, 1863, wounded at Chickamauga. James H. Frost. Joseph Harris, wounded at Chickamauga. Morris Gratz, reduced; wounded at Chickamauga. Samuel M. Denny, February 3, 1862; discharged November 9, 1862. John D. Vinson. ;

Corporals. - Thomas W. Rose, wounded and taken prisoner at Chickamauga. Benjamin F. Boatman, died October 30, 1865, from wounds received at Chickamauga. Sock Harlan. William Hamilton, promoted to sergeant, November 1, 1862. John D. Cornelius. Jesse K. Randall, died in hospital, De-

Second Lieutenants. - George T. Earhart, resigned October 17, 1862, by reason of disability. John Adams, promoted from sergeant-major, September 26, 1861.

Corporals. - Lester Shaw, September 25, 1861, wounded at Chickamauga. Calyin Levingood, October, 1861; taken prisoner at Chickamauga. Thomas Conklin, June 9, 1864.

Killed. - Peter A. Byers, corporal, killed at Chickamauga, September 20, 1863. William Newsock, corporal, killed at Mission Ridge, November 25, 1863.

Died. - Ephraim A. Day, sergeant, at Chattanooga, September 26, 1861. William O. Paine, corporal, at Louisville, Ky., January 5, 1864. James M. Wyrick, sergeant, at Nashville, Tenn., November 30, 1863.

Discharged. - Nelson Thompson, corporal, for disability, March 19, 1862. Lorenzo Brown, transferred. George W. Gover, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps.

Captains. - Michael 8S. Gunckel, resigned on account of disability, October 24, 1862; afterwards paymaster. Samuel Martindale, October 24, 1863; dismissed by general courtmartial, August 21, 1863. Theodore D. Mather, first lieutenant, October 24, 1864; captain, March 19, 1864.

' Sergeants. - William B. Campbell, killed at Chickamauga. Charles Hamilton, reduced to ranks. Henry A. Bradford, reduced to ranks; killed by a shell at Bridgeport, Ala., September 30, 1863. John A. Ladd, February 9, 1863. Edward S. Weakley, July 1, 1862. Richard Miller, October 12, 1862. Andrew Ball, November 1, 1863.

Captains. - Henry Mallory, resigned February 17, 1862. Andrew J. Lewis, promoted from first lieutenant to captain February 17, 1862; resigned, J anuary 2, 1864, on account of disability; wounded at Chickamauga. Phil. Rothenbush, promoted from first sergeant to first lieutenant February 17, 1862; captain, March 30, 1864; wounded at Chickamauga.

First Lieutenant. - Robert B. Davidson, promoted from first sergeant Company B to second lieutenant Company B, May 12, 1863; first lieutenant, March 30, 1864, assigned to Company I.

Isaac L. Fisher, November 6, 1862; transferred to invalid corps, August 25, 1863. William K. Van Horn, August 26, 1863; wounded November 25, 1863, at Mission Ridge, Tennessee.

Sergeants - John A. Whitaker, reduced to ranks August 9, 1862; transferred to invalid corps, December 1, 1863. George Jenkins, reduced to tanks November 6, 1862; deserted November 6, 1862, at Bowling Green, Ky. John S. Giffen, August 9, 1862; died, November 6, 1862, at Hamilton, Ohio. John M. Fenton, May 25, 1863, taken prisoner at Chickamauga, September 20th, dying in prison. Aaron Moore, May 25, 1863. Louis D. Herman, May 25, 1863. Daniel Castator, May 25, 1863. George Bourrell, November 6, 1862.

Corporals. - William Elarson, transferred. to invalid corps November 1, 1863. Moses J. Wetzel. John Hull, died at Nashville, Tenn., March 20, 1862. John P. Brooks, wounded, captured at Chickamauga. Robert Blair. John Seits. John

Miller. Charles Bitner. Jeremiah Boatman. Wounded. - Captain A. J. Lewis, at Chickamauga. First Lieutenant Phil. Rothenbush, at Chickamauga. First Sergeant W. K. Van Horn, at Mission Ridge. First Sergeant John M. Fenton, captured at Chickamauga. John Kapp, at Chickamauga. Archey McLeod, captured at Chickamauga. Alexander Sterret, at Chickamauga. Richard Herman, at Chickamauga. William McLaughlin, at Chickamauga. Michael D. Garver, at Kenesaw Mountain. John P. Brooks, corporal, taken prisoner at Chickamauga, September 19, 1863. John Brooks, private, taken prisoner at Chickamauga, September 19, 1863. Daniel Castator, at Chickamauga, September 19, 1863. Charles Daugherty, at Chickamauga, September 19, 1863. Robert Dine, taken prisoner at Chickamauga, September 20, 1863. Stephen H. Elkins, taken prisoner at Chickamauga, September 20, 1863. Emanuel Gratz, died at Stevenson, Ala., October 19, 1868, of wounds received at Chickamauga. Frank W. Hillman, died at Chattanooga, Tenn., October 11, 1863, of wounds received at Chickamauga. Thompson Legget, killed at Chickamauga, September 20, 1863. John Oliver, taken prisoner at Chickamauga. John Smith, died at Chattanooga, Tenn., October 5, 1863, of wound received at Chickamauga. Henry Willis, at Chickamauga. John Miller, taken prisoner at Chickamauga. David Richardson, taken prisoner at Chickamauga; died at Belle Island. Abraham Martindale, taken prisoner at Chickamauga; died at Belle Island.

Deaths. - John Hull, March 20, 1862, at Nashville, Tenn. James K. P. Garver, July 15, 1862, at Hamilton, Ohio. Isaac Shellhouse, January 30, 1863, at Gallatin, Tenn. Jackson Harlmack, February 8, 1862, at Somerset, Ky. Sanford P. Stitzell, June 30, 1863, at Gallatin, Tenn. James H. Strode, January 2, 1863, at Hamilton, Ohio. W. H. H. Kimble, February 20, 1864, at Hamilton, Ohio.

Deserted - Thomas H. Price, November 4, 1862; sentenced by court-martial to be shot to death; the President mitigated his sentence to imprisonment during the war at Dry Tortugas, Florida. Willison Cumons, September 20, 1862; sentenced by court-martial to be confined at Jefferson, Ind., penitentiary during the war. Patrick Doil, Cynthiana, Ky., September 29, 1861. George W. Jenkins, Bowling Green, Ky., November 6, 1862. Wm. Lewellen, Bowling Green, Ky., November 4, 1862. Solomon Mandelbaum, Bowling Green, Ky., November 6, 1862. Wakefield Martindill, Bowling Green, Ky., November 6, 1862. Charles Scheid, Bowling Green, Ky., November 6, 1862. Jacob Houser, absent without leave, April 20, 1862.

Sergeants. - Thomas C. Pearson, wounded at Chickamauga; died in hospital of small-pox at Nashville, December 11, 1863. James M. Denny. Jacob Leibes, reduced to ranks May 28, 1862, at his own request; discharged for disability June 18, 1862. James Blair, taken prisoner at Somerset, Ky., December 8, 1861; returned to duty February 22, 1862. Miles M. Hale, January 10, 1862; deserted, August 31, 1863. Harvey Elliott, May 24, 1862; killed at Chickamauga. Henry B. Steller, May 28, 1862.

Corporals. - George W. Gillmore, killed at Chickamauga. Charles R. Howard, discharged for disability May 18, 1862. William C. Mullinix, died in hospital at Corinth, June 22, 1862.

During the Summer of 1861 a number of other organizations were begun, but no other regiment than the Thirty-fifth went out from this county that season. Captain Peter Murphy' organized a company of some sixty rank and file for State service in Liberty Township. They were all provided with uniforms and performed their tactical operations with skill and accuracy.

On the 16th of May the Butler Pioneers reached ninety men, who had enlisted for three years. They left on the seventeenth for Columbus, going to Camp Jackson. There proved to be a misunderstanding about the orders to move, and they returned to Camp Hamilton at midnight. On the 1st of June, Second Lieutenant F. M. Leflar was the recipient of a sword, given him by his friends in Hamilton. The presentation speech was made by Robert Christy. Mr. Leflar responded briefly as follows :

"Sir, this valuable present indicates a feeling of respect and affection for me of which I feel altogether unworthy. It creates within me a feeling of pleasure and gratitude which I am unable properly to express. Be assured that it-will inspire me with renewed courage. In the defense of our country I shall endeavor to use this sword in a manner that will be no disgrace to its liberal and patriotic donors."

Company F, Second Regiment, were quartered on the 24th of June at Grafton, Virginia. On the way they were treated with great kindness. At one village the people turned out in crowds, and bountifully supplied the soldiers with bread and butter, cakes, pies, and other delicacies. On their way they met a company from Oxford. In West Virginia they had their first experience in a march of any length. They found the accouterments were heavy. It was pretty hard work to carry a knapsack as full as it would hold, and forty rounds of ammunition, with a belt for bayonet and caps, a haversack with two days' rations, a plate, knife, fork, cup, and spoon, and gun weighing ten pounds; this formed a good load for a strong man. :

A company called Anderson Grays was organized and uniformed in Hamilton as a reserve company of Ohio Volunteers. It was under the command of Captain Stone, of the First Ward, and exhibited remarkable proficiency. On the 8th of August, 1861, the Butler Pioneers, or Company A, Twenty-sixth Ohio, were at Summersville, West Virginia. They had seen some service. The company had volunteered to break up a nest of rebels, some twenty miles from the regimental camp. They were gone three days, returning successfully and bringing back with them two prisoners of Wise's army, one a lieutenant. General Garrison was getting up a battalion of infantry. His camp was established on the grounds of William Beckett, south of the depot. The first company was nearly full. As fast as the companies were filled up they were to be sent to Camp Fremont, at St. Louis. ,

September 12th C. H. Murray had over fifty recruits for Captain White's Cavalry Company, Second Regiment Ohio Cavalry. Wilkeson Beatty and J. A. Zeller had begun recruiting a company for the Fiftieth Regiment. Robert Cullen had received authority to raise a company for the Fiftieth. A. J. Lewis had also received the same authority.

Captain Margedant, of the Engineering Corps, won the most favorable mention from the press for his enthusiasm, personal exposure, and admirable services in reconnoitering, at constant personal risk, the enemy's lines. Forty men were in the Ninth Regiment which left under Captain Margedant, and about twenty-five men, under Lieutenant William H. Miller, attached to the Twelfth. Tt also contributed about forty men to the regular army.

Charles Murray's company went to Camp Dick Corwine on the 26th of September with nearly a full company of cavalry. This was the fourteenth company from the county.

The company of cavalry which left Hamilton for 1 . . cs Camp Corwine held an election on the 28th of September for offigers, with the following result: Clement Murphy,

From Hamilton several families sent more than one member to the army. Among them were four sons of James Whittaker; three sons of Mrs. Castator; W. H. H. Kimble and two sons; J. Houser and two sons; L. W. Morris and two sons. Henry 8. Earhart had two sons in the army.

Recruits were taken in Hamilton for the Martin Guards of the Fifty-eighth Regiment. N. C. McLean, Colonel; William H. Martin, of the Hamilton and Dayton Railroad, Lieutenant Colonel; and Robert Reily, of Cincinnati, Major. W. T. Tibbitts was the authorized recruiting agent.

Louis Ferree Berry, son of Philip and Rachel S. Berry, died at Camp Gauley, West Virginia, of congestive fever. He was in the three months' service, and afterwards enlisted for the three years' service. He served in a number of skirmishes and displayed a gallantry and coolness wonderful in one so young. He was probably the youngest of the victims from this county in the civil war, lacking, at the time of his death, one month of sixteen years of age.

Robert Cullen, captain, was engaged in Hamilton in recruiting men for Meagher's Zouaves, Fiftieth Regiment, to be composed exclusively of Irishmen.

John Fitch, a member of Company D, Thirty-ninth Regiment, died in the hospital at Camp Foster, near Macon, Missouri, on the 29th of November, 1861, aged twenty-four. He was from Butler County. He was buried with honors. Colonel Groesbeck led the regiment to the graveyard, three volleys were fired over his grave, and the chaplain, Rev. B. W. Chidlaw, made an eloquent address and offered up a fervent prayer.

The civil war had many opponents in this county, and the first year had not passed without vigorous protests from them. 'The first burst of enthusiasm had silenced every voice, but in the course of two or three months objectors could again be heard in every part of the county. The Democratic party was divided into two camps, but the peace faction obtained the preponderating influence in the convention, which was duly held on the 2d of August, and they used their power. M. N. Maginnis was the leading spirit. He introduced a set of resolutions denouncing the war and reaffirming the principles of the resolutions of 1798, of the most ultra kind.

sober sense of the party asserted itself afterwards, and the convention reassembled on the 21st, at which the previous resolutions were disavowed, and a more moderate series were passed. Many of those who had not been present previously were on hand, and the yeomanry were also in attendance, and it is safe to say that the latter meeting more thoroughly reflected the feelings of the Democracy than the former one did. There were then two newspapers published in Hamilton which were nominally Democratic, but they really differing as far as the poles. In the one controlled by Dr. McElwee the most undisguised denunciations of the war, its leaders and the abolitionists, were to be found. To be a friend of the Union, as it was likely to be reconstructed, was bad enough; but to have a sympathy for a man with a colored skin was enough to cause a citizen's name to be written down among the most infamous of the human race. The Union Party, as the Republicans entitled themselves for this campaign, appealed to every patriotic sentiment of the country, and canvassed each township with great spirit, and came very near carrying the election. Two of the ticket were elected, the rest being defeated.

The Sixty-ninth Regiment was not wholly from this county. Besides Butler, it counts upon its lists the names of Darke, Montgomery, Preble, Harrison, and Fairfield. The first call for recruits was as follows:

The governor of Ohio has authorized the undersigned to recruit the Sixty-ninth Regiment of Infantry for service for three years or the war, and has established the rendezvous at Hamilton. It is important that this duty should be promptly executed, and I therefore invoke the active aid of all patriotic people. The vile traitors who have sacrilegiously defied the Constitution of our country, trampled the stars and stripes in the dust, and attempted to dissever the Union purchased by the blood of our fathers, are now rapidly approaching the borders of our State in battle array. These infamous miscreants bring in their train desolation and woe, and we can no longer hope for peace to our country or safety to our homes and firesides except by flying speedily to arms. Already our sister State, Kentucky, whose gallant sons came to our relief when we were weak, and watered the soil of Ohio with their best blood in the war of 1812, supplicates us for aid. Let us not prove ungrateful to them in this their hour of peril, or forget our high duties to ourselves and to posterity. Let the alarm cry be sounded and -

The fair-grounds and buildings of the Agricultural Society will be immediately occupied as an encampment, where companies, squads, or single volunteers will be received and provided for. Lewis D. Camppenu.

The people responded enthusiastically. Recruiting went on all the latter part of 1861, and on the 19th of February the regiment, which had been organized in camp near Hamilton, took the railroad for Camp Chase. Tt was under the command of Colonel Lewis D. Campbell, long and favorably known as the congressman from this district. On the 19th of February the Sixty-ninth was sent to Nashville, Tennessee, arriving there on the 22d. It went into camp on the grounds of Major Lewis, and was reviewed by Andrew Johnson, the warm personal friend of the colonel, then the military governor of Tennessee, and afterwards the Vice-president and President of the United States. On the Ist of May it went to Franklin, where it acted as the guard for forty miles of the Tennessee and Alabama Railroad. The rebel women of Franklin were especially bitter, and on one occasion evinced their venom against the national dead buried in the cemetery by dancing on their graves. Colonel Campbell issued an order commenting in severe terms upon this indignity, and warning the people of Franklin against a repetition of such dastardly insults.

The regiment returned to Nashville on the 8th of June, going from that place by rail to Murfreesboro, and joining an expedition across the Cumberland Mountains. It returned to Murfreesboro at its close, having given a good illustration of its powers of marching. The troops suffered severely, and the rations proved to be in very short supply.

On the 20th of June it again entered Nashville, where it remained, doing provost duty until the last of July, Colonel Campbell acting as provost marshal. General Morgan, the rebel cavalry officer, made a descent upon Gallatin while the Sixty-ninth was in Nashville, and that regiment, with the Eleventh Michigan, went out to meet them, which they did with success, driving the enemy away, but losing one man, Isaac Repp, of Dayton. This was the first loss of the Sixty-ninth in battle.

Colonel Campbell resigned on the 9th of August, and was succeeded by Lieutenant-colonel William B. Cassilly. When Bragg's army attempted a flank movement towards Louisville, the Sixty-ninth and other regiments were left in Nashville as a garrison for the city, a duty that proved very arduous, as there were not enough men to do it properly. Skirmishes were constantly taking place, and the men were becoming inured to military duty.

December 26th the regiment moved, with the army On the first day of the battle of Stone River the regiment was engaged with the enemy, taking position in the advance line of General George H. Thomas's corps. It became involved in the disaster on the right, and was compelled to fight its enemy back to the Nashville Turnpike, suffering severely both in killed and wounded. On Friday, January 2d, the Sixty-ninth took part in the brilliant and desperate charge across Stone River against Breckinridge's rebel corps, in which the enemy were driven back with heavy loss. In this charge it captured a part of the famous Washington Battery, from New Orleans, the flag being taken by Sergeant Frederick Wilson, of Company E. The fight lasted until after dark, and proved to be the end of the battle, as on the. morning the rebel army was not to be seen. Many were killed and wounded.

''We have passed through a terrible struggle, lasting five days. Most of that time it was raining hard and we were without tents and blankets, and had but little to eat. But the Sixty-ninth passed through all this without a murmur, and with few exceptions both officers and men behaved with great gallantry and bravery. I did not see an officer who had not done his whole duty, and I doubt if a braver set of men can be found in this army. Our loss, though not large, we feel deeply. The

-wounded are as well cared for as circumstances will admit of, and we hope soon to be able to provide for all their wants. But, amid the confusion, death, and carnage, it is hard to do any thing. It is but fair to add that the enemy treated all of our men who were wounded and taken prisoners most kindly. Some of the Sixtyninth I found in private houses and tenderly waited on. Below find a list of killed and wounded :

"Captain Councellor, Company H, whilst bravely leading his company; at the same time and place, Sergeant McGillan, Company B; Corporal Allbright, Company E; Corporal J. C. Brown, Company G; Private H. Aikens, Company D; December 31, Benj. Stewart, Company A.

"Colonel Cassilly, arm; Major Hickcox, horse shot and fell on him; Captain W. Patton, Company G, in back and foot; Adjutant Boynton, leg; Captain Devor, Company D,

"Company A. - First Sergeant J. S. Scott, shoulder (missing); Corporal D. S. Tetrick, leg (prisoner); Private Lewis Hulse, leg; W. Coulson, ankle; J. Bragg, leg; J. Simpson, arm (prisoner); R. Marchant, leg; W. McLellan (prisoner); Geo. Ballard (missing).

"Company C. - Captain Geo. B. Hubbard, hand; W. Longfellow, side; P. Birch, cheek, slight; J. R. McGill, shoulder, slight; V. Hellferick, shoulder, slight.

"Company E. - Sergeant Thomas Perry, hand; James Rea, side; Geo. A. Davis, arm (prisoner); Isaiah Venable knee; Nathan Jones, face and shoulder. |

"Company G. - Corporal F. Buck, arm; Corporal George Pritz, leg (prisoner); Jacob Holler, neck; Joseph Howell hand; Frank Castor, head; Joel Wagoner, shoulder.

" Company I. - Sergeant J. C. Clark, hand, slight ; Corporal J. M. Williams, heel (leg amputated) ; Corporal R. McKelors, heel; J. McAlister, hand (prisoner); J. Kildon, heel; R. Wells, shoulder, slightly.

'"The above is a full list of our killed and wounded. Colonel Cassily, Major Hickcox, and Adjutant Boynton, were wounded seriously in the commencement of the fight, on Wednesday, the 31st, while we were attempting to get position. The adjutant was taken: prisoner. I found him and Captain Patton in private houses, well cared for."

'The fight commenced early on Wednesday morning. Company F was ordered into the woods as a reserve to support the skirmishers, who were hotly engaged, sometimes our boys driving the enemy to their rifle-pits. Company F behaved most gallantly, while the tops of trees were falling and bombs bursting, grape and canister plowing through the woods, and the roar of the musketry was dreadful. Such a sight we never witnessed before, but with all this the boys behaved splendidly and every man was at his post. It was then that Sergeant George Shedd was wounded with a cannon ball. He stood directly in front of the company, the ball striking a stump close by me and glancing, striking Sergeant Shedd on the shoulder. I supposed he was killed at the time, being carried off the field. I am proud to say he was not, for he is a brave boy and would never turn his back to the enemy. A number of the company distinguished themselves on that day. I had four men wounded and four missing. Sergeant Shedd, Pat. Murphy, James Havens, and John Simmons were wounded. S. P. Miller, Theo. Seargrist, Simon Waters, and Oscar Bruin were missing. I have entertained the idea that the missing were taken prisoners. I will give a short account of Friday's fight. In the charge across Stone River Company F were in the hottest. They fought with desperation. They were in advance, or at least the whole regiment was in advance. The enemy was on the one side of the river, and we on the other, but our boys were determined to cross the river, which they did. Now the fight became terrible. Every time the boys pulled trigger down came a rebel, till they could not stand the storm any longer, so off they went, throwing away guns, knapsacks, and accouterments, our boys pressing, capturing, and killing them by hundreds. The field was strewn with the dead and dying of the enemy, but still our boys pursued them nearly a mile, capturing one battery - the Washington Battery - said to be the best one in the service. I did not lose a man. Company F behaved most gallantly in this dreadful fight and deserved a great deal of credit for it, and they are ready and anxious for another fight. They are all well and in good condition. We are encamped one mile south of Murfreesboro at the present time."

The Tullahoma campaign was begun on the 24th of June, 1863. The regiment moved with the Fourteenth Corps, meeting no trouble until in the passage through Hoover's Gap, the enemy was engaged in a brisk fight. The enemy also made a stand at Elk River, but was quickly driven forward. A little further on they went into camp, it being impossible to make further progress in that deep mud and the impassable roads of that region. This was at Cowan's Station, and the army then remained until the 8th of September. It was detailed at that time as a guard to an ammunition train of four hundred and fifty wagons, going to Bridgeport, on the Tennessee River. It then marched to Chattanooga.

Joseph W. Boynton, the adjutant, died on the 5th of June, of wounds received at the battle of Stone River. The funeral services were performed by Rev. Mr. Mc- Millan, at tlie Presbyterian Church, at 2 P. M., Sunday. The procession from the church to Greenwood Cemetery was under the superintendence of Colonel Campbell, and consisted of an escort from the One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio and a large number of carriages. Lieutenant Boynton was a resident of Boston, Massachusetts. The officers of the regiment held a meeting in the camp near Murfreesboro, June 9th, for the purpose of giving expression to their sentiments; declared that the meeting was unanimous in their feeling of regret at the loss of so young and promising an officer, and that the news of his death came with a twofold force, from the fact of his friends in Tennessee having hitherto been buoyed up by the almost certain prospect of his ultimate recovery. The service at large, and that regiment in particular, it was believed, had, in the death of Lieutenant Boynton, met with a severe loss, a companion of genial and happy temperament, and an officer whose peculiar military talents were invaluable. The meeting deeply sympathized with the bereaved relatives of Lieutenant Boynton, who had thus offered up his life to his country; another victim added to the hecatombs sacrificed on' the altars of rebellion.

Preparatory to the battle of Chickamauga the Sixtyninth Ohio, with the reserve corps under General Gordon Granger, marched from Rossville to Chickamauga Creek. At this point, in obedience to an order from Colonel Dan. McCook, commanding the brigade, the regiment advanced under Colonel Brigham and burned Reed's Bridge, thus preventing the enemy from coming in on the rear of the national army. The regiment then fell back to Rossville, and immediately thereafter took charge of the division trains. For this reason it did not participate in the battle of Chickamauga. It afterwards aided in covering the retreat of the Fourteenth Corps towards Chattanooga.

The regiment participated in the battle of Mission Ridge, and was among the first to reach the top of the mountain. In this charge it was commanded by Major - J. J. Hanna, who was highly complimented for his bravery and efficiency. In ascending the ridge Lieutenant-J. S. Scott; Color Sergeant Jacob Wetzell; Color | Corporals D. W. Leach and John W. Meredith; Corporal Kk. J. Manche; privates Kluger, Elsom, Van Kirk, Sewers, and Hefling were killed, and a large number wounded, many of whom subsequently died. March 16, 1864, the regiment, after having re-enlisted as veterans, started for Ohio on a furlough of thirty days. At the end of their furlough the men reported promptly at Camp Dennison, and on the 22d of April again started for the field.

After reaching Nashville they marched to Buzzard's Roost, arriving there on the 11th of May., On May 14th the regiment, with the army, moved through Snake Creek Gap to a point near Resaca, where the enemy was met and engaged. At this place Color Sergeant John A. Compton and four others were killed, and twenty-six men wounded. At Pumpkin Vine Creek and at Dallas the enemy was again engaged. In these affairs the regiment lost five killed and nineteen wounded. Kenesaw Mountain was reached on the evening of June 14th. During this siege two men were killed. At Marietta, July 4th, another engagement was had with the enemy, in which the regimenf lost one man killed and seven wounded. The next stand was at the crossing of the Chattahoochie River, in which the regiment escaped without loss. On the 21st one man was killed and ten wounded. July 22d brought the regiment and the army before Atlanta. During the siege nine men. were wounded, two of whom subsequently died.

On September Ist the Sixty-ninth took part in the fight at Jonesboro, and lost Lieutenant Jacob S. Pierson, Martin V. Bailey, Color-sergeant Allen L. Jobes, of Company D, and five men killed and thirty-six wounded, some of whom died in a few hours after the fight. The battle caused the evacuation of Atlanta, and the national the subsequent chase after Hood through the upper part of Georgia and into Alabama. It then returned to Atlanta, and joined Sherman's march to the sea, losing during its progress one man by disease and four captured. Arriving in Savannah, it took position in the front line.

In the campaign through the Carolinas the regiment was engaged with the enemy near Goldsboro, North - Carolina, March 19, 1865, and lost two killed and eight wounded. This was the last affair in which it participated. Then came the march through Richmond, the review at Washington, the transfer to Louisville, and, lastly, the final muster out of the service on the 17th of July, 1865.

Tieutenant-colonels. - Charles L. Gano, major, October 30, 1861; lieutenant-colonel, August 9, 1862; resigned October 24, 1862, on account of disability. George F. Elliott, captain Company OC, January 20, 1862; major, August 9, 1862; lieutenant-colonel, October 24, 1862; resigned February 5, 1863, Lewis E. Hicks, July 10, 1865.

Assistant Surgeons. - Moses H. Hagins, resigned September 10, 1862. Milton A. Frost, resigned April 25, 1863, on account of disability. Levi B. Northrop, June 26, 1865.

Adjutants. - Richard H. Cunningham, March 5, 1863; relieved August 9, 1863; reappointed December 19, 1863. Joseph W. Boynton, first lieutenant, October 2, 1861, wounded in battle of Stone River, dying in June. William S. Mead, August 9, 1863; relieved and assigned to Company D December 19, 1863. Thomas B. Hoffman, private Company I, January 25, 1862; second lieutenant, March 4, 1862; first lieutenant Company A July 18, 1864; adjutant, December 31, 1864.

Quartermasters. - Frederick B. Landis, captain, mustered out December 31, 1864. Levi E. Chenoweth, private Company E; commissary sergeant, February 26, 1864; first lieutenant, February 2, 1865; captain Company I June 16, 1865.

First [ieutenants. - Richard H. Cunningham, adjutant, September 19, 1863; mustered out December 31, 1864. Thomas B. Hoffman, adjutant, December 31, 1864.

Second Lieutenants - Frank Sweeny, October 17, 1861; first lieutenant of Company K, November 20, 1862. John S. Scott, killed in action at Mission Ridge. William N. Ben-

Died. - Benjamin F. Belch, corporal, died of wounds, January 11, 1864; Samuel Nixon, corporal, wounded at Jonesboro, dying September 11, 1864; William Bishop, wounds received May 29th at Pumpkin Vine Creek ; William Coulson, wounds received at Peachtree Creek, July 21, 1864; Philip Kennard, disease, June 23, 1864; Thomas J. Thompson, disease, Milledgeville, December 25, 1864.

Captains. - Charles N. Gibbs, second lieutenant, October 7th; captain, December 9th; resigned August 13, 1862. Marmaduke Welpley, first lieutenant, December 9, 1861; captain, November 1, 1862; resigned April 16, 1863. Alexander Lemon, second lieutenant, September 9, 1861; first lieutenant, November 1, 1862; captain, June 13, 1863.

First Ineutenants. - Joseph E. Tucker, June 13, 1863; resigned November 11, 1863. Samuel P. Murray, sergeant, October 15, 1861; second lieutenant, June 13, 1863; first lieutenant, August 23, 1864; transferred to Company F June 16, 1865. Thomas B. White, corporal, January 7, 1862; first sergeant, March 1,-1865; first lieutenant, June 16, 1865.

Died. - Walter Scull, corporal, February 19, 1864. George F. Howard, killed at battle of Bentonville, N. C., March 19, 1865. Frederick Ockerhauser, killed at battle of Jonesboro, Ga., September 1, 1864. Alfred Wilste, killed in action at Kenesaw Mountain, June 16, 1864. Conrad Alt, at Chattanooga, Tenn., July 7, 1864, of wounds received at Resaca. John H. Coombs, in general field hospital, near Atlanta, Ga., August 11, 1864, of wounds received at Atlanta. William Cameron, at Andersonville prison, July 6, 1864. Jacob Lopland, at sea, March 18,1865. Jefferson Rall, at Chattanooga, August 20, 1864, in hospital.

First _Ineutenants. - Jacob 8. Pierson, second lieutenant, May 3, 1863; first lieutenant, June 13, 1863; killed at Jonesboro, Ga., September 1, 1864. Danforth B. Thompson, first sergeant, March 6, 1865; first lieutenant, June 16, 1865.

Died. - John A. Compton, sergeant, killed in action at Resaca, Ga., May 14, 1864. Wilson S. Mercer, sergeant, killed in action at Pumpkin Vine Creek, Ga., May 31, 1864. Thomas W. Broderick, sergeant, died July 19, 1864, of wounds received at Pumpkin Vine Creek, May 31, 1864. John W. Cohen, killed at Jonesboro, Ga., September 1, 1864. Henry C. Campbell, killed at Jonesboro, Ga. Thomas

Captains. - Eli I. Hickcox, second lieutenant, October 5, 1861; captain, December 15, 1861; major, October 24, 1862. James Devor, first lieutenant, December 16, 1861; captain, May 1, 1863; resigned, May 15, 1863. William Larzalere, second lieutenant, Company F, December 16, 1861; first lieutenant, June 13, 1863; captain, Company D, September 26, 1863; mustered out December 31, 1864. James Wharry, second lieutenant, Company D, June 13, 1863; first lieutenant, Company K, September 23, 1864; captain, Company D, June 16, 1865.

Died. - Allen S. Jobes, sergeant, killed in action September 1, 1864, at Jonesboro, Ga. John M. Fifer, killed near Bentonville, March 19, 1865. John Bowman, at Atlanta, Ga., of wounds received at Jonesboro, Ga., September 1, 1864. Samuel Deforrest, June 13, 1864, of wounds received May 28, 1864. Ross Dugan, June 16, 1864, of wounds received June 3d. Josiah M. Richardson, August 24, 1864, of wounds received August 9th. Dennis Downey, of dise furlough, March 16, 1864.

Captains. - George W. Moore, second lieutenant, December 16, 1861; first lieutenant, June 15, 1863; captain, September 26, 1863; mustered out February 2, 1864. Nelson T. Chenoweth, second lieutenant, June 15, 1863; first lieuten- - ant, September 16, 1863; captain, March 1, 1865. David Putnam, December 16, 1861, promoted to major.

First Ineutenants - Jacob Leas, commissary sergeant, February 26, 1864; first lieutenant, February 2, 1865; captain, - Company A, June 16, 1865. John M. Boatman, October 16, 1861; resigned, April 30, 1862.

Transferred. - Nathan Achey, Veteran Reserve Corps, March 15, 1865. Levi E. Chenoweth, quartermaster's sergeant, March 6, 1864. Harvey Mote, wounded at Resaca, Ga., May 14, 1864; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, January 10, 1865. Michael McGuire, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, March 10, 1864. George W. Rieker, wounded in left hand at battle of Resaca, Ga., May 14, 1864; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. Augustus N. Wilson, promoted to hospital steward.

Captains. - Robert Clements, dismissed, November 3, 1863. Samuel Murray, sergeant, October 15, 1861; second lieuten- - ant, June 13, 1863; first lieutenant, August 23, 1864; captain, June 16, 1865; commanding Company B, January Ist to May 25, 1865.. '

Died. - Patrick Murphy, killed in action at Pumpkin Vine Creek, Ga., June 3, 1864. Henry Stickle, killed in action, July 21, 1864, near Peachtree Creek, Ga. Oscar F. Smith, sergeant, died of injuries received in railroad accident, June 80, 1865. John Schellhouse, August 19, 1864, at Chattanooga. Michael Schwenk, December 6, 1864, in hospital. Charles Walton, September 25, 1864, at Atlanta, Ga.

Captains. - Jacob Shaffer, first sergeant, February 26, 1864; first lieutenant, February 2, 1865; captain, June 16, 1865. William Patton, December 29, 1862; resigned, July 25, 1863.

Died. - Elijah Cayler, died in Freed Hospital, Nashville, January 23, 1864. Manuel Noffsinger, died in Nashville, May 12, 1864. Perry Server, died of wounds received at the battle of Resaca, Ga., May 21, 1864.

Discharged. - Augustus Mizener, to accept appointment as commissioned officer. Samuel Bernhart, May 22, 1865. Alexander Belt, June 5, 1865. Richard McForan, June 1, 1865. Henry Stanley, for disability, October 17, 1864. Transferred. - John H. Morris, to Veteran Reserve Corps. Samuel R. Maps, Veteran Reserve Corps.

Died. - John Heiry, sergeant, killed in action, May 14, 1864, at Resaca, Ga. Benjamin Roling, killed at Resaca. Thomas Johnson, killed at Resaca. Henry Frankford, killed in action in front of Atlanta, Ga., July 4, 1864. William Scott, died in hospital August 7, 1864, from gunshot wound received in action near Atlanta, Ga.

Sergeants. - James W. Clark, first sergeant ; Adam Sturtz, John McAllister, David A. Sayre, Rufus R. Wells, reduced to ranks April 14, 1865; reappointed sergeant May 1, 1865.

Died. - John H. Johnson, first sergeant, September 2, 1864, of wounds received at the, battle of Jonesboro. John W. Brooks, first. sergeant, died April 4, 1864, of wounds received in a railway accident. William H. Hill, June 5, 1864, of wounds received in action at Pumpkin Vine Creek, Ga, John Munson, October 1, 1864, from wounds received at battle of Jonesboro.

First Lieutenants. - James Wharry, first sergeant, December 16, 1861; first lieutenant, June 18, 1863; captain Company D, June 15, 1865. William J. Porter, first sergeant, August 31, 1864; first lieutenant, June 16, 1865. William Cody, March 25, 1862; mustered out, December 25, 1862.

The Fifth Ohio Cavalry went out the first year, and among its companies was I, from this neighborhood. It was at Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Missionary Ridge, all the battles of the Army of the Tennessee during the Atlanta campaign, and marched with Sherman down to the sea, afterwards going up through North Carolina. Company I was commanded by Captain Clem. Murphy; C. H. Murray was first lieutenant, and A. C. Rossman second lieutenant. Captain Murphy was dishonorably discharged before the expiration of his term of service, and Rossman became a captain, and was transferred to Company E; Charles E. Giffen became first lieutenant. During the latter portion of its service it received many recruits, but few from Hamilton. Among the non-commissioned officers who can now be remembered are: M. G.. Morris, orderly; Fred. Reigel, Joe Knecht, Joe Cox, Loammi R. Dunwoodie, William H. Paullin, S: C. Henderson, Eli Long, Charles Richter, and Emanuel Richter, sergeants; and John Eberhart and Conrad Maybrush, corporals. Sergeant Samuel Stephenson and privates Herman Zegeler and William Ledwell were killed.

The enterprise of forming a new regiment in this congressional district was entered upon in the early part of July, 1862, and, with general accord, Colonel Charles Anderson was chosen to command it.

On the 17th of the same month the line officers were recommended by the military committees, and on the next day most of them were mustered into the service and recruiting commenced in earnest, the work being greatly facilitated, by the patriotic people who contributed to pay the necessary expenses of the campaign.

On the afternoon of the 14th of August Companies A and B, having filled their quotas, went into quarters at 'Camp Dayton." On the 19th of the same month the mustering of the regiment by companies was commenced, and by the middle of the afternoon of the 21st the whole regiment had been mustered into service and armed. |

The regiment broke camp on the 23d of August, 1862, and got aboard the cars en route for Lexington, Kentucky, where they arrived on the evening of the 24th.

The regiment soon plunged into the strife and made for itself a record that fully entitles it to the lasting gratitude of the nation. Those grand historic names, Stone River, Chickamauga, Orchard Knob, Mission Ridge, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Franklin, and Nashville, are all of blood right emblazoned on the war-worn and battle rent banner of the regiment. Then there are the names Strong, Eastman, Birch, Payne, Richards, Patterson, Arnold, Burkett, Mason, and a host of.others, patriots who fell on so many well-stricken fields, all attest the severity of the conflicts through which the regiment passed.

Company F'. - Captain, Robert Joyce ; first lieutenant, Henry Richards; second lieutenant, Arthur C. Morgan; first sergeant, Alexander Johnson.

This list is derived from Leroy Davies, who was not a member of the Ninety-third, but, to use his own words, was anxious to see the fight. So, when the ball opened, he engaged a partner (a Spencer rifle), and was lucky enough to be one in the taking of a rebel battery, when he received notice to quit in the shape of a minie ball. The letter speaks of the death of Jacob Wetsel, of the Sixty-ninth, and of the severe wound of Jacob Rees, who was seriously injured.

Alfred A. Phillips, the major of this regiment, was born in Orange County, Indiana, May 5, 1825. He was the son of Albert H. Phillips, who* was born March 1, 1795, and died in July, 1872, and Mary Hollowell, who died in June, 1845, aged forty-five years. He was married December 20, 1855, in Hamilton, to Miss Emma C. Rush, who was born in Addison County, Vermont, August 2, 1832. She is the daughter of Horatio S. Rush, who died in October, 1875, and Caroline De Long, who is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips had six children. Nellie was born August 31, 1857; Alice, June 8, 1859; Bertha, September 4, 1861; Lottie, February 9, 1865; Alfred, September 9, 1866, and Josephine, April 11, 1869. Mr. Phillips was sheriff of Butler County from 1860 to 1864, and deputy sheriff for seven years prior to that time. At the outbreak of the Mexican war, being then only about twenty-one years of age, he enlisted, and went out as a member of Company I, First Ohio Regiment, under Colonel Mitchell, serving one year. During the late war he was the major of his regiment, staying in the field, however, only one year, as he was called back by his official duties in Butler County. Major Phillips during life followed different. pursuits. He spent three years in Arkansas, owning and having control of saw, grist, and shingle mills, together with a large plantation containing over four thousand acres. In 1863 he owned a third interest in a distillery at this place, and in 1866 he purchased the other two-thirds, which he carried on till 1869, when he sold. He carried on a distillery one year at Lawrenceburg. After that he was the proprietor of the Phillips House, now known as the Central House, at the corner of High and Front Streets. At the time of his death, which happened from sunstroke in July, 1881, he was conducting another place of the same name, being the house now occupied by Judge Hume.

'The country down here is low and flat, but I think it is a great cotton region. We can see Vicksburg plainly from our camp; and the gunboats very often of a - morning wake the, people up in Vicksburg for breakfast by sending a few shell among them. We are still working away at the canal, which is already eight or ten feet wide, and from four to six feet deep. If we should succeed it will cut Vicksburg off from the river entirely, making a new channel for the river. Many doubt as to the success (and I confess I am one of that number) from the fact that they failed to dig down to the sand so as to give it a chance to wash. The present bottom is of smooth black mud. The river is rising very fast, and is just over the banks.

"The health of the soldiers is any thing but good. We have but twenty-five men for duty, though I must say my company has not been reduced altogether by sickness; there have been five desertions from my company to the enemy. [ will give you a list of them: Corporal John R. Hancock, Oxford; Jerome B. Bennett, Hamilton; George Popp, Oxford; David Ramsey, Pleasant Run; Jeremiah Robbins, Mt. Pleasant. There were only two of. these men that left the boat the evening previous to the fight, and they were not seen during the engagememt. The company fought nobly for three hours and forty-five minutes, at which time the fort was surrendered. The following are the names of those who were wounded in the engagement: Hiram Smith, thigh ; William H. Hall, ankle; Jacob Straub, foot; Bryan McGillan, shot through left cheek and came out at the right ear; Angus Hine, slightly in head, not disabled from duty; Erastus Martin, cheek slightly, not disabled for duty.

**We have lost one man since we left Memphis, Sergeant David Thompson, who died -from disease of the throat. Sergeant Thompson was a worthy man and a _ good soldier, and was universally liked by his comrades. We buried him at Millikin's Bend, on the Mississippi River. Our hearts went with him to the grave.

"The soldiers are dying off very fast here. In a short walk to-day I counted thirty-four newly made graves at ourhospital. I am still in good health, as usual."

John T. Negus, aged twenty-eight, enlisted into the service at Middletown; was detailed as commissary-sergeant at Camp Dayton. Having been relieved from duty there, he started to rejoin his company. He died March 11th at the post hospital, at Lake Providence, Louisiana, of small-pox.

At a meeting of Company H, Eighty-third Regiment, at Smith's plantation, April 25, 1863, Captain Leflar was appointed chairman, and J. A. Witmer, orderly sergeant, secretary. Resolutions were reported by a committee for the purpose, and unanimously adopted, saying that as it had pleased Almighty God to remove from their ranks Sergeants David Thompson and Jacob C. Strobridge ; Corporal Erastus M. Martin; Privates Louis Snider, John Bridge, William Bonnele, Aaron Freame, and Timothy Sedwell, as a token of respect and esteem for the deceased they would wear the usual badge of _ mourning on parade and review for the next thirty days.

They died martyrs in the cause of their country, and under the folds of the proud and glorious old flag of their forefathers. The soldiers deeply and sincerely sympathized with the families and friends of their deceased brothers in arms.

''We are now encamped on the line of the Jackson and Vicksburg Railroad, about two miles from the court house, and within a few hundred yards of the enemy's works. Our tents are pitched in a hollow just deep enough to escape the enemy's bullets and cannon balls. We are crowded almost one tent upon another, just out of reach of any breath of air which may be stirring the favored regions above, and consequently almost insufferably hot; with this proviso, the regiment is quite healthy, and never was in better spirits. very body feels contented and satisfied of a speedy and successful termination of the siege. We have been before this place so long (ever since last December), thinning our ranks by disease and the bullet, that it will be a happy moment for us when we can reach the goal we have so long tried for. In our present camp, though in no great danger, we are still never safe. Bullets and cannon balls are whistling above and around us continually, and never a day passes but what several poor fellows are brought by from the hills above us wounded or dead. Our line approaches in front of this brigade have been tarried almost immediately under the enemy's works. They consist of three lines of rifle-pits or parallels, two of which are completed, and the third one, bringing us within a stone's-throw of the enemy's fortification, or nearly so, Squads from the negro regiments being raised in this vicinity assist in digging the trenches and help toward the progress of the work materially; they seem to hold very light the danger from the enemy's missiles, and work with a steadiness and perseverance greatly to be commended. Picketing in the advanced positions is getting to be very dangerous work. Members of our company on picket in the advance rifle-pits had some very narrow escapes day before yesterday, as we had four men seriously wounded, two of them mortally. Being so near their works the rebels can use percussion shells, in lieu of hand grenades, with great efficiency, and they give our men considerable trouble. Conversations often ensue between our men and the enemy's pickets, sometimes ending with a friendly 'good night,' and at other times with a volley of musketry.

'""The camp to-day is very quiet, more so than it has been before since the commencement of the siege; but I am afraid it is the calm before the storm. Osterhaus has telegraphed from Black River to General Grant that Johnson is near by, and a report is going the rounds of the camp that a heavy battle was fought last night, in which Osterhaus was victorious, but I can not vouch for its authenticity. Heavy re-enforcements have been sent to him, and they are trying to entice Johnson within our lines by obstructing all roads but one, so that they can flank him on either side. The Fiftieth Indiana, from this brigade, left for Black River last evening, and at midnight the Eighty-third received orders to have two days' cooked rations in their haversacks, and to be ready to move at any moment to support General Sherman in case the rebels should attempt to break through on our right, so you can judge somewhat of our position. It is evident the siege is drawing to a close, and probably before this reaches you you will have intelligence of the final result.

'« Since leaving the Mississippi we have all lost many and true friends, and our country honest and tried patriots. John Witmer, Orderly Sergeant Company H, was killed while gallantly leading his company in the charge -on the 22d; with him friendship and love for his country were traits whose influence will never cease. Out of eighty-six men with which the company crossed the Ohio River at the memorable siege of Cincinnati, only twenty now are left for duty, and of its officers, that unflinching patriot, Captain F. M. Leflar, is the only one that now remains. With but little or no assistance from his exlieutenants, he has always been present with his company, and always ready to do any duty which it may fall to his lot to perform, and as a friend and faithful soldier he will be always remembered by those who knew him."

In the Summer of 1862, about the time Cincinnati was threatened by the rebels, who were in arms close at hand, Robert Christy, of this city, a prominent lawyer, who now lives in Washington, D. C., was at the head of a movement for establishing a military force here. It had been authorized by the County Democratic Convention, and had for its ostensible reason the necessity of opposing the Confederate forces, should they come on this side of the line. Governor Tod, who was in a patriotic way doing all in his power to serve his country, had some fears that the force might be used against the Union, rather than for it, and refused to give his consent to its authorization. '' Whether it was intended," he said in this letter, ''by this proceeding to interfere with the voluntary enlistments now being made over all the State, in response to the President's recent calls for troops, is now immaterial. Believing such to be the effect, I feel it my imperative duty to direct that you, and all associated with you in the effort to raise said regiment, at once desist., It is hoped that you and your associates will give cheerful obedience to this order, and join all loyal citizens of the State in their efforts to suppress the unholy rebellion in the manner designated by the national authorities."