21ST OHIO VOLUNTEERS.

     In the three months service, this county furnished three full companies of men, under Capt. Jome Wilson, Capt. Geo. F. Walker, and Capt. K. Henry Lovell.  The company under command of Capt. Wilson was further officered by 1st Lieut. D. M. Stoughton, and 2nd Lieut. Geo. Foreman.  That under command of Capt. Walker had as 1st and 2d Lieuts, M. D. Shafer and J. E. Stearns.  And that under Capt. Lovell had as Lieuts., Joshua S. Preble and J. J. Thrap.  The late Col. J. M. Neibling was Lieut. Col.  This regiment was organized at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, on the 27th day of April, 1861.
     The service of the regiment was in West Virginia, under Gen. J. D. Cox.  They were engaged in the fight at Ripley, and also at Scary Creek.  The companies from this county did not loose a man in any of the engagements.  On the way home to be mustered out, Eli S. Reed, Quarter Master of the Regiment, died at Cincinnati.  The Regiment was mustered out August 12, 1861, at Columbus, Ohio.
     On the 19th of September it was again re-organized for three years, and went into camp at Findley, Ohio, where it was mustered into service.  In this service J. M. Neibling was again appointed Lieut. Col., but in December, 1862, he was promoted to the Colonelcy, which position he held until his discharge, by reason of losing his right arm at New Hope Church, on the 28th of May, 1864.  In the three years service, Hancock County had four Companies.  Co. A, Capt. D. M. Strougton, who was promoted to Major, and in December, 1863, was promoted to Lieut. Co., which position he held at the time of his death, in November, 1864, from wounds received at the battle of Chickamauga.  Co. B, Capt. Geo. F. Walker, who was afterwards promoted to Major.  Co. E., Capt. Isaac Cusae, who was promoted to Major, and mustered out with the Regiment at the close of the war.  Co. F., Capt. H. H. Alban, who was honorably discharged at the close of the war.  The Lieutenants of Co. A were J. A. Williams and Geo. Forman; of Co. B, Wm. Vance and Joseph E. Sternes; of Co. E, James Porter and Simon B. Webber, and of Co. F, John C. Martin and Alex A. Monroe.
     During the time this Regiment was in the field, a great number of its members were promoted to Captains and Lieutenants.  It bore the name of "Fighting Regiment," having been engaged in as many and as severe battles as was any other Regiment in the service.  This Regiment accompanied Sherman on his celebrated march to the sea, and was present at the "Grand Review" in Washington City, May 26, 1865, and was mustered out of service at Louisville, Ky., and finally paid off and discharged at Columbus, Ohio, July7 28, 1865.  This Regiment made a record during the war, for bravery, good discipline, and persistent fighting, of which the members are justly proud.  There were perhaps, from the organization of this Regiment for three years service, until discharged, in the four companies from this county, not less than six hundred men.

31ST OHIO INFANTRY.

     This Regiment was commanded by Col. M. B. Walker from its organization until the muster out at the close of the war.  Col. Walker volunteered from this county, and took with him in the service quite a number of Hancock county boys.  This Regiment made a good record, was with Sherman to the sea, was at the Grand Review at Washington, was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., and paid and discharged at Columbus, Ohio.  I have no means of knowing the exact number of Hancock boys in this Regiment, but there were perhaps not more than thirty.

49TH OHIO INFANTRY.

     This was Gen. W. H. Gibson's Regiment, he being its first Colonel, and was organized at Tiffin, O.  In this Regiment Hancock County had one Company, under command of Capt. A. Longworthy, and Lieuts. S. F. Gray and J. W. Davidson.  Lieut. Gray was afterwards successively promoted to Captain, Major and Lieut. Colonel, and was, I believe, in command of the Regiment at muster out.  This Regiment did as much marching, was in as many engagements, and suffered many hardships, as any in the service in the South-west.  Their gallant Colonel was ever ready by word and act to make them comfortable, and always led in an engagement.  His loyalty, patriotism and eloquence seemed to inspire the men, and they were under his leadership willing to undertake any expedition.
     They suffered incredible hardships in their winter march to the relief of Burnside at Knoxville.  Almost naked, without shoes, and rations exhausted, the brave fellows did not grumble.  On their return from this expedition they were called upon to re-enlist, and right nobly did they respond.  Many of the Hancock boys won and received promotion.
     On the 13th of July, 1865, this Regiment was ordered to Texas, where they suffered the hardships of a campaign of four months, after nearly all the other troops were discharged.  The Regiment was mustered out of service Nov. 30th, 1865.
     The whole number of men on the rolls of this Regiment was fifteen hundred and fifty-two.  Eight officers were killed in battle and twenty wounded, (six of them mortally).  Of the privates one hundred and twenty-seven were killed in battle, seventy-one were mortally wounded, one hundred and sixty-five died from hardship and disease, and seven in rebel prisons.  Six hundred and sixteen were discharged on account of wounds or other disability.  Of these Hancock furnished her full proportion.  There were perhaps not less than two hundred men from this county in the 49th, and every boy who survives, is proud that he was a member of this famous Regiment.

57TH OHIO INFANTRY.

     This Regiment was organized at Camp Vance, at Findley, Ohio, in September 1861.  Co. B was made up of men from Hancock and Seneca Counties.  Co. F and Co. G from Hancock, and Co. H from Hancock and Seneca.  Wm. Mungen, of Findley, was first Colonel.  Dr. W. D. Carlin was Surgeon, James Wilson was Capt. of Co. F, John B. May of Co. G.  By promotions Hiram E. Henderson, John W. Wheeler, Daniel Gilbert, Squire Johnson and George Trichler became Captains, and Squire Johnson was promoted to Major.  The Lieutenants from this county at the formation of the Regiment were Co. B, Daniel S. Price; Co. F, H. E. Henderson and John Adams; of Co. G, Edmund W. Firmin; of Co. H. John W. Wheeler; of Co. I, Daniel Gilbert, and of Co. C, Oliver Mungen.
     This Regiment very soon after its organization, and before it had become accustomed to camp life, marching, or military tactics, was to join the army of the Tennessee.  Going immediately into a different climate, exposed to hardships, it suffered terribly from sickness, and on the 6th of April, 1862, less than six months from the time it broke camp at Findley, only four hundred and fifty men were fit for duty.  From the time the Fifty-seventh shelled the rebel works at Chickason, Alabama, in April, 1862, until they were finally discharged, they were almost continually in the front, and took aprt in the skirmishing and fighting in these four dreadful years.  At Pittsburg Landing, at Corinth, at Hamburg, at Pea Ridge, at Camps Six and Seven, at the Russel house, at Morning Sun, at Wolf Creek, at Chickason Bayou, at Arkansas Post, at Clay Plantation, at Haine's Bluff, at Raymond, at Champion Hills, at Vicksburg, at Mission Ridge, and at numerous other engagements, it was always in the van, and received the first fire of the rebels.  In all these places the Regiment behaved well, and did herself great credit.
   The boys from Hancock were amongst the bravest of the Regiment, and are proud of the achievements of the old Fifty-seventh.  This Regiment was discharged and paid off at Camp Chase, O., on the 25th of August, 1865.  The Fifty-Seventh travelled by railroad, steamboat, and on foot, more than twenty-eight thousand miles, and of the one thousand five hundred and ninety-four men on the muster rolls, there were only four hundred and eight-one alive at the muster out.  In all there were perhaps five hundred men from this county in the Fifty-Seventh.

65TH OHIO INFANTRY.

     This Regiment was in what was called Sherman Brigade, raised at Mansfield.  Joshua S. Preble, of McComb, was Captain of Co. H, and in his company were quite a number of men from this county.  The Hancock boys of course acquitted themselves as become true soldiers, in the many engagements in which they participated, from their first fight at Pittsburg Landing, under Gen. Garfield, until the final battle at Nashville.  They were ordered to Texas in June, 1865, and did garrison duty at San Antonio until December 1865.  They were then ordered to Columbus, O., to be mustered out, and paid, being perhaps the last Ohio Volunteers to be discharged.

87TH OHIO INFANTRY.

     This was one of the tree months regiments, and Hancock had one company therein, under the command of Capt. Sam. Huber and Lieuts. Philip Ford and Christopher Keasy.  The Rev. Geo. D. Oviatt, of Findley, was Chaplain.  On the 12th of June, 1862, the Regiment had orders to repair to Baltimore, at which place they were assigned to a camp under command of Col. Banning.  In July they had orders to report to Col. Miles at Harper's Ferry.  At the siege of that place by Jackson's men, they were surrendered to him, although their term of enlistment had expired.  They were however, immediately paroled, and returned home and were mustered out at Columbus, on the 20th of September, 1862.

99TH OHIO INFANTRY.

     Of this Regiment, Co. C, Capt. O. P. Capell, and Lieuts. C. G. Barnel and Robert B. Drake, and Co. F, Capt. J. A. Bope, and Lieuts. James Harsh and W. C. Kelley, were from Hancock.  Albert Longworthy was the 1st Colonel, and Dr. J. T. Woods was Surgeon.  This Regiment left Camp Lima August 31st, 1862, with an aggregate of one thousand and twenty-one men, under orders to report at Lexington, Ky.  Severe marching and hot weather occasioned so much sickness, that when the Regiment moved forward to take part in the battle of Stone River, only three hundred and sixty-nine men, two field officers, seven line, and three staff officers were fit for duty.  In courage and discipline this Regiment was not found wanting, as their acts at Rocky Face Ridge, Kenesaw Mountain, Pine Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy, and many other engagements, demonstrated.  During almost the entire Atlanta campaign they were under fire daily.  At Nashville it was consolidated with the Fiftieth Ohio, forming one Regiment.  The men were mustered out at Salsbury, N. C., and discharged and paid at Camp Dennison, O., July 17th, 1865.  Hancock furnished perhaps three hundred men in all for this Regiment.

118TH OHIO INFANTRY.

     This Regiment went into camp at Lima, in August 1862. Co. H was from Hancock, and was officered by Capt. Samuel Howard and Lieuts. Darious Pendleton and M. B. Patterson.  In September, only eight companies being then full, it was ordered to Cincinnati to assist in repelling the threatened invasion of Kirby Smith.  Here the ninth company joined it, and the Regiment was mustered in.  Their first engagement was at Mossy Creek, where after a desperate charge, the reels under Generals Martin and Armstrong, were driven back with a loss to the One Hundred and Eighteenth, of forty killed and wounded.
     Whilst in East Tennessee, the Regiment subsisted for six months on quarter and half rations, and endured great privation.  On the afternoon of the 14th of May, 1864, they participated in a charge on the enemy's works at Reseca, and out of three hundred men actually engaged lost one hundred and sixteen in less than ten minutes.  Such was some of the desperate fighting of this Regiment, and it was continued at Dalton, Pumpkin Vine Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, and at Atlanta.  Such was the fatality in this Regiment, that at no time after June 1st, did it number over two hundred and fifty men, and at one time it was reduced to one hundred and twenty.
     During one hundred and twenty-one days they were within hearing of hostile firing every day but one, and for sixty consecutive days it was under fire, sixty different times.  About one hundred and fifty of Hancock's brave boys participated in the fortunes of this gallant Regiment.

133D OHIO INFANTRY.  N. G.

     In this Regiment of one hundred-day men, this county had a company under the command of Capt. James Walternire and Lieuts. Jacob Romich and Jefferson Darrah.  This Regiment did duty around Washington City, and at Bermudae Hundred.  Whilst at work on the fortifications at Fort Powhattan, it was so very unhealthy that over three hundred of this Regiment were on the sick list at one time.

134TH OHIO INFANTRY.  N. G.

     A company of men from this county belonged to this Regiment, and were under the command of Capt. Miles Wilson.  The Regiment was ordered to Cumberland, Va., May 7th, 1864, and from there proceeded to White House, on the Pamunky, by way of Washington City, but before dis-embarking at White House, were ordered to City Point.  On June 17th, they had an engagement with the enemy at Fort Walthall, during the assault on Petersburg, and the men displayed great courage under fire.  For seventy days this Regiment formed a portion of the advanced line operating on Richmond.  The Regiment was mustered out at Camp Chase, August 31st, 1864.

161ST OHIO INFANTRY.  N. G.

     One company from Hancock County, under command of Capt. Geo. Foreman and Lieut. H. B. Green, was a part of this Regiment, which was mustered into service at Camp Chase, May 9, 1864, and was immediately ordered to Cumberland, Md.  The operations of this Regiment were confined to the Shenandoah Valley.  Five companies of this Regiment made a march from Lynchburg to Webster, in charge of sick, prisoners, and wagon and ambulance train, a distance of nearly five hundred miles.  At Maryland Heights, they were engaged two days in a lively skirmish with the enemy.  On the 2d of September, 1864, the Regiment was mustered out at Camp Chase.

192D OHIO INFANTR.

     This Regiment was organized at Camp Chase, and one company from this county, under command of Capt. Moses Louthan, formed a part.  They started for the field in March, 1865.  They marched through Charleston, Va., and under orders on the 3d of April, they moved before daylight to relieve the Regiment picketing the Shenandoah River.  This was accomplished by noon of that day, without loss.  This Regiment was stationed for some time at Stevenson Station and Jordon Springs.
     This Regiment was in high favor for its very excellent drill, and discipline.  They were paid off and discharged on the 6th of September, at Columbus.

12TH OHIO CAVALRY.

     This Regiment was recruited in September and October, 1863, and went into camp at Cleveland.  During the winter of 1863-64 one half of the Regiment did guard duty on Johnson's Island.  This county had one company in this organization, with Capt. A. A. Monroe and Lieut. En. N. Flaiseg.  this Regiment did duty in Tennessee and North Carolina, and aided in the capture of Jeff Davis.  They were discharged at Columbus, in November, 1865.

1ST OHIO HEAVY ARTILLERY.

     This Regiment was joined with the 117th Ohio Infantry and on the 2d day of May, 1864, the Regiment (117th) was ordered to be changed into the First Heavy Artillery.  The Artillery Regiment was then recruited up to the full maximum of twelve companies, with aggregate of eighteen hundred and thirty nine men, including officers.  The principal field of operations of this Regiment was in East Tennessee, and they took part in nearly all the battles in that section.  They were in almost constant action against the guerrillas under Vaughn and Debrill.  Our county had one company in the Artillery commanded by Capt. Joshua S. Preble and Lieuts. Ebenezer Wilson and John Foreman.

INDEPENDENT SHARP SHOOTERS.

    Capt. Campbell Dougherty, and Lieuts. James Waltemire and James Cox, joined this organization with a company of Hancock County boys.  This company ("H") was in the following engagements and skirmishes:  Tuscumbia Bridge, Danville, Miss., Blackalnd, Rienzi, Jumpertown, Miss., Hatchie River, Boonesville and Whitesides Farm.  They also took part in the Atlanta campaign, in the Sixteenth Army Corps, of McPherson's Army.
     In this campaign they were engaged in no less than thirty encounters with the enemy, between the 8th of May and the 5th of September, 1864.  They were with Sherman in his march to the sea, and were paid off and discharged at Camp Dennison.
     In addition to the several commands already named, our county was represented in many other organizations, not only of this, but of other States.  A few of our patriotic colored citizens went into the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Mass. Colored Regiments.  Every branch of the service had representatives from Hancock.  Every grade of soldier, from the humble private in the ranks, who did the marching and fighting, to the Brigadier General, who did the planning and commanding, had her full share of representation by our boys.  It is estimated that not less than two thousand as brave, as loyal men, as ever went forth to defend their county, marched out of old Hancock at the signal of danger, and that more than one-third of that number laid down their lives on the altar of their country - died that their country might live.  Hancock County is justly proud of her war record, justly proud of her noble sons who went forth to battle for right, and she jealously cherishes the memory of her fallen braves, whose deeds are recorded in their hearts.  May their example ever keep alive a burning love of country in the hearts of the living.
     I have thus briefly, and imperfectly, given a statement of ours in the war, a history that ought to be written, and when written, the recital of the gallantry, the patriotism, the sufferings, the achievements, the heroism, of our brave men in that four dreadful years, would fill a volume.  If, in my sketch I have did injustice to any one, my excuse is ignorance of the matter, together with want of time and space to do the subject justice.

< BACK TO HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS >