At the first call of the President for volunteers, and immediately after the firing upon Fort Sumter by the rebels, to wit, on the 17th day of April, 1861, six young men of Pike County enrolled themselves as volunteers in Company G, First Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Their names were John R. T. Barnes, John Vulmer, Frank Lauman, Joseph Hinson, Abisha Downing and Asa Couch.  Of these Barnes was killed at Vienna, near the city of Washington, in the reconnaissance made by General Schenck, and Vulmer and Lauman were wounded, the former losing his right arm.  Shortly after the term of their enlistment had expired, Joseph Hinson enlisted in the Thirty-third Ohio Infantry and from the rank of Captain, rose to that of Colonel of the regiment.  He was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga, losing his right arm.  He was noted for gallantry in action, and when mustered out of the army at the close of the war was respected and beloved by those in his command.  Abisha Downing enlisted in Company D, Seventy-third Ohio Infantry, and was mustered as Second Lieutenant of the company Nov. 4, 1861.  He served from that time on until the close of the war, having in the meantime been commissioned a Major of the regiment.  His record as a soldier is without a blemish.  Young Barnes was the first of the Pike County volunteers to offer up his life on the altar of his country, and in his honor the post of the Grand Army of the Republic organized at Waverly is named Barnes Post.  It is fitting that the names of these six young men should be preserved in the history of the county as the first to respond to the call of their country when its overthrow was threatened by an armed rebellion.

THE COUNTRY CALLS AGAIN.

     In the early part of June, 1861, when it became apparent that the 75,000 men first called for by President Lincoln would not be sufficient to put down the rebellion, and after an additional call had been made for volunteers, seven young men of Waverly enlisted in Company B, Sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, commonly known as the "Guthrie Grays," a regiment organized at Cincinnati, Ohio.  The names of these young men were: John Helfenbine, Philip B. Helfenbine, Benjamin Lewis, James Warren, Anson Clapper, John  Boerst and David Schreiber.  The Sixth Regiment was first ordered into West Virginia where, under General McClelland and afterward under General Rosecrans, it took part in the battles of Carrick's Ford, Cheat Mountain, Beverly, etc.  Late in November of 1861 the Sixth Regiment was ordered to Louisville, Ky., and at once became a part of the Army of the Ohio, and was assigned to the Fifteenth Brigade of the Fourth Division, commanded by Brigadier William Nelson.  The part taken by this regiment in the marches and battles which preceeded the fall of Atlanta reflects great credit upon its officers and men.
     Of the seven young men of Pike County who formed a part of Company B of that regiment, it may be said that each honorably discharged his duty and contributed by his soldierly conduct to the high character and standing that the regiment maintained for the three years that it was an active service; nor did these seven young patriots escape the casualties of war.  John Boerst was killed at the battle of Stone River, and in the same battle Jas. Warren, Anson Clapper, David Schreiber and John Helfenbine were severely wounded, both Warren and Clapper subsequently dying of their wounds.  Philip B. Helfenbine was killed at the battle of Chickamauga, and Benjamin Lewis was taken prisoner and was kept a prisoner at Richmond, Va., for seventeen months.  Brief as this history is of the military career of these seven young men, yet the reader cannot fail to admire the patriotism that led them at that early period of the war to leave their homes to volunteer in a regiment, so remote from where they lived, and in which all were strangers to them.  They deserve to be enrolled among the true patriots of the war and to have their names preserved in the history of their county.
     At the October election in 1861 the voters of Pike County were to decide the question as to whether the county seat should be removed to Waverly or not.  This local question was of absorbing interest to the people and the canvass was an exciting one, and notwithstanding the fact that a civil war had broken out, yet many young men decided to remain at home until after the election before volunteering into the army to maintain the Union.  Immediately after the October election T. W. Higgins, who had taken a prominent part in the canvass for removal, obtained a recruiting commission to raise a company for the Seventy-third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and notwithstanding the fact that his was the thirteenth commission issued to different persons to raise companies for the same regiment, he was the second officer to fill his company, and to be mustered into said regiment.  The regiment was to rendezvous at Chillicothe, Ohio.  Mr. Higgins was appointed a Second Lieutenant Oct. 13, 1861, and was promoted to Captain, Company B, Nov. 20, of the same year.  This company was mostly recruited in Pike County, and when organized George Lauman was elected First Lieutenant, and Henry Hinson Second Lieutenant.  It remained with the regiment to the close of the war, having veteranized Jan. 1, 1864.  The following are the names of its officers from the commencement to the close of the service, with the dates of promotion, etc.:
     T. W. Higgins, appointed Second Lieutenant, Oct. 13, 1861; promoted to Captain of Company B, Nov. 20, 1861; promoted to Major, June 27, 1864; commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel, July 10, 1864, not mustered; appointed Lieutenant-Colonel by brevet, with rank dating March 13, 1865; served full term.
     George Lauman, appointed First Lieutenant, Dec. 18, 1861; resigned Mar. 8, 1862.
     Henry Hinson, appointed Second Lieutenant Nov. 20, 1861; promoted to First Lieutenant, May 22, 1862; promoted to Captain, Mar. 1, 1864; resigned on account of wounds Oct. 20, 1864.
     John H. Martin, enlisted Oct. 15, 1861; appointed First Lieutenant, May 20, 1864; promoted to Captain, June 22, 1865; served full term.
     Joshua A. Davis, enlisted Oct. 15, 1861; appointed Second Lieutenant, May 12, 1862; promoted to First Lieutenant, Mar. 1, 1864; discharged on account of wounds received in battle of New Hope Church, Ga.
     Part of another company (D) of same regiment was recruited in Pike County.  Of this company the following named persons were mustered as officers:
     James Q. Barnes, enlisted November, 1861; appointed First Lieutenant, Dec. 30, 1861; promoted to Captain, Sept. 22, 1862; mustered out Dec. 29, 1864, by reason of expiration of term of service.
     Abisha Downing, appointed Second Lieutenant, Dec. 30, 1861; promoted to First Lieutenant, Dec. 30, 1861; promoted to First Lieutenant, Sept. 22, 1862; promoted to Captain, Mar. 29, 1864; commissioned as Mayor, July 18, 1865, not mustered; served full term.
     Prestey T. Talbott, enlisted Oct. 15, 1861; appointed Captain, Apr. 18, 1864; resigned June 25, 1865.
     Joseph P. Talbott, enlisted Oct. 15, 1861; appointed Second Lieutenant, Jan. 1, 1863; promoted to First Lieutenant, Mar. 30, 1864; resigned June 18, 1864.
     The following is a list of those belonging to Company B, of the Seventy-third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, who were killed in battle, died of their wounds, or of disease:
     First Sergeant Charles Shepherd, killed in battle at second Bull Run;
     Sergeant Benjamin Morrison, killed in battle at Second Bull Run;
     Sergeant Johnson Pryor, killed in battle at Gettysburg;
     Sergeant Thos. F. Rice, died of wounds at Gettysburg;
     Corporal Wm. E. Haines, killed in battle at Gettysburg;
     Corporal James H. Smith, killed in battle of Second Bull Run;
     Corporal Samuel Turner, killed in battle of Gettysburg;
     William R. Call, died of wounds received at Gettysburg;
     John Couch, died at Aquia Creek, Jan. 1863;
     John H. Donhee, died at Clarksburg, Va., Mar., 1862;
     George Haines, died at Clarksburg, Va., 1862;
     Daniel Kirkendall, died of wounds at Chattanooga;
     David R. Lee, died at Clarksburg, Va., 1862;
     William Labor, killed in battle of Cross Keys, Va., 1862;
     David D. Milton, died at Clarksburg, Va., 1862;
     William May, killed in battle at Peach-Tree Creek;
     Isaiah McCandles, died at Weston, Va., 1862;
     George Dixon, died of wounds received at Gettsburg;
     Jeremiah Price, died at home, 1865;
     Joseph T. Shade, died at Clarksburg, Va., 1862;
     Absalom Hisey, killed in battle of Kenesaw Mountain;
     William Linton, died at Washington, D. C., 1863;
     William McLuens, killed in battle at Gettsyburg;
     James H. McCoy, died at Chattanooga, 1864;
     David M. Junkins, died at Nashville, 1864.

     The names of those of Company D, that were killed in battle, and those who died of wounds or of disease, are as follows:

     Corporal John Durham, died of wounds received at Second Bull Run;
     Corporal Frank H. Watkins, died at Clarksburg, Va., 1862;
     Corporal Abner Taylor, killed in battle of Resaca;
     William Ackerman, killed accidentally at Gettysburg,
     William Cochenorer, died at Petersburg, Va., in 1862;
     Joseph Chesser, died at Falmouth, Va., in 1863;
     John W. Cattrell, died at Clarksburg, Va., in 1862;
     Francis W. Crabtree, drowned while sailing near Cape Hatteras;
     Frederick Kunthe, killed in battle of Resaca;
     John McKee, killed in battle of Second Bull Run;
     Henry J. Martin, died at Clarksburg, Va., in 1862;
     Albert Moots, died at Lookout Valley, Tenn., in 1863;
     Isaac Martin, died at Falmouth, Va.;
     John Swift, killed in battle at Lookout Valley, Tenn., in 1863;
     Thomas Swift, died at Clarksburg, Va., in 1862;
     Dennis Drake, killed in battle at Lookout Valley, Tenn.;
     Isaac Miller, killed in battle of Lookout Valley, in 1863;
     James H. Russell, died of wounds received at Kenesaw Mountain;
     Samuel R. Bishop, died at home, in 1864;
     Robert H. Grubb, killed in battle at New Hope Church;
     William Nichols, died of wounds in July, 1864;
     James R. Rinehart, died at Chattanooga, Tenn.

     Some of those whose names are here written, in both Companies B and D, were not residents of Pike County but most were.
     The officers of the Seventy-third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, when first organized, were: 
     Colonel, Orland Smith;
     Lieutenant-Colonel, Jacob Hyer;
     Major, Richard Long
     Adjutant, Frederick C. Smith;
     Surgeon, Jonas P. Safford;
     Quartermaster, William D. Wesson.
     Jan. 24, 1862, the regiment was ordered to report to General Rosecrans (then commanding the department of West Virginia), and proceeded immediately to New Creek, W. Va.  It marched from there to Romney, and, returning, again marched to Moorefield with the Fifty-fifth Ohio Infantry, where, after a slight skirmish, it entered the town.  Returning immediately to New Creek, the regiment was ordered back to Clarksburg on the 18th of February, and arrived there on the 19th.  Measles had broken out in the regiment and in two weeks time 300 men were sick in hospital and one or more died almost every day.  The records of death was given above will show the reader how fatal this disease was to Companies B and D; and the deaths in the other companies were in about the same proportion.
     From Clarksburg the regiment, on the 20th of March, 1862, moved to Weston, and after a three weeks' encampment commenced its march across the mountains by way of Buchanan, Beverly, Huttonsville and Cheat Mountain, 120 miles, to Monterey, where the Seventy-third lost several men who had been sent on a foraging party, having been surprised by rebel cavalry near Williamsville. 
     May 8, the regiment participated in the battle of McDowell, General Milroy commanding the Union forces, about 4,000 strong, and being reinforced during the battle with General Schenck's command of about 2,000.  It was soon learned that Stonewall Jackson had united his forces with those of General Johnson, and our army retreated upon Franklin, arriving there May 10, being closely pursued by the rebel forces.  On the 13th of May General Freemont with an army of about 10,000 men marched into Franklin, and the enemy learning of this fact immediately withdrew toward the valley of the Shenandoah.  The forces at Franklin were organized into an army under the command of General Fremont and was called the Army of the Mountain.  The Seventy-third Regiment was now for the first time brigaded, being placed in the brigade commanded by General Schenck.  May 25 the Army of the Mountain, under command of General Fremont, left Franklin for the Shenandoah Valley, where, June 1, it again encountered Stonewall Jackson's forces, on their return up the valley, after having suddenly fallen upon General Banks at Strasburg and driven him back through Winchester to Harper's Ferry.  Sharp skirmishing between the two armies was engaged in, but Jackson continued to move up the valley and Fremont followed him, engaging his rear guard from time to time until his arrival at Cross Keys, where Jackson made a stand and where a determined and sanguinary battle was not decisive, but on the morning of the 9th it was discovered that Jackson had retreated through Port Republic.
     In this engagement the Seventy-third Regiment lost eight men in killed and wounded.  It was here that William Labor, of Company B, was killed while on the skirmish line.  General Fremont decided not to follow Jackson, and immediately moved his army back to Strasburg, where it remained a few days and then retired of Middletown.  While here General Fremont was superseded by General Sigel, and the Army of the Mountain became the First Corps of the Army of Virginia.  The Seventy-third Regiment was placed in a division commanded by General Schenck and in a brigade commanded by Colonel N. C. McLean, of the Seventy-fifty Ohio.  The brigade was composed of the Fifty-fifth, Seventy-third, Seventy-fifth and Twenty-fifth Ohio regiments.
     On the 7th of July the First Corps of the Army of Virginia left Middletown and moved through Front Royal, and along the
MORE TO COME UPON REQUEST.............