A company of
the First Ohio Cavalry was recruited at Plain City,
Ohio, under the first call for three years' troops,
and was assigned as Company K of that regiment,
organized at Camp Chase, Ohio, in the summer of
1861. Twelve Jerome Township soldiers served
in this company, three of whom died in the service -
James S. Ewing, Presley E. Goff, and
Benjamin F. Lucas; and five - James Cutler,
W. L. Curry, Sanford P. Clark, Presley E. Goff,
and Alanson Sessler - were prisoners of war.
As the writer served in this regiment and has personal
knowledge of the campaigns and battles in which they
participated, it is hoped that the reader may have
charity and overlook any seeming overestimated
distinguished services of the regiment. It is
a hard task to condense in a page or two the record
of the services of a regiment which served four
years and participated in many decisive battles.
The company left Plain City September 8th, 1861, going
across the country in carriages and wagons, to Camp
Chase. A few days later the election for
commissioned officers was held and Dr. T. W.
Forshee of Madison County and was elected
Captain; Dr. James Cutler of Jerome Township,
First Lieutenant; A. H. McCurdy of Morrow
County, Second Lieutenant; and W. L. Curry
was appointed Orderly Sergeant.
The regiment was fully equipped and mustered into the
U. S. service October 5th, 1861, with twelve
companies, under Colonel Orin P. Ransom, an
officer of the Regular Army; Lieutenant Colonel
T. C. H. Smith and Major Minor Millikin.
The regiments that were so fortunate as to get a
Regular officer for a Colonel were usually well
organized, and that was the case in the First Ohio.
We had a great contempt for our Colonel in the
beginning, as he was a regular martinet, but when we
got into the field we had a very high regard for
him, as he at once inaugurated strict military
discipline, and, as the boys said, "brought the
officers to time," organized an officers' school,
and looked after the smallest details of clothing,
ra-Pg. 81
tions and all things that pertained to the comfort
of his men; systematically examined for himself all
clothing, equipments and food before allowing them
to be issued, and whatever was poor in quality or
short in quantity he rejected with good round oaths
and with a savage threat of arrest to the
quarter-master of the commissary.
Of the commissioned officers the regiment, four
attained the grade of Colonel, five of Lieutenant
Colonel, sixteen of Major, four of Surgeon, two
Assistant Surgeon, one Chaplain, forty-six of
Captain, and one hundred and twenty-nine of
Lieutenant, making in all two hundred and seven
commissions. There being originally twelve
Captains, thirty-four Lieutenants were promoted to
the rank of Captain. There were but four
officers in the regiment at the close of the war
that were commissioned at the organization, all the
other officers remaining in the regiment at the
close of the war having been promoted from the
ranks. Of the Colonels of the regiment,
Ransom resigned, Millikin was killed at
Stone River, Smith was promoted to
Brigadier-General, and Eggleston was also
promoted to Brigadier-General. Colonel Cupp
was killed at Chickamauga, Major Moore and
Lieutenant Condit were killed at Stone River.
Captain Emery and Captain Scott were
killed in action, as was Lieutenant Allen.
Although we denounced Colonel Ransom as an
"old martinet and tyrant," we soon learned to
respect him as a disciplinarian, and before the end
of our service, blessed his memory for the strict
discipline inaugurated when we first went into camp.
The large percent of the boys recruited in the regiment
were farmers, and as in that day a great deal of
horseback riding was done, many of our men were, as
the saying goes, "raised on a horse's back" and were
fine horsemen. To be an accomplished rider it
must be learned when the person is young and at the
age when he was a certain amount of recklessness and
has no fear. A person that is timid and has no
confidence in his ability to control his horse can
never become a good rider.
The men were accustomed to caring for horses and
under-
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stood feeding, grooming and saddling, and did
not have these duties to learn after enlisting.
Many of the men brought their own horses to camp and
owned them throughout the war and received 40 cents
a day from the Government for their service.
The men who owned their own mounts usually had the
best horses and cared for them best, as they has
pecuniary interest and also understood the care of
horses.
While no soldier can become a good cavalrymen unless he
is a good horseman we soon learned that the
service of a cavalryman, with all its many
attractions, was at all times laborious, and while
he might be a good rider he had many other duties to
learn and perform.
The trooper has his carbine to care for and keep in
order which evens him up with the infantryman in
care of arms and equipments, and in addition to this
he has his revolver, saber and horse equipments to
keep in order, and his horse to water, feed and
groom every day, and the soldier who enlists in the
cavalry service expecting a "soft snap" will soon
learn, to his sorrow, that he has been laboring
under a grievous mistake.
On a campaign or march in good weather, when it is not
necessary to pitch tents at night, the infantry
stack arms, get supper, and are soon at rest or
asleep; but not so with the cavalryman. The
company must first put up the picket rope, and then
the horses must be watered, fed and groomed.
If there is no forage for his horse in the wagon
train he must hunt for it, and perhaps go a mile or
two in the search. Then he unsaddles, gets his
coffee, grooms his horse, and is ready to lie down
an hour after the infantryman is asleep. In
the morning, if the cavalry are to move at the same
hour as the infantry are to march, they must have
reveille an hour earlier than the infantry, to have
time to feed, groom and water the horses; and while
he has the advantage on the march, it would not be
considered by the average citizen a very easy task
to march forty, fifty or even sixty miles a day
mounted, which was a usual occurrence on our scouts
and raids.
Captain Forshee and Lieutenant McCurdy
both resigned in
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June, 1862, when the command of the company devolved
upon Lieutenant James Cutler.
On the 9th day of December, 1861, the regiment broke
camp, marched through the capital and embarked on
their first campaign, from which many comrades were
destined never again to return. Arrived at
Cincinnati at daybreak the next morning, the
regiment took boats and reached Louisville, Ky., on
the morning of the 11th, the first regiment of
cavalry to enter that department save Wolford's
Kentucky regiment, and, quoting from Reid's
history: "The First Ohio was the nucleus
of that host of cavalry which, under the leadership
of Stanley, Crook, Mitchell, McCook, Kilpatrick,
Long, Minty, Millikin and Wilson,
achieved such triumphs for the country and fame for
themselves."
' 'The history of the
cavalry of the Southwest—its fearless rides, its
daring raids, its bloody charges, its long nights of
weary marching, as it carried desolation and
destruction into the very heart of treason—is a
record of heroic achievements unsurpassed in the
annals of that service."
The regiment remained in camp at Louisville until
January 16th, 1862, then marched to Lebanon, Ky.,
and was in camp at Lebanon and Bardstown until about
the last of February. During all the winter
months the regiment was busy drilling and scouting,
and had a few skirmishes with General John
Morgan's cavalry.
About the last of February the regiment marched to
Louisville and embarked on steamers for Nashville,
Tenn. March 14th they made a dash in the night as
the advance of General Buell's army to save
the bridge across Duck River at Columbia. They
marched with Buell's army through rain and
mud to the relief of General Grant's
army at Pittsburg Landing, arriving opposite the
battlefield on the Tennessee River the evening the
battle closed, but too late to take part in the
battle fought April 6th and 7th, 1862.
From April 8th to May 30th, during the siege of
Corinth, Mississippi, the regiment was constantly on
picket, scouting and skirmishing duty in front of
the Confederate Army, and
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this was the first real hard service. After
Corinth was evacuated, we followed the Confederate
Army up, had some brisk fights and took many
prisoners.
In June, moved east along the Memphis & Charleston
Railroad with Buell's army, toward
Chattanooga, and participated in the great
countermarch of the army through Tennessee and
Kentucky to Louisville. They participated in
the battle of Perrysville, Ky., October 8th; was in
the advance to Nashville and the Stone River
campaign.
In the battle of Stone River, Tenn., December 31st,
1862, in making a saber charge Colonel Minor
Millikin, Major D. A. B. Moore and
Lieutenant Condit were killed. Adjutant
William Scott and Captain S. W. Fordyce
were wounded, and the regiment lost heavily.
From the battle of Stone River until June, 1863, the
regiment was employed in scouting and patroling,
watching the movements of the enemy. Captain
Cutler having resigned, W. L. Curry, a
prisoner of war, was promoted to a Lieutenancy and
had command of Company K. The regiment
advanced from Murfreesboro with General
Rosecran's army June 24th, and had some shart
fights in driving the enemy through the mountain
passes to Chattanooga. In August Lieutenant
Curry was transferred to the command of
Company M.
In the advance on Chattanooga the First Ohio, under
command of Lieutenant Colonel Cupp,
crossed the Tennessee River September 2nd, and was
conspicuous in the expedition under General
Stanley in the attempt to cut the railroad
south of Chattanooga. After a severe encounter
with a large force of the enemy near Lafayette, Ga.,
it passed up the Chattanooga Valley, reached the
battlefield of Chickamauga early on the morning of
September 20th, and lost heavily in the engagement
of that day. Colonel Cupp was
killed while forming the regiment for a charge. Of
the 900 men composing the Second Brigade, 134 were
killed and wounded.
After falling back to Chattanooga, the troops were
allowed no rest, but on the 26th of September
started on the famous raid driving Wheeler's
cavalry from Washington, Tenn., to
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Muscle Shoals, Ala., taking more than 1,000
prisoners and several pieces of artillery.
The regiment then returned to Chattanooga and took part
in the assault on Mission Ridge, where William
Johnson of Company K was killed. After
the battle of Mission Ridge the First moved to the
relief of Burnsides, at Knoxville, being the first
regiment to reach that city, having several
skirmishes on the way and capturing many prisoners.
On the 16th of December a detachment of the regiment
made a brilliant charge at Calhoun upon a rebel
brigade commanded by General Wheeler,
sweeping them from the field and taking many
prisoners.
January 4th, 1864, about 400 members of the regiment
reenlisted at Pulaski, Tenn., as veterans for "three
years, or during the war," and were given a furlough
for thirty days.
After the veteran furlough, during which time many
recruits joined the regiment, we were remounted at
Nashville, Tenn., and May 22nd started on the march
to join General Sherman's army and
arrived at Rome, Ga., about the first of June, after
having had several skirmishes while marching on the
flank of the 17th Army Corps.
The regiment participated in the "One Hundred Days
under fire from Chattanooga to Atlanta," was
continuously scouting and raiding, and was a part of
the two divisions of cavalry commanded by General
Kilpatrick which made a raid around the
Confederate Army during the siege of Atlanta in
August, 1864.
After the surrender of Atlanta, September 1st, and
while General Sherman was organizing for his "March
to the Sea," the regiment was ordered to Louisville,
Ky.. was remounted and joined the army of General
George H. Thomas at Nashville, Tenn. After the
victory at Nashville the cavalry corps under
General James H. Wilson rendezvoused at Gravelly
Springs, Alabama, until March, 1865. General
Wilson, having organized a cavalry corps of
12,000 veteran cavalrymen, cut his way down through
Alabama and Georgia, capturing the fortified city of
Selma, Alabama, April 2nd, 1865, with 2,700
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prisoners, including 150 officers, and in addition
2,000 cavalry horses, 72 siege guns, 26 field guns,
and 66,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, gaining a
complete victory over General Forrest's
forces.
The last fight of the regiment was at Columbus, Ga.,
which was taken by a saber charge April 15th, 1865.
A detachment of the First Cavalry, under command of
Captain J. O. Yeoman, was with the command that
captured the President of the Confederacy.
The regiment garrisoned Georgia and South Carolina from
April to September, then returned to Ohio and was
mustered out at Camp Chase on the 28th of
September, 1865, after four years' hard service,
Company K having lost twelve who died in hospital,
nine killed, twelve wounded, and ten taken prisoner
—making a total loss of forty-three.
The First Ohio Cavalry carried on its muster rolls
nearly 1,800 names and mustered out at Camp Chase
701 men. The regiment marched 11,490 miles and
fought in the States of Kentucky, Tennessee,
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina.
The losses in killed, died of wounds and disease
were 204. Upward of 200 were wounded, 130 were
prisonersof war, and the total casualties were five
hundred and thirty-five.
As shown by the official records, the regiment
participated in fifty-one battles, fights and
skirmishes. |
