This
regiment was organized at Camp Dennison, Ohio, in
the summer and fall of 1861, under Colonel Thomas
Kirby Smith, who was promoted to a
Brigadier-General August 11th, 1863.
Fourteen Jerome Township soldiers are credited to the
regiment, of whom James Clark and
David Kent died in the service. The
regiment was ordered to Kentucky in February, 1862,
and arrived at Paducah on the 20th of that month,
where it was assigned to the division of General
W. T. Sherman. The regiment was among the
first troops to arrive by steamer, going up the
Tennessee River, at Pittsburg Landing, early in
March.
It was on outpost duty continuously through the month
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of March, and when the battle of Shiloh commenced it
held the Union lines on the extreme left. It
participated in that bloody battle, April 6th and
7th, with a loss in killed, wounded and missing of
about two hundred men. During the siege of
Corinth the regiment was on the front line the
greater part of the time until the evacuation of
that stronghold by the Confederates, May 30th, and
had a number of skirmishes and minor engagements.
Soon after the evacuation of Corinth the regiment moved
with the Division to LaGrange, Tenn., and then on to
Holly Springs, Miss. In July the regiment
marched to Memphis, Tenn., and from here was on
several scouting and reconnoitering expeditions, and
was with the advance of Sherman's army on the
first expedition against Vicksburg.
In the engagement at Chickasaw Bayou, on the 28th and
29th of December, the regiment lost twenty men
killed and wounded. In January, 1863, it took
part in the assault and capture of Arkansas Post.
From this place the Fifty-fourth proceeded to Young's
Point, La., and for a time was employed in digging a
canal; then marched to the rescue of a fleet of
gunboats which were about to be destroyed. In
May it moved with Grant's army to the rear of
Vicksburg, was engaged in the battles of Champion
Hills and Big Black Bridge, and on the 19th and 22nd
of May took an active part in the assault upon the
enemy's works, losing in the two days forty-seven
men killed and wounded.
In October the regiment proceeded to Memphis and thence
to Chattanooga, taking part in the assault on
Mission Ridge, November 26th. The following
day it marched to the relief of Knoxville and after
pursuing the enemy through Tennessee into North
Carolina returned to Chattanooga, and from there
proceeded to Larkinsville, Ala. On the 22nd of
January, 186-4, the Fifty-fourth reenlisted, and
after the furlough to Ohio, returned to the Army
with 200 recruits.
In May it joined Sherman's Atlanta campaign, and
participated in the engagements at Resaca. Dallas
and New Hope
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Church. In the assault upon Kenesaw Mountain,
June 27th, the regiment lost twenty-eight killed and
wounded. At Nicojack Creek, July 3rd, thirteen
were killed, wounded and missing; in the battles on
the east side of Atlanta, July 21st and 22nd,
ninety-four were killed, wounded and missing; and at
Ezra Chapel, on the 28th, eight more were added to
the list of killed and wounded.
From this time until the 27th of August the
Fifty-fourth was continually engaged in the works
before Atlanta. It took a prominent part in
the engagement at Jonesboro, pursued Hood northward,
returned and marched to the sea, taking part in the
capture of Fort McAllister on the 15th of December.
It moved through the Carolinas, participating in
many skirmishes, and in the last battle of the war
at Bentonville, N. C, March 21st, 1865.
The regiment moved to Richmond, Va., and from there to
Washington City. After passing in review it moved to
Louisville, Ky., thence to Little Rock, Ark., and
there performed garrison duty until mustered out,
August 15th, 1865.
The regiment marched upward of 3,500 miles,
participated in seventeen hard-fought battles and
many skirmishes. The losses in killed,
wounded, died of disease and missing were five
hundred and six. It fought in the States of
Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, and North
Carolina. |
