HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY - 373
CHAPTER XIII.
PORTAGE COUNTY 1N THE REBELLION-THE PATRIOTIC FEELING OF HER PEOPLE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GREAT STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL LIFE-MEETINGS HELD TO DENOUNCE TREASON AND TO SUPPORT THE GOVERNMENT- ENROLLMENT OF VOLUNTEERS UNDER THE PRESIDENT'S FIRST CALL, AND THEIR DEPARTURE FOR CAMP TAYLOR-GOOD WORK OF THE RELIEF COMMITTEES, AND GENEROSITY OF THE CITIZENS-THE NUMBER OF MEN 'SENT INTO THE WAR BY EACH TOWNSHIP, AND THE COMMANDS IN WHICH THEY SERVED- OFFICIAL ROSTER OF COMMISSIONED OFFICERS FROM THIS COUNTY-AMOUNT OF MONEY ANNUALLY EXPENDED. FOR WAR PURPOSES BY PORTAGE COUNTY. FROM 1861 TO 1865—CLOSING SCENES OF THE WAR-PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF GREAT JOY OVER ITS GLORIOUS TERMINATION-THE REJOICINGS OF THE PEOPLE SUDDENLY TURNED TO GRIEF BY THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.
WHEN the news of the firing on Fort Sumter flashed over the wires, a deep feeling of patriotic indignation filled the hearts of the loyal millions of the North, and in nearly every city, town and hamlet, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, meetings were held for the purpose of giving public expression to that feeling. Portage County was not behind the rest of the Nation in this respect, for the thrilling news had scarcely grown cold before her citizens assembled in the several towns and villages, and passed ringing resolutions of fealty to the Union. Ravenna being the seat of justice, the action taken in that city will be a fair illustration of the sentiment which prevailed throughout the county during that momentous period of our history. On Monday evening, April 15, 1861, the citizens of Ravenna and vicinity, irrespective of party, in response to a call for a Union meeting issued the same afternoon, came promptly together as if moved by the one common impulse of upholding the flag. The Town Hall was filled to overflowing, and men of every shade of political belief vied with each other in patriotic ardor. The hearts of all those present beat as the heart of one man, as all pledged themselves to maintain the Union and to uphold the constitutionally elected executive in his /proper efforts to sustain the Government and execute the laws. It was a very noticeable fact that the strongest condemnation of the firing on Fort Sumter, the most emphatic expressions of devotion to the Union, and the most decided and cordial pledges to sustain the Government, uttered by the several speakers, met with the loudest cheers and the most hearty and decisive responses from the people.
The meeting was called to order by Samuel D. Harris, Jr., when Hon. Darius Lyman was appointed Temporary Chairman, and J. W. Somerville, Secretary. On motion, a Committee on Permanent Organization, consisting of Messrs. 0. P. Brown, Samuel D. Harris, Jr., John C. Beatty, H. C. Ranney and J. G. Willis, was appointed by the Chair. A Committee on Resolutions was also appointed by the Chair, consisting of Messrs. Alphonso Hart, Lyman W. Hall, Horace Y. Beebe, J. T. Catlin and Luther Day. After a short recess, the Committee on Permanent Organization reported as follows: Darius Lyman, President; J. G. Willis, R. J. Thompson and Charles Lawrence, Vice- Presidents; J. W. Somerville and IL R. W. Hall, Secretaries. The report of the committee was accepted and adopted. The Committee on Resolutions made the following report:
374 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
Resolved, That in utter and patriotic disregard of past partisan differences, we, the citizens of Ravenna, here assembled without distinction of party, declining now to pause to recount the causes which have brought upon us the crisis which imperils the existence of the Nation, do emphatically declare, that every other feeling should give way to love of country, and a desire for the preservation of the Union, and now, when war is waged by rebel forces, and rebellion to constitutional law and constitutional government is openly proclaimed, and secession, which is but another name for revolution, is underminingthe Natonal fabric, it is the duty of every American citizen to stand by the Stars and Stripes and to uphold the Federal authorities in every constitutional effort to enforce the laws and maintain the constitutional rights of the Confederacy.
Resolved, That the wanton and improvoked attack, by rebels in arms, against thê authority of the National Government, in the warlike attack on Sumter, having inaugurated civil war, we hereby cordially pledge our support and co-operation to the Federal authorities in every legitimate effort by them put forth to suppress rebellion and maintain the Federal authority in every part of the Union.
These resolutions were accepted, and, after short patriotic addresses by Alphonso Hart, Luther Day, Samuel D. Harris, Jr., 0. P. Brown, Rev. J. O. Hart, Rev. E. J. L. Baker, Michael Stuart and L. D. Woodworth, were unanimously adopted amidst great enthusiasm. Three hearty cheers for the Union, were then given, and the meeting adjourned. The magnanimous forgetfulness by the Democratic speakers of all the bitter partisan conflicts of the past, w equaled only by the cordial spirit of fraternization with which they were by the Republican speakers, and by the hearty response of the assembled hundreds. The scene was truly creditable and exhibited the loftiest patriotism.
The people of Portage County were now thoroughly aroused, and, response to the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 volunteers, the work organizing military companies began at once. A few croakers here and exhibited their opposition to the war measures of the Government, but no longer acted in the spirit of party, or with the aims of partisans; they longer felt themselves Republicans or Democrats, but awoke to the full sciousness that they were American citizens, that they had a common in in the perpetuation of the Union, and an equal weight of responsibility of duty in upholding a constitutional government in its efforts to protect property and enforce its laws against the assaults of armed traitors.
Meetings were held in the Town Hall in Ravenna, on Wednesday, Fri and Saturday, April 17, 19 and 20, 1861. The Wednesday evening meet Was called for the purpose of organizing an artillery company. Judge Lu Day was appointed Chairman of the meeting, and H. H. Willard, Secre On taking the chair, Judge Day made a few remarks full of the patrio required by the occasion, which infused a similar spirit through the audie and the entire evening was a continued outburst of enthusiastic devotion to Union. A Committee of Finance was chosen, consisting of Alphonso Ezra B. Taylor and Samuel D. Harris, Jr. Messrs. Hart and Taylor w called out and spoke briefly, but with the spirit demanded by the crisis. Twenty volunteers for Capt. C. S. Cotter's Artillery Company were enrolled and the meeting adjourned amid loud cheers from the audience.
The meeting on Friday evening had for its main object the enlistment rifle company. At the hour announced the Town Hall was filled with an ested audience. Gen. E. B. Tyler was chosen Chairman, and Samuel D. ris, Jr., and T. W. Browning, Secretaries. Brief addresses were deliver Ezra B. Taylor, Alphonso Hart, Philo B. Conant, Gen. E. B. Tyler and W. Browning, earnestly urging the necessity of prompt action in regard to specific purpose of the meeting. Those sentiments were heartily endorsed by audience, and a fine list of volunteers went forward and enrolled their on the recruiting papers held by Capt. H. H. Willard.
At 4 o'clock P. M. on Saturday, a telegram was received from Hon. J
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A. Garfield, of Hiram Township, and Hon. William Stedman, of Randolph Township, who then respectively represented Portage County in the upper and lower houses of the General Assembly of Ohio, announcing that they would be glad to meet the citizens of Ravenna that evening in one of the public halls of the town. The news was proclaimed upon the streets and the Town Hall was too small by far to contain all who came to the meeting. Gen. E. B. Tyler was chosen Chairman, and T. W. Browning, Secretary. Representative Stedman first spoke. He said he came not to say, but to do; not to talk, but to enlist; the peril of the Nation demanded men, not words, and he was ready for his part of the duty. Senator Garfield was the next speaker. His hand as well as his heart was in the work, and in a very effective manner he sought to impress and inspire the audience with the generous, patriotic and burning emotions which animated his own nature. His soul-stirring address was received with the wildest demonstrations, his ringing remarks nerving every heart to deeds of heroism. Judge Luther Day was next called out, and responded in a similar strain and with like effect. He was followed by Gen. John B. King, of Ravenna, who wanted to know what such men as he, who were not exactly the stripe for "fighting men," could do; not that his heart did not want to fight; but what could he do for his country; he must do something. A motion was at once made and enthusiastically adopted, that Gen. King be empowered to raise a Home Guard, and drill and command the same. Gen. E. B. Tyler made a few remarks in conclusion, and after appropriate music by the Ravenna Martial Band, the audience dispersed to their homes,
" Their souls in arms,
All eager for the fray."
During the evening a resolution was passed at the meeting that a "mass county convention" be called at Ravenna on Monday, April 22, at 1 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of raising volunteer companies. Hand bills were at once issued, and runners dispatched into every township in Portage County requesting that the notice be read in all the churches on the following day. This call was promptly responded to, and from every portion of the county streams of patriotic people came pouring into town on Monday morning, and by the appointed hour such a large concourse had seldom been seen in Ravenna. The Windham Township delegation, bearing the Stars and Stripes, made the welkin ring with their huzzas for ;he Union. The Brimfield Volunteers marched in holding, aloft the flag under which they had enlisted to do battle. This township .also sent a fine delegation of her citizens, which appeared in the procession. Franklin Township was represented by a long procession of about 100 teams lined with flags and banners, and led by the Franklin Band and the Franklin Volunteers, forty in number, with Dr. E. W. Crain, himself a volunteer, marching proudly at their head. Ravenna, Franklin, Garrettsville, Charlestown, Brimfield and Edinburg each contributed a band, and soul-stirring martial notes filled the air upon that bright and buoyant April day.
At a morning citizens' meeting T. R. Williams, Andrew Jackson, E. H. Witter,W. R. Alcorn and J. T. Catlin were chosen as a Committee of Arrangements; and George Bostwick and R. B. Witter, Marshals. At 1 o'clock P.. M. the volunteers were marched from the Town Hall to the stand in front of the Court House, escorted by Gen. E. B. Tyler, the Ravenna Light Artillery and the several bands. A salute was then fired by the artillery, after which Gen. John
B. King, of Ravenna, President of the day, was introduced to the assembled simultitude by T. R. Williams, Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements. The other officers consisted of Vice-Presidents Gen. David McIntosh, Shalers-
380 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
ville Township; Col. 0. L. Drake, Freedom Township; Col. John E. Jackson, Aurora Township; and Col. W. R. Hallock, Rootstown Township; Secretaries H. R. W. Hall and J. W. Somerville, Ravenna; and Rev. J. C. Hart, Chaplain. The meeting was called to order by Gen. King, and opened with prayer by the Rev. Hart. The large assemblage was then addressed by Hon. Luther Day, Hon. William Stedman, Hon. Alphonso Hart, Hon. James A. Garfield and Gen. E. B. Tyler in the order named, all breathing the same patriotic sentiments of undying devotion and fidelity to the dear old flag. They spoke as men speak whose hearts bleed for their country, whose souls are enlisted in the cause they advocate, and who, appreciating the justice of their position, and the purity of their motives, launch forth upon an irresistible tide of argument, unanswerable because inspired of God and approved by man. Every speaker was greeted with great enthusiasm, and loud cries of " lead us to the field" filled the air. Volunteers were called for and came forward readily, soon filling the quota at that time required of Portage County. Every man seemed anxious to be on duty, and all would have gladly marched on the morrow to the field of battle.
In the meantime Brig. -Gen. E. B. Tyler had been assigned to the command of the Second Brigade, Ninth Division, Ohio Volunteer Militia, consisting of the counties of Portage, Trumbull and Mahoning, with headquarters at Ravenna. His staff was composed of the following officers: Brigade-Major, J. B. Willis, vice D. C. Coolman absent from the State; Major, H. C. Raney; Acting Surgeon, C. S. Leonard; Aid-de-camp, Capt. Joseph King. During a temporary absence of Maj. Willis, Samuel D. Harris, Jr., served as Brigade. Major. Gen. Tyler issued enlisting orders for infantry to Capts. W. B. Bingham, of Ravenna Township, and William Stedman, of Randolph Township; for riflemen, to Capts. H. H. Willard and J. C. Giddings, of Palmyra Township, and to David C. Stockwell, of Shalersville Township; and for artillery to Capt. C. S. Cotter, of Ravenna.
The days succeeding the mass meeting at Ravenna were days of great excitement throughout the county. War was the topic of the hour, volunteers were enrolling and departing for camp, and general business was almost sus: pended. The Franklin Mills Rifle Company was organized on Tuesday, April 23, by the election of John Morris, of Franklin Mills (Kent), Captain; John Rouse, of Franklin Mills, First Lieutenant; and Isaac N. Wilcox, of Windham Township, Second Lieutenant. This company received orders to report at Camp Taylor, Cleveland, and on
Wednesday evening, April 24, left Ravenna for the camp, being the first organized company from Portage County to reach that rendezvous. Upon the regimental organization of the Seventh Regiment; Ohio Volunteer Infantry, into which the Franklin Mills company had been mustered as Company F, April 30, Capt. Morris was chosen Quartermaster on Col. Tyler's staff, and William Stedman became Captain of the company.
On Thursday morning, April 25, orders came to Ravenna for another company of volunteers to report at Camp Taylor, and at an early hour the Tyler Guards was organized at the Town Hall, and so named in honor of Gen. E. B. Tyler. The officers elected were Frederick A. Seymour, Captain; William H. Robinson, First Lieutenant; Elliott S. Quay, Second Lieutenant, all of Ravenna. The company left for Camp Taylor the same evening, and on the 30th of April was mustered into the Seventh Regiment as Company G. At the Ravenna railroad depot, just before departure, Capt. Seymour was presented with a " navy six-shooter " by Judge Luther', Day, on behalf of his Ravenna friends, while to each man in the command was given a small silver shield, with the emblematic stars, the name of his company and his own name
HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY - 381
engraved thereon. Those shields were the gift of Gen. Tyler, in token of his appreciation of he company receiving his name. On the 23d of May Capt. Seymour returned from Camp Dennison, whither the regiment had removed, to Ravenna, for the purpose of recruiting his command, and by the 27th the requisite number was ready for service. Those volunteers came chiefly from Garrettsville, Palmyra, Edinburg, Atwater and Deerfield Townships.
By midnight on Thursday, April 25, an order came for the Ravenna Light Artillery, under the command of Capt. C. S. Cotter and Lieut. C. J. Gillis. The muster drum was beaten, the members called together and the following morning the company departed for Camp Taylor. Before leaving, Miss Sereptha Mason, on behalf of the ladies of Ravenna, presented to Capt. Cotter a box containing a rosette for each member of the command, also $12 with which to purchase a flag. By request of Gen. Tyler, Ezra B. Taylor then presented Capt. Cotter and Lieut. Gillis each a fine navy revolver, after which the train sped onward and the people returned to their daily avocations. The battery remained at Camp Taylor until June 3, when, pursuant to orders it returned to Ravenna and partially disbanded. Soon afterward, Capt. Cotter went to Columbus, Ohio, where he received orders for active service. Returning home he reorganized and recruited his command, which was regularly mustered into the service at Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, July 2, 461. On the following day it left for the front, and July 17 participated in a skirmish on Scarey Creek, W. Va., where John Haven, of Shalersville, was mortally wounded, being the first Portage County man who lost his life in battle.
The Ravenna Martial Band escorted each command to the depot, and the departures were signalized by patriotic speech-making, and tender, tearful adieus. Every household in the town was represented, and no series of events in the history of Portage County have ever brought her people so closely together in heartfelt sympathy. The Stars and Stripes were displayed at every available point, and unbounded enthusiasm in the Union cause filled the hearts of all good citizens. In the Portage County Democrat of May 1, 1861, the writer found the following beautiful poem, which fully expresses the feelings of the great majority of the people of this county at that time:
TO THE PORTAGE COUNTY VOLUNTEERS.
Dear ones, farewell! With trembling voice, and low
We bid you hasten at a Nation's call!
How we shall miss you—He alone can know,
Who bends from Heaven to watch our tear-drops fall,
The while with close-clasped hands we kneel and pray,
God's blessing, and his tender care to be
The shield of those we love—while far away
With strong, true hearts—they fight for Liberty!
And yet we hide our pain—and as we take
Perchance the last sweet meaning from proud eyes,
We thank our God that for our country's sake,
Our woman hearts may make such sacrifice!
And oh! if, where the star-gem'd hanners wave—
Where sword and spear gleam in the noonday sun,
One—wildly worshiped—finds an early grave,
And sleeps in death, ere victory is won;
Still—though our lips be white as winter's snow.
Still—though we drink from wasting sorrow's cup
And die in anguish—not a tear shall flow
In vain repentance that we gave you up!
Go! He who rules our Nation's destiny—
Who whispered "Peace" and the wild waves were still,
Will lead our loved ones on to victory,
And give us strength to say again—farewell.
382 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
During this period of martial excitement another good work was effectually pushed forward, which was only second in importance to the raising of volunteers. This was the organization at different points in the county of Relief Committees, and the collection of clothing and money for the equipment of the volunteers, or the relief of their families. On Friday, April 26, H. Y. Beebe, of the Ravenna Relief Committee, having. procured in Ravenna a sufficient number of blankets to give one to each man in the Tyler Guards and Ravenna Light Artillery, took them to Camp Taylor for the buys of those commands. Three trunks filled with flannel shirts, lint and bandages, made by the women of Ravenna, at the Town Hall, on Saturday and Sunday following the departure of the volunteers, were also forwarded to Camp Taylor. Through the efforts of Mrs. John L. Ranney and Mrs. Beckwith, the women raised a fund, purchased a handsome flag for the Tyler Guards, and on the 30th of April sent it to that company. The citizens of Franklin Mills (Kent), headed by Marvin Kent, pledged $5,000 to be paid as needed for the benefit of the members and families of the Franklin Mills Rifle Company, each man being also provided with a blanket and other camp necessaries by their friends at home.
The Seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, into which the first two companies raised in Portage County were mustered, effected the following regimental organization on the 2d of May, 1861: E. B. Tyler, of Ravenna, Colonel; William R. Creighton, of Cleveland, Lieutenant-Colonel; John S. Casement, of Painesville, Major.
From this time forward volunteering and recruiting progressed rapidly, and every township in the county was soon represented in the Union armies by a greater or less number of volunteers. A martial spirit prevailed in nearly every household, and each family vied with their neighbors in the exhibition of military ardor and patriotism. The war had now begun in earnest, and the most sanguine soon discovered that putting down the great Rebellion was no holiday task. Most of the three months' men re-enlisted for three years, and the places of the few who returned were at once filled from the ranks of the many anxiously awaiting at home the call to arms.. Thus the days passed in Portage County during the first stages of the war, but as months lengthened into years, and the many brave boys who, when the tocsin of war first sounded, went forth in all their vigorous manhood to do battle for. their country's unity, came back no more, then indeed was there deep anguish and mourning in many a previously happy home.
The military record of Portage County will, compare favorably with any other county in Ohio. The census of 1860 gave it a population of 24,208, out of which more than 2,000 men went into the army, more than 300 of whom, laid down their lives as a sacrifice on the altar of their country. According to a military record book in the Auditor's office in Ravenna, the following number of soldiers was furnished by the several townships of the county: Atwater, 107; Aurora, 82; Brimfield, 88; Charlestown, 59; Deerfield, 113; Edinburg, 46; Franklin, 159; Freedom, 55; Hiram, 120; Mantua, 85; Nelson, 118; Palmyra, 38; Paris, 79; Randolph, 210; Ravenna, 235; Rootstown, 61; Shalersville, 72; Streetsboro, 96; Suffield, 132; Windham, 115. Total, 2,070.
The Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, mustered into the three months' service at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, Ohio, April 30, 1861, embraced two full companies from this county, F and G, and this regiment subsequently re-enlisted for three years almost to a man. The Forty-first Ohio' Volunteer Infantry, mustered into the service near Cleveland, Ohio, October
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31, 1861, was largely recruited from the northern section of Portage County; while Companies A and F, of the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, organized at. Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, November 26, 1861, were also raised in Portage. The One Hundred and Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, mustered into the service at Camp Massillon, near Massillon, Ohio, August 80, 1862, contained two companies, D and I, from this county. The One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, mustered in at Camp Taylor, October 6, 1862, contained one company, D, principally recruited in Portage County. The Ravenna Light Artillery, composed of Portage County men, went out in April, 1861, and September 25, 1861, was mustered into the First Ohio Light Artillery as Battery A, for the term of three years. The Sixth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, organized in October, 1861, at Camp Hutchins, Warren Co., Ohio, was mostly recruited upon the Western Reserve, Portage County being well represented in that gallant regiment. Several other companies in the foregoing regiments, besides those mentioned, contained soldiers from this county, but none were so purely representative of this portion of the State as the ones given,
The brave boys of Portage County went into every arm of the service, and nothing illustrates so well their deep devotion to the Union cause as this fact. Their patriotism could not wait until they were needed to fill up the decimated ranks of the first companies that went into the field, and many left the county and joined other commands or branches of the service. We find the county represented in the following Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiments: First, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-first, Twenty-third, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-seventh, Twenty-ninth, Thirty-third, Thirty-seventh, Forty-first, Forty-second, Forty- third, Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, Fifty-first, Fifty-second, Fifty-seventh, Fifty- eighth, Sixtieth, Sixty-first, Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth, Sixty-fifth, Sixty- eighth, Seventy-first, Seventy-second, Eightieth, Eighty-second, Eighty- fourth, Eighty-fifth, Eighty-sixth, Eighty-eighth, One Hundredth, One Hundred and First, One Hundred and Third, One Hundred and Fourth, One Hundred and Fifth, One Hundred and Seventh, One Hundred and Eighth, One Hundred and Ninth, One Hundred and Tenth, One Hundred and Eleventh, One Hundred and Twelfth, One Hundred and Fourteenth, One Hundred and Fifteenth, One Hundred and Eighteenth, One Hundred and Twenty-second, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth, One Hundred and Twenty-fifth, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh (colored), One Hundred and Twenty-eighth, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth, One Hundred and Thirty-fifth, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth, One Hundred and Forty- third, One Hundred and Fiftieth, One Hundred and Seventy-first, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh, One Hundred and Seventy-eighth, One Hundred and Eighty-fourth, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth, One Hundred and Eighty- seventh, One Hundred and Eighty-eighth, One Hundred and Ninety-first, One Hundred and Ninety-third, One Hundred and Ninety-sixth, One Hundred and Ninety-seventh, and One Hundred and Ninety-eighth. Portage County men served in the Third, Seventh, Fifteenth and Twenty-second Michigan Infantry Regiments, the Fifth Virginia, Fifteenth Pennsylvania, Seventeenth Wisconsin, Twenty-third New York, Seventy-fifth Illinois, Eighty-fifth Indiana, and in the First and Twenty seventh Colored Infantry. The First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth and Twelfth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry Regiments contained many Portage County boysi while the Sixth United States Cavalry, the First and Third Michigan Cavalry, the Fifth Pennsylvania, and
384 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
Sixth Illinois Cavalry had each some men from this county. The county was largely represented in the First Ohio Light Artillery, and had a goodly number of her sons in the Third, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Ohio Independent Batteries; also in the First and Sixth United States, and in the Fifth New York and the Eleventh Michigan Artillery Regiments, besides having many of her citizens in the United States Marines and Navy.
The following list of commissioned officers, who were citizens of Portage County at the time they entered the service has been compiled from Whitelaw Reid's "Ohio In The War." As we have already given in this chapter the names and rank of the several officers who went into the three months' service from this county, it is unnecessary to again refer to them, and we will, therefore, continue the list after that period:
Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-Erastus B. Tyler became Colonel June 19, 1861, was promoted to Brigadier-General May 20, 1862. Frederick A. Seymour became Captain June 14, 1861, was promoted to Major March 2, 1863, Major's commission revoked, and again issued August 13, 1863, resigned March 29, 1864. William H. Robinson became First Lieutenant June 14, 1861, and died at Gauley Bridge, W. Va., of typhoid fever, October 8, 1861. John B. Rouse became First Lieutenant June 19, 1861, and resigned August 8, 1861. John Morris became First Lieutenant June 19, 1861, and resigned December 5, 1861. Elliott S. Quay became Second Lieutenant June 19, 1861, was promoted to First Lieutenant November 30, 1861, subsequently to Assistant Adjutant-General on Gen. Tyler's staff in May, 1862, resigned in October, 1862, and died at Ravenna, October 20, 1863. A. H. Day became Second Lieutenant June 19, 1861, was promoted to First Lieutenant April 1, 1862, to Captain November 2, 1862, and resigned January 18, 1863. Seymour S. Reed became Second Lieutenant December 12, 1861, was promoted to First Lieutenant May 20, 1862, and mustered out November 1, 1862. Frank Johnson became Second Lieutenant April 1, 1862, and was killed at Cedar Mountain August 9, 1862. Henry M. Dean became Second Lieutenant September 1, 1862, promoted to First Lieutenant November 1, 1863, and mustered out July 6, 1864. H. C. Ranney appointed Assistant Adjutant-General on Gen. Tyler's staff in October, 1862, vice Quay resigned. J. G. Willis appointed Quartermaster of the regiment in the fall of 1862, was afterward Brigade Quartermaster on Gen. Tyler's staff, and resigned in the fall of 1863.
Forty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-William B. Hazen, Captain in the Eighth United States Infantry, was appointed Colonel of the Forty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry Angust 7, 1861, and Brigadier-General November 29, 1862, which rank he now holds in the Regular Army. C. W. Goodsell became Captain October 29, 1861, and resigned January 30, 1862.
Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-James A. Garfield was appointed Colonel August 14, 1861, promoted to Brigadier-General in March, 1862, to Major-General in September, 1863, and resigned December 5, 1863. Frederick A. Williams became Captain September 20, 1861, was promoted to Major March 14, 1862, and died at Ravenna of camp fever July 25, 1862. Horace H. Willard became Captain November 18, 1861, and was honorably discharged January 3, 1864. Howard S. Bates became First Lieutenant September 20, 1861, and resigned February 8, 1862. Orlando C. Risdon became First Lieutenant October 7, 1861, was appointed Colonel of the Fifty-third United States Colored Infantry in May, 1863, and breveted Brigadier-General March 13, 1865. William H. Clapp became Second Lieutenant September 20, 1861, was promoted to First Lieutenant March 14, 1862, and to Captain and Assistant
HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY - 385
Adjutant-General May 15, 1863, and is now a Captain in the Regular Army. Samuel H. Cole became Second Lieutenant October 5, 1861, and resigned May 9, 1862. Henry C. Jennings became Second Lieutenant March 9, 1862, First Lieutenant December 16, 1863, and resigned as Second Lieutenant. J. S. Ross became Second Lieutenant March 14, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant July 25, 1862, to Captain May 1, 1863, and mustered out September 30, 1864. Charles E. Henry became Second Lieutenant July 25, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant May 1, 1863, and mustered out with the regiment in the fall of 1864. Horace S. Clark became Second Lieutenant May 25, 1864, was promoted to First Lieutenant July 25, 1864, and mustered out the following autumn.
Forty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-Samuel H. Cole became First Lieutenant August 12, 1862, and resigned June 17, 1863. Frederick L. Dunning became Second Lieutenant February 18, 1964, was promoted to First Lieutenant October 12. .1864, and to Captain June 16, 1865, but mustered out with the regiment as First Lieutenant June 15, 1865.
Fifty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-Henry Boehl became First Lieutenant January 8, 1862, and resigned November 28, 1862.
Sixty-first Ohio' Volunteer Infantry.-Joseph R. Mell became Second Lieutenant January 1, 1863, was promoted to First Lieutenant April 29, 1864, transferred to the Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry with the same rank April 29, 1864, and mustered out with that regiment July 24, 1865.
Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-George F. Robinson became Second Lieutenant March 21, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant January 15, 1863, to Captain July 22, 1863, and mustered out March 12, 1865.
Eighty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.--Edwin L. Webber became Major December 31, 1862; was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel July 25, 1863, and mustered out with the regiment July 3, 1865.
One Hundred and Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. -Lorin D. Woodworth became Major August 9, 1862, and resigned December 9, 1862. Rev. Buel Whitney became Chaplain September 10, 1864, and was mustered out with the regiment June 17, 1865. John A. Wells became Captain January 26, 1862, and resigned March 27, 1863. Marcus C. Horton became Captain November
21, 1862, and was killed near Dallas, Ga., May 28, 1864. David D. Bard became First Lieutenant August 23, 1862, was promoted to Captain May 29, 1863, and killed at Franklin, Tenn., November 30, 1864. Lewis D. Booth became First Lieutenant August 17, 1862, and honorably discharged February 22, 1864. Edward E. Tracy became Second Lieutenant July 17, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant February 27, 1864, to Captain January 6, 1865, and resigned April 1, 1865. Luther R. Sanford became Second Lieutenant August 5, 1862, and died February 26, 1863. William Grinnell was promoted from the ranks to Second Lieutenant, and to First Lieutenant March 27,1863, to Captain January 9, 1864, and honorably discharged as First Lieutenant May 28, 1864, on account of wounds received at the siege of Knoxville, Tenn. Horace L. Reed became Second Lieutenant May 29, 1863, was promoted to First Lieutenant August 19, 1864, and mustered out May 15, 1865. G. P. Reed was promoted from the ranks to Second Lieutenant August 19, 1864, and having lost a leg at Kenesaw Mountain January 11, 1864, was honorably discharged.
One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-Isaac D. Spaulding became Captain November 11, 1862, and resigned April 6, 1863. Ephraim P. Evans became Second Lieutenant September 20, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant April 23, 1863, to Captain July 13, 1864, and was killed in
386 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
battle. Freeman Collins became Second Lieutenant March 3, 1864, and wad killed at Kenesaw Mountain June 27, 1864.
One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-George M. Phillips became Second Lieutenant November 23, 1863, was promoted to First' Lieutenant March 29, 1865, and mustered out with the regiment July 17,1865. Lewis R. Ranney became Second Lieutenant March 29, 1865, and was muse tered out with the regiment July 17 following his promotion.
One Hundred and Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry (National Guards).- Surgeon, Fred C. Applegate, May 7, 1864; Capt., Cyrus A. Mason, May 5,1864; Second Lieut., A.W. Alcorn, May 5, 1864; and Second Lieut., Frank H. Snow, May 5, 1864, all of whom were mustered out with the regiment August 20, 1864.
First Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery.--Charles S. Cotter became Captain. August 5, 1861, was promoted to Major June 9, 1862, to Lieutenant-Colonel October 20, 1864, to Colonel November 26, 1864, and discharged August 10, 1865. Albert L. Beckley became First Lieutenant August 5, 1861, and resigned April 24, 1862. Charles G. Mason became Second Lieutenant August 5, 1861, was promoted to First Lieutenant March 12, 1862, and resigned April 26,1862." Allen W. Pinney became Second Lieutenant August 5, 1861, and resigned March 15, 1862. Joseph D. King became First Lieutenant March 13, 1862," and was honorably discharged November 14, 1862. Edmund B. Belding became Second Lieutenant March 12, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant April 24, 1862, to Captain October 20, 1864, and mustered out with Battery El July 22, 1865. Charles W. Scoville became Second Lieutenant March 15,1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant June 9, 1862, to. Captain October 20, 1864; and mustered out with Battery A July 31, 1865. Roland G. Day became Second Lieutenant April 26, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant March IV 1864, and mustered out with Battery B July 22, 1866. Clark Scripture became Second Lieutenant November 14, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant April 13, 1864, and mustered out with Battery E July 22, 1805. B. K. Davis became Second Lieutenant March 30, 1863, was promoted to First Lieutenant May 2, 1865, and mustered out with Battery I July 24, 1865. Lewis B. Maxwell became Second Lieutenant May 2, 1865, and was mustered out with Bate: tery H June 14, 1865.
Sixth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry.-William Stedman became Major October/ 21, 1861, was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel August 3, 1863, to Colonel Jan;, nary 1, 1864, mustered out October 6, 1864, and breveted Brigadier-General March 13, 1865. William H. Bettes became First Lieutenant December 16, 1861, and resigned March 23, 1862. E. S. Austin became First Lieutenant January 29, 1863, wall promoted to Captain May 9, 1864, and killed a Hutchin's Run, October 27, 1864.
Charles H. Bill became Second Lieutenant in the Second Ohio Volunt Cavalry July 15, 1862, First Lieutenant May 19, 1863, Captain May 11 1865, and was mustered out September 11, 1865. B. T. Spelman bec Captain in the Tenth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry January 15, 1863, and resign May 31, 1864. William H. Smith became Second Lieutenant in the Fourteenth Ohio Battery September 10, 1861, and resigned April 16, 1862.
Fifty-third United States Colored Infantry.-First Lieutenant Orlando Risdon, of the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was appointed Colon of the Fifty-third in May, 1863, and breveted Brigadier-General March 1 1865. M. H. Judd and Isaac R. Barton were appointed Captains of the regiment. All these officers were from Shalersville Township.
Capt. Clifton Bennett, of Freedom Township, served in the First Uni
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY - 389
States Colored Regiment, and Second Lieut. D. L. Rockwell in the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which was also composed of colored soldiers.
The following summary of the money paid out by Portage County during the war for war purposes furnishes one of the strongest arguments toward demonstrating the earnestness displayed by her citizens in the Union cause: She expended as a " War Fund" in 1862, $3,737.19; 1863, $3,956.48; 1864, $1,239.28; 1865, $1,292.75. Total " War Fund," $10,225.70. The " Relief Fund for Families of Volunteers" paid out was, in 1862, $6,354.79; 1863, $11,278.81; 1864, $24,556.95; 1865, $25,855.06. Total "Relief Fund," $68,045.61. The "Soldiers' Bounty Tax," was, in 1863, $11,240.65; 1864, $38.13; 1865, $76,878.63. Total "Bounty Tax," $88,157.41; making the combined public expenditurcs for war purposes, from 1861 to 1865 inclusive, reach a grand total of $166,428.72, or about $6.85 for every man, woman and child then residing in the county. And this was not all, for from the close of the war up to the present the several townships have continued to levy a tax, when necessary, to pay bounties to soldiers who have not received but are entitled to them.
The closing scenes of the great struggle aroused all over the North much of the same spirit of excitement that characterized its early stages. The people of Portage County manifested no slight interest in the stirring events of each day, and the good news of victories won was welcomed with the most prokund sentiments of joy. The fall of Richmond and its occupation by Grant's forces, was duly celebrated by a large gathering at Ravenna on Tuesday evening, April 4, 1865. Speeches were made, patriotic songs were sung, bonfires blazed, cannon belched forth their deep toned hallelujahs, and the people truly rejoiced over the glorious news. Upon Friday afternoon, April 7, when the news of the deeds of the gallant Phil Sheridan, "On whose bright plume of fame not a spot o' the dark is," was announced at Ravenna, and the brilliant captures his army had made were briefly detailed, the excitement was intense. Bells were rung, drums beaten, minute guns fired, flags flashed out from every available point, business was suspended, and all surrendered to the jubilant spirit of the hour. At Franklin Mills (Kent), Garrettsville, and in nearly every township in the county, as the glad tidings made their way, similar demonstrations took place over the success of the Union armies. The following poem very appropriately illustrates the spirit then uppermost in the hearts of the people:
RICHMOND IS OURS!
Richmond is ours! Richmond is ours!
Hark! to the jubilant chorus!
Up, through the lips that no longer repress it,
Up, from the heart of the people! God bless it!
Swelling with loyal emotion,
Leapeth our joy, like an ocean!—
Richmond is ours! Richmond is ours!
Babylon falls, and her temples and towers
Crumble to ashes before us!
Glory to Grant! Glory to Grant!
Hark! to the shout of our Nation!
Up, from the Irish heart, up from the German—
Glory to Sheridan!—Glory to Sherman!-
Up, from all peoples uniting—
Freedom's high loyalty plighting-
Glory to all! Glory to all!—
Heroes who combat, and martyrs who fall!
Lift we our joyous ovation!
390 - HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
Fling out the flag! Flash out the flag!
Up from each turret and steeple!
Up, from the cottage, and over the mansion,
Fling out the symbol of Freedom's expansion!
Victory crowneth endeavor!
Liberty seals us forever!
Up from each valley, and out from each crag,
Fling out the flag! Flash out the flag!
Borne on the breath of the people!
Richmond is ours! Richmond is ours!
Hark! how the welkin is riven!
Hark! to the joy that our Nation convulses,
Timing all hearts to the cannon's loud pulses;
Voices of heroes ascending.
Voices of martyred ones blending;
Mingling like watchwords on Liberty's towers,
Richmond is ours! Richmond is ours!
Freedom rejoiceth in Heaven!
A. J. H. DUGANNE.
The masses of the people of Ohio exhibited a grand self-sacrificing devotion and fervor in the support of the Government and the overthrow of the Rebellion, and the God of battles and of justice blessed them in their noble efforts and their unselfish sacrifices. With the surrender of Lee at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865, one of the greatest of modern wars was virtually ended. The news of the surrender was received by the loyal people of the North with the greatest demonstrations of joy. Gov. Brough, of Ohio, in harmony with President Lincoln's proclamation, recommended that Friday, April 14, the anniversary of the fall of Sumter, be observed in this State as a day of thanksgiving and general rejoicing; that religious assemblages mark the day, the evening to be given up to bonfires, illuminations, firing of salutes, public, meetings, and such other manifestations as would appropriately celebrate the heroic deeds of the armies and the general joy of the people over the dawn of a glorious peace. In pursuance to this proclamation the day was observed in Ravenna and many other points in Portage County by the general suspension of business, religious services and evening demonstrations. The Committee of Arrangements of the Ravenna celebration were H. Y. Beebe, L. C. Dodge, H. C. Ramey and J. H. Terry, under whose directions the affair was planned and carried out. As the shadows of evening drew on, the ringing of bells, booming of cannon and music of the band announced the commencement of the programme that was to fittingly close the day. At the conclusion of a salute of fifty guns—the number with which Maj. Robert Anderson saluted his flag as he withdrew from Fort Sumter four years before—a very fine display of fireworks took place. The people then assembled in front of the Court House,, where speeches were made and patriotic songs indulged in. An immense bonfire was lighted on the public square, and amid the cheering of the assembled hundreds, and the stirring notes of the band, the ceremonies of that historic day were concluded.
On the 14th of April, 1881, Maj. Robert Anderson and his patriot band lowered the National flag at Fort Sumter; but on the 14th of April, 1865, he raised over the battered walls of that fort the same identical flag that at the bidding of a rebel foe four years before was trailed in the dust. In 1861 the South asserted the right to throw off her allegiance to the United States Government; but in four short years she lay at the mercy of the victors, shattered and bleeding from every pore, thousands of her sons slain, her cities sacked and burned, and her four millions of slaves proclaimed freemen, in all of which may be traced the finger of an Omnipotent God.
HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY - 391
The grand operations of the Union armies had brought victories most signal, and the last great battle had been fought and won. The glad tidings multiplied. The brave, the strong, the hopeful, the faint-hearted and indifferent, all participated in the inspiration of the great Union triumphs. The sun of the Nation's destiny rode in a cloudless sky.
"But e're our songs had died away,
Our triumphs o'er our foes,
There comes a knell to every heart,
That speaks a Nation's woes."
An appalling sorrow suddenly overshadowed the land, which throughout its length and breadth became as a house of mourners. The beloved Lincoln was dead—assassinated 1 The heart that dictated and the hand that penned the immortal proclamation of freedom were pulseless forever. The plain, unassuming man, whose gentle virtues, pure and unselfish patriotism, clear intellect and honest heart, made him emphatically the soul of the Nation, had finished the work which the Master had given him to do. Strong men were stricken speechless. In all the many bitter sorrows of the previous four years, none proved so startling and horrible as this, and every true heart was filled with consternation at the inhuman desperation of the crime.
The succeeding days in Portage County were days of sadness and gloom, and everywhere might be seen the insignia of deep mourning. On Wednesday, April 19, Ravenna formed one point in the long line of mourners, who, from one mid of the country to the other, assembled at the same hour to make public expression of their sorrow over the death of the President. At an early hour in the morning all places of business were closed for the day. The public buildings and business houses were heavily draped, and on every hand was displayed the emblem of sorrow. Draped flags were placed at half mast, and though there was no ostentation or parade, the people of this county bore witness to their deep sorrow at the Nation's bereavement. The public exercises of the day at Ravenna took place in front of the Court House, and were attended by one of the largest audiences ever assembled in the town. Rev. J. E. Wilson was chosen by the Committee of Arrangements to preside. The invocation was pronounced by Rev. J. G. Hall, after which the people joined in singing, "God moves in a mysterious way." A prayer was then offered by the Rev. Mason, and Rev. Tribby read selected portions of the Scriptures. Appropriate and touching addresses were next delivered by Rev. J. E. Wilson, Hon. Aiphonso Hart, Revs. Mason and Tribby and Hon. Philo B. Conant. After singing and prayer, the benediction was given by Rev. Wilson, and the large audience quietly dispersed to their homes. The occasion was one of deep solemnity, and every breath seemed to whisper, " This is the funeral day of Abraham Lincoln." The events of those days cannot easily be forgotten, and the impression made by the assassination of Lincoln, so closely associated as it was with the great Rebellion, can never be effaced from the memory of the Nation.