One of the bravest soldiers Miami county sent to the battlefields of the south was Colonel Otho H. Binkley, who was born September 1, 1826, in Somerset, Ohio. He was the son of Samuel O. and Julia A. (Ream) Binkley. When he arrived at the age of twenty-one he settled in Troy, Ohio, where he remained, except during his service in the Union army, until his death, which came to him October 9, 1898, swiftly, silently and without warning. The cause of his death was apoplexy. Before the war he was known as a modest, diffident young man, careful in business and pleasant in social circles. He had a love of military tactics, and when the war came he was a good drillmaster, and his services as such were in demand in the regiments of raw recruits Ohio was sending to the army of the Union.

He enlisted in the One Hundred and Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry September 1, 1862, and soon after was commissioned major of the regiment. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel January 1, 1864, for gallantry and efficient service in the campaign of the Wilderness. He was engaged with his regiment in over thirty battles and skirmishes. He fought with his regiment in the year 1863 in the battles of Winchester, Brandy Station and Mine Run. In 1864 he was with his regiment in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Monocacy, and was with Sheridan at Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. In 1865 he was in the final assault on Petersburg, and in the battle of Sailor's Creek. From the second day of the battle of the Wilderness he was in command of the regiment by reason of the fact that the Colonel J. Warren Keifer, was wounded, and subsequently promoted. A soldier, who was in his regiment, in a memoir of him wrote that "In battle he was calm and collected as on a parade ground. Never needlessly exposing himself, or his men, he was always found at his post of duty apparently insensible to danger. He never commanded his regiment to go where he was not willing to lead. He was not ambitious or anxious to gain military renown, but always went promptly and cheerfully when duty called. There were no privations suffered by his men which he did not share. The battle over, his next care was for the wounded--to see that they were provided for." He was mustered out with his regiment June 25, 1865. After the war he became a member of the Loyal Legion, Ohio Commandery.

After the war he returned to Troy, and for more than thirty-three years made his home in this city. He never married, but lived with his sister, and after her death with his niece, Mrs. Stella Clayton. He lived a quiet, retired life, so modest in his demeanor, so gentle in his manner, so pure in his life, that those unacquainted with his career would never know that he was the gallant veteran of thirty battles, and had within his frail body a lion heart and a dauntless spirit. Those who knew him best loved him most.