of the
71st Ohio Volunteer Infantry
prepared by Martin Stewart
for the 2005 Overfield Tavern Museum Annex Civil War Exhibit Troy, Ohio
The 71st Regiment of The Ohio Volunteer Infantry was formed in Miami County, Ohio in late 1861 and early 1862. The Regiment was recruited primarily from Auglaize, Mercer, and Miami Counties under the supervision of Barton S. Kyle of Troy and George W. Andrews, an attorney, newspaper publisher, and 3 term Ohio Congressman from Wapakoneta. A Union Civil War Regiment at full strength typically contained from 800 to 1,000 soldiers organized into companies of 80 to 100 soldiers each. There were 10 companies in the 71st OVI and according to Thomas Harbaugh’s 1909 Miami County history, Companies C, E, and F were made up of primarily Miami County men. Sterrett’s 1917 Miami County history put the total Miami County soldiers in the Regiment at 400 or roughly ½ of the total.
The term of the initial enlistment was 3 years and the officers and first recruits began to gather in Troy, Ohio in October of 1861. Recruiting in Troy was done on the 3rd floor of the Coleman-Allen Building which still stands on the Troy square and is currently occupied by the Amish Furniture Store. The troops were camped at the original Miami County fairgrounds which, during the Civil War, was called Camp Tod – named after the former Governor of Ohio. Camp Tod was located on Union Street near the railroad tracks where the old Ivex Corporation (Gummed Products) stands today.
Rodney Mason, of Springfield, Ohio, and a lawyer in civilian life whose father, Samuel Mason was a 5 term Ohio Congressman, was appointed First Colonel of the new regiment by Governor Dennison. He had previously served as Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd OVI during its initial 3 month enlistment at the beginning of the war and had commanded that Regiment at Manassas. When that Regiment’s 90 days enlistment expired, he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General of Ohio. Barton Kyle was appointed Lieutenant Colonel while George W. Andrews was appointed a Major.
Barton Kyle, then 36 years old, was one of Troy’s leading citizens. At various times before the war he had held the posts of Clerk of Courts, President of the Board of Education, and Deputy United States Marshall of Miami County. He was also a delegate to the Republican Presidential Conventions of both 1856 and 1860.
According to the “Annual Report of the Quartermaster General to the Governor of the State of Ohio for the year 1862,” the 71st OVI was initially issued 850 70 caliber French rifled muskets and later issued an additional 250 French muskets. The beginning of the Civil War found both sides woefully short of arms and in the first years of the war, agents from both the Union and the Confederacy were in Europe buying every European rifle they could get there hands on.
On February 15th, 1862, the entire Regiment was together in Troy and received their flag from the Ladies of Troy. According to Robert McConnell of Company B, the flag contained 15 yards of blue silk which cost $2.00 per yard. The eagle in the center of the flag cost $50.00 and there were 33 gold stars on the flag. The inscription in gold letters read “71 Reg. O. V. I. TROY OHIO.” A presentation speech was made by Reverend Lyle of Troy.
Shortly thereafter, the Regiment left Troy on the railroad for Cincinnati. During the trip, they suffered their first casualty – a soldier who stood on top of a railroad car and was struck in the head when the train passed under a bridge. On the 18th of February, the Regiment left Cincinnati on a steamship and arrived in Paducah, Kentucky 3 days later. They were at Paducah for about 2 weeks then spend 13 days on another steamboat moving from Paducah up the Tennessee River past recently defeated Fort Henry to the Tennessee-Mississippi border. Reportedly, 200 men were housed in a 20 foot by 40 foot room on the steamboat (probably a cargo hold before the war) and this coupled with the diet changes and drinking river water undoubtedly caused many to be ill before they even reached Tennessee.
After a brief unsuccessful landing in Mississippi, the 71st moved back down the Tennessee River and finally set up camp on the west side of the river about 20 miles north of Corinth, Mississippi at Pitsburg Landing, Tennessee - near a small country church known as Shiloh. The 71st OVI became part of General Grant’s Army of the Tennessee, combining with the 54th Ohio and the 55th Illinois to become the 2nd brigade of General William Tecumseh Sherman’s 5th Division.
For the next several weeks, the Army waited to be joined by General Buell’s Army of the Ohio with the plan being that both the combined armies would then march on Corinth, Mississippi. A letter written in late March and published in the April 3, 1862 Troy Times from a soldier with the pen-name “Glendale” most likely from Company F, speaks mostly of illness within the Regiment. At that time Colonel Kyle, Major Andrews, and Captain Charles H. Kramer (Commander Company F) were all under the weather. His only mention of the enemy is some minor brushes between Union Calvary and Confederate advance pickets many miles from Shiloh.
On April 3, 1862, the Confederate Army of the Mississippi under the command of General Albert Sidney Johnson marched north out of Corinth, Mississippi in the hope of crushing Grant’s army before General Buell could join them. On Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, the Confederates attacked across the entire front of the Union line. For the majority of the Union troops, this was their first exposure to enemy fire. Many soldiers threw down their muskets and fled. It is generally accepted that Colonel Mason abandoned the regiment early in the battle. In all of the confusion of the battle, some members of the regiment undoubtedly did run, however many banded together in small groups to face the enemy. One of these groups was led by Lieutenant Colonel Kyle who was fatally shot during the battle and died one day shy of his 37th birthday.
By the end of the day on April 6th, the Union lines had pulled back closer to Pitsburg Landing. Many troops including some from the 71st were huddled under the bluffs overlooking the Tennessee River where they found safety under the guns of the Union gunboats. Bolstered by the arrival of Buell’s Army of the Ohio during the night, General Grant resumed the fight the next day, regained all of the ground previously lost, and forced the Confederate Army back into Mississippi. The 71st losses during the battle were 1 officer (Colonel Kyle) and 13 men killed, 44 men wounded, and 1 officer and 50 men missing – fairly low losses when compared to many other regiments. 4 members of the Regiment: Spicer Cannada – Co. G, T. P. McFerrin – Co. B, John Roberts – Co. H, and Alexander Wein – Co. F, remain at Shiloh in the National Cemetery there.
Colonel Kyle’s body was returned to Troy from Tennessee and his funeral on April 18, 1862 was “largely attended both by residents and non-residents of the county.” The service was held at the Methodist Episcopal Church with the Reverend J. F. Marley presiding. The procession from the Church to the Rose Hill Cemetery was led by the band from the 42nd OVI, followed in order by The Rosson Riflemen, the Lafayette Blues, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge, the hearse with 12 pall bearers, relatives and friends in carriages, former Ohio Governor Dennison and visitors from abroad, members of the Court, County officers, and citizens of Miami County.
Several days after the Battle of Shiloh (or Pittsburg Landing as it was often called,) S.R. Drury, B. F. Coolidge, and M. L Harter were appointed members of the local “Sanitary Commission” and charged with going to Tennessee and assisting the wounded soldiers of the 71st OVI. They left Cincinnati April 12th on the steamer “Superior” carrying with them 9 boxes of sanitary stores prepared by the ladies of Troy. On this boat were also 25 surgeons and 35 nurses (5 of whom were female.) It took 5 days to reach Pittsburg Landing and the group continuously passed vessels going North with wounded Ohio soldiers – some from the 71st. All told the 3 Commission members returned 50 soldiers from the Regiment to Cincinnati. The wounded from Troy included John Dick (who disappeared after leaving Paducah), Sylvester Wolf (diarrhea), Daniel Gorman (slight wound), David Hipple (dropsy), and George W. Ely (pneumonia). Of these 5 men, all but John Dick were discharged because of their injuries. The total expense for bringing 50 soldiers back to Ohio was less then $50.00.
In addition to the official Sanitary Commission, other groups of Miami County citizens pitched in to help the wounded in Tennessee. Cornelius N. Hoagland, Surgeon of the 71st OVI, acknowledges receipt of 2 larges boxes from the ladies of Tippecanoe containing fruits, meats, clothing, dressings, and other items in a letter dated April 26.
After the Battle of Shiloh, it was widely reported by several large Ohio newspapers (including Cincinnati and Toledo) that the 71st and the 77th Ohio Volunteer Regiments were disgraced and the colors of the 71st OVI had been taken from them (which was not true.) In the immediate aftermath of the battle (and to a certain extent for many years afterwards) various members of the Regiment attempted to set the record straight. A letter in the April 24, 1862 issue of The Troy Times written by Sanitary Commission members Drury, Coolidge, and Harter, tells of the many soldiers they interviewed during their time on the battlefield . They concluded that, the 71st was not properly organized, not properly trained, and not properly supported during the initial stages of the battle. They also pointed out that the vast majority of officers and men did their duty – but made a point of mentioning the absence of Colonel Mason.
A May 1, 1862 Troy Times letter from Elihu S. Williams, Lieutenant, Company A, from New Carlisle, states that he is aware of the “slanderous reports” regarding the Regiment and when he is in Troy in the next few days will be happy to tell the “plain unvarnished tale” to anyone interested. About a week later Elihu made good on his promise and addressed a large crowd at the Courthouse in Troy where he attributed the “inefficiency” of the 71st OVI to lack of training and sickness which reduced their effective strength by 50%.
Colonel Mason himself, in an open letter to “The Cincinnati Gazette” went through the entire battle in detail and said he could come up with no reason why his regiment had been criticized by the press.
General Grant’s memoirs, published in 1885 specifically mentions Colonel Mason and how “he was terribly mortified at his action when the battle was over. He came to me with tears in his eyes and begged to be allowed to have another trial.”
This second chance manifested itself in late April 1862, when the regiment was ordered to Clarksville, Tennessee on the Cumberland River with the exception of 4 Companies (A, B, G, and H) under the now second in command, Lieutenant Colonel George W. Andrews which were sent to garrison Fort Donaldson on the Tennessee River roughly 40 miles west of Clarksville.
Clarksville, Tennessee, a town of 6,000 people, lay roughly 60 miles north of Nashville near the Kentucky border. The Cumberland River was the main supply route for the Union forces located in Tennessee. Control of Clarksville was crucial to keeping the supply lines open. Apparently the summer of 1862 was a dry one and the river level was lower then normal. Consequently, many of the supply steamers could not make it to Nashville and discharged their cargo at Clarksville while waiting for the river to rise. This collection of stores made an inviting target for Confederate raiders. Colonel Mason, in later letters, stated that he was aware of the danger and had visited Nashville to request more men, cavalry support, and a artillery battery. Adding to the danger was the attitude of the local civilian population whose loyalties for the most part lay with the Confederacy. Verbal insults hurled at the occupying Federal troops soon turned to violence in the form of ambushes both day and night. For the most part, the 71st had to endure this abuse as the new military governor of Tennessee, Andrew Johnson, believed that a gentle hand was needed to win over the residents. To guard the city, the supplies, and patrol the area, Colonel Mason had an estimated 300 effective soldiers in his 6 companies.
On August 18, 1862, a small Confederate force approached Clarksville and under a flag of truce, demanded the surrender of the City. The Confederates were led by Colonel Thomas Woodward, a West Point graduate from Hopkinsville, Kentucky and his 2nd Kentucky Cavalry. Attached to Colonel Woodward were troops under the command of Colonel Adam Rankin “Stovepipe” Johnson. Colonel Johnson’s war exploits included the capture of Newburgh, Indiana from a sizable Union garrison with only 12 men and several cannon (which were actually stovepipes mounted on wagons) and, while accompanying General John Hunt Morgan during his 1863 Ohio raid, escaping from Buffington’s Island by swimming across the Ohio River to Kentucky.
Colonel Mason and Lieutenant Colonel Andrews (who had been relieved at Fort Donaldson by Major James H. Hart,) reportedly had only 200 soldiers available to oppose the enemy. The Regiment was dug in around the main building of Stewart College (now Austin Peay State University.) The remainder of the Regiment was either attending to duties outside of the City or had already been captured elsewhere in the Clarksville.
Colonel Woodward’s column surrounded the College while Colonel Johnson’s column moved into Clarksville to cut off Colonel Mason’s escape route. The Confederate courier bearing the flag of truce promised that no private property would be destroyed and that the Regiment could keep its colors if they surrendered. Colonel Mason then assembled his officers and they discussed the situation – it was decided that Colonel Andrews would ride along the enemy’s lines to determine their precise numbers. Colonel Andrews reported that the enemy’s force consisted of roughly 800 infantry supposedly supported by artillery which he had not seen. In addition, local civilians sympathetic to the Confederate cause were also turning out to assist the raiders. Colonel Mason called his officers together and there was heated discussion regarding their situation. Initially, the vote was split but once 2nd Lieutenant Isaac Mann said he had seen the Rebel cannons, the vote to surrender became unanimous. Colonel Mason surrendered his entire command without firing a shot.
The Confederate version of the “Woodward raid” puts the total Confederate forces at about 200 – and the 71st soldiers actually outnumbering them. The “artillery” that the 71st saw were actually logs mounted on wheels. After the surrender when Colonel Mason was led into Colonel Woodward’s presence and saw the little man with his unkept auburn hair, drooping moustache, and boots up to his knees, he supposedly laughed and asked that Colonel Woodward go across the street and set for a photo saying “I want to send it North to show my friends what an insignificant little cuss I surrendered to.” Colonel Woodward obliged.
After the surrender, Colonel Woodward moved on to Fort Donaldson where the remaining 4 companies of the 71st OVI awaited them. Major Hart believed that with his small force (4 companies) he would not be able to defend Fort Donaldson properly from the inside – so he set up camp at nearby Dover, Tennessee. There, on August 25th and 26th he faced the Confederates and by all accounts the Regiment acquitted themselves well. According to Private Robert McConnell, Major Hart told Colonel Woodward that he would fight him until hell froze over and then he would fight them for 4 days on the ice before he would surrender. In a charge against the Union lines, Colonel Woodward’s horse was shot 3 times – and he crawled to safety. With Union reinforcements approaching from Fort Henry, Woodward abandoned the fight and retreated towards Clarksville. The Union soldiers pursued and there was a sharp skirmish at the Cumberland Iron Works the next day which effectively ended the engagement.
Several weeks later, in early September, Companies A, B, G, and H went on the offensive. Combined with a Union force that included the 83rd Illinois and the 5th Iowa Cavalry they moved on Clarksville and drove Colonel Woodward’s troops from the town. This time, it was Colonel Woodward’s turn to flee without firing a shot. By this time, the attitude of the Federal Government towards the Tennessee civilians had changed. There was a lot of looting of the Confederate homes and businesses by the Union troops after the raiders left the town. Watches, clothes, dry goods, food, livestock as well as captured horses, wagons, guns, etc were carried back to Donaldson by the Union force. Many residents of Clarksville signed oaths of allegiance to insure the safety of their property.
The captured soldiers of Clarksville were immediately paroled – this was a system of prisoner exchange practiced by both side early in the war. Each soldier captured would be officially “exchanged” for a captured soldier of similar rank that the other side held. Neither soldier could take up arms and return to their units until there counterparts were properly paroled. 301 men were placed on boats headed North from Clarksville the same day. By August 20th, the Regiment had reached Paducah where Mason wrote to General Grant informing him of the surrender. According to the August 28th issue of The Troy Times the 6 paroled companies of the 71st had already reached Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio where they were to await being “exchanged.” That same issue of the paper contained a letter from Colonel Mason to the editor of the Ohio State Journal giving his account of the Clarksville affair.
General Grant and General Halleck did not take the surrender news well. The Confederate partisan irregulars in Kentucky and Tennessee were having success on a regular basis and wrecking havoc with Union supply lines. Now, a Union Regiment had been surrendered with no resistance – and by a Colonel whose actions at Shiloh (and apparently Manassas) were suspect. Colonel Mason was also vilified by a number of Ohio newspapers and his immediate resignation was called for.
The very next week’s Troy Times included a letter signed by 12 officers of the 71st OVI which detailed the events at Clarksville, Tennessee and why they advised Colonel Mason to surrender. Below this article were 2 published General Orders from Assistant Adjutant General, E. D Townsend, in Washington, DC.
“Order No 115 – Col. Rodney Mason of the 71st Ohio Volunteers is, by order of the President of the United States, cashiered for repeated acts of cowardice in the face of the enemy.”
“The following offices of the 71st Regiment of the Ohio volunteers having published a card stating that they advised Col. R. Mason, who has been cashiered for cowardice, to surrender Clarksville to the rebel forces, are, by direction of the President, dismissed from the service of the United States: (List below)
Company C:
Captain J. R. Woodward, 2nd Lt. Isaac Mann, 2nd Lt. Ira L. Morris
Company D:
Captain Smith H. Clark, Lt. H. M. Drury
Company E:
Captain Wm. H. Callender
Company F:
Captain C. H. Kramer, Lt. L. W. Beamar
Company I:
Captain Sol. J. Houce, 1st Lt. N. J. Narter
Company K:
Captain T. W. Bown
Adjutant Thomas T. More
With this Presidential order the Regiment lost its Commanding Officer, the Commanding Officers of 6 of 10 companies as well as ½ dozen junior offices. Captain Sol. J Houck quickly returned to the Regiment when it was determined that he did not know what he had signed. Houck was later wounded in the Battle of Nashville and was discharged on Feb 25, 1865. A 2nd officer had his dismissal reversed in 1864 (Captain J. R. Woodward?) but the remaining 10 officers had to wait until after the war when their dismissals were overturned and their records changed such that they were mustered out effective August 29, 1862.
Immediately after being relieved from command, Colonel Mason began to pursue a trial or a formal hearing where he could confront his accusers. To that end, he contacted the Adjutant General, General Halleck, Secretary of War Stanton, and President Lincoln himself. His political connections were such that he enlisted the help of both Ohio Senators and 21 Ohio Congressmen in 1863 to persuade the President to get involved with the case. The Ohio Historical Society has a 32 page document which Colonel Mason submitted to President Lincoln regarding his case. The bulk of it contains affidavits and depositions supporting his actions from subordinates at Shiloh and Clarksville and from both subordinates and superiors at Manassas (Bull Run.) Apparently, Mason’s actions at Bull Run (which again was a huge Union defeat) raised some eyebrows. His efforts were unsuccessful, however, and Rodney Mason’s military career was over.
The October 1862 of the Ladies Soldiers’ Aid Society of Troy, Ohio shows that 2 boxes were send to the 71st OVI in the field. Included were bedding, clothes, eyeshades, dried fruit, tapioca, tea, rice, etc.
The paroled companies of the Regiment that were captured at Clarksville apparently remained in Ohio for the remainder of 1862 – possibly waiting until their Confederate counterparts had been properly exchanged. A notice in the January 6, 1863 edition of the Troy Times reads “Notice is hereby given that all non-commissioned offices and privates of the seven (six?) companies of the 71st Rg. O. V. I. lately paroled in Clarksville, that they are required to report forthwith to George W. Morris at Troy who will furnish them with transportation to the Army of General Rosecrans. All who fail to comply with this notice will find themselves arrested and that they be dealt with as deserters. C. Morris Secy. Military Com.”
The Regiment was reunited in Northern Tennessee where they garrisoned both Fort Donaldson and Fort Henry with Lt. Colonel George W. Andrews selected to replace Colonel Mason. There is evidence to suggest that the “Clarksville boys” return was not received well by the 4 companies that defended Fort Donaldson. There were some that considered there actions at Clarksville cowardly. Also, their return eliminated any possibility of the decimated Regiment returning to Ohio to be reformed – which was the rumor that had spread though Fort Donaldson during the latter part of 1862.
Only 2 letters from the Regiment were published in Troy during the first half of 1863 – the first again defending their actions in the battles to date and the 2nd speaking of their duties at Fort Donaldson. The 71st along with the 83rd Illinois, the 13thWisconsin, and the 5th Iowa Cavalry spent most of their time drilling, training, and improving the fortifications.
In the fall of 1863, the Regiment left Fort Donaldson for their new headquarters in Gallatin, Tennessee roughly 20 mile Northeast of Nashville. Their new commander was Colonel Henry McConnell, the former Captain of Company B – George W. Andrews having resigned on June 17, 1863.
Henry Kumbler McConnell was a Minister in civilian life and part of an extended family from the Newton and Union township area who joined the 71st in 1861. Henry’s 3 brothers (Robert, Wesley, and William) enlisted with him. His wife’s 5 brothers (Richard W., Samuel H., Amos H., Esley R., and Isaac V. Brandon - the sons of Richard W. Brandon and Mary A. McConnell) also enlisted in the Regiment. Two other young men who had married Brandon girls (Doctor Amos E. Duncan and John R. Johnson) joined the group. All 11 men received $100.00 mustering-in pay and were made privates except for Henry who enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant in Company B based on his civilian leadership abilities and his younger brother William who was made a Sergeant in Company B. Henry shortly became Captain of Company B and was promoted to Colonel on May 30, 1863. He became Regimental commander on June 17, 1863 and received one more promotion – to Brevet Brigadier General on March 13, 1865. (brevet being an honorary - and usually temporary rank, awarded for meritorious action.)
A letter from a Private in Company C dated October 30, 1863, stated that the Regiment was being used primarily to guard the railroads with various companies located in the Galatin, Carthage, and Nashville area. With no “significant” force of Rebels in the area, there largest concern was isolated “bushwackers.”
By early 1864, still based in Galatin, the attentions of the Officers had turned towards reenlistments as the original 3 year enlistment terms for the majority of the Regiment were to expire in the fall. A letter from Gatlatin dated February 6, 1864, stated that Colonel McConnell had been in Ohio and upon his return to Tennessee, he was so successful in his retention efforts, that “three fourths” of the Regiment signed on as Veterans. Operations again consisted of guarding railroads, supply lines, and the occasional skirmish with small bands of guerillas. The letter also mentioned that the Regiment might be headed home as early as February 15th.
As predicted in that letter, the Regiment left Galatin for Ohio around the middle of February and arrived in Troy on Thursday evening, February 24th – over 2 years after having left the same train depot for the War. According to The Troy Times, the Regiment now contained 380 soldiers which was less then half of their original strength. Many members had already been discharged by the Surgeon General because of illness or wounds. Others had died – some due to enemy action, but a greater number due to diseases in the camps. Of the 380 soldiers, 320 had reenlisted for a 2nd term per the Troy Times.
Due to the lateness of their arrival, the formal welcoming of the troops which had been planned for Thursday afternoon, was held the following day. The children of the Union School held a parade and sang for the soldiers. W. B. McLung gave a welcoming speech and a response was offered by Colonel McConnell. The Armory Hall was used to prepare food for the Regiment during their stay by the ladies of Troy and the Citizens of Troy opened up their homes to the group. The Troy Brass Band provided music at several different functions during the week.
The Regiment remained in Troy until Tuesday March 1st when they were given 30 day furloughs. A letter from Captain James W. Carlin to his wife states that the Regiment reformed at Camp Dennison at Columbus and left on April 1st. A 5 day train ride via Cincinnati and Louisville got the 71st back in Northern Tennessee on garrison duty.
In June of 1864 they were relieved and began to move south towards Georgia. On June 15, 1864, the Regiment was camped on the Elk River guarding a railroad bridge near Decherd about 10 miles south of Tullahoma, Tennessee after having marched across the mountains between that place and Nashville. The Regiment was transferred from the 4th Division, 20th Army Corp to the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland on August 14, 1864.
The Regiment left Decherd on August 23 and arrived in Dalton, Georgia the following day. A letter from W. T. Hawthorne dated August 27, 1864 and printed in the Troy Times, had the Regiment at Dalton, Georgia and preparing to move south towards Atlanta to join General Sherman’s Army then laying siege to Atlanta. The next day (August 28th) was spent on the railroad moving South. The land between Dalton and Atlanta was described as “one vast battle ground, nearly every ridge and hill being lined with rifle its, redoubts, gopher holes, and every imaginable work of offense and defense.”
Arriving outside of Atlanta that evening, they camped by the Chattahoochee River. The 4th Corp under General Howard had left 2 days earlier to begin a flanking move around the west side of Atlanta as part of 3 separate infantry columns. With General Sherman’s attack stalled on the North edge of Atlanta and reduced to shelling the city from a distance, the goal of these 3 columns was the destruction of the Mason & Western railroad which was the only supply line for General John Bell Hood’s Army of the Tennessee trapped in Atlanta.
The 71st, having left all their horses and associated equipment at Chattanooga due to a lack of transportation, were able to locate 5 old horses and enough “stirrups, straps, ropes, strings, and rags” to make 3 or 4 serviceable saddles and bridles. None the less, most of the officers marched alongside their troops in this campaign as did Dr. Hoagland (Surgeon) and Chaplain McKinney. The strength of the Regiment at that time was 467 men and 16 officers. It took 2 days of marching to catch up with their Corp. Finally, the Regiment got back into action on September 2nd near Lovejoy, Georgia when it ran into elements of Hood’s Army protecting the railroad. This was the end of the Battle of Jonesville and while Atlanta fell to Sherman shortly thereafter, Hood’s Army of the Tennessee was able to keep the railroad open long enough to escape and fight another day. The Regiment’s casualties were 15 injured with only 3 deemed severe.
Sometime after Jonesville, Colonel McConnell was reassigned as the Regiment was under command of Lieutenant Colonel James H. Hart an attorney and former State Senator from Piqua (and the hero of Fort Donaldson) when they next met the enemy.
A notice in the Troy Times issue of 11-7-1864 gives the report of the Troy Female Bible Society. They recently resupplied the 71st with new Bibles and were pleased to report that Charles T. Bryant, a 24 year old Sergeant Major with the Regiment had donated $10.00 to support their work. In gratitude, the Society made him a lifetime member.
The 4th Corp (of which the 71st was part,) now under the command of General David S. Stanley, was detached from General Sherman’s army shortly after the fall of Atlanta and before he began his famous “March to the Sea.” Now under the direct command of General George H. Thomas (The Rock of Chickamauga) the 4th was joined with General Schofield’s 23rd Corp with General Schofield in overall command. This “little army” of 15,000 to 20,000 soldiers was charged with keeping track of General Hood’s Confederate Army of the Tennessee which after its defeat at Atlanta had turned north with the intention of attacking Nashville and disrupting Sherman’s supply lines. General Thomas himself went to Nashville to organize the defense of the city. Sherman considered the troops that he took with him to Savannah as the best in his Army – the rest he left for General Thomas’s us
The 71st spent most of October and November 1864 in Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee attempting to stay between Hood and Nashville – but still not bring on a major engagement. On October 9, 1864, Major Carlin wrote a letter to his wife Lib, in Celina from Chattanooga where washed out railroad bridges and rebel raiders destroying track was keeping him from rejoining the Regiment. About a month later, Lib received a letter from Chaplain Arthur L. McKinney telling her that her husband had been captured by the Confederates on the 24th of October about 14 miles from the 71st camp at Galesville, Alabama. The Major was leading a foraging company and got separated from them. Lib heard from her husband in a letter written from a Confederate Military Prison in Selma, Alabama dated November 19, 1864. Major Carlin was later sent to Andersonville.
The Regiment was in camp at Polanski, Tennessee on the afternoon of November 23rd when they were alerted to Hood’s presence in force only a day’s march away. They immediately marched North to Lynville, a distance of 15 miles, arriving just after dark. The Regiment was awakened at 1:00AM that evening with the news that Forrest’s cavalry was threatening the bridges over the Duck River at Columbia which was their only lines of communication with Nashville. The Regiment marched another 15 miles in the dark and by 9:00AM that morning (the 24th) they were across the Duck River in Columbia.
At Columbia, Schofield’s force fought a delaying action and barely escaped destruction at the hands of the Rebels but escaped under cover of darkness passing so close to the fires of the Confederate soldiers that some Union soldiers were captured while attempting to use the fires to light their pipes. Schofield retreated to Franklin, Tennessee and set up defenses south of the town anchored on both sides by the Harpeth River. It had been his intention to cross the River with his small Army and burn the Harpeth River bridges behind him to deny them to Hood. On November 30th, the last of his wagons crossed the Harpeth in the middle of the afternoon and he intended to abandon Franklin after dark and move on to Nashville and join Thomas. Schofield did not believe that Hood would attack entrenched fortification across a mile of exposed plain – but that is precisely what General Hood did. The Union fire decimated Hood’s army and in one day Hood lost more men then the Confederates lost during 2 days at Shiloh. 6,300 casualties and 6 Confederate Generals died at Franklin and for all intents the Army of the Tennessee ceased to be an effective fighting force. Government maps show that the 3rd Division of the 4th Army Corps (which the 71st was attached to) was actually located on the North side of the River during the battle where little if any fighting took place. Still, the 4th Corps Commander, David S. Stanley was severely wounded at Franklin and he was replaced by General Thomas J. Hood.
The evening of the 30th, Schofield abandoned Franklin to the Confederate, burned the bridges as planned, and continued up the road 20 miles to Nashville. By Noon the next day, all 5 divisions were safe within Nashville’s defenses.
Several of the 71st’s members were captured during the fighting in November including Adam W. Baker of Company C (Columbia) and William M Tibbs of Company G (Spring Hill.) Both spent time in Andersonville. Andersonville records show that C. Philler (G), Henry Davidson (I), and W. Kirk (I) were also at Andersonville. Only Henry Davidson is in the official Regimental roster. All survived their captivity.
The remnants of General Hood’s Army approached Nashville and began entrenching around the city during the first week of December. The weather was very cold in Nashville in December of 1864 and the ground was frozen which made operations difficult so for at least a week, the 2 armies watched each other. The 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Division was commanded by Colonel Post and in addition to the 71st OVI, it included the 59th Illinois, 41st Ohio, 93rd Ohio, and the 124th Ohio. They were positioned in the center of the Union lines along with the rest of the 4th Corps.
On December 15th, 1864, the ground had thawed to a point where General Thomas began his attack. The Brigade assaulted Montgomery Hill and captured initial Confederate positions there and that same afternoon, crossed the Hillsboro Pike. On the next day, they attacked Overton’s Hill and shortly thereafter what was left of the Army of the Tennessee was in full retreat. Over the next several weeks, the 4th Corps pursued General Hood out of Tennessee and into Alabama. An article in the December 22, 1864 Troy Times says the Regiment, led my Colonel Hart led several charges and each time carried the Rebel breastworks. Lieutenant Hamilton (Benjamin A Hamilton of Company K.) was the first to enter the last line of rebel works. The Regiment lost 5 killed and 40 wounded. One of the wounded was Sergeant David L. Lee of Company E who lost his left leg as a result of the battle and was discharged in Cincinnati on April 2, 1865. Colonel Hart was wounded on the first day of the battle but not severely enough to keep him from his duties.
With the War in the west effectively over, the 71st OVI went into winter quarters in Huntsville, Alabama. The following spring (March 15th, 1865) the 4th Corps moved from Alabama into Eastern Tennessee so that they could engage the armies of either General Lee or General Johnson should they escape from either Grant and Sherman in the Eastern Theater. The surrender of the Confederate Armies in the East ended this possibility so the 71st found itself back in Nashville – waiting to be discharged and their return to Ohio.
Major James H. Carlin survived his captivity in Andersonville and sent his wife at least 2 letters after his release – the 2nd from Vicksburg, Mississippi on April 14, 1865 where he awaited transport home.
While other Ohio regiments came home in the summer of 1865, the 71st and the 4th Corps were ordered to Texas by way of New Orleans on June 16th. The Regiment was near Green Lake, Texas on July 12, 1865 when Sergeant Daniel Webb Ellis, Company I, of Piqua Ohio wrote his wife Mollie:
“alltho I cannot boast of my good health I believe I fare as well as any of my comrades but fortunately for us there is no disease among us but the cause of our illness is fatigue and the effects of being on the salt waters, in the first place we were five days on the Ocean then landed on the shore of the Matagordo Bay and was compelled to march thirty eight miles with out any water only what we got at New Orleans which was vary poor and scarse. ...[he writes about men falling along the way and begging to be shot] We had ten companys and three hundred and nintty four men when we left the Bay and when we got here we had seven men and four companys. Showing a loss of three hundred and eighty-seven men but I believe the most of them have been hauled in to camp…. But alas our task is but half done for we have just as far again to march after leaving here without water.”
Green Lake, Texas is located near the Gulf of Mexico roughly 50 miles Northeast of Corpus Christi. During the Civil War, it was used as a campground and staging area for Union troops.
The August 12, 1865 issue of the Miami Union prints a 2 letters from Colonel Hart. In the first, written July 14th from Indianola, Texas he speaks about the heat, lack of water, most of the troops being affected with prickly-heat , and the distance that his small group much march to rejoin the Regiment at Green Lake. In the 2nd written on July 16th at Green Lake, he tells of one of his soldiers killing a 15 foot alligator in Green Lake - the same lake where they bathe, wash clothes, and get their drinking water. The entire 3rd Division of the 4th Corps is at Green Lake and moral is low as the common thinking is the War is over – why are we in Texas? The Army has a high number of desertions, but the 71st only lost 6 men between Nashville and Green Lake. The ultimate goal of the Regiment was Austin, Texas which was a 125 mile march away and they were resting at Green Lake until ordered to move.
It is not known if that march to Austin was made or not. On Sept 1, 1865, Sergeant Ellis writes his wife:
“I have been traveling for sometime and have the first nice place to see in Texas yet….I suppose you are having gay times this fall with the returned soldiers for they must be vary numerous and I do know they are gay and festive cusses…I am almost willing to say I will be at home this fall if I must Desert but, I will wait until Dec. then I must without doubt start home if not before that time but I hope to be there before that time for I am tired of War.”
The Miami Union of September 9th, 1865 mentions that the following Ohio Regiments are at Green Lake, Texas: 26th, 41st, 49th, 51st, 64th, 65th, 71st, and the 125th. That same edition mentions that George O. Toms late of the 71st OVI (Captain Company E who resigned on July 17, 1863) was a candidate for Marshall of Troy. Arthur L. McKinney, the Regiment’s Chaplin who was discharged on March 2, 1865 on expiration of term was a candidate for Treasurer.
On October 14th, an article in the Miami Union questions the necessity of keeping the Regiment in Texas. The Regiment was mustered out of service in Texas on November 30, 1865. The only mention of this locally was a sentence in the December 7, 1865 Troy Times. The Regiment apparently missed their 3rd Christmas at home as a notice in the January 6, 1866 Miami Union states that the Regiment passed through Piqua on January 3rd on the way to Columbus where they were to be paid off and discharged. The total losses of the Regiment were 66 enlisted and 3 officers killed by enemy action and 132 enlisted and 5 officers died by disease for a total of 206.
And so, sometime during the first week of January 1866, the Civil War finally ended for the veterans of the 71st Ohio Volunteer Infantry as they returned to their homes and their families.
For most of the veterans, the Civil War was the biggest adventure of their lives. Most of them, prior to their enlistment, had never been more than 20 miles from where they were born. During their time in the Army they had experiences unlike any before. Some of them spent the rest of their lives attempting to recapture this adventure. Many moved West. Some opened businesses or went into politics. Nearly all became respected members of the community – especially as the War became a distant memory.
Colonel Rodney Mason never received the formal inquiry he sought into his war conduct, but on March 22, 1866, the War Department reversed his cashiering and instead mustered him out of the 71st OVI effective August 29, 1862. Rodney left Ohio and married in Sackett’s Harbor, New York in 1869. He relocated to Washington DC and continued to practice law as a patent attorney. The 1880 census shows him living there with his wife, 3 children, and 2 servants. It is believed he left Washington around 1882 and relocated to Detroit, Michigan where they spent several years before returning to Sackett’s Harbor. Colonel Mason died on January 22, 1893 at the age of 68 in Detroit while visiting his son. Colonel Mason remains were returned to New York and he is buried in the Sackett’s Harbor Cemetery.
The Regiment’s 2nd Commander - Colonel George W. Andrews left the Army in 1864 and returned to Wapakoneta where he resumed his publishing career and reentered politics. He was elected to the State Senate in 1873 and again in 1875. He died in Wapakoneta on November 21, 1887 at the age of 62.
Brevet General Henry McConnell left Ohio around 1875 with some of his brothers and brothers in law and settled in Osage City, Kansas. There the family prospered and Henry practiced law, was a member of the school board at one time, and was an active member of the GAR speaking at many public functions. On January 16 1889, General McConnell was shot in Osage City, Kansas early one morning by James McNames. The wounds while serious were not life threatening. Although Mr. McNames gave himself up, the reason for the shooting was not generally known at the time. 3 months later, in April, General McConnell committed suicide in a hotel room in Topeka, Kansas. Apparently the General was having improper relations with Mrs. McNames and it had been going on for some time. Not being able to live with the scandal, the General took his own life. Henry McConnell was 54 years old.
Lieutenant Colonel James H. Hart, the last Commander of the Regiment, returned to Piqua and died there less then 2 years later on December 20th, 1867 at the age of 52.
Dr. Cornelius Hoagland, a Doctor from Troy, and the Surgeon for the 71st throughout the entire war, moved to Brooklyn shortly after the War and with his brother, Joseph, and several other investors, started the Royal Baking Powder Company. By the 1880s, both Cornelius and Joseph were wealthy men and they purchased land on Shelter Island, Long Island for summer homes. Both men were also involved in yachting and in 1886 they founded the Shelter Island Yacht Club. Cornelius was also involved in horse racing. Cornelius founded the Hoagland Laboratory in Brooklyn, and set on the boards of many corporations and was affiliated with several universities. Cornelius died in April 1898 at age 70.
Amos E. Duncan, a doctor in civilian life, joined the Regiment and was made a hospital steward. His skill in the treatment of the wounded attracted the attention of the Regimental Surgeon, Cornelius N. Hoagland. During the battle of Shiloh, Amos loaded battlefield wounded onto wagons for transport to field hospitals while under enemy fire. One of the wounded he came upon was Doctor Hoagland and Amos was generally credited with saving the Doctor’s life. Amos was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the 9th Tennessee Cavalry in 1864 and he participated in nearly 20 battles – it was he who pronounced Confederate raider John Morgan dead after the Battle of Greenfield, Tennessee. After the war he practiced medicine in Arcanum and from 1870 to 1891 was a leading figure at Antioch College. Cornelius Hoagland, in gratitude to his old friend, Amos Duncan, endowed a Chair of Physiology at Antioch College and Amos Duncan was appointed to it in 1886.
Chaplain Arthur L. McKinney won election as Miami County Treasurer in 1865 and served all told 4 years. In 1872 he was elected Probate Judge and served in that office for 6 years. Judge McKinney then opened a private law practice. In April 1894, he became Mayor of Troy and served 3 terms. Arthur McKinney died on February 20, 1901 in Troy at the age 81.
Elihu S. Williams, Captain of Company H, an attorney in Civilian life, remained in Tennessee after the War. He was appointed Attorney General of the 6th Judicial Court and served 2 terms in the Tennessee State Legislature. Returning to Miami County in 1875, he started a law office with his brother Henry H. Williams (himself a Corporal in Company A of the 71st.) Elihu was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1896 and reelected in 1898. Elihu died in Troy on December 1, 1903 at the age of 68.
George W. Gunder, 1st Lieutenant Company B, settled in Marian, Grant County, Indiana where he ran a successful mercantile business and also invested heavily in real estate in the area. In 1885 George organized Company D of the 3rd Regiment Indiana National Guard and served first as a Captain then Major . Governor Hovey authorized the organization of the 4th Regiment Indiana National Guards appointing Colonel Gunder for this service when in 1890 he became a full colonel. He was acting in this capacity when war was declared between US and Spain in 1898. The regiment now the 160th Ind Infantry went to Chickamauga Park and 1898 ordered to Newport News to embark for Porto Rico and Camp at Matanzas,Cuba. The group was in service for one year " the group returning on the transport ship "the Thomas", mustered out in Savannah, GA in 1899. Col. George W. Gunder was a member of the GAR, a master mason 32nd Degree and served as Chairman of the Republican County Central Committee in 1884. Colonel George W. Gunder died on Oct 22, 1926.
David L. Lee, who lost his left leg at Nashville, returned to Troy after his medical discharge in 1865 and learned the jewelry trade. Later, David also was appointed to the United States Revenue department and served in that capacity at least 2 different times. He was elected Miami County Sheriff in 1873 and again in 1875.He served as Concord Township clerk for 4 years. At the time of his death in November of 1909 at age 66, he was working as a Revenue Agent assigned to the Hayner Distillery.
Major James W. Carlin boarded a steamship in Vicksburg, Mississippi in April of 1865 with many other freed Union prisoners and began his trip back on Celina, Ohio. The boiler on that steamship, the Sultana, blew up near Memphis on April 27, 1865 with a great loss of life. Major Carlin was reported lost in that explosion. He was 50 years old.
In 1882, Lieutenant Colonel Barton Kyle was honored by the people of Troy when the cornerstone of Kyle School was laid at the intersection of Plum and Simpson Street. This building, completed in 1884 served until 1950 when the present Kyle School was built in its place. The Wapokoneta Post of the Grand Army of the Republic was also named after Colonel Kyle.
25 years after the end of the Civil War, the 1890 U.S. Veterans Census shows that 92 veterans of the 71st OVI remain in Miami County as well as 11 widows. Roughly half of the soldiers served their initial enlistment and then re-enlisted for the remainder of the War. Some were replacements and enlisted later in the war. 20 of the soldiers were discharged for medical reasons before the end of the war. 13 of the soldiers elected not to reenlist in 1864. This census also tells us something about how the young men of entire communities enlisted together. All of the 7 veterans in Brown Township were from Company E. 11 of the 12 veterans in Tipp City were from Company C.
The highest ranking 71 st OVI soldier in the census was John R. Woodward of Tipp City. He was the Lieutenant Colonel of the 147 th OVI, a 90 day regiment organized in Troy in the spring of 1864. This is the same John R. Woodward who, as Captain of Company C was cashiered after Clarksville in August 1862. Another member of that infamous group, Ira Morris (Lieutenant – Company C) is shown living in Concord Township.
The veterans of the 71 st OVI were very proud of their service and were very active in regimental reunions and veteran’s organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) which was a powerful political force in the latter part of the 19th century. In Piqua alone, at the Alexander Mitchell GAR Post 158, at least 17 71 st OVI veterans were members at one time or another. By 1919, the total had dwindled to 5.
Organized reunions of the Regiment began as early as 1872 and were held every year in local towns like Brookville, Celina, Ludlow Falls, Piqua, Pleasant Hill, West Milton, and Troy. The Troy newspapers of the 1870s and 1880s did not mention the reunions but by 1891 the reunions (typically held in June) warranted at least a short paragraph and after 1900 often several columns on the front page of the Miami Union.
The 19th reunion of the Regiment took place in the grove in Ludlow Falls on June 18, 1891 with 134 members in attendance. A picnic lunch was served. Secretary D. L. Lee read the minutes from the previous meeting in Brookville. The committee appointed to prepare a history of the Regiment was not ready and so were given more time. It was decided that the next reunion would be in Tippecanoe City on the 3rd Thursday in June 1892.
On June 20, 1901, the 29th annual reunion took place in Ludlow Falls. There were 81 veterans and their families present – down from 112 at Ludlow Falls the year before. 32 veterans who could not attend, wrote letters. The afternoon meal was prepared by the Ladies Aid Society of the Friends Church of Ludlow Falls. 8 veterans who had died the previous year were remembered including Chaplain Arthur L McKinney and Dr. James J. Garver, former Corporal of Company I who died in Indianapolis. Both had attended the 1900 reunion. It was a rainy day and many of the speeches were cut short. The West Milton Cornet Band provided music for the event. Plans were made to hold the 1902 reunion in Brookville.
In 1909, the 37th reunion was held in Tippecanoe City (Tipp City.) The veterans met as Mrs. Crane’s home and there was a procession from that point to the I.O.O.F hall the music being provided by Staley’s Military Band. Many speeches were made and patriotic songs were sung. The dinner was served by the W. R. C. of Tipp City. 84 members were present and letters were received from 15 others. 10 deaths had been reported the previous year. It was estimated that 200 veterans of the Regiment survived.
The 1910 reunion was to be held in Celina.
The 41st annual reunion, held in Ludlow Falls on June 19, 1913. The featured guest was Captain William H. McClure of Company A who resided in Iola, Kansas and could not attend many reunions. Captain McClure told of visiting the Shiloh battlefield and the changes that had occurred in 50 years. He also remembered helping place Colonel Kyle in an ambulance after he was wounded. The dinner was served in the basement of the Friends Church. Music was provided by the Netzley band of Laura which was composed of 11 people all named Netzley. 44 members were present and this included 3 of the surviving 4 Captains – William McClure (A), Joshua Babb (C), and Charles Lewis (D.) 8 deaths were reported for the previous year. It was determined that the next reunion would be held in Pleasant Hill and that all future reunions would be held on the 3rd Thursday in June.
On June 20, 1918, 25 out of town veterans from Ohio and Illinois met with local veterans from Piqua at the 45th annual reunion of the 71st Ohio Volunteer Infantry which was held at the GAR hall in Piqua. By this time, the was had been over for 53 years. All of the veterans in attendance were in their mid 70s or older. This was the last Regimental reunion that this researcher found evidence of in the newspapers of that period. Perhaps their advancing age prevented them from having more reunions or perhaps they did have reunions well into the 1920s but it was not considered newsworthy as Miami County had a new generation of war heroes to consider.
Sources:
“Annual Report of the Quartermaster General to the Governor of the State of Ohio for the year 1862”
“Centennial History of Miami County” Thomas C. Harbaugh. Richmond-Arnold. 1909
“Fields Without Honor: Two Affairs in Tennessee” Noah Andre Trudeau. Civil War Times. August 1992
“Gary Price 71st OVI collection”
“History of Miami County, Ohio” W. H. Beers. Chicago 1880
“History of Miami County” Frank M. Sterrett. Montgomery Printing Co. 1917
“Karel Lee Biggs 71st OVI collection”
“The McConnell Letters” Robert McConnell. Compiled by Ronald E. Toops. 1975
“Miami Union” newspaper
“Nine Miami County boys kept Civil War promise” Jim B. Wanke.
“Ohio at Shiloh” T. J. Lindsey. Washington Courthouse 1903
“Ohio in the War” Whitelaw Reid. Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin. Cincinnati 1867
“Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant” Ulysses S. Grant. Charles L. Webster & Company. 1885
“Piqua Daily Call” Newspaper
“Piqua Soldiers at Shiloh” Terry Wright. Piqua 1994
“Testimony submitted to the President of the United States by Rodney Mason …..” Rodney Mason. 1862
“Troy Times” newspaper
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