15th Ohio Infantry (3 Months)

Organized at Columbus, Ohio, April 27, 1861. Moved to Zanesville, Ohio, May 8, thence to West Virginia. Duty on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and operations in the vicinity of Philippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford June 3-July 16. Action at Bowman's Place June 29. Ordered to Columbus, Ohio, and mustered out August 27-31, 1861.

SOURCE: Dyer , Frederick H., A Compendium Of The War Of The Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1503

15th Ohio Infantry (3 Yrs.)

Organized at Mansfield, Ohio, September, 1861. Moved to Camp Dennison, Ohio, September 26, thence to Lexington, Ky., October 4. Duty at Camp Nevin, Ky., October 14-December 9, 1861. Attached to McCook's Command at Nolin October to November, 1861. 6th Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to December, 1861. 6th Brigade, 2nd Division, Army Ohio, to September, 1862. 6th Brigade, 2nd Division, 1st Army Corps, Army Ohio, to November, 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Right Wing 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 20th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1863. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps, to August, 1865. Dept. of Texas to November, 1865.

SERVICE.--Occupation of Munfordsville, Ky., December 10, 1861. Duty at Bacon Creek, Ky., till February 14, 1862. Advance to Bowling Green, Ky., and Nashville, Tenn., February 14-March 2. March to Savannah, Tenn., March 16-April 6. Battle of Shiloh April 6-7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29-May 30. March to Battle Creek, Ala., June 10-July 18, and duty there till August 20. March to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg, August 20-September 26. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1-15. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 16-November 7, and duty there till December 26. Advance on Murfreesboro, Tenn., December 26-30. Battle of Stone's River December 30-31, 1862, and January 1-3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro till June. Reconnoissance from Murfreesboro March 6-7. Middle Tennessee or Tullahoma Campaign June 22-July 7. Liberty Gap June 22-27. Occupation of Middle Tennessee till August 16. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River, and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-20. Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Orchard Knob November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26-27. March to relief of Knoxville, Tenn., November 28-December 8. Operations in East Tennessee till February, 1864. At Cleveland, Tenn., till April. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1-September 8. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton May 8-13. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Adairsville May 17. Near Kingston May 18-19. Near Cassville May 19. Advance on Dallas May 22-25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Pickett's Mills May 27. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5-17. Peach Tree Creek July 19-20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25-30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy Station September 2-6. Operations against Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama September 29-November 3. Nashville Campaign November-December. Columbia, Duck River, November 24-27. Battle of Franklin November 30. Battle of Nashville December 15-16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17-28. Camp at Bird Springs, Ala., till March, 1865. Operations in East Tennessee March 15-April 22. At Nashville, Tenn., till June. Moved to New Orleans, La., June 16, thence to Texas. Duty at Green Lake till August 10, and at San Antonio till November. Mustered out November 21, 1865. Reach Columbus, Ohio, December 25, and discharged from service December 27, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 7 Officers and 172 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 135 Enlisted men by disease. Total 315.

SOURCE: Dyer , Frederick H., A Compendium Of The War Of The Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1503

Letter From Pittsburg

The following private letter from Shiloh field will be of interest to our readers, and we trust the writer will excuse its publication:

PITTSBURG BATTLE-FIELD,
April 12, 1862

DEAR BROTHER – You have no doubt ere this heard of the greatest battle fought on this continent, and as you feel somewhat anxious to hear from me, I improve the first opportunity by saying that I am unhurt, and that my health was never better than at present. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I was not in the fight, as our division was the last of Gen. Buell’s army to come up, and we did not arrive till four o’clock on Tuesday morning, when the battle was fought and the victory won. We were about 60 miles distant on Sunday morning when the firing commenced, and at noon we could distinctly hear the cannonading. As we came along each report seemed “[Nearer], clearer, deadlier than before.”

The last 38 miles we came on a forced march, and owing to the desperate roads we had to travel, and the incessant rain of Monday night, we had rather a bad time of it. We (the signal corps) came thro with Gen. Thomas, his body guard and staff, but the troops did not arrive till Wednesday.

Soon after our arrival I went out on the battle-field, and the sights I there saw beggar description. The dead were lying in heaps, and in many places the bushes and trees were literally mown down. The ground strewn with dead horses, broken artillery wagons, guns, cartridge-boxes, &c. The only consolation I could gather from this most sickening sight was that there were about two dead rebels to one of our men. I can form no idea of the number killed, but the loss must be very heavy on both sides. The papers have probably given you the particulars more correctly than I can. McCook’s division was in the hottest of the fight, and came out covered with honors. The old 15th has won a name long to be remembered, but not without some loss. Company E, to which I belonged, had 3 killed and 6 or 8 wounded. The other companies suffered much the same. Col. Kirk was wounded in the shoulder. It will disable him for a while, but is not considered dangerous. It is not now thought the rebels will make an attack on the forces now here, and with the position we now occupy, as that would be certain death to the Confederate cause.

I have frequently heard it hinted that Gen. Grant will lose some of his military honors in this fight, while Buell and his army are lauded to the skies. The Illinois boys who were in both say that the Fort Donelson fight was only a skirmish to the side of this one. Gen. Halleck arrived this morning and takes command. Write soon for I have not heard from you since we parted at Franklin, Tenn.

In haste, your brother,

T. W. VAN LAW.


The Col. Kirk mentioned above was a former resident of Ohio, though practicing Law in Illinois when the war broke out. He was chosen Col. Of the 34th Illinois, and was in command of the brigade in McCook’s division when I saw him at Columbia. He is a gentleman and a fine scholar, and the fact of his having two horses shot under him in the late battle shows that he dare go in “harm’s way.”

J. V.

– Published in The Athens Messenger, Athens, Ohio, Thursday, April 24, 1862