Showing posts with label 66th OH INF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 66th OH INF. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Diary of Lieutenant-Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes: Wednesday, September 10, 1862

We camped near Seneca Bridge, about twenty-five to thirty miles from Washington. The order cutting down baggage trains leaves us eight waggons; — one for headquarters, i. e. field and staff; one for hospital; two for stores; four for company cooking utensils and the like. The band trouble breaks out again. We enjoy these short marches among great bodies of moving troops very much. Tonight the sutler sold brandy peaches making about ten or a dozen of our men drunk. I thereupon made a guard-house of the sutler's tent and kept all the drunken men in it all night! A sorry time for the sutler! Got orders to move at the word any time after 10 o'clock. I simply did nothing!

Camp near Rich or Ridgefield [Ridgeville], about forty miles from Baltimore, about thirty from Washington, about seventeen from Frederick. Marched today from ten to fourteen miles. Occasionally showery — no heavy rain; dust laid, air cooled. Marched past the Fifth, Seventh, Twenty-ninth, and Sixty-sixth Ohio regiments. They have from eighty to two hundred men each — sickness, wounds, prisoners, etc., etc., the rest. This looks more like closing the war from sheer exhaustion than anything I have seen. Only four commissioned officers in the Seventh. A lieutenant in command of one regiment; an adjutant commands another! Saw General Crawford today, he was very cordial.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 349-50

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Lieutenant-Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes to Lucy Webb Hayes: Sunday P.M., March 9, 1862

Fayetteville, March 9, 1862. Sunday P. M.

Dearest: — I received your letter last night — sent by Mr. Schooley. You wrote it a week ago. A rainy, gloomy day here too, but made rather jolly by Dr. Joe's good nature, with Avery and Bottsford to help me laugh. Dr. Joe is in his best humor these days and makes all around him happy. Today is a lovely spring day — but getting lonely here. I am a hen with one chicken. All but one company, I have sent to Raleigh since Colonel Scammon left. We have been here almost four months. The men are pleased to go. I shall start in a day or two when the hospital goes. No sickness — not a man who can't go about, and only four who need a hospital. Eight hundred well men here and at Raleigh. There is a real gloom among the men caused by a report that I am to be colonel of the Sixth. It is no doubt a repetition of an idle rumor I heard in Cincinnati, But as the thing may come up, I wish you and Stephenson to know that I would not want the place unless it was agreeable generally that I should have it. Young Anderson is probably entitled to it, and I would not want it in opposition to him or his friends. The place is, perhaps, not preferable to my present position and I do not desire it, unless it is all smooth — particularly with Anderson. If I were sure of continuing my present command of the Twenty-third, I would not wish a colonelcy of any other regiment; but in the present uncertainty I am willing to take a certainty in any good regiment.

My new horse performs beautifully. I am in the best of health. There is only one thing: You are not here. Don't you think I love you as much as you do me? Why, certainly. There, I have fixed this letter so you can't show it to “Steve.” I'll write him a note. . . .

Affectionately,
R. B. Hayes.
Mrs. Hayes.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 204-5

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

66th Ohio Infantry

Organized at Camp McArthur, Urbana, Ohio, and mustered in December 17, 1861. Ordered to New Creek, W. Va., January 17, 1862. Attached to 3rd Brigade, Landers' Division, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1862. 2nd Brigade, Shields' 2nd Division, Banks' 5th Army Corps and Dept. of the Shenandoah, to May, 1862. 2nd Brigade, Shields' Division, Dept. of the Rappahannock, to June, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 2nd Corps, Army of Virginia, to August, 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Corps, Army of Virginia, to September, 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 12th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to October, 1863, and Army of the Cumberland to April, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 20th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to July, 1865.

SERVICE. – Advance toward Winchester, Va., March 7-15, 1862. Provost duty at Martinsburg, Winchester and Strasburg till May. March to Fredericksburg, Va., May 12-21, and to Port Republic May 25-June 7. Battle of Port Republic June 9. Ordered to Alexandria and duty there till August. Operations near Cedar Mountain August 10-18. Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia August 18-September 2. Guarding trains of the army during the battles of Bull Run August 28-30. Maryland Campaign September 6-22. Battle of Antietam September 16-17. Duty at Bolivar Heights till December. Reconnoissance to Rippon, W. Va., November 9. Reconnoissance to Winchester December 2-6. Berryville December 1. Dumfries December 27. "Mud March" January 20-24, 1863. At Stafford Court House till April 27. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5. Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3. Pursuit of Lee to Manassas Gap, Va., July 5-24. Duty at New York during draft disturbances August 15-September 8. Movement to Bridgeport, Ala., September 24-October 3. Skirmish at Garrison's Creek near Fosterville October 6 (Detachment). Reopening.Tennessee River October 26-29. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Lookout Mountain November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge, November 27. Regiment reenlisted December 15, 1863. Duty at Bridgeport and in Alabama till May, 1864. Scout to Caperton's Ferry March 29-April 2. Expedition from Bridgeport down Tennessee River to Triana April 12-16. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1-September 8. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11. Dug Gap or Mill Creek May 8. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Cassville May 19. New Hope Church May 25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17. Gilgal or Golgotha Church June 15. Muddy Creek June 17. Noyes Creek June 19. Kolb's Farm June 22. 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. Operations at Chattahoochie River Bridge August 26-September 2. Occupation of Atlanta September 2-November 15. Near Atlanta November 9. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Siege of Savannah December 10-21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Little Cohora Creek, N. C., March 16. Battle of Bentonville March 19-21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10-14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 20. Grand Review May 24. Moved to Louisville, Ky., June, and there mustered out July 15, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 5 Officers and 96 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 Officer and 143 Enlisted men by disease. Total 245.

SOURCE: Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, Part 3, p. 1527-8

Friday, February 3, 2012

Gen. Banks’ Retreat

NEW YORK, May 28. – The Herald has pretty full accounts of Banks’ retreat from its correspondent.

Only 150 men out of 800 or 900 engaged escaped from the Front Royal fight.

Forty of our soldiers, mostly sick were captured at Newtown.  On named David Dickinson, of the 66th Ohio was killed in the skirmish of Saturday.

The Maine and Vermont cavalry suffered severely.  Co. A of the Vermont cavalry were all lost, captured or killed except Capt. Platte, his Lieutenant and half a dozen men, who made good their escape.

Major Collins is among the captured and Major Sawyer, whose horse fell under him and injured his foot, made his escape, with no further injuries.

During the Sunday fight which continued two hours before the retreat from Winchester Donnelly’s brigade behaved admirably and repulsed the enemy but being outflanked by superior numbers they were compelled to withdraw. – Our forces, Donnelly’s brigade on the left and Gordon’s on the right were in position along a gorge between two hills.  The enemy are said to have fought well.  At one point they came up in a large hollow square single file on the frong and back and double file on each side, marching up thus to within a certain distance, they were ordered to halt, fix bayonets and charge, which they did in good order.

Col. Gordon and staff are safe, also General Williams and staff.

While retreating through Winchester, men from houses opened fire with pistols on our soldiers killing a great many of them.

Lieut. Brown of the 28th N. Y. is said to have been killed.

Col. Knipe of the 46th Pennsylvania wounded and taken prisoner.

Col. Murphy of the 29th Pennsylvania killed and many others.

The column retreated in good order pursued by the enemy beyond Martinsburgh.  The baggage train proceeded as far as the Potomac and many of the teams have been conveyed across the ferry boats.  The operator at Martinsburgh had left the town on the first rumor of a battle at Winchester, and taken the instruments with him.  The whole town seemed deserted , the stores were closed, many Union people came along with us, and negroes.

Gen. Banks was in the rear of the retreat and a shell exploded only four feet from him, fortunately without injuring him.  Winchester is reported to be burned.

The enemy had stationed a force at Berryville to prevent our retreating towards Harper’s Ferry and we were compelled to take the road to Martinsburg.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 31, 1862, p. 3

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

WINCHESTER, Va., March 29 [1862].

Secretary Seward, with a party of friends, arrived her last night at nine o’clock and was escorted from the cars to Gen. Shield’s headquarters by the 11th Pennsylvania regiment, the 66th Ohio and troops of cavalry, this morning.  The party, including Gen. Shields, A. A. G. Strong and Col. Clark, of Gen. Banks’ staff, visited the battlefield.  Mr. Seward and his friends leave at 11 o’clock to-day.  All quiet.

– Published in The Davenport Daily Gazette, Davenport, Iowa, Monday Morning, March 31, 1862, p. 1