Correspondence to the Governor and Adjutant General of Ohio
April 23-September 20, 1861.
April 23, 1861
George B. Smythe, Major General, Headquarters, 6th Division, Ohio Volunteer Militia, Newark, Licking County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that the Adjutant General had referred to an act which vacated all commissions where the general officers had failed to comply with law and regulations, that he was not aware of such an act, that he assumed there was a legal method provided to establish the fact of failure to comply with law and regulations which would afford him the opportunity of a trial and a judgment before his commission was vacated, that he could not believe that the "mere forms and shadows" of the peace establishment would be interposed against the substance of what little organization remained in the military service, that a sense of honor required him to stand on his commission in the present crisis until authoritatively advised that he was deposed, and that his heart was in the great movement to uphold and sustain the flag of their fathers.
2 pp. [Series 147-8: 150]
June 29, 1861
F[rank] J. Jones, 2nd Lieutenant, 13th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting his commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the 13th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. See letter dated September 20, 1861, from Frank J. Jones to C.P. Buckingham.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 224]
August 8, 1861
G[eorge] W. Andrews, Colonel, 15th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry (three months' service), Thomas Morton, Colonel, 20th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry (three months' service), Samuel Beatty, Colonel, 19th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry (three months' service), Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. Letter stating that the undersigned field officers were undertaking to have the Captains of their respective companies and orderlies who were good penman report at the Adjutant General's office in Columbus at the earliest possible time, and that it was understood that as soon as the muster out rolls were completed by said Captains, Colonel [Henry B.] Carrington would detail officers to muster the companies out of U.S. service and issue pay at a time and place to be designated.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 169]
August 18, 1861
Ed[win] A. Parrott, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that the bearer, Jno. King, was visiting Dennison for the purpose of tendering a company of cavalry, most of which he had already enlisted, that King was raised in Dayton, that he could vouch for King's qualifications, that King's company was made up mostly of young farmers, and that Colonel [Alexander McDowell] McCook had expressed a desire to have King's company attached to his regiment. Together with a note dated August 23, 1861 from A[lexander] McD[owell] McCook, Colonel, 1st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, requesting that King's company be attached to his regiment; a note from J.W. King to General [Robert C.] Schenck, asking that his request be placed before the proper authorities; and a note dated August 30, 1861 from Thomas A. Scott, Assistant Secretary of War, stating that he was referring the request to Governor William Dennison with power to use his discretion as to acceptance in connection with regiments authorized to be furnished by the State of Ohio.
4 pp. [Series 147-8: 86, 87]
August 22, 1861
T.C. Mitchell, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. To General R[obert] C. Schenck, Washington, D.C. Letter stating that he was writing to obtain authority from the War Department for the formation, equipping and transportation of a company of one hundred picked men accustomed to the use of the rifle to serve the United States, that he proposed using a telescopic rifle with a range of one thousand yards which would cost from $45 to $60, and that no man would be admitted to the company who could not hit a target nine times out of ten shots at a range of six hundred yards; and requesting that the company be attached to Schenck's brigade.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 76]
August 23, 1861
Henry H. Anderson, Camp Lucas, Clermont County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting his appointment as 2nd Lieutenant in Company E of the 34th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 52]
August 23, 1861
Ethan A. Brown, Camp Lucas, Clermont County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting his appointment as 1st Lieutenant in Company E of the 34th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 53]
August 31, 1861
T.C. Mitchell, Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that he had seen General Order Number 50 wherein all persons were strictly forbidden to raise companies or enlist men for volunteer service without orders from the Adjutant General or from some regularly appointed regimental commander, that since August 20, he had been engaged in recruiting a company of sharpshooters without authority from anyone, that he currently had forty picked men, that he would have no trouble raising 100 men as sharpshooters if Dennison furnished telescope sighted rifles, that with an order to fill his company and the specified rifles, he could be ready to take the field at an early date, and that he wanted his company attached to the 31st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 77]
September 1, 1861
Henry Belknap, Captain, U.S. Army, Mustering Officer, Camp Putnam, Marietta, Washington County, Ohio. To ? List of the letters assigned to the respective companies of the 36th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 107]
September 2, 1861
D.H. Nye, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting an appointment as 2nd Lieutenant.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 52]
September 6, 1861
A[ndrew] B. Emery, Loveland, Hamilton County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting the appointment of Captain of Company G, 1st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 51]
September 7, 1861
B. Storer, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. To My dear Sir. Letter recommending the son of a friend for a position in one of Ohio's units.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 105]
September 8, 1861
Charles Ankele, Major Commanding, 37th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Headquarters, Camp Brown, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. To Assistant Adjutant General R[odney] Mason. Letter stating that the following individuals had accepted their appointments in the 37th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry: Lo Blessing (Louis Von Blessing) as Captain, [Henry] Goeke as 1st Lieutenant, and [Frederick] Ingold as 2nd Lieutenant.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 28]
September 8, 1861
W[illiam] S. Smith, Colonel, 13th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Camp at Big Birch, Virginia. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter stating that the resignations of Captain James McGarr and Lieutenant Harley Sage of the 13th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry had been accepted and that vacancies existed.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 231]
September 9, 1861
John A. Andrew, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Department, Boston. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that Massachusetts had a quantity of infantry equipment, i.e. belts, cartridge boxes, etc. which exceeded her needs, and which would be turned over at actual cost to any other state in need of same; and asking if Ohio wanted any part of the surplus.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 71]
September 9, 1861
R[obert] A. Fulton, Amesville, Athens County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting his appointment as Lieutenant Colonel of the 53rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 47]
September 9, 1861
Junius R. Sanford, Camp Wood, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting the appointment of Adjutant of the 41st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 51]
September 10, 1861
J[oshua] K. Brown, Camp Bartley. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting an appointment as 1st Lieutenant in Company A, 15th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 47]
September 10, 1861
H.P. Clough, Middletown, Butler County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter returning his order to raise a company on account of Joel Deardorff having a like commission; and stating that he had declined in Deardorff's favor, that he wanted to commence raising a company as soon as Deardorff's company was full, and that he could probably fill a company by October 1. Bears a note stating that a new order was issued on September 18, 1861.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 144]
September 10, 1861
S[amuel] H. Dunning, Colonel, 5th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Headquarters, Buckhannon, western Virginia. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter requesting that H[arry] G. Armstrong, Adjutant of the 5th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, be issued a commission as 1st Lieutenant in the regiment.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 25]
September 10, 1861
S[amuel] H. Dunning, Colonel, 5th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Camp Charlotte, French Creek, Upshur County, Virginia. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter stating that a vacancy had been created in the position of 2nd Lieutenant of Company A, 5th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry by the resignation of Lieutenant [Robert H.] Barrett; certifying that Sergeant Austin J. Shirer was elected to fill the vacancy; and requesting that a commission be issued to Shirer.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 26]
September 10, 1861
W[illiam] B. Hazen, Captain, U.S. Army, and Colonel, Ohio Volunteers, West Point, New York. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting his appointment as Colonel of the 41st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 69]
September 10, 1861
J. Van Ostrand, Handy, Fulton County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that he and others proposed to raise a company of horsemen to act as mounted riflemen or cavalry, and preferred the former; and asking if an order would be issued to raise the company, what number of men were necessary to form a company, what equipment would be provided, when and where the company would be mustered into service, and what number of commissioned officers were to be elected with their rank.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 21]
September 11, 1861
J[acob] Ammen, Colonel, 24th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Cheat Mountain Summit, western Virginia. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that an election was held to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Captain Moses J. Patterson at Beverly, western Virginia on September 2 and such other vacancies as occurred; certifying that the judges and clerk were properly qualified and that the poll books were returned in due form; reporting the election results; and requesting commissions for those elected.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 234]
September 11, 1861
J.M. Daugherty, Eaton, Preble County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter regarding recruiting in Preble County; and stating that his occupation was farming, and that if he could have gotten both his farms in a condition to leave them, he would have already been in the service of his country.
3 pp. [Series 147-8: 41]
September 11, 1861
William M. Eames, Surgeon, 21st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Orwell, Ashtabula County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting his appointment as Surgeon of the 21st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 50]
September 11, 1861
Charles L. Gano, Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting the appointment as Major of the 69th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 56]
September 11, 1861
Samuel A. Gilbert, Lieutenant Colonel, 24th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Cheat Mountain, western Virginia. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter stating that the act of Congress passed at the extra session, regulating the manner of filling vacancies in companies and regiments of volunteers called into the field to aid in enforcing the laws, was operating against the efficiency of the troops; asking why there was the need for a change; and stating that the officers and men appeared to be satisfied with Buckingham's order regulating the method of filling vacancies which was revoked by the act of Congress, that the effect of the change was apparent in a laxity of discipline throughout the whole command, that under Buckingham's order, everyone was anxious to do his whole duty being sure that was the only way to secure rapid promotion and good standing, that under the act of Congress, candidates for positions as officers had only to recommend themselves to the men, that if Buckingham's order had still been in force, they would have had the best men promoted, that what he had seen in his regiment and other regiments confirmed his belief that pure democracy was out of place in the army, that interference by politicians who had no knowledge of the rules and regulations established by men of military education and experience for the government of the troops would lead to defeat and disgrace, that no force could be effective without discipline, that a good state of discipline could not be attained or preserved with such a rule of promotion as set forth in the act of Congress, that he had no desire to remain in the service under such a rule and proposed to resign his commission, that he was no politician and did not enter the military service of Ohio to become one or in expectation that the regiment would be a continued caucus as to who should succeed to the next vacancy, that in his opinion, laxity of discipline cost them the battle at First Bull Run (Manassas), and that he thought Congress should provide for feeding, equipping and paying the troops and leave their government to men of military education and experience.
3 pp. [Series 147-8: 235]
September 11, 1861
Benjamin F. Gill, 1st Lieutenant, Company D, 7th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Charleston, western Virginia. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter stating that when the regiment reorganized for three years' service, the company elected another Lieutenant in his stead, and that he had been with the regiment nearly ever since and had not been appointed to any duty or been discharged; asking if his rank was still good; stating that if his rank was no longer good, he would like a discharge so that he could seek some other place, and that he wanted to stay with the regiment since he liked the other officers; and describing his military experience.
3 pp. [Series 147-8: 44]
September 11, 1861
L.A. Harris, Colonel Commanding Post, Headquarters, Camp Dennison, Hamilton County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter enclosing a consolidated report of the strength of Camp Dennison with a requisition for the balance of equipment required for the 2nd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry; and stating that the health of Camp Dennison was remarkably good, that he had the camp under the strictest discipline which circumstances permitted, that owing to the arrival of regiments and detached companies containing many men not mustered into service, the officers did not have the control over them that they would otherwise have had, that he hoped to have perfect order and discipline in the camp in a few days, that he had removed from the camp all places where spiritous liquor was sold and had instructed officers to keep their men within the lines, that he would send consolidated reports of the strength of the camp daily if Dennison desired them, that he wanted his flanking companies armed with Enfield rifles and the battalion companies armed with the rifled muskets with the guide sights, and that if this was not possible, he wanted at least 20% of the guns with the guide sights.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 80]
September 11, 1861
George M. Head, Acting 4th Auditor, Treasury Department. To Assistant Adjutant General R[odney] Mason. Letter stating that Mason's letter dated September 2, addressed to the Secretary of the Navy, regarding the system of allotment tickets adopted in the naval service, had been referred to the Fourth Auditor's Office; and enclosing a copy of the regulations upon the subject and the forms of the allotment ticket and register.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 15]
September 11, 1861
John Hutchins, Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter regarding the organization of the 2nd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry; and requesting that appointments or commissions be forwarded if Dennison felt the regiment had organized in accordance with existing law.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 92]
September 11, 1861
L[ewis] J. Lemert, H[enry] Turner, and William Akeroyd, Dresden, Muskingum County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter requesting that Patterson Hirst be furnished with the necessary authority to raise a company; and stating that Hirst was an intelligent, active man of good habits who would make an able and efficient officer, and that Hirst could raise a company in a very short time.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 10]
September 11, 1861
J[ames] N. McElroy, Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter accepting his appointment as Major of the 20th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 4]
September 11, 1861
Alpheus S. Moore, Troy, Miami County, Ohio. To Assistant Adjutant General Rodney Mason. Letter accepting the appointment of Captain in the 44th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry; and stating that he was unwell at present, but would be fit for duty in approximately a week, and that he would report to Camp Clarke at the earliest possible date.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 55]
September 11, 1861
Henry S. Neal, John Campbell, Ralph Leete, and Benjamin F. Cary, Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that Frederick Dorries of Ironton wanted to raise an artillery company, that Dorries was 30 to 35 years of age and a German who spoke English well, and had been in service for 31 months in Europe, that Dorries already had 30 men enrolled and that many of these men had seen service, and that Dorries was sober and intelligent, and would be diligent and faithful in the discharge of his duty; requesting that Dorries be furnished with an order; and stating that Dorries could report his company in ten days after receiving the order.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 17]
September 11, 1861
S.B. Robinson, Beverly, Washington County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter asking if Buckingham could give Captain Fouts authority to put his men on rations as soon as enlisted and keep the company at Beverly until full; stating that they could raise the money to pay bills until the company was formed if Buckingham would pay afterwards, and that "Lord knows" they must do something to get men faster; and requesting that Colonel E.S. McIntosh be appointed as the local recruiting officer.
3 pp. [Series 147-8: 49]
September 11, 1861
J[oshua] W. Sill, Colonel Commanding. 33rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Camp Morrow, Scioto County, Ohio. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter stating that he had telegraphed Buckingham regarding the arms and accoutrements for the rest of his regiment, that only 500 had been sent in the first place, and that their drill was retarded by the absence of arms; enclosing the election rolls of Captains [Van B.] Hibbs and [Frederick J.] Lock; and giving his opinion as to what place the companies of Hibbs and Lock should have in the regiment.
1 p. [Series 147-8: 149]