In the American Civil War, Ohio provided the federal government with 260 regiments of men, including infantry, artillery, and cavalry units. Ohioans also served in several other regiments from other states, most notably from Kentucky, West Virginia, and Massachusetts, as well as in federal units.
In the American Civil War, Ohio provided the federal government with 260 regiments of men, including infantry, artillery, and cavalry units. Ohioans also served in several other regiments from other states, most notably from Kentucky, West Virginia, and Massachusetts, as well as in federal units. Almost 330,000 Ohio men, including 5,092 African Americans, served in the Union military during the conflict
Infantry regiments formed in Ohio became known as regiments of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Between September 12, 1862 and November 7, 1862, officials mustered eight companies of the 118th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry into three years of service at Camp Mansfield at Mansfield, Ohio and the final two companies at Cincinnati, Ohio. Officials had dispatched the unfinished 118th Regiment to Cincinnati in September 1862 to protect the city during the siege of Cincinnati. In late September 1862, officials dispatched the 118th Regiment to Cynthiana, Kentucky, where the regiment performed guard duty along a railroad line. The regiment’s members built twenty stockades to protect bridges and other important points along the railroad.
On August 8, 1863, authorities dispatched the 118th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry to Lebanon, Kentucky, via Lexington, Kentucky and Louisville, Kentucky. The regiment remained in Lebanon approximately one week, before officials dispatched it to East Tennessee. The 118th arrived at Kingston, Tennessee on November 10, 1863, where it principally performed garrison duty and protected the city from threatened Confederate attack. Following the Battle of Chattanooga and the Battle of Knoxville, the 118th Regiment advanced through Nashville, Tennessee to Mossy Creek, Tennessee. On December 29, 1863, Confederate cavalry attacked the Union position at Mossy Creek. The Northern forces held their ground, but members of the 118th Regiment had forty men killed or wounded.
During the first months of 1864, the 118th Regiment engaged in constant marching, serving on garrison duty in various Tennessee cities, including Charleston. On May 7, 1864, the regiment advanced into Georgia, marching through Dalton and then onto Resaca. A portion of the 118th Regiment participated in the Battle of Resaca on May 14 and 15, 1864. On May 14, out of the approximately three hundred members of the regiment engaged, Confederates killed or wounded 116 of these men in approximately ten minutes. The regiment received a few days of rest, before participating in the Battle of Dallas and the Battle of Pumpkin Vine Creek. These engagements occurred between May 26 and June 4, 1864.
The 118th Regiment continued to participate in William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign against Confederate General Joseph Johnston, fighting in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, in the Battle of Utoy Creek, and in the Battle of Atlanta. Following Atlanta’s capture, the 118th Regiment retired to Decatur, Georgia, where the Union troopers rested for a short period of time. When Confederate General John Bell Hood began his Franklin-Nashville Campaign, the 118th Regiment pursued the advancing Southerners, moving from Decatur, to Gaylesville, Alabama, to Johnsonville, Tennessee, to Columbia, Tennessee, and finally to Franklin, Tennessee. The regiment participated in the Battle of Franklin and retreated with the Union army to the vicinity of Nashville. The Northerners proved victorious in the Battle of Nashville, and the 118th Regiment advanced in pursuit of Hood’s army to Columbia, Tennessee and finally to Clifton, Tennessee.
The 118th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry remained on garrison duty at Clifton until January 16, 1865, when military authorities dispatched the regiment to North Carolina. The 118th traveled on the steamer J.D. Baldwin to Cincinnati, Ohio and then via train to Washington, DC, arriving on January 27, 1865.On February 11, 1865, the regiment departed from Alexandria via ship, landing at Smithville, North Carolina. In conjunction with other Northern forces, the 118th helped capture Fort Anderson, along the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. The 118th was the first regiment to place its regimental flag on Camp Anderson’s walls during the assault. The regiment then advanced to Town Creek, where on February 20, 1865, the 118th captured nearly three hundred prisoners and two artillery pieces. On February 22, 1865, the regiment occupied Wilmington, North Carolina and, on March 6, 1865, advanced to Kingston, North Carolina and then Goldsboro, North Carolina, where it joined William T. Sherman’s army on March 23, 1865. The 118th Regiment remained at Moseley Hill, North Carolina until April 9, 1865, when it engaged in Sherman’s pursuit and eventual surrender of Confederate General Joseph Johnston’s army. The regiment then served on garrison duty at Raleigh, North Carolina until May 3, 1865 and then proceeded to Greensboro, North Carolina and Salisbury, North Carolina, where the 188th remained as garrison troops until June 24, 1865, when officials mustered the regiment out of service. The 118th Regiment traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, arriving on July 2, 1865, and officials discharged the regiment on July 9, 1865.
During the American Civil War, the 115th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry lost fifty-six men, including one officer, killed on the battlefield. An additional 128 men, including one officer, died due to disease or accidents. Hundreds more men suffered wounds on the battlefield.
