Ohio Civil War » Civil War A-Z » 0-9 » 13th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Years Service)

13th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Years Service)

1861-1866

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.

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. Soldiers of Ohio infantry regiments served the Union for varying lengths of time, ranging from one hundred days to three years. One of the three-year regiments was the 13th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment mustered into service at Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 26, 1861. The 13th Regiment had previously organized for three months service, but officials requested that the regiment's members reenlist for three years service. Those soldiers that did reenlist became the nucleus of the new 13th Ohio.

On June 30, 1861, the 13th Ohio departed Camp Dennison for western Virginia, arriving at Parkersburg, in modern-day West Virginia, on July 1, 1861. Two weeks later, the regiment next proceeded to Oakland in present-day West Virginia. From this community, the organization conducted several expeditions, including to the present-day West Virginia communities of Greenland Gap and Clarksburg, before encamping at Sutton. On September 10, 1861, the 13th participated in the Battle of Carnifex Ferry in modern-day West Virginia. In this Union victory, the Ohio regiment served on the Union left, helping to drive the enemy from the field. After this engagement, the 13th entered camp at Gauley Bridge, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia).

On November 6, 1861, the 13th advanced with its brigade to Loup Creek in present-day West Virginia. The brigade next marched in pursuit of Confederate General John Floyd’s command. The Northerners engaged the enemy at Cotton Hill, prompting the Southerners to retreat. Following this Union victory, the 13th entered camp at Fayetteville, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia), before traveling to Jeffersonville, Indiana and encamping across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.

In mid-December 1861, the 13th joined the Army of the Ohio’s advance into Kentucky, marching through the communities of Elizabethtown and Bacon Creek. The regiment arrived at this second location on December 26, 1861 and entered camp. On February 10, 1862, the organization marched for Bowling Green, Kentucky, reaching this location five days later. On February 22, 1862, the 13th boarded railroad cars on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad for Nashville, Tennessee. Upon reaching Gallatin, forty miles from Nashville, officials assigned the regiment to help repair a railroad bridge over the Cumberland River. The organization finally arrived and entered camp at Nashville on February 26, 1862.

At Nashville, the 13th participated in several expeditions, until eight of the regiment’s companies advanced with most of the Army of the Ohio towards Savannah, Tennessee on April 2, 1862. Companies A and G remained in central Tennessee to repair various bridges over the Tennessee and Alabama Rivers. The rest of the 13th arrived at Savannah on the morning of April 6, 1862 and immediately marched for Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, eleven miles away, where the Battle of Shiloh had opened. The regiment arrived on the battlefield late on that same day but did not engage the enemy until April 7, 1862, when the organization captured all of the cannons of the enemy’s Washington Battery. After this Union victory, the 13th's commanding officer issued the following report:

HDQRS. THIRTEENTH REGT. OHIO VOL. INFANTRY, Battle-field near Pittsburg Landing, April 9, 1862.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following statement of the part taken by eight companies of the Thirteenth Regt. Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under my command, in the action of April 7, instant, near Pittsburg Landing, on Tennessee River:

After having passed the previous night awaiting orders near the Landing, my regiment, a part of the Fourteenth Brigade, under command of Actg. Brig. Gen. W. S. Smith, marched out to a position in the center, about 1 1/2 miles distant. The Thirteenth Ohio Regt. occupied the center of the brigade. An advance of the rebels upon our lines took place at 8 a. m., and during a severe struggle and through a heavy shower of musketry this regiment, in connection with the remainder of the brigade, charged upon the rebels and succeeded in capturing three pieces of artillery, viz, two 6-pounders and one 12-pounder howitzer, belonging to the Washington Battery. After spiking one of the guns and meeting with a severe loss the enemy reappeared in force, and succeeded in compelling us, with their fresh troops and superior numbers, to fall back about 400 yards, when re-enforcements reached us and a new line of battle was formed, and in regular order we recommenced the fight under a heavy fire of canister. While charging the rebel battery and retiring from it 4 commissioned officers and many non-commissioned officers and privates fell, killed or wounded, while manfully and courageously performing their duties.

Many prisoners were taken in that encounter, and from the number of the enemy that lay upon the ground over which we passed killed and wounded, our fire must have been well directed and terribly effective. The attempt to remove the rebel cannon could not succeed, from the fact that the artillery horses were killed by our fire of musketry and the enemy rallied in overwhelming numbers to recover the battery. The enthusiasm and persevering bravery of my command, as exhibited in this charge, were highly commendable. The officers and men seemed determined to accomplish to objects in view, and although our plans were for the time being frustrated by unforeseen cause, the spirits of the men never for an instant failed them, but each succeeding attempt to overpower the enemy was made with renewed courage and confidence in their abilities.

In the afternoon and toward to close of the battle, the regiment was reformed, and with the major portion of the brigade changed its position down the road and to the right of that occupied in the morning. A sudden dash of the enemy was here made upon Mendenhall's battery, which had been posted on the road in advance of us. Our lines were immediately placed under command of Actg. Brig. Gen. W. S. Smith, and the Thirteenth Regt. Ohio Volunteer Infantry, forming a part of the first line of attack, charged upon and drove back the enemy, and again captured the rebel battery which we had failed to hold in the morning. The charge was brilliant and decisive. The position was held against a strong effort of the rebels to regain possession of their battery.*

Very respectfully,

J. G. HAWKINS, Lieut. Col., Comdg. Thirteenth Regt. Ohio Vol. Infantry.

F. J. JONES, Acting Assistant Adjutant-Gen.

The Northern force remained at Pittsburg Landing for the next several weeks. In late April, the Union advanced upon Corinth, Mississippi, an important railroad junction. Beginning on April 29, 1862, Union forces, including the 13th Ohio, besieged the Confederate garrison, until forcing the enemy to withdraw on May 30, 1862. After Corinth's occupation, the 13th Ohio joined the Union's pursuit of the retreating Confederates, before entering camp at Corinth. On June 4, 1862, the regiment joined the Army of the Ohio’s advance into northern Alabama, marching via Iuka, Mississippi, and the Alabama communities of Florence and Stevenson, before encamping at Battle Creek, Tennessee on July 16, 1862.

On August 21, 1862, the 13th joined the Army of the Ohio's pursuit of Confederate General Braxton Bragg's army, which had launched an invasion of Kentucky and was threatening Ohio's southern border. The Union army beat the Confederates to Louisville and, after a short rest, advanced against the Southerners. On October 8, 1862, the Army of the Ohio engaged Bragg's Confederates at the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, but the 13th saw limited action, as the organization was on the Union right and most fighting occurred on the left. As a result of this battle, the Confederates withdrew from Kentucky. The Army of the Ohio briefly pursued the enemy, before marching to Nashville, Tennessee and entering camp.

In late December 1862, the 13th joined this Army of the Cumberland's advance upon Bragg's Army of Tennessee, which was situated at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. On the advance to Murfreesboro, the regiment helped to drive Confederate forces from Lavergne, Tennessee, on December 26 and 27. At the Battle of Stones River, the two armies clashed from December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863. Confederate forces drove the Union right back on the engagement's first day. Officials rushed the 13th from the center of the Union line to the rear, where the organization saved a supply train from the Confederates. Officials then ordered the regiment to reinforce the Union left. The 13th slowed the Southern advance but had to withdraw after the enemy turned both of the regiment’s flanks. Upon forming a new line with the Union’s reserve forces, the 13th helped repulse the Confederate assault. On the battle second’s day, the regiment was positioned in the center of the Union line and saw no combat. On the engagement’s final day, officials ordered the 13th to the Union left, where a Confederate assault drove the regiment back, but Union artillery eventually drove the enemy back. At the Battle of Stones River, the 13th had thirty-one men killed, eighty-five wounded, and sixty-nine soldiers missing or captured. After this Union victory, the regiment's commanding officer issued the following report:

JANUARY –, 1863.

SIR: I have the honor to report the following as the part taken by the Thirteenth Regt. Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the series of battles before Murfreesborough, Tenn., commencing December 30, 1862, and terminating January 3, 1863:

On Wednesday, at 8 a. m., our regiment, under command of Col. Joseph G. Hawkins, was ordered in from outpost duty, and took our place in line. Soon after, we started for the south side of Stone's River, but got but a short distance when, by your orders, we countermarched at double-quick a distance of about 1 mile, to a corn-field on the right of the Murfreesborough road, to repel an attack of cavalry upon our train. Our lines were here formed, my regiment occupying the right of the Second Brigade. The enemy being driven from the field by our cavalry and artillery, my regiment was not engaged, and about 10 o'clock, under your directions, took a position in the woods south of the corn-field.

My regiment was now ordered to cover the Fifty-ninth Ohio, which, with the Forty-fourth Indiana, formed the first line of attack, my regiment, with the Eighty-sixth Indiana, on its right, forming the second line. In consequence of the unevenness of the ground and the density of the thicket, it was difficult to keep our lines properly, but, on emerging from the woods into the open field beyond, we advanced regularly to the edge of the next woods. The first line having advanced some 20 yards into the woods, my regiment was ordered to lie down. Now it became evident that the enemy was attempting to outflank us upon the right; and this was reported to you, but just at that moment our first line was attacked, and it was compelled to fall back in some disorder and over my men, who were lying down close to the fence.

At this moment our gallant colonel fell, mortally wounded, while encouraging the men to keep cool and to fire low; and the command devolved upon myself. I held the position until the enemy completely outflanked us, and was then compelled to fall back in disorder to the line of reserves, where I rallied my command, and this time drove the enemy back, they now being in the open field, while we had the advantage of the cover of the woods. We inflicted considerable loss upon them in killed and wounded, besides capturing some 30 prisoners.

My loss in this engagement was quite severe, Col. J. G. Hawkins and Second Lieut. J. C. Whitaker being killed, together with 27 enlisted men. Capt. E. M. Mast, Lieut.'s John Murphy, John E. Ray, S. C. Gould, John Fox (since dead), and Thomas J. Stone were wounded, and 68 enlisted men, besides 39 missing.

No other movement of importance in which my regiment participated occurred until Friday, January 2, when we occupied the extreme left of our lines on the south side of Stone River, having taken our position the day previous under your immediate supervision.

On the morning of the 2d my skirmishers were thrown forward, and by their vigilance I was enabled to report to you the movements of the enemy and the probability of an attack, as the enemy were massing troops on our right and artillery had moved to my front.

At 3 p. m. the firing of the skirmishers on the right plainly indicated the enemy's advance, and in half an hour after their infantry engaged the brigade on our right, their lines being formed diagonally to our front. My regiment was not exposed to the infantry; but a battery opened upon our front with grape and canister, so that I was compelled to order a retrograde movement, which was executed in as good order as was possible. At about 300 yards I made a stand again, but by this time their battery occupied our former position in line, and we were ordered to fall back to the other side of the river, which was done in good order. Our loss in this engagement was 10 enlisted men wounded and 30 missing.

The following exhibits a detailed account of my casualties in both engagements, viz: Killed–Col. J. G. Hawkins, Second Lieut. J. C. Whitaker; enlisted men, 29. Wounded-Capt. E. M. Mast; First Lieut.'s John Murphy, John E. Ray, and Samuel C. Gould; Second Lieut.'s John Fox (since died) and Thomas J. Stone; enlisted men, 79. Missing-69. Aggregate loss in killed, wounded, and missing, 185.

Respectfully submitted.

D. JARVIS, Jr., Maj., Comdg. Thirteenth Regt. Ohio Vol. Infantry.

Col. JAMES P. FYFFE, Comdg. 2d Brig., 3d Div., Left Wing, 14th Army Corps.

Following the Battle of Stones River, the 13th Ohio remained encamped in the vicinity of Murfreesboro, participating in a few excursions to drive Confederate forces from the region and also to collect forage. In late June 1863, the Army of the Cumberland, including the 13th, embarked upon the Tullahoma Campaign (June 24-July 3, 1863), a Union advance into southern Tennessee and northern Alabama. Upon the campaign's conclusion, the regiment encamped in southern Tennessee, where the organization performed garrison duty.

In mid-August 1863, the 13th embarked upon the Army of the Cumberland's advance into northern Georgia. The regiment skirmished repeatedly with Confederate forces belonging to General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee. On September 19 and 20, 1863, the two armies fought the Battle of Chickamauga. The 13th remained engaged both days. On the evening of September 20, the entire Army of the Cumberland withdrew to Chattanooga, Tennessee. After this battle, the 13th's commanding officer issued the following report:

HDQRS. 13TH REGT. OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY, Near Chattanooga, September 26, 1863.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the Thirteenth Regt. Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in the battles of the 18th, 19th, and 20th instant:

At 10 a. m. we were ordered, in company with the balance of the brigade, to a position near Lee's Mills, where my regiment was detached to support a section of the Seventh Indiana Battery, on the crest of a hill near the mills, where we were relieved on the 19th by the Ninety-ninth Ohio Volunteers Infantry and ordered to the front. We joined the remainder of the brigade and division at 2 p. m. and soon after took position, with the Fifty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry on our right and the Eighty-sixth Indiana Volunteers on our left. Sharp skirmishing took place between our skirmishers and the enemy until 4 p. m., when, the enemy having by a flank movement compelled the regiment on our right to give way, and having completely flanked our position, we were compelled to fall back in some disorder. The regiment was rallied near the road, when, the enemy coming upon us in overwhelming force, we were compelled again to fall back, losing many commissioned officers and men, killed or wounded, Lieut.-Col. Mast being of the former and Maj. Snider of the latter.

The commanding officer being killed, the command of the regiment devolved upon me, and I formed the regiment on the crest of a hill to the rear of our former position, and lay in line until the morning of the 20th, when the regiment occupied a position in the second line and on the left of the Eighty-sixth Indiana Volunteers, and we were marched to a position about 1 mile to the left of our position of the day before. We here lay in position nearly an hour, when my regiment was ordered to move forward and charge a battery; but the order was countermanded before the movement could be put into execution. The enemy at this time pressing us in overwhelming numbers, our line fell back, and nearly 100 of the regiment, with the colors, took position on the crest of a hill to the right of the general hospital, where we had many men killed or wounded. At dark we were ordered to vacate the hill, and fell back, in company with part of Gen. Brannan's division, to a point 4 miles to the rear. The next morning, at daylight, we were ordered to join the division, and at 8 a. m. did so at Chattanooga. At 3 p. m. we were ordered to take possession of and hold Missionary Gap, 3 miles east of the town, and at 4 p. m. took position on the hills at and around the gap. At 8 a. m., 23d, we were attacked by the enemy's skirmishers. We held them in check until 12 m., when the enemy, by throwing a strong force on our right flank, compelled us to fall back to the foot of the hill. I had attempted to communicate with Col. Aldrich, Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteers, on our left, but found that the enemy had cut off our communication on that side. I found the Forty-fourth Indiana nearly at the foot of the hill, having been, like ourselves, driven back by a superior force. We fell slowly back, when we were ordered by Col. G. F. Dick, commanding Second Brigade, to take position along the railroad, where we lay in line nearly an hour, when the enemy planted a piece of artillery on our left flank, completely raking us, and we were again compelled to fall back, this time to the breastworks near Chattanooga, where we still lay, with the enemy confronting us.

The men, with some exceptions, behaved nobly, and it would scarcely be just to the officers to mention only a part; but I cannot refrain from mentioning the following as especially deserving of great praise, viz: Capt. John E. Ray, for gallantry and untiring efforts in rallying the men and encouraging them; this, too, at a time when he was excused from field duty; Second Lieut. Emery Malin, acting adjutant, for invaluable services and gallant conduct on the field in rallying the men; and to Lieut.'s Sieg and Henderson, for gallant and meritorious conduct.

The following officers served with the regiment during the engagement with credit to themselves: Lieut.'s Smith, Schart, Coe, Thompson, Rutan, Dorman, and Blackburn.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H. G. COSGROVE, Capt., Comdg. 13th Regt. Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Capt. CHAS. F. KING, Acting Assistant Adjutant-Gen., Second Brigade.

At Chattanooga, Bragg's Confederate army besieged the Union garrison from late September to late November 1863. On November 23, 1863, the 13th participated in the Battle of Orchard Knob, driving Confederate soldiers from this strategic position. Two days later, the organization fought in the Battle of Missionary Ridge, driving Bragg's remaining soldiers from the ridge, attaining a Union victory, and ending the Chattanooga Campaign. After the siege, the 13th's commanding officer issued the following report:

HDQRS. THIRTEENTH OHIO VOL. INFANTRY. Chattanooga, Tennessee November 27, 1863.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by my regiment in the recent movement of this army, resulting in the decisive victory of the 25th instant in the capture of Missionary Ridge:

At 2 p.m. of the 23d, we marched out in front of Fort Wood. The Fifty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry were, by your order, also placed under my command, and I advanced in column of division in rear of the Seventy-ninth and Eighty-sixth Indiana a distance of about a mile, subjected to quite a heavy fire from the enemy's batteries, but without any casualty. After dark I formed my lines in rear of Col. Knefler's command and threw up breastworks, which were completed by daylight next morning, and where we remained all of the 24th, a rainy, disagreeable day.

On the morning of the 25th, I marched out of my intrenchments and formed division a short distance to the left, and awaited orders. At 3 p.m. by your instructions, I advanced in column under a terrific fire from the enemy, a distance of about 50 yards, until we reached the open field, when I formed my line with the Fifty-ninth on my left and advanced at double-quick to the enemy's works at the foot of the ridge, which I occupied for a few minutes in order to breathe my men; then commenced to ascend the ridge, which, owing to the natural obstacles, was necessarily slow, for never for one moment did the enemy's firing-though the shell, grape, and canister from the right and left fell thick in our midst and the riflemen occupied the defenses at the crest of the hill-impede our advance. Slowly but gradually our flag was advanced, my color sergeant being shot in the act of placing the flag upon the works. The fighting here was very severe for a few moments. The men were too much exhausted to charge the works at once, but used their rifles to a good purpose until sufficiently recovered to charge, which we finally did at a few minutes past 4 p.m. The enemy offered a stubborn resistance, but we carried the works gallantly and drove the foe along the ridge to the left a distance of about a mile.

The fruits of the victory are in your hands. Where all acted so well it would be invidious to indicate individual acts of bravery. Color Sergeant Lloyd, for his conspicuous gallantry as standard-bearer upon this and upon former fields, is especially deserving if mention, however, and I hope he may receive the reward he so well merits.

My list of casualties is surprisingly small for the results achieved, and, when we take into consideration the obstacles surmounted really wonderful. Appended is the list.*

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

DWIGHT JARVIS, JR, Col., Comdg. Thirteenth Regt. Ohio Vol. Infantry.

Capt. O. O. MILLER, Assistant Adjutant-Gen.

The 13th next pursued the retreating Confederates to Ringgold, Georgia, before marching for Knoxville, Tennessee, where a Confederate force had besieged the city's Union garrison. The regiment arrived at Knoxville on December 7, 1863 and helped to lift the enemy siege. The 13th pursued the retreating Confederates to the Tennessee communities of Blair's Cross Roads, Four Corners, and Strawberry Plains and skirmished with the enemy at Dandridge, before returning to Knoxville. At Knoxville, three-fourths of the 13th’s members reenlisted. The re-enlistees received a thirty-day furlough to their homes in Ohio. Upon returning to the front, the 13th encamped at Cleveland, Tennessee, where officials assigned the organization to the Third Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Corps of the Army of the Cumberland.

On May 3, 1864, the 13th Regiment embarked upon Union General William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. The goal of this expedition was for Northern forces to capture the important manufacturing center of Atlanta, Georgia. The 13th fought in many of the largest engagements of the campaign, including the Battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesborough, and Lovejoy’s Station. During the campaign, the men of the 13th who did not reenlist at the end of their initial three-year period of service returned to their homes. Officials attempted to incorporate the remaining men with the 19th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The 13th’s soldiers refused, prompting authorities to countermand the previous order. Having just two hundred soldiers, the 13th no longer qualified to be a regiment. Instead, the organization became known as the 13th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry Battalion. Union forces occupied Atlanta on September 2, 1864, bringing the campaign to a victorious conclusion for the North. After the Atlanta Campaign, the 13th's commanding officer issued the following report:

HDQRS. BATTLN. 13TH REGT. OHIO VETERAN VOLS., Atlanta, Ga., September 11, 1864.

CAPT.: In compliance with orders just received, I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by my command in the operations which have culminated so gloriously to our arms by the occupation of Atlanta:

At noon of Tuesday, May 3, in connection with the balance of the brigade, we marched from McDonald's Station, Tenn., my effective force consisting of 22 commissioned officers and 311 muskets. We participated in all the movements incidental to the advance, embracing Tunnel Hill, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, &c., but no casualties occurred until the evening of May 17, when near Adairsville. The enemy resisted our advance, and my regiment was thrown out upon the right flank, a portion of it being deployed as skirmishers.

The reserve was formed in a skirting of timber, where the enemy having got a section of artillery into position, we were for a time exposed to its fire, and I had 2 men wounded with fragments of shell. Nothing of importance transpired again until the evening of Thursday, May 19, when near Cass Station we encountered the enemy again. My regiment in supporting the Seventeenth Kentucky on the skirmish line had 1 man mortally and 2 severely wounded. May 23, we marched from Cass Station, crossed the Etowah River at 4 p. m., and proceeded on in the direction of Dallas. On the 26th, after crossing Pumpkin Vine Creek, the scene of the fight of the Twentieth Army Corps the evening previous, our lines were formed for battle, and I had 1 man killed in getting into position. Nothing of especial interest occurred in which my command was engaged until about 4 p. m. the next day, May 27, when we encountered the enemy near Pickett's Mills, some three miles north of Dallas, after a fatiguing march over a rough, densely wooded country. My regiment was in the first line of the attacking column of the brigade, with the Seventeenth Kentucky on its left. Two of my companies, viz, C and H, were not engaged, having been thrown out on the skirmish line during the march, and in the confusion incidental thereto separated from their command, and did not rejoin it until about midnight. The position occupied by the enemy was a ridge running parallel to our line of march of this afternoon, and our advance had to be made over ground most unfavorable; dense woods, tangled vines, rocks and ravines impeded our way at every step; but we pushed on under a murderous fire, never halting for a moment until within about twenty yards of the crest of the ridge, when we found ourselves under a formidable line of defenses from which the enemy poured a deadly fire of musketry and artillery. We had suffered severely in getting to this position, but once there were comparatively safe, shielded by the slope of the hill. A battery on the right, where our lines had failed to advance, enfiladed our lines and occasioned us some loss. We remained in this position until our ammunition was exhausted and all hopes of re-enforcements despaired of, so at 10 p. m. when the enemy charged our lines we fell back, firing our last round of ammunition upon the advancing foe. Arriving at the point where our lines had been formed in the afternoon, we joined the rest of the brigade, and went into bivouac some half a mile to the right about midnight. Our casualties in this engagement embraced Capt. Samuel W. McCulloch, Company D, mortally wounded; Second Lieut. James Thompson, Company F, severely wounded; 5 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded; 26 enlisted men wounded; 26 enlisted men missing in action, making an aggregate loss of 59 out of about 200 engaged. On the morning of the 31st we advanced our lines about a half a mile, and began to throw up breast-works while thus engaged the enemy made a spirited assault upon our whole line, but the reserves of the skirmish line checked their advance and we completed our works. The morning of Sunday, June 5, disclosed the enemy gone from our front, and the next day we took up our line of march in the direction of Acworth Station, where we bivouacked and remained until the morning of June 10, when we marched toward Marietta. Our movenents from this to the 21st instant were very slow, the advance being made by parallels, driving the enemy from one position to another, line upon line of most formidable works marking the course of their retreat. I had 2 men killed on the 18th by solid shot from a battery that enfiladed our position. On the afternoon of the 21st, near Kenesaw Mountain, my command participated in the advance made by our brigade when we captured the enemy's rifle-pits and were thus enabled to secure a good position some half a mile to the front. Two men mortally and 4 severely wounded were the casualties in my command in this movement. We remained before Marietta performing the usual duties, confronting a vigilant enemy, making occasional demonstrations upon his lines until the 27th, when a general advance was attempted, and my command with the rest of the brigade marched about a mile to the right at 7 a. m. to the support of Newton's division. I had 1 man wounded in this movement.

The morning of July 3 the enemy disappeared from our front; our troops occupied Marietta and we pushed forward toward the Chattahoochee River, reaching it at a point known as Pace's Ferry. About noon of the 5th instant the enemy offered a stubborn resistance there, and my battalion that night, under cover of the darkness, threw up a line of rifle-pits close to the margin of the river and occupied them. We remained in this locality until Sunday, the 10th, when we marched four or five miles to the left, preparatory to crossing the river, which we did unmolested on the afternoon of the 12th instant, and went into bivouac some mile and a half on the south side, where we remained until Sunday, 17th instant, when, with the balance of the brigade, we marched to the south side of Pace's Ferry to cover the Crossing of the Fourteenth Army Corps. On Monday, 18th instant, advanced upon Atlanta by the Peach Tree road. On the 19th drove the enemy from his line of defenses on Peach Tree Creek and established our lines some half a mile on the other side. I had 3 men wounded in charging across the creek. From this time to that of settling down before Atlanta, on the 22d instant, nothing of interest transpired. On that day we established our lines within two miles of the city, near what is known as Utoy Creek, and constructed a mile of good works about 800 yards from the outer defenses of the city, the pickets confronting each other at some 300 yards distance in rifle-pits. From this time up to the evening of August 25, when we withdrew, nothing of special interest transpired upon our immediate front. Every day and almost every night the artillery and musketry kept up a constant fusillade. We made several demonstrations upon the enemy's lines, and on the 24th of July carried their advanced rifle-pits, which enabled us to advance our picket-line some 200 yards. Three men wounded embrace all the casualties in my command during our stay before the city.

On Thursday night, August 25, my battalion held the picketline during the withdrawal of the troops of our brigade. Our movements were now directed against the Montgomery railroad, which we struck at 7 a. m. 29th of August, twelve miles southwest of Atlanta, and participated in its destruction. 0n the afternoon of Wednesday, 31st, we reached the Macon railroad and formed our lines to protect the details engaged in its destruction. The next morning, September 1, we pushed forward four miles farther in the direction of Jonesborough and demolished the road at that point. At 4 p. m. marched toward Jonesborough, where some of our troops were engaged, and formed our lines in an open field about a mile north of the town, exposed to an artillery fire, but we were not engaged. The next morning, September 2, passed through Jonesborough, the enemy having fallen back toward Lovejoy's Station; we followed up, and at 3 p. m. formed our lines about a half a mile to the left of the railroad and advanced upon the enemy, who occupied a ridge about a mile this side of Lovejoy's Station. Our movements had to be made over a very rough, broken country, made more difficult by fallen timber with which the enemy obstructed our way; we pushed on, however, and succeeded in carrying their rifle-pits and capturing the occupants, but coming upon their main works across an open field, some 300 yards from the edge of the woods, the line upon our right not having advanced at all, we could not hope to carry them alone, so we constructed hasty works at the line we had secured at the edge of the woods, and where we remained confronting the enemy, exposed to a heavy fire, until the night of the 5th, when the whole army withdrew. My loss here was 3 killed and 7 wounded. On Thursday afternoon, September 8, just two weeks from the time this movement was inaugurated, we returned and took possession of the prize-Atlanta, ours. We feel that the toils and labors of the past four months are amply rewarded.

Below is a recapitulation of the casualties of the campaign.

You will please to remember that on June the 8th my command was reduced to a battalion organization of four companies, with an aggregate effective force of only 150 men since that time.

Recapitulation: Killed or died of wounds-commissioned officer, 1; enlisted men, 16. Wounded-commissioned officer, 1; enlisted men, 45. Missing in action-enlisted men, 26. Aggregate, 89.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOS. T. SNIDER, Maj., Cmdg. Battalion.

Capt. W. S. S. ERB, Acting Assistant Adjutant-Gen.

Following the Atlanta Campaign, the 13th entered camp near Atlanta for several weeks, before joining the Union’s pursuit of Confederate General John Bell Hood’s army, which was advancing through northern Georgia, northern Alabama, and southern Tennessee in the direction of Nashville. The battalion marched through northern Georgia and Alabama and confronted Hood's army with the rest of the Union's Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee (November 29, 1864). After this battle, the Northerners retreated to Nashville. On December 15 and 16, 1864, the Army of the Cumberland advanced against Hood's Confederates. At the Battle of Nashville, the Union army succeeded in defeating the enemy, driving the Confederates from Tennessee. The Army of the Cumberland, including the 13th, pursued the withdrawing Southerners. The battalion next entered camp at Huntsville, Alabama. The 13th's commanding officer issued the following report regarding the battalion's actions against Hood's army:

HDQRS. BATTALION THIRTEENTH OHIO VET. VOL. INFTY., Near Huntsville, Ala., January 8, 1865.

CAPT.: I have the honor to report the following as the part taken by my command in the movements and operations against the enemy, commencing in front of Nashville, Tenn., on the morning of the 15th day of December, 1864:

In compliance with orders received the night previous, reveille was had at an early hour, breakfast over, tents struck, wagons packed and sent to the rear, and everything got in readiness to move at 6.30 a.m. In accordance with instructions from the brigade commander, my battalion was to remain and occupy the line of works vacated by the balance of the brigade, together with our own part of the line, until further orders. Our position was the same during the entire day and that night. Friday morning, December 16, before daybreak, in compliance with orders received the night previous, I reported with my command to Col. Knefler, commanding brigade, with the balance of the brigade, on the Granny White pike about one mile in advance of our old line of works. At about 7.30 a.m. the advance again commenced, our division moving the left of the Franklin pike; judging from the manner in which the division was formed, our brigade was in reserve, my battalion in rear of the brigade. Our formation was unchanged until between 3 and 4 p.m., when our brigade occupied the front. Skirmishers sent out from my battalion. At about 4 p.m. the rebel line in our front was observed to be giving way, when an advance was ordered. The rebel works in our front were occupied with little or no resistance. Four pieces of artillery stood smoking behind the embrasures, having been abandoned by the enemy. The pursuit was vigorously continued until total darkness compelled a halt, when "to camp" was ordered. Saturday morning, December 17, marched at an early hour, pushing rapidly forward under a drenching rain until near Franklin, where we camped to wait the construction of a bridge across Harpeth River. The advance and pursuit was continued from day to day as vigorously as the roads and very inclement weather would admit, until the evening of December 28, when we reached Lexington, Ala. On the morning of the 31st we resumed march, taking an eastern course, crossed Elk River on the 3d, and reached Huntsville, Ala., on the morning of the 5th day of January 1865. No casualties occurred in my command. The health and condition of the men was universally good, considering the cold, wet, and disagreeable weather exposed to. Men were placed upon three-fifths rations from the 26th day of December, 1864, until the 4th day of January, 1865, but fully supplied the deficiency by foraging rather extensively through the country on the line of march.

I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOS. T. SNIDER, Maj., Cmdg. Battalion Thirteenth Ohio Vet. Vol. Infty.

Capt. W. V. BURNS, Acting Assistant Adjutant-Gen.

On June 16, 1865, officials ordered the 13th to Texas, where the organization arrived at Indianola on July 10, 1865. On the following day, the battalion entered camp at Green Lake. On September 4, 1865, the 13th marched to San Antonio, Texas. On December 5, 1865, the battalion mustered out of service at San Antonio. The 13th proceeded to Columbus, Ohio, where officials discharged the unit's members at Camp Chase on January 17, 1866.

During the 13th Ohio's term of service, 117 men, including eight officers, died from wounds received on the battlefield. An additional 104 men, including two officers, died from disease or accidents.

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