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9th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Years Service)

1861–1864

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. They served for varying lengths of time, averaging one hundred days to three years. On June 1, 1861, the 9th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry organized at Camp Dennison, just north of Cincinnati, Ohio. The 9th Regiment had previously organized for three months service, but officials requested that the regiment's members reenlist for three years service. The 9th Regiment was the first Ohio regiment to enlist for three years service.

On June 16, 1861, the 9th departed Camp Dennison for western Virginia, arriving at Webster, in modern-day West Virginia, on June 20. The regiment then advanced with the rest of General George McClellan's force against Confederates in western Virginia. The 9th advanced to Middle Fork Bridge via Philippi and Buckhannon. At Middle Fork Bridge, Union forces drove Confederate pickets from the community. The Northerners advanced to Rich Mountain, where the Battle of Rich Mountain occurred. The Union soldiers drove the Confederates from the battlefield, with the 9th having one man killed and two wounded. The Northerners pursued the Confederates into Tygart's Valley and traveled through Beverly and Huttonsville to Cheat Mountain. Officials soon ordered the 9th to return to Beverly and quickly dispatched the regiment to New Creek, Maryland, where it arrived on July 27. At New Creek, the 9th performed garrison duty and had detachments at New Creek, Cumberland, Maryland, and at a railroad bridge over the Potomac River three miles from New Creek. At this time, officials also brigaded the 9th with the 4th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 8th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and a battery from the Fourth United States Artillery.

On August 22, authorities ordered five companies from the 9th to return to Huttonsville, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia). From Huttonsville and nearby Elkwater, these companies advanced with other Union forces to Frenchtown, Virginia and then to Bulltown, Virginia (both in modern-day West Virginia). At Bulltown, the five companies from the 9th reunited with the remaining companies left at New Creek. Officials had ordered these other companies to leave New Creek for Bulltown on August 27. These companies traveled through Clarksburg and Weston, Virginia (both in modern-day West Virginia), arriving at New Creek on September 2, 1861. The 9th then advanced to Sutton, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia), where the regiment was brigaded with the 28th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 47th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and a company of Chicago, Illinois dragoons.

On September 7, 1861, the Union forces at Sutton advanced to Summerville, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia), arriving and engaging a detachment of Confederate cavalry on September 10. The Northerners drove the Confederates from the battlefield and pursued them to Carnifex Ferry, where the Battle of Carnifex Ferry erupted. The Union soldiers forced the Southerners to retreat, with the 9th having two men killed and eight wounded. The Northerners pursued the Confederates as far as Big Sewell Mountain before retiring to near Gauley Bridge, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia). The 9th encamped along the New River at Camp Anderson. During the remainder of September and October 1861, the regiment participated in several skirmishes with Confederate forces, with the 9th having several men killed and wounded.

On November 24, 1861, the 9th Regiment left Camp Anderson for Louisville, Kentucky, where it arrived on December 2, and went into camp at Jeffersonville, Indiana for a few days, before re-crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky, establishing camp at Lebanon. At this time, the regiment was brigaded with the 18th Regiment United States Infantry, the 35th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and the 2nd Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry.

During the Battle of Mill Springs (January 19, 1862), the 9th was engaged and played a major role in driving the Confederates from the battlefield. Following the Battle of Mill Springs, the 9th's brigade moved to Louisville, Kentucky before sailing to Nashville, Tennessee, where the entire brigade joined the Army of the Ohio on March 2. The brigade advanced with the Army of the Ohio to Pittsburg Landing, the site of the Battle of Shiloh (April 6 and 7, 1862), but the regiment did not arrive until late on the second day of the battle and did not engage the enemy.

Following Shiloh, the 9th participated in the siege of Corinth, Mississippi, and upon the capture of this city, the regiment advanced to Tuscumbia, Alabamaon June 22, 1862. The 9th remained here nearly five weeks, before marching to Decherd, Tennessee on July 27. Soon after arriving in Tennessee, the 9th and the rest of the Army of the Ohio engaged in the pursuit of Braxton Bragg's Confederate force as the Southerners advanced into Kentucky. Traveling via Nashville, the Army of the Ohio reached Louisville, Kentucky on September 27. On October 3, the Army of the Ohio left Louisville in pursuit of Bragg's army. On October 8, the Northerners engaged Bragg's Confederates at the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky. The 9th did not engage the Confederates until late in the evening of the battle. The battle prompted Bragg to withdraw, and the 9th engaged in the Union's pursuit of the Southerners as far as Crab Orchard, Kentucky.

Officials then ordered the regiment to Bowling Green, Kentucky and then to South Tunnel to repair the tunnel and track to reestablish railroad traffic between Louisville and Nashville. After completing this assignment from November 8 to 26, the 9th traveled to Pilot Knob, Kentucky to guard the fords along the Cumberland River. On December 26, the regiment advanced to Gallatin, Tennessee, where the 9th and its brigade joined the Army of the Cumberland. The regiment did not participate in the Battle of Stones River (December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863), continuing to guard fords on the Cumberland River. Following the battle, the 9th conducted reconnoitering missions along the Cumberland, until officials ordered the regiment to Nashville on January 14, 1863. From Nashville, the 9th continued to conduct scouts, until it advanced to Triune, Alabama on March 6. At this new location, officials engaged the 9th's members in constructing fortifications as well as sending the regiment out on scouting and foraging missions.

On June 24, 1863, the 9th embarked upon the Tullahoma Campaign, engaging Confederate forces at Hoover's Gap, Fairfield, and Tullahoma. The Union soldiers pursued the retreating Southerners through Tennessee and into northern Georgia in the Chattanooga Campaign. At the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia (September 19 and 20, 1863), the regiment initially guarded ammunition trains, but officials soon ordered the 9th to the front, where the men recaptured Union artillery pieces seized by the Southerners earlier in the battle. The regiment also assisted its brigade in repelling an attack by General James Longstreet. On the morning of the second day, the 9th's brigade assaulted John C. Breckinridge's division. After a fierce engagement, the Southerners forced the Union regiments to return to their original position, but the Northerners' efforts prevented the Confederates from flanking the Union left. At 2:30 PM, the 9th moved to a new position under the command of General George Thomas to the rear and right of its original line. The Northerners successfully defended this line against numerous Confederate assaults. Thomas's command evacuated the position during the night of September 20, retreating to Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the Battle of Chickamauga, the 9th had approximately five hundred men actively engaged and had eleven officers and 237 enlisted men killed, wounded, missing, or captured.

At Chattanooga, the 9th took a position in front of Missionary Ridge. On November 25, 1863, the regiment participated in the Battle of Missionary Ridge, successfully ending the Confederate siege of Chattanooga. The 9th was among the first regiments to reach the crest of the ridge and, with the 1st Regiment Indiana Infantry repelled three Confederate counterattacks on Tunnel Hill. Following the Battle of Missionary Ridge, the 9th entered winter encampment at Chattanooga.

On December 30, 1863, the 9th escorted an artillery battery and supply train to Calhoun, Georgia, returning to Chattanooga on January 8, 1864. In February 1864, the 9th advanced to Ringgold, Georgia, participating in the Battle of Crow's Valley on February 25. The regiment stayed at Ringgold during March and April, before embarking upon William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign beginning on May 5, 1864. The 9th engaged the enemy at the Battle of Resaca on May 15. During this campaign, the 9th's term of service expired, and officials ordered the regiment to return to Camp Dennison in Ohio on May 27. The regiment's men mustered out of service at Camp Dennison on June 7, 1864.

During the 9th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry's term of service, ninety-one men, including six officers, died on the battlefield. An additional sixty-two men, including two officers, succumbed to disease or accidents.

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