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Battery C, 1st Regiment Ohio Light Artillery (Federal Organization)

1861–1865

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.

Artillery units in Ohio served for varying lengths of time, averaging one hundred days to three years. On September 9, 1861, Battery C of the 1st Regiment Ohio Light Artillery mustered into service at Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, Ohio. This regiment had previously served for three months as a state organization. Battery C's members were now to serve three years.

On October 1, 1861, Battery C departed Camp Dennison for Camp Dick Robinson, Kentucky, where the organization joined General George H. Thomas's command. In January 1862, the battery accompanied an expedition towards eastern Tennessee. The Union force reached Mill Springs, Kentucky, where the organization fought in the Battle of Mill Springs (January 19, 1862). Following this engagement, the battery moved to Nashville, Tennessee, arriving at this location in early March 1862. The battery encamped at Nashville until late March, when the organization traveled with the rest of the Army of the Ohio to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. Serving as part of the army's rearguard, Battery C did not reach Pittsburg Landing in time to participate in the Battle of Shiloh (April 6 and 7, 1862). The battery next participated in the Siege of Corinth, Mississippi. Following the Union's capture of Corinth, Battery C pursued the retreating Confederates to Booneville, Mississippi, before returning to Corinth.

Battery C rested a short time at Corinth, before returning to Nashville via Tuscumbia and Winchester. At Nashville, the battery joined the Army of the Ohio's pursuit of Braxton Bragg's Confederate army, which was advancing into Kentucky during the autumn of 1862. The battery marched with the Army of the Ohio to Louisville. In early October, the Union army departed Louisville in search of Bragg's force. On October 8, 1862, the two armies engaged at the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, but Battery C did not participate in the fight, serving as a portion of the reserve force. The organization did engage in the Northern pursuit of Bragg's retreating army as far as Crab Orchard, Kentucky. Battery C then moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky.

On October 30, 1862, Battery C joined the 14th Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland and moved to Gallatin, Tennessee. The battery remained at Gallatin until December 25, 1862, when the organization took part in an expedition to stop General John Hunt Morgan's Confederate cavalry from destroying portions of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in Kentucky. The Union force intercepted Morgan's command at Rolling Fork, Kentucky on December 31, 1862. After this engagement, Battery C traveled to Lavergne, Tennessee, where the organization remained for approximately six months.

Battery C remained at Lavergne until embarking on the Tullahoma Campaign in June 1863. The organization next participated in the Chattanooga Campaign, engaging Confederate forces at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia (September 19 and 20, 1863) and having thirteen men killed or wounded. After this Union defeat, Battery C retreated with the rest of the Army of the Cumberland to Chattanooga, Tennessee, shelling Confederate positions at the Battles of Lookout Mountain (November 24, 1863) and Missionary Ridge (November 25, 1863).

In early 1864, many members of Battery C reenlisted and received a thirty-day furlough to their homes in Ohio. Upon the furlough's conclusion, the battery returned to Chattanooga, arriving on March 1, 1864. On May 2, 1864, Battery C embarked upon William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. The battery fought in the Battles of Resaca, Cassville, New Hope Church, and Peachtree Creek, as well as in the Siege of Atlanta, Georgia, which resulted in the Union's capture of this city in early September 1864. In this campaign, the organization had twenty men killed, wounded, or missing.

On November 15, 1864, battery C departed Atlanta on General Sherman's March to the Sea. This campaign resulted in the Union's capture of Savannah, Georgia, with Battery C arriving at the city on December 22, 1864. During the first months of 1865, the battery participated in Sherman's Carolinas Campaign, with the organization fighting in the Battles of Averyville and Bentonville. Upon Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's surrender in late April 1865, Battery C marched via Richmond, Virginia to Washington, DC, where the organization participated in the Grand Review. Officials then ordered the battery to Cleveland, Ohio, where the organization mustered out of service on June 15, 1865.

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