soehner unverferth (1)

8/10/2019 SOEHNER UNVERFERTH (1)

1/26

HISTORY

OF THE

FIFTY-EIa^TH

OHIO

VOLUNT R INF NTRY

IN

THE

W R

OF THE REBELLION

FROM 86 TO

865

WRITTEN BY:

CLARENCE O

SOEHNER

r e t ype d

and RECOPIED BY

MRS RICHARD O SOEHNER


2/26

, .

PBL FACE

Several years

ago,

upon Kj

return

from

Vicksburg,

liississippi,

af t e r

a v/eek

spent in attending

the

dedicat ion

of

Chic llonuments a t

the

Vicksburg National Park, and follo / ing

sorce

of the

routes gone

over by

the 58th Ohio Infantry,

in

v/hich ray Grandfather, Lt Col- Dister, v/as a

meniber, I rade an

effort

to find more detailed information

of the

regi*-

only

to find that no history had ever been

written

of this organi--

zat ion until I finally

decided

to write a complete

history

of the Plf ty-Eightli

Chio

Volunteer

Infantry,

for

the information of

the

decendants

of

this , -

.fighting regiment, and trust

their

deeds will be treasured as a

precious ) / \ \

/ legacy. ^

^ would no t

have

under taken t h i s l a bo r b ut fo r th e

zea lous

prompting of

the fol lowing, then surviving

members,

of

the old

58th, y/ho

i

have

now

a l l

pas sed over the

great

divide

which separates time from

v,

~ e te rn i ty , r

\ Captain

Louis

Keller, Captain Joseph Lister and Lieutenant

Charles Stroedter of

Dayton,

Ohio; Si.

Boysell,

Lima, Ohio; Lieutenant

Theodore Dickman, V/apakonetta, Ohio; Lieutenant Theodore

Scheldt,

Fort

Eec oyery,

Ohio.

Among the

serviceable works

I

have consu l ted

and

c i t ed , these

deserve special mention;

Ohio a t Shi loh , Ohio a t Vicksburg , Ohio

in

the

War ,

^^ein Tagebuch Im Hevolutions Kriege by Lieutenant Johann Stuber,

58th

Ohio

Infantry,- and ii /ar of the Bebellion Offic ia l Hecorda ,

^ Series

I ,

Volume XVII,

Parts

I and I I .

7

VT SN

i /

l

J

Ju l y , 1921

. 1 5i

itilViW

. ^ll


3/26

v/

KISTOHY OF THE FIFTY-EIGHTH OHIO 701.UJ1TS2H

IIJFiUOTfiY

1)

4 I the urgent necessity for an increase of the Union Armv

oroornen ?M additional contlgenfo? ^

t ooh

hold

of this ;ntt:r>ith e r^^^^^ ^ the Goyer

Ohio InfantrTT regimenta

tp organize at that time

was

the

58th

was thoi- 1- >1^ Sianing the intention of the organizers of the regiment

r ^ be recruited in Counties throughout the state where there

ere large German Fopulations

the

intention heing that

it

should he

the

ath OaV

(37th

Ohii). Ohio).

The

Srd Geman

Regiment

-.

. , ^ .. .Captain Peter Dister (Later Kajor

and

Lt. Col.), Oantaln Oaliev

>nd

teinster^Heer

Breran

vicinity. Lieutenant Theo. Dictaan

in

ftxnsxor, wear BreEen, and iijiglaae County, Ohio,

brcflni7oa w ^^ an expiration of three

months

seven companies had been

at^Ôh ' ^ average of ahout

eighty

men to a company and were

mohilized

t

Camp

Chase, about four miles south of

Columbus,

Ohio, fere rest of ^^1/ ?

time

was

Opent in

perfecting

themselves

in the

School

of

the Soldier . r.H

Were

t r a n s f e r r edDece i iO j e r ,

three con^panies

of the 61st Ohio^^v ^

ss , r~ s : ;

oS; =

=' -

Colonel; Valentine Bausenwein

Lieutenant polonelj Ferdinand

Rempel

R.ajdrj Peter

Bister

Surgeon: Reiner Schallern-

, -^j -itant: Remain Lujeane

^.ârtermaster; Peter A.

Bishop

Fred

vir

Richmann

'' Sergeant ]v aJor: Theodore Scheldt .

Company A'*

Andrew Gallfy

..

i s t I ieu tenant :

Theodore

BiclmiGnn

2nd

Lieutenant;

Michael

lêl ler

^ 1st 3ergeant: Charles Kette ' ' : ' '

Company,

Captains Joseph

11* Brown

.

1st

Lieutenant;

Charles Straedter

2nlJieutenaijtji.,.^_^^

^

^ Company C

Captain; Laceritz Barentaen ' ' .

-1st

Lieutenahts E. J .

Brauneis

2nd Lieutenants

Erhardt

Goehl

Compan2^

D

y Captains

Andrew

Huher

Is t

Lieutenant; Henry Bohl

2nd Lieutenant; V/illiam Rhode ' '


4/26

Company

S

Capta in :

Albert

Stehly

st

L i e u t e n a n t :

August Bie rwl r th

2nd


P e t e r Kaufiiiann

Companj'-

p *

Captain;

J o h n Bun s

1 s t


Wil f o r d

S t i e r s

2nd

L i e u t e n e n t :

F r ed e r i ck

Teusche r

Company

G

Captain:

Bap t i s t

Beukle r

s t L i e u t e n a n t ;

Osca r Von Br ab en d e r

2nd L i e u t e n a n t ;

Conrad B .

Krause

Corrpany

H

Capta in :

Ezr a J a c k s o n

1 s t L i e u t e n a n t :

Christopher C.

Knlser

2nd


Wm. H. Hul l s

Company

WJ

Captain;

Sa r u e l 1'.^ Llo r r i son

1 s t L i e u t e n a n t :

Wi.

Robey

2nd L i e u t e n a n t :

Stephen

Defenbnugh '

Company K

Captain:

Cha r l e s

A^

Ba r k e r

st L i e u t e n a n t :

Wi l l i am S .

F r i e s n e r

2nd


Lea nd er E .

Hodge

2)

I; officers was

taken

from the ircrning report of the',:

58th Ohio on

the

daj'' i t lef t

Ccuj p

Chase

for

the South Too

much

room would he --

j taken up in

making

a report of all resignations and vacancies filled, caused hy

: sicJm death and other causes A complete

roster of

officers aiid

men

of

th e

58th Ohio can he found

in Official Eoster of

Ohio

Soldiers in th e

' War

of

the Eehellion,

Vol.

V .

The

regimental hand

consisted

of

twelve musicians,

recuited

from

/

the musically inclined enlisted

men

of the different corpanies of the

regiment,-.1

^der

the leadership of

William Goehl

of Coliuribus, Ohio.

The uniform and equipment of

the

regin.ent consisted of light blue

Irphsers, dsrk blue blouse,

black

overcoats, black hats, regular

army

pattern i^

trimmed with brass eagle on right

side

and

large

feather on left side, brass

horn in front v/ith the number of the regiment - 58 - and

company

letter in ail-

ver underneath: horn. Each enlisted man was equipped with haversack,

canteen,

knapsack,

blanket, belt

ana

side arms The

first rifles issued to the regiment

were of

Austrian

manufacture and weighed fourteen pounds, bu t

they

were soon

.excKa.n'ged'~;f^r Snfieid. Bifle>

The

^oionei, V. Bausenwein> had seen'^sorvice

in . the

German army and

was just six

months in Air.erica when given coirma'nd

of

the

regiment.

v

Ke

spoke

a very broken English

and

reading and vvriting

in

our language

was very diff icult

for

him. He was discharged from th e army early in August,

1 8 6 2 .

-Ened,^Bempel,-,--d4d-~no-t--lave---fn--the~-fro-nt^-wi-t-h

the regiment but received an appointment as Provest-harshal

and

shortly

after

r es igned .

'>i.-had^'seen- ac'txv0^'-bervd-ce--in'-:'the''^German

a' rmy-

and

'as'i 'c ptairt'cftom^^thfe' 'ILst^ Ohid 'Vblunheeriilnfasn,'tr2r


5/26

I

(2 )

Eental evolutions,

it

v/os

io-iJ

? finally to the Battalion and

Beiî-

regiinent v/ent through the

sntireaeroa;onv of -i^

' In

January

the entire

review

before lisny of the officers at

C-rn fh Jarade.

and finally

naosed

in

ipon

.ts appearance and efficiency. ôneratulated

the reglnent

^ên it^,ltarcfe$~1,|:^.;,:^^--^^^

^he 58th Eegir.ent.

was January

8th, 1862

clrrrr^

J^âugaration.

ShortJr^rfter

tHi^Ti :^

Sâr:? t,hey w:re Lsp ted hi

Qner i oj. Chio, who in a few w^t iJ-t-cea oy tn e Go\'-ernor and

Miutant

appearance and emciency. They^were

fh theiri upon

their

House and presented with

a

heaufi m the rotunda of the State

Ôluabus. After

the presentation

by

the the

Qentian ladles of

donaideratlon of the

Governor AUiulnt r ' lttee,

Colonel Bausenweln

in

^n Engiinh.

following

which,

the

recile^rgatXefclelr: f1 1' ^

- - regiment ma now awaitinj^

mfrnVi-

^ snd returned to cairn,

tlirfsvM forl shit fuMt- Officers

h.ir

families and friends before

leaving

ne

1

?' ^tion

to

enable

them

to

visit

îyOfe6r1JLlved^na f Adventure .

arched

from

CamTsSêTrColuKS^-O^

Ohio

the

ân

Handle^te

iiiprning. Leaving th li+tio v t. ^his at one o'clock thl i'nii

lelf S

eoloM flyln/they

Cairo

anc?

then down

the Tennpoc^^p f and down the

Ohio

arrived

on

the

morning

of

the 13th

l+1^

when Private Bnton Keppler.

CoLat

^

-t

Ifo^ned-

From

here tS h 3 j . v j i ax on e

V A advancpri no oi>-4 l . P'ri' In the assault on thp''Ti'hri'+ n^ -

, IH rebâdvance ccSIdli^rC7 ^

)


6/26

(4}

and clDOut the

S'^,.e

tin;e they began a

t er ri fic r if le

fire; this

was

answered by

heavy

vol leys

froiii the r i f les of the 58th Ohio-

The

58th now advanced and supported Taylor*s Illinois Battery on the

fiashville Road and successfully held that iir.portant position against the re bel

divis ion

coiriE'^jrided by

Bushrod Johnsfon.

The

rebels

on their repulse, reported that i t was Impossible to take

the

h'ashville

Road as i t was filled

v/ith regular

soldiers. This

mistake

occurred

from

the fact

that

the

men

of the 58th

Ohio wore

hats with the regulation

feather

and dark blue uniform

usually

worn

only by the

regular

army.

regiment

advanced

to about three

hundred

yardp

from the Fort where

i t was under terrific fire of grape and cannister. After dark the firing grad-

ually

ceased and the

58th,

after

being relieved

by

another regiment,

marched

about three hundred yards to the rear and stacked arms. Shivering with

cold,

and hungry, they spent

their

second

night

lying on

the

frozen ground,

i t

being

impossible to make

fires

for waniith or copking, on account of the close proximity

of the

enemy.

Early on the morning of the 16th,

th e

regiment Was marched to the

cen ter o f the line,

where

i t

remained about two hours,

cold,

hungry, and

with

bayonets fixed, awaiting

the coEJiand

for

the

finul

charge upon

the Fort.

Finally from the r ight,

loud

cheering was

heard,

which

rolled

from

regimant

to

regiment

and

soon

the

glad

t idings

reached

the

58th

of

t he sur render

o f

t h e

ort

In battle l ine the 58th now advanced into

the

center

of

the

Fort,

pulling down a rebel flag, the first one

that

many men of the regiment ever gazed

upon.

Quantities

of provisions were

lef t

by the rebels, which were soon

devoured

by the fan:iahed Union troops. The 58th occupied tents left by the enemj'

for

over

a v/eek,

until

th e arrival

of their

own

tents

ahd camo equipment.

The regiment was encaniped here un t i l klarch 6th, when

it

marched on

sixteen

rnles

to Fort Henry on

the

Tennesae River? kiich time

was

now taken up

/

with

company

and

battalion dri l l .

The weather

was

cold and wet,, causing

much

sickness.

Gn Saturday,

Varch 1 5th, the regiment r ecei ved o rder s ta. board

the

steamboat

'^Silver

kbon'-.

The ty/o

other

regments of the

brigade,

6ath and

78th

Ohio, also received orders and

boarded the

s tearboats

Mnnehaha

and Chateau .

I t took practically the entire

day and

part of the nighty

until

a ll

equipment

had

been loaded,

when f inally a ll three boats car ry ing the

brigade

l e f t

At

about

9 jOO

M

on

the

miorning

of the 18th of k^rch the

58th

landed

at

Crump*3

Landing, close

to

a

small

town called Sa-yannah and marched about a .

mile where camp was estalblished a t Stoney Lonesomxe v .

On March 26thI General

Lew

Wallace held a revieyr,coh8isting of the

56th, 58th,

and 78th Ohio Infantry, l l th and 32nd

Indiana Infantry

and two

batter^

ies of arti l lery. General

Lew

Wallace complimented

the

58th upon i ts appearance

on

this

oc c a s i on

On Sunday

morning,

March 30th, regimental Inspection was

held, with

full marching equipment. : Af ter the i nspect ion the body of Private

John

Shenk of

Company

B ,

who

died at

the hospital,

was

buried with military honors.

On

the

following

Sunday,

April

6th,

heavy

firing

was

heard

in

the

direction

of

Pittsburgh

Landing Shllnh^T which is about

fifteen

mileaL-fnom the

. .

W b^êêth.

At

noon the

regiment recexm&re:L4fej:a^(i^tL2: il te_t j^^

mepwere^Xs

sued,ten dexs...

rat

ions. About one o clock the regiment, 630 strong,

begap i t s march towards Shiloh, in

heavy march ing

order , taking-r-ê- *ShtD iptk:s^^

RoadrTel-'vigg

southwa3t7~tawg,gkJ;iieL..j:.jMr b^

.

The

y/eathsr

was

exceedingly

warm for

the time of year and the regiment

passed piles of overcoats, blankets and equipment dropped by

different regiments

j preceding the 58th.


7/26

ree inent

and

the

river

road

to the tattle field. ^ I'lttshurgh

Road,

then via the

I

for

the nighu'^^ro'^firesôculd^h-'^ ^ ^tacted

arms

and slept

Of

the rebels

heil- c

oL

bv

i - ^= bt

a

he.vv thunde r

ar.d

plainlj

heard hut

nofîr

coulii

he i

'' '''S

ories of the

'rounded

could

be

contending

amiec. ^ of

the

I

Brigade, LeAvamPa Z o^

'hayer-e

Wnê,

after

which V/allace's

Division

adv^L-dat

dcuMt^J' ^

a

terrific

the position occupied by

the

enemy

the nigh?

^reûs.

enery left^l

ttsL Sste^r.lt'a- ? o^coats and unlioriLs

which the

, have the opoortiuHtv o-- ^ regirent did not

terrific

an^

effoiuvet

the.enemy, as

the artillery fire was

both

The

regiment

now

passed Til -hr;

Graeir

o.-_ .

battery,

dead

rebel artillervTr^r apa ho-seo i , *l ^

horses were

still

hitched

to

the

Caison- t'^Xh??

vf*

hitch

their

horses or

splice

their

g-unr. cot

have tine

to lun-

coolness

and galla^t^'aîd'^he'hallôf'bullets^îTSÎ ^'' ^^-^'^^^

respigeHt-hn^neWrfCTrrf^^ of

the

Inv

tvpcp the enet iy vrs now s t nd

ddvanced-to^nrt;iL^ll4^^

tr^r was statioreci

or xT:r'7^3>^;..~.^

i .t w j f XflTan-

This

made

the twelve paces to i ts

rear.

Dtgter aligned the

reelrgnt with

thJtôf f ;,sreat tact

and courage,

iajor

was nine men h^lled^w?

yfg.lJfth the dead, ar^wowi^djrthe

^neral

Lew^n^cs

and

st^f-i^-rad'rTKrougrTHF'^csEBr ^

d iv i s i on an d watp

conduct in1h?samfr whlcf

^^th

for

their

On Aîl iv^; 1=he Brttisof Shilch

In'eetablishiS cLp

Towtrll^^^flrtL'l

bff:rt:na?t-- SL^r^hfoSra^?:??

owing

the .

Xo.nteth^w;^wgt^^rnhe

... MLVs,=s.:;;ss;rLr's;

=r.s.n2,r.S i-c


8/26

)

St to

destination.

ca.p

was .ade for the

lile town f-oStioro? i . ^ '\fSit:ent arrived at I'urdy, a

pleasant

to

the resit,ent enckn^ped ahout four and^LSfâef'rorS-V'tof^^T K

'-hjii^dî^hUeJailroadj_3hifib.nuna-fnQr.:

Corinth

to

at 9:00 tLt- o\nTn t

lag about

fifteen

n.ile:

to

. .Jidcwn

c r

ltri

ana the regiment

marched

ahout seven rne^ ^ ^ camp was

broken

before daylight

Katohie

Elver. About 150 yards frov thi a a bridge over the

where the

Mississippi

and

LntralXllrhd ^

railroad bridge

is

situated

A

and C were detailed to Junction. Companies

itarohed to Bollver,

about

a Bille nd

f''h

^

balance

of

the regtoent

Offlr.p about

a

half

mile

from

the town.

rom

the bridges,

and

established

detailed

as advance

îTgTU un lii:. Ths

58th

was

bordered

with prospeSTS^^^

but

were later ordered Wk'tf'itfpreviou1^' np'ôra^^^^

day

it

acted

as

rear

guard

and

also^rntsLH sL M

The

following

trains

of the

divlsio^

burnished

details to guard

the

escort wagon

Memphis anfeSed alorthfLnhl

T?, f f cu r t een mdlss frc^

about five

s loulsviile Railroad for

, V, -ifcja*

iînce

i e a v in g h i i o h the

regieen^hp d

v^y-g 1 -i>+ w

mp

that

IfteSoorin th^FairKoL^^

î

from Memphis and established

With

excellent

driL ng

w:t rand :ifkcm dPots.

S thôn^^fs^^t^ft^m^

drinking water,

it

is

alau

lXi

4-^+r~

gdv/-'bej.ly

and

aaually

poor

the

wagTro^tl 'ed

for Wt'oringto^^

baetgdâlong^^

beside the SSnd Indiana lnfantry ^^ reoiment moved

to

Gera.antown and encamped

b u w

Ueut'LanTc

itef

tiTTda

; > ^înzer of

Company IT'

followed with an address

in

JSngliah

i


9/26

(7)

On V/ednesday,

July 2Srd, the

regiEient r ecei ved o rder s to report

a t

3^^

Helena,

Arkansa-s,

v/hich

is

about one hundred iniles I roBi lleHiphis* The same day

the

regiifient boarded two boats, and arrived at Helena late

the

ssirie nights The

following day

the regiment lef t

th e boats Pvbout noon and marched through

Helena,

a

neat

l i t t l e tov/n of about

1500

inhabi tants

and

made

camp

about

one mile

from

. :

t o w n .

General Curtis i s now in command of th i s d i s t r i c t with th e fo llowin g

organizat ions,

12th , 1 7th ,

and 32nd

Lissouri

Infantry,

58th

Ohio

Infantry ,

Koffinan s Ohio

Battery

from

Cincinnati,

V/oefle*3

Battery

from St. Louis,,

Ito.,

Fremont Hussars , Benton' s Hussars ,

practically

a l l German organizations. The

58th

Ohio

is

now part of General Qaterhaus* Pivision ^d Brigaded, undajgAiiher- -

coDir.anT^rx iilbHrrhnods-ilôiBrFIy CoIoneT TyiMê-^ Infantry) J^lich

bad

blood'*

existed between members of the 58th Ohio and I s tUobraska Infant ryi /

which terminated in a free

for

a i l f ight in which the Kebraskans cair.e put second-

best. Angered

at

this they

returned

and began

firing with pistols into

the,

camp-i;

of th e 58th. This:

was ûst before

dress parade

and

the officers had

a, difficu^

task

keeping their

men

from loading their

r if les

and returning the f ire. In

r effort to separate th e

rioters; .Kia.ior

Bister was

painfully

cut in .the face by one

of thp Hebraskans Brass paradeâs held on schedule, after wnicnjthe

guards

In--^

both,

nan.pg

were

doubled

fo r

the

.n ight

On

Friday,

August

16th,

the

58th Ohio and

76th

Ohio Infj5iat.rx,..

four

pieces

of Hoff mari*^3 Hattery received orders f o go ~^wn

the

Ivlississ-ippi^vBi^^

a'

reconnoltering expedition.

The^: 58th and ops seation o~arjlLiliij^y

li'9^

-

bout - while the _76th v/TS^ s^nd s ec tioirof theTBattery boarded the . - V *

JVicBowell . The t r ip down the

river

was both

pleasant

and interesting, and

blessed with beautiful weather On Saturday afternoon, about one o*clock, Ser-

/;]

geant

Fel ix Lat in ,

of Company A from Baytoni Ohio, fel l overboard.

sldered

a good

swimmer,

but on account

of the

heavy

clothing

and boots he was

wearing

at the time,

made it

impossible for

him

to

save

himself and /he.

was /,drowned,

before, the l i fe boat could reach him.' - , . - , . ^ ^ - > ,

'V'' The

expedition continued

dov/n

the

river,

several gunboats

just^Ha-ving

joined

th e b oats carrying the t roops . * . . ^

. Early llbnday morning hurried orders were received to disembark on the+

f>nn^wp nV. Skirmishers

were

^sent ahead and soon

entered-the

caii:p

of an

ehtirbjy

regiment

Theen^y

made

hasty retreat soiiie time

before

and-the

.tents

V7ith

blanketsv

plothing and camp equipment.

.-4.-.

v

t Headquarte

rs. threak-

an t

offi rs

v t en t . -was ^louna xne

mo r n i n g

reporii-ôu.

shoiw^ftheôrcS to be the.;21st'Iiouidana-Eegiment..iLouisana-Tigers]

this reglmep-^

alqo

fell,, .hands

of the

58th.

^ ^ y ^ te r marching about

eight

miles in the

direction

the enemy was going,

th e

regiment was suddenly halted by a shot from one

of

i ts

field pieces..

Company

A** was deployed as skiimishers,

going

through corn fields and woods, and fol lowed

> by

the balance

of

the

regiment)

i t

arrived

at

a

railroad

station

and

nearby

a long

passenger t rain with engine ready to make

i ts

departure. The rebels had alreddy ; -

,,

entrained

and were

ready

to leave, when

several

well directed shots from th e

ar t i l lery

made them retreat- into

the

woods.. ~

'r

, V The depot,

cars

and engine and a

railroad t res t le

near by were .burned^

and the regiment, tired and hungry, returned to the boats with 57 rebel prisoners.^

7 ^ On the same day a new b oat. Fair Flay , which had . lust ' lef t . Eew

Ôrleans', the dight before, v/as captui?d v/ith 3000 Enfield Rifles; ^six

field

j pieces, horses for the officers^ and a

quantity

of

ammunition.

'ffS

4 A

.- ' iK

jSlf

,


10/26

(8)

The

town near the captured camp i s

cal led Mill ikens Bendi

ahout

twentv- f ive

miles

from Vickshurg,

Mas .

The follov/ing day

Colonel

Woodi in '

j charge*''Sinb ê ftpedlTion, ofde'redr-ar&ennen from each regiment to report on the

rama^ ^'konarch , I*70ness and Sampaon'* to make a

reconnaisahce

up the Yazoo

Pdver*

The

rams

were

accompanied by

the steam ships B^nton andJiS.t.Louia>

Colonel Hood 'n^'.qt.pr flf^noTrpArtifid th is

expedition*

- > They ?/ent ahout forty miles up the Yaaoo River , d es tr oyed a battery

of

48

po^d ca l iber

s iege

guns Close by they encountered

a

force of

about

5000

rebels*

The rams fired several shots , but

the

expedit ion

being

only

small

in

. 'number,

did not

get

v;ithin f i r ing

distance of the enemy# '

' .

On

the night

of

th e 22nd the expedit ion started on

i t s

return,'with ^

the

loss

of one

man. Private

August

Herman

of

Company '*E'S who was drowned

by

'

fa l l ing from

a ram

into the

r iver . On

reaching the mouth

of

the

Yazoo

the ex-

'

pedi t ion

l e f t the rams and joined t h e i r regiments on

board

the

cteamboats

and

the tr ip

back to Helena began

the same

day# - V

^ About noon of the

25rd,

Sreenville, Msa* was reached The cavalry ' t

and ar t i l l e ry followed byêtacjim-ien-tB~o^~Pn#&ja.-u:yLj^rt tne

ooats and advaêd-

. ug^' a blitterv

j^ t

the ^bjsls had erected at this

point#

After the

artillery had

fTfedseveral shofsT^Ke* infantry advScecTT only

to

find the rebel a rt il le rymen ^

.

to

have

fled

In

haste,

leaving

the

body

of

one

rebel

soldier

who

was

kil led

by -

' artillery

fire

The detachments marched back to the

boats

and the trip up the

^

r iver

was again resumed# , \

T Towards evening a landing was again made for the purpose

of

burying

-

two

members of the

regiment,

one from '*B and

another

from K company*

I t was

\ , .

beli'eved

th ey d ied from yellow fever . , , ; ,

.V, morning of

the

25th , they a r r ived a t

a

spo t

where th e r iver

//,

I -

by:

the

58th,

left the

boats and

advanced

about 100 paces

when

they received'ilie* 'V

W lay down# The gunboats threw a well directed f i re in

the

direct ion . . : v

of the woods,

a f t e r

which a

ha l f

of a

company

of caval ry advanced a t a gal lop

' towards

the

woods.

They

were met by a t e r r i f i c

r i f l e

f i re

from th e re be ls The

troop

returned

v/ith

the

loss of

one

man

killed

and tv;o wounded. ^ ' v - '

^1

-

The

58th

now advanced

in b attle formation,

Hoffmann's Battery firing,,^

idver'their heads. The rebels now hastily retrea-ted and the landing jsarty returned-^

to the

boats, having captured

sixteen

rebel

prisoners

and obtained some valuable

information# ' _

On

th e

morning of the 26th,

they

were

met

by

the

steamboat', Jatan ,

- carrying

the

12th Missouri Infant ry and one sect ion of V/oelfle's Bat tery,

also

provisions and

coal*

' . ,

V y.-.' They were ordered sent out to meet the b oats by the Commanding General . .

at Helena, who became alarmed at th e long stay of this reconnaisance party. The

Jatan'* with the

relief

party on board accompanied them on their return

trip

,

? 'T^ ^ ..to Helena. - ;

4^ / About two

o c lock

Su t l e r AndrewBaer

o f

Columbus, Ohio,

f e l l

overboard

tyv y,' and

before

help cou ld r ea ch ' him ?;as drowned. AiuOng the horr i f ied s pe ct ato rs to ;

t h i s t ragedy was h is bro the r ,

who had

j u s t jo ined him

to

help in th e su t l e r

,

d iv ided i n to tw o s t reams, wi th an i s l and i n th e

middl

' Qn

the_27th.

.about four PJi, the,-xegiment arrived

a t

-chappy

to.

ge t .

nun , . f

back

to

t he i r old camSând i.t3....nlease.nt assoc ia t ions . IM j

hdai ft l ly ' thanked

the

regiment

fo r

t n e l r

conduct

throughout

t h i s expedit ion

I'r 11 I iiiili'i 'I 'ii 'Td

I ifi|- ' .i-.....>a.acfeOTrTi ii ^ .tii - ^


11/26

li

* *^1

v. tk

iC-r

(9 )

juat returned^from Colmbu^ hlo*' whe Colonel Bauaanweln, who

had

^.boa, the

daughter oHn innuenWM

r

the Colony treated the entire rot-ir=er^r^ Coluitbus,

Ohio.

Kiat evening

arro ama

nl'

ll omoera

JTEBrWEE-

inarrlage.

It ir reported tSTwlhe and

beer gwlgg^lsfiv

bla reoei

regiirentsl band intf>nnlnc-ip^ Â-t-v. f iôwecr ireely, the strains of the

dlaperae

until

l^

Stef

Up

ot

Sverr i?. skirmish drill and battle exercises.

SSuSSLSJSssr ;

^ held r iSit lnrand1In?1^^ff^ . the offlce5o of~IKe-r-

to the 3eorgi^rr;::L:g^t:^î,:r^l^t:^

. eyeing ^âAdlUgft Ur Ohio wlth'the

beat'

tlcally.

evS

^

SîfwIrtL'

luch

sicteearanrdeath/^^

'

nineteen

yearsôf

ê and aix'^feet

t ll ^h^^'^^^^

Company , a

boy

barely .

. boa ^

2nraiU4îvi3iL^trbe

atatio

T received marching orders anrthei '

3teele.a

Biviaion

w^re ordered to Pilofhf^b isa^ri ' vil

the. 76th Sfth boarded the ateairegJ-LaCroaae and .

^StiTi-tOO

l^-thraltrrlon'^tiSfS

t'f

and uifôok ;

trthrbur^coner

law hadrid.

. On Thursday a

short

atop

was

made L'col^.Lf Fy '

they arrived t Cairn

m e./i j. ^ , ^ xumDus,

j&y.

The same

evening

-

.vlelona.

TôIllUo *

gL^tstrret^tiirL'^^Tb' '

ahout

sixty

miles

froir St

Tnnio

^êre. The next morning

at a point '

callsd . ijittja p..i.n On'sund^ '

tn.J.aad:-ait-a-8B:all town

.. Iha inhabitants oonsiated

moB+iv

of-b this friendly

little

town. : ,

tthe

troops.

A U

^p'atUn

'rthru '

^-profitable business fron tho trooo-

P-^tion

in the

town

and enjoyed quite a,

.plentiful

here

and'the

two

weeks

Lenrat thlDlacrr

-'

'

rr|coUections

to the members of the 58tL '' Pleasant

On

the

rfip'impnt was

a*

/ol i l iasaamahder: in r

officer ^ thA^^TT

' >1

' aiTiTn I


12/26

10

Saturday,

Cctoberirth,

ard

the

regiirent

begen

its

inarch to

Pilot

Knob, Mc#,

about forty-five miles from

3t.

Genevieve.

The first day

twelve

miles were covered,

the

roads being

very

hilly

' following day stztaen miles

wore

covered and camp was made ner

This town contained quite a German population

^d alt..cu|h It was

ounday,

the

rear

doors of the saloons

vêre found ooen

to all

Who had

a

thirst

*

The next

morning

the last twelve miles of the march were made and

camp

established

in a woods

close to

Pilot Knob-

i

following Sunday orders

v/ere

received

and

the

regiment n-arched

about two miles to Ironton, a short distance

from

this place where a small fort

was situated, the regiment made

camp beside

the 76th Ohio. Hufilmnn s Battery'

was a l so s ta t ioned he r s

On Friday, IJovember 7thi Captain Beukler retui'ned

from

Ohio with

thirty recruits

which

were

divided

among the companies of the regiment.

Sunday,

November 9th, a general inspection was held and the follow

ing day

a

review

of the entire division was

held by General

Davidson of St. Louis*

November

12th,

the

regimient

marched

back to its old camp at St.

Geneviere,. but its stay at that

place

was of short duration, for on the

16th

êra

were received to v.ove.

The regiient boarded

the

ateaiiiera

igX-JiagXsJâ

ohite

Cloud

for

l.eKphi3_asji from

there

to Helena. Ark., where the rBvlment

aa?rived^jgj foV

^T new gan t2afTon3 had arrived since the departure of the 58th

several

months

before.

The

camp was

now kno jm

as

Camp

Steele

and

the 58th

was

^

'

coiiTuanded

by

General

Hovey. and

Is t

Brigade

consisting

/

^ ^^M-MlLJ^ântry, ora, i^tn and ran

j\:i330uri

Infantry and Ituffganna

Battery, expedition corcprisirig the Bight Wind 12th

Army

Corps,

Army of

the

Tennesae,^commanded by liâjpr

General

William

T.

Sherman, U.S. a, embarked at

f ^cphis,

Tenn.

December 20th, 1862, for operations against TTicksburg. Mas. '

force consisted Of the First Division,

commanded

by General A.

J- Smdth, Section

Division, coEDanded

by Genera] Korgrn L.

Smith ,

Third Division

commanded

by General

George

W Aôrgan,

totaling

32 regiments

of infantry and

eight

batteries of

artillery

with

an

aggregate

of

20,523

men-

On

Konday,

December

20th, this force

was

joined at

Helena,

Ark. by the

Fpurth

Division, commanded

by^neral Frederick Steele

with

eighteen

regimehts

of infantry and

one

battery-

artillery,

totaling

12,510 men, making

an

aggregate

of

33,053 men

ready for

duty.

'

This force, with necessary rations, forage,

amjsiinition

and land

transportation,

marched

down the

river with

the

co-operation

of

the Mssissippi

Squadron

in comrand of Acting Rear Admdral

David

Di Porter, tJ.S-N.

The

58th Ohio

wan part of the Fourth Division,

boarded

the stecir.er Polar Star

and

Te^ V HelVna,

'fWe'âhbut twenty miiWs'untii '^'''

r

, - - - kansas bank. On

the

Mss

icrsr^pi sloe ii^

1;he

^htire section

as

light

as

day.

On

Viednesday,

December

23rd, the journey

was

continued

until

10:00

PL

when a atop v/as made

for the night.

*

Thursday, December 24th, the journey did not begin

until

noon,

g,hortlx^tfiim.Ialand-NumbeT-^-Si---ar~Boldver-Stationj-TOs-iras S-ed .Scmeîrrire ^^ter~^

. V was passed and other places familiar to the 58th, which had visited '

; these peaces several

months

before while

on

a tour of reconnaisance

transport continued its journey

down

the river until about 2:00

o

clock

Christmas morning,

when

Lillikens

Bend was

reached

and

stop made until .

\

daybreak.

^ -


13/26

11

4 4.V , ChristEas (Jay a gur.boat

p.-iq

rom, foUoe(a

by

transports oontain-

pSf.

General

Frank Blair, consisting of the-68-ttf-0}rlr8T~'

âtn,

ôth

ana 31st Missouri, went

up

the ra2e-fllnreT-BTBl-WTie4.ea--(ii--eto

ofr-ne-l' r boats on

the right side of the

river at the plantation

J, ^ L ( Obnson Plantation).

After

a heavy bonbardt'ent bv the

gunboat the

peth

advanced about two

bivouaced

for

,

bn wrapped

in their blankets, lay on the ground with a light

a

^ v

v '

Chrlstitaa nights

spent

happily

around

he fireside with

their

dear ones. j m ^

errie= following Eorning, the

march

was resuired and driving in

the

PlaS^tion

wbe

1 ''^.

^1 the timber at a place known as ilrs. lake's

neafth^whiS ôusfornifw ^battery

of

two guns planted

,,

Bayou^

Asection of

Huffmann's

Battery was

Sklrv4.b. f-r^î

towards

the right and placed in

line

of

hanfon a ^ opmpanles

held

in

reserve..

They

crossed

a bayou near at

.

.

babbiting their horses

across,

and soon encountered the

bîgnishers inê of from gO^-o-^GgyBhev H.eve t.e

e

the

briS or difficult

ford or pass.

Upon reaching

a'line of rifle nit ' ^1'

l

Ihir,

nf

mii.ni.etnjf

fppm

Jine - rifle pits, constructed along the levee

bri^hf^pposite

aborelinih^^

up tilldarr^ taking

cover

in

the

abatis, a;

sharp fire was

kept

Kirser of Comnenr ^ ^ ^^''' ' tKem being the brave

Captain

.inser of Company

H who was

shot in the head and instantly killed.

entne Sunday,

the

28th,

the

regiment was

under arms

before daybreak end

FOvee ''be division of General Iforgan

advanced

from

the White

Smith S~aaertb position and the division of General K. 1.

h fnL right.

.aoat.UXiQa...the

Fourth Division, of

i^ê 58th waa^ p advanced with the right of th)rDivisror upoTlffe'1[^^

Geiiegjl..l8; t,. Alth*a'

'At'-mr'peiii.fethe'

68th rested

^SfiTliimSp ms

being p'rspSST

sfore t could beâerved, orders were: S.S

' poTjn wes

b ein fi p re ci

but before

it could

be_aary.ed, orders were recdT9l'ct ^raavaas^^d---f'he--rS^^^

. the balance of the brigade,

wae now

withdrawn for the

General Lorgan who was hotly engaged with the eneir^y in .

^ront of the White House. In executing this

movement,

the

troops were exposed to

the^

tire

of their own

artillery'

as well as that

of

the enery.

It

was

getting

dus^

and unable to

niake any

further reconaissance the 58th was marched into a

wopds and rested

upon

their arms,

and

without fires, acting as reserve to the

ou tpos t s

On

l-onday, December 29th, 1862, the 58th

was

assembled

while

the

artillery

was

pouring a heavy fire into the hills

a.id

front, but

was

answered

with

very

little spirit. Bo rifle fire was

heard

at this time. Tha_.5ajaltu.

the balance

of Blair's

Brigaiie,

was

now

being

formed

in

the

woods

between Thosp-

sor^j^ aâr-erfcH'saw bayou, a sHgwrafstance

beHna-tils

bavou 'which cnrb'STi^

^^''

^:be-TUi5 atBrrpSlht and

this bayou was an

entanglement

formed

iiS.jASJl'Ji>_ainall-_ca ttonwood~-t-pee3--en1rwa-ned~ amoTrg-~th e~~stUBip~3'TTfie~ b id ^ o3f

bayou

was about ICQ yards wide, with

quicksand, a.nd

15 yards wide water,

aoout

three feet deep. The bank on the opposite side

wes steep and

obstruotd

by abatis,

crowned

by a

line

of rifle pits. On

the slope

above this was^

still

Mother

line oi rifle pits

and above

this

on

the plateau

wes the

country

road.

the ocrt.. being thrown on the lower

side

for

a

parapet

which

covered

batteries

and sharp anooters.

Batteries

were also placed on the heights to the right


14/26

l2 l

ana left, hioh enfiladed

the rifle

pits r:r.d road.

of tattle

about'lhO

feefârt^^thristh

1111^01 ,+

two lineeN

\ irorit and the

58th

Ohio Infantrv Ir tha m ^ tantry holding

the

right I

pied the left frci TnETM29tH~nrsêttrlInSw' tiasouri Infantry

ocou-i

the

29th

Kieeouri

atTCrJo -U'ht

conpa^y of

1

Orders were

given

to'fS bayo^^tfs

SUard.

one

roimd

to be fired by all artiller on the'fiefri

was

twelve there

was

a crash of artillerv''ard at J itinutes before

yigade

rushed

out

of

the

woods

with hea^t

u '

oomand

To

the

Charge

the

ba^ about

ten feet in the heigth they oasLd descending

a f

cotton

woods

and went through

the

bayou

corta- field of thickly set

^d waa^,orossed slowly

under

the ' ujIrrous-TlM'-dr ^ titey J.

crossed, ..hey gncount^ e eteeir-Kr']. . Jhen this

was

.

lines of_f|fie itTTT---^^ Trrn-|- crowned with tlTZZ

aad;:gaCISecrhail of

b

1

îd

the

bursting shellTlir^driiV of^the entire hill

was

a clood^JF';

eecond line of rifle pits.

Here th

tuf < '^'

taehed

to the i

rushed for the third line of

rifle

. A

able

works

only

to

tour nnt their lives J.:

nnd

cT^rnrrrTTTr^.-.:.

i Mgntenant Cplpiiel Diater J

^fglMlMgTOg^htrronejildl^ anTcmira~l

ead, at

the

feet pf his men

wi.~^

y _

f^xi hanlrwtr.Ho

efforts to urge forward and ^nc

our

a conspicuous for

his

' ;V

It is useless to appj, worL to ^ ^ entire charge. r

thus

shed their blood for their'coMtL -

^tol3m

of those

who

instances of individual courage.

T

ê^'v

nori '''' = iht

arms

and

cannister to such a

deeree

^ f their fire of air.aH

^ding^the .treat begun

the

rfgi.ent

and eettinfortleirkn ,

t^ll'^^jtul^

thoj^ht lost. Hraotically ever^ kLivor orthrS ^n

botdis or

bullets on his

clothing

or body

Liv tf

hu epUnters of

M ;

carried his knapsack containingông other^blf '? t:Luft of

Ootpany

A ,

J Vi

engagecent and

during the day he axrerienced nec

through

the entire

oounted,

by the light of:a

candle

si'ytv-two hnV upon his return

Uy

splinters of bOEbs and buH^ts

durW

^

through the blanket,

cade ' '

OHio,

had a rifle ball

throughl^s'ca^t^r l -':,

Private

LeiChtle

frOE Payton. .

:th: gno^d'iidSrird-t.:: ^

.....

r s . s ;

-

. . .

z k s

tive strenvtb

rt rr

about one.third

Cenersl Sherman's Coimand

oonaisted''of^?^

+ ^ ^ ' ntire loss of

wounded, twnety-five eixty-five

captured or

missing

538,

aggregate

1776?

iên

tciHed

189,

wounded

940,

N


15/26


16/26

CoDipany *D

1st

Serg. Philip Froehe

Gorp

John Werren

Pr iTa t e John Pr i ck

Pr iva t e

Bernard Kachhold

Pr i va t e

Hzra Kerr

Pr iva te

Harr i son Kerr

Pr i va t e

Vu. Ochahim

Gorr-pany

Captain

Pe t e r

Kaufniann

Private Thorias V/ittehurg

(Inpossihle to get a true report this

d y

on

account

of only a few men having reported

hack to the regiment*)

Cornpany - P

Private Jacob

Burgoon

Pr ivate John W. Coffin

Private

Joseph

Wisciver

Pr iva te Alex KcBonald

Coihpany

G

Captain John

G. Anderegg

Lst

i t . JoGob Raring

Is t

Serg. Hudolph

omke

Pr iva te Freder ick Beck

Private Joseph Bachrnan

Pr iva te Jacob Kochehdo rf er

Pr i va t e

C has. L utz

Private

Ernest

Bpemer

Pr iva te

Chas.

Weache

Private George Sisenhut

Private

August

Wagner

Company R

Captaij^

Chris t C.

Kinser

Serg .

El ias Dodroe

Serg . Jo hn K rin n

Fr ed

Walke r

l i s

Smi t h

^d rew

Borden

Pr i va t e

Sam

S t i n e r

Private

George K oss

Pr iva t e Char les

Hanson

Pr iva t e Rober t Branum

Private Benj . Bramon

Private Sol. Boyer

Private

Paulus

Bisley

Company

Capta in Korr i son

-Corp

Corp-

Corp,

inmi--Arr-Jbrhh roir

Private

John

A. iVyers

Private

Christ Schelenburg

Pr iva t e Abraham Beaver

iitm

Wounded and captured

Ki l l e d

K i l l e d

K i l l e d

W ounded

V/ound

ed

V/cunded

Ki l l ed

Ki l l ed

Ki l l e d

K i l l e d

K i l l e d

Wounded

Captured

V/ounded

Ki l l e d

Ki l l ed

Killed ;

Ki l l e d

K i l l e d

K i l l ed

Ki l l ed

Wounded

Wounded

K i l l e d

K i l l e d

Wounded

Wounded

Wounded

K i l l e d

Ki l l e d

Ki l l ed

Ki l l e d

Wounded

Wounded

Wounded

Wounded

Wounded

KiXred

Ki l l e d

K i l l e d

Wounded

i u


17/26

CoLipany

Z

Captain Fr i ssner

L t . Di e i e n b a c h

Serg . James A.

Brown

Fr iv f t e

V/il l iam Harr i son

Private

John Gilpin

Wounded

Wounded

Wounded

K i l l e d

Ki l l e d

(15)

^iany

men

were

slightly

wo inded

and

after

having

their

wounds

dressed,

never reported

same. Cf

these

several

died later from, the effects

of these

supposed wounds and a nun.her became perii;anently disabled.

Details were sent forward,

under

a flag of

truce,

to collect

the

wounded

and bury the dead.

Upon their

return, they reported finding the

body

of

oriicefs and men v;ere pfaHTchliy tHppM b The graves of Col.

^^sterjind other .officers of the 68th were marked

and

the hodi^ TfrSTpiaced* ^

iF renches aha

marked

so ttey coulT

On

January

4th, 1863,

the

58th boarded their boat at

Johnston s

Plantaticn

and steam.ed to Mlikens Bend, La., taking part in the operation in

the reduction of Port

Kindman on January

11th, this battle is

mere

generally

known

as Arkansas Post.

The

brunt of

this battle

fell

upon

Hcvey

and

Thayer's

Brigade.

The

casualties in Bladr's Brigade, in

which

the 58th

was

then attached,

w ere f ew .

After this

engageic^^^

the

regiment eiicnmped about four

miles

south of j

Vicksburgh

On Friday,

February 6th, ^^h^58th^

receij:_G^^^

Admiral Porter>lor duty on the gun boats and the fbilowihg assigrmiQnts were made.

Companies

A'Vand

B on

th e

Companies G ,

F

and G on

the

Company D

Company

2

Coiupany

il

Conpany

I

Ccmpanj^ K

B^iound City

Ben ton

Caronde le t^

Baron

de Kplb

Pi t t sburg

Linden

Lou i s v i l l e

Company C refused duty on

the

gun hoats but was later placed on

the

Cincinnati . Some of the officers not

satisfied

with their assignirent on

gun

boats resigned. There

was

also miuch dissatisfaction am orig tlie

men, m any

Thinking

that inasmuch as they enlisted voluntarily in the army i t was an injustice to

place

themt

on giin boats* But, inasmuch as the reginieht

was

much depleted fn

nuE^ber

on account

of i ts

heavy losses and the survivors heing allssaaonacl veterans

made their duty on

th e

gun boats very

valuable.

i/:ost

of the time was taken up in

patfoling

the river* Large forces

of Grant's Army were working night and day in digging a canal to chahge the

course

of

the

Kiss iss ippi

River*

On

B.arch

15th about 3:00

Ail

the gun boats

Mound

City , Carondelet ,

Cincinnati , Pittsburg ,

and

St.

Louis went up

the

Yazoo

Biver

and stopped

at Johnston*s Landing, the ..same place where last Decembar thft rAgTTT oTit iiegar-

its

fight among the Chlckasaw Hills, but no landing was

made.

They fihalLy proceeded

up the Black River

and

for three days rode through

this

stream, bozvaered on both

sides

by woods and heavy undergrowth.

Finally

emerging from

the

woods

they

reached a

large

plantation, to the aatoni3hij:eht of the Hegro

plantation

workers.


18/26

(16)

aen

ir forr

p cavalry was observed and the followinr r.crnlng they

were

1000 tarll kJ.

1 advLoed about

aireotsd

shots frcr. tho

gun

boats

aoattored the rabels.

arrivir'e on

thi^ 5th

finally ordered to return,

rriving on ^ne ^5th o. Inrch at the mouth of the Yazoo Elver.

Ihis ended the expodltlon of Sear Cre^t 1 vhich

t>,.> nntv, 1..=+

or

nounnod, several later died

on

the Karine

Hospital

Boatt

tude

vith

't'velvn'^h

return

from

this

expedition

the

iren

were

given

more

lati-

e- passes they visited

many

places of Interest. Suite a

Heglment) which was near,

disDensinfi

very^gto^beerrhlch Gld at t ^

incidentally the

sutler, who

was

for an aiiy

ti^ fup

full.

. ^ isntr- Ye

cents

run

+h

hiPK orders vere received to

make

ready to

raL The Vicksburg.

About ten

o'clock

the start

was

?h

WSl af nirsMâ f if

transports, headsd bv

M M ^ ^7

tha Caronde le t s S^-ound Citv

:3

rerected''abourirc'of

citf

of^nGlJsburL''SrreLfs

a*-vu

erecxea

aoout IOC cannon of heav^ calibers

^ start

was

made, going

down

the Klssisslppl very alow,

and

no

llvhr-

the boaL^shfuld

ti' o^lps and orders were given

that the

machinery

on ' .

iie oo&ts should run as

quietly

as possible.

4.V

, ; and Carondelet were at the he.nd

of the

river obbds.ita wViat-o

tae Cham

of Jiills connect

with

tJie

city

of yickshurg

and where

the first

hat-

bolf ^ suddenly

the

rebels cpened

a heavy fire upon the

otbr:: Orders were at

once

given for full

speed

ahesd .

-innlr..

Constructed

harges filled

with

cotton,

and

at tho be-

innir-a of

the

engageiaent set

them

afire, llshtlng

the

river

and

oltv a- lieht

as day. The

sky

was blood red,

shd

the hills

darted

with tongs of flsx;-, bl

Z

wts Z

h

fi^

suceessfully'returned

by

tL

uxi

boats,

tne

enwir

alfair lasting

about

two

and

one-half

hours.

oaciyi . passing the city, the

clock on

the court house could he plainly

een, it^ was .ûst 11:30 H. The

Benton

fired

eighty-one

shots

and

done

a.uou anage to tne asserhled

military

and civilians who

were

flocking' in

the streets of the city.

j.

yxvaijt, xu

n-x

t

3nnton and wounded four men. On the '-J/ound

fVd. seriously wounded. Every

hOat

was hit at least three

or

four

es

out no

serious oer;age cone, lifter

passing

the city

the

entire

force went

eo-=fa^bItf

f ^^

Warrsntown , where the

rebels

had

.np^r Of

fwelYe

pounders. . These

were q,uiakly

silenced

and

after

-ssing this

town,

they proceeded eevefai

miles and

anchored for the liight.

several

dayfwa^^âd^

ôt3

went

as as

ew

Carthage,

where

a

stop of

Gulf wro the river on April 22nd Until Grand

yf^^-^-*----- sgQ^^-enegy-..hadr^lran4ed~upo-ft-ir-h-3di^

The

HeFûn^

nrpd

tn^mtu^^^

at a^,out

2000 yards from

the

fort,

hut few shots

were

^t,+ +' hoats ^re now stationed .ahout forty miles

from

Yickshurg,

ut

tne lire from

the

mortors could

dasily

he seen at night

and

the

thunder

of

their

artillery distinctly heard.

/


19/26

J

I

fully

phased t'blockLfffyL'Sburr'art=' anng

euooess-

at

Kew

Carthage.

loaded

with

Union Troops

began a un boats

hours, silencing every g,, in the fo^t C

lasted

about three

xive

second

shells, the other

bots

in

oorparlscr n'*'''

b'* 200

tent was

continued

and was even

core

te-rl^r evening

the

boiubard-

trocps

were

landed

ano

encanped

beswrihrtroor

b^Hflonal

bardicent

lasted about

two

hours when the f -

landed.

The bou-

I'he loss on the iL; o fV

Srsdually ceased.

pf Company -v- who was

instt^ly

L'lled ' ' '-yrederlclc Perlvold.

nineteen men.'wer?hl1bv

f

sL\'l ' ?,or w

consisting

of

Of the

crew vvere

iren.bers%f CoSany

'4./afd

fou

Ueuter.ant

Hr.erlng

of Coapanv cu Ls'alarser?,

u,?

J.he551h.

P-ece

Of tb^ffne

Off

the

right leg

at the

toL ^

holes,

caused by large

caliber

Droiectilee'h^t^

f elve

large

in

recoanoltering

and

picket duty.

her.

iûoh

tine

was

taken

up

the

58th with tn're^ên wereôrdered^^^^tb * lieutenant Scheldt

of

land and report at Youngs

Point

abm

+^+

? ooKBiander of the liound City to

mission was to

take

official

reports as

tftL t^k^ I'heir

\

tion of rebel prisoners. 0 ^ and


20/26

18)

return of CaptairOallfôfOaotol^Tf turprlaed at

the

^

v.. f

wi

v-uly salute and the boats began to dress un o- in n+ha*.

Cs. w.ss pS:r

Vichsbure

at di r-f

the Kisslssiippi

and bordering the City of

now thrtb'l tfoooro Ss

began

sîng

their appearance

Ld

entrenchtteats.: jeen stacking tnelr arcs and aarpblng out of their

B.

j

1.

^ Berful transfoneat ion

scene now

presented

itself on

the boats.

dancing. Officers shaking hands? d

Mother

salute was being îred froc all

ships

in honor of

the

SurrendBr of

Black

Hawk ,

headquarters

boat,

had

already

landed

ht

the

I^he? o? t

^ d

sailors and shortly after

th?^1ty. landing regiaonts of infantry

who

began

patrolling

passes

Practically

all

the crew

on

the gunboats received

w?r??ce?ved Of ? V- a^pedltion.

Towards evening

news

hree

day

light at Gettyahurg, Pa. in which General Keade

turned back the entire rebel arny of General Bobert E.

lee.

This report e?bo'

caused moh

reooicing and irany believed the War would soon

be

over

1

On fcpnday, July ISth at gjOO

PM

CcEpany A lost one of its

irevhpr,

prcfetsi?rMd ^h?rb^^^*' ^V

''' 52 years

of age.

a drug^st

by

at

th

??

t

ooK'r

oearer

in

the

SSth:

for sore

tike.

He

was

buriL

Cava?;y : ?h MUUry Wobo '

- yplunteers

received

orders

that

thoy. wg^.,

J-J STea frpDi gun bout duty anfi were to report to Kaior Ez ra aTftrVetnn

coraianding officer

of

the 5^jCMp^t^Tickebnrs.fo7t;^


21/26

19 )

This

w.5.3

jo,Ycu3 news to the regin;ent for all were disgusted with

their

six iionths of hard

dut;

spent on

tine

hoats.

The

carp of the 56th

was

situated in the northern

part

of the city, close to the river. Non-conjr.issioned

officers

frcB a ll companies

were

sent

hone

to return with drafted nen to fill

the d e p l e t e d

r a n k s

of th e 5 8 th .

Lany

of the

officers

were also allowed to go hone on furlough.

On Thursday, August

6th,

Lieutenant, Joseph, ptst

left.

for. Cairo on

the ,heat

Lu2:ina,ry

v/ith the oody

of his

hrotpdr,, the, late Lieutenant Oolonol

Peter Dister of the 58th,,

who

v/as

killed

at

Ghickasaw

Bayou

on

Lecenher 9th,

1862. He accoKipanied, the body heme to Dayton,..Ohio,

where

burial service

iwas

held. at^ Qmanuel Catholic Churchi*

The

funeral procession consisted of a Battalion

ayor and

Cfty

,Council,

^*'2veral

fratern,^MQ;rdr iiT^^o.iU.'6wsd by

relatives and frisnds. -He 7/as buried at St. Henry.

Cercetary

v/ith military honors.

4i.bcut-.twenty-thrae years: later ,

the-vbody v/us

takea. up,..and,,now.

Cejfatery;.nea^r-Dayton, Ohio.

Private

Barthclarious

Trenthardt,

Company ''D , 58th Ohio, died

-ifptenibdr 4th, 1862, of typhus Fever. lie was born in

Kantpn

Bern^ GeiTuahy.

Lieutenant

Joseph

Dister

and

Lieutenant Louis Keller arrived in

canp

on

.aeptember 5th, after a thirty day furlough 7/hich was spent at Dayton,

Ohio.

Private Alois Pucha, Company

A ,

68th

Ohio, died October

1st,

1862,

pi fever.

He was

sick

about

one week. He

leaves

a

widow and

three children,

who

reside at

Dayton, Ohio.

He

v/as

buried in the

Geinetery

at

Vicksburg,

liiss.

Cn October 13th an election for Governor of Ohio 7/as held.

The

polls

opened at

ten o*clock.

Three

judges and two clerks were sworn in. Soldiers not

twenty-one

years of age or who

were

not born in this country and did not have

citizens

papers^were not allowed

to

vote. 43 over

half of

the SSth present

in

cai?p were born in Oermany and had

taken

out no

papers,

the vote >a3 rather light.

Sighty-three votes

were

cast, thirty-one for

Yallandingham

and fifty-two for

Johh^^

j ^ ^ ^ On November 1,

1863,

the

58th

became part of the 1st Brigade, 1st

Division, 17th ilrm?/

Corps. The

infantry

regiments

of the

brigade

consisted of

tn e 72nd

l l inois 17th Wiscohsin

and

1St

Kansas^

On October

ISth^

Lieutenant

Colonel Jackson

returned after spending

sixty

days

in

Ohio

on

recruitine

duty.

7ath

him

were

Sergeant

L.

Krimm

of

Company

'A and Sergeant Miller of Company C .

On Hovember 13th, Lieutenant Colonel Jackson returned to Ohio on

recruiting duty The expiration of the two year term of service fo r the 58th

was

'

f

drawing

near

and

an order of the War

Department was

issued

allowing every m.an who

-

would

re-enllst^400 00

bounty

and a leave of

absence

for

thirty

days, sam.e to

take

effect

on

th e

day

they arrived in

Columbus, Ohio.

. Lieutenant Kette of Company 3

was

designated as Eeoruiting Officer

. fo r the regiment.

Che

hundred and four of the veterans re-ehlisted and the or -

ganiaation nov/

became

known as the 58th Ohio Fplunteer Veteran

Battallion

and

ccnhlsted:

of:

f i v e c o ^

^;;

.

^ Tuesday, February 12th,- Battalion drill was held, the

first

tim:e

^

in

fourteen

months.

:

.V;:

Several days l at er Lieutenant Colonel Jackson returned from Ohio after

oi' sixty days, bringing t h i rt y r ecr uits and commissions for sixteen

o ff i b e r ^

n; :

. On

Monday,

February

22nd, \7ashir3gton*s

Birthday, the

customnry

salute

01 34

guns was fired. At 9.00

AM

by order of the Post

Gommandant

General '


22/26

20

Vicksburg were paraded

down Cherry

Street to Washington

in close

ord-r

^whl*trr

to the Court Eouse,

where all

troops were

luassed

) ' i. troops in front and colored troops in the rear- After

v/P3^'re^d^t ''r

^ ^egir.ental

hand,

Wa-;hingtons Farewell address

and General

.BrainL? ^ Illinois. Short talks

were

n-.ade hy

General

AcArthur

Several

days

later

the

58th received

220 new Soringfield

Bifles to

replace

the

sar.s

nuKher

of

Enfields

that

had oecpme

unserviceable,

^ 4.

veterans

of the

22nd

Ohio

who

had re-enlisted

were

t rans ie rred to the 58th Ohio. aaouu wer-

-Pro-h 1100

20bh,

Easter

Eay,

was

celebrated

with

a special dinner,

re.h

band concert. 2ver,- tent plentiful^

supplied'^with

easSr^gga

j Swilay, tay 22nd, the

veterans

of the 58th

who

had

re-enlisted

received their thirty-day furlough.

Before

leaving, the regtoLt wis assertled

offers =T^ Colonel Jackson, after which

the

following

S Co^rHonor Sdal^'''''' the regiment and received

the 17th

Henry Odarfald, CoEpany E'V 58th Ghio,

kedal of

gold

in-

scrihed Fort Donelspn, Shiloh, Chiokaaaw Bayou, Viokshurr.

1st

lieutenMt

TTilliam Hhode,

Adjutant

58th

Ohio

Volunteer

Infantr-,

medal

of

pld,

icscrihed

Fort

Sonelson,

Shiloh,

Chiofcasaw Bayou,

Ark

ansas

Post,

Viokshurg. oj-uu , ara

SergSMt

Stuber Johann,

Oocpany A

58th Ohio Volunteer

Infantry,

ffiedal

of silver, inscribed Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Chickasaw Bayou, VioksbUT-g.

Private

David Crbanskj , Ootpany

B 58th Volunteer Infantry, medal of

Silver, inscribed Fort Dbnelson, Shiloh,

Arkansas

Post, Chickasav;

Bayou.

Grand

Gulf,

Vicksburg. V

/ . Servant

Frederick

liusller,

Corcpany 0

58th Ohio, medal of Silver, in

scribed Fort Bonelson, Shiloh, Chickaaaw Bayou, Vicksburg.

Sergeant

Philip

Froebe,

Company

B

SSth

Ohio,

medal of silver, in

scribed Fort Bonelson, Shiloh, Chickaaav/ Bayou, Vicksburg.

Private

Frank Guckert,

Company

G^

58th

Ohio,

medal

of silver, in

scribed Fort Bcnelsbn, Shiloh,

Chickasaw Bayou,

Vicksburg,

Sergeant

Benone

3. Blosson, Company K 58th Ohio, medal of silver, in

scribed Fort Bonelson, Chickasavf

Baycu,

Grand

Gulf,

Aricansas Post,

vicksburg

Ist Sergeant

David Jenkins, Cottpany

K

58th

Ohio,

medal

of. silver, in-

sorxbed Fort Bonelson, Shiloh, Chiokasaw

Bayou,

Grand Gulf, Arkansas

post ,

Vicksburg.

Corporal James

Brown, Company VK

58th

Ohio,

silver

medal,

inscribed

Port

Bonelson,

Shiloh, Chickasaw Bayou, Vicksburg-

Private Phomas Bisbenett, Company

K'* 58th Ohio,

medal of silver, in

scribed Fort BonslsOn, Shilohi

Chickasaw

Bayou, Arkahses

Post,

Grand

Gulf, Vicksburg.

The

furloughed

veteraas, cohsiatihg of

im

men

arid

five captains,

namely, Gapthiri Gallfy, i?hpd8, Huis, Friesnes and Roby, marched to the dock

,

^gra

they ^boarided the A. Eorey^^*^ .arrivingvat

Eow Albariy, Ind*

;on Saturday,

.iune

4Lth

arid

then

rail finally

arriving

at Coluiiibus, Ohio, June

ICth, where

they

were royally received.

y^Mle the re-9riliste veterans were on furloughi-:the remaihdQf of

the regiment received orders

on

July 10th to

accompariy

the 72nd

iUinpia

and one

brigade cf colored troops on an expedition. They marched in the direction

of

) un


23/26

}

(21

Gibson,

canie in

cont='ct

itv, ^

jnich lasted iiiDcut

two

hcur-> cavalrv

Aft

vounded. i,any or-^-cn^ enen^

retreated

with

i--

i a

il^jht

In

: :v

Jnckaon of

the 58th

Ohio anl re'fr-'t'Tn eutenant COcaei

^ Gapt,Gin Ivforriann n-f n in

corir'.and

of Cantti ^ colonel

o f

hîn-y

^ . ^locn 01 Conianr i h-j,^ x. ^^pta in ilndersffj?

of

I'eine

senouea;-

ill. ^

the

re/JssZf T the

hoat -^.^^

e

sad

:

end load

their rln;1 ^h.,

i-rivate Louis Oreporrof

r^

discharge

of a rf?, 7

ldn

Of Comrauy

C I ?.

^^^t-Pany H ,

Eortallv

wr.m^f'. t

h^dhs of

Ko 3 aurvlTsd about fro

hours

'.fterr^\^''^

On J

r -

t-a child, r-sidln^

,

o

feaching Vlokshur-.

Earohlng

orfi^rv

o' '^h, at 5:00

il/;.

Oil

satisfied

rith

tni

^

btate^to^'o

forlcClei?

SteenH

Bapuhlioan

ca^Jdater '' Ibs vot eT.corlhfÛ

T

iJurinfi- Chric?tTr>co

..,r^

i coixi, the

whose term of service hflrt

-k

? receiver that c,n i.

near Coluffibus Ohio J expired to prepare to r-ot ' ^ iisted

men

^ With

the

rl ' nt ?

ator out.

0^0^^^ ^

P

Chase,

, S S t t w i l

^ . , rsgirient would ideo ^

^âclvSon made

a

short adrirfao

j.

and trusted they

would arrl

account of

their'te^ôf

part cf tha hoif,,. bafelv and in +4r= + f ' aervioe expiring

tegifent

oelobrated

witVthr .a-nd

telat^ves^^^Thrha?

SPtten

ehrlstEaa

eve

by

all

tL

' aes,

it

beinfa ne^^V^'

'

On Pecettber%?h

58th.

fcr-

n Pecsfber

mh nif

.

^Spa:~:^ --d^d^?L^:S

and

prov^dMy/' '' ^' left

behind, the 5e?repent\?trt1nalfgeneral

On

L:arch Pth

-4.

general routine

S2

Cn i 'riday. Aorii latj,

-u*

. account of the sufrendL or r

celebration

was beld in

Vi,.v

v

.

Grant. All

hous= frf

General Lee

and

Mg

.rrv +

^ffckaburg,

on

laternb.

Thiri

ta

decorated

wS

fL

heral

ôyed at the prospect o y the Patriotic inhabilant^^^h^ iapanese

,Knibn.

laie rêlo

^ f ^he was.nnd

*?oaou^l'' ^

ere crowded with both = if '^'^cabed by stern rprn= ^ Wotory of the

,

-de at the

r1 ^

-Xu^^d^td s^^ct^tre

Oalro,

orrrinriL^rf '^' ^h/ the

steax.er

Sulton^

- - s - , s . , s - =i. -.s:


24/26

22 :

^ Monday evening, Captain Prieaner, the

nev

coDJiiander of the 58th

Ohio Yeterrjn Battalion, left rith twenty-one veterans of the regir.ent on the

j hoat

Sultana

to

guard

9 C paroled Union

Soldiers

who were to he sent to rfp

Chase,

near

Colunhus, Chio,

for final

muster

out.

On

Saturday, April 29th, re

ports

were received that the boilers

of

the Sultana exploded

when

ahout

ten

miles from Memphis and that only ahout 500 cf the entire 2067 on hoard

arrived

safely. Lost of the po.rcled prisoners were from Chio, Indiana and Tennesee,

and

had

been

confined

at

Andersonville

and

Cahawha

since the

battles

of Shiloh,

Chickamauga and Gettysburg.

Capta,in

Priesner and five

men

were saved, sixteen

men were

lost .

Following are

the

names

of

the

men of

the 58th who lost

their

l i v e s on th e Su l t ana .

Company

It 1 1

Pr i v a t e David

Keus t a d t

CoL.pany

C

Private

Hiram Campbell

Company D

Pr i v a t e John C.

Baue r

Pr i v a t e

Pe t e r Breson

Gonpany

Private

Phi l ip

Baads

Private Frederick

Young

Company g .

Pr i v a t e John Hawken

Prlyate John Lowery

Conipan^^

H

Pr i v a t e

Bcbe r t

Bramum

P r i v a t e J o h n El l lick

Pr iva te Chr is topher Kincer

P r i v a t e

Samue l

Wil son

Company I

Pr i v a t e

V/ i l l i am

Wel l s

Gompan2> K

P r i v a t e

J acob

esitler

P r i v a t e

Jom.es tuller

r V \ Private George Kerns Z : ; -

On Sunday, E ay 1 5th, the ent i re

58 th re gim en t, u nde r

conytiand of

. ,

Captain Louis Keller ,

iaafched

to the depot and boarded

t ra ins to take

them to

the

Big

Black Hiver Stat ion.

The 7th Ohio

Battery> eq\iipped

as

infantry

accom-

^ the, feglm-ent* .'

After

arr iving a t

the i r

des t ina t i cn

they marched

to

Jackson,

Mss .

. and encamped about thrqa squai re s f rom the s ta te

house.

About th i s t ime. Captain Fr iesne r who ?;as save d from the i l l r - fa ted

. ;

Sultana ,

reported

back to

the

regiment, with

the

raidc

of

Lieutenant Colonel.

On

Thufada2s

June

15th, the regiment l e f t Jackson by

t ra in

and about

,

four

hou r s l a t e r de t r a ined a t Canton, Kis s . Vfliere th e reg iment marched with

band playing, to

the

cour t house

and

encamped in

the court

house parki

On Wednesday, June Sla t camp was broken and the regim.eht marched

to

th e depot and en t r a ined

gpihg

to Grenada, about 85 Biiles from

CantQhii

On Thursday, June 3Cth, the regiment held a dress parade in the town

o f Grenada b efo re t he h ea dq ua rt er s

of

General K^ltby .

On Friday, Jiily i4 th , camp was broken and re-established about two

miles f rom town . This was a

very

good camp location and far more healthy thaii

the canp

just : vacated.

)

)


25/26

}

)

;

23 )

coDând olthfâ 'o- GLId^

Jfriesner took

over

the

fte

ioet 0. Greoeoa. She reglasnt was

aseisned

the followioe poete.

OoEpany A , conianded

by

Captain Morrison

Conpany

B' , eoEtanded by Captain Keller

Company

C , cocicnnded

by

Captain Froebe

on ,'

V

Captain Gellhausen

ocpany S ,

oocianded by Captain

Dister

to t

to Seua tob ia

to Holly

Springs

t c zford

to

B la ck H iv er St at i on

camp at GremdfLfweat'^^r^toM 'h f CPtain Keller, left its

panLs

goipd to Sair ew

:ta1^L ''

rail, followed

by

the

different

com-

^

and

after

f short'atayÎrrlverii^Wo^^h

regiment assembled

at

Jackson

part of the city# ^ estebiished carop in

the

southern

hich tcok'pX'ia::M:yrs:pL&::/i86f

leave the

same

day for

hone J 1 ^

Pr'ePhrations

were made to

an

Old

veteran 0? thr58tr hif f

^he

boats

the

body of John Bevers.

honors. Finally the âth 4. r was buried with military

up

the

riv^rpLsinglJe

cHr^d'hl

if

Tr

he seen

on

deck,

taking

a

last

tiew

of

scenes

in

wMch

the

58th'hartS

a prominent part, and which

now

historic-

Taking

the''lKircLmi1lS'arr?vfd'arS^ i?

day.

following day they a-rived

in CoiM^^n n-

on Tuesday

and

the

off and

received

their dlecMrgf^rtihcaJes? ?

were going by

every train -^bo^vt

> 7 I* sfiiR evening fonner itenibera

the deeds of the ghlant bSth |lo jHofbut'mi S. '= V'

honorable ^ battles

in

which this regiment bore an

A pril 6th and

7th,

186S

to

Jiay

2 0 t h ,

1868

During April, Riay and June, 1862

August 1 9 t h ,

1862

August 22nd, 1862

August 2 3 r d , 1862

August 2 6 t h , 1862

Dec.

27th,

28th and

29th,

1852

January 1 1 t h , 1863

Karch a i s t

1863

fort

Bcnelspn, Tenn-

-Siege

o f

G or ihth

. Jurdy

.

jdillkenB iendi La. .

Baines Bluff,

Oreecville,

l a s s . -

Boliver

Landing, lllss.

Chickasaw Bayou, Kiss.

Arkansas

P o s t , Ark.

Deer Creek, K i s s . .

On

gunboats ruirming blockade past

?ick3burg,

Ki ss.

Grand Gulf, K iss. . .

Black fiiver, K i s s .

Lake

Providence,

La .

Fort Morgan, Ala. .

A p r i l

1 6 t h ,

1863

A p ri l 2 9th ,. 1863

A ay 17th to 22nd, 1863

J u n e

I G t h ,

1863

.

August 5 th to 23rdi

1864.

returned ut df the r-slment. tho few surviving members

anrSrLd tw ' ^hem the tattered and

blood

stained oo^Ls

5

Si


26/26

)

(24)

to

coiLaeitiOrate the achievettentaôfÔhl^ dedicated thirty-four nionwneats

n *v ^cîeveffienta

of

Ohio orgajfjizationa at Shiloh Tenn

58th Ohio. fiell stands the ttonênt of the

-rLIrSrSKH ^

rsr.s .ss. ..

s sj.r..X r2

;s

Ijfjssr

Boleisnly

dedicated.

f derate Army,

these

fiionumenta

were

^ rotunda of, Hall at

Dayton,

Ohio a beaatifnr

tal)let

was

erected

by

Dister

Post Yl> r

Colonel Peter Dister, in whose

lionor

the G p lieutenant

unveiled by two little Viria a êd. 5?he tablet waa

on Septen^r 25th 19iif daughter ofCoionel

Dister,

cos,redes of the

58th ME

loL'eU

f the

survlvlns'

soidlers at the side of Coionev;^ t L 5^' as one of the

two

Johnson.

f orspan^ li. ârinstinUv kiUef

fh f ^ ifam

other

ootrades

of

the

old 58th

iara

nrnont

+*

Ptin

louia Keller

and

several

isesôry

f

their departed con^p^ last tribute to the

In thp blank silence of the

narrow

toab

Ola; may rest, which rapt their hniran birth

V^t alljunconquered

by

that silent

doom.

of their deeds still walks the

earth.

soehner unverferth (1)

Documents