- 1st Ohio Infantry
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=1st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry
caption=1st Ohio Infantry in action at Vienna, Virginia June 17, 1861
country=United States of America
allegiance= Union
type=Regiment
branch=Infantry
dates=1861–1864
specialization=
command_structure=
size=950 soldiers at outset of the war
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
nickname=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=Shiloh, Stones River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge,Atlanta Campaign
notable_commanders=Alexander M. McCook
anniversaries=The 1st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 1st OVI) was aninfantry regiment in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War . It served in the Western Theater in a number of campaigns and battles.Three-months regiment
With the outbreak of the Civil War in the spring of 1861, President
Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers from each Northern state. In April, recruiters quickly filled the quota for a number of regiments in the state ofOhio , with several regiments enlisting for 3-months, including a command designated as the 1st Ohio. Mustering inApril 17 ,1861 , underColonel Alexander M. McCook , it travelled by train toWashington, D.C. for garrison duty in the capital's fortifications and defenses until July. The regiment was placed in Schenck's Brigade, Tyler's Division,Irvin McDowell 'sArmy of Northeastern Virginia . It first saw action atVienna, Virginia , onJune 17 and again onJuly 9 before occupying Fairfax Court House. It fought at theFirst Battle of Bull Run and helped cover the army's bitter retreat to Washington. The regiment soon returned to Ohio and mustered outAugust 2 .:Original companies:::* A - Lancaster Guards (Lancaster)::* B - Lafayette Guards (Dayton)::* C - Dayton Light Guards::* D - Montgomery Guards (Montgomery County)::* E - Cleveland Grays (Cleveland)::* F - Hibernian Guards (Cleveland)::* G - Portsmouth Guards (Portsmouth)::* H - Zanesville Guards (Zanesville)::* I - Mansfield Guards (Mansfield)::* K - Jackson Guards (Hamilton)
Three-years regiment
After the term of service was over in August, a number of the men re-enlisted for 3-years in the reconstituted 1st OVI, under the command of Col. Benjamin F. Smith. The regiment was organized at Camp Corwin in Dayton between
August 5 andOctober 30 , receivingmusket s, uniforms, and accoutrements. On the last day of August, the regiment entrained for Cincinnati for additional training and guard duty. The 1st OVI left Ohio in November 1861 forLouisville, Kentucky . From there, they were posted in a number of Kentucky towns through February 1862, striving to keep the border state in the Union.In late winter 1862, the regiment was attached to the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division,
Army of the Ohio , serving inTennessee underDon Carlos Buell at Shiloh. There onApril 7 , the regiment became engaged about 10 a.m., losing 2 men killed, 2 officers and 45 men wounded, and 1 man missing. Following Shiloh, the regiment served inMississippi during theSiege of Corinth before moving to a variety of places inAlabama . In August, the regiment returned to Kentucky as the army pursued Confederates underBraxton Bragg , fighting at theBattle of Perryville . The well-travelled regiment then marched toNashville, Tennessee , in October and November. With the restructuring of the western army in November and the replacement of General Buell withWilliam Rosecrans , the 1st OVI was assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Right Wing XIV Army Corps,Army of the Cumberland . It stayed in Nashville untilDecember 26 , when the regiment departed for a short campaign that culminated in theBattle of Stones River .For much of 1863, the 1st Ohio was stationed in Tennessee and assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XX Corps, Army of the Cumberland, until October when the IV Corps was formed from the remnants of the heavily depleted XX Corps and XXI Corps. Under the command of Maj. Joab A. Stafford, the regiment saw action at the
Battle of Chickamauga , a stinging defeat for Rosecrans' army. It marched to Knoxville as part of the army relieving the Confederate siege of Union forces at that city. Yet another reorganization of the army resulted in the 1st OVI being assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, until September 1864. It fought under Grant at Missionary Ridge, where the 1st OVI was the first regiment to plant its colors on the hilltop, and with Sherman in theAtlanta campaign . The regiment spent much of the rest of the fall on scouting duty in Tennessee.The 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry mustered out of the Union army from
September 24 toOctober 14 ,1864 , when the 3-year term of enlistment expired. A number of recruits re-enlisted and transferred to the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry onOctober 31 ,1864 , and remained on duty through the end of the Civil War.The regiment lost during its service 5 officers and 116 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded in combat and 130 enlisted men by disease (a total of 251 fatalities). It was engaged in 24 battles and skirmishes, lost 527 men in action, and marched 2,500 miles. Following the war, the veterans erected a monument on the
Shiloh National Military Park . The regiment is also commemorated on the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument inPublic Square in downtown Cleveland. The tattered battle flags of both the three-months and three-years regiments (as well as the guidon of Company B, the Lafayette Guards) are preserved in the museum of theOhio Historical Society in Columbus.Another "1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry" (unrelated to the Civil War regiment) existed in the
Mexican-American War . Still another regiment of the same name was organizedApril 26 ,1898 , for duty in theSpanish-American War .ee also
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Ohio in the Civil War References
* Dyer, Frederick Henry, "A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion." 3 volumes. New York: T. Yoseloff, 1908.
* Reid, Whitelaw, "Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers." Volume 2. Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin, 1868.Further reading
* Kern, Albert, ed., "History of the First Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War 1861-1865." Dayton, Ohio: 1918.
* Ohio Roster Commission. "Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861–1865, compiles under the direction of the Roster commission." 12 vol. Akron: Werner Co., 1886–95.External links
* [http://www.ohiocivilwar.org The Ohio in the Civil War Network Archive]
* [http://www.shilohbattlefield.org/closeup.asp?ClosePhoto=TN003M119C.jpg1st OVI monument on the Shiloh battlefield]
* [http://www.ohiohistory.org/etcetera/exhibits/fftc/relicroom/index.cfm?war=2&ID=495 Battleflags of the 1st OVI at the Ohio Historical Society]
* [http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/regiments.htm National Park Service: Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System]
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