Seventy Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry

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Warren County Local History by Dallas Bogan

Seventy Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry

Contributor:	Dallas Bogan on 3 August 2004
Source:	original article by Dallas Bogan
Links:	See PARTIAL ROSTER of Warren Countians at the end of this article Company A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K The 79th Ohio Infantry at "Ohio in the Civil War" by Larry Stevens The 79th Ohio Infantry at Civil War Soldier and Sailor System by the National Park Service The 79th Ohio Infantry at Ancestry.com paid site "A Dying Soldier's Last Letter" from the 15 Sep 1886 Lebanon Gazette Unit Bibliography from U.S. Army Military History Institute Historical Services Division click to view as pdf file
	Return to Index to see a list of other articles by Dallas Bogan

Companies A, B, E and H were organized in Warren County along with companies from Hamilton and Clinton Counties. Clermont County organized a company of sharpshooters, which joined the regiment later. Recruiting started July 22, 1862, and by the first of September all companies had reached Camp Dennison and were mustered in.
Marching through Kentucky was an experience for the Regiment. The Seventy-Ninth became acquainted with the perils of war, having sufferings not realized at home. At one point the Rebels were killing animals and throwing their carcasses into the water pools and thus destroying their chances for drinking water. It was either drink from these pools or suffer the consequences. Measles also became prevalent and caused many deaths. Having marched to Gallatin, Tenn., the Seventy-Ninth was greatly reduced in number because of sickness and suffering the hardships of the five hundred and fifty mile trek. The regiment had at time of muster in a total of 919 men and on May 2, 1864, this number was accumulated at approximately six hundred men that were able to function for the cause of the Union.

Taken from Reid's, Ohio in the War:
"On the 2nd day of May the armies in Lookout Valley moved from their encampments on the enemy, concentrated in force at Dalton, Georgia. The Seventy-Ninth was not engaged in the demonstrations at Buzzard's Roost and Dug gap, being in the reserve line, but after passing through Snake Creek Gap, on the 13th and 14th, near Resaca, it skirmished with the enemy, with considerable loss in killed and wounded. On the 18th day of May the Seventy-Ninth was one of five regiments that were ordered to assault a strong position held by the enemy on the road leading from Dalton to Resaca. Artillery and infantry defended the position. The assaulting party was composed of about twenty-five hundred men, under W.T. Ward. It approached within four hundred yards of the enemy's position under cover of a dense forest of pine. At a given signal the troops rushed forward, amid a storm of grape, canister, and musket-balls, and, after hard fighting, carried the works, with a loss to the enemy of a number of prisoners, four pieces of artillery, and fifteen hundred stand of small arms. This was the introduction of the regiment to hand-to-hand fight with the foe; and the dead and wounded that lay thick before the face of the enemy's works, on the parapet and within, indicated as landmarks where the regiment had struggled for victory. The loss in this engagement fell most severely on the enlisted men. There were no officers killed, but five were wounded. The enemy retreated during the night, and was found the following day at "Gravelly Plateaux," from which it was driven back early on Cassville. Here it made a more stubborn resistance, and again the Seventy-Ninth was engaged, but with small loss. At Dallas, on the 25th of May, the enemy was brought to bay, and the whole Twentieth Corps was hurled again and again against the lines, until sixteen hundred men were lost by the Corps. On the 27th of May an advance was ordered, and the Seventy-Ninth was one of the first to march. The movement was a success, but cost the regiment many lives. On the 28th the enemy open on the position of the regiment with artillery. On the same night an attack was made along the whole line, but was repulsed."
"At Peachtree Creek the Seventy-Ninth was in the front line, being the second regiment engaged. From three o'clock until seven o'clock the battle raged terribly, and the regiment lost one-half its men. The enemy made assault after assault, but was each time repulsed. The regiment had seven color-bearers killed and wounded. At the commencement of the battle it had but four or five officers, and several companies were commanded by non-commissioned officers. After this battle, and until after the capture of Atlanta, where the regiment received recruits, it was only a regiment in name not in numbers. The labor in the trenches and on the skirmish line, the attempted surprise by day and by night, the charge and the counter charge, go to make up the history of the siege of Atlanta. The regiment commenced the campaign with six hundred men, and at its close had one hundred and eighty-two. Fifteen recruits were received during the campaign, of whom seven were lost, thus making the loss in about one hundred days four hundred and twenty-five men. Of this number many were slightly wounded, and rejoined the regiment; so that with the recruits received on the 15th day of November, when General Sherman commenced his march to the sea, it numbered about four hundred men. The Seventy-Ninth was never engaged during the march to the sea except as details for foraging, in which it lost two men. It took part in the siege of Savannah, on the Springfield Road. Here no loss was sustained."
"In the march through South Carolina, the Seventy-Ninth took part in the affairs of Langtonville and Columbia. The loss was small, not exceeding thirty men killed, wounded, and prisoners. In North Carolina the regiment, at the battle of Averysburg, took an active part, assaulting and carrying that part of the enemy's lines where its artillery was posted. It captured three pieces of artillery, one hundred stands of small arms, and thirty-one prisoners. In this charge the regiment received many encomiums. The loss in killed and wounded was severe, being one-fourth of its men engaged. At Bentonville, on the 19th day of March, 1865, the regiment performed its part in contributing to the final overthrow of General Johnston's forces. This was the last action in which it was engaged. After sixteen days it reported to Goldsboro, and thence marched to Raleigh. About the first day of May, it turned homeward by way of Richmond, and was mustered out at Washington, June 9, 1865."
The 79th Regiment was organized at Camp Dennison, Ohio, from August 20 to October 21, 1862, to serve three years. It was mustered out of service June 9, 1865, in accordance with orders from the War Department. Regiment lost during service 54 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 1 officer and 91 enlisted men by disease. Total 146.

The list of battles and dates are:
RESACA, GA............................May 13-16, 1864
DALLAS, GA............................May 25 to June 4, 1864.
KENESAW MOUNTAIN, GA..................June 9-30, 1864.
PEACH TREE CREEK, GA..................July 20, 1864.
ATLANTA, GA.(Seige of)................July 28 to September 2, 1864.
COLUMBIA, S.C.........................February 16-17, 1865.
AVERYSBORO, N.C.......................March 16, 1865.
BENTONVILLE, N.C......................March 19-21, 1865.

Partial Roster of Warren Countians (email any roster additions to Arne H Trelvik)

Field & Staff, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank	Name	Remark
F&S	Major	William W. Wilson	also Captain, Company A, 79th OVI

Company A, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank	Name	Remark
A	Private	Edward T. Archdeacon	wounded at Resaca, Georgia
A	Sergeant	John H. Baker	Died of disease at Gallatin, Tennessee on 18 Dec 1862
A	Musician	Jacob M. Baldwin	died of disease at Gallatin, Tennessee on 18 Jan 1863
A	Private	William T. Baner	Killed on 20 Jul 1864 at Peach Tree Creek, GA.
A	Corporal	William Huston Bone	Wounded 20 Jul 1865 at Peach Tree Creek, GA; transferred to Co G, 6th VRC on 1 Jan 1865
A	Private	John R. Brown
A	Private	Jimmet Conner
A	Private	Benjamin F. Dowdell
A	Private	John R. Dowdell
A	Private	Wilson T. Greathouse	also served in Co. D, 73rd OVI
A	Private	Richard Green
A	Private	Jeremiah S. P. Gregg	Died of disease on 17 Oct 1864 at Atlanta, GA.
A		William Harrison Gregg	killed by guerillas near Atlanta Ga. while carrying dispatches for his brigade., Oct. 13
A	Private	William F. Hardy
A	Sergeant	David Hopkins
A	Private	Joseph L. Hunter	Died of disease at Louisville, Kentucky on 30 Nov 1862
A	Corporal	Abram Jeffery	died in the hospital at Frankfort, Ky., October 29, 1862
A	Private	Benjamin Jeffery	wounded at the battle of Resaca, and died from the results of his wound, in the hospital at Nashville, Tenn., July 1863
A	Private	Leonidas Keever	Died of disease at Gallatin, Tennessee on 19 Dec 1862
A	Private	Robert Rabb Maxwell
A	Sergeant	William F. Miller	also Co F 1st OVI (3 months)
A	Private	Joseph Milner
A	Private	David J. Morris
A	Corporal	Henry Morrow	died on 17 May 1864 of wounds received about 15 May 1864 at Resaca, Georgia
A	Private	Henry Mull	Wounded at Averysboro, North Carolina on 16 Mar 1865
A	Private	Alfred H. Payne	Died of disease at Gallatin, Tennessee on 14 Dec 1862
A	Private	Nathan D. Pence	Died of disease at Chattanooga, Tennessee on 20 Aug 1864
A	Private	David S. Perrine	Mortally wounded on 20 July 1864 at Peach Tree Creek, died at Chattanooga on 14 August 1864 and was buried in the National Cemetery at that place
A	Private	Baylis N. Settlemyre
A	Corporal	Francis J. Sherwood	Wounded at Resaca, Georgia on 15 May 1864
A	Private	Phineas Sherwood	died on 25 Mar1865 at Goldsboro, NC from wounds received 16 Mar 1865 at Averysboro, NC
A	Private	Samuel Sherwood	died on 09 August 1863 in La Vergne, TN from accidental wounds
A	Private	Thomas Sherwood
A	Private	Daniel Franklin St. John	wounded in right leg at Resaca, Ga.
A	Wagoner	John D. Steddom
A	Private	Charles W. Thompson
A	Private	Granville M. Thurston	Killed on 5/15/1864 at Resaca, GA
A	Private	Timothy Titus
A	Sergeant	Amos S. Warwick
A	Captain	William N. Wilkerson	1st served in Co B 12th OVI (3 months); wounded at Resaca, Georgia on 15 May 1864
A	Captain	William W. Wilson	Major of the regiment from August, 1862, to November, 1864
A	Private	Jonathan M. Wright

Company B, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank		Name	Remark
B	Sergeant Major		William Venable Baird	per 30 Mar 1899 Western Star obituary
B	Private		William Boger
B	Private		William L. Bradley
B	Private		William R. Bradley
B	Private		William H. H. Cain
B	Sergeant		Stephen B. Colbert
B	Sergeant		Francis M. Carroll	Wounded before Atlanta; vertigo resulting from gunshot
B	Sergeant		James S. Coburn
B	Private		Christopher Fry
B	Private		George Fry	died of disease on 1/3/1863 at Bowling Green, KY; Buried at Nashville National Cemetery, Nashville, TN Gravesite: N-486
B	Private		Marion Esborne Greathouse	transferred to Co G 73rd OVI
B	Private		Samuel A. Haney	Wounded in engagement of Kenesaw Mountain, June 23, 1864, from which he nearly died
B	Private		William H. Haney
B	Private		Walter S. Hinkle	also served in the 59th O.V.I. and in the 73rd O.V.I.
B	Private		John A. Hitesman	wounded through thigh and groin, and in side, at Lost Mt. Ga. June 15, 1864
B	Private		Daniel Hollingshead	Wounded near Pine Mountain, Georgia on 15 Jun 1864
B	Private		Francis M Hollingshead	also Co C, 73rd OVVI
B	Private		James Hutchinson
B	Corporal		Joseph Hutchinson
B	Private	*POW*	William Koogle	Listed as POW at Averysboro, North Carolina on 18 Mar 1865
B	Private		John Long
B	Private		Joseph H. Nicholson	died at Nashville, Tennessee on 23 Jul 1864
B	Private		Washington N. Parlett
B	Private		Thomas Craig Patterson
B	Private		Jacob S. Pence
B	Private		Charles Edward Rigby
B	Private		Robinson, William	Disability discharge at Gallatin, Tennessee on 27 Feb 1863 & died 22 May 1863
B	Corporal		William G. Sears	wounded 14 May 1864 at Resaca, GA; died of wounds on 20 May 1864 in Chattanooga, TN
B	Private		Edward Smith
	Private		George A. W. Smith	Died of disease at Gallatin, Tennessee on 9 Feb 1863
B	Private		James A. Thompson
B	Private		John Thompson	died 09 February 1863 at Gallatin, TN
B	Private		John W. Thompson
B	1st Lieutenant		Thornton Thompson
B	Private		Jacob Tindall	transferred to Co I, 1st Veteran Volunteer Engineer Corps on 15 Aug 1864
B			Joseph N. Turner
B	Private		Luther Walker
B	Private		Commodore P. Wheaton	disability discharge on 19 Feb 1863 at Gallatin, TN - later enlisted in Company G, 183rd OVI
B	Corporal		Jacob Henry Winner	transferred to Company B, 73rd OVI on 9 Jun 1865

Company C, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank		Name	Remark
C			Henry Burns
C	Private	*POW*	Alexander Compton	Captured at Acworth, Georgia on 5 Jun 1864. Died of disease while a POW at Andersonville, Georgia on 22 Feb 1865
C			Samuel Reed Nickerson	discharged in February, 1864, by reason of a broken arm received in said service

Company D, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank		Name	Remark
D	Private		John H. Collins	Disability discharge at Gallatin, Tennessee on 19 Jan 1863 - also served in Co I, 187th OVI
D		*POW*	David Hutchison/Hutchinson	TMayhewpe@cs.com indicates that he was a prisoner at Andersonville
D	Private		Francis M. Vantress
D	Corporal		Andrew Jobe
D	Private		Archibold Jobe

Company E, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank	Name	Remark
E	Private	Ross Ackley	also served in Co A, 12th OVI and Co. A, 8th VRC
E	Private	David D. Ayers	discharged for disability on 1/25/1863 at Gallatin, TN. & later served in the 4th O.V.C
E	Private	Jasper Ayers	sunstruck in Tenn. in 1863; had feet frozen, Dec. 1862, at Gallatin, Tenn.; 4 months in hosp. at Gallatin and Buck's Lodge, Tenn
E	Private	John W. Baker
E	Private	Bowser, Elwood [aka Elwood Browser]	Wounded 7/20/1864 Peach Tree Creek, GA; transferred into Veteran Reserve Corps on 15 Jan 1865
E	Private	Stephen Burgoin [aka Stephen Burgoyne]
E	Private	Benajah Cadwallader
E	Private	Benjamin B. Cadwallader	transferred to Company E, 73rd OVI on 9 Jun 1865
E	Private	Oliver B. Drake	Disability Discharge at Gallatin, Tennessee on 18 May 1863
E	Private	George Eagle	Disability Discharge at Gallatin, Tennessee on 15 Feb 1863. Also served in Co G, 146th ONG
E	Private	John F. Freas Freeze	transferred to Co D, 57th OVI where he had previouly enlisted
E	Private	John Harper
E	Private	John Hughes
E	Private	George W. Hurtt	also Co E 73rd OVI, Co I 129th OVI & Co I 194th OVI
E	Private	Jonathan Ireland	Killed on 20 July 1864 in Peach Tree Creek, GA
E	Private	Enoch Kelly	also Co F 146th OVI
E	Private	James Ludlum
E	Private	Samuel L. Montgomery
E	Private	Alexander Sutton
E	Private	Benjamin F. Whitacre	Wounded at Resaca, Georgia on 15 May 1864
E	Private	Robert Newlin Whitacre	"shot thru the hand"

Company F, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank	Name	Remark
F	Corporal	Friedrich Wilhelm Bremer	Submitted 20 Aug 2007 by his great grandson, William W. Howard who provided a Biographical Sketch. Also see Civil War Service Record at ancestry.com
F & H	Corporal	Aaron B. Chandler
F & H		William McKinney

Company G, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank	Name	Remark
G	Captain	Howard Dunlevy
G	Private	William A. Howard	added 27 Sep 2006 by William J. Howard citing William Howard discharge papers
G	Corporal	Israel Lupton
G	Captain	Thomas Vantref'/Van Tress	added 27 Sep 2006 by William J. Howard citing William Howard discharge papers

Company H, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Union Guard)

Also see “Soldier’s record, Company H, 79th Reg’t, Ohio Vol. Infantry”
Cincinnati, Ohio, Middleton Strobridge, 1863. (Color lithograph (16”x 21 ½”) of Co. H roster thru Spring, 1863)
A copy is in the personal possession of Dean Hough, Lancaster, Pa. A 2nd copy is on display at the Warren County Genealogical Society

Company	Rank	Name	Remarks
H	Sergeant	Thomas E. Bisham	Wounded on 16 March 1865 at Averysboro, NC & Died on 25 May 1865 in Hosp, New York
H	Private	Allen J. Blake
H	Private	David N. Brown	died of disease at Louisville, Kentucky on 21 Dec 1862
H	Private	George Carpenter	killed at Resaca, Georgia on 15 May 1864; buried in Chattanooga Tennessee National Cemetery, Gravesite L-186
F & H	Corporal	Aaron B. Chandler
H	Private	Empson Cleaver	died of disease at Gallatin, Tennessee on 05 January 1863
H	Private	James Cleaver
H	2nd Lieutenant	Nathan V. Cleaver	wounded at Resaca, Georgia on 15 May 1864 & discharged for wounds on 7 Oct 1864
H	Private	Robert Cleaver
H	1st Lieutenant	John D. Clements
H		Collins, John R.	From Miami Cemetery Veteran Grave Registration Card - no other record of service has been located yet
H	1st Lieutenant	Israel D. Compton	became ill and died 31 Dec 1862 at Gallatin, Tennessee
H	Private	William Cooper
F & H	Corporal	Samuel G. Creswell
H	Corporal	Jesse Gibbs
H	Private	Joseph E. Gibbs	during his service, he contracted the camp diarrhoea, from the effects of which he died April 17, 1875
H	Private	George Groves	died of disease at Gallatin, Tennessee on 14 Dec 1862
H	Private	Nathan Harvey	wounded in right leg at Resaca
H	Captain	M. Horace McKay	also Capt. Co A, H, & I, 15th USCT
H	Private	Lewis F. Mannington
F & H		William McKinney
H	Private	Isaac Newton Miller
H	Wagoner	Orlistus Mills
H	Private	Zachariah Reeder	Died of disease at Camp Dennison, Ohio on 6 Jul 1864
H	Private	Edmund Retallick
H	Private	Mahlon Ridge	also Company 148th, 2nd Battn Regiment RC
H	Captain	Thomas Edwin Smith	Wounded at Averysboro, NC on 16 Mar 1865
H	Private	Noah B. Spray	wounded on 15 May 1864 at Resaca, GA & Died of wounds on 04 June 1864
H	Private	James Milton Thompson	aka Milton Thompson
H	Private	William M. Thompson	Received a disability Discharge 29 Apr 1863 at Columbus, Ohio
H	Private	Absalom Throckmorton	died Jan. 6, 1863, in the hospital at Gallatin, Tenn., with the measles
H	Private	Cyrus M. Ward	wounded at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, June 24, 1864, and was in the hospitals at different points till May, 1865; at Camp Denison, he was discharged, but, from his disabled condition, has since drawn a pension; is now drawing $12 per month.
H	Private	Watkinson, Thomas
H	Private	Watkinson, William
H	Private	Joseph H. Wolfe	died of wounds on 30 July 1864 in Peach Tree Creek, GA

Company I, 79th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Company	Rank	Name	Remark
I	Private	John W. Barkley	Died of disease on 17 Feb 1863 at Gallatin, TN.
I	Private	Albert Cretors	also served in 146th O.N.G. & in 183rd O.V.I.
I	Private	Barkley L. Dakin	later transferred to Company C
I	Major	Collin Ford	Later he was commissioned Brevet Colonel in the 100th U.S.C.T.
I	Private	John Baldwin Holbrook	also served as Sergeant, Co B, 73rd OVI, Co D, 85th OVI & Co K 87th OVI
I	Private	Milo Munger	Died on 18 December 1862 in Gallatin, TN
I	Private	Benjamin West
I	Private	James A. Weeks
I	Private	Lot Wright.	Was severely wounded June 22, 1864. Later he was commissioned as Captain in the 100th U.S.C.T., taking command of Company D, at Nashville, Tenn. Again seriously wounded during the Battle of Nashville

Company K (Ohio, Fourth Independent Company Sharpshooters)

Company	Rank	Name	Remark
K	Private	Christopher Clem, Jr.	Wounded 14 May 1864 at Resaca, Georgia; Severe wound to right shoulder at Atlanta, Georgia on 4 Oct 1864; Died of wounds at Covington, Kentucky on 21 Apr 1865
K	Private	Valentine Doughman	Wounded in right thigh at Resaca, Georgia on 14 May 1864
K	Corporal	David Ertle
K	Private	George W. Goodwin	Listed as wounded at Dallas, Georgia on 27 May 1864
K		Robert Goodwin
K	Private	Jonathan A. Hopkinson
K	Wagoner	Evan Hurley
K	Private	Henry F. Lundy	Died on 18 May 1863 in Field Hosp, Murfreesboro, TN
K	Private	John M. Phillips
K	Sergeant	James C. Redman	Wounded at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia on 15 Jun 1864
K	Private	Levi Matthew Shoemaker	Died on 05 January 1863 in Woodsonville, KY

FOOTNOTES: a place to add additional information that you might want to submit

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