The 120th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 120th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 120th OVI) was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. It was commanded by Colonel Daniel French and Colonel Marcus Spiegel.

Service

The 120th Ohio Infantry was organized

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 47,534 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately from Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Columbus via Interstate 71, it i ...

, and mustered on August 29, 1862, for three years service under the command of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Daniel French. The regiment first served unattached,

Army of Kentucky The Army of Kentucky was the name of two Union Army formations. Both were small and short-lived, serving in Kentucky in 1862 in 1863. Army of August 1862 On August 25, 1862, Major General William "Bull" Nelson assumed command of the forces stati ...

Department of the Ohio The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River. 1st Department 1861–1862 Gene ...

, to November 1862. 1st Brigade, 9th Division, Right Wing, XIII Corps,

Department of the Tennessee The Army of the Tennessee was a Union Army, Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. A 2005 study of the army states that it "was present at most of the great battles that became turning points ...

, to December 1862. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Sherman's Yazoo Expedition, to January 1863. 1st Brigade, 9th Division, XIII Corps,

Army of the Tennessee The Army of the Tennessee was a Union Army, Union army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River. A 2005 study of the army states that it "was present at most of the great battles that became turning points ...

, to July 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XIII Corps, Department of the Tennessee, to August 1863, and

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The ...

to November 1863. Plaquemine, Louisiana, District of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Department of the Gulf, to March 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XIII Corps, to June 1864. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XIX Corps, Department of the Gulf, to August 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XIX Corps, to November 1864. The 120th Ohio Infantry ceased to exist on November 25, 1864, due to consolidation with the 114th Ohio Infantry.

Detailed service

Moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, October 25; then to Covington, Ky., and duty there until November 24. Moved to Memphis, Tenn., November 24-December 7, 1862. Sherman's Yazoo Expedition December 20, 1862, to January 3, 1863. Chickasaw Bayou December 26–28, 1862. Chickasaw Bluff December 29. Expedition to Arkansas Post, Ark., January 3–10, 1863. Assault and capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Post, January 10–11. Moved to Young's Point, La., January 17, and duty there until March 8. Moved to Milliken's Bend March 8. Operations from Milliken's Bend to New Carthage March 31-April 17. James' Plantation, near New Carthage, April 8. Dunbar's Plantation, Bayou Vidal, April 15. Movement on Bruinsburg and turning Grand Gulf April 25–30. Battle of Port Gibson May 1. Duty at Raymond until May 18. Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 4–10. Near Jackson July 9. Siege of Jackson, Miss., July 10–17. Camp at Vicksburg until August. Moved to New Orleans August 18. Duty at Carrollton until September 3, and at Brashear City until October 3. Western Louisiana Campaign October 3-November 30. Duty at Plaquemine, La., until March 23, 1864. Moved to Baton Rouge March 23, and duty there until May 1. Ordered to join Banks at Alexandria on Red River Expedition May 1. Embarked on steamer ''City Belle''. Action en route at Snaggy Point May 3. Over 200 men captured. Those who escaped were formed into a battalion of three companies and marched to Alexandria. Retreat from Alexandria to Morganza May 13–20. Mansura or Marksville Prairie May 16. Duty at Morganza until September. Expedition to mouth of White River and St. Charles September 13–20. Expedition to Duvall's Bluff, Ark., October 21–27.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 300 men during service; 2 officers and 17 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 6 officer and 275 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Daniel French * Colonel Marcus Spiegel

References

* "Bugler". ''The Favorite Songs of the 120th Reg't, O.V.I.: As Sung Around the Camp Fire'' (Wooster, OH: Wayne County Herald Press), 1882. * Dyer, Frederick Henry. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Frey, Jerry. ''Grandpa's gone--: The Adventures of Daniel Buchwalter in the Western Army, 1862-1865'' (Shippensburg, PA: Burd Street Press), 1998. * Ohio Roster Commission. ''Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861–1865, Compiled Under the Direction of the Roster Commission'' (Akron, OH: Werner Co.), 1886–1895. * Reid, Whitelaw. ''Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers'' (Cincinnati, OH: Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin), 1868. ;Attribution *

External links