The 21st Ohio Infantry Regiment 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 ...
. Mostly an all-volunteer unit, with the exception of a few draftees, the 21st Ohio served for both ninety-day and three-year enlistments and fought exclusively in the
Western Theater. It saw action in some of the war's bloodiest battles including
Stones River
The Stones River (properly spelled Stone's River) is a major stream of the eastern portion of Tennessee's Nashville Basin region and a tributary of the Cumberland River. It is named after explorer and longhunter Uriah Stone, who navigated the r ...
,
Chickamauga, the
Atlanta Campaign, and
Sherman's March to the Sea.
Three-months regiment
On April 27, 1861, volunteers from throughout northwestern Ohio were organized into the 21st Ohio Infantry Regiment at Camp Taylor, near
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
. The recruits hailed from the counties of
Hancock,
Defiance,
Wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
,
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Sandusky and
Putnam. Many were farmers and farmers' sons who had spent years taming the
Great Black Swamp
The Great Black Swamp (also known simply as the Black Swamp) was a glacier, glacially fed wetland in northwest Ohio and Northern Indiana, northeast Indiana, United States, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until the late 19 ...
, a huge, black, liquid mire that still blanketed a good portion of the region, in order to cultivate the rich soil beneath it. Other early volunteers were merchants, lawyers, school teachers, blacksmiths, politicians and a county sheriff who was a veteran of the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
. Of the soldiers in the regiment,
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
,
Americus V. Rice, would become a
brigadier general by the end of the war. In addition, among the privates,
Thomas W. Custer and
Edward S. Godfrey, both would later win the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
(Custer won two). Both later fought with the Seventh Cavalry at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...
, Godfrey survived and eventually retired as a brigadier general.
On May 23, the new regiment under the command of Colonel Jesse S. Norton, and marched to
Gallipolis, Ohio
Gallipolis ( ) is a village in Gallia County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River about southeast of Chillicothe and northwest of Charleston, West Virginia. The population was 3,313 at ...
, where it went into camp along the banks of the
Ohio River
The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
at Camp Carrington. Two months later, the regiment crossed the river into
western Virginia
Western Virginia is a geographic region in Virginia comprising the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Generally, areas in Virginia located west of, or (in many cases) within, the piedmont region are considered part of western Virginia.
T ...
as a part of the force under
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...
and entered into its first engagement at the
Battle of Scary Creek
The Battle of Scary Creek was a minor battle fought on July 17, 1861, during the American Civil War in Scary across the Kanawha River from present day Nitro in Putnam County, West Virginia. It was the first Confederate victory in Kanawha Valle ...
, July 17, 1861. During the five-hour battle, the regiment lost nine men killed and seventeen wounded. Colonel Norton was wounded and captured, but later was paroled and exchanged.
When its three-month term of enlistment expired, the 21st Ohio Infantry marched to
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio
* Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...
, where it was mustered out of service on August 12, 1861.
Three-years regiment
Reorganized at Camp Vance in
Findlay, Ohio
Findlay ( ) is a city in Hancock County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. Its population was 40,313 at the 2020 United Sta ...
, the 21st Ohio Infantry reenlisted for three-years service on September 19, 1861. On September 26, the regiment left Camp Vance and headed to
Camp Dennison
Camp Dennison was a military recruiting, training, and medical post for the United States Army during the American Civil War. It was located near Cincinnati, Ohio, not far from the Ohio River. The camp was named for Cincinnati native William ...
in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, where it received arms and equipment. It then proceeded to
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
, where it saw action at the
Battle of Ivy Mountain in early November.
Campaigns
Tennessee and the Andrews' Raid
Campaigning into Tennessee in early 1862 as part of the
Army of the Ohio
The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union Army, Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.
History
1st Army of the Ohio
General Orders No. 97 appointed ...
, the regiment was one of a number of Union regiments instrumental in capturing the capital of
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
in February. From there, the regiment moved toward
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...
, and then to
Confederate-held Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...
, in early April.
Concurrent with the move toward Huntsville in April 1862, nine men of the regiment volunteered to participate in a secret mission known as
Andrews' Raid. The men, along with two civilians and thirteen soldiers from two other Ohio regiments, dressed in civilian clothes and slipped behind enemy lines. They hijacked the Confederate locomotive
''The General''. The mission was a failure, and all of the raiders were captured. Eight men, including Private
John M. Scott
John Milton Scott (August 1, 1824 – January 21, 1898) was an American attorney, judge, politician and philanthropist from Illinois. Although he did not win election to the Illinois Senate from Bloomington, Illinois, he served on both the Illin ...
of Co. F, 21st Ohio Infantry, were hanged. Another eight, including privates
Wilson W. Brown,
William J. Knight,
John R. Porter,
Mark Wood, and
John A. Wilson, escaped from captivity. The remaining raiders, among them Private
William Bensinger, Private
Robert Buffum
Robert Buffum (July 7, 1828 to July 20, 1871) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Buffum was the third person to receive the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action during the ...
, and Sergeant
Elihu H. Mason of the regiment, were released in a prisoner exchange the next year. In recognition of their actions,
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
awarded most of the raiders, including all nine from the 21st Ohio Infantry the newly created
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
. Bensinger, Buffum, and Mason were three of the first six men ever to receive the medal.
Near
La Vergne on October 7, the regiment captured a part of the 3rd Alabama Rifle Regiment, along with its colors and fifty-four horses. The regiment participated in the
Siege of Nashville from September 12 to November 7.
By December, the regiment was in the vicinity of
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...
, and on December 30 – January 2, 1863, participated in the
Battle of Stones River
The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Ci ...
.

For the battle, the 21st Ohio was with the
74th Ohio, the
37th Indiana, and the
78th Indiana in Colonel
John F. Miller's brigade of
James S. Negley's division. By 10:00 on December 31, the regiment held the brigade left by a rail fence at the eastern edge of the cedar forest. The left of the regiment was attacked by
James R. Chalmers' Mississippi brigade, which retreated in disorder in the face of volleys from the regiment and
canister shot
Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel artillery ammunition. It has been used since the advent of gunpowder-firing artillery in Western armies, and saw particularly frequent use on land and at sea in the various wars of the 18th and 19th cent ...
from the supporting
Battery B, 1st Kentucky Light Artillery. Lieutenant Colonel James Neibling ordered a charge, exhorting the regiment to "Give 'em hell by the acre," hastening the flight of Chalmers' brigade. However, his flank exposed by the collapse of
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with General-i ...
's division on the right, Negley soon ordered his division to withdraw, despite Miller's attempt to hold the brigade's positions. With the brigade, the 21st Ohio retreated into the cedar forest.
On January 2, the regiment was ordered to charge across the frigid water of Stones River, where it captured a Confederate
artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...
of four guns. The regiment suffered 159 casualties, and Private
Wilson Vance of Company B was awarded the Medal of Honor for saving a fellow soldier from capture.
Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaigns
Following the Battle of Stones River, the 21st remained in camp until June 1863. In the Army of the Cumberland's camp, Rosecrans wrote to the Union General-in-Chief Major General
Henry Wager Halleck
Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important part ...
and Secretary
Edwin Stanton
Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War, U.S. secretary of war under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's manag ...
that he felt that he needed to outfit all of his cavalry with repeating weapons. In a dispatch from 2 February, he explained his reasons to Secretary Stanton:
This eagerness to embrace new repeating technology manifested itself in many units in the army receiving repeating firearms. While Wilder's famed
Lightning Brigade received Spencers and other units got Henry rifles, the 21st Ohio opted for the five-shot
Colt Revolving Rifles. While there were not enough for all companies, six of the eight received the Colts.
The regiment first found how well their new weapons would perform when it embarked on the
Tullahoma Campaign. Marching and skirmishing through Tennessee and northern Georgia during the campaign, the regiment crossed over
Lookout Mountain
Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-century "La ...
in late August and arrived in the vicinity of
Chickamauga Creek
North and South Chickamauga Creek are short tributaries of the Tennessee River, which join it near Chattanooga, Tennessee, on the north and the south. West Chickamauga Creek is a much longer tributary of South Chickamauga Creek.
Course
The two C ...
on September 19. Fully engaged in the Battle of Chickamauga, the regiment, under the command of Lt. Colonel Dwella M. Stoughton, deployed into line of battle and opened a brisk fire upon the enemy, which continued until night. The next morning, September 20, the regiment, then occupying a reserve position, witnessed the Confederate breakthrough. Lt. Colonel Stoughton immediately moved to the right and occupied the crest of a ridge, known as Snodgrass Hill, in an attempt to stem the Confederate onslaught.
The Confederates made their first assault on the regiment around 11 a.m. They continued to attack throughout the morning and afternoon, but each attack was repulsed by a murderous fire from the regiment's five-shot
Colt Revolving Rifles. So heavy was the volume of fire that the Confederates were convinced that they were attacking an entire
division, not just a single regiment. At around 3:30 p.m., Lt. Colonel Stoughton, seated on his horse at the rear of the regiment, was fired upon by a rebel sharpshooter. Ignoring the warning, Stoughton dismounted and walked to the front of the line, where another shot rang out and the colonel, struck through the left arm, fell to the ground severely wounded. Command of the regiment passed to Major Arnold McMahan. Stoughton would die on November 19 from an illness that set in during his convalescence.
By late afternoon, the 21st was desperately low on ammunition. Soldiers plundered the cartridge boxes of the dead and wounded in a frantic attempt to procure Colt's ammunition. When this reserve was depleted, a runner was sent to the rear to search the ordnance trains, but quickly discovered that they had left with the rest of the retreating Union army for Chattanooga. At dusk, having exhausted all of their ammunition, the 21st retired to the rear of the ridge, having expended 43,550 rounds of ammunition.
The 21st was ordered to fix bayonets and occupy the extreme right flank. They managed to procure one last round of ammunition for each man. After each firing their round, the men, remaining in their position, were surrounded and quietly captured. Major Arnold McMahan, 120 soldiers and the colors of the regiment were now in the hands of the enemy.
In six hours of fighting, the 21st Ohio, numbering about 540 men, lost 265 killed, wounded or captured. 46 men would eventually be sent to
Andersonville prison. Only ten of the prisoners would survive.
Later campaigns
During the
Battle of Chattanooga, the 21st was part of the assaulting column that carried the crest of Missionary Ridge. Colonel McMahan led the troops up the steep slopes into the enemy positions.
When the three-year term of enlistment expired, the majority of the men re-enlisted for the duration of the war. The reconstituted 21st OVI participated in the Atlanta Campaign under
William T. Sherman
William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
. The regiment marched through Georgia to
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
, arriving on the coast at the end of the year. In early 1865, the 21st participated in the
Carolinas Campaign, including the
Battle of Bentonville
The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last ...
.
Following the surrender of the opposing Confederate army at
Bennett Place
Bennett Place is a former farm and homestead in Durham, North Carolina, which was the site of the last surrender of a major Confederate army in the American Civil War, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to William T. Sherman. The first meetin ...
in April, the 21st marched to
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and participated in the
Grand Review of the Armies
The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in th ...
. The soldiers were discharged from the army and paid on July 28, 1865, when the regiment mustered out in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
.
Postbellum
Many veterans of the 21st OVI joined the
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (United States Navy, U.S. Navy), and the United States Marine Corps, Marines who served in the American Ci ...
, and several posts were established throughout northwestern Ohio. Several towns erected statues and monuments to honor local soldiers. The 21st OVI was also remembered by the
U.S. War Department
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...
, which erected a commemorative tablet in 1908 on the
Chickamauga Battlefield
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, located in northern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, preserves the sites of two major battles of the American Civil War: the Battle of Chickamauga and the Siege of Chattanooga. A detailed hi ...
.
Notable members
*
William Bensinger – Awarded Medal of Honor for participation in the Anderson Raid, or
Great Locomotive Chase
The Great Locomotive Chase (a portion of the Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid) was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civ ...
.
*
Wilson W. Brown – Anderson raider
*
Robert Buffum
Robert Buffum (July 7, 1828 to July 20, 1871) was an American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Buffum was the third person to receive the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his action during the ...
– Anderson raider
*
William James Knight – Anderson Raider
*
Elihu H. Mason – Anderson Raider
*
John Reed Porter – Anderson Raider
*
John Morehead Scott – Anderson Raider. Hanged by the Confederates, June 18, 1862, and received award posthumously.
*
John Alfred Wilson – Anderson Raider
*
Mark Wood – Anderson Raider
See also
*
Ohio in the Civil War
During the American Civil War, the State of Ohio played a key role in providing troops, military officers, and supplies to the Union army. Due to its central location in the Northern United States and burgeoning population, Ohio was both politi ...
*
List of Ohio Civil War units
During the American Civil War, nearly 320,000 Ohioans served in the Union Army, more than any other Northern state except New York and Pennsylvania. Of these, 5,092 were free blacks. Ohio had the highest percentage of population enlisted in the ...
*
Great Locomotive Chase
The Great Locomotive Chase (a portion of the Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid) was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civ ...
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
Ohio in the Civil War website - bibliography for the 21st OVI - by Larry Stevens*
ttps://books.google.com/books?id=-7EKAAAAIAAJ&dq=33rd+OHio+Volunteer+infantry&pg=PA519 Ohio Adjutant General report Vol on the 21st to 36th OVI History of the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the war of the rebellion 1893
{{Authority control
Units and formations of the Union army from Ohio
1861 establishments in Ohio
Military units and formations established in 1861
Military units and formations disestablished in 1865