21st Ohio Infantry

compiled by Larry Stevens

References for this Unit

• see also Bibliography of State-Wide References
• Ohio In The War-Volume II. Whitelaw Reid. Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin. Cincinnati 1868
• Ohio Boys in Dixie. The Adventures of Twenty-Two Scouts sent by Gen. O.M. Mitchel to destroy a railroad; with a narrative of their barbarous treatment by the rebels, and Judge Holt's report. The first published account of Andrews Raid. Nine men of the 21st OVI were involved. Report by Judge Holt. 47 pgs. Miller and Matthews. New York. 1863
• The National Tribune. Chickamauga. Henry H. Van Camp. September 4, 1884
• The National Tribune. The 21st Ohio at Chickamauga. Anonymous. September 11, 1884
• The National Tribune. 21st Ohio at Chickamauga. Private Elbridge G. Wetmore. Co. K. 21st O.V.I. October 2, 1884
• On the March to the Sea - How General Sherman's Famous Order to "Forage Liberally" was Carried out by the "Boys", by George Sheets, Late Adjutant, 21st O.V.I.. George Sheets. The Ohio Soldier. Vol. 1. Number 5. September 17, 1887
• The National Tribune. Chickamauga Again. The Battle on the Ridge. Arnold McMahan. June 7, 1888
• The National Tribune. A Good Joke on Gen. Nelson. Henry H. Van Camp. August 9, 1888
• The National Tribune. Another Raider Gone. Death of One of Mitchell's Men Calls to Mind an Incident of the Escape. W.W. Brown. November 13, 1890
• History of the 21st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, by Captain S.S. Canfield. Silas S. Canfield. 219 pgs. Vrooman, Anderson & Bateman Printers. Toledo. Ohio. 1893
• On Thomas's Right at Chickamauga! William J. Vance. 21st Ohio. Blue and the Gray. Vol. I. pps 87-99. 1893
• A Man and a Boy at Stone River. Wilson J. Vance. 21st Ohio. Blue and the Gray. Vol. I. pps 347-360. 1893
• The National Tribune. Saving a Battle-Flag. How the 21st Ohio Boys Got Possession of the banner of the 69th Ohio. By Abel Comstock. October 5, 1899 (Sauers) - October 5, 1889 (Ward). Jonesboro, Ga.
• The Last Roll. Col. John E. MacGowan. Editor. pg. 230. Confederate Veteran. Volume XI. Number 5. Nashville. Tennessee. May. 1903
• The National Tribune. Was Frost--No Snow. By S.A. Linton. January 5, 1905
• Miller's Brigade at Stone River. Col. Miller's Order to Charge was an Inspiration. James M. Barber. In: The National Tribune Repository, Good Stories of Experience And Adventure. Washington. D.C. Published by the National Tribune. Volume 1. November. 1907. pgs. 15-17
• The National Tribune. The 21st Ohio at Chickamauga. By Isaac Cusac. September 5, 1907 (Sauers) - June 26, 1890 (Ward)
• The National Tribune. 21st Ohio at Chickamauga. Oscar A. Clark. November 21, 1907
• The National Tribune. One of the "Engine Thieves" Recaptured at Chickamauga. John R. Porter. February 13, 1908
• More About the Andrews Raid. William J. Knight. pg. 635. Confederate Veteran. Volume XVI. Number 12. December. 1908
• The National Tribune. In Nearly All of Them. Lysander Ames. March 24, 1910
• The National Tribune. The 21st Ohio at Chickamauga. James M. Barbour. October 27, 1921
• Diary of Jacob Adams, Private in Co. F, 21st O.V.V.I.. Jacob Adams. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly. pgs. 627-721. Volume XXXVIII. Columbus. Ohio. 1929
  Diary of Jacob Adams, Private in Co. F, 21st O.V.V.I. Jacob Adams. 99 pgs. Published by F.J. Heer Print Co. Columbus. Ohio. 1930
• Adventures of Alf. Wilson; a Thrilling Episode of the Dark Days of the Rebellion, by John A. Wilson.. John Alfred Wilson. Corporal Co C. 21st OVI. 237 pgs. The National Tribune. Washington. DC. 1880. Note: First appeared in the Wood County Sentinel, Bowling Green, Ohio. Call# MAIN Basement Storage E483.18 .W75. Kent State University. Kent. Ohio
• Adventures of Alf. Wilson; a Thrilling Episode of the Dark Days of the Rebellion, by John A. Wilson.. John Alfred Wilson. Corporal Co C. 21st OVI. 237 pgs. Blade Printing & Paper Company. Toledo. Ohio. 1880. Call# General 973.732 W691a. Ohio Historical Society. Columbus. Ohio
• Adventures of Alf. Wilson; a Thrilling Episode of the Dark Days of the Rebellion, by John A. Wilson.. John Alfred Wilson. Corporal Co C. 21st OVI. 237 pgs. The National Tribune. Washington. DC. 1897. Call# General 973.732 W691a, 1897. Ohio Historical Society. Columbus. Ohio
• Adventures of Alf. Wilson; a Thrilling Episode of the Dark Days of the Rebellion, by John A. Wilson.. John Alfred Wilson. Corporal Co C. 21st OVI. 237 pgs. Washington, National Tribune, 1897. Facsim. reprint, with a new foreword by J. G. Bogle and additional illustrations. Original ed. issued as no. 7 of the Old Glory Library. Continental Book Co. Marietta. Georgia. 1972. Call# Univ Library 2nd FL E473.55 .W75 1972. Cleveland State University. Cleveland. Ohio
• My God, We Thought You had a Division Here! Virginia Kepler. In: Civil War Times Illustrated. Pg. 4. Vol. 5. No. 9. January. 1967. 21st Ohio Infantry at Chickamauga.
• 21st OVI Survivors, c1895. by OGS Editors. pg. 195. The Tracer, The Ohio Genealogical Society. Volume 29. Number 4. 1989
• Slippery Rocks at Chickamauga: The Sullivan Collection on the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. James A. Kaser. Northwest Ohio Quarterly 62. pp. 65-72. Summer-Autumn. 1990
• Unit Bibliography. U.S. Army Military History Institute. Carlisle Barracks. PA. 1995
• Center for Archival Collections. Bowling Green State University. 5th Floor, Jerome Library. 1001 E. Wooster Street. Bowling Green, Ohio 43403. . This archive has a large collection of papers, records, letters and diaries of 21st O.V.I. soldiers.
• Tom Custer's Civil War Wounds Considered. Donald W. Horn. Custer was a member of the 21st OVI. pg. 6. Little Big Horn Associates Newsletter. Vol. 24. No. 3. April. 1995
• At the Bivouac of Memory. History, Politics, and the Battle of Chickamauga. James A. Kaser. 167 pages. Peter Lang Publishing. New York. 1996. 21st OVI at Chickamauga is mentioned throughout, but chapter two deals largely with their role in the battle. Thanks to Larry Strayer for this source.
• Tenting With Tom: Descriptives of Life for a Private Soldier in the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Liberty P. Warner 21st OVI. Tentmate of Tom Custer who was the brother of George A. Custer. pgs. 25-26. The Guidon. Vol. 3. No. 1. October. 1999
• Colors of the 21st O.V.I. Painting and Original Photo. Fight for the Colors. Ohio Historical Society. Columbus. Ohio. 2000
• Tom Custer: Ride to Glory. by Carl F. Day. Tom Custer 21st OVI. Biography of George A. Custer's brother. 301 pgs. ill. maps. Arthur H. Clark Co. Spokane. Washington. 2002. Ohio State University. Main Stacks. Call# E525.5 21st .D39 2002
• Private William J. Knight and the Andrews Raid. Always Very Daring and Reckless. Jim Leeke. pgs. 2-17. Timeline. Volume 20. Number 6. November-December. 2003. Ohio Historical Society. Columbus. Ohio.
• As Near Hell As I Ever Expect To Be.: The Civil War letters of Lieutenant John V. Patterson of the 21st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Edited with Commentary by Paul G. Tremewan. 248 pgs. Hardbound & Softbound. Xlibris Corp. Bloomington. Indiana. 2011
• Duty Well Performed: The Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. By Bradley Quinlin and Joshua Haugh. 222 pages, photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index. The Little Miami Publishing Company. Milford. Ohio. 2011

Pvt. Simon Pressler
Company E. 21st OVI
Courtesy of and Copyright © Robert Van Dorn Collection

History

Organized at Camp Taylor, April 27, 1861, under Colonel Jesse S. Norton the 21st was active in West Virginia until its three month term of service expired. It re-organized September 18th, 1861, at Findlay and left for Kentucky. It served at Stone River, and performed gallant duty at Chickamauga. After serving at Mission Ridge, the Regiment re-enlisted and participated in Sherman's Atlanta campaign. The 21st marched through Georgia and the Carolinas and on to Washington, taking part in the Grand Review. It was discharged from the army and paid on July 28th, 1865.

From Dyer's Compendium

21st Regiment Infantry (3 Months). Organized at Camp Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio, and mustered in April 27, 1861. Moved to Gallipolis, Ohio, May 23, and duty there till July. Attached to Cox's Kanawha Brigade, West Virginia, to August. Reconnoissance up the Kanawha River July 7. Expedition to Guyandotte July 9 (Co. "F"). Scarey Creek July 14-17. Mustered out August 12, 1861.

21st Regiment Infantry (3 Years). Organized at Findlay, Ohio, and mustered in September 19, 1861. Left State for Nicholasville, Ky., October 2. Attached to Thomas' Command, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1861. 9th Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to December, 1861. 9th Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Ohio, to July, 1862. 7th Independent Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to September, 1862. 7th Brigade, 8th Division, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Center 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 14th Army Corps, to October, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, to June, 1865. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, to July, 1865.
SERVICE.--Action at Ivy's Mountain, Ky., November 8, 1861. Try Mountain and Piketown November 8-9. Duty at Bacon Creek and Green River, Ky., till February, 1862. Advance on Bowling Green, Ky., February 10-15, and on Nashville, Tenn., February 22-25. Occupation of Nashville February 25-March 17. Advance on Murfreesboro, Tenn., March 17-19. Advance on Huntsville, Ala., April 4-11. Capture of Huntsville April 11. (Pittinger's Raid or Andrews Raid on Georgia State Railroad April 7-12, Detachment). Near Pulaski May 1. At Athens May 28 to August 28. Action on Richland Creek near Pulaski August 27. March to Nashville August 29-September 2. Siege of Nashville September 12-November 7. Murfreesboro Road November 8. Advance on Murfreesboro December 26-30. Battle of Stone's River December 30-31, 1862, and January 1-3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro till June. Middle Tennessee or Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Occupation of Middle Tennessee till August 16. Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Davis Cross Roads or Dug Gap September 11. Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., September 19-21. Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Orchard Knob November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26-27. Rossville Gap November 26. Regiment reenlisted January 1, 1864. Reconnoissance of Dalton, Ga., February 22-27, 1864 (Non-Veterans). Rocky Face Ridge and Buzzard's Roost Gap February 23-25 (Non-Veterans). Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1 to September 8. Demonstrations on Rocky Face Ridge May 8-11. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8-9. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Advance on Dallas May 18-25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2, Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5-17. Vining Station July 9-11. Peach Tree Creek July 19-20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Utoy Creek August 5-7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25-30. Operations against Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama April 29-November 3. Near Atlanta October 2. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Jacksonboro December 11. Siege of Savannah December 10-21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Taylor's Hole Creek, Averysboro, N. C., March 16. Battle of Bentonville, N. C., March 19-21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10-14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 19. Grand Review May 24. Moved to Louisville, Ky., June, and duty t here till July. Mustered out July 25, 1865. Regiment lost during service 6 Officers and 166 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 218 Enlisted men by disease. Total 392.

Thanks to Dr. Richard A. Sauers for the initial research and indexing of the National Tribune articles.

Thanks to Ed Keen from the Toledo CWRT for a few of the sources on this page.

More about the Civil War in Ohio.

Copyright © 2012 Larry Stevens

Last updated November 19 2012