The 125th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 125th OVI) was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Service

The 125th Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Taylor, Cleveland, Ohio, and mustered in three years of service on October 6, 1862 under the command of colonel Emerson Opdycke

Emerson Opdycke

Samuel Emerson Opdycke was a businessman and Union brigadier general during the American Civil War.-Early years:...

.

The regiment was attached to 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XXI Corps (Union Army), Army of the Cumberland

Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...

, till October 1863. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, IV Corps (Union Army) of the Cumberland, till October, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 4th Army Corps and Dept. of Texas, till September, 1865. The 125th Ohio Infantry mustered out of service on September 25, 1865.

Primarily involved in long marches and skirmishes until Battle of Chickamauga

Battle of Chickamauga

The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...

, fighting against the odds. Then they joined in the Battle of Mission Ridge, and helped pursue Braxton Bragg

Braxton Bragg

Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...

. In the spring of 1864, it joined William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...

 in his Atlanta Campaign

Atlanta Campaign

The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...

. They fought all the way until the Battle of Jonesborough

Battle of Jonesborough

-Further reading:...

, and then preceded to follow John Bell Hood

John Bell Hood

John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness...

 North to Nashville

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 and participated in the Battle of Franklin

Battle of Franklin

Battle of Franklin may refer to three battles of the American Civil War:* Battle of Franklin , a major battle fought November 30, 1864, at Franklin, Tennessee as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign...

. The regiment gained a high reputation for its fighting qualities under the courageous Colonel Opdycke.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 225 men during service; 7 officers and 104 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 114 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

• Colonel
  Colonel
  Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
  
   - Emerson Opdycke
  Emerson Opdycke
  Samuel Emerson Opdycke was a businessman and Union brigadier general during the American Civil War.-Early years:...
  
  
• Lt. Colonel - Henry B. Banning
  Henry B. Banning
  Henry Blackstone Banning was a lawyer and three-term U.S. Representative from Ohio, as well as an infantry officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
  
  
• Major
  Major
  Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
  
   George L. Wood
• Major Joseph Bruff
• Adjutant
  Adjutant
  Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
  
  Ridgley C. Powers