3rd Ohio Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 3rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 3rd OVI) was an infantry
regiment
in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. It served in several important campaigns in the Western Theater
in Kentucky
, Tennessee
, and Alabama
.
called for 75,000 volunteers to help put down the rebellion. Ohioans responded well, and several new regiments were enrolled for a term of three months, thought to be long enough to end the war. The 4th Ohio was organized at Camp Jackson in Columbus
on April 25, 1861, under Isaac Morrow, Colonel, John Beatty, Lieut. Colonel, and J. Warren Keifer
, Major. The regiment moved to newly constructed Camp Dennison
near Cincinnati
on April 28, and served on garrison duty there until June 12, at which time many of the men joined the newly reorganized a three-years' regiment with the same numerical designation. Those three months' men who elected not to join the three-years' regiment were mustered out on July 24.
(now West Virginia
) and then on to Clarksburg
on June 20–25, where it was attached to the 1st Brigade, Army of Occupation, West Virginia, until September. The regiment saw action in the West Virginia Campaign, capturing the Confederate
-held town of Beverly
on July 12. They remained on duty in western Virginia through the balance of the year, fighting in several small skirmishes and battles, including the battles of Rich Mountain
and Cheat Mountain
.
In October, the 3rd OVI was shipped to Louisville, Kentucky
, and served for the rest of the war in the Western Theater
. After wintering near Elizabethtown, Kentucky
, the regiment, then in the army of Ormsby Mitchel, was part of the general advance on Confederate-held
Nashville, Tennessee
, in February 1863. After occupying the city, the 9th moved toward Murfreesboro, Tennessee
, in March. It took part in the Tullahoma Campaign
and assisted in capturing the city of Huntsville, Alabama
, on April 11. The 3rd Ohio remained in Alabama until late August when it was part of the Union forces that pursued Braxton Bragg
's Confederate army during the Kentucky Campaign.
On October 8, 1862, the 3rd Ohio was heavily involved at the Battle of Perryville
. Two weeks later, it marched back to Murfreesboro and remained there through the winter, participating in the Battle of Stones River
at year's end.
In April 1863, the regiment was part of Streight's Raid
to Rome, Georgia
from April 26 until May 3. It was involved in fights at Day's Gap, Sand Mountain, and Crooked Creek and Hog Mountain. Much of the regiment was captured on May 3 near Rome and taken as prisoners of war. The officers and men were sent to Belle Isle
and Libby Prison
. The captives were exchanged later that month and sent northward to Camp Chase
in Columbus, Ohio
, to reorganize.
In June, the 3rd Ohio helped quell the Holmes County Rebellion, and a month later was involved in the pursuit of Morgan's Raid
ers. On August 1, the 3rd OVI was transported to Nashville and then on to Bridgeport, Alabama
, where it was on guard duty until October. Then, it was part of the Union expedition against Confederates under Nathan Bedford Forrest
. On November 27, the regiment was sent to the rear lines to perform garrison duty at Chattanooga, Tennessee
, until June 1864. It was then ordered back to Camp Dennison on June 9, where it mustered out June 23, 1864.
During its term of service, the 3rd Ohio lost 4 officers and 87 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 3 officers and 78 enlisted men by disease, for a total of 172 fatalities.
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...
. It served in several important campaigns in the Western Theater
Western Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, 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 Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
Three-months regiment
With the outbreak of the Civil War, President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
called for 75,000 volunteers to help put down the rebellion. Ohioans responded well, and several new regiments were enrolled for a term of three months, thought to be long enough to end the war. The 4th Ohio was organized at Camp Jackson in Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
on April 25, 1861, under Isaac Morrow, Colonel, John Beatty, Lieut. Colonel, and J. Warren Keifer
J. Warren Keifer
Joseph Warren Keifer was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a prominent U.S. politician during the 1880s. He served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from Ohio from 1877 to 1885 and from 1905 to 1911...
, Major. The regiment moved to newly constructed Camp Dennison
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 Dennison, Ohio's governor at the start of the war.With...
near Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
on April 28, and served on garrison duty there until June 12, at which time many of the men joined the newly reorganized a three-years' regiment with the same numerical designation. Those three months' men who elected not to join the three-years' regiment were mustered out on July 24.
Early service
The three-years 3rd OVI was organized at Camp Dennison on June 12, 1861. After a few days of training and drilling, it moved to Grafton, VirginiaGrafton, West Virginia
Grafton is a city in, and county seat of, Taylor County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 5,489 at the 2000 census. The only two national cemeteries in West Virginia are located in Grafton. Mother's Day was founded in Grafton on May 10, 1908; the city is the home to the International Mother's...
(now West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
) and then on to Clarksburg
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area...
on June 20–25, where it was attached to the 1st Brigade, Army of Occupation, West Virginia, until September. The regiment saw action in the West Virginia Campaign, capturing the Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
-held town of Beverly
Beverly, West Virginia
Beverly is a small town in Randolph County, West Virginia, USA. It is situated along the Tygart Valley River and had a population of 651 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Beverly is located at ....
on July 12. They remained on duty in western Virginia through the balance of the year, fighting in several small skirmishes and battles, including the battles of Rich Mountain
Battle of Rich Mountain
The Battle of Rich Mountain took place on July 11, 1861, in Randolph County, Virginia as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War.-Background:...
and Cheat Mountain
Battle of Cheat Mountain
The Battle of Cheat Mountain, also known as the Battle of Cheat Summit Fort, took place from September 12 to 15, 1861, in Pocahontas County and Randolph County, Virginia as part of the Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of the Civil War in which Robert...
.
In October, the 3rd OVI was shipped to Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, and served for the rest of the war in the Western Theater
Western Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
. After wintering near Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in the state...
, the regiment, then in the army of Ormsby Mitchel, was part of the general advance on Confederate-held
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Nashville, Tennessee
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...
, in February 1863. After occupying the city, the 9th moved toward Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 108,755 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2010 U.S. Census, up from 68,816 residents certified during the 2000 census. The center of population of Tennessee is located in...
, in March. It took part in the Tullahoma Campaign
Tullahoma Campaign
The Tullahoma Campaign or Middle Tennessee Campaign was fought between June 24 and July 3, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Union Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Maj. Gen. William S...
and assisted in capturing the city of Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, on April 11. The 3rd Ohio remained in Alabama until late August when it was part of the Union forces that pursued 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...
's Confederate army during the Kentucky Campaign.
On October 8, 1862, the 3rd Ohio was heavily involved at the Battle of Perryville
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won a...
. Two weeks later, it marched back to Murfreesboro and remained there through the winter, participating in the Battle of Stones River
Battle of Stones River
The Battle of Stones River or 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 Civil War...
at year's end.
In April 1863, the regiment was part of Streight's Raid
Streight's Raid
Streight's Raid took place from 19 April to 3 May, 1863 in northern Alabama. It was led by Colonel Abel D. Streight, who's goal was to destroy parts of the Western and Atlantic railroad, which was supplying the Confederate Army of Tennessee...
to Rome, Georgia
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...
from April 26 until May 3. It was involved in fights at Day's Gap, Sand Mountain, and Crooked Creek and Hog Mountain. Much of the regiment was captured on May 3 near Rome and taken as prisoners of war. The officers and men were sent to Belle Isle
Belle Isle
- Places :In Canada* Belle Isle , an island and strait In England, UK* Belle Isle, an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire* Belle Isle , an island in Lake District, Cumbria...
and Libby Prison
Libby Prison
Libby Prison was a Confederate Prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. It gained an infamous reputation for the harsh conditions under which prisoners from the Union Army were kept.- Overview :...
. The captives were exchanged later that month and sent northward to Camp Chase
Camp Chase
Camp Chase was a military staging, training and prison camp in Columbus, Ohio, during the American Civil War. All that remains of the camp today is a Confederate cemetery containing 2,260 graves. The cemetery is located in what is now the Hilltop neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.- History :Camp Chase...
in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, to reorganize.
In June, the 3rd Ohio helped quell the Holmes County Rebellion, and a month later was involved in the pursuit of Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
ers. On August 1, the 3rd OVI was transported to Nashville and then on to Bridgeport, Alabama
Bridgeport, Alabama
Bridgeport is a small city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States. At the time of 2000 census the population was 2,728. Bridgeport is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area.-History:...
, where it was on guard duty until October. Then, it was part of the Union expedition against Confederates under Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
. On November 27, the regiment was sent to the rear lines to perform garrison duty at Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
, until June 1864. It was then ordered back to Camp Dennison on June 9, where it mustered out June 23, 1864.
During its term of service, the 3rd Ohio lost 4 officers and 87 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 3 officers and 78 enlisted men by disease, for a total of 172 fatalities.
See also
- Ohio in the Civil WarOhio in the Civil WarDuring 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 politically and logistically important to the war effort...
- 148th Infantry Regiment (United States)148th Infantry Regiment (United States)The 148th Infantry Regiment, Ohio Army National Guard, is a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System, with headquarters at Lima, Ohio...
Further reading
- Ohio Roster Commission. Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861–1865, compiles under the direction of the Roster commission. 12 vol. Akron: Werner Co., 1886–95.