The 45th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 45th 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 45th Ohio Infantry was organized at 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...

 August 19, 1862 and mustered in for three years service under the command of Colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 Benjamin Piatt Runkle

Benjamin Piatt Runkle

Benjamin Piatt Runkle, was one of the original seven founders of Sigma Chi fraternity at Miami University, as well as a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War.Runkle was born in West Liberty, Ohio...

.

The regiment was attached to 3rd Division, Army of Kentucky, Department of the Ohio

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.General Orders No...

, September and October 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of Kentucky, to January 1863. District of Central Kentucky, Department of the Ohio, to June 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XXIII Corps, Department of the Ohio, to July 1863. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XXIII Corps, to August 1863. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, XXIII Corps, to October 1863. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, XXIII Corps, to December 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division Cavalry Corps, Department of the Ohio, to April 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XXIII Corps, to June 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, XXIII Corps, June 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps, 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:...

, to June 1865.

The 45th Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at 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...

 on June 12, 1865. Recruits were transferred to the 51st Ohio Infantry

51st Ohio Infantry

The 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 51st Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Meigs in Dover, Ohio beginning September 17, 1861 and mustered in for three years service on October 26, 1861 under the command of Colonel...

.

Detailed service

Ordered to Cynthiana, Ky., August 19; then moved to Covington. Ky., and defense of Cincinnati, Ohio, against threatened attack by Kirby Smith. Duty at Lexington, Ky., October 1862 to January 1863. Moved to Danville, Ky., January 25, and duty there until March. Operations in central Kentucky against Cluke's forces February 18-March 5. Regiment mounted at Danville and Brigaded with 7th Ohio Cavalry

7th Ohio Cavalry

The 7th Regiment, Ohio Cavalry was a regiment of Union cavalry raised in southern Ohio for service during the American Civil War. Nicknamed the "River Regiment" as its men came from nine counties along the Ohio River, it served in the Western Theater in several major campaigns of the Army of the...

 and 10th Kentucky Cavalry

10th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry

The 10th Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 10th Kentucky Cavalry was organized at Covington, Lexington, and Crab Orchard, Kentucky from September 8 through November 11, 1862...

. Operations against Pegram March 22-April 1. Action at Dutton's Hill, near Somerset, March 30. Expedition to Monticello and operations in southeastern Kentucky April 26-May 12. Monticello May 1. Skirmishes about Monticello April 28-May 2. Waitsborough June 6. Monticello and Rocky Gap June 9. West Farm June 9. Operations against Morgan July 2–26. Columbia July 3. Buffington Island, Ohio. July 19. Cheshire and Coal Hill July 20. Operations in eastern Kentucky against Scott's forces July 25-August 6. Burnside's Campaign in eastern Tennessee August 16-October 17. Winter's Gap August 31. Near Sweetwater September 6. Athens, Calhoun, and Charleston September 25. Near Philadelphia October 15. Philadelphia October 20. Jones' Hill October 26–27. Knoxville Campaign November 4-December 23. Marysville November 14. Rockford November 14. Stock Creek November 15. Holston River November 15. Near Knoxville November 16. Skirmishes about Kingston November 16–23. Siege of Knoxville November 17-December 5. Skirmishes at and near Bean's Station December 9–15. Russellsville December 10. Bean's Station December 10–14-15. Rutledge December 16. Blain's Cross Roads December 16–19. Operations about Dandridge January 26–28, 1864. Near Fair Garden January 27. At Cumberland Gap until February 8. At Mt. Sterling, Ky., until April 6, when dismounted. March to Knoxville, then moved to Cleveland, Tenn., April 6-May 5. Atlanta Campaign May to September. Demonstrations on Dalton May 9–13. 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 Kennesaw Mountains June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Muddy Creek June 17. Noyes' Creek June 19. Kolb's Farm June 23. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5–17. Peachtree Creek July 19–20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. Operations against Hood in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29-November 3. Moved to Pulaski, Tenn., Nashville Campaign, November-December. Columbia, Duck River, November 24–27. Battle of Franklin November 30. Battle of Nashville December 15–16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17–28. Moved to Huntsville, Ala., and duty there until March 1865. Operations in eastern Tennessee March 15-April 22. At Nashville, Tenn., until June.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 339 men during service; 5 officers and 58 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 275 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

• Colonel Benjamin Piatt Runkle
• Lieutenant Colonel
  Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
  In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
  
   John H. Humphrey - commanded at the Battle of Nashville

See also

• List of Ohio Civil War units
• Ohio in the Civil War
  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 politically and logistically important to the war effort...
  
  

External links

• Ohio in the Civil War: 45th Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens
• Site dedicated to the history of the 45th Ohio Infantry
• National flag of the 45th Ohio Infantry (probably first issue)
• National flag of the 45th Ohio Infantry (probably second issue)
• National flag of the 45th Ohio Infantry (probably last issue)
• Regimental flag of the 45th Ohio Infantry
• Flag identified as "camp colors" of the 45th Ohio Infantry (most likely a left or right general guide)
• Another flag identified as "camp colors" of the 45th Ohio Infantry (most likely a left or right general guide)