The 97th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 97th 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 97th Ohio Infantry was recruited in Coshocton

Coshocton County, Ohio

Coshocton County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,901. Its county seat is Coshocton. Its name comes from the Delaware Indian language and has been translated as "union of waters" or "black bear crossing".The Coshocton...

, Guernsey

Guernsey County, Ohio

Guernsey County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 40,087. Its county seat is Cambridge and is named for the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel, from which many of the county's early settlers came....

, Morgan

Morgan County, Ohio

**----...

, and Muskingum

Muskingum County, Ohio

Muskingum County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 86,074. Its county seat is Zanesville...

 counties, organized at Zanesville, Ohio

Zanesville, Ohio

Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 25,586 at the 2000 census.Zanesville was named after Ebenezer Zane, who had constructed Zane's Trace, a pioneer road through present-day Ohio...

, and mustered in for three years service on September 1, 1862 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...

 John Q. Lane.

The regiment was attached to 21st Brigade, 6th Division, Army of the Ohio

Army of the Ohio

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two 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:...

, September 1862. 21st Brigade, 6th Division, II Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Left Wing, XIV 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 January 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XXI Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to June 1865.

The 97th 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 10, 1865.

Detailed service

Moved to Covington, Ky., September 7, thence to Louisville, Ky., September 20. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–15, 1862. Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8 (reserve). March to Nashville, Tenn., October 16-November 21, and duty there until December 26. Action at Kimbrough's Mill, Mill Creek, December 6. Advance on Murfreesboro December 26–30. Battle of Stones River December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro until June. Reconnaissance to Nolensville and Versailles January 13–15. Expedition to McMinnville April 20–30. Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga Campaign August 16-September 22. Occupation of Chattanooga, September 9. First regiment to enter city and assigned to duty as its garrison. Siege of Chattanooga September 24-November 23. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. Orchard Knob November 23–24. Missionary Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26–27. March to relief of Knoxville, November 28-December 8. Operations in eastern Tennessee until April 1864. Atlanta Campaign May 1 to September 8. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton, Ga., May 8–13. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8–9. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Adairsville May 17. Near Kingston May 18–19. Near Cassville May 19. Advance on Dallas May 22–25. 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 Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Ackworth June 18. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station, Smyrna Camp Ground, July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5–17. Buckhead, Nancy's Creek, July 18. 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. 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. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., and duty there until June.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 254 men during service; 1 officer and 92 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 160 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

• Colonel John Q. Lane
• 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...
  
   Milton Barnes - commanded at the battles of Chickamauga and Nashville
• Captain Clarkson C. Nichols - commanded at the battle of Nashville

Notable members

• 1st Sergeant Alfred Ramsbottom, Company K - Medal of Honor
  Medal of Honor
  The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
  
   recipient for action at the second battle of Franklin

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: 97th Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens
• National flag of the 97th Ohio Infantry
• Regimental flag of the 97th Ohio Infantry