15th Ohio Volunteer Infantry

Welcome To Our New and Updated Home Page IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS THAT WE LEARN OF THE PASSING OF 49TH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY HISTORIAN RICHARD MANN. DICK WAS A GREAT FRIEND WHO SHARED INFORMATION WITH US FOR MANY YEARS AND ALWAYS ENCOURAGED OUR WORK TO LEARN MORE AND TELL THE STORY OF OUR GALLANT REGIMENTS. HE WILL BE DEEPLY MISSED. REST IN PEACE, MY FRIEND. This page will serve as both a history of the 15th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and the homepage of the Willich's Brigade Descendants Association. Please note that this is a work in progress with new items being added as time permits. We finally have located some information on Colonel William Wallace. We have searched for him for years and we finally tracked him down. He died in Philadelphia in 1886 and is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery. We were also very lucky in locating his great-great-grandaughter, who is going to provide us with some biographical information in the near future. Once this information arrives, I will create a seperate page for Col. Wallace and Col. Askew. We are very grateful for all of those ancestors who have contacted us and in many cases have provided us with photos, diaries, journals and letters. Just this past week, (July 27, 2009) the great-great-grandson of Co. G's James McMeeken, Rob Geiger, has contacted us and has sent us photos of his ancestor, reunions ribbons, letters and newspaper clippings and has given us permission to post these on our website to share with other interested ancestors. We greatly appreciate his willingness to share these historic items with us. I'll be working this week to add these items to our website. Thanks, Rob! ANCESTOR REUNION? We have been kicking around the idea of a future "Ancestor Reunion" for not only the 15th Ohio but the entire Brigade as well. It would be at least 2011 before this could be done--the 150th Anniversary of the formation of the Regiment. First, of course, would anyone be interested? Second would be a gathering place. Should it be in Ohio, such as St. Clairsville or Mansfield, where most of the regiment was originally from? Or how about Chickamauga? It would be nice to have a picnic/BBQ for everyone, special displays concerning the regiment/brigade and if at Chickamauga, a tour of the battlefields. As I live in California, it would certainly take some doing to put this together but I'm willing if you are. Let me hear from you at rfbundy31@hotmail.com and let me know what you think! Let's honor our boys in blue and tell their story. NEW BOOKS ARRIVING SOON Two new books are due out soon. The first is Dick Mann's History of the 49th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The 49th was the sister regiment of the 15th's. We are hopeing to see this book by late summer or early fall. This book will be a great addition to the history of Willich's Brigade. Another book based on the letters of the Cope family of Belmont County is in the early stages. The author is Jon-Erik Gilot and we can look for his book near the end of the year or early 2010. We'll keep you informed. ONLINE CEMETERY Rob Geiger suggested that we add an online cemetery page to show pictures of tombstones of members of the 15th Ohio. Great idea! It has been added. If you have a picture of a gravestone of a member of the regiment, please send it to us to be added to the page. And let's take one step further. If you have an obituary of any member of the regiment, please send that also. Thanks! (July 28, 2009) RECENT ADDITIONS November 23, 2009--A newly found CDV of 15th Ohio Surgeon William Clark has been sent to us by Bob Van Dorn along with his permission to post it on this site. (Note the black armband in honor of President Lincoln). Bob has sent us many of the CDV's that appear on our website and we greatly appreicate it! November 12, 2009-Four more headstones have been found by Rob Geiger. Askew and Straub of Co. G and Shephard and Cummins of Co. I. It was Rob's idea to add the cemetery pages and it has been a great success! Thank's Rob! October 9, 2009--A photo of Frank Schreiber-Co. A-courtesy of Peter Wood-great-great grandson of Mr. Schreiber. On Brigade Photo page September 6, 2009--Rob Geiger sent in two more gravestones. Eyerly and Cole--Co. G--Mansfield Cemetery August 6, 2009--Ancestor Reunion page added. August 6, 2009--A list of 15th Ohio Soldiers who died at Andersonville Prison in Georgia has been added on the Brigade Stories page. July 28, 2009--An email from Jim Heilman giving information from his ancestors family ledger has been added at the bottom of the Lucius Doolittle page. July 2, 2009-A copy of the diary of Co. A's Frank Schreiber has been found by his great-great-grandson Peter Wood of Tennessee. This diary was used by Alex Cope in the writing of the regimental history of the 15th Ohio. This is a great find, with many interesting insights into the history of the regiment. March 2009-- New photos of 15th Ohio Officers--Alex Cope, Colin Leiter, Robert Cochran and Moses Dickey have been added courtesy of Robert Van Dorn. These are beautiful views with Leiter photo being exceptional in that it shows a Corps badge on his hat. Our thanks go out to Bob for allowing us to post his photos. (One note--We ask that no one duplicate any photos found on this website. Most are from private collectors who have graciously allowed us to post them here. It would not be legal or proper to reproduce these photos without permission. Thank you in advance for your consideration.) February 8, 2009-An old 1900 photo of Major Wilbur Goodspeed, Battery A, First Ohio Light Artillery has been found in a reunion book of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland. It can be viewed on the Biography page. October 9, 2008--A great new picture was located by Richard Mann of Fostoria, Ohio. It shows the 15th Ohio being presented with a flag in 1861. This would be the 90-day 15th Ohio Infantry. This picture is a rare find--the first we have ever seen and is posted on this page. Our thanks go out to Dick for sending this picture to us. June 23, 2008--Journal kept by Captain Doolittle of Co. G courtesy of Jim Heilman. Click on Doolittle Journal on the left. June 8, 2008--We have identified the location of the great 1902 reunion photo. This photo was sent to us by Jim Heilman, great grandson of Captain L.O. Doolittle. Thanks, Jim! Click on Brigade Photos on the left.
	BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS Mustered in Mansfield, Ohio September 12, 1861 Camp Nevin, Kentucky--October 31, 1861 Camp Wood, Kentucky--Nov. 1-Dec. 31, 1861 SHILOH, TN----------------APRIL 6-7, 1862 Near Corinth, Mississippi--April, 1862 Huntsville, Alabama--May-August 1862 With Army on march--Sept./Oct. 1862 STONE RIVER, TN--------DEC. 31, 1862-JAN. 2, 1863 Camp Sill-Murfreesboro, Tenn-Jan/June 1863 LIBERTY GAP, TN--------JUNE 25-26, 1863 CHICKAMAUGA, GA----SEPTEMBER 19-20, 1863 MISSION RIDGE, TN----NOVEMBER 25, 1863 Strawberry Plains, TN--January 1, 1864 Veteran Infantry--Furloughed Feb/March, 1864 Camp Chase, Ohio-March 13, 1864 Nashville, TN--March 22, 1864 Chattanooga, TN--April 5, 1864 ROCKEY FACE RIDGE, GA-MAY 5-9, 1864 RESACA, GA------------MAY 13-16, 1864 CASSVILLE, GA--------MAY 19-22, 1864 PICKETT'S MILL, GA--MAY 27, 1864 KENESAW MOUNTAIN, GA--JUNE 9-30, 1864 PEACHTREE CREEK, GA--JULY 20, 1864 ATLANTA, GA---------JULY 22, 1864 LOVEJOY'S STATION, GA--SEPT. 2-6, 1864 FRANKLIN, TN-------NOVEMBER 30, 1864 NASHVILLE, TN------DECEMBER 15-16, 1864 Huntsville, Alabama---Nov.1864-Feb. 1865 Camp Harker, Nashville, Tenn.--March-April 1865 New Orleans, Louisiana--May-June 1865 Texas Campaign--June-November 1865
COL. HUNT PRESENTING THE AMERICAN FLAG TO CAPT. P.A. TYLER COMPANY G, 15TH OHIO INFANTRY APRIL 23, 1861 (Upper Sandusky, Wyandot Co. Pictorial Memories 1976--Watkins Printing Co.) This great picture was located by Richard Mann--historian/author-49th Ohio Volunteer Infantry) The Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was among the first troops to respond to President Lincoln's call for troops in April 1861. The troops assembled at Camp Jackson, Columbus, Ohio and were mustered into the service of the State to date from April 27, 1861. Four days later, the Regiment removed to Zanesville, Ohio. The Regiment was used to guard the B&O Railroad in Western Virginia and were engaged at Philippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford. With its term about to expire, the regiment was reorganized into a three year unit. In September of 1861, the unit began to gather at Mansfield, Ohio. Moses R. Dickey was named Colonel. William T. Wilson served as Lt. Col. and William Wallace as Major. The regiment was fully orgainzed by September 20, 1861 and was mustered into service on September 21st with equipment being issued on the 22nd. The regiment arrived in Columbus, Ohio on September 26 and moved the next day to Camp Dennison. Colonel Dickey resigned on October 24, 1862, reportedly because command of the brigade was given to General August Willich. In April of 1863, a copy of the Mansfield Shield and Banner newspaper arrived in camp containing a speech by Col. Dickey which the men of the regiment felt was unpatriotic. On the evening of April 16th, men from the 15th Ohio, 49th Ohio and 32nd Indiana gathered and wrote a response to the paper denouncing Col. Dickey's speech. William Wallace took command of the regiment and led it in the fighting at Shiloh in April of 1862 (Col. Dickey was absent) and Stone River. Following that campaign, Wallace returned to Ohio because of ill health and took command of Camp Chase, a prison camp outside of Columbus. Col. Askew was left in command of the regiment and led it throughout the remainder of the war. Col. Wallace returned briefly for the Atlanta Campaign but was mustered out after hurting his back in a severe fall at Pickett's Mill. The most well known and honored commander of the 15th Ohio was Frank Askew of Belmont Co. Ohio. His father was a harnessmaker in Barnesville. Askew attended the University of Michigan in 1859 with the hopes of becoming a lawyer. With the outbreak of the war, he enlisted in the 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a 90-day unit. At the end of his initial enlistment, he reenlisted as a Captain in the 15th Ohio. Askew was wounded and captured at the Battle of Stone River but was left behind by his captors when the Confederate Army retreated from Murfreesboro. He reported back for duty in May of 1863 as commander of the regiment. He led the regiment, except for a brief period in the early part of the Atlanta Campaign when Col. Wallace returned, for the rest of the war. He was wounded again at Nashville but did not leave the field. His appointment to Colonel and later Bvt. Brig. General, was met with get satisfaction with the men of the regiment who trusted Col. Askew as a "man of unusual skill and efficiency and a man of unusual qualifications and fitness for higher command."
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