The 16th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Service

Three-months regiment

The 16th Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, in response to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers and mustered into service on May 3, 1861, under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

James Irvine. The regiment moved to

western Virginia Western Virginia is a geographic region in Virginia comprising the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Generally, areas in Virginia located west of, or (in many cases) within, the piedmont region are considered part of western Virginia. T ...

, May 25, and occupied Grafton on May 30. It participated in the West Virginia Campaign June 1-July 17, seeing action at Phillippi June 3. The regiment was reported at Bowman's Place June 29 and was involved in the pursuit of Garnett July 7–12. Ordered back to Columbus and mustered out August 18, 1861.

Three-years regiment

The 16th Ohio Infantry was reorganized at

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. It is located east of Columbus and had a population of 24,765 as of the 2020 census, down from 25,487 as of the 2010 census. Historically the state capita ...

, Camp Tiffin in

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at t ...

, and

Camp Chase Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp established in Columbus, Ohio in May 1861 after the start of the American Civil War. It also included a large Union-operated prison camp for Confederate prisoners during the American Civil War ...

in Columbus beginning September 23, 1861, and mustered in for three years service on December 2, 1861, under the command of Colonel John F. DeCourcey. The regiment was attached to 12th Brigade,

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 1st Army of the Ohio General Orders No. 97 appointed Maj. Gen. Do ...

, to March 1862. 26th Brigade, 7th Division, Army of the Ohio, to October 1862. 4th Brigade, Cumberland Gap Division, District of West Virginia,

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. 1st Department 1861–1862 Genera ...

, to November 1862. 3rd Brigade, 9th Division, Right Wing, XIII Corps,

Department of the Tennessee Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, to December 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Sherman's Yazoo Expedition, to January 1863. 3rd Brigade, 9th Division, XIII Corps, Army of the Tennessee, to February 1863. 2nd Brigade, 9th Division, XIII Corps, to July 1863. 4th Brigade, 1st Division, XIII Corps, Department of the Tennessee, to August 1863, and

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was cons ...

to September 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XIII Corps, Department of the Gulf, to March 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, XIII Corps, to June 1864. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XIX Corps, to October 1864. The 16th Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at Columbus, Ohio, on October 31, 1864, on the expiration of the term of service. Recruits were transferred to the 114th Ohio Infantry.

Detailed service

Moved to Camp Dennison, Ohio, November 28, then to Lexington, Ky., December 19. Moved to Somerset, Ky., January 12, 1862. March to support of Gen. Thomas at battle of Mill Springs, Ky., January 18–20, 1862. Duty at Somerset until January 31. March to London, then to Cumberland Ford January 31-February 12, repairing and rebuilding roads. Reconnaissance toward Cumberland Gap March 21–23. Skirmish at Elrod's Ridge March 22. Cumberland Gap Campaign March 28-June 18. Cumberland Mountain April 28. Cumberland Gap April 29. Occupation of Cumberland Gap June 18-September 15. Action at Wilson's Gap June 18. Tazewell July 26 and August 6. Operations about Cumberland Gap September 2–6. Evacuation of Cumberland Gap and retreat to the Ohio River September 17-October 3. Action at West Liberty September 26. Expedition to Charleston, W. Va., October 21-November 10. Ordered to Memphis, Tenn.. November 10. Sherman's Yazoo Expedition December 20, 1862, to January 3, 1863. Chickasaw Bayou December 26–28, 1862. Chickasaw Bluffs December 29. Expedition to Arkansas Post, Ark., January 3–10, 1863. Assault and capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Post, January 10–11. Moved to Young's Point, La., January 15, thence to Milliken's Bend March 8. Operations from Milliken's Bend to New Carthage March 31-April 17. Movement on

Bruinsburg, Mississippi Bruinsburg is a ghost town in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. It was located on the south bank of Bayou Pierre, east of the Mississippi River. The town's port, Bruinsburg Landing, was located directly on the Mississippi River, ju ...

, and turning Grand Gulf April 25–30. Battle of Thompson's Hill, Grand Gulf, May 1. Battle of Champion Hill May 16. Big Black River May 17. Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 5–10. Near Clinton July 8. Siege of Jackson July 10–17. Ordered to New Orleans, La., August 13, and duty there until September 6. At Brashear City until October 3. Western Louisiana Campaign October 3-November 18. Moved to DeCrow Point, Matagorda Bay, Texas, November 18–28, and duty there until January 1864, and at Matagorda Island until April. Moved to New Orleans, La., April 18, then to Alexandria, La., April 23. Red River Campaign April 26-May 22. Construction of dam at Alexandria April 30-May 10. Graham's Plantation April 5. Retreat to Morganza May 13–20. Mansura May 16. Expedition to the Atchafalaya May 30-June 6. Duty at Morganza until October. Ordered to Columbus, Ohio, October 6.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 286 men during service; 2 officers and 68 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 4 officers and 217 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel James Irvine (3 months regiment) * Colonel John Fitzroy De Courcy, 31st

Baron Kingsale Baron Kingsale is a title of the premier baron in the Peerage of Ireland. The feudal barony dates to at least the thirteenth century. The first peerage creation was by writ. Name and precedence In the early times the name was "Kinsale" or " ...

- resigned March 3, 1864 *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Eli W. Botsford - commanded at the battle of Champion Hill

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Ohio Roster Commission. ''Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861–1865, Compiled Under the Direction of the Roster Commission'' (Akron, OH: Werner Co.), 1886–1895. * Pierson, Enos. ''Proceedings of ... Reunions Held by the 16th Regiment, OVI: Including Roll of Honor, Roster of the Survivors of the Regiment, Statistics, etc., etc.'' (Millersburg, OH: Republican Steam Press), 1887. * Reid, Whitelaw. ''Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers'' (Cincinnati, OH: Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin), 1868. ;Attribution *

External links

Ohio in the Civil War: 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens

National flag of the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry

Regimental flag of the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (probably first issue)

Regimental flag of the 16th Ohio Infantry

{{Ohio in the Civil War Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1864 1864 disestablishments in Ohio Units and formations of the Union Army from Ohio 1861 establishments in Ohio