The 20th 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 20th 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 ...

April through May 1861 in response to President Lincoln's call for

75,000 volunteers On April 15, 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for a 75,000-man militia to serve for three months following the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter. Some southern states refused to send tro ...

and mustered into service on May 23, 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 ...

Charles Whittlesey. The regiment was ordered to western Virginia and attached to Kelley's Command. It participated in action at Richter June 23 and the pursuit of Garnett July 15–16. The regiment then performed duty along Baltimore & Ohio Railroad until August and mustered out on August 23, 1861.

Three-years regiment

The 20th Ohio Infantry was reorganized at Columbus August 19 through September 21, 1861, and mustered in for three years service on October 21, 1861, under the command of Colonel Charles Whittlesey. The regiment was attached to 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division,

Army of the Tennessee An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, February to May 1862. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Tennessee, to July 1862. Unattached, District of Jackson, Tennessee, to November 1862. 2nd Brigade, 3rd 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. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, XVII Corps, Army of the Tennessee and

Army of Georgia The Army of Georgia was a Union army that constituted the Left Wing of Major General William T. Sherman's Army Group during the March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. History During Sherman's Atlanta Campaign in 1864, his Army Group wa ...

, to July 1865. The 20th Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, on July 18, 1865.

Detailed service

The detailed service of the three-year 20th OVI is as follows:

1861

Moved to Camp King near Covington, Ky., and mustered in October 21. Duty at Covington and Newport, Ky., until February 11, 1862.

1862

Investment and capture of Fort Donelson, Tenn., February 14–16, 1862. Expedition toward Purdy and operations about Crump's Landing, Tenn., March 9–14. Battle of Shiloh, Tenn., April 6–7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29 – May 30. Guard duty at Pittsburg Landing until June, and at Bolivar, Tenn., until September. Action at Bolivar August 30. Duty in the District of Jackson until November. Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign November 2, 1862, to January 10, 1863. Action at Holly Springs, Miss., December 21, 1862.

1863

Lafayette, Tenn., January 14, 1863. Moved to Memphis, Tenn., January 26, thence to Lake Providence, La., February 22, and duty there until April. Movement on Bruinsburg and turning Grand Gulf April 25–30. Battle of Port Gibson, Miss., May 1. Forty Hills and Hankinson's Ferry May 3–4. Battle of Raymond May 12. Jackson May 14. Champion Hill May 16. Siege of Vicksburg May 18 to July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19–22. Surrender of Vicksburg July 4. Duty at Vicksburg until February 1864. Stevenson's Expedition to Monroe, La., August 20 – September 2, 1863. Expedition to Canton October 14–20. Bogue Chitto Creek October 17.

1864

Regiment reenlisted January 1, 1864. Meridian Campaign February 3 – March 2. Canton February 26. Veterans on furlough March and April. Moved to Clifton, Tenn., then marched to Ackworth, Ga., April 29 – June 9. Atlanta Campaign June 9 to September 8. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10 – July 2. Assault on Kennesaw June 27, Nickajack Creek July 2–5. Howell's Ferry July 5. Chattahoochie River July 6–17. Leggett's or Bald Hill July 20–21. Battle of Atlanta July 22. Siege of Atlanta July 22 – August 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Sandtown August 28. Battle of Jonesboro August 31 – September 2. Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. Operations against Hood in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29 – November 3. March to the sea November 15 – December 10. Siege of Savannah December 10–21.

1865

Campaign of the Carolinas January to April 1865. Pocotaligo, S.C., January 14. Barker's Mills, Whippy Swamp, February 2. Salkehatchie Swamp February 3–5. South Edisto River February 9. North Edisto River February 11–13. Columbia February 16–17. Battle of Bentonville, N.C., March 20–21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10–14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29 – May 20.

Grand Review of the Armies The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in the national capital city of Washington, D.C., on May 23–24, 1865, following the Union victory in the American Civil War (1861–1865). Elements of the Union Army in the ...

May 24. Moved to Louisville, Ky., June.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 360 men during service; 2 officers and 87 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 4 officers and 267 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Charles Whittlesey * Colonel Manning Ferguson Force *

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 ...

Francis M. Shaklee – commanded at Vicksburg after Col Force was promoted to brigade command

Notable members

* Private Henry Casey, Company C –

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient for action at Vicksburg, May 22, 1863 *

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Manning F. Force Manning Ferguson Force (December 17, 1824 - May 8, 1899) was a lawyer, judge, and soldier from Ohio. He became known as the commander of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and was a recipient of th ...

– Medal of Honor recipient for action at the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864 File:20-13-021-force-cropped.jpg, Bronze relief portrait of

Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi (flanking the Mississippi River), also commemorates the greater ...

File:20-13-418-vicksburg.jpg, 20th Ohio Memorial at

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Ohio in the Civil War: 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens

National flag of the 20th Ohio Infantry

Regimental flag of the 20th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry

{{Ohio in the Civil War Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union Army from Ohio 1861 establishments in Ohio