The 47th 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 ...

. The regiment had 14 Medal of Honor recipients, the most of any Ohio regiment during the war.

Service

The 47th Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at

Camp Dennison Camp Dennison was a military recruiting, training, and medical post for the United States Army during the American Civil War. It was located near Cincinnati, Ohio, not far from the Ohio River. The camp was named for Cincinnati native William De ...

near

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and mustered on August 13, 1861, for three years service 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 ...

Frederick Poschner. The regiment was attached to McCook's Brigade, Kanawha District, West Virginia, to October 1861. 1st Brigade, Kanawha Division, West Virginia, to March 1862. 2nd Brigade, Kanawha Division, West Virginia, to May 1862. 3rd Brigade, Kanawha Division, West Virginia, to August 1862. District of the Kanawha, 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 December 1862. Ewing's Brigade, Kanawha Division, West Virginia, to January 1863. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division,

XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) * XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * 15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I *XV Royal Bav ...

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 ...

, to October 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XV Corps, to June 1865. Department of Arkansas to August 1865. The 47th Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, on August 11, 1865.

Detailed service

1861

* Ordered to Clarksburg, Va., August 27; then moved to Weston August 29. * Battle of Carnifex Ferry, Va., September 10, 1861. * Advance to Camp Lookout and Big Sewell Mountain September 24–26. * Retreat to Camp Anderson October 6–9. * Operations in the Kanawha Valley and New River Region October 19-November 16. * Moved to Gauley Bridge December 6, and duty there until April 23, 1862.

1862

* Expedition to Lewisburg April 23-May 10. * Moved to Meadow Bluff May 29. * Expedition to Salt Sulphur Springs June 22–25. * Duty there until August. * Moved to Gauley Bridge, thence to Summerville September 3. * Campaign in the Kanawha Valley September 6–16. * Retreat to Gauley Bridge September 10. * Cotton Hill, Loop Creek, and Armstrong's Creek September 11. * Charleston September 12. * Duty at Point Pleasant and in the Kanawha Valley until December.

1863

* Ordered to Louisville, Ky., December 30; then to Memphis, Tenn., and to Young's Point, La., January 21, 1863. * Expedition to Rolling Fork via Muddy, Steele's, and Black Bayous and Deer Creek March 14–27. * Demonstrations on Haines and Drumgould's Bluffs April 29-May 2. * Moved to Join army in rear of Vicksburg, Miss., May 2–14 via Richmond and Grand Gulf. * Siege of Vicksburg May 18-July 4. * Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. * Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 4–10. * Siege of Jackson, Miss., July 10–17. * At Camp Sherman, Big Black, until September 26. * Moved to Memphis, Tenn., then march to Chattanooga September 26-November 21. * Operations on Memphis & Charleston Railroad in Alabama October 20–29. * Bear Creek, Tuscumbia, October 27. * Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. * Tunnel Hill November 23–24. * Missionary Ridge November 25. * Pursuit to Graysville November 26–27. * March to relief of Knoxville November 28-December 8. * Return to Bellefonte, Ala., then moved to Larkins' Landing, Ala.

1864

* Reconnaissance to Rome January 25-February 5, 1864. * Reenlisted March 8. Veterans on furlough March 18-May 3. * Atlanta Campaign May to September. Demonstrations on Resaca May 8–13. * Near Resaca May 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 Mountain June 10-July 2. * Assault on Kennesaw June 27. * Nickajack Creek July 2–5. * Ruff's Mills July 3–4. * Chattahoochie River July 5–17. * Battle of Atlanta July 22. * 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. * Turkeytown and Gadsden Road October 25. * March to the sea November 15-December 10. * Siege of Savannah December 10–21. * Fort McAllister December 13.

1865

* Campaign of the Carolinas January to April 1865. * Cannon's Bridge, South Edisto River, S.C., February 8. * North Edisto River February 12–13. * Columbia February 15–17. * Battle of Bentonville, N.C., March 20–21. * Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. * Advance on Raleigh April 10–14. * Bennett's House April 26. * Surrender of Johnston and his army. * March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 30. *

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; then to Little Rock, Ark., and duty there until August.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 219 men during service; 2 officers and 80 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 136 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Frederick Poschner * Colonel Lyman S. Elliott * Colonel Augustus Commodore Parry

Notable members

* Private Christian Albert, Company G -

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. ...

—Participating in a diversionary "

forlorn hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the kill zone of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defende ...

" attack on Confederate defenses, 22 May 1863. * Private Frederick A. Ballen, Company B - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863 * 1st Sergeant John H. Brown, Company A - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the

siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

, May 19, 1863. * Assistant Surgeon Andrew Davidson - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863. * Corporal Richard W. De Witt, Company D - Medal of Honor —Participating in a diversionary "

" attack on Confederate defenses, 22 May 1863. * Private John N. Eckes, Company E - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Private

Thomas Guinn Thomas Guinn (1836 – 1908) was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Siege of Vicksburg on May 22, 1863. Union assault On May 22, 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered a ...

, Company D - Medal of Honor — Participating in the same "forlorn hope." * Private John Hack, Company B - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863. * Private Addison J. Hodges, Company B - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863. * Corporal Henry Lewis, Company B - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863. * Corporal Henry H. Nash, Company B - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863. * Private Henry C. Peters, Company B - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863. * Private Peter Sype, Company B - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863. *

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 ...

William Henry Ward William Henry Ward on 30 April 1872 was granted a USA patent for "Improvement for collecting electricity for telegraphing" (). He theorized that an "electrical layer in the atmosphere" could carry signals like a telegraph wire, and thus is sometimes ...

, Company B - Medal of Honor recipient for action during the siege of Vicksburg, May 3, 1863.

Notes

References

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External links

Ohio in the Civil War: 47th Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens

National flag of the 47th Ohio Infantry (with streamers probably created after the war)

National flag of the 47th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry

Regimental flag of the 47th Ohio Infantry

Regimental flag of the 47th Ohio Infantry (probably second issue)

{{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