The 51st 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 ...

of 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

The 51st Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at

Camp Meigs Camp Meigs is a former American Civil War training camp that existed from 1862 to 1865 in Readville, Massachusetts. It was combined from the former Camp Brigham (formed to train the 18th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry) and Camp Massaso ...

Dover, Ohio Dover is a city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States, along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 13,112 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately south of Cleveland, west of Pittsburgh, and northeast of the state capital of Col ...

, on September 17, 1861, mustered for three years of service on October 26, 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 ...

Thomas Stanley Matthews Thomas Stanley Matthews (July 21, 1824 – March 22, 1889), known as Stanley Matthews in adulthood, was an American Attorney at law, attorney, soldier, judge and Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, senator from O ...

. The regiment was recruited in Coshocton, Darke,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, and Tuscarawas counties. The regiment was attached to the 15th 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 ...

until December 1861 and to the 15th Brigade, 4th Division, Army of the Ohio until March 1862. It was unattached in Nashville, Tennessee, until June 1862, when it went to the 10th Brigade, 4th Division, Army of the Ohio, until July 1862. It was with the 23rd Independent Brigade, Army of the Ohio until August 1862, the 23rd Brigade, 5th Division, Army of the Ohio until September 1862 and the 23rd Brigade, 5th Division,

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

, Army of the Ohio to November 1862. Afterward, it was attached to the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Left Wing,

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

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 The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

until January 1863, to the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXI Corps, Army of the Cumberland until October 1863, the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps until June 1865, the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, IV Corps until August 1865 and the Department of Texas until October 1865. The 51st Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at

Victoria, Texas Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...

, on October 3, 1865. The regiment was discharged in

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 ...

, on November 3, 1865.

Detailed service

Adapted fro
Ohio in the Civil War: 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens

1862

* Moved to Wellsville November 3, thence to

Louisville 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. ...

, Kentucky, and had duty there until December 10. * Duty at Camp Wickliffe, Kentucky., until February 1862. * Expedition down the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

to reinforce General Grant, thence to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Tennessee, February 14–25. * Occupation of Nashville February 25. Provost duty there until July 9. * Moved to Tullahoma, Tennessee, and joined Nelson's Division. * March to Louisville, Kentucky, in pursuit of

Bragg Bragg may refer to: Places *Bragg City, Missouri, United States *Bragg, Texas, a ghost town, United States *Bragg, West Virginia, an unincorporated community, United States *Electoral district of Bragg, a state electoral district in South Australia ...

August 21-September 26. * Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–22. *

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the A ...

, Kentucky, October 8. * March to Nashville, Tennessee, October 22-November 7, and duty there until December 26. * Dobbins' Ferry, near Lawrence, December 9. * Advance on Murfreesboro December 26–30. *

Battle of Stones River The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the Ame ...

December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863.

1863

* Duty at Murfreesboro until June. Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. * At McMinnville until August 16. * Passage of Cumberland Mountain and Tennessee River and Chickamauga Campaign August 16-September 22. *

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...

September 19–20. * Siege of Chattanooga, Tennessee, September 24-November 23. * Reopening Tennessee River October 26–29. * Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. * Lookout Mountain November 23–24. * Missionary Ridge November 25. * Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge November 27. * Duty at Whiteside until January 1864.

1864

* Reenlisted January 1, 1864. * At Blue Springs, near Cleveland, until May. * Atlanta Campaign May to September. * Tunnel Hill May 6–7. * Demonstration on Rocky Face Ridge and Dalton May 8–13. * Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8–9. * Battle of Resaca May 14–15. * Near Kingston May 18–19. * Near Cassville May 19. * Advance on

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

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. * Assault on Kennesaw June 27. * Ruff's Station, Smyrna Campground, July 4. * Chattahoochee River July 5–17. * 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

John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the dec ...

in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29-November 3. * Moved to Pulaski, Tenn. * Nashville Campaign November–December. * Columbia, Duck River, November 24–27. * Battle of Franklin November 30. *

Battle of Nashville The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1 ...

December 15–16. * Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17–28. * Moved to

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

, Alabama, and duty there until March 1865.

1865

* Operations in eastern Tennessee March 15-April 22. * Duty at Nashville, Tennessee, until June. * Ordered to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, La., June 16, thence to Texas. * Duty at Indianola, Green Lake and Victoria, Texas, to October."

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 346 men during service; 4 officers and 108 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 233 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel William P. N. Fitzgerald - appointed and resigned October 14, 1861 * Colonel Thomas

Stanley Matthews (judge) Thomas Stanley Matthews (July 21, 1824 – March 22, 1889), known as Stanley Matthews in adulthood, was an American attorney, soldier, judge and Republican senator from Ohio who became an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, ...

- commissioned October 23, 1861, and resigned April 11, 1863 * Colonel Richard W. McClain - commanded at the battles of Perryville and Stones River as

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

; promoted to colonel, April 14, 1863, and resigned September 30, 1864 * Colonel Charles H. Wood - commanded at the battle of Nashville as lieutenant colonel, promoted to colonel January 20, 1865 mustered out with unit October 3, 1865 * Colonel David W. Marshall - appointed regimental commander as lieutenant colonel

Notes and references

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Helwig, Simon. ''The Capture and Prison Life in Rebeldom for Fourteen Months of Simon Helwig, late Private Co. F. 51st O.V.I.'' (Canal Dover, OH: Bixler Printing Company), n.d. * 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. * Reid, Whitelaw. ''Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers'' (Cincinnati, OH: Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin), 1868. * Schaar, Nancy Boothe. ''Letters from the 51st OVI'' (New Philadelphia, OH: Tuscarawas County Genealogical Society), 2001. ;Attribution *

References

External links

Ohio in the Civil War: 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens

National flag of the 51st Ohio Infantry

National flag of the 51st Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry

51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company B living history organization
{{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