Abram (or Abraham) Sanders Piatt (May 2, 1821 – March 23, 1908) was a wealthy farmer, publisher, poet, politician, and soldier from southern

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

who served as a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

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 ...

. He organized the only

zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

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 ...

from Ohio and later led a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

. In 1864, he and his brother constructed the

Piatt Castles The Piatt Castles are two historic houses near West Liberty in Logan County, Ohio. The houses were built by brothers Donn and Abram S. Piatt in the 1860s and 1870s, designed in a Gothic style. The houses are located and east of West Liberty. ...

, two sprawling chateaux near

West Liberty, Ohio West Liberty is a village in Logan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,805 at the 2010 census. History West Liberty was laid out in 1817. In 1833, West Liberty contained five stores, two taverns, one tannery, a merchant mill, a sa ...

, that are still used today for weddings, meetings, retreats, and other social gatherings.Piatt Castles website
Retrieved 2008-10-24.

Early life and career

Piatt was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Benjamin McCullough Piatt and Elizabeth Barnett. His father was a Federal Circuit Judge and entrepreneur engaged in land development and flat boat trade in Cincinnati, who moved his family to Logan County in 1828. On November 10, 1840, Piatt married his Kentucky-born first cousin Hannah Anna Piatt at the home of his grandfather, Federal Hall, Boone County, Kentucky. They eventually would have eight children. He attended what is now Xavier University before deciding to return home to the Mac-a-cheek Valley in Logan County, Ohio, Logan County, where he became a prosperous farmer. In 1846, Piatt studied law briefly and began editing and publishing the local ''Mac-a-cheek Press'' newspaper.Warner, p. 369. His brother

Donn Piatt Donn Piatt (June 29, 1819November 12, 1891) was an American journalist, military officer, and public official. Born in Cincinnati, Piatt attended schools in Ohio and began contributing to newspapers as a young man. He started his career as a lawy ...

became a staff officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, and after the war edited and published "The Capital," a weekly newspaper in Washington, D.C. that fiercely criticized the administration of President Grant.

Civil War

Piatt's wife Anna died April 10, 1861, in Macochee, Ohio, as the American Civil War was beginning. A grief-stricken Abram became the

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 ...

of the three-months'

13th Ohio Infantry The 13th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Three-months regiment The 13th Ohio Infantry Regiment organized at Columbus, Ohio, on April 20 – May 7, 1861, under Colonel Abram ...

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 ...

on April 30, leaving his children in the care of a servant and his other family members. Later that summer, he raised a new three-years' regiment, the

34th Ohio Infantry The 34th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It primarily served in the Eastern Theater in what is now West Virginia and in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley region. They are w ...

, and clothed and fed them for a month and six days with his own gold. The regiment became known as Piatt's Zouaves for their early war red pants and

attire. Piatt also raised and equipped the 54th Ohio Infantry, which went into the field under the command of

Thomas Kilby Smith Thomas Kilby Smith (September 23, 1820 – December 14, 1887) was a lawyer, soldier, and diplomat from the state of Ohio who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and then in the postbellum United States Army. H ...

. On September 1, 1861, Piatt and the 34th moved to

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. The regiment then was ordered 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 ...

later in the month. It received its baptism of fire from a Virginia

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

regiment at the Battle of Kanawha Gap, on September 25. During the fall and winter months, Piatt's Zouaves were on picket and scouting duty, and engaged in occasional skirmishing with guerrillas. In May 1862, the regiment had a sharp fight with the Confederate forces under

Humphrey Marshall Humphrey Marshall may refer to: *Humphry Marshall (1722–1801), botanist *Humphrey Marshall (general) (1812–1872), Confederate general in the American Civil War *Humphrey Marshall (politician) Humphrey Marshall (1760 – July 3, 1841) wa ...

near

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

. In 1862, Piatt was promoted to brigadier general and assigned command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Headquarters, Mountain Department. Later serving in the

, he saw action at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

that August. During the Maryland Campaign in the fall of 1862, Piatt and his regiment were detached from the Army of the Potomac and served in the

Defenses of Washington The Civil War Defenses of Washington were a group of Union Army fortifications that protected the federal capital city, Washington, D.C., from invasion by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War (see Washington, D.C., in the Ame ...

, thereby missing the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

on September 17. He badly injured his back when his horse stumbled and brought both of them to the ground during the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

on December 12, 1862. As a result of his injury, he resigned from the army on February 17, 1863.Warner, p. 370.

Postbellum career

Piatt returned to his home in Logan County and soon remarried and resumed farming. He and his brother both prospered and they built a pair of castles near West Liberty, Ohio. His brother Donn Piatt was a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

, 1865–66, and was the Washington correspondent of the ''Cincinnati Commercial'' from 1868 to 1871. He established and edited, with

George Alfred Townsend George Alfred Townsend (January 30, 1841 – April 15, 1914) was an American journalist and novelist. He worked as a war correspondent during the American Civil War. Townsend wrote under the pen name "Gath", which was derived by adding an "H" ...

, the ''Capital'' at Washington, D.C., 1871–72, and was its editor-in-chief, 1873–80. He was arrested in 1876 by order of President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

on the charge of inciting the people through his paper to rebellion, insurrection and riot. He retired to his estate Mac-a-cheek in 1880 and devoted himself to literary work. He edited ''Belford's Magazine'' from 1888 to 1889.Johnson, Rossiter and John H. Brown, ''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans'', Boston, 1904. Abram S. Piatt was a candidate for Ohio Governor in 1879 on the Greenback ticket. Abram S. Piatt died in 1908 in Monroe Township from cancer and is buried in the nearby Piatt Cemetery.

Early life and career

Civil War

Postbellum career

See also

References

Further reading