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..... ...»:•«' 'T -V* ■**/.” ■'** : •■«.••*•:-*»—•v;.i4L W.-V. .....,'•..-» . -'/)MW •ueorge wLc»Hc (50.Putnam in the Old Days■1 arapliy of Hodion C. Word frovldo. Seme Additional Information About How futnom Volvot.cri Hofptd fo Hood OH Morgen'* Confodorofo *flld»r»ft...............„ „ ______— ------------ ■;....,-ww-wtf-;-;-■-x**1' • 1W. . charie* AbboBY THOMAS R- BERKSHIREsomewhere around the*~r? s‘*r»h.Tsw nn.lnVon“ of Engllsh and lt;0 i,.an poeu'v made by Sam Cullen Bryant. In it ' nnfm 1 remember heai-'nr mother read long ago-lt wps one the children were „d 0n when she was young KS it meant much to the M.le of Putnam and Zanes-P:T and he citizens in the vl‘- ru ■„ nart of Ohio—(or it S ail about -Morgan the Set- and Morgan's terrible ' n - The heroine was a Ken-r,rkv girl who had married a Sol the north-and from j,Tr .southern home she had P'ought Kentucky Belie ar thorobrcd horse that she loved dearly. During Aim-gnn's famous raid, one of o'e raiders fell from his horse ' the gate of her Ohio farm-:,„d after much inwardtribulation on her part she — .w* i|ilt;* deserted laa iven Kmkv Belle and he rode away. After while came a letter from ii” soulh telling her that both were aafe-With July the month ofMrraan’s famous raid tn 18W, S”Si fitting in this story to refer to a subject which hishpen written up many times m i he past—but I think I per-ha„s have a bit to add to it-nl rn from the biography of ilu l on Champlin Ward, for '“nv wars one of Putnam s leading citizens and, until he moved to Columbus, an elder ™? Putnam Presbyterian rhurcli. where a noble memorial window testifies to tne ,mvice he rendered while a member of that congregation.When the Civil War broke mu Mr- Ward was 33 years of „-e and the business m which he was engaged demanded his full time, so he consideied i his plain duty to remain at hum* However, he experienced a little active military rerV.ee at. the time of the well remembered Morgan raid in 1S(Vt. Home guards were rap-Miv formed. Mr. Ward joined Company A, 11th Regiment mi July 2. 1«€3, paying S40 forhis uniform and equipment which consisted of a cap and blouse, rifle, bayonet, belt,scabbard, cartridge box and a cheap affair which was supposed to be a knapsack. The rifle at that time was considered strictly first-class, being the new model Spencer repeater, which had a magazine in the butt of the gun holding seven cartridges. The cartridge used was calibre 56, and consisted of a rim-fire copper shell, a small amount of powder, and a short pointed lead bullet. (Note: Somewhere in Putnam or Zanesville is one of these Spencer rifles,(or it was on exhibit at the home of Mrs. £. M. Sturges at the great Putnam homecoming held several years ago). Any other items of equipment such as blanket, overcoat, canteen, mess utensils, shelter tents, etc. were no doubt privately secured if secured at all.The following is quoted from Mr. Ward’s biography:“The raw troops went out on the day they received their rifles, having had no experience in tiring them, and traveled in freight cars to Chilli-cothe, a very rough trip. There they awaited the coming of Morgan, who had completely terrorized a large part of Ohio. The company of which Mr. Ward was a member was thrown out as a skirmish line on a hill near Paint creek. Paint creek bridge had been burned bv the militia, although the water was only a few inches deep and Morgan’s men were mounted—this historical item is still considered a huge joke in Ross county.This stand, so boldly made by a force much Inferior to that of Morgan, deceived the raider, who had boasted that he could whip all the militia in Indiana and Ohio put together- Firing a few small shells at the militia, he changed his course and made for the Muskingum river.” (Note. This statement gives an ironical touch to future events in the raid, for it would seem 1hat this company of militia, composed mainly of Putnammen, were responsible for Morgan coming right up toward their own homes, something he evidently had no intention of doing). Jhos5 shells, although fired high and doing no damage, were afterward the cause of much merriment. The first , shell wasenough for a certain German citizen of Zanesvi.le. V, hen he saw the second one coming he started for home saying, Dere comes anuder vun of dem things,' but Judge Marsh, the captain, foon had him back in his place and threaten-ened summary punishment to anyone else daring to leave his post.“Morgan’s force crossed the Muskingum at Eaglesport, and here again were the local militia, with Mr. Ward among them. Here one of the raiders was shot through a lung. The poor fellow was dying and asked for someone who could give him religious consolation. Mr. Ward’s earnest views on religion were so well known that he was sent for and did whet he could to prepare the rough dying soldier for the Great Beyond ” (Note: Perhaps this is the same raider who was buried at the spot still known among the older inhabitants as Confederate Crossroads).“The local company returned by boat and the town gave them an ovation. As the company marched down Main street Mr. Ward discovered on the Court House steps, his wife and two little boys, and promptly broke ranks long enough to kiss them.The roster of Company A, 11th Regiment of Infantry,as prepared. July 4, 1863, is as follows, and marks, so tar as 1 can determine, the first time in many years that a full list of the real local repellers of Morgan has been printer. Many of these men were from Putnam.Captain: Judge Lucius P. Marsh: Lst Lieut: Charles W. Potwin: 2nd Lieut: Charles C. Russell. Privates: Robert Applegate. John A pplegate,ICharles Abbott. Charles Bren-del, Benjamin Blandy, John R. Baird, Samuel Bal.d, Erastua Bailey, Willis Bailey, BaailBrown, William Barton. JohnBonnet, J. Brown, Robert Coles, Alex Cassel, John Clements. Charles Converse, George Chase, Alex Culbertson, John Conrade, Jacob Conrade, Thomas Cary, Otto Dover. John Downs, Richard Drone. Richard Ellis, David Evans. William Fillmore, A. E. Fillmore, Frank McFadden, C h a 1 k 1 e y Frame, John Fracker, Benjamin Fracker, George Galigher, William E. Guthrie, Lawi* Grigsby, George Ghun, Albert A. Guthrie, Fred Geiger, Smith Garner, Alex Grant, T h o m a s Halpin, George Hook, Frank Hollister, John Hal).Harriott. Charles Harris. Robert Harkins, George Huff, W * liam Hurd. John Ingalls, William Johnson, William Jones, John Kemmerer, Henry Kruger. Louis Koch, U F. Kmght, George Lee, Carl Lauterbach, George Lentz. Henry LilH-bridge. George Lynn, °e^a' mln Leslie, Samuel McBride, Walter McKinney. John McCann, Henry Munson, Lhanes Moore. Henry McCarty, Richard Osmond, Levi Palmer, Oscar Pumphrey, Andrew Pierce, Isaac Palmer, Arthur Peabody, William Roberts, George Randal!. Bernard s*ffordv,?;^ Spencer, Ferd Stultz. Albert Spalding, Robert Schultz, William Stickney, William Sloan,William Stiles. Alex Smith Edward Smith, Conrad Steinhau-er. John Tanner. William Twaddle, Albert Train, Henry Vickers, Jefferson Van Horn, Daniel Vandergrift Geo rg e Van Horn. Hudson Ward. John Woodworth, William Walker. John Worstall, Benjamin Wheeler, Isaac Wilson, Samuel Witter, Lewis Gray.So far as I can determine, the last survivor of this com-pany was Andrew Peirce^ who lived to be well over 90 and died only a few years ago. He was only 25 at the time of induction. Captain Marsh was in his 40th year, and the ages of the other men range fromMr. Ward notes that other companies went out from Zanesville and Putnam at the time of Morgan's raid but they saw no service, marching only a few miles down the Muskingum river and returning within a few hours. These companies had no uniforms and were armed with all manner of firearms.Among the family treasures are two letters from Captain William Berkshire, my great-uncle, written while in camp near Murfreesboro, Tenn. One was to his brother-in-law, Dudley Worstall, and In U he makes arrangements for the purchase of a family io '11 Woodlawn cemetery, in older that his brother Henry's remains might be from the Randall lot. Little did he know that within a yearhe too would be buried on that lot. after having been killed in battle. The other letter was to his sister Sarah, expressing pleasure that they had moved into the new home ( which he had purchased with his army pay—this was the big house on Muskingum avenue, washed away in 1913.)When Mrs. Margaret Jen* mngs moved for the last tune to New York she brought my father another letter, writtenby Captain Berkshire to herfather, relative to the death of John Chapman, her brotner.In this time when such news is coming more and more often to Putnam, it seems fitting to publish this message written January 20th, 1863, whlle^ the ■ 97th was in camp near Mur-freesboro. Tenn. It is addressed to Mr. Charles Chapman. Putnam, Muskingum county,Ohio, and reads:Mr. Chapman: Dear Sir. It becomes my painful duty to inform you of the death of your son John. He was quite unwell for several days before we left Nashville and when we received marching orders he was sent back to the hospital. After leaving Nashville I received a letter from him requesting meto make out and send to him his discriptive roil which I did without delay. Since that time I have not been able to learn anything of him until yesteJ: day when I received the sad intelligence of his death. I have not been able to learn the particulars of bis death and do not know what affects he left when he died. Death has been making sad havoc in the ranks of the 97th. Many of our brave boys who left the old Buckeye state a few months ago full of life, hope, andcnoulncnmikfif oiOn tend as plt;phbit our wilt land adve t clair undlt;the land Isputbe imon ried mig of cV,RoiringareadnkillbyOS8KolcasdesXIonMath€theordu*anMiimnoboonat:aryamTivvala’VIriPb
Newspaper Details
Zanesville Signal
Zanesville, Ohio, US
Thu, Jul 05, 1945
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Melissa D.
USA 22 Nov 2018
Other Publications Near Zanesville, Ohio
Zanesville Daily Courier
Zanesville News
Zanesville Courier
Zanesville Signal
Times Signal
