4th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer
Infantry
By Suzanne Link Allen
The 4th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized at Camp Jackson and moved to Camp Dennison near Cincinnati on May 2, 1861. Since my relative, Major Albert Greene Longwell and several eastern Delaware County men served in this Civil War unit, I’m going to discuss some of their major campaigns.
After organization and a few days training, the unit
moved to Grafton, Virginia (now West Virginia), where they were part of
the 3rd Army of Occupation. The unit captured Beverly,
Virginia that was held by the Confederates and then continued duty in
western Virginia.
In January 1862, the unit became part of the 2nd
Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. In March 1862, the 4th was part of
the 2nd Division of the Department of the Shenandoah.
On March 23, 1862, the unit participated in the Battle
of Winchester (Virginia) and on June 9, the Battle of Port Republic both
in the Shenandoah Valley.
After those battles, the unit marched to Alexandria, Virginia where they
were part of the Army of the Potomac. As II Corps, the unit was
stationed at
Fort Monroe. Next the 4th Regiment covered Pope’s retreat from the 2nd Battle of Bull Run near Manassas, Virginia.
Sunken Road at Battle of Antietam
photo by Suzanne Allen
In the Maryland campaign, the unit fought at the Sunken Road in the Battle of Antietam. From there they covered Lee’s retreat from Harpers Ferry and served there until October 30, 1862.
Dr. Albert Longwell saw and repaired damages of the above Civil War
battles with the 4th Regiment from August 29, 1861until October 20,
1862. At Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), Dr. Longwell fell
from a horse and twisted his spine that pushed against his bowels
causing diarrhea. On November 10, 1862, he was honorably discharged and
came home to Delaware County, Ohio to repair his injured body.
Dunker
Church at Antietam Battlefield, site of major fighting
photo by Suzanne Allen
While working on my Eastern Delaware County Civil War Soldier List, I also found the following soldiers served in the 4th Regiment along with Dr. Longwell: Truman Beard, Henry and Thomas Stark, William Browning, Albert Carmichael, E. H. Chase, John McMahon, Simon and Wesley Roloson, John Q. Roberts, and John Stickley and possibly more. Captain Elijah B. Adams was wounded at Harpers Ferry and discharged January 30, 1864. Simon Roloson was killed in action. Isaac Siegfried died of typhoid fever in a hospital in Cumberland, Maryland.
Joshua Breyfogle of the Delaware
Guard and his son, Willie, were in the 4th Regiment with the above men.
Some of Joshua’s letters to his wife were from Camp Pendleton at
Winston, Maryland where the 4th Regiment was stationed. Joshua was
discharged in November 1862 although he reenlisted in the 10th and
served in the entire war.
Some of the men of the 4th Regiment, without Dr. Longwell, went on to Leesburg and Falmouth, Virginia and served in the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Mud March led by General Ambrose Burnside, and the Battle of Chancellorsville (Virginia). Corporal George B. Torrence was colors bearer when killed at Fredericksburg on July 13, 1862. A marker for him in Sunbury Memorial Cemetery. The George B. Torrence GAR post in Delaware, Ohio, was named for him.
On July 1, the unit was in
southern Pennsylvania where they fought at Cemetery Ridge in the Battle
of Gettysburg. Willie Breyfogle was severely injured at Gettysburg. The
4th Regiment then pursued General Lee and his men into Virginia.
In 1864, the unit participated in the Battles of Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House, Battle of Cold Harbor, and the Siege of Petersburg (all in Virginia)
From March 28 through April 9, 1865, the unit
fought in the Battles of Deep Bottom, Ream’s Station, Hatcher’s Run,
Appomattox Court House, and the Battle of Sayler’s Creek.
From there the 4th Regiment went to Washington, D. C. and participated in the Grand Review on May 23,1865. It was back to Columbus, Ohio where the remaining soldiers were mustered out on July 12, 1865.
According to the 1890 Veterans Census in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, Jonathan S. Ward of Company D, 4th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, enlisted in the service on June 25, 1861 and was discharged on June 28, 1864. He was shot in the left hip and thigh and could no longer serve. His address in 1890 was Sampson, Tennessee.
Another injured Ohio soldier resided in Sampson in 1890. Private Samuel C. Hemptull, Company A, 30th Infantry entered the service in 1861 and was discharged in 1864 because he got shot in the leg. Still another Ohio soldier from Company C, 4th Regiment, Private Oscar Wilson who entered the service on July 14, 1863 and was discharged on February 22, 1864, remained in Brayton, Bledsoe County, Tennessee as reported on the 1890 census. Evidently those soldiers did not return to Ohio after the war.
Monuments to the 4th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry are located at Antietam Battlefield in Maryland and at Gettysburg Battlefield.
New Market Battlefield with Typical Virginia Bank Barn
Photo by Suzanne Allen
Resources for this article:
Delaware County Burials of Civil
War Soldiers,
www.midohio.net/dchsdcgs
Delaware County Cemetery List
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohdchs/cemetery/n.txt
History of Harlem Township prepared for the Ohio
Bicentennial 2003
by Vicki Dell
Tieche
Ohio in the War, Her Statesmen Generals and Soldiers, Volume 2"
by Whitelaw Reid
“Wikipedia”, www.enwikipedia.org
The Story of Joshua Breyfogle by George Carter
Private Joshua D. Breyfogle, (1806-1868) Ohio, enlisted at Camp Dennison May 20, 1861, Company C, Delaware Guards, 4th Regiment, OVI, discharged at Harpers Ferry, VA on November 5, 1862, reenlisted in 10th at Camp Chase in 10th Regiment Cavalry, served at Nashville, Tennessee, Murfreesboro, Sherman’s campaign in Atlanta and march to the sea. Was in Battles of Chickamauga, Tunnel Hill, Atlanta, Waynesboro, Georgia, to South Carolina, North Carolina, buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware.
Joshua’s sons also served in the war. Joshua served in same unit as Dr. Albert Longwell in the Eastern campaign), discharged at Harpers Ferry on ll/5/1862 for old age by order of General Couch
Captain Charles Rowland Breyfogle, 1842-1870, Ohio, 174th Regiment, OVI, entered June 3, 1861, appointed Corporal, mustered out on June 21, 1864
seriously wounded May 12, 1864, buried in Oak Grove Cemetery
Private William D. “Willie” Breyfogle, 1845-1865, enlisted 1861, Company C, 4th Regiment, OVI, served at Gettysburg, severely wounded on Sept. 25, 1861 at Romney, VA, wounded and died at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, buried in Oak Grove Cemetery
Joshua Breyfogle, 1843-___, Ohio, enlisted at age 15, served in 9th Ohio Cavalry as bugler
Sergeant Henry S. Breyfogle, 1839-1915, Ohio, served in Company C, 186th Regiment, OVI, buried in Oak Grove Cemetery
Charles Day- wounded at Battle of Po River
Jennings, Private Robert H., Ohio, Company C, 4th Regiment, OVI, entered service in June 1861 and discharged in December 1861 at Romney, Virginia
Simon Roloson- killed at Battle of Gettysburg in 1863
Stark, Sergeant John M.
(12-11-2006)