COMPANY B
18th Regiment Ohio VolunteersThree
Months Troops.
Table of Contents
The company was recruited by Frank Buell, at Marietta, Ohio, who was at the time Captain of the Union Blues, an independent company of the Ohio militia. It was enrolled from the 15th to the 22nd of April, 1861, though a few men joined as late as May 27th, the date of our arrival at Marietta from Columbus, on our way into Virginia. Governor Dennison accepted Captain Buells tender of the company on April 17th, and our term of service dates from that time.
We left Marietta on Monday morning, April 22nd. The evening before, Sunday, the 21st, the company attended divine service at the Congregational church, where Rev. Thomas Wickes, D. D., the pastor of the church, delivered an earnest patriotic sermon. To this address, R. L. Nye, Esq., a member of the company, feelingly replied. Each member of the company was presented with a neat pocket edition of the New Testament by the Washington County Bible Society, through its president, Mr. Daniel P. Bosworth, Sr. At the close of this ceremony two of the members of the company, William Holden and Thomas H. North, were received into the church.
Just before embarking on the steamer Lizzie Martin for Zanesville, on the morning of the 22d, a beautiful silk flag, provided by the women of Marietta, was presented to the company by Melvin Clarke, Esq., in a short patriotic address, to which Captain Buell briefly but earnestly responded, giving the companys pledge that the banner never would be disgraced in its hands. Fully 3,000 people were assembled at the time on the Common in front of the Congregational church. I give the following description of the leave taking from the Marietta Intelligencer, of May 1st, 1861.
Then followed the leave-taking, a scene that cannot be described. Here were fathers and mothers hanging upon the necks of sons in a last long embrace, wives clinging to their husbands in agonies of distress, brothers bidding adieu to brothers, friend giving friend his farewell greeting. Scarcely a dry eye was to be seen in the immense crowd. But the sorrow of parting, though it caused the tears to flow abundantly, was mitigated by the thought that children, kindred and friendsall were responding to the call of duty, they were going to defend the government to which we all owe our safetyour very existence.
The company was ranged on the hurricane deck, and as the boat moved out from the landing cheer upon cheer arose from the vast assemblage, hats were swung, handkerchiefs waved, and many a God speed you, uttered, and the crowd slowly and sadly dispersed.
On our way to Zanesville we were cheered at every landing, and at the more important points we were received with the most enthusiastic demonstrations. At Lowell, the home of Captain Buell, at Beverly, Windsor, McConnelsville, Malta, all day long cheers, addresses, salutes, and every demonstration that the bubbling spirit of patriotism could suggest were furnished until on our arrival at Zanesville we were fairly worn out with the overwhelming attentions of the people.
A letter written after our arrival at Columbus to the Marietta Republican, by Eli P. Boring, a printer who had volunteered from the force of that paper, gives so good a description of our journey that I gladly subjoin it in full:
Columbus, Ohio, April 30, 1861.
Col. McCormick:After leaving Marietta we were received with loud and long applause at every village along the Muskingum valley. At Lowell, (Capt. Buells home,) the whole neighborhood was on the bank of the canal. At Beverly patriotism was boiling over. The ladies on Sunday morning went to work and made a flag 54 feet long and well proportioned in width, and the gentlemen got a pole 60 or 75 feet long and raised it within about 30 feet of the locks, and by the time we arrived there the flag was proudly floating to the breeze, with men, women and children rallying around. Captain Barclay, with about 40 men for a Home Guard, received us with three salutes, each man having a gun of some kind. At Windsor, Luke Chute, McConnelsville, and in fact every place along the river the people were out on the banks cheering for the Union and for the volunteers. We arrived at Zanesville about 12 oclock midnight, and marched through several of the streets, led by our Young America Brass Band, who received scores of compliments for their excellent music. We left Zanesville at 2:00 oclock A. M. arriving here about 6 A. M., and it was 1 P. M. before any of the boys got their breakfast, and when they got it not one could eat, the meat being bad and the coffee very poor, but, through the influence of Mr. George W. Gili, we got good quarters on Thursday evening, where we have been ever since. After breakfast we march to Camp Jackson, and drill until 12 oclock, then march back to our quarters and take dinner. In the afternoon we go through the same and return to supper. From 5 oclock we have until 9 for our own use, and you can just bet high we make use of it. At 9:00 the roll is called and we retire to the loft of a very large brick barn with our blankets and each a good comforter. It is the general opinion that we will be sent back to Marietta or to Camp Dennison, to be kept as the reserve militia of Ohio, either of which will be protested against by every member of our company. We want to go where we can have something to do. There is not a man of us who can bear the idea of lying around a camp. If there is to be any fighting done we want a hand in it. We parted from our friends with the expectation of being in Washington city, or on our way to Fort Pickens or Fort Sumpter before this time. If there is any fighting done it will be a sore disappointment to all of us if we do not have a mix.
E. P. B.
As friend Boring states we arrived at Columbus about 6:00 A. M. We were marched up to the State House and spent the day about the grounds. We had a meal about 1 oclock P. M., at the Goodale House, but so many hungry men had preceded us that but little to eat was left and that little was of poor quality and poorly cooked and served.
Some of our boys had friends in the city and were invited to dinner with them and thus fared sumptuously. The first night we were quartered in the basement of the state house, where we slept on beds of straw upholstered with small lumps of coal. The next night we quartered in the rotunda of the capitol building, sleeping on the marble floor with neither straw nor coal to temper the springs of our beds. The next day we went to Camp Jackson, now Goodale Park. Here we spent some four weeks, drilling and learning the other duties of soldiers. On Thursday, the 25th, we were given quarters at the Ohio Penitentiary, taking our meals there and sleeping on the parlor and office floors and in the loft of a large barn adjoining the prison. Our meals during the time we were quartered here were taken at the mess table of the officers of the prison and were very satisfactory and a great improvement over our camp fare. We remained here about two weeks, when we returned to our barracks in camp. During our stay at the Penitentiary we spent the hours between meals at the camp drilling, etc.
