Historical Notes:
The 21st Ohio Infantry was organized in response to President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers after the outbreak of the Civil War. It was mustered into service on June 6, 1861, at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, Ohio. The regiment consisted of men primarily from northeastern Ohio.
Initially, the 21st Ohio Infantry served in the Western Theater of the war. It saw action in Kentucky and participated in operations to secure strategic positions in the region.
Campaigning into Tennessee in early 1862 as part of the Army of the Ohio, the regiment was one of a number of Union regiments instrumental in capturing the capital of Nashville in February. From there, the regiment moved toward Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and then to Confederate-held Huntsville, Alabama, in early April.
Concurrent with the move toward Huntsville in April 1862, nine men of the regiment volunteered to participate in a secret mission known as Andrews' Raid. The men, along with two civilians and thirteen soldiers from two other Ohio regiments, dressed in civilian clothes and slipped behind enemy lines. They hijacked the Confederate locomotive The General. The mission was a failure, and all of the raiders were captured. Eight men, including Private John M. Scott of Co. F, 21st Ohio Infantry, were hanged. Another eight, including privates Wilson W. Brown, William J. Knight, John R. Porter, Mark Wood, and John A. Wilson, escaped from captivity. The remaining raiders, among them Private William Bensinger, Private Robert Buffum, and Sergeant Elihu H. Mason of the regiment, were released in a prisoner exchange the next year. In recognition of their actions, Congress awarded most of the raiders, including all nine from the 21st Ohio Infantry the newly created Medal of Honor. Bensinger, Buffum, and Mason were three of the first six men ever to receive the medal.
The Regiment lost during service 6 Officers and 166 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 218 Enlisted men by disease. Total 392.
Officers:
Colonel Jesse S. Norton
Assignments:
Attached to Thomas' Command, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1861. 9th Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to December, 1861. 9th Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Ohio, to July, 1862. 7th Independent Brigade, Army of the Ohio, to September, 1862. 7th Brigade, 8th Division, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Center 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 14th Army Corps, to October, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, to June, 1865. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, to July, 1865.
Service:
Action at Ivy's Mountain, Ky., November 8, 1861. Try Mountain and Piketown November 8-9. Duty at Bacon Creek and Green River, Ky., until February, 1862. Advance on Bowling Green, Ky., February 10-15, and on Nashville, Tenn., February 22-25. Occupation of Nashville February 25-March 17. Advance on Murfreesboro, Tenn., March 17-19. Advance on Huntsville, Ala., April 4-11. Capture of Huntsville April 11. (Pittinger's Raid on Georgia State Railroad April 7-12, Detachment.) Near Pulaski May 1. At Athens May 28 to August 28. Action on Richland Creek near Pulaski August 27. March to Nashville August 29-September 2. Siege of Nashville September 12-November 7. Murfreesboro Road November 8. Advance on Murfreesboro December 26-30. Battle of Stone's River December 30-31, 1862, and January 1-3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro until June. Middle Tennessee or Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Occupation of Middle Tennessee until August 16. Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Davis Cross Roads or Dug Gap September 11. Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., September 19-21. Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Orchard Knob November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26-27. Rossville Gap November 26. Regiment reenlisted January 1, 1864. Reconnaissance of Dalton, Ga., February 22-27, 1864 (Non-Veterans). Rocky Faced Ridge and Buzzard's Roost Gap February 23-25 (Non-Veterans). Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1 to September 8. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8-9. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Advance on Dallas May 18-25. 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 Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2, Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5-17. Vining Station July 9-11. Peach Tree Creek July 19-20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Utoy Creek August 5-7. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25-30. Operations against Hood in North Georgia and North Alabama April 29-November 3. Near Atlanta October 2. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Jacksonboro December 11. Siege of Savannah December 10-21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Taylor's Hole Creek, Averysboro, N. C., March 16. Battle of Bentonville, N. C., March 19-21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10-14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 19. Grand Review May 24. Moved to Louisville, Ky., June, and duty there until July. Mustered out July 25, 1865.
Roster:
The roster of this unit contains the names of 3104 men.
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Historical Notes:
