Lawrence County

Lawrence County, Ohio

Civil War Soldiers

I started this project years ago. As you can see, it is unfinished but what I do have may be of help to some researchers. I thought it would be fun to find all their obituaries and related stories as a tribute to those who fought in the Civil War.

Ironton Register; July 21, 1864

Improbable as it may appear, yet it is nevertheless true, that a bold attempt was made on Sunday morning, by eight desperate guerrillas, to raid across the Ohio River, a few miles below Guyandotte, Virginia, in order to rob the store of L.D. Russell, at the mouth of Indian Guyan. In this they were frustrated by their own carelessness and the pluck of young Billy Bays. They neither succeeded in killing any person, or robbing store; but were outwitted, and skedaddled, leaving their wounded behind, and themselves slightly demoralized. A citizen of that vicinity has written us the following particulars:

                About two o'clock Sunday morning a band of rebels came to the river opposite "The Boat Yard," or mouth of Indian Guyan. One of them swam over, and appropriated L.D. Russell's skiff, and eight of them crossed to this side of the river, evidently intending to rob Russell's store, but by mistake called upon George W. Bay, at his store, saying they wanted some cigars. As soon as the door was opened, they rushed in, and George, seeing he state of things, reached for his revolver, but before he could make any use of it, they fired upon him several times, inflicting two very severe wounds in his chest; also inflicting a slight wound upon his sister, Sarah. In the meantime "Billy," a younger brother, rushed in with his "tools," and discharged six shots, making five of them tell, sending the rebs down stairs in a great hurry. One of them, giving his name as Boyd, has since been ascertained to be Mill J. Stephenson. He only went a few steps before falling. The remainder reached the river, but the first ones reaching the skiff, pushed off, deaf to the pleadings of their companions, who shot at them to bring them back.
    After vainly trying to get a gunnale into the river, they finally succeeded in finding a "joeboat" capable of carrying a few of them. They pushed off, some of them swimming, and calling lustily for help; and it is thought two of them were drowned. They left their Captain, John Keller, at O. Harris's, and he and Stephenson are now at the hospital at Guyandotte, said to be mortally wounded.
                Result of the raid: Two prominent Cabell county rebels mortally wounded, and two more probably drowned; one Union man badly; one young lady very slightly wounded. After crossing the river, they reported having killed “Russell” (Bay).

You can trace the rebs' course from the store to the river, by the blood.

NARROW ESCAPES
SOME EXCITING WAR EXPERIENCES

NO. 1

MAYOR CORNS' EXPERIENCE

Ironton Register, Thursday, November 18, 1886

[Under the above head we propose to publish a series of articles, or rather interviews with old soldiers, giving details of narrow escapes while in the service. We well print them as long as the boys keep us posted with startling personal experiences or our interviewer can gather them in.-- Ed. Reg.]

"What was your ‘narrow escape’ in the army?" we asked of Mayor Corns, of the old Second Va. Cavalry, as he stood smoking his morning stoga, before the big cannon stove of his office, last Monday.

"Oh, I had several that I thought was pretty narrow-- narrow enough to make my flesh creep when I even think of them now."

"But," said we, "what was the little the worst fix you got into while serving Uncle Sam?"

"Well, sir, about the worst fix," replied the Mayor, and he laughed and shuddered at the same time, "was when our division under Custer attacked Fitzhugh Lee, on the evening after the battle of Sailor’s Creek-- that was the 7th of April, 1865, two days before the surrender at Appomatox. Lee was trying to get off with a big wagon train, and Custer had orders to intercept him and capture the train if possible. Just at nightfall, we caught up with Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry, down there not very far from Farmville. The enemy had gone into camp for the night. They were in the woods and had thrown up piles of rails as a protection against attack. We had a heavy line of skirmishes which were soon driven in, and then, having discovered the enemy’s line, Custer ordered a general charge. There were about 7000 cavalry and we went in with a rush, but after a bitter little fight we were repulsed. We ran into a ditch or drain in the charge and that upset our calculations. We piled into that ditch with considerable confusion and were glad to get out, without bringing any rebs with us. Our lines were soon reformed and another charge sounded. It was then after dark, but the moon was shining brightly. It was an open meadow over which we charged, and save the drain, was a pretty place for a cavalry fight, for those who liked that kind of business."

"After the charge was sounded and we were on full gallop, lo and behold the enemy was charging too, and the two divisions of cavalry met in a hand to hand fight in the middle of the plain. It was an awfully mixed up affair. We couldn’t tell friend from foe half the time. We had been on the go so much that our blue uniforms were dust-colored and about as gray as the rebels’. It was the biggest free fight ever I got into, and every fellow whacked away and tried to kill every fellow he came to. It happened, however, that I got in with a little squad of six or eight of our boys, and we kept together until we found ourselves completely within the enemy’s lines, with the rebs’ banging away all around us. Our army was getting the best of the fight, and gradually pushing the rebs back, and of course we went back with the rebel line. It looked scary for us. I saw Johnny Connelly near me and said to him, "This is a bad fix--we must get cut of this." And he said, "Yes, and here are five or six others of us right near." I got them together, for I was a Lieutenant commanding a company, and said, "Boys, we must charge to the rear and join our army," and one of the boys said, "Here goes," and started, and we were all about to put after him, but just as I started, a reb who was just in front of me, and who I thought was one of our boys, whirled around and, drawing his saber, called out, "Surrender, you d----d Yankee," at the same time bringing the saber down toward my head with fearful velocity. I dodged and the saber struck my shoulder, but did not cut the flesh as I had on an overcoat with a bear-skin collar. The blade went right through these, but stopped at the flesh, but it paralyzed my arm, which fell to my side. He did it so quickly that I had no time to parry. But missing my head, he quickly drew his saber for another stroke, and I would have got it the next time clean through my head, but just as the reb had the saber at its full height for another blow, a First N. Y. Cavalryman struck his carbine right against the fellow’s head, and exclaiming "Not this time, Johnny," blazed away and shot the reb.’s head just about off. Then we scampered to the rear, but hadn’t gone far when we got into the ragged edge of our own line and felt ourselves considerably safer. In getting out of there, three balls struck me, but I consider the narrowest escape, was when that New York Cavalryman stuck his carbine at the reb’s head and presented the blow which would have gone right through my head, as sure as fate. The narrowness of the escape was intensified by the fact that the war only lasted two days longer.

"Before we got out of there, Johnny Connelly was shot crazy, but I snatched his horse’s rein and got him within our lines. He was sent back to the field hospital and I never saw him since; but if ever I come across that N. Y. Cavalryman, I’ll take him home, set him down in the best rocking chair in the front parlor, and feed him on mince pie and roast turkey as long as he lives."

"Well, we drove Fitzhugh Lee back, captured his camp, and got a great many prisoners, a large proportion of whom were drunk. We found applejack by the bucketfuls all through the camp, but we were not allowed to touch a drop, though my arm hurt me terribly bad."

"Well, Mr. Corns, that was a ‘narrow escape.’"

"Narrow! Well, I should say so, and I sometimes have to feel up there to be sure my head ain’t split in two yet."

*civil war soldiers - Lawrence County, Ohio

smk - I put newspaper spelling in brackets [ ] - the spelling as we know it today, is how it will be indexed. I have guessed at a few possible interpretations of the name. Also, those in italics were killed during the war.

-A-
Abbott, Benjamin			76th OH Inf.
Abbott, Emily (widow)	Upper	widow’s pension
Abbott, Jackson, private, Co. C.	Upper / Perry Twp.	Discharged	5th W. Va. Inf. Died: March 28, 1883 Buried: Newton Cem.
Abel Anton			5th PA HA
Abel Jesse			2nd WV Cav.
Abel, Jess Sr. (private) Co. B.	IR FEB. 03, 1898 Old veteran gone - Jess Abel, Sr., died last Saturday at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Charles Golden, near Old Maidsville. His age was 64 years 1 day. He lived in Ironton over 30 years - came from Wheeling and held a position as nailor at Belfont Mill. During the Civil War he was a volunteer in the 2nd WV Cavalry.		2d W. Va. Cav. Died - January 27, 1898 Buried: Woodland Cem., Ironton, Ohio
Able, Andy	Ironton	Discharged
Able, Jesse	Ironton	Discharged
Abrams, Jonathan			1st OH HA
Abrams, Milton			2nd WV Cav.
Ackerman, Thomas	Perry	Discharged
Ackerson, Thomas	SWI JAN. 22, 1909 The people of Sheridan were surprised to receive the sad news regarding the death of Mr. Thomas Ackerson, who died at his home last Saturday night at ten o’clock after a brief illness of only a few days, aged 75 years. His death was due to pneumonia. The deceased was attacked with a sudden illness on Tuesday evening and Dr. O’Neil, a well known physician of South Point was summoned at once, but owing to his extreme advanced age, was unable to bring about his recovery and he passed to his reward at the time above mentioned. Mr. Ackerson was a member of the Missionary Baptist church at Ice Creek and his life was always that of a consistent Christian gentleman. He was quiet and unassuming and commanded the deepest respect of those who knew him best. He was very intelligent, energetic and well advanced in current events, also cheerful, good natured, extremely kind, always made friends easy and was held in the highest esteem by all his acquaintances. He was a veteran of the Civil war and a member of the 5th Virginia regiment, and was engaged in some of the hardest fought battles. The funeral services were held at the M. B. church at Sheridan and conducted by Rev. McKee. A wife and six children survive him. James, Edward, Charles, Mrs. Daniel Adams, Mrs. Wm. Walters and Mrs. Isaac Crabtree, all of whom reside at Sheridan.		5th W. Va. Inf.
Ackison, Thomas	Lawrence Twp
Acre, Charles	Hamilton Twp
Adams, Asa			5th WV Inf.
Adams, Charles T.	LaBelle	Discharged	189th OH Inf.
Adams, George W. Jr.			36th OH Inf.
Adams, Henry Battery B.			1st OH LA
Adams, Honshell			5th WV Inf.
Adams, James Wm.	Aid Twp		4th OH Cav.
Adams, James	Elizabeth Twp		6th OH Cav.
Adams, Joshua	Perry	Discharged	39th KY Inf.
Adams, Nathaniel			14th KY Inf.
Adams, Priscilla	Ironton	widow’s pension
Adams, Rosselle	Ironton	widow’s pension
Adams, Roswell			5th OH Cav.
Adams, Simon	Elizabeth	Discharged	173rd OH Inf.
Adams, Thomas	Lawrence	Discharged	14th KY Inf.
Adams, William	Fayette Twp/ Elizabeth Twp/ Burlington/ Ironton	Discharged	188th OH Inf. 53rd OH Inf.
Adams, William	William Adams; served thirteen months, and was discharged on account of disability, and died of disease contracted in the army Nov. 17, 1864. He was buried here. Was 32 years of age; left a widow and five children.		1st. W. Va. Light Artillery -- Battery B
Adams, William B.	Elizabeth Twp		1st OH HA
Adams, William H.			1st WV LA
Addis, Benjamin	Aid	Discharged	2nd WV Cav.
Addis, Burton D.			173rd OH Inf.
Addis, Thomas B.	Symmes	Discharged	173rd OH Inf.
Addis, Sarah E.	Aid	widow’s pension
Adkins, Harrison			45th KY Inf.
Adkins, Isaac	Lawrence Twp
Adkins, J.A.			5th WV Inf.
Adkins, Joseph	Rome	Discharged
Adkins, Pleasant A.	Fayette Twp		5th WV Inf.
Adkins, Richard	Rome	Discharged	2nd WV Inf.
Adkins, Riley	Union	Discharged
Adkins, Thomas G.	Upper	Discharged

Adkins, William	Fayette	Discharged	188th OH Inf.
Adkins, William E.			45th KY Inf.
Adkins, William H.	Mason	Discharged	14th KY Inf.
Adkinson, Arius	Ironton	Discharged
Aills, Christopher C.	Perry Twp.		173rd OH Inf.
Akers, Nathaniel	Decatur	Discharged	14th KY Inf.
Akers, William	Hamilton	Discharged	6th OH Cav.
Akers, Wm. [Acres], Wm.	IR MAR. 30,1905 Died Mar. 26, 1905 Hanging Rock, Ohio of asthma, age 76 years. He was a veteran of the Civil War.
Akins, Fletcher	Mason	Discharged
Akins, Mary A.	Mason	widow’s pension
Aldrich, Robert	Aid	Discharged
Aldridge, Mark			4th OH Cav.
Aldridge, Robert	Aid Twp		4th OH Cav.
Aldridge, William	Elizabeth Twp died in war
Aleshire, Michael	Decatur	Discharged
Alexander, Geo. W., private, Co. L			1st O Lt. Art. Died: December 17, 1867 Buried: Hecla Cem.
Alexander, James, (Private) Co. I.	Ironton	Discharged	146th O V I Died: March 11, 1893 Buried: Woodland Cem., Ironton, Ohio
Alford, Stephen	Perry Twp.		126th OH Inf.
Allen, Alexander			40th KY Inf.
Allen, Caleb	Perry Twp.		27th OH Inf.
Allen, Daniel	Perry Twp.		189th OH Inf.
Allen, Emily J.	Ironton	widow’s pension
Allen, Geo. W.	Mason Twp.

Allen, Hiram	Perry	Discharged	189th OH Inf.
Allen James			2nd WV Cav.
Allen, James M.	Perry	Discharged
Allen, James S. (Lt. Col.) Co. F & S	Perry Twp.		2d W. Va. Cavalry Died: March 15, 1868 Burial: Woodland Cem., Ironton, Ohio
Allen, James W.			173rd OH Inf.
Allen, John	Perry Twp.		173rd OH Inf.
Allen, John C.			56th OH Inf.
Allen, John L.	Perry Twp.		5th WV Inf.
Allen, Joseph	Perry Twp.		56th OH Inf.
Allen, Joshua	Perry Twp./ Lawrence Twp		5th WV Inf.
Allen, Marion	Perry Twp.		173rd OH Inf.
Allen, Norval D.	Mason	Discharged	173rd OH Inf.
Allen, Perry	Perry Twp.		189th OH Inf.
Allen, Robert	Ironton	Discharged
Allen, Rulany	Mason	Discharged ? widow’s pension?
Allen, Thos.	Perry Twp.
Allen, William			9th WV Inf.
Allen, William	Mason Twp.		died in war
Allen, William	Mason	Discharged
Allen, William H.	Ironton	Discharged	5th WV Inf.
Allen, Wm. H.	Perry Twp.
Alley, Abijah D.	Perry Twp.		86th OH Inf.
Allis, Christopher
Alltop, Ephriam	Mason	Discharged	173rd OH Inf.
Alltop, Ruth	Mason	widow’s pension
Altic, John	Union	Discharged	1st OH HA
Amos, James M.			18th OH Inf.
Amos, John P.			18th OH Batt.
Amos, Stephen D.			18th OH Batt.
Amos, Stephen D.	Decatur/Ironton	Discharged
Anderson, Geo. C.			56th OH Inf.
Anderson, Geo. W.	Elizabeth	Discharged	188th OH Inf.
Anderson, George	Fayette Twp/ Elizabeth Twp		5th WV Inf.
Anderson, Henry F.	Elizabeth Twp		56th OH Inf.
Anderson, Isaac N.			34th OH Inf.
Anderson, James C.			53rd OH Inf.
Anderson, John T.	Burlington	Discharged	188th OH Inf.
Anderson, Nathaniel	Mason Twp.
Anderson, Samuel			J. 2nd WV Cav.
Anderson, Thomas	Fayette Twp		77th OH Inf.
Anderson, William			5th WV Inf.
Anderton, Edmond			9th WV Inf.
Anderton, Nathaniel			1st OH HA
Anderton, Abner	Mason Twp.
Anderton, Edmond	Mason Twp.
Andre, Silman			7th WV Inf.
Andrew, John	Lawrence Twp
Andrews, Wm.	Hamilton Twp
Angel, Robert			18th OH Inf.
Angel, Henry	Aid Twp
Angel, John	Aid Twp
Angel, Robert	Hamilton Twp
Angle, Henry			2nd WV Cav.
Angle, Zachariah	Decatur	Discharged	173rd OH Inf.
Ankrim, Capt.	IR FEB. 23, 1888 Capt. Ankrim died at Fayetteville, a few days ago. He was Captain of the old Second Va. Cavalry, and has been merchandising since the war.		2nd Va. Cavalry
Appleberry, James	Aid Twp		33rd OH Inf.
Arbaugh Alexander	Union	Discharged	4th WV Inf.
Arbaugh, Isaac	MI Jan 25, 1916 ARBAUGH, Mrs. Nancy, - aged 69 yrs, Wife of Isaac Arbaugh, a civil war veteran. burial at Delawder Cemetery Aid Twp Discharged
Argo, S. D.	IR Apr. 7, 1898 - Death of S. D. Argo. - Solomon D. Argo died at his home, near Wheelersburg, last Friday. He was born at Marble furnace, Adams Co., Ohio, July 15, 1827, and was nearly 71 years of age...He came to Ironton in 1849, and built the third house in the town, located on 4th between Buckhorn and Etna. In 1856 he married Mary J. Lambert, daughter of Elias Lambert... of this union were born Thomas B., Elizabeth, Elias L., James K., Emily E. and Benjamin F. In 1857, he moved to the old homestead near Cemetery Lane. He was in the war from 186_ and 1865, and was wounded at Selma, Alabama. In 1864, he was married again to Fannie A. Hopkins of Dayton, and of this union, on daughter, _____, was born, who lived at home at the death of her father. In 1865 he moved to Allen county, but returned to Ironton in 1871, and was in the employ of the Iron Railroad for some years. In 1890, he moved to the mouth of Pine Creek, Scioto county, where he died....		Civil War Died Apr. 1898 Built 3rd house in Ironton
Armstrong, John W.	Rome	Discharged
Arnold, Agnes B.	Ironton	widow’s pension
Arnold, E. (1st Lieut.) Co. E. Captain, Asst. Surgeon	IR Apr. 3, 1870 - Dr. E. Arnold, a well-known and esteemed citizen of Ironton, died last Saturday, and was buried, Monday. - The funeral was very large and was attended by the Encampment, Knights of Pythias and Druids.		20th O V I, 3 mos. Died: March 31, 1873 Buried: Woodland Cemetery, Ironton, Ohio
Arnold, Emel	Ironton	Discharged
Arnold, Phoebe	Ironton	widow’s pension
Arther, James H.	Perry	Discharged
Arthur, Caleb	Fayette Twp
Arthur, Meredith	Fayette Twp
Arthur, Stephen	Windsor	Discharged
Arthur, William	Fayette Twp
Arthur, William	Union	Discharged
Artrup, James M.	Windsor	Discharged
Ashburn, Hiram F.	Lawrence Twp
Ashcraft, Joshua	Ironton	Discharged
Ashmore, Thomas	Windsor	Discharged
Ashworth, Joseph	Elizabeth	Discharged
Atkeson, Charles	Hamilton Twp
Atkinson, Chas. T.,(Sergt.) Co. A.	twp unknown		5th W. Va. Inf., removal. Burial: Woodland Cem., Ironton, Ohio
Atwell, Samuel G.	Union	Discharged
Auckerman, Daniel	Union / Hamilton Twp	Discharged
Authur, William