From Three Months To Three Years

The 5^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry originally a three month regiment, was on duty June 20^th 1861 at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Ohio.

The 5^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized April 20^th 1861, for three months service at Camp Harrison.  They were mustered into service May 8^th 1861 and moved to Camp Dennison where the men were on duty until June 20^th 1861.  When their three months were up, most of the men reenlisted and the regiment was reorganized for three years under the command of Colonel Samuel H Dunning.

The men of the 5^th were sent in 1862 to the Shenandoah Valley, where they received heavy casualties at the First Battle of Winchester in March.  Following that the Battle of Port Republic on June 9^th 1862 saw the 5^th faced with 244 casualties.  At the Battle of Antietam on September 17^th 1862 they took part in the fighting in the Cornfield, and pushed the Confederates they faced south of the Dunker Church, before running out of ammunition and having to fall back.  The next year the 5^th had replaced its lost men and was in action at the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.  Later that year the 5^th was transferred to the western theater and became a part of the XX Corps, serving under General Joseph Hooker, where they would fight at the Battle of Lookout Mountain.  In 1864 - 1865 the 5^th was with Union General William T Sherman and took part in the March to the Sea and the Carolina Campaign.

Serving throughout the Civil War the men of the 5^th Ohio fought in 28 battles.  They mustered out of service July 26^th 1865.  There were 146 men killed or mortally wounded, and another 57 who died from disease while serving.

If you would like to read more about the FIFTH OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY  is a good web site.

The Commissary At Winchester

A major victory for Confederate Major General Thomas J Stonewall Jackson, the First Battle of Winchester was fought May 25^th 1862.

Union Major General Nathaniel P Banks learned on May 24^th 1862 that his garrison at Front Royal, Virginia had fell to the Confederates.  He also learned that Jackson was moving on his position.  Banks made a retreat from Strasburg, with columns being attacked at Middletown and Newtown.  The Confederates captured a great deal of supplies and wagons, so that they began calling Union General Banks, “Commissary Banks”.

Bank deployed at Winchester placing Union Colonel George Henry Gordon’s brigade on the right at Bower’s Hill with his left on the Valley Pike.  The center of the line was held with artillery and Cavalry.  Colonel Dudley Donnelly’s brigade on the Front Royal Pike covered the left with the rest of the artillery.  At first light Confederate skirmisher advanced and drove the Union pickets back into their lines.

During the night Confederate Major General Richard S Ewell advanced his division.  Jackson moved three of Ewell’s brigades to advance on Valley Pike, leaving just Isaac Trimble’s brigade.  At dawn on May 25^th 1862 Jackson had Trimble advance on the Union left flank.  Trimble’s lead regiment the 21^st North Carolina came under heavy fire, they regrouped and brought up artillery.  Ewell advanced, sending regiment around enfilading the Union position.  Donnelly withdrew back through the town.

As Ewell’s troops advanced on the Front Royal Pike, Jackson moved on the Valley Pike.  He sent a brigade over the hill to the left of the Pike driving the Union skirmishers in.  Jackson placed artillery and they began a duel with the Union guns on Bower’s Hill.  With more Confederate troops brought up, they flanked the Union right.  Although the Union troops put up a determined fight they gave way and retreated back into Winchester.

After being routed at Winchester, Banks made a retreat to the Potomac River, crossing it at Williamsport.  The Confederate pursuit was sluggish at best, as Jackson’s troops were worn from hard marching done the preceding week.

The Boy Major

“The Boy Major” Joseph White Latimer was born August 27th 1843 in Oak Ridge, Prince William, Virginia. He attended the Virginia Military Institute and studied artillery under Thomas J “Stonewall" Jackson. The Civil War broke out while Latimer was in his second year at VMI, and he left the school to serve with the Confederacy. His first service was with the Richmond Hampden Artillery. In the fall of 1861 he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant.


Latimer saw his first action during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862. He distinguished himself in the Battles of First Winchester and Cedar Mountain. He was placed in command of the battalion of AR Courtney, and was promoted to Major in March 1863, serving in Major Richard Snowden Andrew’s Battalion a part of Major General Edward “Allegheny” Johnson’s Division. Andrews was wounded at the Battle of Stephenson’s Depot and Latimer took over command of the Battalion for the Gettysburg Campaign.

On July 2nd 1863 during the Battle of Gettysburg, Latimer was commanding the artillery on Benner’s Hill. The Confederate guns were supporting an attack on Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. His position was exposed to Union guns and the unit found themselves under heavy fire. Latimer began to have the guns removed from the hill and while directing fire from the remaining four guns, a shell exploded killing his horse and wounding his right arm. He was taken to the Daniel Lady Farm where his arm was amputated. He was moved from there to Winchester, and then to the home of ETH Warren in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as the Confederates retreated from Gettysburg. Latimer developed gangrene and died August 1st 1863. He is buried in the Woodbine Cemetery in Harrisonburg.

Son of a President

Richard Taylor the son of United States President Zachary Taylor and Lady Margaret was born January 27th 1826 on the family estate near Louisville, Kentucky. He spent most of his childhood on the frontier with his father before attending private schools in Kentucky and Massachusetts. Richard began college at Harvard, but graduated in 1845 from Yale. When his father died in 1850, he inherited the families Sugar Plantation “Fashion” in Louisiana, and soon had about 200 slaves.

At the start of the Civil War, Confederate General Braxton Bragg asked Taylor to be his assistant in Pensacola, Florida. While serving in Florida he was appointed the Colonel of the 9th Louisiana Infantry, and served at the Battle of First Manassas. In October of 1861 Taylor was promoted to General and given command of a Louisiana brigade under General Richard Ewell. He was promoted over more senior officers which caused of cries of favoritism, as he was the brother-in-law of Jefferson Davis. He proved his capability as a leader at many battles including the First Battle of Winchester. In July 1862 at the age of thirty-six, he became the youngest Major General in the Confederacy and was given command of the District of West Louisiana. After John B Hood’s failures in Tennessee, Taylor was placed in command of what was left of the Army of Tennessee. Union General Edward Canby excepted Taylor’s surrender on May 8th 1865; the last of the Confederates east of the Mississippi to give up.

After the war Richard was active in democratic party politics and was a leading opponent of the policies of Reconstruction. He published a memoir of the war in 1879the year he died in New York City. He is buried in the Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.