Local soldiers served with honor in the civil war
Six Civil War soldiers in Muskingum County were awarded the Medal of Honor
According to local historian Norris F. Schneider, 3,850 men from Muskingum County served in the army or navy in “Y Bridge City” during the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Of them, 596 died from injuries or disease, and 83 were residents of Zanesville.
The Times Recorder’s book “Zanesville: 200 Years” states: “George Morrison, Henry Pigman and blacksmith David Mercer were the first men from Zanesville to die in the Civil War. As part of the company recruited by John Hazlett, they were part of the First Ohio Regiment, a portion of which was ambushed near Vienna, Virginia, on June 17 (1861).
“Morrison was killed in the second cannon shot at the train they were on, and Pigman was shot through the left arm near the shoulder and died the next day. Mercer’s arm was shot off between the elbow and shoulder and he asked for a revolver so he could continue fighting. A report of him singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ as he died was widely circulated.”
In “Y Bridge City,” Schneider said Muskingum County troops participated in several important battles: “Muskingum County men fought in all the war’s major campaigns. They suffocated in dust and thirst during General George B. McClellan’s unsuccessful Peninsula Campaign against Richmond. Under General Ulysses S. Grant, they staggered for a night on the Mississippi escarpments before charging through a hail of enemy cannonballs and winning the Battle of Shiloh. They furiously rammed charges down with their muzzle-loading muskets to litter the slope of Cemetery Ridge with dead men in rumpled gray uniforms and drive General Robert E. Lee’s army south in retreat from Gettysburg.”
Six Civil War soldiers from Muskingum County were awarded the Medal of Honor. They were Alfred Ransbottom, Robert B. Brown, George A. Lloyd, William E. Richey, William H. Longshore and Samuel Robertson. Many years later, the actions of Robertson and his colleagues inspired the Disney film “The Great Locomotive Chase.”,” starring Fess Parker.
A November 7, 2021, Times Recorder article stated: “Under the leadership of a Northern spy, James J. Andrews’ volunteers, mostly from the ranks of the 2nd, 21st, and 33rd Ohio Volunteer Regiments, agreed to take part in a dangerous mission which, if successful, would facilitate the capture of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“Dressed in civilian clothes, the volunteers boarded a train in Marietta, Georgia. In the days before dining cars were widely available, it was not unusual for a train to stop along the way so that passengers and crew could enjoy a leisurely breakfast.”
The volunteers stayed on board while the other passengers and crew went to a hotel in Big Shanty for breakfast. Then Robertson and his buddies robbed the train, leading to a huge chase in which all the Yankees were eventually caught. Some of them, including Robertson, were hanged. He was the first soldier to receive the Medal of Honor posthumously.
Muskingum County’s last Civil War veteran, John Henry Parker, died on December 28, 1943 at the ripe old age of 96. From a newspaper article written four years earlier, we learn that he lived with his family at 664 Mt. Auburn St. At the time, he was in good health and “…when the weather permits, he enjoys nothing more than pottering about in the garden near his house. He smokes a pipe in moderation and scoffs at the notion that tobacco is harmful.”
Thomas W. Lewis, in his three-volume work, Zanesville and Muskingum County, told his readers about a monument honoring our Civil War veterans: “In 1924, funds raised through donations were used to adorn Greenwood Avenue with a monument honoring the Civil War soldiers. The choice of July 4th as the day of the unveiling was appropriate and the ceremonies were dignified. They began at 2 p.m. and consisted of thoughtful addresses by George K. Browning and E.R. Meyer, as well as a patriotic program and stirring music. Mrs. Margaret Howser, president of the Woman’s Relief Corps, unveiled the monument, revealing an object of beautiful proportions and rich detail.”
The article then listed the following information: “It is made of Barre granite with a bronze plaque. The figure of the soldier is 6 feet 2 inches tall and the entire monument is 6 feet high. There is a Gatling gun on either side.”
On July 4, 1924, the Times Recorder reported: “The only official celebration of the ‘Glorious Fourth’ in Zanesville will be the dedication of the Soldiers’ Monument… Union veterans’ organizations from Columbus and Pittsburgh are expected to attend the celebration, and the Union Veterans’ Drum Corps of Columbus, which had such a great success in Zanesville a few weeks ago, will be on hand. In addition to the drum corps, four brass bands will provide music and noise.”
A large crowd was expected: “Seats have been provided for the elderly and parking for 200 cars has been arranged in the Sheridan school yard. Ample provision has been made to accommodate a record crowd. The interest and civic pride in the new monument, together with the fact that this will be Zanesville’s only celebration, promise to attract large numbers.”
One hundred years later, this symbolic Civil War soldier still stands guard as modern vehicles whiz by on Greenwood Avenue. Although the Civil War was fought more than a century and a half ago, we must never forget the nearly 4,000 Muskingum County residents who served, and especially the nearly 600 of them who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Lewis LeMaster is a retired teacher from the Zanesville area.
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