A History Of The Thirty-Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry

The Warren County Historical Society will again host the Thirty-Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry reenactors on July 20th and 21st, 1996, at Glendower. The writer has attended several of these presentations and has found them to most informative and enjoyable. These volunteers are dedicated to their work, and indeed their exhibits and demonstrations display a remarkable resemblance to the actual war, the Civil War, where over 600,000 Americans lost their lives.
We shall now venture into the history of the 35th. It was organized at Camp Hamilton, Ohio, during the months of August and September 1861. Companies A and F were mustered in from Warren County, H from Montgomery County; E and part of G from Preble, County; and B, C, D, from Butler County.
The original members (except veterans) were released from duty at different dates, from August 26 to September 28, 1864. The veteran recruits were then transferred to the Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
At its organization, its original strength was 812 men, and at time of mustering out, 510. Company A had a total of 113 men mustered in while Company F had 115.
The regiment left Camp Hamilton on September 26, 1861, and mobilized at Covington, Kentucky. General O.M. Mitchel, from Warren County, ordered the regiment to board a train at the Ohio River town on the Kentucky Central Railroad. Some soldiers were ordered to leave the train and were placed at all bridges along the railroad through Harrison and Bourbon Counties. It was implied that the Confederates would burn these bridges before the 35th could reach them. But by capturing the telegraph offices along the line, all communications were cut off. The Southerners were totally surprised when they discovered that the Union guards had custody of every bridge.
The regiment next moved to Paris where it was housed until the first part of December; it then proceeded on to Somerset. By orders of General Thomas, the regiment did not participate in the battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky. Thereafter, the 35th marched to Louisville, and then traveled by steamer to Nashville.
Under the Army of the Ohio, organized by General Don Carlos Buell, the regiment marched to Pittsburg Landing, better known as Shiloh. General Thomas' division was placed as the rear guard and did not arrive in time for the battle.
The regiment was involved in some of the skirmishes at Corinth, and was one of the first to enter into that battle. Later the 35th marched to Tuscumbia, Alabama, and toward the end of July 1862, they pushed on to Winchester, Tennessee. The setting for the battle of Perryville, Kentucky (October 8, 1862), was commenced with the unforgettable race for that place by Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg and Gen. Buell. From Nashville the 35th marched about 28 miles per day and made a gallant showing in the engagement.
Gen. Buell was then relieved of this assignment by Gen. Rosecrans, the division next being commanded by Gen. Speed S. Fry. It then marched to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and on to a camp near Gallatin, Tennessee.
During the skirmishes previous to and including the battle of Stone's River, Tennessee, Company A operated a grist mill near Castillian Springs, while Company F, together with the balance of the regiment, searched the country for grain with which to make flour for the army. (This battle took place from December 31, 1862, thru January 2, 1863.) The campaign which began at Murfreesboro (Stone's River) and ended at Chattanooga, found the regiment at the front marching and fighting the opponent before them.
In February 1863, Col. Ferdinand Vanderveer, from Middletown, was assigned as brigade commander, and Lt. Col. Charles L'Hommdeieu Long, from Franklin, assumed command of the 35th. In July of that year, Lt. Col. Long resigned and Col. H.V.N. Boynton was chosen to fill his vacancy. Joseph L. Budd was appointed Captain of Company A and Oliver H. Parshall as Captain of Company F.
The battle of Chicamauga, Georgia, was a fierce engagement that saw the 35th lose fifty percent of those engaged, with just a few being captured. Col. Boynton was recognized for his gallantry and leadership during the battle. (This engagement took place on September 19th and 20th, 1863.) During the first day of fighting, on the 19th, the 35th and Col. Vanderveer's other regiments of the brigade were positioned on the outermost left of the Union line. They engaged the enemy and, after many hours of action, beat back several attacks of Hood's division of Longstreet's corps, which was the finest of the Confederate armies in the West.
Early on the 20th, the next day, the 35th was again called into action and, with the rest of the brigade, instructions were given to advance against Breckenridge's division, which had revolved completely around the left of the Union line. This clash was extreme and severe. It took place in the open field and without any protection. The two armies charged each other at the same instant. The Union brigade moved forward with outstanding skill, while the Confederates seemed to participate in a disorderly fashion. The soldiers had been moving through the woods in two lines; the first line was the Second Minnesota and Eighty-Seventh Indiana, and the second was the 35th and Ninth Ohio.
Suddenly, while advancing into an open field, the troops were exposed to a destructive discharge of artillery and musket fire. They were immediately ordered to lie flat on the ground, the Confederates being a mere 150 yards from them. When within a range of 75 yards, the command was given to the first line: "Thirty-Fifth and Ninth, pass lines to the front! - Brigade, charge!" With orders promptly executed, the Confederate line was thrown back for almost half a mile into the woods where they congregated with their reserves. For about an hour the contest loomed, after which ended the flanking of the left. About 2:30 in the afternoon, the brigade reported for duty to General Thomas. His men were holding a ridge to the rear and right of the line of the morning battle. The 35th was then positioned in the front line where it constructed a wall of logs and stones less than a foot in height.
Repetitive lines of Confederates charged this position, always being met and beaten back by members of the 35th and accompanying troops. Late in the day ammunition supplies were running low, the wagons having been ordered to Chattanooga. Several officers and men, among which included Joseph L. Budd, Charles L.H. Long, Lewis F. Daugherty, and James H. Bone, were busily searching the cartridge boxes of the dead and wounded. Small amounts of ammunition were uncovered and three rounds were distributed to each man; soon this supply was exhausted. Col. Vanderveer then placed an order for the men to hold their position with fixed bayonets.
At nightfall the 35th was employed on the left of the line. It was then too dark to recognize their own companions, and during this occasion, the enemy charged. The ones who had again secured small amounts of ammunition quickly fired upon the Confederates and scattered them. These were the last shots fired on the battlefield of Chicamauga. Afterward, the entire army marched toward Rossville, with Col. Vanderveer's brigade being the last to leave the field.
Casualties of the 35th during this fierce battle included: Captain A.J. Lewis, Company E, wounded severely in the bowels; Captain Joel K. Deardoff, Company K, suffered a severe wound in the leg; and Lt. L.P. Thompson, Company E, receiving a flesh wound in the leg. (1st Lt. James H. Bone, of Company A, was saved injury by his belt buckle which was twisted out of shape by a ball, and in the same battle a ball struck his gold watch without injury to the owner.)
Captain Oliver H. Parshall, Company F, was killed immediately on the right of the line on the first day. He had only the day before returned from home and was detailed upon the staff of Col. Boynton. It was stated by the Colonel that the Captain acted with much coolness and gallantry, and that he always instilled and displayed a confidence amongst the men.
Also killed in action from Company F during the first day of fighting were Privates David Smith and Patrick Walsh. The regiment went into battle at Chicamauga on the second day with a total of 280 men and officers. Men killed in action on this day from Company A were: 1st Sgt. George W. Keever, Pvt. George Bate, and Cpl. Thomas G. Strickler. Killed on the second day from Company F were Lt. Thomas H. Harlan and Pvt. Thomas J. Bloss. The regiment lay at rest near Chattanooga during the fall of 1863, where they were frequently engaged in skirmishes.
The 35th was engaged in the battle of Missionary Ridge in Tennessee on November 25, 1863, and was among the first to reach the enemy's position on the pinnacle. They helped drive the Confederates back and captured three pieces of artillery.
Col. Boynton was severely wounded while leading the charge up the steep incline. The command then changed to Major Budd. The next morning, having been defeated, the foe was forced back to Ringgold, Georgia.
In other battles, Lt. James Sabin of Company A, lost his life at Big Shanty, Georgia (the battle of Kennesaw Mountain), on June 16, 1864. Also, Captain Lewis F. Daugherty of Company A was killed July 20, 1864, at the battle of Peach Tree Creek in Georgia. Total number of soldiers to lose their lives while serving in the 35th O.V.I. was 183, with 40 lives being lost from Warren County Companies A and F.

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