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George W. Hale |
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Jane Elizabeth Dobbyn |
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George W. Hale (Levi,
Polly) was born on October 4, 1843 in Henderson, Jefferson County, New York FE1, UN20, MI5. According to his death record and his
death certificate, he was the son of Levi and Polly (Coats or Coates) Hale MI5, FE1. George stated in all census records that
both of his parents were born in Vermont. By the age of sixteen in 1860, he was
an apprentice who lived in Ridgeville, Lorain County, Ohio with the family of Shardon Terrill, who was a carpenter UN11. George was five feet, eight or
nine inches tall, with a light complexion, brown hair, and blue eyes FE1.
George
W. Hale enlisted as a private in Company F of the 103rd Regiment of the Ohio
Infantry Volunteers on August 6, 1862 at Brownhelm,
Lorain County, Ohio for a term of three years FE1. Brownhelm
was about four miles north of his parents’ home in Henrietta, Ohio, and about
twenty miles west of Ridgeville. On May 26, 1888, he stated that he served
under Captain P.C. Hayes, but on June 4, 1912, he stated that his commanding
officer was Captain Levi Schofield FE1. His pension record
regarding his time served and dates of illness was worded ambiguously, but
stated that he was on roll until October 31, 1862, at which time he became ill
and was treated at Seminary Hospital in Covington, Kentucky, as well as at a
hospital in Frankfort, Kentucky during November and
December 1862 FE1. A different portion of that same pension document
referred to hospital records, which stated that on September 28, 1862, he was
admitted to the Brigade Hospital for dysentery, but he returned to duty on
September 30, 1862 FE1. He was admitted for rheumatism on December 28, 1862, and returned to duty at Frankfort on
January 6, 1863 FE1. This seems to slightly conflict with the statement that
he was present and on roll from December 31, 1862 until February 28, 1865 FE1. He had colic,
allegedly on July 23, 1862, but this may have been an error, because this bit
of information was out of place in a document about his medical history which
was otherwise written chronologically FE1. In March and April
1865, he was sick in a hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina FE1. He suffered from
“Int Fever” (perhaps intermittent fever) on April 30, 1865, and was discharged
on June 12, 1865 at Raleigh, North Carolina FE1.
The
ten companies of the 103rd Regiment of the Ohio Infantry were organized in August 1862 at Cleveland, and
on September 3, 1862, they were dispatched by rail to Cincinnati, where they
were armed and equipped DY1, HA27.
Most of their muskets were manufactured in Austria and
shipped to America HA27. That
evening, they traversed the Ohio River into Covington, Kentucky, and on the
sixth, they crammed three days’ worth of rations into their haversacks, then
marched to Fort Mitchell HA27. Some years after the Civil War, Philip C. Hayes, who was
originally the captain of the 103rd,
but was later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, wrote at length about the three
years of service his regiment gave to the country HA27. He reflected on this march as “probably
the severest of any march we had during our entire term of service” HA27. They began at approximately nine in the
evening, and with heavily laden packs, they proceeded in the oppressive, dusty
heat for three miles, which were almost wholly uphill HA27. That night was the regiment’s first
experience sleeping in the open air HA27.
On September 8, the regiment was officially mustered into the army, and they
numbered 972 officers and men HA27. This
number would dwindle to a pitiful number by the time the war was over.
Civil War historian
Frederick Dyer stated that from the eighteenth until the twenty-second of
September, the regiment pursued General Edmund Kirby Smith of the Confederate
States Army to Lexington, Kentucky, and added that they were on duty at Snow’s
Pond until October 6 DY1, but
Philip Hayes recounted his regiment’s history differently, and never mentioned
General Kirby Smith HA27. On
September 18, the regiment marched nine miles south from Covington to Florence,
Kentucky, and they reached Snow’s Pond on September 21 HA27. A Kentucky State Historical Marker
titled “Skirmish at Snow’s Pond”, located on the Old Lexington Turnpike, midway
between the towns of Richwood and Walton in Boone County, Kentucky (about
twenty miles south of Cincinnati), stated that Snow’s Pond was the site of a
Union camp which was headed by Brigadier General Quincy Gillmore.
General Quincy Gillmore took command of the brigade
(of which the 103rd Regiment was a part) on September 27 HA27. The information on the historical
marker, which was written by Jack Rouse, further stated that in 1862, over five
hundred Confederate men who served under General Basil Duke had been scouting
routes which would reach Cincinnati, and they attacked this camp on September
25, 1862, taking several Federal (Union) soldiers
captive to Lexington, Kentucky. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes put the number of
Union prisoners at about forty HA27.
This region around Snow’s Pond had not had rain in several
weeks, which desiccated the wells and springs, and so their only source of
water was a pond which HA27:
often became completely covered with a
green scum, sometimes from half an inch to an inch thick. It was not only
filthy and nauseating to the taste, but it was serious in its effects upon the
troops. It bred disease with epidemic rapidity – prostrating with diarrhea at
least half the soldiers… within the space of a few
days, they were reduced to mere skeletons.
This stagnant pond
water was the cause of the dysentery which afflicted George Hale at the end of September
1862 FE1. They abandoned Snow’s Pond on October 6 when they marched six miles to
Camp A.J. Smith, then onward again to Camp Wells, which was located near
Williamston, Kentucky HA27. The weather turned colder, and in order to build campfires, they were authorized to steal
the top rails from existing fences; Philip Hayes stated that the soldiers in
the 103rd Regiment “considered the order, given on that occasion,
in force during all our subsequent term of service” HA27. From Camp Wells,
they began to march south on October 16, arriving at Lexington on the 20th, where they
practiced their drills and were on picket and guard duty HA27. They remained there
about a week, and thereafter they marched west for two days to Frankfort,
Kentucky, which they reached on October 22 HA27.
Frederick
Dyer stated that the regiment was stationed at Frankfort until May 1863 DY1, but Philip Hayes
stated that they were there for five months, and remembered November and
December 1862 as being a particularly bountiful period of
time, when they were permitted full rations, and were occasionally
entertained by the generous and hospitable people of Frankfort HA27. Unfortunately for
George, this was the very time when he was ill, and perhaps did not benefit
from the full army rations and extra gifts of food from the locals. The
soldiers were paid for the first time since their enlistment on January 4,
1863, which was quite helpful, since they had all run
out of money three months earlier HA27.
They
left Frankfort on April 5, 1863, and marched south toward Stanford, where they
stayed for about two weeks HA27. During this time, they awaited the influx
of new soldiers and prepared themselves for a march to the front, where they
were to assist General Samuel P. Carter beat back the rebel advancement into
Southern Kentucky, which was led by General Pegram HA27. From April 26, 1863
until May 12, 1863, they were involved in an
expedition to Monticello, over one hundred miles south of Frankfort DY1. They started out
southerly for Somerset on April 25, arriving the following day, and used boats
to cross the swollen Cumberland River at Stigall’s
Ferry, moving quickly toward Monticello on the southern side of the Cumberland HA27. All the while, the
Confederate troops engaged the vanguard Union cavalry in skirmishes, but the
infantry was five miles behind them, and by the time the foot soldiers had
reached Monticello, the rebels had left HA27. The Federal cavalry
pursued them for about ten or fifteen miles and did kill and wound several Confederate soldiers, but the next morning the 103rd did an about-face
and crossed the Cumberland again HA27. For many weeks they made camp adjacent to the north bank of the
river, near Somerset, while the Confederate men held the southern bank HA27. Between rounds
fired across the water, the men would often converse with each other “in a
style more emphatic than polite”, and occasionally the two sides would trade
coffee for whiskey and tobacco HA27.
The
men were on duty in central Kentucky until August DY1. Their first
Independence Day as soldiers was celebrated prayerfully, and they sang “My
Country ‘Tis of Thee” HA27. Reacting to a rumor that the Confederate
troops had crossed the Cumberland and were planning a foray on the outskirts of
their encampment, the 103rd Regiment and other regiments were commanded
to fall back the next day, and when they paused for a break at Somerset, they
learned of the crucial victory won by the Union soldiers at Gettysburg HA27. Next came another
trying march which was “one of the severest marches during our three years’ of
service”, in Lieutenant Colonel Hayes’ opinion HA27. Sultry air, muddy
roads, scorching heat, capped off with the false hope of an end to the day’s
march when at last they were permitted to eat dinner at nine in the evening,
caused immense misery for these men, who at midnight finally snatched three
hours of rest, before they were on their feet and marching yet again HA27. They marched twenty
miles that first day HA27. After a quick breakfast at 3:00am, they
were back on the sludgy trail HA27. Their second day of marching began with
rain, but this passed, and the clouds were replaced with the fierce sun HA27. Hayes estimated
that only about half of the men of their regiment limped into Stanford at
approximately 9:00pm that night, as the remainder had scattered and fell out of
formation throughout the day, and “the instant we were stopped, they spread out
their blankets and lay down for the night without tasting a mouthful of supper”
HA27. After a couple days at Stanford, they
relocated to Danville, where they camped for a month HA27.
From
mid-August until October 17, they were involved in
Burnside’s expedition in the eastern part of Tennessee DY1. Great
numbers of Federal soldiers began to amass around Danville in
preparation for the trek across the Cumberland Mountains, to sweep away the men
in gray from eastern Tennessee HA27. While awaiting the
arrival of General Ambrose Burnside, who was to spearhead this campaign, the
103rd Regiment was placed in the Second Brigade led by Colonel D. Cameron,
and all of the troops in the area were organized into
the Twenty-third Army Corps, whose commander was Major General George Hartsuff DY1, HA27. According to Lieutenant Colonel
Hayes, on August 18, 1863, roughly twenty thousand men advanced to Stanford,
then to Crab Orchard, Burnside’s Point (possibly Burnside in Kentucky),
Montgomery, Emery’s Iron Works (this may have been near the Clinch River in
Tennessee), Lenoir, and then Concord HA27. Along the way, the men built bridges and laid corduroy roads HA27, which were constructed
by tightly laying logs transversely along the desired span of road, and was
usually done in a swampy area, but was a common method to make a hasty road in
an otherwise impassable area. This was a necessary task to transport their
artillery and wagons. At the onset, half rations were distributed to the
soldiers, which “was scarcely sufficient to make them one good
meal… usually by noon every haversack in the command was empty… the men
rarely ever knew where they were to obtain food to satisfy the gnawings of hunger” HA27. Often, after laboring
and hiking the entire day, they would set off late in the evening to search for
green corn to roast for their dinner HA27.
Finding
Concord, Tennessee essentially devoid of enemy activity, the 23rd Army Corps continued
to Knoxville, taking control of that city on September 1, 1863 HA27. The 103rd Regiment then clambered aboard a train headed east to
Henderson Station, nine miles north of Greeneville HA27. While at a stopover
in Greeneville, its residents greeted the disembarking soldiers with
handshakes, blessings, and with “refreshments of every imaginable kind… the platform was absolutely loaded
down with baskets filled with pies, cakes, meats… as the train stopped, cheer
after cheer arose from the crowd” HA27.
Continuing on to Henderson Station, it was determined
that the Confederate forces outnumbered them, and any attempt to attack would
have been futile HA27. They remained in Greeneville until
September 19 DY1,
HA27, when they struck
out for Jonesborough on another march which tested
their limits of endurance HA27. They
reached that town, and then continued on to their camp
near Johnson’s Station (now Johnson City) on September 21 HA27. At this location was a farm of a
“violent rebel”, and once the men ascertained that he was a secessionist, they
relieved him of his apples, sweet potatoes, cabbage, corn, chickens, and fence
railings, and one soldier even grabbed handfuls of lard which he had discovered
in the farmer’s smokehouse HA27.
Intelligence
suggested that Confederate troops were positioned on the east side of the
Watauga River, and after extensive repositioning, by nightfall the 103rd Regiment was stationed near the river for
picket duty, “directly opposite to the main force of the enemy” HA27. Lieutenant Colonel Philip Hayes stated
that daybreak revealed that the Confederate regiments had fled, and that night
they began the return march to Jonesborough, arriving at last around 2:00am HA27. Continuing their southwesterly trek,
they returned to Greeneville on September 25, 1863 and rested until September 30,
when they marched twenty miles northwest to Bull’s Gap HA27.
October
9 saw the regiment moving nine miles southeast to Blue Springs to determine the
strength of the enemy in that area, but were ordered back to Bull’s Gap after
Companies A and D of the 103rd
Regiment sustained losses HA27. Two
days later, they were better prepared and secured additional men, and they
returned to Blue Springs; this time, the forward troops and cavalry secured a Union
victory in the Battle of Blue Springs, but the battle was over before the
infantry reached the field HA27. The
regiment camped at Raytown (Rheatown), east of
Greeneville, until October 15, then relocated their camp to a site three miles
outside of Jonesborough; leaving their tents and camping gear at this place,
they marched to the Watauga River on October 22 HA27. They slept outdoors that night, and at
about 11:00am the next morning, rain began to fall, but the men had no tents in
which to seek shelter, and very few possessed raincoats HA27. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes remarked that
while the march back to camp was not long, it was memorable, because they
marched very quickly over a road overflowing with mud and runoff from the
nearby streams, and their “feet were soaking wet before we had gone a mile” HA27.
The Knoxville Campaign
lasted from November 4 until December 23, and from November 17 until December
5, 1863, the Confederacy laid siege to Union-occupied Knoxville DY1. All troops near Jonesborough and
Greeneville were commanded to regroup at Knoxville on November 3, because
General Burnside had discovered General Longstreet’s (of the Confederacy)
intent to capture that city HA27.
Accordingly, the 103rd
immediately packed their equipment and marched to Henderson Station, where they
boarded a train to Knoxville HA27. When
they were “moved down into a beautiful cedar grove” on November 7, they
presumed that this was their final destination until
spring, and they proceeded to lay out streets for their winter quarters HA27:
Logs were cut and placed in position,
slats were made, chimneys built, and so briskly did the work go on that, in
less than ten days’ time, our camp presented the appearance of a busy little
village… But, alas, we soon learned that we had indulged in a vain hope… our labor in building “Winter quarters” had been
so much time and strength thrown away… an order came to prepare for moving, and
on the 15th, we marched out of our pleasant camp,
never to return to it again.
Lieutenant Colonel Hayes
stated that General Longstreet’s forces were insufficient to fully besiege
Knoxville, but because he stretched out his infantry around the perimeter and
ordered his cavalry to perpetually roam the area, seeking out breaches in the
cordoned city, he was able to adequately meet this objective and sever their
communication HA27. On November 15, the 103rd marched to the front and fell into
formation in preparation for an attack from the Confederate troops who had
gathered on the southern bank of the river HA27
(this was probably the Tennessee River, Knoxville’s southern border). Fairly
constant firing ensued HA27.
Federals who were not actively engaged with the city’s defenses, that is to say, shooting the enemy, were relentlessly busy
with the construction of fortifications on each hilltop in the area HA27.
The first battle in
which the 103rd Regiment participated was the two hour Battle of Armstrong’s Hill on November 25, and on
the Union side this involved the 103rd
Ohio, the 24th Kentucky, and the 65th Illinois regiments HA27. A contingent of Confederate soldiers had
crossed the river on the night of November 23, and early the next morning, the
103rd and other regiments were sent to the
front HA27. One company of the 103rd regiment was sent to buttress the
skirmish line, while the remainder were on stand-by HA27. Gunfire sounded continually until the
light faded, and then the frontline retreated and reformed HA27. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes stated that the
strategy employed by the Confederate men on the morning of the 25th was to surreptitiously send forth a
squad, utilizing the forest as cover; their goal was to wait until the moment
when the Federal picket lines were changing, then rush and attempt to break
through the picket line, and seize control of the bridge, which would allow the
Confederate troops access to the city HA27.
Because the Union headquarters were aware of a greater assemblage of the enemy
at that particular area, they prepared for an attack
by sending six companies forward to relieve the two which were coming off duty,
but these reserve troops did not arrive at the front until about 1:00pm HA27. They were not cognizant, however, of the
imminence of this attack HA27.
While the companies of the 103rd
Regiment were positioning themselves at the front, they found themselves under
fire HA27:
the enemy started forward with a terrible
yell. Almost before we were aware of it, he was upon us, firing rapidly and
with well-directed aim as he approached… for a moment, there was a little
wavering in our line, and for the first time the regiment came under fire. But
it was only for a moment. Recovering themselves, the whole line seemed to take
in the situation at a glance, and, with remarkable
composure, poured in a perfect shower of leaden hail into the ranks of the
advancing column.
Once the rebel line
faltered, the 103rd was ordered to affix their bayonets to
their rifles, and charge HA27. The
Confederates swiftly retreated to their earthworks atop a nearby hill, and the
men of the 103rd regrouped into their picket lines HA27. About thirty-five men of the 103rd were killed or wounded, and the other two
regiments suffered similar losses HA27.
They were instructed to sleep on their weapons, but frosty weather and troubled
minds made slumber quite elusive for the majority of
the soldiers that night HA27. At
4:00am, they were “ordered to fall in and stand at arms” HA27. Few men possessed gloves,
and gripping the frigid gun barrels for the next two hours was very
unpleasant HA27. The 103rd was relieved and told to return to camp
on November 27, having been at the front for three nights with little food, and
without a fire to warm themselves HA27.
At this point, the
health of the regiment deteriorated because their clothing was scanty and in
severe disrepair, and they did not have enough to eat HA27. Since they had marched out of Kentucky,
they had received very little clothing, and many had
large holes in both their shoes and their socks, or no socks whatsoever HA27. Their shirts were threadbare, and some were missing sleeves HA27. Pants had fallen apart so much that they
ended at the knees, and they “had nothing to protect the lower limbs except for
their army drawers” HA27.
Since the regiment had been in Tennessee, they had been on half-rations, but
when the siege began, they received quarter-rations, and often less than this HA27. This miniscule amount of nutrition
cannot sustain the life of a soldier in the winter for very
long. The men found a gap in General Longstreet’s barricade on the
southern side of the French Broad River HA27,
which joins the Holston River to form the Tennessee River. Union soldiers used
this clandestine egress on a daily basis to drive
wagons, guarded by mounted troops, to the untouched cornfields HA27. The parched or crushed corn made up the
bulk of their diet, until the fields were stripped bare HA27. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes wrote HA27:
Frequently men were to be seen going
around where the cavalry-men had fed their horses and
mules, and picking up the few grains of corn which these animals left lying
around on the ground. These were washed, and parched, and eaten, thus serving
for a time to satisfy the demands of hunger.
Six cavalry
regiments brought news on December 4 that the arrival of General Sherman and
his men was in the offing, and when General Longstreet learned of this, the
siege was abandoned and the Confederate forces
relocated elsewhere HA27. The
103rd Regiment was ordered to attempt to capture
his men, or otherwise hinder his escape, and on December 7, they began to march
toward Strawberry Plains, east of Knoxville, near the Holston River HA27. The men remained ill-equipped and poorly
fed, and there was an extreme shortage of horses to transport the requisite
guns because hundreds of horses had been lost; those horses who were not
released to find grass had died of starvation HA27. Their hike over the next three days
included wading through the nearly waist-deep, bone-chilling Holston River, and
so great a quantity of men broke ranks during this march, that just fifty men
of their regiment reached Strawberry Plains on December 10 HA27. The stragglers presumably joined them
over the subsequent days, for on December 15, their unit relocated eight miles
away to Blain’s Cross Roads HA27. The town of Blaine, Grainger County is
probably the location of Blain’s Cross Roads, because
it is just a bit north of Strawberry Plains. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes averred
that every man in the regiment would remember the night of December 16, when
they bivouacked in a plowed field, about a mile outside of Blain’s Cross Roads HA27:
The field was nice and dry when we lay
down… but about midnight it began to rain quite vigorously… No tents had been
put up, and hence the men had no protection but the blankets which were over
them. These soon became soaked, while the water, running under them, thoroughly
wet those upon which they were lying… It was so dark that one could not see six
inches before him, while the mud all about him was ankle deep. Scarcely a rail,
or chunk… could be found to sit on… the men had to stand and take it as best
they could. Probably the three or four hours just before daylight were the most
disagreeable and uncomfortable of any three or four hours during our entire
term of service.
By January 1, 1864,
blankets were in very short supply, and there were
only about six overcoats in the entire regiment HA27. The men were freezing, but they were
also starving, for there was no food distributed to them, whatsoever HA27. The next day, “two ounces of meal and a
small bit of lean beef were issued to each man”, and when a little cornfield
was discovered, this tided them over until they received an infusion of rations
HA27.
They had operations near Dandridge, located
on the French Broad River, on January 16 and 17, 1864 DY1. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes stated that they were
commanded to march to Dandridge on January 15, 1864 for the purpose of
preventing General Longstreet’s forces from moving from Dandridge to Knoxville HA27. Hayes lamented the blunder made by
Federal generals when the 103rd
Regiment arrived at Dandridge HA27. In
the opinion of Lieutenant Colonel Hayes, General Longstreet immediately began
to organize a retreat when the Union forces appeared, but he did so behind
diversionary tactics, so the North would be unaware of his withdrawal HA27. General Longstreet commanded his
vanguard “to keep up a lively skirmish fire”, while simultaneously he sent a
crew to set up a pontoon, which made it appear as though he meant to cross the
river and march on Knoxville HA27. The
Northern commanders believed the gambit, assuming that Longstreet meant to
sideswipe or otherwise slip past them, and take
Knoxville HA27. The blunder the Union generals
perpetrated, according to Hayes, was that they ordered their men to retreat,
without investigating or confirming the intelligence HA27.
This particular march from Dandridge was discouraging and
exhausting to the men, because they were forced to creep at a sluggish, fitful
pace behind the teams of wagons which would habitually become stuck in the mud,
without rest or sustenance for nearly twenty-four hours HA27. They plodded through rain, and
Lieutenant Colonel Hayes stated “sometimes we sank into the slush ankle deep” HA27. Their retreat had begun at 10:00pm on
January 17, and they were on the move until sundown the following night HA27. Those who had not fallen out of
formation, but instead arrived at camp with their regiment, were so fatigued
that they raised their tents and collapsed into sleep, before summoning the
energy the next morning to eat HA27.
On or about January
24, the regiment arrived at their old camp on the south side of the river near
Knoxville, where they remained for over one month HA27. During this time, several
boats delivered clothing and rations, and the men were finally allowed full
rations and outfitted with new uniforms HA27.
From February 28 until April 24, they trekked to Strawberry Plains, Mossy
Creek, Morristown, Mossy Creek again, and then Bull’s Gap HA27. They discovered they had a proclivity
for tearing up and destroying railroad track when they were given that task
near Jonesborough on April 26, and Lieutenant Colonel Hayes seemed rather proud
of this work: “Bridges and culverts were demolished, ties were burned, and
rails heated and bent into every conceivable shape for the distance of several
miles” HA27. It was only the Confederate-operated
locomotives that they wished to impede, for the 103rd certainly had no reservations about
traveling by rail on any Federal train, as they did on or about April 28,
steaming fast away in the direction of Knoxville, and arriving late at night in
Loudon HA27. There, they began to march about fifty
miles southwest toward Charleston, Tennessee, a village encompassed and overrun
with Union men and their tents, wagons, horses, and artillery HA27. They were about to push out to Georgia HA27.
The Atlanta Campaign
lasted from May 1, 1864 to September 8, 1864 DY1. General John M. Schofield
commanded the 23rd Army Corps, which included the 103rd Regiment in the Second Brigade of its
Third Division, and on May 3, 1864, they proceeded toward Dalton in northern
Georgia, to join General Sherman’s forces HA27, DY1, KL1. At that time, the Third Division was commanded by Brigadier
General Jacob D. Cox DY1, KL1.
The 23rd Army Corps swiftly filed through Tunnel
Hill and Snake Creek Gap, and that evening encountered Confederate forces near
Resaca HA27, which is about fourteen miles south of
Dalton. Resaca is sandwiched between river bends, which the Southern troops
used to their advantage, focusing the preponderance of their men and earthworks
in this naturally defensible area HA27.
That night, the 23rd Army
Corps slept on their arms, but by noon the next day, they maneuvered so that
they faced the enemy, and were separated from him by an open field which was
roughly one mile wide, through which ran a stream HA27. The Confederate front was on the western
side of Resaca, and extended four miles, from a bend in the Connasauga
River on the north, to a span of the Oostanaula River on the south ST5, KL1. The Northern lines echoed those of the
South, but they lay to the west and the north, and the 103rd Regiment was west of both the Confederate
line and Camp Creek ST5. The
Confederate forces, who answered to General Joseph Johnston, were on slightly
elevated land, and their artillery was nearby, but this was guarded by three
lines of infantry, who themselves were protected behind ramparts HA27, KL1.
On May 14, the
second and third divisions of the 23rd
Army Corps were commanded to strike, and upon their approach, the rebels
“opened upon us with all the guns he had” HA27.
Advancing across the open field, every Union soldier was a target, and many fell before they reached the creek HA27. The gunfire became more intense as they
approached with ever increasing velocity, and they flopped into a prone
position when they came to the base of the enemy’s hill, pausing for half an
hour while volleys and shells sounded above their heads HA27. Through this thunderous din, they caught
the order to charge with their bayonets, and the Federals sprang up, each
clutching his weapon in the hope that he might survive long enough to use it HA27.
The Confederates
“double-loaded their cannon with grape and canister” and fired HA27, but the men of the 103rd Regiment were able to get as far as the
first Confederate entrenchments, which they overtook HA27, KL1. Grape, or grapeshot, were numerous small iron cannonballs which were loaded together
and fired from a cannon, while a canister was an explosive metal shell which
was filled with shrapnel or shot and gas. Suddenly, the fusillade converged
upon the Third Division, because the Second Division, commanded by Brigadier
General Henry Judah, had stumbled into a swamp, and had taken heavy losses in
the confusion HA27,
DY1, KL1. Lieutenant
Colonel Hayes wrote that the ground “was covered with the dead and wounded, and
it seemed… folly to sacrifice the remainder of the brigade in… a vain attempt
to drive the enemy from his strongly-fortified
position” HA27. Taking cover as best they could, they
exchanged rounds until almost nighttime, when their relief appeared
and they were permitted to fall back HA27.
During the night on
May 15, General Johnston (Confederate) unobtrusively retreated south toward
Atlanta, dampening the noise of his artillery wheels with cornstalks KL1. The Federals awoke the following morning
to discover the ditches barren of Confederate soldiers HA27. Greater than one third of the 103rd Regiment were killed or wounded in the
Battle of Resaca HA27, and in their division, 562 men died or
were wounded KL1.
On May 16, the 23rd Army Corps began their pursuit of the
enemy, and crossed both the Connasauga and the Coosawattee rivers, the latter at about 9:00pm HA27. During the next few days, they marched
southwest to Cassville HA27 and
then Cartersville on about May 20 DY1, HA27, where they encountered the scorched remnants of the bridge which
spanned the Etowah River, which had been burned by Confederates HA27. While the 23rd Army Corps waited, the 103rd Ohio and the 24th Kentucky Regiments participated in an
excursion “up the river, about seven miles”, to burn a rolling mill HA27. A rolling mill is a factory in which
pieces of metal, typically ingots, are pressed into bars or sheets. A Georgia
State Historical Marker entitled “Etowah and the War”, positioned east of
Cartersville on the overlook at the end of Georgia 20 Spur, stated that on May
22, 1864, Union soldiers burned the iron works at Etowah which had been under
Confederate control since 1863. The 23rd
Army Corps forged ahead on May 23, and eventually came upon a group of rebels
embedded near Pumpkin Vine Creek HA27, DY1, and while many days of shelling and
gunfire resulted, “no general engagement” occurred there HA27.
They were relieved
on June 1 HA27, and Frederick Dyer stated that they were
near Marietta from that date until June 9 DY1.
On June 2, while hunting the Confederate soldiers and driving them into their
fortifications, they happened upon a meadow or a field which was bounded on the
far side by a forest thick with enemy sentries HA27. The 103rd was ordered to charge across the field,
which caused the rebels to retreat to their ramparts, but many
Ohioans were injured during this attack HA27.
Straightaway a cold front came through, and a cloudburst sent rain pelting
down, all the while they were attempting to construct ditches and earthworks HA27. They slept in wet clothes that night,
for they had no leave to build a fire HA27.
Dyer stated that the
103rd had “operations about Marietta and
against Kenesaw [sic]
Mountain” from June 10 until July 2 DY1,
and Lieutenant Colonel Hayes mentioned “Norses’
Creek” HA27; this was probably Noses Creek, which
flows between Kennesaw Mountain and Marietta. From June 10 until June 19, they
were hiking and skirmishing, and Lieutenant Colonel Hayes wrote HA27:
The rain fell thick and fast nearly all
day [June 19]. We were obliged to skirmish through the woods and brush, wading
streams and swamps, often where the water was knee deep, and getting so
thoroughly soaked that not a man in the line had a dry thread on him. We kept
up a lively skirmish… with the enemy, driving him back gradually until about
the middle of the afternoon we came up to Norses’
Creek. This stream was so swollen with the rains as to make it impossible for
us to cross. The enemy took up a position on the
opposite side and at once opened upon our advance with both artillery and
musketry…. we formed our line and opened fire in return. This we kept up until
darkness compelled us to desist. We lost in this day’s operations several of our best men…. Morning revealed the rebels still
in our front.
The Federals puzzled
over how to traverse the creek without getting shot, and decided to send
fifteen specific men, five of whom were of the 103rd Ohio Regiment, across a bridge, and these
men would be defended by artillery; this would gain them a foothold on the
opposite bank, and the rest of the men could hurry to meet them HA27. The artillery opened fire in the
environs of the bridge to rid the forest of any enemy soldier, and the fifteen
men, followed by the remainder of the army, hastily strode across HA27. While all made it safely to the other
side, one man was killed in battle later that day HA27.
Marching in a
general southeast direction, the 103rd
were at Nickajack Creek on July 2 through July 5 DY1, and came to the Chattahoochee River on
July 8 HA27,
DY1, which is southeast
of Marietta and north to northeast of Atlanta. Of the entirety of General
Sherman’s army, the 103rd Ohio
was the first regiment to cross the Chattahoochee River DY1, HA27 at Isham’s Ford
DY1. The “Isom’s Ferry” Georgia State
Historical Marker, located on Heards Drive in Sandy
Springs, Fulton County, Georgia, stated that the first Federal troops which
crossed using this ferry, which was also called Isom’s Ford or Phillip’s Ford,
were in Cox’s Division, Schofield’s 23rd
Army Corps. They bivouacked near the Chattahoochee River from July 5 through
July 17 DY1.
On July 20, their
marching brought them to the railroad, halfway between Decatur and Atlanta,
where they were put into position by General Sherman HA27. On July 22, they quickstepped to the
battlefield to support the 17th Corps,
but were late to the ball, for the 17th
had already prevailed over the rebels HA27.
They were kept moving, building earthworks, skirmishing, and picketing
throughout the entire month of August, and on August 28 began to march toward
East Point, which is immediately southwest of Atlanta HA27. Of all of their
duties, however, their specialty may have been ripping up railroad track, and
on September 1, the men of the 103rd
tore the track to bits at Rough and Ready HA27, DY1, which is now called Mountain View. While Dyer stated the 103rd was at the infamous Battle of Jonesboro
on August 31 and September 1, Lieutenant Colonel Hayes wrote that they arrived
in the area “too late to participate” HA27.
The men learned on September 3 that Atlanta had fallen, after a four month campaign HA27.
Although they finally had a chance to rest, the soldiers still faced about
three more days of marching before they came to Decatur, where they could lay
down their haversacks and their weapons HA27. Between April 30,
1864, when they united with General Sherman’s army, and September 8, 1864, when
they reached Decatur, the 103rd Regiment had lost about three hundred and
five soldiers to death, injuries, illness, and captivity HA27.
They
were stationed at Decatur for almost one month, and performed light guard duty,
which, along with an ample provision of new uniforms, was appreciated by all of the men HA27. When General Sherman discerned General Hood’s (of the
Confederate States Army) strategy to circumvent the Union troops and destroy
the railway which led north, which was the Federals’ pipeline for supplies,
almost the entirety of Sherman’s army was mobilized to thwart Hood HA27. In October, they commenced maneuvers
against General Hood in northern Georgia DY1.
The 103rd Regiment marched northwest through Marietta,
Allatoona, Cartersville, Cassville, Kingston (where they were on October 11),
and Rome, Georgia HA27, but
the enemy was pursued to a further extent, indeed, to northern Alabama, by
other facets of Sherman’s army HA27.
At this point, General Sherman returned to Atlanta, and the 23rd and the 4th Army Corps were sent to Nashville,
Tennessee to assist General Thomas in his task of shadowing General Hood HA27.
Major General
Schofield was in command of the 23rd
Army Corps during the Nashville Campaign, which lasted from November until
December 1864 DY1. The 103rd Regiment traveled by rail with the 23rd Army Corps from Resaca, Georgia toward
Nashville on November 1, but then disembarked at Chattanooga, Tennessee,
remaining there for two weeks, and they arrived at Pulaski, Tennessee on
November 19 HA27. Their orders were to congregate at
Pulaski and impede General Hood’s progress toward Nashville, which would give
General Thomas enough time to gather his troops at Nashville and make preparations to defend the city against the forty
thousand men under the command of General Hood HA27. For the moment, they were not to make a
general engagement HA27. For
this reason, the soldiers at Pulaski were instructed to slowly
and steadily fall back, and the 103rd
withdrew thirty miles north to Columbia by November 23 HA27. Hood’s men clashed with the Federals at
Columbia for two days, but then it became obvious that their plan was to evade
the Northerners and to cross the Duck River, just north of the town HA27. General Schofield chose to withdraw his
men another twenty-four miles north to Franklin, Tennessee HA27. The 103rd left at night on November 28, but before
they reached Franklin at daybreak, they successfully defended the wagon train
from rebel attackers at Spring Hill HA27.
The 4th Army Corps was responsible for guarding
the immense caravan of supply wagons during this retreat, and the 103rd was commanded to reinforce the battery which was positioned on a rise, which had its guns
aimed toward the Confederate camp HA27.
When the wagon train was noticed by the enemy, the 103rd dug in and worked in tandem with the
battery, unleashing a torrent of lead upon the advancing secessionists HA27. This allowed the provisions to reach
Franklin unscathed, and on November 29, the 103rd was busy escorting wagons across the
Harpeth River so they could continue on toward
Nashville HA27.
The Battle
of Franklin began on November 30 DY1, HA27 at about 4:00pm when General Hood’s men attacked the Union front,
and persisted for about six hours, when the Confederates withdrew HA27. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes reported that
1,750 Confederates were killed, 3,800 were wounded, and 702 were taken captive,
and Union losses included 189 killed, over one thousand wounded, and 1,104
soldiers were missing HA27.
Whereas Hayes typically was a descriptive writer who provided copious details
regarding marches and battles, he was largely silent on the Battle of Franklin,
and offered only an overview of the battle, rather than his regiment’s actual
involvement HA27.
After two weeks of
preparations, on December 15 the whole lot of Union men around Nashville began
a two day attack on Hood’s army, which then fled south
toward Franklin, tailed by the Yankees who sporadically collected southern
stragglers HA27. By January 2, 1865, the 103rd Regiment was in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee,
where they gratefully received a new flag from the ladies of Cleveland HA27. Their old flag had been reduced to
nothing but ragged scraps of fabric HA27.
Trekking to Clifton,
on the Tennessee River, the regiment boarded vessels on January 15, 1865 and
navigated north on the Tennessee River until its confluence with the Ohio
River, which they took to Cincinnati HA27, DY1. From there, they traveled by rail to Alexandria, Virginia, then
floated down the Potomac into the Atlantic Ocean, and on February 9, alighted
on the coast of North Carolina at Fort Fisher HA27, DY1. After a brief stopover at Fort Fisher,
they continued to Smithville HA27,
perhaps taking a ferry across or down the Cape Fear River. The objective of the
23rd Army Corps was to capture Wilmington, so
they could provide a supply line to Sherman’s troops near Goldsboro, over one
hundred miles north of Fort Fisher HA27.
The 103rd temporarily quartered in Fort Anderson
when it was deserted by Confederate soldiers on February 19, but three days
later, Wilmington was captured, so the 23rd
Army Corps occupied that city HA27, DY1.
It was there that the 103rd was
made accountable for 10,000 Union men who had been prisoners in various
locations, including prisons at Andersonville, Belle Isle, and Salisbury, but
who were released in exchange for Confederate prisoners, and were sent on to
Wilmington HA27. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes wrote HA27:
Nothing could have given us a clearer
insight into the inhuman policy of the rebel government in
regard to its treatment of Union prisoners, or a more thorough
understanding of the diabolical spirit which actuated the rebel leaders, than
the condition of these men… We had heard of our men actually
dying of starvation, exposure, and cruel neglect… of Union soldiers…
being shamefully and brutally murdered by rebel officials, for daring to ask
for a crust of bread or a cup of water to save them from perishing. But all
that we had ever heard dwindled into insignificance as we gazed upon these men
– many of them mere wrecks of their former selves.
Never had we so fully realized the diabolical inhumanity with which our men
were treated, as we did now… Nothing we had ever seen, heard, or experienced spake to us so loudly of the terrible wickedness of the
rebellion as did a look at these men.
According to his
pension record, George Hale was ill in a hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina in March and April 1865 FE1, but the city of
Raleigh was under Confederate control until April 13, when General Sherman’s
men arrived and the city fell to the Federals HA27. Lieutenant Colonel
Hayes stated that on March 6, the 103rd were instructed to move out, and from
Wilmington they marched to Kingston, Goldsboro, where they soon met Sherman’s
men, and finally on April 13 they crossed Raleigh’s threshold HA27. It seems extremely
implausible that a Union soldier would have been welcomed in any Confederate
hospital before April 13. It would have been more likely for George to travel
with his unit, and after all, his medical records did state that he was treated
on April 30, 1865 for “Int Fever” FE1.
They
had been in Raleigh for what seemed like moments, when the Union soldiers
received the news that General Lee had surrendered to General Grant at
Appomattox HA27. Then on April 26, General Johnston
capitulated to General Sherman, and the war was over HA27, DY1. The 23rd Regiment was ordered
to act as military police in North Carolina, while the
remainder of General Sherman’s army were sent to Washington, D.C. to be
discharged HA27. On June 12, 1865, the men climbed aboard a
train bound for Beaufort, whereafter they took boats to Fort Monroe and then
Baltimore, and a train again to Cleveland, Ohio HA27. Amid this happy
time, on their final leg of their journey home, a tragic and completely unfair
event occurred HA27. On June 18, as the train made its descent
down a mountain in Pennsylvania, some of the cars
derailed, causing injury to twenty-seven soldiers, and three or four men
succumbed to their wounds soon after HA27. Lieutenant Colonel
Hayes mournfully wrote HA27:
This was certainly
one of the saddest events in our whole army life. Had these men been cut down
in battle, their death would not have seemed so terrible, for then we should
have felt that they had died to some purpose. But to
be thus killed, after having passed safely through all the dangers of three
years’ service at the front, and when now they were almost in sight of their
homes, seemed sad in the extreme and filled our hearts with a deeper sorrow
than would have attended their death under almost any other circumstances.
Frederick Dyer and
Lieutenant Colonel Hayes gave different types of
figures regarding the men of the 103rd
Ohio Regiment. According to Dyer, two hundred forty-eight men of the 103rd Regiment died during service (two
officers and one hundred thirty-seven enlisted men
were killed, and three officers and one hundred six men perished from disease) DY1. Hayes did not provide a sum of his dead compatriots, but did write that while 972 men had enlisted
in the 103rd Ohio Regiment in 1862, only about three
hundred men returned to their home state in 1865 HA27.
George stated that
he lived in Henrietta, Lorain County, Ohio in 1865 and 1866, and relocated to
Hartford, Van Buren County, Michigan in 1866, where he remained for a decade FE1. George lived on his parents’ farm as a
laborer in Bangor at the time of the 1870 census. He married Jane Dobbyn on
December 27, 1872 in Deerfield, Van Buren County, Michigan, in a ceremony
officiated by Reverend Barton I. Curtis and witnessed by W.S. Morgan and H.L.
“Doby”. The typed copy of their marriage certificate stated that the bride’s
name was Jane E. “Doby”, which was a typographical or transcription error. In
George’s words, in response to a question on a pension record about any
previous marriages, he stated “I never had but one wife and am living with her
now… My Wife was not Married till I married her…” FE1.
From 1876 through
1879, he lived in Coloma, Berrien County, Michigan, and next from 1879 through
1888 he lived in Damon, Ogemaw County, and then he stayed for six months in
Caro, Tuscola County, Michigan FE1.
In his Declaration for an Original Invalid Pension,
dated May 26, 1888 at Ogemaw County, Michigan, George stated that he was then
forty-four years old, and explained that he suffered from rheumatism which was
caused “through exposure” (to cold), and that during his enlistment, he had
been treated at a hospital at Covington, Kentucky from September 1862 through
January 1863 FE1. His Declaration
for Invalid Pension was dated August 8, 1890, and at that time he was
forty-seven and lived in Damon, Ogemaw County, Michigan; he stated that
rheumatism caused him to be partially unable to earn a living FE1. He stated that he moved back to Coloma,
Berrien County, and lived there from 1888 to 1909 (although his pension record
proves that he was in Damon, Ogemaw County in 1890), and then moved to Spring
Arbor, Jackson County, Michigan, staying there until 1911, and finally he
settled in Mancelona, Antrim County, Michigan FE1. According to census and pension records,
he was a farmer. He was living right next door to his mother and father-in-law
during the 1880 census, and was living with them
during the 1900 census.
During May 1907, the
K.L.S. & C. Railroad Company was undergoing an effort to build a spur line
to Paw Paw Lake before summer began; this line would
leave “the main line west of Hartford on the George Hale farm… running in a
direct line to the west shore of the lake” PR2.
Apparently, many of the property owners who were to be
affected were “willing to aid the project by making concessions in the matter
of a right of way” PR2. This George Hale may or may not have referred to George
W. Hale, the subject of this biographical sketch, because there was another man
named George Hale who lived in the area at that time. Similarly vague was the
snippet of news which stated that George Hale sold his horse in early May 1908 TH13.
He
received seventy-two dollars per month from the Bureau of Pensions until his
death FE1. His
Pension Payment Card stated that he served as a private in Company F, 103rd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer
Infantry UN21. His pension certificate, number 455,658,
was issued on June 18, 1892, and indicated that he was an invalid UN21. The Pension Payment
Card stated, “Died Mar 5 1923 Accrued order dated Jun 25 1923 payable to widow
Jane E Hale” UN21. George died at age seventy-nine MI5 on March 5, 1923 UN20, MI5, UN21. A copy of his death certificate, which
was included in his pension record, stated that he died in Mancelona, Antrim
County at
the age of seventy-nine years, five months, and one day as the result of “Chronic Intestatial
Nephritas”, which was probably chronic interstitial
nephritis, at 4:45pm on March 5, 1923 FE1. George was buried at Fairview Cemetery in Mancelona,
Michigan UN20, and while a staff member for
Mancelona Township specified that George was buried at Fairview Cemetery North, the photographer of his
gravestones, Mary Briggs, stated that they were located in
Fairview Cemetery South.
·
1850 US Census: lived in Henrietta, Lorain County, Ohio.
·
1860 US Census: lived in Ridgeville, Lorain County, Ohio.
·
1870 US Census: lived in Bangor, Van Buren County,
Michigan.
·
1880 US Census: lived in Covert Township, Van Buren
County, Michigan.
·
1900 US
Census: lived in Covert Township, Van Buren County, Michigan.
·
1910
US Census: lived in Spring Arbor, Jackson County, Michigan.
·
1920
US Census: lived in Mancelona, Antrim County, Michigan.
Jane Elizabeth
Dobbyn ★
(James, Margaret) was born on October 5, 1853 in Mosey, Kent County, Ontario, Canada,
according to her statement on the Declaration
for Widow’s Pension, dated April 5, 1923 FE1. Census records state that she was
born about 1850 UN12, 1853 UN11, or October 1853 UN14 in Canada UN11,
UN12 or “English Canada” UN17. A copy
of her marriage certificate stated that she was born in Kent County, Canada
West FE1, yet her father was enumerated in Aldborough, Elgin County, Canada West
(Ontario) in the 1851 Canada census CA85. Her
full name, including her middle name, was stated on a pension document written
by George W. Hale on March 16, 1915 FE1. As a
child, Jane studied in a very small schoolhouse near
her parents’ farm HI8. Her
teacher, Geraldine Taft, had just turned fourteen years old, and her oldest
student was the same age as herself HI8, FR18. All
told, there were fifteen students, including five Dobbyn children HI8. Jane immigrated to America in 1872 and became a naturalized
citizen in 1876. This information was listed on the 1920 census, but she had
been living in Michigan since approximately 1860, according to the 1900 census record.
She
was the mother of James Earl, Myrtle L., Fred A., and Mary E. Hale. James Earl Hale was born on September
14, 1877 FE1. James E. Hale of Coloma, the son of George W. Hale and
Jane Dobbyn, and Myrtie Andrus were married by F.P. Russell on August 25, 1899 in South Haven, Van Buren
County, Michigan MI8. The record of their divorce stated
that their marriage occurred on August 25, 1900 in South Haven, and they
divorced on August 1, 1921 in Antrim County, Michigan MI22. James next married Bernice (Brown)
Clark on June 5, 1923 in a ceremony officiated by Reverend H. Salisbury in
Central Lake, Antrim County, Michigan MI23. The 1940 US Census recorded that James and Bernice lived in
Mancelona, Antrim Couny, Michigan UN18, so his death occurred sometime after
that. Myrtle L. Hale was
born on December 2, 1880 FE1. Fred A. Hale was born on January 28,
1890 but died in 1892 FE1. Mary E. Hale was born on March 21, 1895 to George W. Hale
and Jane E. Dobbyn FE1, US27 in Coloma, Van Buren County US27, Michigan MI23. Mary E. Hale, the daughter of George
Hale and a mother whose maiden name was Dobbyn,
married Guy R. Watters on September 25, 1917 in Mancelona, Antrim County,
Michigan MI23. Mary and Guy died sometime after the
1940 US Census, in which they were enumerated in Jackson, Jackson County,
Michigan UN18.
Jane lived in the
home of her daughter and son-in-law, Mary H. and Guy
Waters, at the time of the 1930 US Census UN17. Jane died on
August 24, 1939 in Mancelona, Antrim County, at the age of eighty-five MI5, and she was buried next to George at
Fairview Cemetery North in Mancelona, according to a staff member for Fairview
Cemetery.
·
1860 US
Census: lived in Deerfield, Van Buren County, Michigan.
·
1870 US
Census: lived in Deerfield, Van Buren County, Michigan.
·
1880 US
Census: lived in Covert Township, Van Buren County, Michigan.
·
1900 US
Census: lived in Covert Township, Van Buren County, Michigan.
·
1910 US
Census: lived in Spring Arbor, Jackson County, Michigan.
·
1920 US
Census: lived in Mancelona, Antrim County, Michigan.
·
1930
US Census: lived in Blackman Township, Jackson County, Michigan.
Two examples of George Hale’s signature appeared on his Declaration for Pension and his Declaration for Invalid Pension. Jane Hale’s signature appeared on the Declaration for Widow’s Pension in 1923.
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The gravestone markers of George W. Hale in Fairview Cemetery South were photographed by Mary Briggs on Memorial Day, 2014.
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