Ohio volunteer : the childhood & Civil War memoirs of Captain John Calvin Hartzell, OVI / edited by Charles I. Switzer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hartzell, John Calvin, 1837-1918.

Contributor:

Switzer, Charles I.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hartzell, John Calvin, 1837-1918.

Hartzell, John Calvin.

United States. Army. Ohio Infantry Regiment, 105th (1862-1865).

United States.

Soldiers--Ohio--Biography.

Soldiers.

History.

Regimental histories.

Ohio.

Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives.

Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Regimental histories.

Portage County (Ohio)--Biography.

Portage County (Ohio).

Genre:

Biographies.

Personal narratives.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

xxix, 250 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Athens : Ohio University Press, [2005]

Summary:

When His Captain Was Killed during the Battle of Perryville, John Calvin Hartzell, of Portage County, Ohio, was made commander of Company H, 105th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He led his men during the Battle of Chickamauga, the siege of Chattanooga, and the Battle of Missionary Ridge.

Edited and introduced by Charles I. Switzer, Ohio Volunteer: The Childhood and Civil War Memoirs of Captain John Calvin Hartzell, OVI documents military strategy, the life of the common soldier, the intense excitement and terror of battle, and the wretchedness of the wounded.

Late in Hartzell's life, his family implored him to set down his story, including his experiences in the Civil War. Hartzell did so diligently, taking more than two years to complete his manuscript. The writing reveals a remarkable memory for vivid details, the ability to view events from a philosophical perspective, and a humorous outlook that helped him bear the unbearable.

He also depicted the changing rural economy, the assimilation of the Pennsylvania Dutch, and the transformations wrought by coal mining and the iron industry. Hartzell felt individualism was threatened by the Industrial Revolution and the cruelties of the war. He found his faith in humanity affirmed-and the dramatic tension in his memoir resolved-when 136,000 Union soldiers reenlisted and assured victory for the North. The common soldier, he wrote, was "loyal to the core."

Contents:

Chapter 1 House of Seven Gables 1

Chapter 2 Dipping Candles; [Trapping, Fishing, Hunting; Orchard and River; Maple Syrup Production] 8

Chapter 3 [Gigging Fish; The Farm Community] 19

Chapter 4 [Shearing, Butchering, Threshing; Lazarus's Mill; The Still-House] 27

Chapter 5 The Calves; A Trip for Whitewash 40

Chapter 6 [The North Place] 51

Chapter 7 [Soap Making; Transportation; Social Gatherings and Camp Meetings] 57

Chapter 8 The Underground Railroad; Bread Making; Old Time Sundays; In the West, etc. 71

Chapter 9 [Adventure in Iowa; Financial Difficulties; Enlistment; Battle of Perryville] 85

Chapter 10 [Battle of Stones River; Winter Campaign; Scouting; Illness; On the March] 106

Chapter 11 [Battle of Chickamauga; Snodgrass Hill] 120

Chapter 12 Camp Life; The Siege of Chattanooga 130

Chapter 13 Mission Ridge; The Pursuit after the Battle; Ordered to Ohio-and Steals a Visit Home 149

Chapter 14 End of the War 166.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-236) and index.

ISBN:

0821416065

OCLC:

57465557