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organized in that city.  W. C. Margedant was elected captain of Company B.  He was afterward detailed and assigned to General W. S. Rosecrans' staff, as topographical engineer, with rank of Captain.  His maps, made before and after the battle of Chickamauga were appropriated by a superior officer, who published them as his own in the official report.  There are only five men living in Hamilton today that were members of this company, namely, Jacob Schlosser, W. C. Margedant, John Decher, Edward Scheurer and John Deiters.  The Ninth Ohio, was a German regiment.  Physically, its members were ideal soldiers and the regiment was the best drilled organization in the Western Army.  Its grand and effective charges at the battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge have passed into history as being unsurpassed during the Rebellion.
     On Saturday afternoon, Apr. 20, 1861, the young ladies of Hamilton presented a handsome silk banner to the Hamilton Guards, Company F, Third Ohio, under command of Captain W. C. Rossman.  The presentation ceremony took place in the east portion of the court house park.  The exercises were opened with prayer by Rev. A. Lowry, when Miss Kate Campbell presented the banner to the Guards, in the following patriotic address:

     Hamilton Guards: Your country demands your services, and you are promptly honoring her call.  Traitors have made war upon our government and seek to overthrow our noble institutions, secured to us by the wisdom, the toils and the blood of our venerated forefathers.  Your sisters cannot share your dangers in the field, but their hearts will go with you!  They present you this banner as a token of their earnest sympathies with you, and the sacred cause of Freedom and Justice, in which you go to fight.  It is the same emblem of constitutional liberty under which Washington, and all our national heroes fought and conquered!  Stand by it with your lives, if necessary.  Let no rebel hands bring reproach upon its honored folds.  Let its Stars ever remind you of your duty to the UNION, and its Stripes keep you thoughtful of the punishment due to patricidal traitors.
     Take it, soldiers, and carry it on to victory, and may the God of battles watch over and protect you, and may He preserve our country and our constitution; to be the protectors of the oppressed of all lands, to generations yet unborn.

ADDRESS OF CAPTAIN ROSSMAN ON RECEIVING THE  BANNER.

     Young Ladies of Hamilton: Our Country, which for so long a time has been the home of peace and liberty, is now rocking in the storm of Civil War.

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Armed desperadoes have insulted our flag, and defied our government.  Men have been found in this country base enough to strike the mother who has reared and protected them.  The wounded government demands reparation.  In obedience to that call, we will soon march to the scene of war.  Going out from you, we desire to take with us this work of love and patriotism, at your hands, and if the ardor of the company can be augmented, I can only wish that their patriotism may be as bright as the stars, and their loyalty as unfading as the colors of the flag, which has been so handsomely presented.  We accept this flag, and in the coming contest, if our little band can do ought to maintain the purity of our government, what man in the Hamilton Guards but will, in that contest, strike with renewed ardor by the remembrance of this day's honor?  We shall plant it on the outer wall, and its post shall be to us the post of honor.  Some, perchance, in this company, in defense of that flag, may fall.  Some of us whose hearts today beat high with proud hopes, and who are emulated to do deeds of glory will return no more.  But if a sacrifice from the Guards is demanded to procure constitutional liberty and our Union, the sacrifice shall be cheerfully given.  They won't die; but from their ashes, like as from the ancient Phoenix, will arise their names, and in letters of living light will they be enrolled on a page of an immortal history.  We accept the flag, and we promise to bring it back with no lost laurels, with no tarnished fame.  Its symmetry may be destroyed by the elements and by strife, but these shall be, in your estimation, honorable scars.

     An immense congregation assembled in Beckett's Hall, Sunday afternoon, April 21, to hear a discourse to the Hamilton Guards by Rev. William Davidson.  The discourse was able, patriotic and eloquent, and was listened to with earnest attention, and often with deep emotion.  The Reverend gentleman spoke of the cause in which the loyal states were engaged as just and righteous - that if the war of the revolution was holy, this was thrice holy - if it was sanctified, this was thrice sanctified.  History left no record of any war where the people were called upon more imperatively to take part in its prosecution, than this people in defense of their government against the traitors who are now in array against it.  If they were not subdued our government was a nullity, and anarchy would reign supreme.
     After Dr. Davidson had finished his address, the little daughter of Lewis Emmons proceeded to the stand and presented Sol. Pretsinger with a Testament and a revolver.  The tears came to the eyes of nearly every person in the house at this touching scene.

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     Captain Rossman's company left Sunday night, Apr. 21, for Columbus, where it was assigned to the position of Company F, Third Ohio.
     The Butler Pioneers, Company A, Twenty-sixth Ohio, under command of Captain J. W. C. Smith and Lieutenant F. M. Lefler, left for the front early in the war.
     Minor Millikin recruited an Independent company for Burdsill's cavalry.  Each man was compelled to furnish his own horse, as the government up to this time had not equipped any cavalry regiments.  Later Captain Clement Murphy, Charles H. Murray, Charles E. Giffen and Alex. C. Rossman recruited a company for the Fifth Ohio cavalry.
     The Eighty-third regiment was organized in Cincinnati, in August, 1862, under command of Colonel F. W. Moore.  Seven Companies were from Hamilton county and the other three from Butler and Warren counties.  This regiment entered the service with 1,037 men.  Twice its ranks were filled by adding four hundred and fifty recruits.  At the close of the war only two hundred and thirty-seven answered to roll call.  Few regiments saw more active service than the Eighty-third.  Our fellow townsman, Captain H. P. Deuscher commanded a company in this organization.
     M. C. Ryan was commissioned Colonel of the Fiftieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry in September, 1861.  Colonel Ryan died October 20, of this year after three companies had gone into camp at North Hamilton, under command of Captains Patrick Dwyer, Cornelius McGreevey, William Drummond, and Lieutenants Robert Cullen and Michael McGreevey.  These companies remained in camp here until Mar. 27, 1862, when they left for Camp Chase, Columbus, when they were assigned to the Seventy-fourth Ohio.  This organization was known as Fighting Parson Granville Moody's regiment, which participated and bore an important part in all the battles in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, from Stone river, in 1862, to Bentonville, North Carolina, in 1865.
     The Ninety-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry was recruited in the Third Congressional District.  It was organized at

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Dayton, Ohio, Aug. 20, 1862, to serve three years.  Its first field officers were, Colonel, Charles Anderson; Lieutenant Colonel, Hiram Strong; Major, Alfred A. Phillips.  It had other regimental officers as follows: Colonels, William H. Martin and Daniel Bowman; Majors, William Burch and Robert Joyce.  Pursuant to an order from the War Department the members whose term of service would have expired previous to Oct. 1, 1865, were mustered out June 8, 1865, and the remaining numbers transferred to the Forty-first Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  The list of battles in which this regiment bore an honorable part is as follows: Lebanon (Antioch church,) Stone river, Chicamauga, Brown's Ferry, Orchard Knob, Mission Ridge, Buzzard Roost, Reseca, Dallas, Kenesaw mountain, Siege of Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Franklin and Nashville.
     A Company of Hamilton recruits enlisted in the Thirteenth Missouri regiment, under command of Captain Moses Klein.  This organization was composed largely of Ohio men, which was afterward accredited to this state and designated as the Twenty-second Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  In May, 1862, Captain Rind. Lawder, Lieutenants Zelotes B. Wood and Patrick W. Ryan, recruited a company for the three months' service and went to Columbus.  Rind. Lawder accepted a position under Colonel Granville Moody, in the Seventy fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and Zelotes Wood found employment in a shoe store in the Capital City.  The company, after remaining in Camp Chase for a week or ten days, without officers, disbanded, its members enlisting in the Eighty-fourth, Eighty-fifth, Eighty-sixth and Eighty-seventh regiments.  Captain William H. Miller recruited the Hamilton Rifles, and entered the service in the Kanawaha Valley, West Virginia.  While taking observations with his field glasses in a tree, he was killed by a Confederate sharp shooter.  The raids of General Kirby Smith, in 1862, and General John Morgan, in 1863, called into existence numerous local organizations.  Hamilton was declared under martial law by Major Keith, of Dayton, during the Morgan raid.  Captain Rans-

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ford Smith was appointed provost marshal.  T. V. Howell was elected major of a battalion.  To Major George W. Rue, of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, our fellow-townsman rightfully belongs to the honor of capturing John Morgan.
     The Thirty-fifth, Sixty-ninth and One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Regiments Ohio Volunteer Infantry were organized in Hamilton

HISTORY OF THE THIRTY-FIFTH O. V. I.

     Seven companies of this organization were entirely, or largely composed of Hamilton men.

FIELD, STAFF and COMPANY OFFICERS.

COMPANY I.

COMPANY G.

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George Morrison, a daughter of Dr. Robert Breckenridge, professor in the Danville Theological Seminary.  The flag was placed in the care of Color Sergeant Mark B. Price, and carried by the Thirty-fifth during its term of service.  Afterward the regiment was ordered to Paris, where it remained until November, when it marched to Somerset.  At Mill Springs the regiment was brigaded with the Eighteenth Regulars, Ninth Ohio and Second Minnesota, under the command of Brigadier-General Robert L. McCook, remaining with the last two regiments during their entire term of service.  This was one of the brigades long composing General George H. Thomas' division.  After the battle of Mill Springs the regiment marched to Louisville, and thence took steamer to Nashville, which was reached on March 4.  The suspension bridge had been destroyed; the cables had been cut, and the wood work was still burning.  The rebel authorities desired to burn Nashville, to prevent its becoming a union stronghold.
     The Thirty-fifth participated in a number of skirmishes during the siege of Corinth, and was among the first to enter the Confederate fortifications.  Afterward they marched to Tuscumbia, Alabama, and in July, 1862, to Winchester, Tennessee.  It was on this march that General Robert L. McCook was assassinated by rebel guerrillas.  In the two days' fight at Chickamauga the Thirty-fifth Ohio lost just fifty per cent. of those engaged.   The regiment took into the fight 391 officers and men.  Of this number 194 were lost.  The loss of the brigade was 843, and of the division 2,353.
     During the two days' fighting they were never driven back; never gave an inch until ordered, and repeatedly repulsed and drove back four times their number.  The Ninth Ohio retook a battery which had been captured from the regular brigade.  Following, we give Colonel Boynton's official report of the battle of Chickamauga:

     Captain: I have the honor to report the following as the part taken by the Thirty-fifth Ohio in the action of September 19th and 20th in this vicinity,

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     FERDINAND, VanDERVEER was born in Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, Feb. 27, 1825.  He attended school in his native village, and completed an Academic course at Farmers' college, near Cincinnati.  He read law and was admitted to practice at Memphis, Tennessee, in 1845.  Shortly after being admitted to the bar he returned to Hamilton, and continued his legal readings under the tutelage of John B. Weller. In the month of May, 1846, President Polk called upon the state of Ohio to furnish three regiments of soldiers as its quota for the Mexican war.  John B. Weller soon organized a company known as Company I, First Ohio Rifles.  Later on Weller was appointed lieutenant colonel of the First regiment and James George - who rose to the rank of colonel of the Second Minnesota during the late war - was elected captain.  After the battle of Montery, Sept. 19, 20, 21, 1846, Captain George resigned and returned home, when Sergeant VanDerveer was elected captain over the three lieutenants.  In this engagement Company I, had three of its number killed, namely: John Pierson, of Darrtown, Oscar Boehme and Samuel Freeman, of Hamilton.  After Company I, was mustered out of service, Captain VanDerveer exhumed their bodies and brought them home at his own expense for burial.  The funeral service was held in the court house park, and the three bodies were buried in one grave in Greenwood cemetery.  Captain VanDerveer participated in most of the important battles of the Mexican war and was noted for his coolness and bravery.  He was presented with a fine sword, sash, etc., by the citizens of Middletown, on his return home.  He was elected sheriff of Butler county in 1847, serving until 1849, the Yeargus murder at Busenbarks', defeating him for a second term.  Yeargus was arrested for threatening to murder his wife and burn the houses of his neighbor's.  In default of a five hundred dollar bond he was committed to jail.  After several months' confinement he was allowed the liberty of the jail yard, and walked about the premises.  He was not locked in a cell, as the other prisoners were.  One night he stole out of the jail and walked to Busenbark's, murdered his wife by cutting her throat from

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ear to ear, returning to the jail before day light next morning.  General VanDerveer deplored the rash act, as in the kindness of his heart, he granted Yeargus the privileges above referred to, who in return for the courtesy extended, betrayed the confidence reposed in him, and committed a foul murder.
     In 1849, and again in 1860 he edited the Hamilton Telegraph, then the organ of the Democratic party of this county.  He was an able and forcible writer, and woe be it to the individual who incurred his displeasure as his trenchent pen was keen as a Damascus blade.  In the fall of 1860 he was elected prosecuting attorney, and succeeded in sending more criminals to penitentiary than any other prosecutor that ever held the office.

     At the breaking out of the Civil War he organized the gallant Thirty-fifth Ohio regiment and was commissioned colonel.  Inscribed upon its banners are Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Resaca, the Siege and general assault of Atlanta, etc.  On Chickamauga's bloody plane, Colonel Van Derveer commanded a brigade.  For bravery and heroic conduct on this famous battle-field he won his star and was made a Brigadier General.  In action he was cool, collected and knew not what fear was.
     In 1865, General VanDerveer was appointed Internal Revenue Collector, for the Third District of Ohio.
     He was appointed Postmaster Mar. 18, 1885, and served until December fourth, when he resigned.  In 1886, he was elected judge of the court of common pleas, and was again re-elected in 1891.  He died Nov. 5, 1892.

     LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHARLES L'HOMMEDIEU LONG was born in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, in 1827.  His parents moved to Cincinnati, when he was ten years of age, and in which city he grew to manhood.  He attended the Woodward High school in Cincinnati, though not a graduate.  He left his class to learn the printer's trade in the Cincinnati Gazette office.  At the outbreak of the Mexican war, Col. Long enlisted in the First Ohio regiment.  He made a record as a

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gallant soldier.  He responded to the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men.  He organized a company and was elected captain.  His company was assigned to the Fifth Ohio.  He was elected major of the regiment, afterward he received a Lieutenant Colonel's commission and assigned to the Thirty-fifth.  Col. Long was identified with the Thirty-fifth for nearly two years, a good part of the time in command.  He was full of energy, and never sought to evade duty in any respect.
     In July, 1863, Col. Long resigned and returned to Cincinnati.  He died in 1890.

     MAJOR H. V. BOYNTON came to Hamilton Aug. 20, 1861.  He had been commissioned major by the governor of Ohio, and ordered to report to Col. Van Derveer at Hamilton.  The command of the regiment devolved upon him from the close of the Tullahoma campaign to the Missionary Ridge fight, where he was wounded.  At the close of the Civil War, General Boynton became the Washington correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette, taking the place of Whitelaw Reid.  He served over twenty-five years for the same paper.  He made a reputation in this capacity. The enterprise with which Gen. Boynton's name will be more particularly associated, is the conception, developement development and completion of the National Park, embracing the battle field of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge.  Chickamauga was the hardest fought field during the Civil War considering the numbers engaged.  The park, covering a large part of both fields, will perpetuate, for all time to come, the fierce battle here enacted, as well as the bravery of the American soldiers.

     MAJOR JOSEPH L. BUDD, was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey, in 1833.  His family moved to Hamilton, Ohio, in 1836, where the subject of this sketch spent his boyhood days in attending school at the old Hamilton Academy, which was at that time in charge of C. C. Giles.  At the age of seventeen Joseph Budd removed to Lebanon, Ohio, in Warren county, to enter upon the mercantile profession.  He continued

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in that business up to the breaking out of the Civil War.  Major Budd had a taste for the military profession.  In 1857 he was a member of the "Warren Guards."
     Major Budd was identified with the Thirty-fifth as captain of company A, which he commanded until June, 1863, when he received promotion as major of the regiment.  He served after the battle of Chickamauga on Gen. Baird's staff.  After the battle of Missionary Ridge he took command of the regiment.  From January, 1864, until the regiment was sent north to be mustered out of the service, Major Budd was in command of the regiment, or in other words, he commanded the Thirty-fifth on the Atlanta campaign.
    

     JOHN S. EARHEART was born in Jacksonburg, Butler county, Ohio, Mar. 10, 1824.  His parents moved to Hamilton when the subject of this sketch was only two years of age.  At this place he attended the Hamilton Academy, and later he entered the Ohio Farmer's college, then under the management of Freeman Carey.  Capt. Earheart studied civil engineering.  He assisted his father in building a number of turnpikes in southern Ohio, in the Hamilton hydraulic and surveying lands, as well as work connected with railways.  The Ohio division of the Junction Railway was under Captain Earhart's management.  The first viaduct through the First ward of this city, a masterpiece of engineering skill, was on the middle section of the Miami and Erie canal, and when the Civil War began, he resigned and assisted in recruiting the Thirty-fifth.  He commanded Company C of the regiment until the spring of 1863, when he was appointed topographical engineer and assigned on Gen. Steedman's staff.  Afterward he was advanced to the same position on Gen. Brannan's staff.  He served in that place until his death, Aug. 10, 1863.  His death was notice in general orders, as follows:
     "His zeal and undoubted ability in the discharge of his arduous duties insured him the confidence of his superiors, and his high moral character and gentlemanly deportment won the respect and admiration of all.  In the death of Captain Earheart, the service loses a faithful and efficient staff officer;

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society a worthy and respected member, and while we, his associates in life, can but mourn his loss, let us humbly hope that in his exemplary life and character, death has gained for him peace above.  By command of
                                                               "BRIG. GEN. JOHN M. BRANNAN."

PHILIP ROTHENBUSH

     CAPTAIN PHILIP ROTHENBUSH. - The subject of this brief sketch was born in Rossville, (now First ward of Hamilton), July 1, 1842.  He was educated in the public schools of this city and Nathan Furman's Academy.  Afterward he was a drug clerk in his father's store in the P. G. Smith building on the West Side for six years.  At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted under Captain W. C. Rossman, in Company F, Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for three months' service.  Later he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-fifth Ohio, and was appointed orderly sergeant.  In February, 1862, he was promoted to first lieutenant, and in March, 1864, received the rank of captain.  These advancements were the reward of merit.  On September 19th and 20th, 1863, he fought and was wounded on Chickamauga's bloody plain, and in 1864, on Lookout mountain; was one of the leaders who helped to crown the North with glory on the these famous battlefields.  He was United States Assessor in 1865 of Fairfield and St. Clair townships.  In 1866, Captain Rothenbush was appointed United States store keeper, in the Third District of Ohio.  In 1867, he engaged in the fruit business in connection with Blair Boger, who later sold out to James D. Ratliff.  This latter partnership covered a period of six years, when Captain Rothenbush sold his interest to George A. Miller.  After several months rest he opened his present establishment at No. 110 High street.
     Captain Rothenbush is the oldest fruit dealer in Hamilton.  He was the first to introduce the sale of bananas in this city when they sold at fifteen cents a piece; was the first to handle poultry outside of market.  He makes a specialty of handling apples, cabbage and potatoes by the car load.  He keeps the best and finest line of domestic and tropical fruits.  He carries a large and varied stock of seeds, candies, cigars and tobacco.  He is a thorough business man; an energetic and untiring

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worker; has succeeded in building up a large trade.  Close application and personal supervision of business are the secrets of his success.  His place is abreast of the times and his is justly considered as the leading fruit house in Hamilton.
     Captain Rothenbush was with his father, in 1865, in the grocery business in the West End.  He was married, Jan. 16, 1856, to Ollie M. Ratliff.  They are the parents of three children, two sons and one daughter.  They are James E., Jennie M., and Clifford E.  Mr. Rothenbush is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and Royal Arcanum.
 

HISTORY OF THE SIXTY-NINTH O. V. I.

     This regiment was recruited and organized in the Fair grounds at Hamilton, in the latter part of 1861.  Its first Colonel was Hon. Lewis D. Campbell, who resigned on August 9, 1862, and was succeeded successively by Colonels W. B. Cassilly, M. F. Moore, and J. H. Brigham.  Its other regimental officers were as follows:  Lieutenant Colonels, Charles L. Gano, George F. Elliott, J. H. Brigham; Majors, Eli J. Hickox, James L. Hanna, Lewis E. Hicks; Adjutants, Richard H. Cunningham, W. S. Mead, Thomas B. Hoffman, Joseph W. Boynton; Quartermasters, Fred. B. Landis, Levi E. Chenoweth.   Following is the original company officers:
J. H. Brigham, Company A; C. N. Gibbs, Company B; G. F. Elliott, Company C; E. Hickox, Company D; David Putman, Company E; Robert Clements, Company F; William Patton, Company G. L. C. Counsellor, Company H; J. V. Heslip, Company I; J. J. Hanna, Company K.  The Sixty-ninth regiment was not wholly from Butler county.  It counts upon its lists the names of Montgomery, Preble, Darke, Harrison and Fairfield.  The regiment left Hamilton Feb. 19, 1862, for Camp Chase, Columbus, where it remained guarding rebel prisoners and preparing for the field.  On Apr. 19, 1862, the Sixty-ninth left for Nashville, Tennessee, arriving there on the 22.
     It went into camp on the grounds of Major Lewis, and was reviewed by Andrew Johnson, the warm personal friend of the colonel, then the military governor of Tennessee, and afterward the Vice-president and President of the United States.

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     This regiment took part in the following battles: Gallatin, Tenn.; Stone River, Tenn.; Mission Ridge, Tenn.; Resaca, Ga. (including Pumpkin Vine Creek;) Kenesaw Mountain, Geo.; Sherman's March to the Sea.

     On May 1, 1862, the regiment went to Franklin, where it acted as the guard for forty miles of the Tennessee and Alabama Railroad.  The rebel women of Franklin were especially bitter, and on one occasion evinced their venom against the national dead buried in the cemetery by dancing on their graves.  Colonel Campbell issued an order commenting in severe terms upon this indignity.  On June 12, the regiment was ordered to Murfreesboro, and thence it made its first march to McMinnville, in pursuit of a rebel force, making forty-eight miles in twenty-three hours.  From McMinnville, it advanced through the Cumberland Mountains, to a point near Pikeville, when it was found that the enemy were out of reach, and the column returned.  On coming back to McMinnville, a United States flag was hoistered on a tall hickory pole, which was standing in the square.  On this occasion General Dumont and Colonel Campbell addressed telling speeches to the citizens, and the fervid exclamations and the tears of many an old citizen, attested their devotion for the "Old Flag."  The regiment returned -  moved from McMinnville to Nashville, where it was presently ordered on guard duty, Colonel Campbell becoming Provost Marshal of the city.  This duty was performed until sometime during the month of August, and the regiment was organized with the Eleventh Michigan, the Eighteenth Ohio and the Nineteenth Illinois, into the Twenty-ninth brigade, commanded by Colonel T. R. Stanley of the Eighteenth Ohio.  The maiden engagement of the Sixty-ninth took place at Gallatin, Tenn., early in August, Morgan had taken possession of Gallatin capturing the garrison.  The regiments including the Sixty-ninth, moved against Morgan engaging him at Gallatin, driving him out of the town

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pell-mell, with a heavy loss to the rebels.  In this sharp fight, Isaac Repp, of Dayton, was killed.
     On November 5, the Sixty-ninth took part in the fight on Franklin Pike, five miles from Nashville.  This was during the time that the Army of the Cumberland was operating against Bragg, in Kentucky, and Nashville was surrounded by the enemy.  The demonstration on the Franklin Pike was heavy but General Negley, by a judicious disposition of his meager forces and an abundant use of artillery, repelled the attack.  The Sixty-ninth met with but slight loss in this affair.
     From November 7, till December 26, the troops were resting, while the campaign which ended in Stone River was planned and prepared.  On this day, the army started on the march to Murfreesboro.  Several days were spent in marching and skirmishing, and on the memorable December 31, the Sixty-ninth was, with Negley's division on the right center of the army, were engaged in the Cedar Thicket fight, which for fighting and carnage, had not been surpassed during the war.  On that day the regiment had five officers wounded, two men killed, and about fifty wounded and made prisoners. Thursday, January 1, General Rosecrans sent Negley's and Rosecran's divisions out on the right to draw the enemy out, but without success.  Bragg was getting cautious.  On Friday, these troops were sent down on the left of the army, toward which quarter the enemy were concentrating.  On this day, occurred one of the most brilliant acts in the history of the regiment.  Breckenridge's corps had passed down till Van Cleve's division was falling back, from their advantageous position on the east side of the river.  Heavy masses of the enemy were advancing down on Negley's position, in force, apparently sufficient to crush their left.  At this critical juncture, General Rosecrans, who was watching the field with the utmost anxiety, called out, "Who will save the left."  Colonel Scott, of the Nineteenth Illinois, sprang up and replied, "General, I am ready."
     This gallantry was contagious, and in a few seconds the Twenty-ninth brigade were on their feet, charging with

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tremendous cheers across Stone river and up the hill, in the face of the advancing enemy.  Breckenridge's men intimidated by the charge, and the terrible fire of the brigade, wavered, and then fell back in confusion.  Colonel Stanley was conspicuous in this charge for his cool and daring courage.  The brave Colonel Scott, who inspired the charge, was mortally wounded.  Sergeant Frederick Wilson, of the Sixty-ninth captured a rebel battle flag, but in the eager pursuit it was dropped, and afterward picked up by some other regiment.  In this charge the Sixty-ninth captured a part of famous Washington Battery from New Orleans.  The regiment lost Captain Counsellor and six men killed and about twenty wounded.
     After the capture of Murfreesboro, the Army of the Cumberland was reorganized; the regiments of the Fifty-ninth brigade remaining together.
     About the last of June, the Sixty-ninth marched with the army on the Tallahoma campaign, arriving at the foot of the mountains, July 4.  Bragg fell back without giving battle.  At Cowan, Tennessee, when the troops were sent forward, the Sixty-ninth was left, until the entire army had advanced, when it was attached to the reserve corps and moved to Rossville, Ga.  On the night of September 18, the Sixty-ninth was ordered to the front, being attached to Colonel Dan McCook's brigade.  On the morning of Saturday, the first day at Chickamauga, the Sixty-ninth performed one of the most gallant acts of the war, in burning Reid's bridge, over the Chickamauga.  They advanced at daybreak, in the face of heavy masses of the enemy, piled up the plank on the brigade and set fire to it, thus preventing the enemy from coming in on the rear of the national army.  The regiment then fell back to Rossville, and immediately thereafter took charge of the division trains.  For this reason it did not participate in the battle of Chickamauga.  They received a tremendous fire from the enemy, but completed the work and then retired, before a heavy pursuing force.  This daring feat has received special mention in the official reports.  The trains were all ordered to Chattanooga,

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the Sixty-ninth accompanied them to that point, and then returned to the front, Saturday afternoon.  When the Fourteenth Army Corps, fell back, on Monday night, the Sixty ninth stood advance picket guard covering the retreat of the entire army.  During the siege of Chattanooga, by Bragg, this regiment worked almost unremittingly in the trenches, much of the time on half and one-third rations.  It took an active part in the magnificent series of operations by which Grant drove Bragg from Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge.
     During the storming of Lookout Mountain, the Sixty ninth was on picket, and from its position on duty, it advanced in the grand assault on Mission Ridge.  In the assault, the regiment was in General Johnson's division, on the right centre.  The Sixty-ninth bore as brave a front up that terrible steep, as any other regiment engaged.  On the Ridge, the Sixty-ninth captured several guns and turned them on the fleeing enemy.  Its loss in this charge was forty-four men, nine of whom were killed and mortally wounded.  Here within twenty yards of the crest, full in the front, while crouching to avoid the terrible fire, but proudly holding up the tattered flag of the regiment, Color Sergeant Jacob Wetzel received a ball through his head, and fell a glorious martyr to the cause of liberty.
     The performance of the regiment in that charge was such that General Johnson, in visiting the wounded, when he came to one of the men of the Sixty-ninth, would say, "Ah! another Sixty-ninth boy-the first to reach the top." During the advance up the Ridge, while under a terrific fire of musketry and artillery, a fragment of a bursted shell struck Colonel Moore on his left side.  He would have been instantly killed but for his field glass, which received and was shattered by the blow.  On the next day after the capture of Mission Ridge, our troops pursued the enemy toward Dalton.  The same night, November 26, the brigade to which the Sixty-ninth belonged, crossed Chickamauga creek, and advanced toward a rebel encampment.  Late in the night they came near the camp and advanced, cautiously, near enough to see

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the men about the fires.  Here the Sixty-ninth fired a volley and went in on full charge.  The rebels fled, leaving with the victors a battle-flag, three pieces of artillery and one hundred and fifty prisoners.
     On September 7, the Sixty-ninth took part in the fight at Jonesboro, and lost Lieutenant Jacob S. Pierson, Martin V. Bailey, Color Sergeant Allen L. Jobes, of Company D, and five men killed and thirty-six wounded.  The battle caused the evacuation of Atlanta, and the national forces occupied that city.  The regiment participated in the subsequent chase after Hood through the upper part of Georgia, and into Alabama.  It then returned to Atlanta, and joined Sherman's march to the sea.  Arriving in Savannah, it took position in the front line.
     In the campaign through the Carolinas the regiment was engaged with the enemy near Goldsboro, North Carolina, Mar. 18, 1865, and lost two killed and eight wounded.  This was the last affair in which it participated.  Then came to march through Richmond, the review at Washington, the transfer to Louisville, and, lastly, the final muster out of the service on July 17, 1865.

ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVENTH O. V. I.

     This regiment was organized in Hamilton, on May 2, 1864, and sworn into the United States service on the fourteenth of the same month.  On May 18, it received marching orders for West Virginia, and reached Charleston, in that State, on May 21.  It went into quarters at Camp Piatt, named in honor of Colonel A. Saunders Piatt, of the Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Later the regiment removed to Loupe Creek, twenty-five miles further up the Kanawha River, where four companies were detached and sent to Gauley Bridge.   At these points they relieved the Second, Third and Seventh regiments of West Virginia Cavalry.  The duty this regiment was called upon to perform was transporting supplies to Generals Hunter, Crook and Averill and guarding government stores.  The regiment was mustered out of service at Hamilton, in the latter

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part of September, 1864, after having served about a month longer than its term of enlistment.  Following is a list of the officers of the regiment:

     In all enlistments, during the war, Hamilton and Butler county furnished 3,750 recruits.  Of this grand army of men only 1,025 remain in the county.  A number were killed in battle; some have removed elsewhere, but a majority of them have answered the last roll call and have passed the lintels and portals, which calls to our mind that beautiful dirge that we listened to thirty-five years ago.

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STATE SENATORS

     The following persons have represented the Butler-Warren  District in the upper branch of the General Assembly since 1804:

     In the list will be found the names of men who were well versed in law; who have made and are making our history today.  Among the list we mention Elijah Vance, Valentine Chase, Thomas Moore, N. C. McFarland, William H. Campbell, L. D. Campbell, Peter Murphy, George F. Elliott, Estes G. Rathbone and J. J. McMaken.

     COLONEL THOMAS MOORE was born in the city of Quebec, Canada, July 22, 1822.  He was of Scotch-Irish extraction.  His parents removed to Pennsylvania, in 1828, where his father died one year later.  In 1830, with his mother and two brothers he came to Ohio, locating in Oxford, this county, where he attended school until 1833, when he moved to Preble county.  When he was fifteen he began working at the tailor's trade, and after completing his time, labored for eight weeks as a journeyman, acquiring enough money in this time to carry him through one term at Miami University, in the fall of 1839.  He was a student in that institution for some four years, working at his trade during vacations, and whenever

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the opportunity offered, and also teaching school, using the money thus acquired to gain an education.  Completing his course, he entered the office of L. D. Campbell, in Hamilton, about 1845, and read law with him.  From this he went to Jackson & Hawkins, at Eaton, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Ohio, at Columbus, in the winter of 1845 and 1846.  A year after he entered into partnership with Judge William J. Gilmore, which lasted a year, and was dissolved by Judge Gilmore going to Eaton.  Colonel Moore was elected State Senator from the Butler-Warren district, in 1860, being the first Republican to fill that position.
     As Senator he introduced and pushed to its final passage a bill repealing the Criminal Cost Act.  Under the provisions of this law constables were authorized to pursue criminals anywhere in the United States, and render a certified copy of the cost bill to the county auditor, who in turn was authorized to draw a warrant on the treasury for the same.  In those days the offices of justice of the peace and constable were a valuable sinecure, worth at least $10,000 per annum.
     He was mayor of Rossville in 1850-51, a position he soon after resigned.  He was originally a member of the Associate Reformed church, but for ten years before his death was a member of the Presbyterian church.  In 1864, he was elected Colonel of the One Hundred and Sixty-seventh Ohio, and commanded it during its service of four months in West Virginia.  Colonel Moore was married in 1845, to Miss Mary C. Caldwell, who was born in Preble connty county, in 1823.  Mr. and Mrs. Moore are the parents of seven children, of whom five are living.  Colonel Moore was long an active and laborious worker in the Republican cause, and before that in the Whig.  He was a frequent political speaker, also at temperance and Sunday school meetings, and was interested in everything that concerned this city or locality.  Colonel Moore died June 19, 1893.

GEORGE F. ELLIOTT

     COLONEL GEORGE F. ELLIOTT was born Apr. 8, 1826, near the famous old Spring Meeting house in Liberty township, which has often resounded with the pious eloquence of

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his father.  He was the youngest of seven sons of Rev. Arthur Elliott, who came out to this county from Maryland to fill the manly part of a pioneer exhorter.  At the age of fourteen, George was sent to St. Clair township where he spent several of the following years in farm work, attending such schools as circumstances permitted.  The greater part of his educational training was acquired in a school conducted by a Mr. Wade in the basement of the old Episcopal church in this city.  At the outbreak of the Civil War, Colonel Elliott of his own accord and almost entirely by his own exertions recruited Company C, of the Sixty-ninth O. V. I.  His record as a soldier shines pre-eminent in the annals of Butler county's achievements in the great struggle.  He was appointed Major on Aug. 9, 1862, and Lieutenant Colonel in October, 1862.  The crowning event of his military record was his brilliant performance on the bloody field of Stone River.  Through those six hideous days he led his regiment with courage and ability.  The serious sickness of his wife called him to his home shortly before the final declaration of peace, and he continued in the pursuit of agriculture on his homestead farm, until 1866, when he embarked into wider fields of industry.
     During the three following years he engaged in the distilling business in his city.  He operated two distilleries which in the short course of their existence, paid into the Government exchequer upwards of $2,000,000.  In 1873, Colonel Elliott family retired from business life, and then began his career of eminent public service.  His first public office was that of member of the Decennial State board of Equalization.  His excellent services in this capacity secured him the Democratic nomination for State Senator in 1881.  Although his nomination for State Senator in 1881.  Although his nomination was unanimous he was defeated by the small margin of twenty-seven votes.  In 1883, he was again nominated and elected to the senate, where he left a long record of distinguished services in behalf of the district which he represented.  Not the least of Colonel Elliott's claims to public gratitude is the fact that he fathered the first appropriation bill which was ever passed in behalf of Miami University.  In

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November, 1889, he as appointed to a place on the Soldier's Relief Commission to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Charles E. Giffen.  He was also a member of the United States Land Commission, whose function it is to recover abandoned or swamp lands, and until 1888 he had entire jurisdiction over the states of Oregon and Washington.  He was also a director of the Second National bank in the years of 1868-9 and has always been an active and useful member of the Grand Army of the Republic.  In 1854, Colonel Elliott was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor Hueston, whose father had served as captain of pack horses in the famous expedition of Mad Anthony Wayne, which forever broke the hold of the Indians in the valley of the Miami.  Upon his marriage he received from his father a grant of 200 acres of farm land.  He had been a strong and useful man, and the abundant energies of his life were directly applied to the interests and improvements of his native city, county and state.  Colonel Elliott died Wednesday evening, May 13, 1896.  The funeral was held from the home on North B street at 2:30 o'clock Friday afternoon, May 15, and was conducted by Rev. J. W. Peters in conjunction with  the Rev. W. I. Fee, a life-long friend of the deceased.  The pall bearers were: E. G. Rathbone, F. W. Whitaker, Dr. S. L. Beeler, Dr. W. C. Miller, Dr. James W. Roll and G. K. Shaffer.

ESTES G. RATHBONE

     ESTES G. RATHBONE was born in Hebron, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1848.  His childhood was spent in the locality of his birth, and he was passed from the public schools into Alfred college in New York.  After his father's death the management of the family estate gave him his first taste of active business in which he has since been so long immersed, and the ability with which he conducted the family's affairs pledged the success of his after life.  In 1874 he began his extensive public career as a Special Agent in the treasury department where he remained until his promotion in 1883 toa place of importance in the Pension Bureau.  Before the close of the administration under which he was appointed he had increased

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the bureau staff to more than five times its original size and efficiency.
     His residence in Hamilton dates from the year 1885 when he came to this city to assume control of the large interests of the Lewis D. Campbell estate.  Public honor speedily followed him to his new home and he was returned to the State Senate in 1887 by the largest majority ever given a Republican candidate.  At the expiration of his term he passed into the Federal service, serving with distinction as Chief Post Office Inspector and afterward as Fourth Assistant Postmaster General.  His authority and usefulness in this position were almost without limit.  His keen intelligence and diligent interest in department affairs made him really the leading spirit of the postal service and his work in purifying the mails. of a great and hideous taint merits for him the gratitude of the nation.  We have men who have attained to honorable eminence in the service of their state and nation; we have men whose names are known to the tradesmen of the world; but we have only one who unites in himself, in such perfect symmetry the various elements of birth, culture and citizenship, and the will and ability to apply them to the public good.  We are all aware of the extent of Major Rathbone's public life, but there are phases of it which the average man does not know.  Major Rathbone is descended from the proudest race of our land.  His Puritan ancestors came out of old England on the little Mayflower, in 1620, and none of his posterity has ever forgotten the requirements which such a lineage implied.  The Rathbone family tree is old, and broad, and high; but her age is the strength of maturity, not the feebleness of decay.  He was married in 1884, to Mrs. Josephine Campbell Millikin, the daughter of one of Butler county's most distinguished families.

     J. J. McMAKEN was born in the old family homestead, in this city, in January of 1848.  His early education was obtained in the public schools of Hamilton.  He afterward entered Miami University, from which institution he was graduated in 1870.  His mind had long before been fixed upon the law, and he immediately set about preparing him

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self for his profession by entering the office of ex-Governor James E. Campbell.  Two years later he was duly admitted to the bar, and has ever since practiced in this city, save for the interruptions caused by his frequent entrance into public life.  If we consider his career with fairness, Senator McMaken may be said to have in his later years stepped entirely beyond the limitations of professional routine into the broader field of public service.  From the time of his election, in 1889, to the Ohio Legislature he has been almost incessantly in official life.  From the Lower House he was quickly elevated by a proud and confiding constituency into the dignified body of the Senate of the State of Ohio.  His record in this capacity is full of work and honor.  During the two terms of his incumbency he was a real factor in all the moreimportant legislation of that time.  He has always been found on the side of justice and humanity.  In the passage of the noble "Fellow Servant Act" and the equally useful Australian ballot law he did yeoman service.  Since his retirement from the Senate, Mr. McMaken has been honored with the position of United States Commissioner whose duties now claim his time equally with the law.  In the ranks of the Democracy of Ohio he has served his full time.  No man has stood higher or been more often consulted in the local councils of the party, than has he.  Mr. McMaken stands as the representative of a family which has stood for a century in the fore-front of the great world of affairs.  He has carried his part well and the family of McMaken and the city of Hamilton is the better and the wiser that he lives.  As the son of that grand old man Mark C. McMaken, he was born into the world with a responsibility, and the credit and honor of a great name has seldom fallen on more worthy shoulders.  He was married in 1871 to Miss Belle McElwee.  Senator McMaken's soldier record is a proud one.

SOLDIERS' RELIEF COMMISSION.

     The commission was duly organized under an act of the Legislature passed Mar. 16, 1877.  It is now working under an amended act passed Apr. 15, 1889, as follows:

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     "It is hereby made the duty of tpe Soldiers' Relief Commission, hereinafter provided, in each county in this State, as soon as practicable after the passage of this act, and annually thereafter on the first Monday in January in each year, to appoint for each township, in such county, and for each ward in any city in any such county, a Soldiers' Relief committee, consisting of three persons, residents of each such township and ward, who shall be honorably discharged Union soldiers, sailors or marines, provided that if there are no such soldiers or sailors or marines who are residents of any such township or ward, then there shall be appointed three reputable citizens, one of whom shall be designated as chairman of such township or ward soldiers' relief committee; and to fill all vacancies that may occur in any such committee, and to remove any member of any such committee for cause; and it shall be the duty of each such township and ward soldiers' relief committee, in its respective township or ward, to receive all applications for relief, under the provisions of this act, from applicants residing in such township or ward, to examine carefully into the case of each applicant, and on the first Monday in May in each year, to make a list of the names of all indignant indignant Union soldiers sailors and marines, and the indigent parents, wives, widows and minor children of the same, who are residents in such township or ward, who have been bonafide residents of the State one year, and of the county six months, next prior to said first Monday in May, and who, in the opinion of any such township or ward relief committee, require aid, and are entitled to relief under the provisions of this act; and it shall be the duty of the chairman of each township and ward soldiers' relief committee, or other member of such committee authorized by such committee, to deliver such list to the soldiers' relief commission, hereinafter provided, or its secretary, on or before the last Monday in such month of May, together with a statement of each applicant for relief, of the income, if any, of the applicant, the amount of taxable property, real and personal, of (stocks, bonds, moneys on hand, loaned or deposited in any bank or elsewhere, shares in building associations, mortgages, notes or other articles of value) from which an income or revenue is derived by the applicant; said statement shall be made up in blanks which shall be furnished by the soldiers' relief commission, and shall be subscribed by the applicant; and in case any false statement is made therein by any applicant for relief, or guardian for such applicant, such applicant or guardian shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction before any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined in any sum not exceeding fifty dollars, nor less than twenty dollars, and be imprisoned in the county jail for a period not exceeding sixty days nor less than thirty days.  And on said last Monday in May said commission shall meet and determine from said lists the probable amount necessarary necessary for the aid and relief of such indigent persons for the ensuing year, together with an amount sufficient, in the judgment of said commission, to furnish relief to any such indigent persons not named in said lists, whose right to such relief shall be established to the satisfaction of such commission.  Such commission, after determining the probable amount necessary for the purposes aforesaid, shall certify the same to the county commissioners of the county, who, at their June session, shall make such levies as shall be necessary to raise the required relief, not exceeding three-tenths, except in counties containing a national soldier's

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home not exceeding five-tenths, of a mill per dollar on the assessed value of the property of the county."

     On May 7, 1887, Capt. Philip Rothenbush was appointed for three years, Aaron Wesco for two and Henry Knight for one year.  Philip Rothenbush was elected President and Aaron Wesco, Secretary.  He resigned Jan. 3, 1888.  Judge Van Derveer appointed W. W. Lane to fill the unexpired term.  Charles E. Giffen was appointed in the place of Philip Rothenbush, resigned.
     On Oct. 14, 1889, Adam Bridge and S. L. Beeler were appointed on the commission vice W. W. Lane and Henry Knight, removed.  On the death of Charles E. Giffen, in 1881, Colonel George F. Elliott was appointed a member of the commission, serving until his death, May 13, 1896.  J. H. Beard, of Middletown, was appointed to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Adam Bridge, who removed from the county.  George A. Van Degriff succeeded Dr. S. L. Beeler, May 29, 1884.  On June 12, 1894, George F. Elliott and J. H. Beard met and elected themselves President and Secretary, respectively.  Noah Stubbs was appointed Aug. 1, 1894.  The commission met on the seventh of the same month, and reorganized by electing Noah Stubbs President and G. A. Van Degriff, Secretary, both of whom are serving in the same capacity today.  On May 25, 1896, Judge Giffen appointed John Decher for a term of three years, vice Colonel George F. Elliott, deceased.  Under the present management the records of the commission are kept in first-class condition by the efficient secretary.  No previous secretary has equaled him.  He devotes considerable time to outside work; and is the first and only secretary that ever made an annual report of the commissions' transactions.

     NOAH STUBBS, President of the Soldiers' Relief Commission, was born near Morrow, Warren county, Ohio, Nov. 16, 1841.  He attended school at the Washington District, in a log building, where oiled paper was used for light.  He was employed in a woolen mill and followed farming until 1861.  When the Civil War broke out, he - Putnam like - enlisted in

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Company A, Twelfth Ohio Regiment Volunteer Infantry, for a term of three months.  Afterward, Sept. 10, 1861, he joined Company H, of the Second Ohio, serving three years and one month.  The regiment was mustered out of service at Camp Chase, Oct. 10, 1864.  In February, 1888, he came to Butler county, locating at Heno, where he has remained ever since.  Mr. Stubbs was appointed a member of the Soldiers' Relief Commission, Sept. 17, 1894.  He has a reputation as a citizen and official, resting upon a basis of absolute merit.

GEORGE A. VAN DEGRIFF

     GEORGE A. VAN DEGRIFF, Secretary of the Soldiers Relief Commission, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mar. 2, 1845, where he attended school until he was thirteen years old when his parents came to Butler county, locating at Lindenwald.  Here he attended district school four years.  On May 14, 1864, he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Sixty seventh Regiment, O. V. I.  After his return from the army he followed farming until 1867.  Later Mr. Van Degriff learned the carpenter's trade, with William D. Blackall, which occupation he has followed ever since as contractor and builder.  In May, 1894, he was appointed by Judge Giffen a member of the Soldiers' Relief Commission; was re-appointed May 1, 1895, for a term of three years.  He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, having served in official capacity as chaplain and officer of the day; was an organizer of Esther Court No. 4, Tribe of Ben Hur, of Hamilton; is county deputy of this society, by appointment of the Supreme Court.  He was united in marriage to Miss Agnes J. Cooper, Nov. 30, 1875.  One son, Robert, resulted from this union.  Any cause undertaken by Mr. Van Degriff, finds in him an enthusiastic champion.  His records as Secretary of the Soldier's Relief Commission, are models of neatness and accuracy.

JOHN DECHER

     JOHN DECHER, a successful pension agent, was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, May 20, 1835.  He received his instruction in the schools of his native country, and when

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fifteen began learning the shoemaker's trade.  On July 4, 1852, he came to America, where he followed his occupation in Buffalo, New York, and also in Canada.  In 1857 he located in Hamilton and was employed by Isaac Whistler, till Sept. 13, 1861, when he enlisted in the Seventeenth Missouri Volunteer Infantry.  He bore an honorable part in the battle of Pea Ridge, Vicksburg, Arkansas Post, Yazoo Pass, and at the siege of Vicksburg.  After the surrender of Vicksburg, he was attacked with typhoid fever, and was an inmate of the hospital for eight months.  Upon recovering he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, and was on duty in Virginia for a short time, being then transferred to Elmira, New York, acting as a guard until the conclusion of his term of service, Dec. 18, 1864.
     He resumed his former situation with Mr. Whistler, and upon the death of the latter, in 1867 or 1868, he began business for himself, at which he has since continued.  He is now at 112 Third street, where he does a good business in custom work.  He was married in 1859, to Miss Kate Vinson, and is the father of seven children.  He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and also of the Temple of Honor, and in politics is a Republican.  Mr. Decher is an honest, industrious and well informed man, and is worthy of the high estimation in which he is regarded by all.