The 26th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 26th OVI) was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. It was often referred to by its members as "The Groundhog Regiment".

Service

The 26th Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Chase

Camp Chase

Camp Chase was a military staging, training and prison camp in Columbus, Ohio, during the American Civil War. All that remains of the camp today is a Confederate cemetery containing 2,260 graves. The cemetery is located in what is now the Hilltop neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.- History :Camp Chase...

 in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 beginning June 8, 1861 and mustered in for three years service on July 24, 1861 under the command of Colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 Edward P. Fyffe. The regiment was recruited in Butler

Butler County, Ohio

Butler County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 368,130. Its county seat is Hamilton. It is named for General Richard Butler, who died in 1791 fighting Indians in northern Ohio. Butler's army marched out of Fort Hamilton, where the city of...

, Champaign

Champaign County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,890 people, 14,952 households, and 10,870 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 15,890 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...

, Crawford

Crawford County, Ohio

Crawford County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It was named for Colonel William Crawford, a soldier during the American Revolution....

, Delaware

Delaware County, Ohio

Delaware County is a fast-growing suburban county in the state of Ohio, United States, within the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the United States Census Bureau's 2004 population estimates, Delaware County's population of 142,503 made it the fastest growing county in...

, Guernsey

Guernsey County, Ohio

Guernsey County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 40,087. Its county seat is Cambridge and is named for the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel, from which many of the county's early settlers came....

, Logan

Logan County, Ohio

Logan County is a county in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,858. The county seat is Bellefontaine. The county is named for Benjamin Logan, who fought Native Americans in the area....

, Madison

Madison County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,213 people, 13,672 households, and 10,035 families residing in the county. The population density was 86 people per square mile . There were 14,399 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile...

, Mahoning, Morgan

Morgan County, Ohio

**----...

, Morrow

Morrow County, Ohio

Morrow County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Shawnee people used the area for hunting purposes before white settlers arrived in the early 19th century. Morrow County was organized in 1848 from parts of four neighboring counties and named for Jeremiah Morrow, Governor of...

, Richland

Richland County, Ohio

Richland County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 124,475. It is included in the Mansfield, Ohio, Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Mansfield–Bucyrus Combined Statistical Area....

, Ross

Ross County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 73,345 people, 27,136 households, and 19,185 families residing in the county. The population density was 106 people per square mile . There were 29,461 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...

, Scioto

Scioto County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 79,195 people, 30,871 households, and 21,362 families residing in the county. The population density was 129 people per square mile . There were 34,054 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile...

, and Trumbull

Trumbull County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 225,116 people, 89,020 households, and 61,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 365 people per square mile . There were 95,117 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile...

 counties.

The regiment was attached to Cox's Kanawha Brigade, West Virginia, to October 1861. District of the Kanawha, West Virginia, to January 1862. 15th Brigade, 4th Division, Army of the Ohio

Army of the Ohio

The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.-History:...

, to March 1862. 15th Brigade, 6th Division, Army of the Ohio, to September 1862. 15th Brigade, 6th Division, II Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November 1862. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Left Wing, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland

Army of the Cumberland

The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...

, to January 1863. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, XXI Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to June 1865. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, IV Corps, to August 1865. Department of Texas to October 1865.

The 26th Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at Victoria, Texas

Victoria, Texas

Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,...

 on October 21, 1865.

Detailed service

Ordered to the Kanawha Valley, W. Va., July 25. and duty there August 1861 to January 1862. Action at Boone Court House, Va., September 1, 1861. Operations in the Kanawha Valley and New River Region October 19-November 16, 1861. Ordered to Kentucky January 1, 1862. Advance on Nashville, Tenn., February 14–25. Occupation of Nashville February 25-March 18. March to Savannah, Tenn., March 18-April 6. Lawrenceburg April 4. Battle of Shiloh, Tenn., April 6–7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29-May 30. Pursuit to Booneville May 31-June 6. Buell's Campaign in northern Alabama and middle Tennessee June to August. Little Pond, near McMinnville, August 20. March to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg August 30-September 26. Pursuit of Bragg into Kentucky October 1–15. Battle of Perryville October 8 (reserve). March to Nashville, Tenn., October 16-November 7, and duty there until December 26. Advance on Murfreesboro December 26–30. Lavergne December 26–27. Battle of Stones River December 30–31, 1862 and January 1–3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro until June. Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River, and Chickamauga Campaign August 16-September 22. Expedition from Tracy City to Tennessee River August 22–24 (detachment). Reconnaissance toward Chattanooga November 7. Lookout Valley November 7–8. Occupation of Chattanooga September 9. Lee and Gordon's Mills September 17–18. Battle of Chickamauga September 19–20. Siege of Chattanooga September 24-November 23. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23–27. Orchard Knob November 23–24. Missionary Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26–27. March to relief of Knoxville November 28-December 8. Regiment reenlisted January 1, 1864. Atlanta Campaign May 1-September 8, 1864. Demonstrations on Rocky Faced Ridge and Dalton May 8–13. Buzzard's Roost Gap or Mill Creek May 8. Battle of Resaca May 14–15. Adairsville May 17. Near Kingston May 18–19. Cassville May 19. Advance on Dallas May 22–25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11–14. Lost Mountain June 15–17. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station July 4. Chattahoochie River July 6–17. Buckhead, Nancy's Creek, July 18. Peachtree Creek July 19–20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Flank movement on Jonesboro August 25–30. Battle of Jonesboro August 31-September 1. Lovejoy's Station September 2–6. Operations against Hood in northern Georgia and northern Alabama September 29-November 3. Nashville Campaign November-December. Columbia, Duck River, November 24–27. Battle of Franklin November 30. Battle of Nashville December 15–16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17–28. Moved to Huntsville, Ala., and duty there until March 1865. Operations in eastern Tennessee March 15-April 22. Duty at Nashville until June. Moved to New Orleans June 16, thence to Texas. Duty at San Antonio and Victoria until October.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 238 men during service; 6 officers and 116 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 116 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

• Colonel Edward P. Fyffe
• Colonel William H. Young - commanded at the battle of Chickamauga as lieutenant colonel
  Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
  In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
  
  
• Major
  Major (United States)
  In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
  
   Christopher M. Degenfeld - commanded at the battle of Perryville
• Captain William H. Squires - commanded at the battle of Stones River
• Captain William Clark commanded at the battle of Nashville

See also

• List of Ohio Civil War units
• Ohio in the Civil War
  Ohio in the Civil War
  During the American Civil War, the State of Ohio played a key role in providing troops, military officers, and supplies to the Union army. Due to its central location in the Northern United States and burgeoning population, Ohio was both politically and logistically important to the war effort...
  
  

External links

• Ohio in the Civil War: 26th Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens
• History, photos, rosters, and biographies of the 26th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Archived 2009-10-22)
• National flag of the 26th Ohio Infantry
• National flag of the 26th Ohio Infantry - probably the unit's second national flag
• National flag of the 26th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry
• National flag of the 26th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry - probably the veteran regiment's second national flag
• Regimental flag of the 26th Ohio Infantry