Alexandria's Veterans #4 Part VII

Decoration Day Summary

There are a series of pictures showing the young ladies of Alexandria dressed in white for Decoration Day.  Today, we call this Memorial Day.  Back then, they treated Decoration Day as a day to recognize the fallen soldiers of the community by decorating their houses with bunting, much as we tend to celebrate the Fourth of July today.  Decoration Day used to be a big event and was reserved for the honoring of those who died in service of their beloved country.  It was a day to decorate the graves of veterans by placing flowers on the graves of the fallen.

Decoration Day was first celebrated in Alexandria on Monday, May 31, 1869, and this Decoration Day honored our losses in the Civil War.  At 4 PM, the local citizenry gathered at the Maple Grove Cemetery and Captain Joseph M. Scott called the observance to order.  A hymn was sung, a prayer given, and a poem read.  Reverend Simeon Siegfried, Jr., of the Alexandria Baptist Church addressed the crowd.  This was followed by another hymn, set to the song "Children of the Heavenly King" with the words from "Strew the Blossoms."  Children of the Heavenly King is Pleyel's Hymn and became popular after it was sung at Abraham Lincoln's funeral.

At this point, the crowd processed from one veteran's grave to another placing flowers on each in turn and short remarks were made at each by either Captain Scott, Reverend Siegfried, or Newton Parker.    The following graves of soldiers who died in the American Civil War were honored in this order,

⦁ Corporal Henry Rose, Company B, 76th OVI - died February 15, 1863, Madison Parish, Louisiana

⦁ Captain Ira P. French, Company B, 76th OVI - died November 27, 1863, Georgia

⦁ Sergeant Rufus Buxton, Company B, 76th OVI- died February 15, 1863, Madison Parish, Louisiana.  (The Buxton Journal contains a descriptive account.)

⦁ Private Dwight Follet, Company D,  22nd OVI - died January 3, 1862, St. Louis, Missouri

⦁ Private Joseph Lyman, Company B, 76th OVI    

⦁ Private John I Quincey Merrill, Company B, 76th OVI - died October 6, 1863

⦁ Private Samuel Jones, Company F, 135th OVI - died October 10, 1864, Georgia

⦁ Henry Vail, [Rank and Service Record Currently Unknown]    

⦁ Private Reuben Sinnett, Co D, 22nd OVI - died January 20, 1862, Missouri

⦁ [Rank Unkown] Benjamin Strothers, Company A, 22ndnd OVI    

⦁ Private Jasper Monroe (Munroe), Company B, 76th OVI - died July 29, 1862

⦁ Arthur Wamsbrough, Company H, 5th OVI - 

⦁ Private Edelbert H. Cooley, Company H, 76th OVI - died September 2, 1862

(The term OVI refers to Ohio Voluntary Infantry or Ohio Veteran Infantry, depending on the time of use.  Today we would call it the National Guard.   The number refers to the regimental number.)

The crowd returned to the stand and sang "O not in vain ye call us forth."  A list of those fallen soldiers from surrounding cemeteries was read and the service concluded by singing "Blest are the martyred dead" to the tune recognized today as the Doxology (Old Hundredth).

Joseph M. Scott was a Civil War officer in the United States Army.  Captain Scott commanded Company B, 76th Regiment, Ohio Infantry.  This company was largely recruited by Captain Scott and mustered in on October 5, 1861 at Camp Sherman, Newark, Ohio, under the command of Captain Scott, First Lieutenant Ira French (later promoted to Captain), and Second Lieutenant John R Miller (later promoted to First Lieutenant).  Several men from Alexandria and St. Albans filled the ranks.  Camp Sherman was named for Ohio Senator John Sherman, brother of the famous General William T. Sherman.  The Camp was opened in the Fall of 1861 and, by the Summer of 1862, was closed.  Today, we know the old Camp Sherman as Moundbuilders Park.  The regiment was assigned to XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee.  Captain Scott led his men to the Tennessee River and worked their way to Louisiana, then Missouri and Arkansas for winter camp where they lost personnel to sickness, then to Raleigh, North Carolina.  Company B was mustered out of service in Louisville.  Scott returned to Fort Hayes where he was honorably discharged on July 24, 1865.  Company B participated in a number of campaigns and battles, including Sherman's March to the Sea.  Captain Scott joined those who had gone before on December 16, 1919.  Today, we might know him more for his house than anything.  Yet, we should also remember that Captain Scott's book on the early history of St. Albans Township is invaluable to us today.

Ira Page French was a native of Johnstown.  In 1860, we find the 21-year-old Ira as a clerk in one of Alexandria's stores and living with Lyman Rose's family.  He would marry the 19-year-old Emily Rose, Lyman's daughter, before heading off with Captain Scott.  Ira died three years later and was buried in Alexandria's Maple Grove Cemetery.  Emily filed for and received a pension based on Ira's service.  Emily's brother, Henry, also served in Company B, and is one of the "Lightning Brothers."

John R. Miller also died in 1863.  Nine of the 76th OVI officers died in action while disease claimed another five.  I do not know which category Lieutenant Miller fell; I have no additional information at present.  Seven of the ten companies of the 76th were formed from Licking County.  An infantry company contains about 100 soldiers.  Alexandria, St. Albans, and Licking County truly answered the call to arms.  Even more so, we had soldiers in other units as well.  Of our dead, a little less than half served under Captain Scott.

Elder (Reverend in 1857) Simeon Siegfried, Jr. was the keynote speaker at the event.  Walter Castle, an author of St. Alban's history had this to say, "Simeon Siegfried was a remarkable man. During his pastorate, the church had a wonderful growth spiritually.  After his resignation, however the church's strength ebbed [...]" Reverend Siegfried must have been quite a man.  Siegfried's father had been preaching as early as 1833 in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where Simeon Siegfried, Jr., was born.  Before that Siegfried, Sr., had published a newspaper.  Siegfried, Jr.'s grandfather, George Siegfried had been a pioneer preacher when Pennsylvania was frontier country.  Reverend Simeon Siegfried, Jr., who served Alexandria, left West Chester, Pennsylvania, then journeyed west to Adamsville, Ohio, where he pastored a church before coming to Alexandria.  During the Civil War, we find the record of Simeon Siegfried, Jr., serving in the 160th Regiment of the Ohio Infantry.  Siegfried was a Captain and served as the Commander of Company E.  The 160th OVI was formed at Zanesville and where Siegfried joined from Adamsville.  Siegfried left Alexandria in 1871 and went to New Jersey before returning to Pennsylvania.  Siegfried died in 1879 while pastor of the First Baptist Church of Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Newton Parker survived the Civil War.  Newt served as a Corporal in Company D, 135th Regiment, Ohio Infantry.  In the 1860 Federal Census, we find Newt living in Monroe Township with his wife and son.  By 1870, Newton had moved to St Albans Township where he and his 16-year-old son Brainerd worked a farm.  Newt's wife, Lorana Whitehead Parker, is listed as 'Keeping house.'  Newt passed away on December 13, 1901, at the age of 75.  Newt's great-grandfather, Captain Samuel Thrall had served in the American Revolution.  We remember Newt's legacy through his son.  Brainerd Parker married Alice Cornell and they had four children.  Parker Park takes it's name from the family and there remains those of us old enough to remember Newt's granddaughter, Ollie Mae Parker.

By the early 1900s, Decoration Day was a major event in Alexandria's history.   Many pictures survive of preparations for Decoration Day.  By then, a revitalization of Maple Grove Cemetery had taken place and the grounds were kept mowed.   Young ladies are shown in white dresses with the flowers they will soon use to decorate the grave of a soldier.   The community has always had a strong commitment to those who have served.   The Decoration Day event, I believe, gave our community a sense of history and a sense of direction as well as a sense of closure.   Alexandria's history book contains 15 pages of soldiers who served in our county's wars.   The list begins with the American Revolution ends with World War II...

Since then, we have fought the Korean War, the Viet Nam War, Gulf Wars I and II, we have fought in Afghanistan and many places throughout the world.  You may have never heard of some of these places or you may never even know.   Our community has shown great dedication and support to these men and women - Northridge High School has a display across from the main office; our churches have sent care packages.

Every veteran has a story whether they served on the front line or the mailroom, whether they served on the land, sea, or air...  it is important to know that every veteran has a reason to serve...   and potentially, to die.   Our community has always recognized their veterans;  I encourage you to continue thanking them for their service.   Personally, it was my pleasure and honor.

O not in vain ye call us forth...

Photo Captions:

Captain Joseph M. Scott, Commander, Company B, 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry

Maple Grove Cemetery, Alexandria, Ohio

Captain Ira P. French (Photo: DeBe Clark)

Corporal Henry Rose, brother-in-law to Captain Ira French (Photo: DeBe Clark)

Private Dwight Follett (Photo: DeBe Clark)

Private Edelbert H. Cooley (Photo: DeBe Clark)

Flag of the 76th Ohio Veterans Infantry

 As we approach Memorial Day, I want to offer the story of a fallen hero from our community.

Alexandria's Veterans #5

M E M O R I A L   D A Y, Part V

CAPTAIN IRA PAIGE FRENCH

Over the past couple of years, from time to time, Ira has been on my mind.  Perhaps it's because we share a few things...   We were both Captains with about 100 or so troops under our respective leadership.  We both entered the service of our Nation for idealistic causes.  We both were on the winning sides.  Tragically, Ira died in battle.  I would like to tell his story.

Ira was born on March 5, 1839.  Ira was the sixth child of ten, the third son of Truman and Rosetta (Paige) French.  Truman French was born in Vermont and married Rosetta in Licking Township, Licking, County, on December 28, 1828.  At some point, the Frenches moved to Johnstown where, in 1850, Truman is listed as a stock dealer living next to a tailor, a shoemaker, a blacksmith, a druggist, and a merchant on Johnstown's downtown Main Street.  Of interest is Dr. Paige who lived nearby and might be an uncle or grandfather to Ira.

On April 23, 1855, Ira was christened in Johnstown.  Nothing more is known of his childhood.  

At this point, I need to introduce the Rose family.  Helon and Emily (Wolcott) Rose had a son named Lyman Rose.  Lyman Rose married Jane Dawes, daughter of William Mears and Abigail (Holden) Dawes.  This is the union of two prominent Licking County families.  Here is the 1850 Federal Census information for Lyman Rose and his family,

Household Sex Age Birthplace Author's Notes

L W Rose M 33 Ohio Husband

Jane Rose F 35 North Carolina Wife

Emily Rose F 9 Ohio Oldest Daughter

Henry D Rose M 7 Ohio Oldest Son

Henry Bassett M 20 Ohio Unknown

I am not sure who Henry Bassett is, but Ira can help us figure it out.  Here is the 1860 Federal Census for Lyman Rose,

Household Sex Age Birthplace Author's Notes

L W Rose M 43 Ohio Husband

Charlotte Rose F 44 Vermont Second Wife

Emily Rose F 19 Ohio Oldest Daughter

Henry Rose M 18 Ohio Oldest Son

Sarah Tyler F 33 Vermont Stepdaughter?  In-Law? Maid?

Ira French M 21 Ohio Also in Johnstown Census

Berthia Hill F 70 New York Unknown

Here we see several changes.  Jane Dawes Rose passed away in 1852.  Lyman remarried Charlotte Emily Tyler.  This also explains Sarah Tyler.  Berthia Hill is an unknown, but I suspect she was a related widow or a boarder.  That leaves Ira French.

It is believed that Lyman Rose ran a general store, although he does not appear in the 1866 Alexandria Business Directory.  Henry Bassett was probably an apprentice who boarded with his mentor.  Ira French was.  It is also important to notice the relative ages of Ira and Lyman's daughter, Emily Rose.  It is my belief Ira and Emily were possibly betrothed, if not married.  The census is a snapshot of 1860.  In 1860, Senator John Sherman was preaching Abolition.  In the Summer of 1861, Camp Sherman was opened in what today is the Great Circle Mound at Moundbuilders Park.  The Camp was designed to recruit volunteers primarily for the 76th Ohio Infantry.  The 76th Ohio Regiment began drills in October, 1861.  Ira Paige French was the First Lieutenant for Company B.  John R. Miller of Hartford was the Second Lieutenant.  After the resignation of Captain J. M. Scott several months later, Ira was promoted to Captain and became the commander of Company B.  Personally, I like this.  I was the Assistant Commander of a Crew at SESOCC for a couple of years before becoming Chief of Combat Operations.  I knew I liked this Ira guy.  Ira's brother-in-law, Corporal Henry Rose, was in Company B under Ira's command, but I get ahead of myself.

Company B was mustered in and left Camp Sherman on February 9, 1862, and went to Fort Donelson where they engaged in battle, February 14-16.  The Company fought in the Battle of Shiloh on April 6-7 and the Siege of Corinth, Mississippi, from April 29 to May 30.  On August 16, they captured 40 men from the 31st Louisiana at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, and captured a steamship two days later.  The Company was rested through the Fall, then on December 26-29, the Company fought in the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou.

The year 1863 brought more fighting. The 76th fell under command of General William T. Sherman, younger brother of the Abolitionist, Senator John Sherman.  During the Winter, Spring, and Summer, the 76th was involved in several battles and performed skirmish activities when not otherwise tasked.  One of these was the Battle of Ringgold on November 22, 1863.  During the battle, Ira's buddy, John R. Miller was killed.  Lieutenant Miller was laid to rest in Hartford Cemetery.  Things come to a point on November 23-25 with the Third Battle of Chattanooga.  General Braxton Bragg's Confederate forces had been routed and forced into retreat.  Mired by mud, Bragg was concerned that the Union forces chasing him would overtake and capture his artillery and supply wagons.  Bragg ordered General Cleburne to cover the Confederate evacuation by holding the Union forces at Ringgold Gap, Alabama.  The battle began at 8:00 AM on November 27, 1863.  Cleburne had let the Union advance to within 50 yards before opening fire.  By noon, Bragg let Cleburne withdraw.  By 2:00 PM, Cleburne had withdrawn leaving skirmishers to harass any Union advance.  Ira died that morning.  In the words of an anonymous observer,

It was the dog-gondest fight of the war, [... t] he ground was piled with dead Yankees; they were piled in heaps . . . From the foot to the top of the hill was covered with the slain, all lying on their faces. It had the appearance of the roof of a house shingled with dead Yankees.

Ira's body was returned to Alexandria and buried in Maple Grove Cemetery.  Ira's father had died a few weeks earlier and was buried in Granville's Old Colony Burying Ground.  On October 11, 1864, Emily French filed to collect Ira's pension as Emily R. Rose French.  This could only be Emily Rose, although I have no record of their marriage.  Further, Emily claims widow status on the application.  Apparently, Emily was able to move on with her life.  She married, moved to Chicago and had a large family.  Ira's brother Frank also served in the Civil War, survived, and lived to be 95 years old before dying in Johnstown.  Certainly, they attended the first Decoration Day at Maple Grove led by the Reverend (Captain) Simeon Siegfried, Jr., former Commander of Company E, 160th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and former pastor of the Alexandria Baptist Church.

Thank you for your sacrifice, Captain French.  Rest in peace my friend.

Alexandria's Veterans #4

Abolitionist 3: The Underground Railroad

Map of the Underground Railroad

n the Fifth Grade, Mrs. Thorton and Underwood took us students on a field trip of historic Licking County.  Our first stop was at Bob Foos, formerly Durnell's and currently a hair salon.  We were told about the Underground Railroad.  I was skeptical.

The house at the southeast intersection of Kitzmiller and Dublin-Granville Road was a station on the Underground Railroad.  I say this in blessed memory of the Vallee sisters who lost one of their own at that intersection.  RIP my Viking sister.

It only makes sense that Capt. J. M. Scott's house was the next stop on the Underground Railroad.  It was a night's journey from New Albany.  Whie various places in Alexandria may have housed escaped slaves, what makes the most sense is that the Dublin-Granville Road was the Underground Railroad through St. Albans.

From the Scott house, the next stop could have been Granville or Utica.  A confirmed stop existed at 208 North Main Street in Utica, according to the Utica Historical Society.  According to John Rees, the Underground Railroad began, in this area, In Reynoldsburg in 1836.  The Ministers of the Presbyterian Church in Reynoldsburg were the organizers.  Albert G. Humphries of Granville identifies an old stone house, of unknown ownership, on Mt. Vernon Avenue, as a safe house on the Underground Railroad.

So, we have identified a network.  New Albany and Reynoldsburg could send escaped slaves through Alexandria to then send them on to Utica and Granville.

Alexandria and St. Albans Township was directly involved in freeing slaves.  While not every citizen may have been Anti-Slavery, the general sentiment in St. Albans was Abolitionist.

My ancestor, Nicholas T. Brown (R), was elected as the Iowa state representative for Louisa County in 1866 because the Democrats had called veterans of the Civil War to organize for slavery in Iowa.  Most veterans left in disgust.  N.T. Brown was elected with overwhelming support.  Brown handily defeated his pro-slavery, Democratic opposition.

The Civil War had long-lasting consequences.  In the years leading to the war, sides formed impenetrable barriers.  After the war, sentiments played out.

If we believe he Civil War was about freeing the slaves, then we must remember these people,

Senator John Sherman, brother of General William T. Sherman, leader of the abolitionist movement in Alexandria and St. Albans.

Captain Ira Page French, who gave his life at as the Commander of Company B, 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at the Battle of Ringgold Gap in northern Georgia.

The loss of Sgt. Rufus Buxton and Cpl. Henry Rose in covered bivouac in Madison Parish, Louisiana.

There are more.

Alexandria and St Albans paid a price.  We helped slaves escape.  We supported the Anti-Slevery movement.  We sacrificed our youth, all in the name of Anti-Slavery.

As we watch peaceful Black Lives Matter protests lead to looting, vandalism, and more...

Alexandria's Veterans #4

The ABOLISTIONIST MOVEMENT, Part   I I

An 1838 Abolitionist broadside.

In the 1830s, a group of my ancestors sold their farms in Kentucky and moved to Knox County, Indiana.  There, they formed the Mariah Creek Baptist Church.  They did this because Kentucky was a slave state and they rejected slavery.  My uncles well remembered attending this church and who sat where.  These uncles are now gone, and Mariah Creek Baptist Church was moved and refurbished.  It is now the Chapel at Vincennes University.

Why would they do this?  There is but one answer, these Kentucky farmers objected to slavery to the point of giving up their farms and starting all over.

In 1990, the US Air Force sent me to Montgomery, Alabama for a couple of months. While there, Phil and I became fast friends and one Saturday he offered to give me a tour of downtown Montgomery.  We had a quick, early lunch at Wendy's, then walked over to the Statehouse.  On the northeast corner of the square sat the Jefferson Davis house.  Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederate States of America (CSA), "The South."  While explaining the concept of a 'dogtrot' house, Phil pointed to a painting of Jefferson Davis on the Statehouse balcony proclaiming the CSA.  Phil told me to remember that painting.  I did

When we finished touring the house, Phil took me to the west side of the Statehouse.  We had stopped and stood in the exact spot the artist of that painting had stood.  I was looking at the very same balcony that Jefferson Davis stood when announcing the formation of the CSA.  Then Phil had me turn around and look down Dexter Avenue that was behind me and asked what I saw.  There, on a corner a couple blocks away stood the Ebenezer Baptist Church, home to Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the Civil Rights movement of the early 1960s.  This stark contrast of a century of difference in time left an indelible mark in my mind.

In the 1960s, Martin Luther King said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

By and large, this is what my generation was taught as fact.  By and large, this is what Alexandria believed as fact before the Civil War.  That is what our young men gave their lives for...

• Corporal Henry Rose, Company B, 76th OVI - died February 15, 1863, Milliken Bend, Madison Parish, Louisiana  [Killed by lightning with Sergeant Rufus Buxton]
• Captain Ira P. French, Company B, 76th OVI - died November 27, 1863, [Battle of Ringgold Gap,] Georgia
• Sergeant Rufus Buxton, Company B, 76th OVI - died February 15, 1863, Milliken Bend, Madison Parish, Louisiana.  [Killed by lightning with Corporal Henry Rose]
• Private Dwight Follet, Company D,  22nd OVI - died January 3, 1862, St. Louis, Missouri
• Private Joseph Lyman, Company B, 76th OVI    
• Private John I Quincey Merrill, Company B, 76th OVI - died October 6, 1863
• Private Samuel Jones, Company F, 135th OVI - died October 10, 1864, Georgia
• Henry Vail, [Rank and Service Record Currently Unknown.  There are at least two Henry Vails in the records of the Regiments of the Ohio Infantry]
•  Private Reuben Sinnett, Co D, 22nd OVI - died January 20, 1862, Missouri
•  [Rank Unkown] Benjamin Strothers, Company A, 22nd OVI    
•  Private Jasper Monroe (Munroe), Company B, 76th OVI - died July 29, 1862
• [Rank Unknown] Arthur Wamsbrough, Company H, 5th OVI
• Private Edelbert H. Cooley, Company H, 76th OVI - died September 2, 1862

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The term OVI refers to Ohio Veteran Infantry.  Once the unit was mustered out, the veterans retained their unit identity more as a social organization.  Today we might call it the National Guard.   The number refers to the regimental number.

On Monday, May 31, 1869, Captains J. M. Scott and (Rev) Simeon Seigfried along with Corporal Newton Parker led the first Decoration Day Service at Maple Grove Cemetery.  During this service, people were led through the cemetery to each Civil War marker.  There, young ladies, dressed in white, laid flowers on the grave while one of the leaders said some words about the fallen hero.  The service ended with the hymn "O not in vain, ye called us forth."

If we accept the premise that the American Civil War was fought to end slavery, then we have to admit that Alexandria and St. Albans paid a great price towards that end.  I would like to quote Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., one last time, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

 Alexandria's Veterans #4

Casus Belli: T h e   S H E R M A N   B R O T H E R S

General William Tecumseh Sherman, about 1863.

Today, were I to mention Sherman, you might easily think I am talking about Lancaster, Ohio, native General William Tecumseh Sherman, famous for his 'March to the Sea,' the military strategy that was the death of the South during the American Civil War (1861-1865.)  In the years leading up to the Civil War, I obviously would be referring his brother, John Sherman.

Senator John Sherman (R-OH).

Initially, John Sherman was a Whig.  Sherman was also an Anti-Slavery advocate and, as such, became instrumental in the founding of the Republican Party.  Democrats tended to be pro-slavery.  Sherman served first as a Representative from Ohio, then was elected Senator for Ohio.  Sherman was also active in Abraham Lincoln's campaign for the Presidency.

John Sherman was no stranger to Alexandria.  But first, let us look at some street names.

Church Street was named Church Street because in Alexandria, Alexander Devilbiss -- Alexandria's founder -- envisioned the location of the churches.  Accordingly, the Congregational Church was built on Mill Street, named because the Carlock Mill was at the end of the street.  On the other hand, the Methodists built their church towards the end of Church Street.  The Baptists built their church at the very end of Church Street, where a graveled parking lot now stands.  The lot along Main Street from what was then the edge of town, where the current Baptist Church stands, to the library was a Commons, a free space for outdoor gatherings and events.  Eventually, a schoolhouse was built on the Commons between the two churches.  This school was torn down when the new (1893) schoolhouse was built where today's Elementary School gym formerly stood.  In 1899, the Baptist Church finished the red brick church at its present location.

The Alexandria Baptist Church on far left as it appeared in the late 1800s.

Let's go back to the Baptist Church at the edge of town on Church Street in the 1850s.  As a child, I recall the foundation stones of the old Baptist Church sticking up through the ground, completely unaware of the history these stones contained.

Several times in the 1850s, John Sherman came to Alexandria to talk, in the basement of the old Baptist Church, about the Abolitionist Movement.  The Abolitionist Movement was the movement that objected to slavery.  Most Abolitionists based their beliefs in Biblical truth and the concept that all men were created equal.  Abolitionism was, in their minds, politically and religiously correct.  History would bear out their belief.

Alexandria was profoundly Abolitionist.  Alexandria was at the end of The Great Awakening.  This movement was predicated on Isaiah 66:8 [Wycliff Bible], " Who heard ever such a thing, and who saw a thing like this? Whether the earth shall travail of child in one day, a folk shall be chided together? For why Zion travailed of child and chided her sons. (Whoever heard of such a thing, and whoever saw something like this? Shall a whole country be born after just one day’s labor, or shall an entire nation be born together? But Zion went into labor, and gave birth to her children all at once."

"A Nation born in a day..."  That was the United States on July 4, 1776.  For the sake of the nation, Abolitionists believed, slavery was wrong, lest God avenge us all.  How profound, that the Caucasians in the industrialized North should reject slavery while the agrarian South relies on cheap slave labor to run their plantations.  How profound.

John Sherman brought Anti-Slavery to Alexandria.  J. M. Scott promoted Anti-Slavery in St. Albans.  Alexandria raised soldiers to fight slavery through military service, guns, and bullets.  Scott would form a company of soldiers at the Great Circle Mound in Newark under Senator John Sherman's call.

Abolition became the theme in Alexandria politics leading up to the American Civil War.  St. Albans supplied the soldiers to fight slavery.

Alexandria's Veterans #6

A LEGACY OF SERVICE

Harry Hannahs lived on Granville Street's newest addition at 169 Granville Street.  Harry was a blue-collar kind-of-guy born in 1894.  Harry signed his draft card for World War I and dutifully stood up when called to service.  Now as Private Hannahs, Harry served in the 158th Depot Brigade at the newly built Camp Sherman in Chillicothe.  His unit's job was to receive and outfit soldiers headed for the fighting in France.  When he returned home, Harry took a job in a new industry that was blossoming in Alexandria.  The 1920 Federal Census lists Harry as a "Gas Weller."  Harry also married Bernice Moore.

Robert Hannahs, KIA September 1944 in Albastroff, France

Harry and Bernice had two children.   The first was a son named Robert.  Then along came a girl they named JoAnn.  Alexandria was in the inter-war years.  The 'War to End All Wars' was safely in the past.  The town was still rural in character...   the automobile had taken over.  Horse and steam power were giving way to the age of gasoline.  Roads were deplorable, but the State of Ohio was making progress in creating State Routes which would include updates to Main Street as drivers demanded smooth, passable roadways on which to drive.  Alexandria still relied mainly on local business.  Robert graduated Alexandria High School in May 1941, to an uncertain future.  Of note is one of his classmates, Robert Fisher who went to the US Army Air Force and served as a radio operator on a P-61 night fighter.

War was on the horizon.  Adolf Hitler had invaded and plundered his European neighbors.  Mussolini’s army was marauding through Africa while on the other side of the globe, Hirohito's Japanese forces were busy victimizing the Chinese.  Meanwhile, our President, Franklin Roosevelt, was all but waiting for an invitation to declare war and acted as the central supplier of the Allied war machine.   Somehow, Robert gained some experience assembling aircraft, so his service record states.  While I have nothing to back up the next statement, I'm guessing that Robert got a job at the Curtiss-Wright plant the south side of the current John Glenn International/Port Columbus runway.  There were a few people in town that did, Mrs. Johnson comes to mind.  At the time, Curtiss was heavily involved with the development and production of aircraft to build up the war effort.  Robert also enrolled with the Draft Board.

What does this have to do with me?  Well, even though I did not come along until a decade-and-a-half later, there is a personal connection of sorts.

I arrived in Frankfort with my family on a frosty morning in November 1986.  I was stationed at Alzey Communications Station, located on a high hill near Orbis that offered a commanding view towards the Rhein (Rhine) River valley and a perfect place for a ground-mobile radar.  If you did not look too close at the tag on our uniforms - it clearly stated in blue capital letters "U.S. AIR FORCE" - we looked like the Army...  we were the 'Ground-Pounders' of the Air Force.  My quarters were well within walking distance of Frau Liesl Pfaller, the Gasthaus zum Kaisertisch, and our meager link to American culture, the video rental store.  Every time we had guests from America, we took them to the Kaisertische.  They had a deep-fried half-chicken that was a meal in itself.  Try it!

In the closing months of World War II, when Patton was preparing to cross the Rhein, Patton's troops commandeered Frau Pfaller's house to use as his headquarters.  I walked where Patton walked, sat where Patton sat, and saw what Patton saw.  I talked in depth with Frau Pfaller about Patton; she personally met him.  I've visited where Patton crossed the Rhein and even spent a week training at Infantrie Schule Zwei at Hammelburg where Patton's son was held as a Prisoner of War.  I lived in what may be termed 'Patton-land.'  The same can be said for Robert Hannahs.

You might have heard otherwise, but Patton was a beloved by his troops.  Patton insisted that his soldiers received a clean, dry pair of socks every night.  For the soldiers, this was a heavenly luxury; for Patton, this meant fewer soldiers with trench foot, fewer soldiers at sick call.

General Eisenhower's orders to Patton were simple.  While Eisenhower led the preparations for D-Day, the invasion of Nazi held France, Patton would set up a ghost army in northern England as a subterfuge to the real invasion.  Then, once the beachhead at Normandy had been gained on June 6, 1944, Eisenhower would form the central push against the Nazis.  Patton moved his headquarters to Normandy a month later and assembled his Army.  Patton's operations began on August 1, 1944, as he swung to the southeast, mopped up any remaining Nazi resistance in Eisenhower's rear, then to pivot east and protect Eisenhower's southern flank.  The 26th Infantry Division would join the fight in early September having completed training at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Patton's Third Army crossed the Moselle River beginning September 8, 1944, and immediately ran into intense combat.  During that Fall, the Medal of Honor was awarded to several who fell in battle.  It was during this period of intense fighting that Robert Hannahs gave his life at Albastroff, France.  Robert's buddy, Ralph Koontz of Maryland, was at his side.  Next, Patton's Third Army would swing north to ease the Battle of the Bulge before turning east again.  Patton would arrive in Marnheim at Frau Pfaller's house the following March.

Harry, Bernice, and daughter JoAnn held a Memorial Service for Robert on December 24, 1944, at the Methodist Church.  It was also Harry and Bernice's 25th Wedding Anniversary.  W. Evin Huffman, Superintendent of Alexandria's Schools made the main remarks.   Meanwhile, Robert had been buried in Limey, France.  A couple of years later, Robert's body would be removed from Limey and brought home to Maple Grove Cemetery in the Village.

Despite the enormous toll the Village and Township paid during the American Civil War, Private First-Class Robert E. Hannahs, Company G, 104th Infantry, 26 Infantry Division "The Yankee Division," of the Third U.S. Army was our only casualty in two World Wars.  Rest easy, brother.

Alexandria's Veterans #5 

Decoration Day - Part I V

In 1882, Decoration Day became Memorial Day, but the name did not come into common usage until after World War II.  In 1968, Congress passed a law moving Memorial Day to the last Monday of May, thereby ensuring a three-day weekend.  David Merchant, writing on the history of Memorial Day, had this comment, "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day.  No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."  Every year, Memorial Day is honored at Maple Grove Cemetery.

The first observance of Decoration Day took place in Alexandria on May 31, 1869.  In the North, the first Decoration Day took place a year earlier and followed a custom that had been observed in the South for several years.  As documented in photographs, young ladies wore white and a service was held to honor our fallen.  Even so, the origins of decorating a soldiers grave goes back to antiquity.  In our case, we have to ask, what did our soldiers die for?

Ostensibly, the Civil War was fought over the rights of States versus the rights of the Federal government.  At heart, though, was slavery.  In my own family, several ancestoral families moved from Kentucky to Indiana and founded the Mariah Creek Baptist Church in repsonse to the growing Anti-Slavery, or Abolitionist, Movement.  My direct ancestor, N.T. Brown, ran on an Abolitionist platform and handily won a seat in the Iowa Legislature... after the Civil War was over!  Closer to home, before signing up as Commander of Company B, 76th OVI, Joseph Scott was a noted Abolitionist.  Since 1833, when England abolished slavery through the Slavery Abolition Act, Abolitionism in the United States had become increasingly popular in the Northern States.  Alexandria is rumored to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad, which gave passage to escaped slaves as they journeyed out of harm's way.  Given the location of Scott's house and the location of a known Underground Railroad stop near New Albany, it is not hard to imagine that Scott himself may have hid former slaves as they sought freedom.  This is, however, unverifiable speculation.

Abraham Lincoln had been elected in 1860 on a platform of banning slavery in the United States.  In February, 1861, seven Southern States left the United States to form a Confederacy.  In March, during his Inaugural Address, Lincoln promised not to pursue a Civil War.  By then, the Confederacy had already begun to militarize, partly in fear of Northern reprisal for succession.

Alexandria would follow the news.  In October, 1861, Special Order 882 authorized Colonel Charles R. Woods to organize a regiment at the newly formed Camp Sherman in Newark.  Recruitment had began as early as September, 1861, so that once the order was issued, most of our soldiers had already signed up for a three year hitch.  Because seven of the ten regiment's companies were from Licking County, the Regiment carried the field name of "The Licking Volunteers."  The regiment departed Camp Sherman with 962 officers and men then went to the Tennessee Valley on February 9, 1862.  Brother-in-laws, First Lieutenant Ira French and Corporal Henry Rose, along with many more, would not return.

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln was perhaps more important than we might realize.  Lincoln had been for the Abolitionist cause.  He ran on it in 1860.  He signed the Emancipation Proclamation.  He was assassinated by a Confederate radical.

President Lincoln's funeral train stopped in Columbus, having traveled nearby along the Pan Handle Route in southern Licking County from Newark to Columbus.  The train left Cleveland on April 29, 1865 at midnight, traveled at 20 MPH down the B&O route to Newark where it turned onto the Pan Handle Route and traveled to Columbus, arriving at 7:00 AM.  After Lincoln's body lay in state in the Ohio Statehouse, the funeral train then departed for Indianapolis.

This funeral for Abraham Lincoln gave our country a sense of meaning, a sense of depth, and a closure of sorts.  For those who remember the Assassination of President Kennedy or the Attack on the World Trade Center, Lincoln's Death carried at least the same weight.  The Civil War was over.  The community had graves to visit.  On that first Decoration Day in 1869, Reverend Simeon Siegfried, former Commander of Company E, 160th OVI, and pastor of the Alexandria Baptist Church, offered , "O not in vain ye call us forth."