Our Family Civil War Soldiers
My great-grandfather, George Debolt Newcomer, served in several Ohio
Infantry units. If your Civil War soldier served in any of these units,
I would very much like to hear from you.
- 85th Ohio
Infantry, Co. G: 3 month enlistment, transferred to the 87th. (June, 1862)
- 87th Ohio
Infantry, Co. D: (June, 1862 - October, 1862)
- 86th Ohio
Infantry, Co. H: 6 month enlistment. (June, 1863 - February, 1864)
- 182nd Ohio
Infantry, Co. B: 1 year enlistment. (August, 1864 - July, 1865) George D.
Newcomer was promoted to Sergeant, Oct. 27, 1864, and to 1st Sergeant, May 4,
1865.
- Battle of
Nashville, TN: Sherman called this battle the most decisive in the whole
Civil War; the only one where an army was beaten so badly, it ceased to exist as
an army.
More details about George can be found at Answering His
Country's call.
My great-great-grandfather, Charles Bavin served a 3 month
enlistment with the
14th Ohio Infantry,
Co. E (April - August, 1861). This unit was in the battle at what is now
Philippi, West
Viginia. This was the first major land battles of the Civil War. The 14th
OVI was involved in other battle including Corricks Ford. After the 3 month
enlistment was up, the unit was again organized for a 3 year enlistment, but
Charles, along with most of his comrades from the old unit, had enough of the
war.
Battle of Corricks Ford, July 13, 1861. The
14th O.V.I. volleys against the elevated position of the 23rd Virginia while the
7th Indiana conducts a flanking movement. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
(Image courtesy of 14th
OVI Re-enactment Group.)
The above rosters are found at the
14th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry Regiment WWW Page, published by a re-enactment group based in
Toledo, Ohio.
Uncles and Cousins in The Civil War
- Benson Gray, (Great-Great Uncle on Father's mother's side.)
enlisted Dec. 24, 1862 in the
7th Michigan Cavalry;
Co. F; (3 year enlistment). This unit was part of the Michigan Brigade that
eventually was under the command of George A. Custer. The Michigan 7th Cavalry
was involved in the operations around Gettysburg and afterwards. It was at this
time, July 1884, that family records say Benson was wounded at the battle of
Culpepper, and was discharged Jan. 23, 1864. In October 1864, Benson enlisted in
the 18th Michigan V.I. for 1 year, and served until his discharge on June 26,
1865. (See notes below on Benson's brother, Zebulon for information on the 18th
MI V.I.) Benson Gray died in Oct. 1920, and his grave is in the Woodland Cemetery in Jackson, Michigan.
- Zebulon Gray, (Great-Great Uncle on Father's mother's side, and
brother to Benson.) enlisted August 1884, in the
18th Michigan V.I.
and was in Co. G.
The Michigan 18th Reg't was recruited primarily from Hillsdale, Lenawee, and
Monroe Counties. Family records indicate Zebulon was with that part of the 18th
Reg't captured by the Confederates at Athens, Alabama. According to the family
story, part of which has been confirmed from National Archive records, Uncle Zeb was detained at Macon, and then at Andersonville until the end
of the war. After their release at the end of the war, some of the 18th Reg't
POW's were on the Sultana when it blew up near Memphis, TN on April 27, 1865. Don Harvey has identified 60 men from the MI 18th Reg't that were killed in
that explosion. Uncle Zebulon was not on the Sultana. He did come home
and raised a family. Zebulon Gray died in May, 1927, and his grave is in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
There is an 18th MI Reg't Re-enactment group in the
Mid-Southern Michigan area. ".... We are a living history group, whom reenacte the civil war period, give school demonstrations and work with our local historical societies..."
For more information check out their WWW site:
18th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, Co. A
Wesley Lee, (great-great-great uncle on my father's mother's side)
Enlisted Aug. 19, 1862 in Co. A of the 102nd Ohio Vol. Infantry. Uncle
Wesley was also captured by the Confederates at Athens, Alabama on Sept. 24,
1864. He was held at Andersonville until the end of the war. Wesley was
not as fortunate as Uncle Zeb Gray. He was on the Sultana when it blew up
on April 27, 1865 just north of Memphis. Uncle Wesley was one of the first
surviviors to make it to shore that terible night. His account of that
tragic experiance is told in Chester Berry's 1892 book, Loss of the
Sultana, and Reminiscenes of Survivors. Wesley Lee finally made it
home to Holmes Co., Ohio. He did marry and he and his bride settled in
Davisess County, Missouri.
- Christopher Britton and his brother, William B. Britton
were my great-great Uncles on my mother's side. Born in Vermont, they came with
their family to Michigan in 1855. At the start of the war, both brothers enlisted in the
1st Michigan Light Artillery,
Battery "G";
known as "Lamphere's
Battery". William was injured by artillery on May 19, 1863, during
the operations around Vicksburg, . Christopher was wounded in the thigh during
the fighting at Pt. Gibson. Both returned home to
Michigan. William settled on the family farm in Ransom Twp., Hillsdale Co.,
Michigan. He is buried in the Evergreen (Burt) Cemetery in Ransom Twp.
Christopher moved up to Newago Co., Michigan. We think his grave is in the Whipple
Cemetery in Home Twp., Newago Co., but we've not been able to verify that.
- Christopher & William had a younger brother, Quincy Britton.
Quincy, born in 1848, could not have been much more then 13 or 14 when he
enlisted in Co. D of the Michigan
11th Cavalry. He apparently lied about his age. After the war, Quincy
became a successful businessman in Toledo, Ohio. His grave is in the
Maplewood Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. If you are a descendant of
Quincy Britton, we very
much would like to hear from you.
More WWW Civil War Resources
Click here to find books on the Civil War. 
Visits since May 16, AD 1999.
Mr. Bill's Home Civil War Soldiers Page was spun off from my front
page May 29, A.D. 1997. Last update, Sept. 4, A.D. 2000. Mail comments to
mrbill@iserv.net. Moved to Neukomment's
Kottage April, AD 1998.
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