Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-10-31
REUNION on THE lllth RECT
The I" Footprints of Time |"
Retraced.
Interesting Historical Sketch Of the
Regiment by Captain Wes-
ley s. Thurstin.
Short Addresses by Generals Day, Sher-
wood and Chaplain lIollingtOn.
An Imperfect Roster OF the Veterans
Present.

while the veterans and all who could crowd
into Centennial Hal were nttcntively
listening to the exercises, with the prom.
ise of publishing in full this week the rocy
historical sketch of the regiment by Cap.
tain THURsTIN together with brief sketches
of other addresses, and as complete ros-
ter as could be obtained. With limited
space we have condensed and crowded as
much in the columns following as is pos
sible:
HISTORY OF THE IIIthO vi,
On the 9th and 9th days of September,
1862, the One Hundred and Eleventh Reg
imcnt was mustered into service, at Toledo.
OF the companies composing the Regi-
ment, Wood county furnished Companies
b, d, and the greater portion OF | and X /;
Companies A and G came principally
from Sandusky county; Company c, from
Fulton and Williams Company +, from
Defiance and Lucas; Company f, from
Fulton and Defiance Company II, from
Lucas county.
You all remember how we were gathered
together in the barracks upon the North.
elm outskirts oil Toledo, and how we spent
the first days of our camp.life between
taking our primary lessons in Infantry
tactics and taking French leave OF the
guards on our way down town. Perhaps
some OF you remember the first issue Of
army clothing-when We packed up our
citizens clothes and put on the blue; how
the small men found their clothes a world
loo wide, and the large men felt how awk-
ward it was to be above the regulation size.
Forthwith the camp was turned into n
tailor shop, and by dint OF trading round,
cutting down and letting out, we at length
were able 10 appear on parade, feeling,
however, as though we all belonged TO tie
awkward squad in more senses than one.
Do you remember, when the news came
TO us that the rebel General Bragg had by
a series of flank movements forced our
army OF the West back to the Ohio river,
and was threatening our State with DESC
lation, with what enthusiastic cheers we
received our orders TO move TO the front ?
And do you remember, when about nine
teen months afterward we were pushing
through the underbrush along the eastern
side OF Rocky Face Ridge until we had
passed far in advance of the rebel line OF
battle on the ridge, when TO the right of u.s.
within almost a stones throw, stood the
rebel double line of battle behind earth
works, fianked by hastioned forts, and the
order came from the General, mile in the
rear, TO unsling KNAPP sacks and prepare tc
assault those works, nearly surrounded az
we were by that line, which needed but the
cheer Of our charge to become an ampi
theatre of fire? How you piled your
knapsacks, wondering how many of you
would have any use for those knapsacki
after that days work was done? My i'm
| preston is that we did not cheer that or
| der" circumstances alter cases."
We left Toledo in freight cars over tn,
Dayton y Michigan Railroad, stopping a
this town of Perrysburg long after dark
Have any OF you forgotten how the ladie
came with lunch baskets, boquets OF flow
ers and words of kindness. giving US her,
in the darkness of the night an ovation o
which the chief magistrate of the lant
might have been proud? and how whel
we moved away cheer after cheer bade u
! Godspeed on our mission?
When we reached Cincinnati, how tn
people came and pressed us to eat an,
drink and make their homes our homes $,
long az we should stay. The hands extend
ed 10 us were not the hands of charity, bu
every citizens seemed to regard it priv
lcge to contribute to our comfort.
On the 14th of September we crossed tn
Ohio River on a pontoon bridge. We re
member the fact more distinctly. becaus
many of us purchased very poorly execu
ted wOOd-c engraving, representing tn
One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment il
The act OF crossing that pontoon bridge
The same wood-cut has been used to repre-
sent like event i'll the history OF nearl
every regiment that ever crossed tho
bridge. and answercd inst as well for ON
regiment az another. We formed in lin
of battle upon the heights opposite Cincin
nati and there with nick and shovel tool
onr first lessons in military engineering
and think thnt I NAV safely saw that
all the bitches dug by the troons of IN
Twepty-tbird Army Corps had been DIN,
in Wood county. il wouid now be one q
the INLAND counties of The State and a
| safe from spriup oyerfows as thouoh
had been rooted over.
On the 17th of September. 1862. we mad
that forced march to Crittenden, Kentucky
a distance of twenty-five miles. AS nj
terward learned, we were sent out as n corn
of observation, and ~ usual the One Hun
dred and Eleventh Regiment performed il
full duty in that regard. we observe,
that the enemy lett Crittenden short tim
before we got there; we observed tina
twenty-five miles was a very long tram,
for raw troops carving about twenty.fy
pounds to the man we observed that III
thermometer marked up in the ninetie,
and that when we unslung our knapsack
at the end of our return marsh the mex
day, that the blisters upon our backs YER
nearly represented the size of our respec
tive knapsacks.
We observed, also, that the averag
knarsack contained many articles not al
solutely necessary to a soldier. Thos
knapsacks were overhauled The dres
suits looked very fine with their wealth c
brass buttons; and while we felt doome
to move about the world like camels. wit
humps upon our backs, we made thos
humps as small as possible. The dres
suits were abandoned. In that steamin
hot weather we could see little use fc
blankets, so we made two out of one an
abandoned the balance. That hill was fC
| a Ia, or t,po "a va,,, ,,a.a1;.o 10, , ,ooo,,,