FIFTY-FOURTH (54TH) INFANTRY REGIMENT2ND REGIMENT OF ZOUAVES - OHIO VOLUNTEERS, SEPTEMBER 1ST, 1861 to AUGUST 16TH, 1865
The following historical information is about the service of both the regiment, and the men, of the "Second Regiment of Zouaves" - Fifty-Fourth (54th) Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which served in the American Civil War from September 1st, 1861, to August 16th, 1865. If you have any corrections, suggestions, or additional information, photographs, artifacts, etc., that you wish to contribute, feel free to submit the information to the Webmaster.
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| Regimental Field & Staff |
| Company A |
Company F |
| Company B |
Company G |
| Company C |
Company H |
| Company D |
Company I |
| Company E |
Company K |
From Pages 327 to 328, Volume II of "Ohio in the War. Her Statesman, Generals and Soldiers." By Whitelaw Reid, ca. 1895.
 (Ohio State Archives) |
Recruiting for this regiment began in the latter part of the summer of 1861, the place of rendezvous being Camp Dennison, where the regiment was organized and drilled during the fall and winter of 1861. The men composing this command were from the counties of Allen, Auglaize, Butler, Cuyahoga, Fayette, Greene, Hamilton, Logan and Preble.
On the 17th of February 1862, the regiment went into the field with an aggregate of eight hundred and fifty men. The Fifty-Fourth reached Paducah, Kentucky, February 20th, 1862, and was assigned to a brigade in the division commanded by General Sherman. On the 6th of March the command ascended the Tennessee River, disembarked at Pittsburg Landing, and camped near Shiloh Church. On the 6th of April the regiment engaged in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, its position being on the extreme left of the army, but, on the second day, it was assigned a new position near the center of the line.
In the two days fighting the regiment sustained a loss of one hundred and ninety eight men killed, wounded and missing. On the 29th of April the regiment moved upon Corinth, skirmishing severely at Russell House, May 17th, and engaging in the movement upon the works at Corinth May 31st. On the morning of the evacuation the Fifty Fourth was among the first organized bodies of troops to enter the town. The regimental colors were unfurled from a public building, and the regiment was designated to perform provost duly, the commanding officer of the regiment being appointed commandant of the post of Corinth. |
The regiment moved with the army to La Grange, Tennessee, and from there to Holly Springs, Mississippi, and then returned to Corinth. Soon after it again marched to Holly Springs; from there to Moscow, Tennessee, and thence to Memphis, where it arrived July 21st, 1862. During the summer the regiment was engaged in several short expeditions; and on the 26th of November it moved with the army toward Jackson, Mississippi, by way of Holly Springs. The regiment soon returned to Memphis, and with a portion of the army, under General Sherman, moved down the Mississippi, and went into position before the enemy's line at Chickasaw Bayou. It was engaged in the assault on the Rebel works, December 28th and 29th, with a loss of twenty men killed and wounded. On the 1st of January 1863, the regiment withdrew, ascended the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers, and engaged in the assault and capture of Arkansas Post. The Fifty Fourth again descended the Mississippi River and disembarked at Young's Point, Louisiana. Here it was employed in digging a canal, and in other demonstrations connected with the siege of Vicksburg. It was on a severe march among the bayous to the rear of Vicksburg, which resulted in the rescue of the fleet of gun-boats which was about to be abandoned and destroyed.
On the 6th of May the regiment began its march to the rear of Vicksburg, by way of Grand Gulf, and was engaged in the battles of Champion Hills and Big Black Bridge. It was engaged in a general assault on the enemy's works in the rear of Vicksburg, on the 19th and 22d of June, losing in the two engagements forty seven killed and wounded. It was continually employed in skirmishing and fatigue duty during the siege of Vicksburg, except for six days, which were consumed in a march of observation toward Jackson, Mississippi.
After the fall of Vicksburg the Fifty Fourth moved with the army upon Jackson, Mississippi, and was constantly engaged in skirmishing from the 9th to the 14th of July. After the capture of Jackson the regiment returned to Vicksburg, and remained until October 1863, when forming a part of the Fifteenth Army Corps, it ascended the Mississippi River to Memphis, and from there proceeded to Chattanooga. It was engaged in the battle of Missionary Ridge, November 26th, and the next day marched to the relief of the garrison at Knoxville, Tennessee. It pursued the enemy's wagon train from Knoxville through the south eastern portion of Tennessee and a short distance into North Carolina, and then returned to Chattanooga, and moved thence to Larkinsville, Alabama, where it went into winter quarters on January 12th, 1864.
The regiment was mustered into the service as a veteran organization on the 22nd of January, and at once started to Ohio on furlough. It returned to camp in April, with an addition of two hundred recruits, and entered on the Atlanta campaign on the 1st of May. It participated in a general engagement at Resaca, and at Dallas, and in a severe skirmish at New Hope Church, June 6th and 7th. It was in the general assault upon Kennesaw Mountain, June 27th, losing twenty eight (28) killed and wounded; was engaged in a severe skirmish at Nickajack Creek, July 3rd, losing thirteen (13) killed and wounded, and was in a battle on the east side of Atlanta, July 21st and 22nd, sustaining a loss of ninety four (94) killed, wounded and missing.
The Fifty Fourth lost eight (8) men killedand wounded at Ezra Chapel on the 28th of July, and from the 29th of July to the 27th of August it was almost continually engaged in skirmishing before the works at Atlanta. It was in a heavy skirmish at Jonesboro, August 30th, and in a general action at the same place the two days immediately following. After resting a few weeks in camp near Atlanta, the regiment started in pursuit of Hood, and followed him within sixty miles of Chattanooga, and from there to Gadsden, Alabama, when it returned to Atlanta, and prepared for the march to Savannah. The Fifty Fourth started on that wonderful march on the 15th of November, and on the 15th of December was engaged in the assault and capture of Fort McAllister, near Savannah. The regiment assisted in the destruction of the Gulf Railroad toward the Altamaha, River and on the 7th of January 1865, marched into Savannah. After a rest of several weeks it moved with the army on the march through the Carolinas, skirmishing at the crossing of the South Edisto and North Edisto Rivers, on the 10th and 12th of February, respectively. It was closely engaged in the vicinity of Columbia, and participated in its last battle at Bentonville, North Carolina, March 21st 1865.
The regiment marched to Richmond, Virginia, and from there to Washington City, where it took part in the grand review of the Western Army. On the 2nd of June it was transported by railroad and steamboat to Louisville, Kentucky, and after remaining two weeks there it proceeded to Little Rock, Arkansas, and there performed garrison duty until August 15th, 1865, when it was mustered out. The regiment returned to Camp Dennison, Ohio, where it received final pay, and was disbanded on the 24th of August 1865.
The aggregate strength of the regiment at muster out was two hundred and fifty five (255) – twenty-four (24) officers and two hundred and thirty one (231) men. It marched during its term of service a distance of three thousand six hundred and eighty two (3,682) miles, participated in four sieges, nine severe skirmishes, fifteen general engagements, and sustained a loss of five hundred and six (506) men killed, wounded, and missing.
 Joseph Combs, Company C(Combs Family GenWebsite) |
Additional Research on the Uniform of the 54th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment is pending. If you have any additional information that you wish to contribute, feel free to submit it to the Webmaster. |
 John A. Copeland, Company C(Sherman House Museum) |
PUBLISHED MATERIAL
Page 1522, "A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion." Frederick H. Dyer, The Dyer Publishing Company, Des Moines, Iowa, 1908.
Volume I, "Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from its organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903." Francis B. Heitman, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1903.
"Life and Letters of Thomas Kilby Smith, 1820-1887, by his Son." Walter George Smith; New York, 1898.
"Neal Neff's New National Poems, Composed by a Captain of the Line, Belonging to the 54th O.V.V.I., of the 2d Brigade, 2d Division, 15th Army Corps of Gen. Sherman's Army, who while at the front, in Moments of Idleness, wrote for his own amusement." Cornelius Neff; Moore, Wilstach & Baldwin, Printers, Cincinnati. Ohio; 1866.
Page 136, Part V, "Official Army Register of the Volunteer force of the United States Army for the years 1861, '62, '63, '64, '65." Adjutant Generals Office, United States Army, 1865 to 1867.
Pages 2 to 35, Volume V (54th-69th Regiments-Infantry), "Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866<#1B4367ron, Ohio; 1887.
Pages 325 to 328, Volume II, "Ohio in the War. Her Statesman, Generals and Soldiers." Whitelaw Reid; The Robert Clarke Company, Cincinnati, Ohio; 1895.
DOCUMENTS, PAPERS & NON-PUBLISHED MATERIALS
Compiled Records Showing Service of Military Units in Volunteer Union Organization. Roll 180 - Pennsylvania, One Hundred Tenth Infantry through One Hundred Twenty-First Infantry. National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
Pension applications for service in the US Army between 1861 and 1900, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served. (NARA T289) National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
PHOTOGRAPHS, IMAGES & ARTIFACTS
Library of Congress Washington, District of Columbia.
Group portrait of Company K, 54th O.V.I.; Collection of the Ohio History Connection.
Group portrait of members of the 54th O.V.I. in Lebanon, Ohio; ; Collection of the Ohio History Connection.
Regimental Colors of the 54th O.V.I. (Painting and Original Photo); Collection of the Ohio Battle Flag Audiovisual Collection, Ohio Historical Society.
United States Army Heritage & Education Center. Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
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