Infantry Units: 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
The biographical sketches here show only those members of the unit who wrote letters to their local newspapers. Information may be drawn from the unit roster, newspaper obituaries, or other biographical sources.
Roster - Field and Staff, 111th OVI
Brevet Brigadier General Moses Randolph Brailey
General Brailey was born November 2, 1816 to Gideon and Anna (Green) Brailey
in Eaton, Canadaigua Co., New York. He married Sarah Jane Maxon April 21, 1837
in New York, and soon moved west, arriving in Norwalk in 1837. Completing his
law studies in 1846, he moved west again to Fulton County, Ohio around 1857 and
served as prosecuting attorney for Fulton County from 1858-1862.
He originally enlisted as a 44 year old, being commissioned Captain of Co. I, 38th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on August 21, 1861. He served with the regiment briefly, and was wounded at the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky in January 1862, causing him to resign his commission February 9, 1862. He later served as a Captain of the 3 months 85th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, mustering in June 10, 1862 as Captain of Company G. He was mustered out September 23, 1862 at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio and immediately enlisted in the forming 111th Ohio, his commission dating to August 28, 1862. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel to date February 1, 1863, and was discharged for disability following the fall campaign of 1863, his discharge occurring December 29, 1863. At the end of the war, Colonel Brailey was given Brevet promotions to Colonel and Brigadier General, both dating to March 13, 1865. Brailey's brevet promotions to Colonel and Brigadier General were for meritorious services rendered at the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky while he was with the 38th Ohio.
General Brailey served as Comptroller of the Ohio Treasury from 1865 to 1871. He died January 17, 1888 in Swanton, Ohio. The small town of Brailey, Ohio is named for him.
Biography from the History of Fulton Co., Ohio:
"General Brailey was a native of Canandaigua County. N. Y., where he was born
November 2, 1817. After completing his public school education at Buffalo, N. Y.,
he removed to Norwalk, Ohio where he engaged in farming and the lumber business.
Here he was elected a justice of the peace, the beginning of his highly successful
public career. He studied law under the tutorship of Hon. E. M. Stone of Norwalk,
and was admitted to the bar in 1846, and for eleven years practiced his profession
in that city. In 1852 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Huron county and two
years later reelected.
In 1857 he removed to Fulton County, where he continued the practice of law, and
where he was twice elected to the office of prosecuting attorney, in 1858 and 1860.
Before the expiration of the second term the Civil War broke out. Resigning his
office, he tendered his services to his country, though considerably past the age
of military duty. His first enlistment was early in 1861, for a period of three
months. At the expiration of that term he promptly re-enlisted on August 21, and
was mustered into the service as captain of Company I of the 38th Ohio volunteer
infantry. Having been wounded in a skirmish near Spring Mill, Ky., he was discharged
in March, 1862. On May following he again entered the service as captain of
Company G, of the 85th Ohio regiment, and on August 22, was transferred to the
111th Infantry, with the rank of major and was put in command of the regiment.
Major Brailey participated in the battles of Kentucky and East Tennessee, and in
January, 1863, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. For gallantry on
the field of battle he was subsequently promoted to brevet colonel in the regular
army and brigadier general of volunteers. By reason of impaired health, occasioned
principally by his former wounds, he was obliged to leave the service receiving an
honorable discharge during the winter of 1863-64.
As he was averse to engaging in the pursuits of civil life while the war continued,
he at the solicitation of Governor Brough, accepted the office of paymaster, a
position that he held until the close of the war. In 1865 he was elected comptroller
of the treasurer for the State of Ohio and re-elected three years later, serving
in that capacity until 1871. Meanwhile he had been elected a member of the Board
of Soldiers' Claims for his State. In 1876 he returned to Fulton County and
resumed the peaceful pursuits of private life, enjoying the privacy of the farm
and the practice of law at Swanton."
Letter: Fremont Journal-February 27, 1863
Toledo Blade- 3/21/1863
Adjutant Henry T. Bissell
Enlisted age 28 on august 22, 1862 to serve three years; appointed Sergeant
Major September 1, 1862; promoted to 2nd Lieutenant Co. H November 17,
1862; 1st Lieutenant and Adjutant February 12, 1863; died September 9, 1863 at
Louisville, KY
Toledo Blade- 11/28/1862, 3/21/1863, 5/11/1863, 6/20/1863, 7/28/1863, 9/11/1863
Toledo Daily Commercial- 7/17/1863
Surgeon Lyman A. Brewer
Enlisted 8/9/1862 as a Surgeon, promoted to Brigade Surgeon 9/6/1862, mustered
out 6/27/1865 at Salisbury, NC.
Toledo Blade- 10/2/1862, 12/19/1864
Chaplain Ambrose Hollington
Enlisted, age 30, September 6, 1862 to serve three years; discharged
September 24, 1864 on Surgeon's certificate of disability
Toledo Daily Commercial- 6/13/1864
Adjutant Isaac Ruth Sherwood
Born 8/13/1835 in Stanford, Duchess Co., New York. Died 10/15/1925 in Toledo,
Lucas Co., Ohio. Photo online at www.civilwardata.com. Enlisted, age 27 on August
20, 1862 in the 14th OVI to serve three years; appointed 1st Lieutenant
and Adjutant September 6, 1862; promoted to Major February 1, 1863; Lt. Colonel
January 1, 1864; Colonel September 8, 1864, but not mustered; brevet Brigadier
General February 27, 1865; mustered out with regiment June 27, 1865
(Bryan) Press and Leader - 10/2/1862, 10/23/1862, 10/30/1862
Perrysburg Journal- 8/3/1864, 12/15/1865
Toledo Blade- 3/21/1863, 11/3/1863
Toledo Daily Commercial- 11/4/1863, 5/30/1864, 12/8/1864
Williams County Leader- 5/2/1861, 5/9/1861, 5/16/1861, 5/23/1861, 6/6/1861 (2),
6/13/1861 (2), 6/20/1861 (2), 6/27/1861, 7/4/1861, 7/11/1861, 7/18/1861, 8/1/1861 (2)
Adjutant Wesley S. Thurstin
Enlisted as 1st Sergeant of Company K 8/12/1862, promoted Adjutant 9/10/1863,
to Captain of Company D 5/31/1865, mustered out 6/27/1865 at Salisbury,
North Carolina
Perrysburg Journal- 3/16/1864
Roster - Company A, 111th OVI
Second Lieutenant Orin Phineas Frary
Orin P. Frary was born March 10, 1832 in Ballville, Sandusky Co., Ohio to Phineas and Nancy (Cochran) Frary. He went west to California during the Gold Rush, arriving in 1851 and staying for a year and a half. He moved back to Ohio where he married March Jane Smith October 10, 1853 in Fremont, Ohio, having town children. He was commissioned a 30 year old Second Lieutenant in Co. A, 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on July 12, 1862, and was mustered in the same date. He participated with his regiment on guard and garrison duties in Kentucky before resigning his commission March 9, 1863.
Following his return from the army, he moved west to Dakota Territory where he worked as a cattle dealer, returning to Lansing, Michigan and back to Dakota Territory several times. In applying for his pension, he revealed an incredible story: "In December, 1884, I was caught out in a Blizzard 50 miles east of here near Pine Ridge agency; got lost; was out five days and four nights without fire or food with the thermometer at 35 below zero. I froze the toes on one foot so bad the bone was froze; had to have one toe amputated, and the heal of the other foot was froze so bad that the flesh all had to be cut off but it did not injure the bone. My feet are very tender from the affects and can't stand the cold. I also can't stand it to walk much with this and the rupture it nearly disables me from all labor."
He died December 1, 1917 in Lansing, Michigan.
Letter: Fremont Journal- December 19, 1862
Roster - Company B, 111th OVI
Captain Thomas C. Norris
Enlisted 7/25/1862 as Captain, promoted to Major 1/1/1864, promoted to
Lt. Col. 9/8/.1864, mustered out with regiment 6/27/1865 at Salisbury,
North Carolina
Perrysburg Journal- 1/13/1864
Corporal John S. Richards
Enlisted 8/6/1862 as a Private, promoted to Corporal 9/5/1862, captured 11/16/1863
at Lenoir, Tennessee, paroled, captured and paroled 11/23/1864, returned to
duty 5/7/1865, mustered out 6/27/1865 at Salisbury, North Carolina
Perrysburg Journal- 9/7/1864
Roster - Company C, 111th OVI
Corporal James C. Thomas
Enlisted, age 19 on August 14, 1862 to serve three years; appointed Corporal
date unknown; promoted to Com. Sergeant, June 13, 1865
Bryan Union Press- 7/14/1864
Roster - Company D, 111th OVI
Sergeant Paul J. Brown
Paul Brown enlisted as a 24 year old Private in Co. D, 111th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry on August 8, 1862 and was soon promoted to Sergeant on August 27, 1862.
He was discharged for disability May 20, 1863.
Letter: Fremont Journal- May 1, 1863
Roster - Company F, 111th OVI
Corporal John E. Hayes
Enlisted, age 44, August 13, 1862 to serve three years; appointed August 25,
1862; discharged Feburary 28, 1863 at Bowling Green, KY
Defiance Democrat- 3/21/1863
Musician Samuel S. Hughes
Enlisted, age 25 on August 13, 1862, to serve three years; promoted to
Hospital Steward May 1, 1864; mustered out with regiment June 27, 1865
Press and Leader - 10/16/1862, 6/4/1863
Bryan Union Press- 11/12/1863
Roster - Company G, 111th OVI
Captain Henry Jackson McCord
Henry J. McCord was born in Ereie Co., Ohio in 1827. He traveled west as one of the 49ers, seeking gold in California. He was commissioned Captain of Co. G, 111th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on August 15, 1862 and served in this capacity for the rest of war, taking part in campaigns in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. He was mustered out June 27, 1865 at Salisbury, North Carolina.
Glory! Glory! Glory! The Civil War Diaries of Henry Jackson McCord, was
privately published in 2002 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Letters: Fremont Journal- October 30, 1863, January 29, 1864, July 1, 1864
Private Hermanus "Herman" Ickes
Hermanus Ickes was born May 27, 1843 in Bedford Co., Pennsylvania to Michael and Hannah (Ow) Ickes. He enlisted as a 20 year old Private in Co. G, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry on August 19, 1862 and served with the regiment through the rest of the war, participating in the Knoxville, Atlanta, Franklin, and Nashville campaigns. He was mustered out May 23, 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky.
He married twice; first to Lucy J. Lemon in 1865 and later to Mary L. Hileman
in 1884, having five children in total. He died October 30, 1917 at the Soldiers
and Sailors' Home in Sandusky, Ohio and is buried at Smith Cemetery in Sandusky
Co., Ohio.
Letter: Fremont Journal- March 27, 1863
Roster - Company H, 111th OVI
Captain Patrick H. Dowling
Enlisted 8/12/1862 as 1st Lieutenant of Company H, promoted to Captain
6/15/1863 and transferred to Company C, mustered out with regiment 6/27/1865
at Salisbury, NC.
Toledo Blade- 12/24/1863
Corporal Adolphus J. Tebrau
Enlisted, age 18 on August 12, 1862 to serve three years; transferred to
Veteran Reserve Corps, from which mustered out June 17, 1865 at Louisville, KY
as Corporal
Toledo Daily Commercial- 5/23/1863
Roster - Company I, 111th OVI
1st Lieutenant Daniel W. Poe
Enlisted 8/14/1862 as 1st Lieutenant, resigned commission 3/18/1864
Perrysburg Journal- 10/8/1862
