The Wilson Raid, June, 1864: A Trooper's Reminiscences

THE WILSON RAID, JUNE, 1864: A TROOPER'S REMINISCENCES Edited by Stephen Z. Starr Rocer Hannaford, a native of England, was brought to America in 1844, at the age of ten. His family settled in Cheviot, a few miles west of Cincinnati. Marrying in 1855, Hannaford lived in Hamilton, Ohio for a year, then returned to Cheviot, and was living there in 1861. Three of his five brothers enlisted immediately when the Civil War broke out (one of them, Edwin A., published in 1868 a history of his regiment, the 6th Ohio Infantry); Roger, with a wife and two small children to support, did not feel it his duty to enlist until 18 months later, but after what he calls the "dark days of 1862," he decided, in his matter-of-fact way, that ". . . it was time for me to go, and I went." He enlisted in a company being recruited for the 8th Ohio Cavalry. After four companies had been raised for the 8th Cavalry, the War Department decided to consolidate the greatly depleted ranks of the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, recruited in the late summer of 1861 in the Cleveland area, into 8 companies, and to fill up the regiment by adding to it the four "8th Ohio" companies. It was through this process that in the early summer of 1863, Hannaford became a trooper in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry. The 2nd Ohio had already had an adventurous career when Hannaford 's unit was added to it. For ten months from January, 1862, it had compaigned in Missouri, eastern Kansas and the Indian Territory (see Isaac Gause, Four Years with Five Armies [New York, 1908]), losing half of its original complement in the process. Brought back East, the regiment campaigned in Kentucky and Eastern Tennessee in 1863, reenlisted as veterans in January, 1864, and two months later, was transferred to the Army of the Potomac. After the Wilderness Campaign and the "Wilson Raid," the 2nd Ohio fought in the Shenandoah Valley under Sheridan, and then took part in the final battles of the war at Five Forks, Dinwiddie Court House, and Sayler's Creek. Hannaford was mustered out as First Sergeant of Co. M in the fall of 1865. A year later, he began to write the story of his three years' service in the 2nd Ohio. When he finished, in 1874, he had written 1,528 legal-size foolscap pages (the last few pages of the manuscript are missing) of vivid narrative. He had not kept a diary, but he had 218 an excellent memory, and he could also check names, dates and places in the many letters he had written to his wife. The manuscript reminiscences were given to The Cincinnati Historical Society in 1973 by his grandson, Francis Hannaford. The story of the Wilson Raid cover ninety pages of Hannaford's manuscript, and has been substantially (and regretfully) shortened for the purpose of this publication. His erratic punctuation, paragraphing , and capitalization have been corrected, and the designation of military units ("Batt," "Brig." etc.) and ranks, which he habitually but inconsistently abbreviated, is given in full; otherwise the syntax, grammar and spelling are entirely Hannaford's. Tuesday 21st June1 Every body seemed in a hurry. The surgeon was examining the men & all not fit for duty were being sent back to City Point; there were . . . rations to be drawn, also requisitions to be made out for clothing, then drawn & issued.2 The butchers were killing beeves, the Q. M. were running around wildly . . . broken down horses being condemned & turned over to the Q- M- and it was plain to be seen some move was to take place ... I found orders had been issued, saying we would break camp at 2 A.M. next morning. After supper . . . rations were yet to be issued and after I had secured Yankee's and mine, here was oats to draw, & before I could attend to this along came Quince & pressed me in to go after fresh beef.3 By this [time] it was past nine, so away we went out in the open field to find the 2nd Ohio's butchers; there was the butchers of every Regiment in the Brigade in...