Emerson Opdycke
Emerson Opdycke rose from first lieutenant to colonel of the 125th Ohio Infantry, having earlier served with the 41st Ohio. He fought at Shiloh, Chickamauga, and through the Atlanta Campaign, but is best remembered for leading his reserve brigade in the decisive counterattack that saved the Union line at the Battle of Franklin in 1864. […]
Levi P. Holden
Levi P. Holden enlisted as a captain in the 88th Illinois Infantry, the “Second Board of Trade Regiment,” in 1862 and was promoted to major in June 1864. He served through the regiment’s hard campaigns at Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and the Atlanta Campaign, and mustered out at Nashville in June 1865, having […]
Alonzo W. Clark
Alonzo W. Clark is listed as a captain in a Union volunteer regiment during the Civil War. Searches of Wikipedia, Find A Grave, and regimental rosters found several men named Alonzo Clark from the era, including an Alonzo Clark (1840–1917) of Company D, 1st U.S. Infantry, but none could be confidently confirmed as sharing the […]
James B. Kerr
James B. Kerr is listed as a lieutenant colonel in a Union volunteer regiment, likely a Pennsylvania infantry or cavalry unit given the common Scots-Irish surname in that state. Extensive searching of Wikipedia, Find A Grave, Civil War databases, and Pennsylvania regimental rosters did not turn up a record confidently matching this exact name and […]
George W. Smith
George W. Smith is listed as a lieutenant colonel in a Union volunteer regiment during the Civil War. “George W. Smith” is an extremely common name for the era, and searches of Wikipedia, Find A Grave, and Library of Congress records returned dozens of unrelated men of that name (including privates, a congressman, and a […]
Edward O. Grebe
Edward O. Grebe is listed as a lieutenant colonel in a Union volunteer regiment; the surname suggests German-American origin, common among Missouri and Midwestern German immigrant regiments of the period. Searches of Wikipedia, Find A Grave, and Civil War rosters found a similarly named Medal of Honor recipient, M. R. William Grebe of Missouri, but […]
Arthur MacArthur Jr.
Arthur MacArthur Jr. joined the 24th Wisconsin Infantry as a lieutenant and adjutant in 1862, rising to major and, by May 1865, lieutenant colonel. He fought at Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge, where at eighteen he seized his regiment’s colors and planted them on the crest, earning the Medal of Honor. Severely wounded […]