5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment

"No, thank God; the brave 5th Ohio is still standing its ground and holding the rebels!" 

General Sullivan - Kernstown

I seem to be unusual among my wargaming brethren in that rather than my production ramping up in the current enforced lock down times, it seems to have dropped off..  I'll be the first to admit I find the whole situation unsettling (you'd have to be weird to think otherwise) but with a house full of people I find it very difficult to be selfish enough to bugger up off to the loft and pick up a paint brush and leave the rest of them having to cope with grandson..

For my mental stability however, with the Tesco shop done, I hence'd myself off to aforesaid loft and applied brush to metal so as to complete these lads..

So the usual background and history, which for this regiment was plentiful - they were very much considered to be veteran by the end of the war, and there is a considerable amount of written evidence on the web..

The regiment was first organised on April 20th 1861 at Camp Harrison near Cincinnati , and were mustered into the Union army on May 8th - they signed up for (the usual for then) ninety days, but almost unanimously signed up for three years service at the end of June. Their commanding officer was Colonel Samuel H. Dunning, second in command was Lieutenant Colonel John H. Patrick (that's him - top left).

In July they left camp by rail and crossed into Virginia where they were attached to the brigade of Brigadier General Charles W. Hill, and in November they experienced their first real action at French Creek where Companies A, B and C killed six or seven Rebels and lost one man killed.

In December while the regiment were on picket duty near Romney they were attached to 2nd Brigade, Lauders’ Division, Army of the Potomac

1862 started off with a bang for the regiment (literally), as on January 6th-7th they were a part of the forces involved in the skirmish/battle at Blue’s Gap where Dunning led an attack on a camp of 1,500 Confederates about 16 miles from Romney. The advance for this began at midnight in a driving snow-storm. It captured the Confederate outpost line and and advanced to within a mile of the Rebel camp before it was detected. Climbing a steep mountain side, the men drove the defenders from their earthworks. Twenty Confederates were killed, and two cannon and a number of prisoners were captured. In addition a mill and outbuildings were burned. The regiment returned to Romney immediately after the fight, having marched a total of thirty-four miles in winter, and fought and won a battle in the middle - good work by any account!

Throughout the rest of January and into February the regiment continued to patrol and picket, until on March 7th they advanced on Winchester where they were attached to 2nd Brigade, Shields’ 2nd Division, Banks’ 5th Army Corps, and Dept. of the Shenandoah.

At Kernstown (a mere couple of weeks later) the regiment was placed in support of Daum’s Indiana Battery. The 5th Ohio continued in support of the battery until later afternoon, when Companies A-E were ordered forward under Colonel Patrick into the open. The 84th Pennsylvania [clicky] on the regiment’s right was forced to fall back (its Colonel - Murray - was killed trying to rally them). The 5th Ohio, though, maintained the close range fire fight. After four of the 5th Ohio’s colour bearers were shot down Captain George B. Whitcom grabbed the colours and shouted, “Boys, keep the colours up!” before he was struck over the eye and killed - those words became part of the regimental badge, and are on its monument at Gettysburg.

When reinforcements came up in the form of the 14th Indiana [ckicky], the Union line advanced and drove the Confederates from the field. The regiment lost 47 casualties in the battle, and after the fight the regimental colours were found to have 48 bullet holes, and the national colours ten......  😲

Dunning resigned through injury in the following August, and Patrick was promoted to replace him. He was in command of the 5th at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, missed the Battle of Antietam due to illness, and commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg. From November of 1863 until January of 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign he commanded the First Brigade of the Second Division of the Twelfth Corps. Patrick was killed at the Battle of New Hope Church, Georgia, on May 25, 1864, struck in the abdomen by an artillery shell.

Figures by Newline Designs 20mm painted March/April 2020

Sources:
https://civilwarintheeast.com/us-regiments-batteries/ohio/5th-ohio-infantry/
http://5thovi.weebly.com/regimental-history.html