23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment

23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment
Unit name	23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment
Dates	June 1861 – July 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Battles	See below
Notable commanders	See below

23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment The 23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry unit raised in Ohio for service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Organized in Columbus, Ohio and mustered into service in mid-1861, the regiment served in multiple theaters including operations in West Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, and the Western Theater, participating in campaigns that linked to strategic operations by leaders such as William S. Rosecrans, George B. McClellan, and Ulysses S. Grant. The regiment’s service intersected with major events including the Battle of Carnifex Ferry, the Battle of Peachtree Creek, and the Atlanta Campaign.

Formation and Organization

The 23rd Ohio Infantry was organized in Columbus, Ohio under state authority in June 1861 and mustered into federal service soon after, drawing volunteers from counties across Ohio including Franklin County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Hamilton County, Ohio. The regiment’s initial officers received commissions from the Ohio Adjutant General and were assigned to brigades within divisions commanded by generals of the Department of the Ohio and the Department of the Mountains. Muster rolls, regimental structure, and company designations followed the model established by the United States War Department and mirrored organization seen in contemporaneous units like the 20th Ohio Infantry and the 23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment.

Service History

After organization, the 23rd Ohio was deployed to operations in western Virginia (present-day West Virginia), joining forces conducting counterinsurgency and field actions against Confederate troops under commanders associated with the Army of the Northwest and the Army of the Potomac’s western detachments. The regiment participated in early-war movements tied to the campaigns overseen by George B. McClellan and engagements that influenced control of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the strategic Kanawha Valley region. Later, reassigned to Western Theater commands, the regiment served under corps and department commanders including Don Carlos Buell, William S. Rosecrans, and elements of the Army of the Cumberland, taking part in operations during the Tullahoma Campaign, the Chickamauga Campaign, and the Atlanta Campaign under generals like William T. Sherman.

Engagements and Campaigns

Throughout its term, the 23rd Ohio took part in numerous engagements and campaigns, often as part of brigade actions in larger battles. Actions included early engagements such as the Battle of Carnifex Ferry and operations in the Kanawha Valley, movements during the Rich Mountain Campaign, and later participation in operations related to the Tullahoma Campaign and the Chickamauga Campaign. In 1863–1864, the regiment was engaged during the Chattanooga Campaign and in operations that fed into the Atlanta Campaign, seeing action near Kennesaw Mountain, at Peachtree Creek, and during the Siege of Atlanta. Elements of the regiment were also involved in pursuits and garrison duties that intersected with operations around Nashville, Tennessee and Savannah, Georgia as the broader strategic aims of commanders like George H. Thomas and John Schofield unfolded.

Commanders and Notable Personnel

Regimental leadership included field officers who received commissions from Ohio authorities and who later interacted with higher echelon commanders such as William S. Rosecrans and Don Carlos Buell. Company officers and noncommissioned officers served alongside distinguished contemporaries from units like the 20th Ohio Infantry and the 54th Ohio Infantry Regiment. Notable individuals connected with the regiment served in staff roles or advanced to positions in veteran organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic and participated in postwar civic affairs in Ohio cities like Columbus, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio. Veterans of the regiment appeared in reunion records and veterans’ memoirs associated with figures from the Atlanta operations and the Army of the Cumberland.

Casualties and Strength

At muster, the regiment’s authorized strength approximated the standard ten-company regimental establishment used by the United States Army in the Civil War, typically numbering around 800 to 1,000 men when at full complement; effective strength fluctuated with recruitment, attrition, disease, and battlefield losses. Throughout service the regiment sustained casualties from combat and illness during campaigns tied to the Tullahoma Campaign, the Chickamauga Campaign, and the Atlanta Campaign, contributing to the overall casualty figures that affected Union infantry regiments engaged in sustained operations across the Western and Eastern theaters. Postwar veterans’ rolls and state muster returns documented enlistment dates, casualties, discharges, and desertions as recorded by the Ohio Adjutant General.

Legacy and Commemoration

Survivors of the 23rd Ohio Infantry took part in postwar memorialization through reunions, monument dedications on battlefields like those associated with the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and the Atlanta Campaign sites, and membership in veterans’ organizations including the Grand Army of the Republic. The regiment’s service is commemorated in Ohio state histories, regimental histories published in the late 19th century, and at local memorials in municipalities such as Columbus, Ohio and Cleveland, Ohio. Archival materials relating to the regiment appear in collections at institutions like the Ohio History Connection and university archives that curate primary sources on Civil War units from Ohio.

Category:Units and formations of the Union Army from Ohio Category:Military units and formations established in 1861 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1865