His regiment, at first glance, had an unremarkable war. It did not fight in the most famous battles, suffer the worst casualties or win the most distinguished honors. No one gave it a nickname or wrote its regimental history.
And yet when I did a bit of digging, I discovered that the 45th had at least two distinctions that set it apart from most Ohio regiments, one colorful and one tragic.
After fighting in the siege of Knoxville in November and December 1863, the 45th took part in many engagements of Sherman's Atlanta campaign, including the battles of Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain and Jonesboro. As part of the 4th Army Corps, it joined the pursuit of Hood's army through Tennessee in the waning days of 1864 and engaged the enemy in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. The regiment was mustered out on June 12, 1865.
If you have any comments or information about the 45th that you would like to share, please contact me at schill@gol.com.
Thank you and enjoy!
Mark Rea Schilling