Rising Eagles, Rising Buckeyes: The Top 10 Ohio Civil War Colonels

                                                            Ohio Colonels in the Civil War

During the Civil War, the state of Ohio furnished some of the highest ranking officers of the Union army. The names of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and McClellan are familiar with most Civil War buffs, but while these men were born in Ohio, they started their climb into the upper echelons of the high command through their prior services in the Regular Army.

     Ohio had over 200 regimental-sized organizations during the war, and its a fair question to ask which of those regimental commanders most distinguished themselves during the Civil War?  One measure of a soldier's value to his country is entrusting higher levels command responsibilities beyond just a singular regiment, with brigade, divisions, corps, even armies. So I'm going to rank these colonels based on who went into the upper echelons of command, i.e. which of Ohio's colonels rose highest in the ranks? We'll break them down here with a Top 10 list of Ohio's best colonels during the Civil War.  

10) Brevet Major General John Wallace Fuller, colonel 27th O.V.I., divisional commander 

General John W. Fuller

    The son of a Baptist minister and a native of Harston in Cambridgeshire, England, John Wallace Fuller migrated to the U.S. with his parents in 1833, settling first in New York where he worked in a bookstore in Utica and later opened his own publishing company. Fuller became involved in local politics and served two terms as the treasurer of Utica. He also became a lieutenant with the local militia corps and "was known as one of the best tacticians in that part of the country," Whitelaw Reid noted. When Fuller's publishing house burnt to the ground, he pulled up stakes and moved west to Toledo, Ohio in 1858. "You will do better in Toledo" is a common catchphrase these days and John Fuller lived that maxim to the "fullest," living there the rest of his life. 

    With his experience as a militia officer, Fuller accompanied General Charles W. Hill into western Virginia at the outset of the war as his chief of staff. Fuller worked primarily as a drill instructor for the new Ohio regiments, and was so successful in this that in August 1861 Governor William Dennison appointed Fuller as colonel of the 27th Ohio Infantry. Fuller quickly organized and drilled his new command which was sent to Missouri in August 1861. He took an active part in the Missouri campaign that fall and led his regiment in action at New Madrid and Island No. 10 in the spring of 1862, and was complimented for his services in that campaign in general orders. 

    The 27th Ohio transferred to Halleck's army near Corinth, Mississippi in May 1862, a city with which Fuller would become intimately familiar with over the next 18 months. By September 1862, Fuller was in command of the "Ohio Brigade" consisting of the 27th, 39th, 43rd, and 63rd Ohio regiments; this command he led at both the battles of Iuka and Corinth in the fall of 1862. After his brigade held a critical piece of ground at Battery Robinett, General William S. Rosecrans rode up to Fuller and his command saying, "I take off my hat in the presence of men as brave as those around me." 

    Fuller led the Ohio Brigade into action at Parker's Crossroads on the last day of 1862 but spent most of 1863 on garrison duty at Corinth and Memphis, Tennessee. Joining Grant's (later Sherman's) army at Chattanooga in late 1863, Fuller would march south against Atlanta as a brigade command but by early July was leading a division of the 16th Army Corps. Fuller actions at the July 22, 1864 secured for him his brigadier's star. 

     By September, Fuller reverted to brigade command, serving in Joseph Mower's division during the March to the Sea. Fuller was awarded a brevet promotion to major general of volunteers for his distinguished services during the war. "His career was so singular in that the promotions which his gallant conduct always suggested came so slowly, but this tardy appreciation never affected the zeal and devotion which he carried into the service," Reid commented. "When at last, his official honors came, it was beyond the power of any to say he had not fairly won them." His English birth and lack of a political sponsor in Ohio no doubt played a role in Fuller's slow climb in the ranks. 

    General Fuller resigned his commission on August 15, 1865 and returned to Toledo where he became a prominent businessman. He also served as the collector of customs for the port of Toledo from 1874-1881. General Fuller died March 12, 1891 in Toledo and is buried at Historic Woodlawn Cemetery. 

9) Brevet Major General Mortimer Dormer Leggett, colonel 78th O.V.I., divisional and corps commander

    Mortimer Dormer Leggett was born April 19, 1831 in Ithaca, New York of Quaker parents, but early in life moved to northeastern Ohio.  A self-educated man, he became an attorney and advocate for public education, serving as the superintendent of schools in both Akron and Zanesville. He was the one-time law partner of Jacob D. Cox, later a Civil War general of some note and governor of the state of Ohio. 

General Mortimer D. Leggett

    After serving on General George B. McClellan's staff during the summer of 1861 campaign in western Virginia. Leggett was appointed colonel of the 78th Ohio in January 1862, leading it in the final stages of the Fort Donelson campaign and at the second day of Shiloh where Colonel Leggett was wounded; he was wounded again on May 16, 1862, during the siege of Corinth. Leggett's steady leadership landed him a brigade command by that summer and a brigadier's star on November 29, 1862. General Leggett was remembered as a "strictly moral man, never drinks anything that will intoxicate, never smoke cigars, never chews tobacco, never uses profane language, and never plays cards."

    Leggett led his brigade in the initial stages of the Vicksburg campaign, suffering a severe wound at Champion Hill which he concealed from his staff so that he could remain in command of his troops until the contest was decided. He suffered two more wounds during the siege of Vicksburg (that's five wounds thus far in case you weren't counting). 

    General Leggett later led a division of the 17th Army Corps during the Atlanta campaign (and wasn't wounded for a change!), and for a brief time held command of the 17th Army Corps before reverting to divisional command which he held until the end of the war. Commissioned a major general at the end of the war, he resigned his commission July 22, 1865 and returned to law work in Zanesville, Ohio. President U.S. Grant appointed him as commissioner of patents in 1871, a role which General Leggett filled for three years after which he returned to business. General Leggett died January 6, 1896 in Cleveland, Ohio and is buried at Lakeview Cemetery. 

    The story of General Leggett's cow Molly is one of my personal favorites. 

8) Brevet Major General August Valentine Kautz, colonel 2nd O.V.C., divisional commander 

    While born near Potzheim in Baden on January 5, 1828, August Valentine Kautz's  family emigrated to the U.S. later that year, first settling in Baltimore, Maryland. The family moved to Georgetown in Brown Co., Ohio in 1844 and Kautz served as a private in the 1st Ohio Infantry during the Mexican War. He attended West Point (class of 1852) and at the served on the west coast with the 4th Infantry. After taking a year's leave to travel to Europe, he returned to the states just before the outbreak of war.

    Traveling all the way from Fort Cheholis in Washington Territory to New York City after Fort Sumter, he was promoted to the rank of captain with the 6th U.S. Cavalry. The regiment served with McClellan's army during the Peninsula and Seven Days' campaigns, Kautz commanding the regiment during the latter campaign. 

General August V. Kautz

    Kautz was appointed colonel of the 2nd Ohio Cavalry in September 1862 when the regiment was stationed on the Kansas frontier. The regiment soon returned to Ohio for a full refit and while in the state  played an important role in the pursuit of General John H. Morgan during his celebrated Indiana-Ohio Raid in the summer of 1863. Kautz was appointed the chief of cavalry for the 23rd Army Corps in Kentucky and eastern Tennessee that fall and had hardly commenced work when he was ordered back east and commissioned a brigadier general. 

    In April 1864, Kautz took command of the cavalry attached to the Army of the James and enjoyed a very active service through the summer around Petersburg. Kautz's division took part in the Battle of Darbytown and New Market Roads on October 7, 1864 that resulted in Kautz receiving a brevet promotion to major general. He was transferred to command of a division of colored troops in the 25th Army Corps in March 1865 and led it into Richmond on April 3, 1865. After the war, he served on the military commission that tried the Lincoln assassination conspirators and married Charlotte Tod, the eldest daughter of former Ohio governor David Tod. Kautz also made several important contributions to the military literature of the time, including Customs of Service for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers and Customs of the Service for Officers of the Army. 

7) Brevet Major General Eli Long, colonel 4th O.V.C., divisional commander 

General Eli Long

    Eli Long was born June 16, 1837 in Woodford County, Kentucky and attended Frankfort Military School, receiving a direct commission into the U.S. Army in 1856 with the 1st Cavalry. He served on the western frontier and soon after the outbreak of the war, was promoted to the rank of captain. Captain Long joined Buell's army with Co. K of the 4th U.S. Cavalry in February 1862 and served as commander of the general's escort (and subsequently Rosecrans) through the Battle of Stones River. During this campaign, he received plaudits from both Generals David S. Stanley and Rosecrans for his bold charge upon the Confederate cavalry on the Union right that helped save McCook's ammunition train. During this attack, Long was wounded by a musket ball in the left shoulder. 

     Captain Long was appointed colonel of the 4th Ohio Cavalry in early 1863 and did much to reinvigorate discipline, essentially turning the regiment around. Long's talents were such that he didn't stay with the regiment long and by June was leading a cavalry brigade. Long's command took part in pursuing Wheeler during his October 1863 Sequatchie Valley raid and suffered his second war wound at Farmington. 

     He led a cavalry brigade during the Atlanta campaign, suffering a third wound (this time in the right leg and arm) on August 21, 1864 near Kingston, Georgia during Kilpatrick's Raid. Long was commissioned brigadier general to date August 18, 1864 and following recovery from his wound, he was placed in divisional command of the cavalry attached to General George H. Thomas's army at Nashville. He led the Second Division of Wilson's Cavalry Corps during the final days of the war and suffered his fourth and most disfiguring war wound. During the charge on Selma, "General Long was wounded by a bullet on the top and right side of the head, paralyzing the tongue and right side of the face and right arm," Whitelaw Reid stated. "He still suffers from the effects of this wound and the recovery of the use of his hand is extremely doubtful."

     "General Long was awarded every brevet in both the regular and volunteer service for gallant and meritorious service up to and including the grade of major general," Generals in Blue states including a brevet promotion to major general to date March 30, 1865. Long assumed command of the military district of New Jersey right after the war before being medically retired from the army in 1867. He spent the remainder of his life practicing law in Plainfield, New Jersey and died in New York City on January 5, 1903 following an operation. He is buried at Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. 

6) Major General William Babcock Hazen, colonel 41st O.V.I., hero of Stones River and division commander

    A native of West Hartford, Vermont, William Babcock Hazen was born September 27, 1830, a descendant of the Connecticut Hazens who held high rank in the Revolutionary War. The Hazens moved to Hiram, Ohio early in life where young William  not only formed a close friendship with future president James A. Garfield, but secured an appointment to West Point, graduating with the class of 1855. He transferred from the 4th Infantry in Oregon to the 8th Infantry in Texas in 1856 where he earned frequent notice in general orders for bravery and good conduct. Hazen suffered a severe wound in the left hand and right side while engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Comanches on November 3, 1859; that bullet remained lodged in the muscles of his back for the remainder of his life. He went on leave in February 1860 after being presented a sword by the grateful people of Texas and in July 1860 received a brevet promotion to first lieutenant. 

    Lieutenant Hazen, once he recovered from his wounds, took up a posting as assistant professor of infantry tactics at West Point beginning in February 1861. After the outbreak of hostilities, Hazen was promoted to the rank of captain in the 8th Infantry but was highly sought after by several governors who wished that he would lead one of the volunteer regiments. The adjutant general of the army refused Hazen's repeated requests for a leave to accept one of these appointments until Governor William Dennison offered Hazen command of the 41st Ohio in September 1861. "As a disciplinarian, he was severe but not harsh," Whitelaw Reid recalled. "Though never familiar with his men, yet upon proper circumstances, no man was more approachable. In the organization of his regiment, he drew around him mostly young officers and by instructing them thoroughly, made soldiers of them. The regiment's efficiency and the reputation of many of its officers are flattering evidences of the ability of Hazen as instructor." 

    Hazen's arrival in camp was like a thunderclap. He was all business all the time, and his strict discipline soon turned the 41st Ohio into one of the finest regiments in the Army of the Cumberland.  Hazen didn't command the 41st Ohio for long as by January 6, 1862, he was promoted to brigade command. It was in this role that Hazen made his reputation as one of the finest brigade commanders in the army, his efforts at Shiloh and in defending the Round Forest during the Battle of Stones River being especially noteworthy. In the aftermath of Stones River, the Senate, which had sat on his appointment to brigadier since May, got off their duffs and confirmed the appointment to brigadier to date November 29, 1862. 

General William B. Hazen 

    General Hazen led his brigade with marked ability during the Tullahoma campaign and through both days of fighting at Chickamauga where his brigade was the last organized command to leave the field. On October 27, 1863, General Hazen led the Brown's Ferry operation, a critical first step to reopening the "cracker line" into Chattanooga. He played an equally important role in the subsequent battles of Orchard Knob and Missionary Ridge which ended the siege of Chattanooga. 

    Hazen led a brigade through much of the Atlanta campaign, taking part in the battles of Resaca and Pickett's Mill. On August 17, 1864, he accepted command of the 2nd Division of the 15th Army Corps, severing his long connection with the Army of the Cumberland.  Hazen would lead this division through the end of the war, garnering all brevets through the rank of major general in the Regular service. He received a promotion to the rank of major general on May 19, 1865 retroactive to his role in capturing Fort McAllister near Savannah, Georgia in December 1864. One of his crowning achievements was leading the 15th Corps during the Grand Review.

    After the war, Hazen remained with the army, serving as colonel of the 38th Infantry and 6th Infantry. Appointed head of the signal corps in 1880, Hazen's tenure was marked by controversy, especially with the Weather Bureau. General Hazen died January 16, 1887 in Washington, D.C. and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Honorable mentions:

Brevet Major General John Wilson Sprague (63rd Ohio), Medal of Honor, brigade commander

Major General James Abram Garfield (42nd Ohio), brigade commander, chief of staff, 20th President

Brevet Major General Rutherford Birchard Hayes (23rd Ohio), division commander, 19th President 

Brevet Major General Emerson Opdycke (125th Ohio), brigade commander, hero of Franklin

Brigadier General Ferdinand Van Derveer (35th Ohio), brigade commander, hero of Chickamauga

General Manning F. Force

5) Brevet Major General Manning Ferguson Force, colonel of 20th O.V.I., Medal of Honor, division commander

    Manning Ferguson Force was born December 17, 1824 in Washington, D.C., and was a law graduate of Harvard. He moved to Cincinnati and soon rose to become a prominent attorney. The outbreak of war led him into the militia and by July 1861, he was serving as major of the 20th Ohio Infantry. After reporting for duty, he was elevated to the rank of lieutenant colonel and with the colonel of the regiment being placed in charge of fortification construction at Campo Chase, Force took on the task of drilling and discipling his new command. 

    In February 1862, the 20th Ohio journeyed south and was present at Fort Donelson at the time of its surrender. A few months later, as part of General Lew Wallace's division, took part in the second day's fighting at Shiloh; soon thereafter, Force was promoted to the rank of colonel. Force led the regiment during the Vicksburg campaign (as part of Mortimer Leggett's brigade) until June 1863, when Force received command of the Second Brigade, Third Division, of the 17th Army Corps. A brigadier's star followed in August in recognition of his distinguished services during the Vicksburg campaign. 

    Force's command remained around Vicksburg until March 1864 when it traveled east to join Sherman's command for the drive on Atlanta. It was during the hard-fought Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864, that General Force received a bullet through his face, the bullet striking just below his eye. The wound, initially feared to have been fatal, ultimately disfigured the general for life. It was at this battle that General Force received the Medal of Honor, the citation stating that "General Force charged upon the enemy's works and after their capture, defended his position against the assaults of the enemy until he was severely wounded." 

 He spent just a few months recuperating, returning in time to lead his brigade in the March to the Sea and through the Carolinas. When General Leggett became ill in early 1865, General Force took command of his division and led it through the Carolinas. After resigning his commission, Force resumed his law practice in Cincinnati and was served as a judge in various capacities until 1887 when he became commandant of the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Sandusky. He married General John Pope's sister in 1874 and the two men became close; Pope died at Force's home in 1892. General Force died May 8, 1899 in Cincinnati and is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery. 

4) Major General James Blair Steedman, colonel of 14th O.V.I., hero of Chickamauga, divisional commander and district of Chattanooga

    The "Hero of Chickamauga" James Blair Steedman was born July 30, 1818 in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania to a poor family; James had few opportunities for education until the age of 15 when he became a printing apprentice in the office of the Lewisburg Democrat. Learning the trade at the hands of Judge George R. Barrett, Steedman soon outgrew the newspaper business and went in contracting for public works. However, he drifted to Louisville, Kentucky and thence to Texas where he became involved in the Texan War of Independence. 

    He moved to Napoleon, Ohio in 1838 where he both secured contracts to dig the Miami & Erie Canal as well as printing the Northwestern Democrat newspaper in Defiance. With the railroads booming, he secured a contract to build 50 miles of trackage between Defiance and Fort Wayne, Indiana for the Toledo, Wabash, & Western Railroad. He went west for the California Gold Rush and was back in Ohio by 1849. 

General James B. Steedman

    Success in business led to a career in politics- two terms in the State legislature and four years on the Board of Public Works, three of which he served as president. In 1857, he was elected public printer in Washington and campaigned hard to Stephen Douglas during the 1860 presidential campaign. He also ran for Congress that same year as a Douglas man and was defeated. At the outbreak of the war, he was living in Toledo and immediately offered to raise a regiment upon hearing of the Federal defeat at Fort Sumter. Within nine days, the 14th Ohio Infantry with Colonel Steedman at its head had been formed, drilled and organized. 

    The regiment took part in the earliest engagement of the war in western Virginia at Philippi in June 1861 then took part in the fights at Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford in July.  After completing its 90-days service, the 14th Ohio re-enlisted for three years with Colonel Steedman again in command. Sent into Kentucky, Steedman led the regiment at Wild Cat and Mill Springs where soon thereafter he was commissioned brigadier general and placed in command of a brigade. Steedman earned Buell's praise for his actions at Perryville in October then took on the hard job of rebuilding Big South Tunnel along the Louisville & Nashville Railroad that fall. 

    In early 1863, Steedman commanded a division for about three months before reverting to brigade command during the Tullahoma campaign. Upon the reorganization of the Army of the Cumberland, General Steedman was placed in command of the First Division of the Reserve Corps. Marching to the sound of the guns on the second day of Chickamauga, Steedman led his division in a counterattack which saved Thomas's position atop Horseshoe Ridge, an act that Generals in Blue says was "the most conspicuous act of personal courage recorded of any general officer on the Federal side." Characteristically as an old newspaperman, as Steedman charged into battle, he told a nearby reporter to make sure his name was spelled "Steedman" and not "Steadman!"

    Steedman's political leaning slowed his promotion to major general (despite General Thomas's strong recommendation) which occurred April 20, 1864. He was given command of the District of the Etowah based in Chattanooga, an important command directly supporting Sherman's drive on Atlanta. His command later took part in the Battle of Nashville where Steedman commanded the left wing of the army in that successful engagement. At the end of the war, Steedman held command of the state of Georgia until he resigned July 19, 1866. "General Steedman's career during the war was highly honorable and it can scarcely be said that any Ohio general not in command of a large army rendered more valuable or distinguished service," Whitelaw Reid wrote.  After the war, he became the collector of internal revenue at New Orleans, Louisiana. In his final years, he returned to Toledo and his first trade as a newspaperman and served as the chief of police for a time. He died October 18, 1883 in Toledo and like General John W. Fuller, is buried at Historic Woodlawn Cemetery. 

3) Major General Alexander McDowell McCook, colonel of 1st O.V.I., commander of the 20th Army Corps

     The highest ranking soldier of the Fighting McCook family of Ohio, Alexander McDowell McCook is a case of a soldier perhaps rising too quickly to the upper echelons of command. To be sure, McCook's experiences as a corps commander at Perryville, Stones River, and Chickamauga would not place him within the upper crust of successful commanders, but given how high McCook climbed and by virtue of his lengthy tenure in corps command, he ranks third on the list.

    Alex was born April 22, 1831 in Columbiana County, Ohio; two of his brothers (Robert L. and Daniel) both became brigadiers in the Civil War and both died during it. Another brother, Charles, was killed at First Bull Run. Alex attended West Point and upon graduation with the class of 1852 was assigned to the 3rd Infantry, serving in the west fighting Indians and Mormons. In 1858, McCook was assigned to West Point as the instructor of infantry tactics (for those who think McCook's common appellation of "chuckle-head" (Thanks for nothing John Beatty) meant that McCook was stupid would do well to ponder the fact that West Point put a 27 year old second lieutenant in charge of teaching tactics- McCook was a much sharper cookie than history has painted him out to be). McCook, serving under his future adversary William J. Hardee who was head of West Point at the time, held the instructor role until April 1861 when he was dispatched to his home state as a mustering officer. Alex's political connections and good record with the army ensured that he received the coveted post of colonel of the state's first regiment, the 1st Ohio Infantry at just 30 years old. 

General Alexander M. McCook

    McCook successfully led his regiment (and with much acclaim within the state) during its 90-day service which included two engagements (Vienna on June 17 and First Bull Run). He also took the three-years' organization of the 1st Ohio into Kentucky in September 1861 but was quickly tapped for brigade command and received his brigadier's star to date September 3, 1861. Command of the Second Division quickly followed before the end of the year, and he led that division with success at both Nashville and Shiloh. In a way, McCook's division was Buell's hammer at Shiloh and that success led to his subsequent promotion to corps command in the summer of 1862. His second star, that of major general, followed in July 1862. 

    Alex's corps seemed to bear the brunt of Union disaster at both Perryville and Stones River. While McCook's personal bravery never was called into question, his admittedly underwhelming performance in those battles started chatter within the army that McCook was in over his head. Rosecrans, however, being sensitive to McCook's prominent family, his West Point pedigree, and as a fellow Ohioan, kept McCook at the head of the 20th Corps through Chickamauga. Both McCook and Thomas L. Crittenden were initially saddled with the onus of that defeat and he was removed from corps command shortly after the battle. His Civil War career seemingly flamed out at the age of 32. 

    Although exonerated in a court of inquiry, McCook did not again hold an important command for the rest of the war. He remained in the army after the war, although he advanced rather slowly and ended his career as a major general in 1895. He died at Dayton, Ohio on June 12, 1903 and is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. 

2) Major General George Crook, colonel of 36th O.V.I., commander of the Army of West Virginia, hero of the Indian Wars

    George Crook was born near Dayton, Ohio on September 8, 1828 and was a graduate of the West Point class of 1852. He, like August Kautz, served in the 4th Infantry in California in the years leading up to the war and by May 1861 had been promoted to the rank of captain. Upon returning east that summer, he was offered the colonelcy of the 36th Ohio Infantry. "He accepted the position and applied himself to the work of thoroughly disciplining his regiment," Whitelaw Reid noted. Like Hazen, Crook proved a remarkable disciplinarian and a born soldier.

    Crook didn't hold regimental command for long before he was bumped to brigade command. The 36th Ohio fought in western Virginia through the summer of 1862 before it was transferred east to the Army of the Potomac where it took part in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, with Crook leading the brigade. Crook received his brigadier's star for his actions in those campaigns and by the end of the year he was leading the Kanawha Division. 

General George Crook

    General Crook joined Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland in early 1863 and that summer took command of the Second Cavalry Division, leading it during the Chickamauga and Chattanooga campaigns. Crook's division played a leading role in combating Wheeler's cavalry during the Sequatchie Valley raid on October 1863; Crook received the thanks of both Generals Rosecrans and Thomas for his effective leadership.

    The following year, Crook was reassigned to western Virginia where he assumed command of the Third Division, taking part in the fighting at Cloyd Mountain in May and at Lynchburg in June. Early's raid into Maryland again drew Crook and his command eastwards and they tangled with Early at Cool Springs on July 18th. Crook soon was given a brevet promotion to major general of volunteers and placed in command of all forces with the Department of West Virginia, an army styled the Army of West Virginia which was part of Phil Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah. 

    Crook would lead the army for the rest of Sheridan's Valley campaign, making a solid reputation for his leadership at Third Winchester/Opequan, Fisher's Hill, these earning him a later brevet to major general of the regular army. Despite the near disaster at Cedar Creek, Crook was promoted to the full rank of major general on January 1, 1865 and he removed his headquarters to Cumberland, Maryland. But on February 21, 1865, General Crook was captured in his headquarters by Confederate troopers and was exchanged a month later. Upon his release, he was assigned to the cavalry command of the Army of the Potomac and finished the war alongside Sheridan. 

    After the war, Crook remained in the army, eventually rising to the rank of major general with most of his energies focused on combating Indians on the western plains. He died March 21, 1890 in Chicago, Illinois and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

1) Major General William Starke Rosecrans, colonel of 23rd O.V.I., major general, commander of the Army of the Cumberland and the District of Missouri 

   I know this pick will be controversial for one main reason: Rosecrans' time as a colonel of an Ohio regiment lasted all of a hot minute. The state roster says that he was commissioned colonel on June 7th 1861 and commissioned brigadier general a week later. That said, it almost seems unfair to compare Rosey's meteoric rise with that of the other colonels listed above. A native of Ohio, William Starke Rosecrans graduated from West Point in the class of 1842 and served 12 years (only rising to first lieutenant) in engineering assignments before resigning his commission to go into business in 1854. 

     Rosey re-entered the army from civilian life in April 1861, served on McClellan's staff, helped lay out Camp Dennison, was colonel of the 23rd Ohio by May 1861, brigadier general by June of 1861, and was leading McClellan's old western Virginia army by September 1861. So in less than six months, Rosecrans went from being an eccentric local inventor to commanding an army- pretty impressive in anyone's book. The following year, Rosey received assignment as a divisional commander in Halleck's western army which he led successfully at Iuka and Corinth; both of these leading to his appointment as commander of the Army of the Cumberland, the second largest of the Union's field armies during the war. Rosecrans led that army to victories at both Stones River and in the Tullahoma campaign, and while defeated at Chickamauga, his campaign secured Chattanooga for the Union, a major long-lasting war objective. 

    Grant removed Rosecrans from command of the Army of the Cumberland on October 19, 1863. Rosecrans' subsequent command in Missouri hardly was noteworthy and the rising star of Rosecrans quickly faded as the war ended. Rosey moved to California after the war and served a few terms as senator; his bitter relations with Grant has colored our historical view of Rosey but its clear that no other Ohio colonel commanded an army as large as Rosey's or as successfully (at least through Chickamauga), so I stand by my pick of Rosecrans as the top Ohio colonel in the Civil War. Rosey passed away March 17, 1898 in Los Angeles and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

General William S. Rosecrans