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GEORGE W. HAYCOOK |
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CIVIL WAR SOLDIER
HARLEM TOWNSHIP FARMER |
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On April 18, 1861 at the age of 21, George Haycook enlisted as a Private for three month’s service in the 3rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3rd O.V.I.). He was mustered into Company G on May 1, and mustered out at Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio on August 15. (5) On August 27, 1861 at Centerville, Harlem Township, he enlisted for three years’ service as a Private in Company I, 32nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment (32nd O.V.I.). (6) Company I was composed of men from Ashland, Paulding, Richland, and Van Wert Counties, plus 50 men from Delaware County. (7) George’s brother, Nathaniel, and their uncle (mother’s brother), Enoch Hartrum of Harlem Township, who had served with George in the three month Company G, 3rd O.V.I., (8) enlisted as Privates in Company I, 32nd O.V.I. on August 27. (9) This sketch will focus on George. The regiment was reorganized as a three year unit at Mansfield, Richland County, beginning on August 20, and mustered in on September 7. They moved to Grafton, Virginia (now West Virginia) on September 15 and then to Cheat Mountain Summit. They saw action at Battle of Greenbrier River, VA (October 3-4) and remained at Greenbrier until December. The regiment was stationed at Beverly, WV from December until April 1862. (10) George spent 9 weeks in the hospital at Beverly during January and February with lung problems and typhoid fever. (11) The 32nd O.V.I. saw action at Monterey, VA (April 12) and Staunton, VA (until May 7). They participated in the Battle of McDowell in Highland County, VA (May 8) and the Battle Cross Keys in Rockingham County, VA (June 8). They were then stationed at Strasburg, VA and Winchester, VA until September. They were next involved in the defense of Harpers Ferry (September 12-15). On September 15th, the 32nd O.V.I., including George Haycook, was captured. They were paroled the next day and sent to Annapolis, MD, then to Chicago, IL, and finally to Cleveland, OH. On January 12, 1863, they were exchanged. They were then ordered to Memphis, TN (January 20-25), to Lake Providence, LA (February 20), and to Milliken’s Bend, LA (April 17). They next moved to Grand Gulf, MS (April 25-30) and were involved in the Battle of Port Gibson, MS (May 1). They moved to Raymond, MS (May 12), Jackson, MS (May 14), and Champion Hill, MS (May 16), and then participated in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, MS (May 18-July 4), where they did garrison duty. (12) While at Vicksburg, George Haycook was detailed on October 8, 1863 to the Third Division, Pioneer Corps, (13) in which he served until he was discharged. (14) The Pioneer Corps, also known as the Pioneer Brigade, was a specialized unit, though not a separate branch, in the Army of the Cumberland. It was composed of soldiers detailed to carry out duties similar to those of today’s combat engineers, such as cutting roads, building or repairing bridges and other works, and dismantling enemy artillery, fortifications, and railroads. (15) The architect of the program was Delaware County’s engineer general, General William Starke Rosecrans. He wanted to improve and augment the engineering unit he had on hand, namely the First Michigan. His concern was not the Army’s ability in a fight, but rather its ability to move. By his order on November 3, 1862, 3,000 hand-picked craftsmen would spend the 18 months of their enlistment in the newly formed Pioneer Corps. They were called corps because each unit assigned to an Army Corps could be augmented and consist of more than 5,000 men, though in official reports they were referred to as brigades. Since the Pioneers were still soldiers, they were required in a fight to shoulder their muskets as the Pioneer Corps. They were soldiers with an axe in one hand and a musket in the other. Each Pioneer wore a patch of crossed hatches on the left arm between his shoulder and elbow. Two men would come from each company of every infantry regiment of the Army of the Cumberland, yet still be officially attached to their regiment. The twenty carefully chosen men from a regiment would be half laborers and half mechanics. The “most intelligent and energetic lieutenant in the regiment, with the best knowledge of civil engineering” would be detailed to command, assisted by two non-commissioned officers. Unlike regular engineers, the Pioneers would move in advance of the Army, with all the work in front of the Army falling on their shoulders. The Pioneer Corps or Pioneer Brigade was officially designated on December 7, 1862. As might have been expected, the hard and thankless labor on tasks considered unfit for regular engineers resulted in a preexisting distaste for pioneer duty. However, there were compensations, such as no drilling, picket duty, and scouting duty. It was healthy work and the food was better. There also was the promise of extra pay. This plum assignment, however, caused animosity among the rank and file of Rosecrans’ Army. In addition, not all of the promises to the Pioneers were kept, in particular promised promotions and extra pay. (16) While George was getting used to being a Pioneer, the 32nd O.V.I. continued its garrison duty at Vicksburg until February 1864. They moved to Clifton, TN and then to Ackworth, GA (April 21-June 8). They were involved in the long Atlanta, GA Campaign (June 9-September 8), including actions at Marietta, GA and Kennesaw Mountain, GA (June 10-July 2), the Siege of Atlanta (July 22-August 25), and the Battle of Jonesboro, GA (August 31-September 2). (17) After the dismissal of General Rosecrans, the value of the Pioneer Corps was much less appreciated. This was true with General George Henry Thomas, and especially with General William Tecumseh Sherman. The Pioneer Corps dramatically declined in numbers and was officially disbanded on September 10, 1864 after the fall of Atlanta. In the final analysis of one author, “the success of the Union army in the West was due in part to the ingenuity of William S. Rosecrans and to the resource, skill and sinew of his brain child: the Pioneer [Corps].” (18) George Haycook continued to serve as a Pioneer until he was discharged at Atlanta on September 15, 1864. (19) George returned to Harlem Township and farming. On April 11, 1865 at Center Village in Harlem Township, he married Emmaline /Emeline Rachel Hubbell who was born in Delaware County on March 18, 1848. She was the daughter of farmer Harvey Sherman Hubbell (born at Bloomfield, Knox County, Ohio on September 22, 1817) and Laurana (Hitt) Hubbell (born in Mason County, Kentucky on November 28, 1818), who had another child: Alonzo Ross (born in 1846). Harvey Sherman served in the Civil War as a member of Company E, 2nd Ohio Heavy Artillery Regiment, being mustered out as a Corporal. (20) George and “Emeline” had, according to the 1900 U.S. federal census for Sparta, Morrow County, Ohio, eight children: Ida Cleora (born in 1867), Viola L. (1869), Carrie Willmina (1871), Theodore (1874), Wesley J. (1875), Robert (1878), William S. (1883), and Charles S. (1886). (21) By the 1870 U.S. census, the family was living and George was farming in South Bloomfield Township, Morrow County, Ohio. It remained that way until the 1910 U.S. census when George was living alone and working as a farm laborer back in Harlem Township, while “Emeline” remained in South Bloomfield Township with son Wesley and son Charles and his family. Both parents listed themselves as “married.” For the 1920 U.S. census, George was in Trenton Township, Delaware County living as a “boarder,” while “Emmeline” was still at South Bloomfield, living with her unmarried son Wesley. This time George listed himself as “married,” while “Emmeline” listed herself as “widowed.” George applied for a U.S. government pension as an “invalid” veteran of the Civil War on February 19, 1885 (the index form is difficult to read). (22) In the 1890 Veterans Schedule, it states that George was suffering from “lumbago and lung trouble.” (23) George W. Haycook, at the age of 87 years, 4 months, and 7 days, died in Trenton Township on July 11, 1927. He was still listed as “married.” (24) He was buried in Fancher Cemetery. (25) On September 8, 1927, “Emeline” applied for a U.S. government pension as the widow of a Civil War veteran. (26) “Emmaline” R. Haycook, at the age of 82 years, 1 month, and 4 days, died at Sparta, Morrow County on April 22, 1930. She was still listed as “married.” (27) She was buried at Sparta, as would be her son Wesley in 1963. (28)
Compiled by John
W. Quist
FOOTNOTES
1
“George W.
Haycock.” Haycook-Kollar Family Tree, RootsWeb’s WorldConnect
Project,
3 “Phebe A. Hartrum.” Haycook-Kollar Family Tree; dates corrected with birthdates from David Naylor’s Genealogy Page, names-h, freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com (online) 4 “Haycook.” Fancher Cemetery records, Harlem Township, Delaware County, Ohio, delaohio.com/Cemetery/DelCo_cem/h.txt (online) 5 “George Haycook.” American Civil War Soldiers, Ancestry.com
6 Ibid 7 “32nd Ohio Infantry; Companies by County.” ohiocivilwar.com/cw32 (online) 8 “Enoch Hartrum.” American Civil War Soldiers
9
“Haycook,
Nathaniel,” “Haycook, George,” and “Hartrum, Enoch.” 32nd
Infantry, Official 10 “32nd O.V.I.” Wikipedia.com (online)
12 Footnote 10 13 Footnote 9, “Haycook, George”
14
Footnote 11 15 “Pioneers.” Definitions of Civil War Terms, civilwarhome.com/terms.htm (online)
16
“The Pioneer
Brigade.” Thecivilwargroup.com/pioneer.html (online) 17 Footnote 10 18 Footnote 16 19 Footnote 11
20
“Harvey Sherman
Hubbell.” Carpenters of Central Ohio, RootsWeb’s WorldConnect
Project, wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com; NOTE: George’s wife’s is spelled
either “Emeline” or “Emmaline,” depending on the document
23 “George Haycock.” 1890 Veterans Schedules, Ancestry.com 24 “George Haycook.” Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953, family search.org (online
25
Footnote 4
26
Footnote 22 27 “Emmaline R. Haycook.” Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953 28 “Wesley J. Haycock.” Ohio Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997, family search.org |
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