David Aldridge

  Co. C, 26th O.V.I. & Co. C, 10th O.V.C.

by John Quist

      David Aldrich was born in Westfield Township, Morrow County, OH in September 1845. (1)  The cemetery record gave his birth date as September 1, 1838. (2)

      His farmer father, Timothy J. Aldrich, was born in about 1795 in Rhode Island.  In February 1818 in Delaware County, OH, he married Temperance Wyatt, (3) born on October 8, 1801 in Virginia. (4)  Nine children were reported born to them:  infant daughter (died 1835), infant son (died 1832), Cynthia (b.1820), James (b.1821), Lucinda (b.1822), Sylvester (b.1823), Almira (b.1826), infant daughter (b.1829), and Anna (b.1830). (5)  Temperance (Wyatt) Aldrich died on June 26, 1835 in Westfield Township and was buried in the Mounds Cemetery. (6)  On September 20, 1837 in Delaware County, OH, Timothy married a widow, Sophia (Smith) Russell, (7) born on April 27, 1797 in New York State. (8)  She was married to Lovett Russell on December 7, 1815 in Fairfield County, OH. (9)  Paul Clay provided information regarding children born to Sophia:  “She had at least 3 known Russell children per Smith Bible, and Aldrich family descendants describe at least one other named Thalia Russell being in the Aldrich home.  A boy that was sick and died that they describe as John A. Russell is probably same as Alford Russell, as listed in David and Chloe Smith’s [i.e., Sophia’s parents’] bible.  He was born 12 Sept 1818, and matches John A. Russell died 15 (?Aug) 1839….” (10)  Sophia and Timothy Aldrich had three children:  Henry Hudson (1838), Benjamin F. (1841), and David (1845). (11)  No more information was found regarding Sophia than that in the 1870 census for Westfield Township.  Timothy J. Aldrich died on September 11, 1880 (12) at the home of his daughter, Anna (Mrs. Sabeers) Main, in Everett Township, Cass County, MO. (13)

      On June 13, 1861, David Aldrich enlisted as a Private in Delaware County’s Company C, 26th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment (26th O.V.I.). (14)  The recruitment of Company C was begun in Westfield Township, Morrow County. (15)

      The regiment was organized at Camp Chase in Columbus, Franklin County beginning on June 8, 1861 and mustered in for three years on July 21st.  They were ordered to the Kanawha Valley, (W)VA on July 25th and were stationed there August through December.  The 26th Ohio was ordered to Kentucky in January 1862, advanced on and occupied Nashville, TN (February 14-March 18), marched to Savannah, TN (March 18-April 6), fought in the bloody Battle of Shiloh, TN (April 6-7), advanced on and sieged Corinth, MS (April 29-May 30), and was in a pursuit to Booneville, Prentiss County, MS (May 31-June 6).  They next participated in General Don Carlos Buell’s Campaign in northern Alabama and middle Tennessee (June and July) and then marched to Louisville, KY in pursuit of Confederate General Braxton Bragg (August 30-September 26). (16)  During this time, Private Aldrich received as disability discharge on September 11, 1862 at Columbus, OH. (17)

      On November 11, 1862, David Aldrich enlisted as a Private in the 10th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (10th O.V.I.). (18)  The regiment had been organized at Camp Taylor in Cleveland, OH in October.  Companies were mustered in beginning in December 1862 and continuing through July 1863. (19)  Private Aldrich was assigned to Company C on February 10, 1863. (20)

      They moved first to Nashville, TN (February 27, 1863), were stationed at Murfreesboro, TN through May, did scouting in the Smithville, TN area through the middle of June, and took part in the Tullahoma/Middle Tennessee Campaign and Occupation (June 23-August 16).  They passed through the Cumberland Mountains and over the Tennessee River (August 16-21) and then were in the Chickamauga, GA Campaign (August 21-September 21), including the bloody defeat in the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19-21).  They operated against Confederate Generals Joseph Wheeler and Roddy in middle Tennessee (September 30-October 17), and then made a quick march to the relief of Union troops at Knoxville, TN (November 27-December 8).  They continued to operate in Tennessee through most of January 1864, and then scouted from Ringgold, GA to LaFayette, GA (April 24-25).  They next participated in the long Atlanta, GA Campaign (May 1-September 8), including the Battle of Resaca (May 14-15), Battles of Dallas, New Hope Church, and Allatoona (May 25-June 5), Siege of Atlanta (July 22-August 25), Battle of Jonesboro (August 31-September 1), and Battle of Lovejoy’s Station (September 2-6).  They then operated against Confederate General John Bell Hood in northern Georgia and northern Alabama (September 29-November 3).  They participated in General Sherman’s “March to the Sea” (November 15-December 10) and the Siege of Savannah, GA (December 10-21).  They then were in the Campaign of the Carolinas (January-April 1865), including the Battle of Bentonville, NC (March 19-21) the occupation of Raleigh, NC (April 12-13), and the surrender of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston and his armies at Bennett’s Farm near Durham, NC (April 26).  They were stationed in North Carolina, until they were mustered out of service on July 24, 1865 at Lexington, NC. (21)

      Several of David Aldrich’s cousins were in the war.  John Aldrich was a Private in Company K, 47th Iowa Infantry Regiment from May 21, 1864 until mustered out on September 28, 1864 at Davenport, IA. (22)  Timothy Aldrich was a Private in Company H, 132nd O.V.I. from May 2, 1864 (23) until he died on August 9, 1864 of typhoid fever at Lincoln General Hospital in Washington, DC (24) and was buried at Arlington, VA Nation Cemetery in Grave Number 7163. (25)  Elias Aldrich was a Corporal in Company D, 65th O.V.I. from October 2, 1861, (26) wounded at Stones River, TN (December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863), (27) and mustered out on March 31, 1863 at Nashville, TN. (28)  Elias was then a Private in Company G, 88th O.V.I. from October 3, 1864 until mustered out on July 3, 1865 at Camp Chase in Columbus, OH. (29)  Davison (enrolled as Davidson) Aldrich was a Private in Company C, 26th O.V.I. from June 13, 1861 until he died of disease on February 5, 1862 at Charleston, (W)VA. (30)  Jarvis Aldrich was a Private in Company D, 121st O.V.I. from August 13, 1862 until killed in the Battle of Chickamauga, GA on September 20, 1863. (31)  Nelson Aldrich was a Sergeant and Full Private in Company I, 2nd Ohio Heavy Artillery Regiment (2nd O.H.A.) from June 6, 1863 until mustered out on August 23, 1865 at Nashville, TN. (32)

      David Aldrich returned to Morrow County, where he was living the Charles Holt family in Westfield Township for the 1870 U.S. census; he was not found on the 1880 census.

      On May 10, 1883, he applied for a U.S. government pension as an “invalid” Union veteran of the Civil War. (33)

      He was living at Ashley, Oxford Township, Delaware County for the 1890 Special Schedule for veterans taken at the time of the 1890 census, in which he listed his disability incurred during the war as “lost use of left eye at battle of Mechanicsville, VA [June 26, 1862] by explosion of shell; was wounded in leg at Five Forks [VA], 1st April 1865.” (34)

      For the 1900 and 1910 censuses, he was living first in Delaware City and then in Oxford Township, Delaware County with the family of his nephew, Oscar Aldrich.

      David Aldrich died on July 4, 1917 and was buried in the Ashley Union Cemetery, Oxford Township. (35)
 

Compiled by John W. Quist

Delaware, Ohio, May12, 2013

 

Footnotes

1  “David Aldrich.” 1900 U.S. federal census, Delaware Ward 4, Delaware
     County, OH,  Consistently 1845 in censuses

2  “Aldrich, David.” Ashley Union Cemetery records, Oxford Township,
    delaohio.com/Cemetery/-DelCo_cem/a.txt (online)

3  “Timothy Aldrich Jr.” Delaware County Genealogical Society,
     delawareohiohistory.com (online)

4  “Temperance Wyatt.” Smalley Family, trees.ancestry.com (online)

 5  “Timothy J. Aldrich.” Smalley Family

 
6
  “Temperance Wyatt Aldrich.” Find A Grave Memorial, findagrave.com (online)

 7  “Sophia Smith.” Beilke Family Tree, trees.ancestry.com

 8  “Sophia Smith.” Delaware County Genealogical Society

9  “Lovett Russell.” Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994, familysearch.com
      (online)

 10  Footnote 8

 
11
  Footnote 7

 12  “Timothy Aldrich.” Find A Grave Memorial

 13  “Anna Main.” 1880 U.S. federal census, Everett Township, Cass County, MO

 14  “David Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers, search.ancestry.com (online) (26th O.V.I.)

 15  Hill, Jeffrey A. The 26th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry; The Groundhog

      Regiment
, Author House,  Bloomington, IN, 2010, page 8

 16  “26th O.V.I.” wikipedia.com (online)

 
17
  Footnote 14

18  “David Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers, search.ancestry.com (10th O.V.C.)

19  “10th Ohio Cavalry.” wikipedia.com
 

 20  Footnote 18


21  Footnote 19

 22  “John Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers

 
23
  “Timothy Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers

 
24
  “Timothy Aldrich.” U.S., Registers of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865,

       search.ancestry.com

 25  “Timothy Aldrich.” U.S. National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-

       1962, search.ancestry.com

 26  “Elias Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers (65th O.V.I.)

 

27  “Aldrich, Elias.” The Military History of Ohio, H.H. Hardesty, Publisher; New
       York, NY, 1886  (with special section for Delaware County), page 303

28  Footnote 26

29  “Elias Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers (88th O.V.I.)

30  “Davidson Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers

 31  “Jarvis Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers

 
32
  “Nelson Aldrich.” American Civil War Soldiers

 33  “David Aldrich.” Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files,
 

        1861-1934, search.  ancestry.com

 34  “David Aldrich.” 1890 Veterans Schedules, search.ancestry.com

35  “David Aldrich.” Find A Grave Memorial 

 
         
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(04/04/2015)