Patriotic fever ran
high among the young men in Shelby County, Ohio in the early 1860's. Many were rushing to
enlist with their friends, so that together they could help save the union and, perhaps,
be a war hero as well. Over three hundred never returned. Some, like the Elliot brothers
of Dinsmore Township, died heroes' deaths. A much crueler and totally unexpected fate
awaited thirteen Shelby County soldiers. This is their story.
These men enlisted over a period of about one year. The oldest was James
Dodson. He had already served an enlistment with the Benton Cadets, was discharged because
of tuberculoses, and left his Plattsville home to fight again at the age of 36. Thomas
Powell was just 16 when he signed on with the 4th Ohio Cavalry.
Several were good friends. George Ragan, William Borum and George Baldwin all served
together in Company B of the 20th Ohio. Theophilus Ailes left his blacksmithing trade in
Port Jefferson to join the 20th, as did Thomas Duncan. Frances Honnell, also a blacksmith
from Port Jefferson, and Nehemiah Baldwin opted to become horse soldiers. They joined the
9th Ohio Cavalry. Their fate would remain intertwined throughout the war. Levi Bird joined
the 12th Ohio Cavalry. James Morris took up arms with the 14th Missouri Infantry. Alfred Swanders and Joseph Wilkinson
enlisted in the 99th Ohio. All these men would be captured and sent to prisons in the
south. Only Wilkinson would survive.
During the first part of the Civil War, capture meant generally humane
treatment, if the scourge of sickness could be avoided. Prisoner exchanges were common
between the armies. Therefore, perhaps the hopes of James Morris were high when he fell
into enemy hands on July 20, 1863 at Danville, Mississippi. The terrible battle of Chickamauga in September of that year saw
the capture of three county boys in one day: James Dodson, Alfred Swanders and Joseph
Wilkinson. An engagement at Florence, Alabama in April of 1864 resulted in Frances
Honnell, Nehemiah and George Baldwin becoming prisoners. On July 22, 1864 more Shelby
Countians lost their lives than on any other day in the war. That same day the Rebels
captured Thomas Duncan and Theophilus Ailes.
Even though the conditions of
southern prisons would get much worse toward the end of the war, disease claimed several
imprisoned Shelby County men fairly soon after their capture. Swanders died on New Year's
Day, 1864. He was kept at Libby prison in Richmond, Virginia until December 11th, when he
was sent to a Rebel hospital in Danville. His military records list the cause of death as
both "enemy cruelty" and "chronic diarrhea." His
brother, Aaron, would be killed in battle later that year at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia.
Morris, Honnell, Powell, Ailes, Borum and George and Nehemiah Baldwin were subsequently
transferred to the infamous prison at Andersonville, and all died there by October of
1864. By this time in the war, General U.S. Grant was the Commander of the Union Army. In
late 1864, he ordered a halt to the prisoner exchanges. His motive was to increase the
stranglehold on the Confederacy by cutting off its supply of soldiers. His decision also
sealed the fate of thousands of Union soldiers, for whom there would be no escape.
Included among these men were Thomas Duncan, Levi Bird and George Ragan. Ragan died while
still in prison after the surrender of General Lee at Appomatox.
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