President William McKinley Monument at Antietam

 

McKinley Monument at Antietam                            Courtesy of National Park Service

William McKinley Ohio, who later became the 25th President of the U.S., has a monument honoring his courage at the battle of Antietam. Hughes Granite and Marble Company of Clyde, Ohio produced the monument. The monument is located just south of the Burnside Bridge. It was dedicated October 13, 1903.

The inscription on the monument reads:

WILLIAM McKINLEY
January 29, 1843 - September 14, 1901
Fourteen Years Member of Congress
Twice Governor of Ohio 1892-3 and 1894-5
Twice President of United States
1897 - 1900 - 1901

Sergeant McKinley Co. E. 23rd Ohio Vol. Infantry, while in charge of the Commissary Department, on the afternoon of the day of the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, personally and without orders served "hot coffee" and "warm food" to every man in the Regiment, on this spot and in doing so had to pass under fire.

The Battle of Antietam took place in Maryland on September 17, 1862. It was Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North. It was the bloodiest single day battle in American history. The battle claimed 23,000 casualties, nine times greater than the number of American casualties on D-Day during World War II. Despite the battle's shocking carnage, Antietam provided President Abraham Lincoln with the victory he needed to announce the abolishment of slavery in the South.

President Rutherford B. Hayes of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry who became the 19th President of the U.S. recollected the incident in these words, in an 1891 speech introducing McKinley:

That battle began at daylight. Before daylight men were in the ranks and preparing for it. Without breakfast, without coffee, they went into the fight, and it continued until after the sun had set. Early in the afternoon, naturally enough, with the exertion required of the men, they were famished and thirsty, and to some extent broken in spirit. The commissary department of that brigade was under Sergeant McKinley’s administration and personal supervision. From his hands every man in the regiment was served with hot coffee and warm meats.

General J.L. Botsford described it in his battle report:

It was nearly dark when we heard tremendous cheering from the left of our regiment. As we had been having heavy fighting right up to this time, our division commander, General Scammon, sent me to find out the cause, which I very soon found to be cheers for McKinley and his hot coffee. You can readily imagine the rousing welcome he received from both officers and men. When you consider the fact of his leaving his post of security, driving right into the middle of a bloody battle with a team of mules, it needs no words of mine to show the character and determination of McKinley, a boy at this time about twenty years of age. McKinley loaded up two wagons with supplies, but the mules of one wagon were disabled. He was ordered back time and again, but he pushed right on.

[Quoted in The Life of William McKinley: Soldier, Lawyer, Statesman, by Robert P. Porter. Cleveland, 1896]

McKinley was promoted to second lieutenant for his conduct.

Army of the Ohio Completes Preservation Fundraising For the 23rd Ohio Battle Flag: Announces Adoption of the 25th Ohio Battle Flag

23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Battle Flag

with Members of the Army of the Ohio

Courtesy of Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Mann

Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Mann, Ohio National Guard Historian, recently sent me this news release. Thanks to the Army of the Ohio, the necessary funds to allow for the conservation of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) battle flag from the American Civil War. In addition, the group has announced it will continue its preservation efforts by adopting the 25th OVI battle flag.

The group adopted the 23d OVI flag in January 2011 and has since raised $14,755 of the estimated $29,000 needed for the conservation of the nearly 150 year old silk regimental flag. The remaining funding came from a grant from the Army Historical Foundation, an anonymous donation to the Ohio Historical Society and from the general flag fund of the society, who operates the Save the Flags Campaign.

“One of the goals of the Army of the Ohio is to honor the memory of Ohio’s Civil War Soldiers,” says Col. Bob Minton, commander of the Army of the Ohio and Fostoria, Ohio resident. “The simple way to accomplish this is through accurate portrayals of them at reenactments, but to be able to preserve this distinctive symbol of the war is essential to telling the Soldiers story to future generations.”

The 23rd Ohio was organized at Camp Chase, Ohio on June 11, 1861 and served in the eastern theater, fighting at South Mountain, Antietam and Winchester. The members of this regiment gained distinction in military and civilian life. The first commander, William Rosecrans, became a noted general. The 23rd Ohio is also the only unit in the history of the Army to contain two future presidents: Rutherford B. Hayes and William S. McKinley.

The 25th Ohio was also organized at Camp Chase, Ohio on June 28, 1861 and served in the eastern theater. At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 the regiment sustained a loss of 179 of the 220 officers and men it went into battle with. The 25th remained in service until April 1866 and had eighteen color bears killed or wounded, including eight at Gettysburg.

Minton said the groups fundraising efforts took them to numerous events across Ohio and New York selling T-shirts, mugs and selling raffle tickets for Civil War artwork. Additionally, members conducted preservation marches and sought donations from individuals and groups. The group will continue to sell these items to raise the estimated $29,000 required for the 25th OVI flag.

The 23rd Ohio flag will be taken to a conservator later this summer where it will be stabilized in order for the flag to be displayed. The Ohio Historical Society's flag collection is one of the largest in the country. It includes the Ohio Adjutant General’s collection of 553 flags, three quarters of which are from the Civil War. Since the inception of the Save the Flags campaign, 21 of the flags in the collection have been treated and housed in frames for display purposes.

The Army of the Ohio was organized in 1999 to combine the strength of American Civil War reenacting units from Ohio and surrounding states. Currently infantry, artillery and cavalry units from Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania comprise the group.