Research Arsenal Spotlight 13: 25th Ohio Infantry Photo Album
This week, we’re taking a look at a photo album of members of the 25th Ohio Infantry. The album contains fifteen cartes de visite (CDVs) of men in the regiment and most of those identified belonged to Company E. Five of the soldiers remain unidentified and consist of two privates, two corporals and a first lieutenant. Many of the CDVs were made in South Carolina. The regiment was stationed in South Carolina for much of the war after 1863, so it is likely the photos were taken sometime between August 1863, and 1865.
History of the 25th Ohio Infantry
The 25th Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Chase, Ohio and mustered into service on June 28, 1861. It initially did duty in western Virginia before becoming part of the 1st Corps of the Army of the Virginia. While part of the Army of the Virginia, the 25th Ohio Infantry fought at the Battle of Cedar Mountain as well as the Second Battle of Bull Run.
In late 1862, the 25th Ohio Infantry became part of the 11th Corps of the Army of the Potomac. As part of the Army of the Potomac, the regiment fought in the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg. It was at the Battle of Gettysburg that one of the soldiers in the album, Nathanial Haughton was wounded. Haughton recovered and went on to become a Brevet Brigadier General before the close of the war.
After the Battle of Gettysburg, the 25th Ohio Infantry was transferred to the 10th Army Corps and the Department of the South. The regiment did duty at Hilton Head as well as Folly and Morris Islands. The 25th Ohio Infantry also fought at the Battle of Honey Hill as part of Sherman’s march to the sea. At that battle another of the men in the album was wounded, Private Daniel Knisely of Company E.
The 25th Ohio Infantry continued serving in the Department of the South long past the close of the Civil War. The regiment finally mustered out at Todd’s Barracks, Ohio on June 18, 1866.
The Men of the 25th Ohio Infantry
Nathaniel Haughton
The first CDV in the album is of the above mentioned Nathaniel Haughton, taken at Columbia, South Carolina when he was serving as a Lieutenant Colonel. Haughton was born in 1833 and joined the 25th Ohio Infantry on June 5, 1861 as a first lieutenant of Company K. On July 30, 1862, he was promoted to Captain of Company A. About a month after being wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, he was promoted to Major of the regiment on August 4, 1863, then promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on July 13, 1864. In March 1865, he was promoted to Brevet Brigadier General. Nathaniel Haughton died from a fever after falling into a canal on January 31, 1899 at the age of 65 and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. The Daily Sentinel-Tribune of Bowling Green, Ohio, published February 1, 1899 mentioned the eerie coincidence that Nathaniel Haughton’s brother had been murdered in Toledo several years earlier by being tossed into a canal and drowning.
Edward C. Culp
Edward C. Culp was born in Plymouth, Ohio on Mar 23, 1843. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the 25th Ohio Infantry as a sergeant in Company D. He was promoted to sergeant major on November 1, 1861, second lieutenant of Company C on May 6, 1862, first lieutenant of Company F on September 11, 1862, Captain of Company A on March 15, 1864, Major on January 6, 1865 and then finally Lieutenant Colonel on May 25, 1866, just a few weeks before the regiment was mustered out.
After the war Edward C. Culp went on to serve as a sheriff of Norwalk, Ohio for two terms starting in 1868. He helped organize both the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri by serving as the secretary of the committee on ceremonies for both events. Later he moved to Salina, Kansas where he lived until his death in 1904.
Edward C. Culp also wrote a history of the 25th Ohio Infantry published 1885.
Michael Murray
Michael Murray enlisted in Company A of the 25th Ohio Infantry as a private in June, 1861. In March, 1862, some of the officers in his company including First Lieutenant Arthur Higgins and Captain James F. Charlesworth wrote to Governor David Tod recommending Michael Murray be promoted to Second Lieutenant in the Company. According to Edward C. Culp’s history of the 25th Ohio Infantry, Michael Murray was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. On October 17, 1864, he was promoted to Captain of Company E. He mustered out with the regiment on June 18, 1866.
Oliver P. Hershey
Oliver P. Hershey enlisted as a private in in Company E of the 25th Ohio Infantry. In December of 1861, a detachment of the the 25th Ohio Infantry participated in the Huntersville expedition, led by Major George Webster of the 25th Ohio Infantry and who would later become colonel of the 98th Ohio Infantry. During this expedition, Private Oliver P. Hershey was the only casualty from his regiment, being severely wounded in his arm.
A few months after the expedition, in March, 1862, Oliver P. Hershey was promoted to corporal. In August 1863, he received a promotion to sergeant and then to first sergeant on May 4, 1864. He was commissioned as second lieutenant on October 17, 1864, and promoted to first lieutenant of Company H on May 18, 1865. He mustered out with the regiment on June 18, 1866.
Byron Hutchins
Byron Newton Hutchins was born at Prairie Depot, Ohio on September 3, 1844. Unlike the other men profiled above, Byron Hutchins enlisted in the 25th Ohio Infantry on February 23, 1864, at the age of 19. He served in the regiment until it mustered out of service in June, 1866, for a total time of two years and four months.
According to his obituary, Byron Hutchins suffered from heart disease and passed away on June 6, 1911, at the age of 66 years.
Conclusion
A regiment has as many unique stories as it has names on its roster. When browsing an album of CDVs you can get the sense of the bonds that tied these men together and memorialized an important time in each of their lives. Although not every soldier’s name is recorded among these photos, their images will continue to be preserved and remembered to remind new generations of their deeds.
You can access the full photo album, as well as thousands of other Civil War photographs with a Research Arsenal membership.
If you enjoyed this spotlight on our collection, be sure to check out our other posts on Rufus P. Staniels of the 13th New Hampshire Infantry and deep dive into what makes up a US Cavalry Return.
