On May 27, the men were sworn in for three years' service by Colonel Robert Anderson, the hero of Fort Sumter. Colonel Anderson read the oath in English, and Judge Stallo repeated it in German. In a new regimental election, held June 11, Willich was advanced from Adjutant to Major. Several weeks before his promotion, his men had presented him with a sword, and the regiment had received a beautiful blue silk flag, with an inscription in German, "For the first German Regiment of Cincinnati. The Ninth Ohio Volunteers left for the West Virginia campaign on June 16, 1861, after a great farewell demonstration accorded them by many representative Cincinnati Germans.
Colonel R. L. McCook** Major August Willich*** Camp Dennison
The regiment saw hard fighting, and earned the names, "Bloody Dutch", and "Dutch Devils", bestowed upon them by their rebel adversaries. Among the more important battles in which the regiment participated were Rich Mountain, West Virginia, July 10, 1861, where the men received their baptism of fire; Carnifax Ferry, West Virginia, September 10, 1861;
Mill
Springs, Kentucky, January 19, 1862, where the bayonet charge of the
Germans was decisive; Perryville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862; Hoover's
Gap, Tennessee, June 26, 1863; Chickamauga, September 19 and 20, 1863;
Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863; and Buzzard's Roost, Georgia,
February 25, 1864. At Chickamauga, the regiment lost in dead, wounded
and missing, 51% of its effective strength at the time. Colonel
Kammerling, who had succeeded to the command of the regiment after the
tragic murder of Colonel McCook by guerrillas in Tennessee, was promoted
after this battle to the rank of brigadier-general. Once only during
these three years of service were the men permitted to visit their
homes, and when they came, in November, 1861, there was joy and festal
merriment in Cincinnati, "over the Rhine". When the time came for the
discharge of the regiment, it was still within range of the enemy's
guns, and General "Pap" Thomas personally rode out to relieve the men
from the outer picket line, and to order them back to Cincinnati.
Death of Colonel McCook by Gurley's Guerrillas Colonel Gustav Kammerling**
The regiment reached Cincinnati on May 27, 1864, and was mustered out
early in June, at Camp Dennison. The German element of the city gave the
veterans a rousing reception. At the wharf, they were greeted by their
fellow Turners who were in the city, and were escorted by them to the
Turner Hall, where a typical German evening, consisting of a banquet,
songs, speeches and dancing celebrated the happy return. After the
formal mustering out of the regiment, the Cincinnati Germans tendered
their heroes a second banquet. Judge Stallo, who had made the principal
address at the time of the formation of the regiment in 1861, now
presided over the festivities which marked the formal return of his
fellow countrymen to civil life. But less than half of the original
regiment were left to enjoy the honor.
Anton Kurtzleb - Bugler* Captain Gustav Richter Co. G** Sgt. Hermann Reintanz Co. A** Sgt. William Drewe Co. A**
This unit history taken from: The Ninth Ohio Volunteers. Ohio Archelological and Historical Quarterly, Vol. 35 (1926), pp. 402-417).
* From an image taken by Joseph Reinhart of an original photo owned by
Paul Reese see
http://9thohioinfantry.yolasite.com
** From an image taken by Joseph Reinhart of a Cincinnati Central Turners owned photo see http://9thohioinfantry.yolasite.com