On the 4th of April, while the regiment was on drill, firing was heard, and the Forty-Eighth at once moved in the direction of the sound but the enemy fell back, and at nightfall the regiment returned to its quarters. About seven o'clock on the morning of the 6th the regiment advanced upon the enemy, and was soon warmly engaged. Charge after charge was reported, and though the Rebel fire was making fearful gaps in the line the men stood firm. A battery was sent to the regiment's aid, but, after firing four shots, it retired. The Rebels then advanced, confidently expecting to capture the regiment, but they too were driven back, and the Forty-Eighth withdrew to its supports, having been ordered three times by General Sherman to fall back. It is claimed that General Johnston, (2) of the Rebel army, was killed in this portion of the battle by some member of the Forty-Eighth. The regiment was actively engaged during the remainder of the day; and, late in the afternoon, in connection with the Twenty-Fourth Ohio and Thirty-Sixth Indiana, it participated in a decisive attack on the Rebel lines. It acted throughout in Buckland's brigade of Sherman's division - a brigade which had no share in the early rout of a part of that division. (3)

On the second day of the battle, about ten o'clock A. M., the regiment went into action across an open field, under a galling fire, and continued constantly exposed until the close of the engagement. The Forty-Eighth lost about one-third of its members in this battle.

From this time until after the close of the rebellion the regiment engaged continually in active duty. In the attack upon Corinth, (4) the Forty-Eighth was among the first organized troops to enter the Rebel works. In General Sherman's first expedition to Vicksburg, it occupied, with credit, a position on the right in the assault; (5) and it was in Sherman's expedition up the Arkansas River, and distinguished itself in the battle of Arkansas Post. (6) It was with Grant during the Vicksburg campaign; fought at Magnolia Hills (7) and Champion Hills; (8) and participated in a general assault on the Rebel works in the rear of Vicksburg, May 23, 1863. (9) On the 25d of June following, another general assault was made upon the same works, and the Forty-Eighth was ordered to cross an open field, exposed to two enfilading batteries, to take position in the advanced line of rifle-pits, and to pick off the enemy's gunners. This order was successfully executed. It took a prominent part in the battle of Jackson, Mississippi, and soon after engaged in the fight at Bayou Teche. At Sabine Cross Roads (10) the Forty-Eighth, then a mere remnant of its former self, severely punished the "Crescent Regiment;" but, in turn, it was overpowered and captured. It was not exchanged until October, 1864. The majority of the men in the regiment re-enlisted, but, on account of the capture, they never received their veteran furlough. After the exchange the regiment shared in the capture of Mobile.

After the surrender of the Rebel armies, the remaining one hundred and sixty-five men of the regiment were ordered to Texas. The regiment was at last mustered out of the service in May, 1866.

Whitelaw Reid, Ohio in the Civil War: Her Statesmen, Generals and Soldiers, (reprint of the 1895 edition, Robert Clarke Company, Cincinnati) Volume 2, page 298.

Endnotes:

(1) At this time, Sherman was placed in a departmental command that included the state of Kentucky. Sherman's perceived overreaction to his command led the press to suggest that he had had a nervous breakdown, or was insane.
(2) General Albert Sydney Johnston, commander of the Confederate army. The spot where General Johnston was mortally wounded is near the "Bloody Pond" at Shiloh.
(3) Ralph P. Buckland (1812-1892) was a pre-war lawyer and colonel of the 72nd OVI. At Shiloh he commanded the 4th Brigade, 5th Division of the Army of the Tennessee. The regiment was part of Sherman's Division.
(4) Mississippi, which fell the morning of May 30, 1862.
(5) The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, or Chickasaw Bluffs, fought December 27-29, 1862. The 48th OVI was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J.R. Parker, and was part of Colonel William J. Landram's Second Brigade, First Division (Brigadier General A.J. Smith) of Sherman's Army.
(6) Captured January 10, 1863.
(7) I assume that Reid refers to Magnolia Church, located on the site of the Battle of Port Gibson, May 1, 1863. The 48th was still commanded by Smith and Landram, but now part of John A. McClernand's XIII Army Corps.
(8) The Battle of Champion Hill was fought May 16, 1863. The regiment was now commanded by Colonel Peter J. Sullivan.
(9) This should be May 22, 1863.
(10) The Battle of Sabine Cross Roads, or Mansfield (Louisiana) was fought April 8, 1864 as part of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks' Red River Campaign.

Endnotes © 2001 David M. Smith