Photos of The Ohio 20th Volunteer Regiment of the Civil War (and of partners in other regiments) - Courtesy of the Houghton Library - Folder One

Photographs of the 20th Ohio Volunteers in the Civil War - Folder One - With Introduction and Complete Index

About fifteen years ago, I was playing around on the internet doing genealogical research, and searched for my great-great-grandfather William Harrison Kinney, who served in the Ohio 20th Regiment during the Civil War.  Somehow, a letter he wrote in 1880 from his home in Fredericktown Ohio, to General Manning Force under whom he served - popped up.  It was in the holdings of the Houghton Library at Harvard.  I requested the letter, and received it.

At some point years later, I asked about the ability to post the letter - and found that I had the okay from the library to do that.  Somehow in all that, I discovered that in this holding were roughly seventy-five photos of soldiers from that unit.  Obviously, my hope was that Harry Kinney was in there - but they were photos of officers.  There were a very few photos of rank and file soldiers.

The photos were among civil war related items donated to the library in 1946 by Horton Force, the son of General Manning F. Force, a general of the 20th Ohio. Officers of the 20th Ohio had photos taken, and most of them gave a copy of the photo, generally in the old “cabinet card” format, to the General. Additionally, he was given photos by some other officers in units from other states. In Folder Three, there are cards from officers of units in Wisconsin, Illinois, and a few more.  As I posted these photos on this and two more accompanying pages, I concluded that they were the “calling card” of the time.  Many have written “yours truly” or other similar comments.  Some had stamps on the back. Those that were photos of those not in the Ohio 20th were of officers in regiments who fought with the 20th Ohio, particularly they seem to have been connected through the Battle of Vicksburg.

The photos were in three “folders”, roughly twenty-five in each.  I was sent the scans, and the scans of the rear side of each photo, which generally identified who was in the photo.  The photos seemed to be of the “cabinet card” variety, popular a little after the Civil War.  Some of them contained the markings of the studio in which they were taken.  One was taken by the Matthew Brady studio in Washington, D. C. - Matthew Brady being the premier photographer of the civil war era.  Some were taken in places the regiment was stationed - like Louisville and Memphis.  Others were taken in studios that were the home towns of soldiers - such as Sidney, Ohio and Mount Vernon, Ohio.

I looked on the internet to see if I could find any of these images.  It seems from a very cursory look that they have not been widely shared.  So I have taken it upon myself to post these photos.  The images were in black and white, and were not necessarily centered.  In some cases, the photos needed enhancing.  So I am posting them below, slightly cleaned up, straightened out, in each case colorized.  I have taken the writing - mostly identifying the subject - from the back of the photos and posted those as well.  In a few cases the writing is hard to read, and finding the subject in other listings makes it clear who it is - but some are just not legible.  But I will include the original black and white cleaned up so that they are there, as our the colorized versions, as well as the backs of the photos with the handwriting in question.  In the instances of the few that are illegible, I welcome any suggestions as to what the writing is.

I have also taken the liberty of indexing the photos.  The photos came in three sets - matching the folders that the originals are held in at the Houghton Library.  I am posting them on three different web pages matching the folders.  This page contains the first of the three folders.  The index is just below is a complete index for the three folders - and the photographs, one by one, follow.  The pages for folder two and folder three have the index for just those pages there.  I hope this is helpful to descendants who are interested and might not have a copy of their ancestor’s photo. 

When the Houghton Library sent the images in 2021, they wrote: “It is not necessary to request permission to quote from or publish images of most collection material” except for a few exceptions listed on their website.   They further wrote: “The library does require researchers to cite the image as: MS Am 1862 Box 5: 432, Houghton Library, Harvard University”.  So that is done here and in the heading on this page - and all the images from the three pages are so cited.

The name “Horton C. Force” is listed on the image folder - appearing that he was the donor of the images. He was the son of Manning F. Force, the General in charge of the 20th Ohio - so it is logical that these might have been photos that had been in his father’s possession. The date 1946 is listed, indicating the year of donation. Horton Force passed away in 1956 in Seattle, Washington. His father was from the Cincinnati area, and that’s where he lived after the war and passed away in 1899.

There are a few questions surrounding the photos. A primary question is when were the photos taken. On the back of most is a written description of the subject - and on many the rank of the soldier is written. I have checked the directories, and some of these men were promoted to a rank higher than is listed with the photo later in the war - which indicates that the photo was taken in the early part of the Civil War. In at least one case, that of Captain George Mellick, records indicate he died in 1863 - pointing again to a photo taken early in the war.

Another question is where they were taken. In a few cases, there are listings for photo studios - in Memphis, and in Sidney, Ohio. That indicates that the photos were taken while soldiers were still home or visited home - or while they were in the war zone.

Some of the descriptions on the back of the photos just give a rank and name - such as the photo of “Captain Dwight” who was actually Captain Henry D. Dwight. Some mention the Company in which the soldier served, others say just the “20th Ohio”, still others have no reference at all.

Almost all the photos were of officers. There were a very few of enlisted men - and in those there were no names listed. Maybe that’s better, as everyone who had a family member can dream that it was one of their family members in the photo. But overall, it’s an amazing collection of photos, probably not even seen by some descendants - that captures the time and place. It has been a pleasure to be able to put them into a form that allows many to see them.

On the subject of my great-great-grandfather, William Harrison “Harry” Kinney, I have already posted a page on the lives of he and his wife Harriet Crill Kinney. But I have posted a page on the history of the 20th Ohio.  For his first three years Harry was in Company A.  After his re-enlistment in 1864, he was in Company K.  The brother of his future wife Harriet - William Crill - was in his original Company A unit.  He clearly took sick and being on sick leave for a number of months was mustered out in Tennessee in April 1862 and died a few months later at just eighteen years of age.

The 20th Ohio was in major theaters for the entire war, including Shiloh, the siege of Vicksburg, General Sherman’s march to the sea in Georgia, and he appears to have participated in the Victory Parade in Washington, D. C. in May 1865 before the unit was mustered out in Louisville, Kentucky in July 1865.   The photos include officers of the 20th Ohio - and of some allied units, particularly those who were with the 20th Ohio at Vicksburg. 

Rosters of the 20th Ohio - from the 1881 History of Knox County, Ohio and an 1895 History of Ohio Regiments

The 1881 History of Knox County Ohio contains a number of pages on the 20th Ohio. It has a list of leaders in each company - which matches many of the photographs here - but also has a history of the battles and stories of soldiers in the text following. The portion with listings of Knox County companies and the text on the activities during the war is included.  It be seen by accessing the public domain version of the 1881 history through Google books here.  

Whitelaw Reid of the New York Post, edited a list of the individual Ohio regiment officers, “Ohio in the War” (the Ohio 20th is in Volume Two) and that was a valuable asset in trying to identify the correct name of many of the subjects in this photo collection.  There were also a few pages on the history of the 20th Ohio.  The public domain version of that book can be accessed through Google books here.

20th Ohio photos - a combined index of all three pages

Below is the combined index of the photos for Folder One, Two, and Three. They are alphabetized by surname, and include whatever other identifying information was with the photo - rank, sometimes the company, in a few instances, the photo studio where the photo was taken.  In some cases, the subject was promoted after the photo was taken.  The index will reflect what is written on the photo - and the description with the photo will include the promoted rank, if there was one. 

The photos follow the index in item chronological order and match the index.  If I have found a corrected name or rank, I have updated the list from the names that the Houghton Library took from the photos. 

Adams, Samuel R. - Lt. 68th Ohio - Folder 3 - Items #8-9.

Alderman, J. W. - Chaplain – Folder 1 – Items #2-3

Ayres, Lyman N. - Captain, 20th Ohio Company A – Folder 1 – Items 32-33- he is shown again as Captain - 20th Ohio - shown with Peter Weatherly and William W. McCracken - head of the Folder 3 page and Folder 3 - Items #64-65. Item #64 is a photo of Captain Lyman N. Ayres, First Lieutenant Peter Weatherly, and Second Lieutenant William W. McCracken, all from the 20th Ohio.

Big Black River Bridge - photo of unidentified soldiers - Folder 2 - Items #41-42.

Bostwick, Nathan, 1st Lt., then Captain, then Major, Company G - identified as 1st Lt with the photo – Folder 1 – Items #4-5

Bradley, Daniel - Lt. Colonel 20th Illinois Volunteers - Folder 3 - Items #26-27.

Carr, William H. - Captain 10th Illinois - Folder 3 - Items #40-41.

Colby, Reuben M. - 1st Lt Company B - Folder 2 - Items #8-9.

Davis, Henry M. - 1st Lt. Company H - Folder 2 - Items #18-19, shown again as Captain in Company C - Items #32-33.

Downs, Edwin C. - Captain later Major – Company H, 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #14-15. There were two Captain Downs, the other being William G. Downs. He is shown in Folder 2 Items #6-7, and also Folder 2 Items #28-29. Note discussion there of two different Captain Downs.

Downs, William G. - Captain later Major – Company H, 20th Ohio – Folder 2 – Items #6-7, also Folder 2 Items #28-29 (with others). Note discussion there of two different Captain Downs.

Duer, John O. - Major, 45th Illinois - Folder 3 - Items #32-33.

Dunlevy, Joshua L. – 2nd Lt. 20th Ohio Co D, Memphis, Tennessee – Folder 1 – Items #28-29

Dwight, Capt. Henry D. – of 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #12-13; again Dwight, Henry O. - Lt. 20th Ohio - Folder 3 -Items #42-43.

Edwards, Anderson J. - Captain - Folder 2 - Items #16-17, also Folder 2 Items #24-25.

Field, Henry L. - Captain of the 124th Illinois, Company C. - Folder 3 - Items #60-51. 

First Division Headquarters Drawing - at the time of muster out in Louisville, Kentucky - Folder 3 - Items #48-49.

Foster, Henry C. “Coonskin” - Lieutenant 23rd Indiana - Folder 3 - Items #50-51.

Fry, A. D. – Payne’s Photographic Gallery Mt. Vernon Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #22-23

Fry, John C. – Lt. Col. – Folder 1 – Items #36-37 (jointly with Lt. Peter Hitchcock); again  hand tucked in coat – Lt Col. 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items 38-39 – Todd and Vandegrifts, Sidney, Ohio; again as Major 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #40-41; again as Colonel - Folder 2 - Items #2-3; again as Major, 20th Ohio - Jointly with Lt. Edwin S. McCook - Folder 3 - Items #38-39.

Fuller, John Wallace - Brigadier General - photo taken at Matthew Brady’s studio- Folder 3 - Items #12-13.

Greer, Benjamin A. F. – Capt. Co B 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #26-27

Greenough, Ogden - Lt. 30th Illinois, Company F - Folder 3 - Items #4-5 and again with items #52-53.

Hale, Seneca – 2nd Lt. Co. K, 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #18-19

Headquarters Big Black Bridge, Mississippi - Folder 3 - Items #16-17 and Items #18-19 - Items #18-19 are better copies and those are the ones posted.

Hemstreet, William - Captain - 57th Illinois - 18th Missouri - Provost Marshal and Judge Advocate of the First Division A. C. - shown with his wife - Folder 3 - Items #58-59.  

Hill, Edward L. - Surgeon – 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #16-17

Hills, Velorus - Captain, Company D - Folder 2 - Items #34-35.

Hitchcock, Peter N. – Lt, Quartermaster – 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #6-7; again as Lt. Regional Quartermaster, 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #36-37 (jointly with Lt. Col. John C. Fry)

Holcomb, B. F. - Captain in General Logan’s staff - Folder 3 - Items #46-47.

Howe, John H. - Lt. Colonel, 124th Illinois - Folder 3 - Items #20-21.

Humiston, Arthur H. – First Lt. then Captain of Company D – Folder 1 – Items #10-11

Hunt, Richard - Sergeant, Company G - Folder 2 - Items #38-39.

Illegible Surname, C C. - no unit or rank listed - Folder 3 - Items #44-45.

Jacobs, William H. - Captain, Company E - Folder 2 - Items #36-37.

Kaga, Abraham – Captain – 20th Ohio Company K – Folder 1 – Items #34-35

Lantgen (?), L. F. - Signature on the back of photo with thirteen unidentified soldiers - Folder 3 - Items #24-25.

Leggett, Mortimer Dorner - Brigadier General - 78th Ohio - Folder 3 - Items #22-23.

McCook, Edwin Stanton - Lieutenant 31st Illinois (Jointly with Major John Fry) - Folder 3 - Items #38-39.

McCracken, Christopher W. - Lt. and Sergeant - 20th Ohio Company A - Folder 3 - Items #54-55.

McCracken, William W. - Sergeant Major, Company A - Folder 2 - Items #26-27; Again McCracken, William W. - 20th Ohio - shown with Peter Weatherly and Lyman Ayres - head of the Folder 3 page and Folder 3 - Items #64-65.

Melick, George L. - Capt. – 20th Ohio Co G – Folder 1 – Items #8-9

Mitchell, William T. - drummer for 12th Wisconsin - Folder 3 - Items #30-31.

Morton, Gilbert C. - 2nd Lt Illinois 20th – Folder 3 – Items #2-3, taken in Louisville, Kentucky and also Items #6-7, taken in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Neal, William D. - Captain - Folder 2 - Items #12-13.

Ohl, Hiram - Sergeant, likely Company H - Folder 2 - Items #28-29 (with others).

Oldroyd, Osborn H. – Sgt. Co. E, 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #24-25

Owen, Erastus N. - 2nd Lt. - Folder 2 - Items #10-11.

Pearson, Robert Newton - Lt. Colonel 31st Illinois - Folder 3 - Items #28-29.

Quackenbush, S. W. - Sergeant, likely Company H - Folder 2 - Items #28-29 (with others).

Raymond, John B. - Captain, 31st Illinois - studio markings for Peru, Illinois - Folder 3 - Items #34-35.

Rigby, Lucien - 1st Sergeant - Folder 2 - Items #20-21

Rose, F. M. - no regiment identified - photo taken at Griswold Studios, Columbus, Ohio - Folder 3 - Items #14-15.

Ruggles, C. Lorain - author - Folder 2 - Images #30-31.

Rush, William - 2nd Lt. - Folder 2 - Items #14-15.

Shacklee, Francis M. – Captain later Major, 20th Ohio Company I, Clay Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee – Folder 1 - Items #30-31

Spaulding, M. - 20th Illinois - Folder 3 - Items #36-37.

Stevenson, John - 2nd Lt. - Folder 2 - Items #22-23.

Unidentified Man and Woman - D. W. S. Rawson Studio, Peru and LaSalle Streets, likely Peru, Illinois - Folder 3 - Items #10-11.

Unidentified soldiers - Thirteen in front of a building - Folder 3 - Items #24-25.

Waddell, William - Lt. 20th Ohio, Company I - Folder 3 - Items #62-63.

Weatherly, Peter T.(?) – 1st Lt. Co A 20th Ohio – Folder 1 – Items #20-21; again Weatherly, Peter - 20th Ohio – is shown with W. W. McCracken and Lyman Ayres - head of the Folder 3 page and Folder 3 - Items #64-65.

Wonders, James M. - Sergeant Company H - Folder 2 - Items #28-29 (with others).

Woodmancy, Reuben - 1st Lt. Company I - Folder 2 - Items #4-5.

Photos - Folder One

The first photo (MS am 1862 Item #2 - Item #1 is the folder cover that is the heading for this page) is of Chaplain J. W. Alderman of the 20th Ohio - the original black and white is below left, the colorized photo is below right, and the back of the photo (Item #3) with the description - edited to just show the written text on back - is just below them.

MS1862 Item #8 is of Captain George L. Melick, listed on the photo as Capt. Melick of the 20th Ohio, Company G. He was originally First Lt. He died in October 1863. The enhanced colorized photo is at right, the original below, and the writing on the back of the photo (Item #9) below that.

MS1862 Item #12 is of Captain Henry D. Dwight. He declined a further promotion in early 1865. His accounts of the 20th Ohio were published in the Civil War Times in 1980. The colorized photo is at right, the original is just below and the descriptive writing on the back of the photo (Item #13) is below that.

MS1862 Item #16 is of Surgeon Edward L. Hill of the 20th Ohio.  The colorized photo is below right, the original is just below and the descriptive writing on the back of the photo (Item #17) is below right, stating he was in the 20th Ohio.  He was mustered out in September 1864 after serving three years.

MS1862 Item #20 is 1st Lt. Peter T. (?) Weatherby of Company A of the 20th Ohio.  He was promoted to Captain in January 1863, which must have been after this photo.  He was appointed Major and then Lt. Colonel in 1865 and mustered out with the regiment.  The colorized photo is at right below, the original is just below and the descriptive writing on the back of the photo (Item #21) is below left, stating he was a 1st Lt. in Company A of the 20th Ohio. 

MS1862 Item #22 is A. D. Fry, with his name handwritten on the photo.  I have not yet found him on a list of officers or in a Knox County unit.  The colorized photo is just below, the original is at right and the back of the photo (Item #23) is below right, containing a postage stamp and indicating that the photo was taken at Payne’s Photograph Gallery in Mt. Vernon, Ohio - the back side was enhanced and colorized.  He appears not to be related to John C. Fry - who was of Sidney, Ohio.

MS1862 Item #24 is Osborn H. Oldroyd, with the identification written on the front of the photo.  He is shown as a Sergeant in Company E, 20th Ohio.  In General Force’s comments to the 20th Ohio reunion in 1876, he recounts that Lt. Stevenson was severely wounded in the Battle of Raymond, and that Fifth Sergeant Oldroyd was placed in command of Company E.  Oldroyd wrote many things after the war, including a “Soldier’s story of the Siege of Vicksburg”, a link to which is included in the page on the 20th Ohio.  The colorized photo is to the right, the original is just below and the back of the photo (Item #25) is blank and is not posted.

MS1862 Item #28 is Joshua L. Dunlevy, shown as a 2nd Lt. in Company D, 20th Ohio, in a photo taken at Clay Picture Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee.  He was promoted to a 1st Lt. in 1863, and was honorably discharged as a 2nd Lt in 1864.  The colorized photo is at right, the original is just below and the back of the photo (Item #29) is below the colorized photo.

MS1862 Item #34 is Abraham Kaga, shown as a Captain in Company K, 20th Ohio.  He was shown to have been wounded in June 1863. He was honorably discharged in January 1864.  The colorized photo is below, the original is to the right and the back of the photo (Item #35) is below the original photo.

This completes the Folder 1 page.

The page with Folder 2 photos is here.

The page with Folder 3 photos is here.

The page about the 20th Ohio is here.

The Harry and Hattie Kinney page is here.

The second photo below (MS am 1862 Item #4) and Item #5 - the back appears to read: 1st Lt. N. [Nathan] Bostwick, Company C, 20th Ohio

Hitchcock, Peter N. – Lt, Quartermaster – listed in 20th Ohio (MS 1862 Item #6), he is mentioned in General Force’s 1876 address to the 20th Ohio reunion as having reported to Camp Chase in the latter part of August 1861. Col. Whittlesey said in a speech to the same reunion that Lieutenant Hitchcock was “of his own selection” as the unit came into being.  He further said that after a battle early in the war, “Quartermaster Hitchcock brought up a few teams with rations”. He mustered out in August 1864 after three years’ service, the colorized version is to the left, the original is just below and the back of the photo description (Item #7) is just below that. He is also shown with Lt. Col. J. C. Fry in Items #38-#39 below.

MS1862 Item #10 is of First Lt. then Captain of Company D of the 20th Ohio, Arthur H. Humiston, who served for three years and was mustered out in August 1864. Item #11 is the back of the photo. The colorized photo is at left, the original below, the writing on the back of the photo below that.

MS1862 Item #14 states that it is of Captain Downs of Company H.  This seemed straightforward, as there was an Edwin C. Downs, first a Captain, then promoted to Major in February 1864.  He resigned in April 1864.  Major Downs authored a book on his 20th Ohio service, the link of which is on the 20th Ohio summary page.  The colorized photo is at left, the original is just below and the descriptive writing on the back of the photo (Item #15) is below that, stating he was in Company H. 

However, there is a second Captain Downs, later Major shown as Item #6 in Folder Two and again in Item #28 and it is a different person.  Based on the identification in Folder Two, Item #28, I believe this photo to be Edwin C. Downs and the other photos to be William G. Downs.

MS1862 Item #18 is 2nd Lt. Seneca Hale of Company K of the 20th Ohio.  He resigned in February 1863. The colorized photo is at left, the original is just below and the descriptive writing on the back of the photo (Item #19) is below right, stating he was in Company K of the 20th Ohio. 

MS1862 Item #26 is Benjamin A. F. Greer, shown as a Captain in Company B, 20th Ohio.  He was mustered out in 1864  The colorized photo is at left, the original is just below and the back of the photo (Item #27) is below the colorized photo.

MS1862 Item #30 is Francis M. Shacklee, shown as a Captain later Major in Company I, 20th Ohio, in a photo also taken at Clay Picture Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee.  He was promoted to Lt. Colonel and mustered out in 1864, even though his promotion was listed as having happened in early 1865.  The colorized photo is at left, the original is just below and the back of the photo (Item #31) is below the colorized photo.

MS1862 Item #32 is Lyman N. Ayres, shown as a Captain in Company A, 20th Ohio.  He began as a 2nd Lt., and was promoted to 1st Lt. before being promoted to Captain.  He was mustered out in late 1864.  He is shown in General Force’s remarks to the 20th Ohio reunion in 1876 to have been awarded a silver medal for his service in the war up to the Battle for Vicksburg. The colorized photo is below, the original is below left and the back of the photo (Item #33) is below the original photo.

MS1862 Item #36 is of two soldiers together - Lt. Col. John C. Fry, and 1st Lt. Peter N. Hitchcock, regional quartermaster, 20th Ohio.  Lt. Col Fry started as a Captain in 1861, was promoted to Major, again to Lt. Colonel, and again to Colonel - and resigned in October 1864 as a Lt. Col.  1st Lt.  Fry is listed in General Force’s 1876 speech to the 20th Ohio reunion as having died since he war. Hitchcock declined a Captain promotion.  He was mustered out in August 1864.  The colorized photo is below, the original is to the left and the back of the photo (Item #37) is below the original photo.

MS1862 Item #38 is the second of three images in a row that include John C. Fry.  His promotions are described in the previous item.  This image shows him with his hand tucked into his coat.  He is listed as a Lt. Col. of the 20th Ohio.  The photo was taken at the Todd and Vandegrifts “Fine Art Palace” in Sidney, Ohio.  Find-A-Grave shows that John C. Fry died in in Sidney on December 1872 at age 33.  The colorized photo is to the left, the original is below and the back of the photo (Item #39) is below left.

The final items in Folder One are here.  MS1862 Item #40 is the third of three images in a row that include John C. Fry.  His promotions and his death are described in the two previous items. The description on this photo is Major J. C. Fry of the 20th Ohio.  This photo was likely before his various promotions.  The colorized photo is below, the original is below left and the back of the photo (Item #41) is further below left.