Oscar B. Lingle

Lineage of Oscar B. Lingle: I Jeremiah Williams, born Dec. 31, 1759,died Aug. 24, 1842, Seneca County, Ohio, married Mary Gaither, A Revolutionary War Soldier; II -Elisha Williams, born July 22, 1795, married Hannah Harrison, First Settlers South of Wauseon, a daughter Lucinda; III ? Lucinda Williams, born 1819, died age 76, married Thomas Lingle, both buried in Kline Cemetery, Freedom Township, Henry County; IV Oscar B. Lingle, born 1844.

The following sketch was written from memory on Sept. 24, 1919, by Oscar B. Lingle.

Oscar B. Lingle was born November 13, 1844, on a farm 21/2 miles from where Wauseon now stands in Fulton County, Ohio. Ottokee was the county seat at that time. My father, Thomas Lingle, was of German descent. My Mother, Lucinda (Williams) Lingle, was of Welsh descent. When I was 9 years old, we moved on what was called the Ridge farm 51/2 miles southwest of Wauseon. Father bought this farm when the country was all woods. The nearest house was on the Maumee River, where Napoleon now stands. Napoleon is the county seat of Henry County. Our south line was on the Henry County line. Father had leased the farm, and about one half had been cleared and fenced. Some of the fields had grown up to brush. When we moved on it, we had 221 sheep. The country was new and the woods were full of timber wolves. To protect our sheep we built a high fence around a yard. Every night I had to go and get them up and fasten them in the yard. Every night about sundown the wolves would commence howling just outside of the field in the woods. It is astonishing how much noise a few wolves can make. The sheep, if I had been late in getting them up, would huddle up to the fence next to the woods. Rainy nights they were worse. They would come up quite close to the house. Our dogs would run them off. Then they would run the dogs back. The country was new, and as we lived on what was called Poplar Ridge, the ground was low on each side and a great deal of stagnant water stood there. None of the land was ditched consequently it was full of malaria. We children would shake with ague about every other day. After the chills came a fever. The next day we worked. Father was away from home a great deal as he was working at the carpenter trade. When

Father was away, Mother looked after things and we boys did the work. Sometimes we had a tenant to help out. We had three months school each year but we had to stay out a great deal to cut wood to keep the fires going or husking corn to feed the stock. From the time I was 13 my brother Elmore, 21/2 years my junior, and I raked and bound wheat after a cradler. In haying time we would spread the grass out after it was cut to dry then rake it up in windrows and haul it to the barn or stack. We generally put the wheat in the barn until thrashing time. Then we would stack the straw outside and then haul in the hay that had been stacked out into the barn. In early days we would thrash our grain with flails or place it on the barn floor and tramp it out with horses. After a while they got thrashing machines run by horse power. One of us stood there and raked the straw back as it ran through the machine. The straw was stacked and the wheat, chaff and all was shoveled back. Then after the wheat was all thrashed, we cleaned the wheat by running it through a fanning mill. We boys took turns turning the mill for days. After a while we got the separator and that did away with a lot of hard work. The fall of 1861 in October, Father, brother Elmore, and I were cutting up our corn and putting it in shocks. I went to the house for water to drink. While I was pumping the water, Nelson A. Skeels came up. He was recruiting a company for the 68th Ohio Company E. He asked me if I wanted to enlist. I told him I did. He said to put my name down. I said I would rather have Father's consent first. So he went with me to the field and asked Father if he had any objections to my going. He said no if I wanted to go. So I enlisted. I think it was about the 15th of October. It wasn't much work they got out of me after that. We were soon examined and went into camp at Napoleon. Our camp was called Camp Lattie (Latty). Our Company E was the first company that went into camp, and as soon as we were organized, we elected N. Skeels, Captain, and he proved to be a brave noble officer. (He was killed the 22nd of July, 1864, in front of Atlanta.) It was quite a while before we drew our guns. So to keep the boys from going up to town, they put guards around the camp, and we used clubs in place of guns. But the boys would fool the guards by pretending they were going for water. Then they would hide their pail and go off up to town. I remember one night they put me out near the spring with an old flint-lock gun with orders if any one started off to halt them, and if they failed to halt, shoot. It was safe to say no one tried to go that night. We soon drew our Infield Rifles and commenced to drill. Our folks that lived near camp came quite often to see us and always brought lots of good things to eat. We were mustered in on the 21st of Dec., 1861. We soon got orders to strike tents and start on our way South. We went first to Camp Chase at Columbus. We stayed there about 2 or 3 weeks. Then we started by train for Cincinnati, then went on a steam boat for Fort Donelson. We landed at Fort Donelson and took our place in line of Battle. On the 14th of Feb., Gen. Buckner surrendered the Fort with 16,000 prisoners. On 6th or 7th of April, 1862, I was in the Battle of Shiloh. I was in all of the Battles of the West under Grant. The spring of 1863 Grant commenced preparations to take Vicksburg. He was then camped about 20 miles above on the Mississippi River when everything was ready. We marched down through Louisiana and crossed the river at Bruinsburg. When we crossed, we had 36,000 men; Pemberton had 40,000 at Vicksburg and Joseph E. Johnson 11,000 at Jackson. We fought at Fort Gibson, Raymond, and Jackson, and drove Johnson on and met Pemberton at Champion Hills and whipped him and drove him into Vicksburg. The 13th, 15th, and 14th Corps were all we had. After we had them in, the 9th Corps was sent. It took us 47 days to take Vicksburg. It surrendered on the 4th of July, 1863, with 32,000 prisoners. That was the greatest victory of the War until Lee surrendered. That fall we veteranized, that is we re-enlisted for three years more as during the War. We remained at Vicksburg that winter. The fall of '63 we made a raid from Vicksburg to Meridian and back, tearing up the railroad, burning the ties, and all the cars. I think Meridian is about three hundred miles from Vicksburg. The spring of 1864 we went on a 30 day furlough home. It would take considerable space to relate the wonderful good times we had at home that 30 days.

Our friends couldn't do enough for us. When we returned, we landed at Clifton's Landing, Tenn., and marched from there and overtook Sherman's Army at Acworth Station, Georgia, and took our place in the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 17th AC Depart. of Tenn. Our Department was Flanking Department. We would strike Camp after night and march all night around the balance of the Army and close in on the flank and drive them back as far as possible and then fortify. Then maybe in three or four days just after dark we would march clear around again and in the morning would press the enemy back and fortify. Then they had to get back or we have them shut in. That's the way we flanked them out of the mountains. We continued driving them until we took Atlanta. Our hardest fighting was the 22nd day of July. That day there were killed in front of the 3rd Division over one thousand men. That day our noble Gen. James B. McPherson was killed. After we took Atlanta, Sherman let Hood get around and headed him off the R Road, until we got him where Thomas could manage him. Then we went back to Atlanta and about the middle of November we started on our March to the Sea and up through the Carolinas. I think this was one of the hardest campaigns ever made with an Army. It was in the wintertime and those coast states consist of many small streams emptying in the Ocean, and lots of swamps. We had to wade the swamps and when we came to a river too deep to wade we would put down one pontoon to cross on. But there were weeks that we wouldn't have a dry thread of clothes on. The country around Savannah, Georgia, is all swamps. In the rear before we took Savannah, we lived nearly 2 weeks on nothing but rice. We went from Savannah to Beaufort, S.C. When we left Beaufort, we crossed Broad River after night. The 68th Ohio was the first to cross and we drove the enemy about four miles. All we could see was the flash of their guns as they would fire at us in the dark. The next day we took Pocotaligo, S.C., and remained there some time. While there we went out on reconnoiter and came back away after night. It was cold and ice was about as thick as a pane of glass. We went in Camp and had no wood to build a fire so we covered up with our blankets to thaw out.

In our march through S.C. our main trouble was swamps. Whenever we came to a river, the enemy would dispute our crossing, but we would go above or below and put down one pontoon and go ahead. The morning we left Cheraw, S.C., it was pouring down rain. The country was low level land. Before noon we divided up about 3 wagons to a company. We marched along side of the wagons and when they would stick in the mud, we would take hold and help them out. We marched that day and night, the next day, and until 12 noon before we came out on high ground where we could camp. We were on our feet all the time 2 days and 11 nights and in water from knee deep to waist all the time. The day we entered Columbia, I think was one of the windiest days I experienced during the War. I was on picket that night when Wade Hampton left. He set some cotton afire and it burned so, because it was loose in the hoops. The wind would take it and carry it until it would lodge on some house and set it afire. The next morning when we marched through, there were lots of brick walls and chimneys standing. We marched on through S.C. and through Goldsboro, N.C., to Raleigh, N.C. We were near Raleigh when we got the word of Lee's surrender. A few days later we got the word of the assassination of our beloved President Lincoln. I think that was the gloomiest day I ever experienced in all my life. A few days later Joseph E. Johnson surrendered to Sherman. Then we marched through to Washington via Richmond. I was on that Grand Review in Washington, D.C. We camped there a short time, and went back on cars to Parkersburg and then took boats to Louisville, Ky., where we were mustered out on the 10th day of July, 1865. We went from there to our homes in Ohio and received a warm welcome from the good people of our homes. We arrived home just in time to help Father in his harvesting, after which I hired to Rast Briggs to help to log and clear off a piece of ground and getting it in shape for wheat that winter. I hired James Gillett to work in a saw mill west of Father's on the Harmon Kline farm, with the understanding that I was to have a team to drive as soon as he could get another one. Has Herd was driving the one he then owned. During the forepart of the winter Herd was taken sick, and I took his team hauling logs and lumber. I continued working for Mr. Gilette until the fall of 1866. It was while working there I got acquainted with Miss Mary Packard. We became engaged and were married the 5th of December, 1866, at Chatham Center, Medina County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Jacob and Mary Packard. The first year we lived in part of my Father's house and I farmed his place. That fall I moved in a log house belonging to Mr. Jaqua about 21/2 miles South of Harmon Klines. This was near 40 acres of land I bought. That winter I commenced to clear off a piece of ground and had commenced cutting logs to build me a log house. Before I got to build I had a chance to sell. That winter our first child was born, Elmore Lester, Dec. 23rd, 1867. The next spring I sold my stock and went to Cameron, Mo., and worked for W. H. Miley at the carpenter works. I and my brother Elmore bought 80 acres of land. That fall I went back to Ohio and moved my family to Cameron.

Submitted by Russell Patterson