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Oshels of the Civil War Era

Introduction
Although little is known of our ancestor's activities during this time of turmoil, there are documented facts that have been researched and the following is what is known so far. 
I will add to this section as more information comes to light.
It appears that the Oshels fought for the Union and were Anti-Slavery Abolitionist.


Jesse Oshel 
Enlisted December 19, 1863, in 
Company G, 72nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry 
(Wilder's Lightning Mounted Brigade) 
and Company I, 44th Regiment, Indiana Infantry
serving until September 14, 1865. 
Born: July 25, 1832 Died: June 21, 1915 
Son of John Oshall and  Margaret Chambers Sterrett
Married : Sarah Elizabeth Smith

Jesse Oshel Enlisted 26 Dec 1863 as a Private 72nd IN Infantry Regt. Co. G Transferred at Nashville, Tn on 27 July 1865 44th IN Infantry Regt. Co. I Mustered out at Chattanooga, TN on 14 Sept 1865

Jesse Oshel {I051} (b. 25 JUL 1832 - d. 21 JUN 1915)  was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, on 25 July 1832.   Jesse served in the Union Army during the Civil War.  He volunteered on 19 Dec 1863 and was mustered in at Indianapolis, Indiana.   He served as a private in Company G, 72nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry (Wilder's Lightning Mounted Brigade) , and later in Company I, 44th Regiment, Indiana Infantry.  In May 1864, Jesse was injured near Resaca, Georgia, when his horse fell on him during a charge.  He was hospitalized for several months in Columbia, Tennessee, with back and chest injuries and later received a pension for those injuries.  He was discharged 14 September 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee.

There is a picture of Jesse Oshel in our Archives.

72nd Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry
 Wilder's Mounted Lightning Brigade

Wilder's Lightning Brigade of mounted infantry combined infantry and cavalry tactics to become one of the Unions best units of the war..   Click here for John Wilder Biography

Organized at Lafayette, Ind. Moved to Indianapolis, Ind., August 11, and there mustered in August 16, 1862. Left State for Lebanon, Ky., August 17. Attached to 40th Brigade, 12th Division, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 5th Division, 14th Army Corps, to June, 1863. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, 14th Army Corps, to October, 1863. Wilder's Mounted Infantry Brigade, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to December, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1864. 3rd Brigade, Grierson's Cavalry Division, 16th Army Corps, Army of the Tennessee, to March, 1864. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Wilson's Cavalry Corps, Military Division, to June, 1865.

SERVICE -- Duty at Lebanon Junction, Ky., September 6-22, 1862. Moved to Louisville September 22, and to Elizabethtown, West Point, September 30-October 5. Pursuit of Bragg and operations against Morgan October 6-20. March to Bowling Green, Ky., October 26-November 3, thence to Scottsboro November 10. To Gallatin November 26 and to Castillian Springs November 28. To Bledsoe Creek December 14. Operations against Morgan December 22, 1862-January 2, 1863. Moved to Cave City, thence to Murfreesboro, Tenn., January 2-8, 1863, and duty there till June. Scout to Woodbury March 3-8. Regiment mounted March 17. Expedition to Carthage, Lebanon and Liberty April 1-8. Expedition to McMinnville April 20-30. Occupation of McMinnville April 22. Woodbury May 24. Liberty June 4. Middle Tennessee or Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 7. Bay Spring Branch June 24. Hoover's Gap June 24-26. Occupation of Manchester June 27. Raid on Bragg's communications June 28-30. Dechard June 29. Raid to Lynchburg July 16-17. At Dechard July 27-August 16. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Sequatchie River August 19. Wild Cat Trace August 20. Friar's Island August and September 9. Capture of Chattanooga September 9. Lee and Gordon's Mills September 11. Ringgold September 11. Leet's Tan Yard September 12-13. Pea Vine Bridge and Alexander's Bridge September 17. Reed's Bridge and Dyer's Bridge September 18. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-21. Operations against Wheeler and Roddy September 29-October 17. Thompson's Cove, Cumberland Mountains, October 3. Murfreesboro Road, near McMinnville, and McMinnville October 4. Sims' Farm, near Shelbyville, and Farmington October 7. Shelbyville Pike October 7. Expedition from Maysville to Whitesburg and Decatur November 14-17. Moved from Pulaski to Colliersville, Tenn., December 31, 1863-January 14, 1864. Shoal Creek Ala., January 24 (Detachment). Florence January 24. Athens January 25 (Detachment). Smith's Expedition from Colliersville to Okolona, Miss., February 10-26. Raiford's Plantation near Byhalia February 10. Ivey's Hill near Okolona February 22. Moved to Mooresville March 5-26, thence to Columbia April 3-8. March to Lafayette, Ga., April 30-May 9. Atlanta Campaign May to September, 1864. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Near Dallas May 24. About Dallas May 25-June 5. Big Shanty June 9. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Noonday Creek and Powder Springs June 19-20. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. On line of Nickajack Creek July 2-5. Rottenwood Creek June 4. Chattahoochie River July 5-17. Garrard's Raid to South River July 27-31. Flat Rock July 28. Siege of Atlanta August 1-25. Operations at Chattahoochie River Bridge August 26-September 2. Operations in Northern Georgia and North Alabama Against Hood September 29-November 3. Skirmished near Lost Mountain October 4-7. New Hope Church October 5. Dallas October 7. Near Rome October 10-11. Narrows October 11. Coosaville Road near Rome October 12-13. Near Summerville October 18. Blue Pond and Little River, Ala., October 21. King's Hill October 23. Ladiga, Terrapin Creek, October 28. Dismounted November 1, and ordered to Nashville, thence to Louisville, Ky., and duty there till December 28. March to Nashville, Tenn., December 28, 1864, to January 8, 1865, thence to Gravelly Springs, Ala., and duty there till March, 1865. Wilson's Raid from Chickasaw, Ala., to Macon, Ga., March 22-April 24. Plantersville and near Randolph April 1. Selma April 2. Montgomery April 12. Columbia April 16. Capture of Macon April 20. Pursuit of Jeff Davis May 6-10. Moved to Nashville, Tenn., May 23-June 15. Mustered out June 26, 1865.
Regiment lost during service 2 Officers and 26 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officer and 130 Enlisted men by disease. Total 160.

_________
Source: A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer. Copyright, 1908.
 
Further Reading:
 Blue Lightning : Wilder's Mounted Infantry Brigade in the Battle of Chickamauga
by Richard A. Baumgartner  
Amazon.Com 
Click on Image for Larger Photo
Out of Print about $30.00 if you can find it
72nd Indiana, "History of the Seventy Second Indiana of the (Wilder's) Mounted Lightning Brigade," by Benjamin Franklin Magee. As a sergeant in Company I, 72nd Indiana, Magee lists hundreds of events, which marked his three-year service with the regiment. Armed with the Spencer rifle, the regiment earned its nickname at the Battle of Hoover's Gap, Tennessee. Originally published in 1882, at Lafayette, Indiana, this reprint has a full regimental roster plus 56 wartime photos of officers and enlisted men not in the original printing. 800 pages, roster, photos, costs $ 40.00. An original copy from 1882, if found, may cost around $ 225.00.

44th Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Organized at Fort Wayne, Ind., and mustered in November 22, 1861. Moved to Henderson, Ky., December. Attached to 13th Brigade, Army of the Ohio, December, 1861. 13th Brigade, 5th Division, Army of the Ohio, to February, 1862. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Tennessee, to March, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, Army of the Tennessee, to April, 1862. 14th Brigade, 5th Division, Army of the Ohio, to September, 1862. 14th Brigade, 5th Division, 2nd Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Left Wing 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 21st Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, 4th Army Corps, to November, 1863. Post of Chattanooga, Tenn., Dept. of the Cumberland, to April, 1864. 1st Separate Brigade, Post of Chattanooga, Tenn., to January, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Separate Division, District of Etowah, Dept. of the Cumberland, to May, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, District of East Tennessee, Dept. Of the Cumberland, to September, 1865.

SERVICE -- Duty at Calhoun, Green River, Ky., January-February, 1862. Moved to Fort Donelson, Tenn., February 11-12. Investment and capture of Fort Donelson February 14-16. Expedition to Crump's Landing, Tenn., March 9-14. Battle of Shiloh, Tenn., April 6-7. Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29-May 30. Pursuit to Booneville May 31-June 12. Buell's Campaign in Northern Alabama and Middle Tennessee June to August. March to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg August 21-September 26. Pursuit of Bragg to Loudon, Ky., October 1-22. March to Nashville, Tenn., October 22-November 7, and duty there till December 26. Lavergne November 23. Advance on Murfreesboro, Tenn., December 26-30. Battle of Stone's River December 30-31, 1862, and January 1-3, 1863. Duty at Murfreesboro till June. Middle Tennessee (or Tullahoma) Campaign June 23-July 7. Occupation of Middle Tennessee till August 16. Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22. Battle of Chickamauga September 19-20. Mission Ridge September 22. Before Chattanooga September 22-26. Siege of Chattanooga September 26-November 23. Assigned to Provost duty at Chattanooga November 8. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Mission Ridge November 25. On Provost duty at Chattanooga, Tenn., till September, 1864. At Tullahoma September 28 to October 2. Return to Chattanooga, Tenn., October 15, and Provost duty there till September, 1865. Mustered out September 14, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 4 Officers and 76 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 9 Officers and 220 Enlisted men by disease. Total 309

_________
Source: A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer. Copyright, 1908.



Thomas Wesley Oshel 
Enlisted September 1, 1864, in 
Co. I, 176th Regiment, Ohio Infantry 
serving until June 22, 1865. 
Thomas moved to Lexington Twp., Johnson Co., Kansas in February 1866. 
Born: February 17, 1841 Died: November 08, 1929 
Son of James Oshel and Sarah Wilson 
Married Nancy Jane Leamer 

There is a picture of Thomas Wesley Oshel in our archives.

Thomas W. Oshel Enlisted 1 Sept 1864 as Sgt. age 23 176th OH Infantry Regt. Co. I Mustered out at Nashville, TN on 14 June 1865

176th Regiment Infantry

Organized at Camp Chase, Ohio, August 10 to September 21, 1864. Mustered in September 21, 1864. Left State for Nashville, Tenn., September 21. Attached to Post and Defenses of Nashville, Dept. of the Cumberland, to December. 1864. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division. 20th Army Corps, Dept. of the Cumberland, to March, 1865. District of Nashville, Tenn., Dept. of the Cumberland, to June, 1865.

SERVICE.--Provost and guard duty at Nashville, Tenn., September. 1864, to June, 1865. Battle of Nashville December 15-16, 1864. Mustered out June 18, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 102 Enlisted men by disease.

Source:  The State of Ohio Civil War Archives

Abolitionist

James Findley Oshel  
Born: June 16, 1831 Died: July 15, 1921 
Son of James Oshel and Sarah Wilson
Married: Margaret Maskee 

James Oshel is listed in the Ohio Directory of the Names of Underground Railroad Operators.
URL: www.ugrr.org/names/map-oh.htm

I have found no other information on James, but what I speculate is that James is actually James Findley Oshel (b. 16 Jun 1831 Monroe Co., Ohio - d. 15 Jul 1921  Desoto, Johnson Co.,Kansas) Son of James Oshel and Sarah Wilson, Married Margaret Maskee on Jan 14, 1855 in Monroe County, Ohio. We actually have a picture of James Findley Oshel in our Archives.
Thomas Wesley Oshel  and James Findley Oshel were brothers.

The Underground Railroad was perhaps the most dramatic protest action against slavery in United States history. It was a clandestine operation that began during the colonial period, later became part of organized abolitionist activity in the 19th century, and reached its peak in the period 1830 - 1865. The story of the Underground Railroad is one of individual sacrifice and heroism in the efforts of enslaved people to reach freedom from bondage.

Although the Underground Railroad is linked with abolitionism of the antebellum period, it stands out primarily for its amorphous nature and mysterious character. Unlike other organized activities of the abolition movement that primarily denounced human bondage, the Underground Railroad secretly resisted slavery by abetting runaways to freedom. It confronted human bondage without any direct demands or intended violence; yet, its efforts played a prominent role in the destruction of the institution of slavery. The work of the underground was so effective that its action intimidated slaveowners. Most regarded the underground as "organized theft" and a threat to their livelihood.

The most intriguing feature of the Underground Railroad was its lack of formal organization. Its existence often relied on concerted efforts of cooperating individuals of various ethnic and religious groups who helped bondsmen escape from slavery. To add to its mysterious doings, accounts are scarce for individuals who actually participated in its activities. Usually agents hid or destroyed their personal journals to protect themselves and the runaways.

Links for further study: 
Ohio Underground Railroad Association
Civil War Ohio
Civil War Indiana

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