A Military History of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Franklin Sawyer

During the Civil War, Franklin Sawyer was the commanding officer of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry from May of 1862 until the unit was mustered out. A prominent lawyer from Norwalk, he achieved the rank of Brevet Brigadier General. Mr. Sawyer wrote a book about his unit, called A Military History of the Eighth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. It was published in 1881 by Fairbanks and Company of Cleveland, Ohio.

A copy of this military history, donated by Hattie Bretz, is housed in the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center. The book originally belonged to Hattie’s father, William Bretz, who served in Co. E of the Ohio Eighth Infantry. A reprint of this book, with additional photographs, was published by the Blue Acorn Press in 1994. This edition of Franklin Sawyer’s books is found in the Local History and Genealogy collection in Reference Services.

General Sawyer tells about the Eighth Ohio’s participation in many battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. During the Battle of Antietam, a barn on a nearby farm was used as an operating room. Wounded and dying men covered the ground around the barn. Sandusky native Horace Harper Bill, who was then with Company K, died at Antietam. In the author’s preface, Franklin Sawyer stated, “There were many individual acts of bravery and fortitude, on the part of both officers and men.”

Many men from Sandusky and Erie County were in Company E of the Ohio Eighth Volunteer Infantry. Sawyer’s book lists the names of all the officers and soldiers in each company. The unit’s chaplain, Rev. Lyman N. Freeman, had served as rector of Grace Church in Sandusky from 1845 to 1850. Zenas W. Barker, Jr., the son of the former Mayor of Sandusky, died at Oakland, Virginia on August 28, 1861. Wells W. Miller, who was a Captain in the Ohio Eighth Infantry, went on to serve as Ohio’s Secretary of Agriculture. To read many more details about the Eighth Ohio, visit the Sandusky Library to view this historic accounting of the unit.

After the war Franklin Sawyer was elected to the Ohio legislature. He died in Norwalk, Ohio on August 22, 1892. Reunions of the Veterans of the Ohio Eighth Infantry were held for several years. A reunion was held at the Dixie restaurant in Sandusky on September 18, 1922. According to the Sandusky Star Journal of August 7, 1922, four of the former soldiers of Company E of the Ohio Eighth Infantry were living in Sandusky. Their names were E.E. Warren, William Braby, Charles Chapman and Romeo Foster.