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34th Ohio Infantry Regiment

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34th Ohio Infantry Regiment
ActiveSeptember 1, 1861, to June 24, 1865
CountryUnited States
AllegianceUnion
BranchUnion Army
TypeInfantry
Nickname(s)Piatt's Zouaves
Equipmentrifled muskets
Engagements
Commanders
ColonelAbram S. Piatt
ColonelJohn T. Toland
ColonelFreeman E. Franklin

The 34th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It primarily served in the Eastern Theater in what is now West Virginia and in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley region.[1][2] They are well known for wearing early in the war an americanized zouave uniform which consisted of: A dark blue jacket with red trimming, a pair of sky blue baggy trousers with two stripes of red tape going down vertically, a pair of tan gaiters, and a red Ottoman styled fez with a blue tassel. The uniform lasted at least until 1863 based on photographic evidence.

Organization and service

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old picture of oddly dressed American Civil War soldier
Unidentified soldier from 34th Ohio Infantry

The 34th Ohio Infantry Regiment was raised at Camp Lucas near Cincinnati on September 1, 1861 by Abram S. Piatt at his personal expense.[3] Most of the recruits came from the western part of the state.[4] After training and drilling, the new regiment moved to Camp Dennison on September 1, and then entrained for the front lines, arriving on September 20 at Camp Enyart on the Kanawha River in western Virginia. It initially served in the forces under George B. McClellan, and then under a variety of generals for the next two years while engaging in several raids and operations in the region. On September 25, 1861, the 34th Ohio won a victory at the Battle of Kanawha Gap near present-day Chapmanville, West Virginia. In September 1862, the regiment fought in the Kanawha Valley Campaign of 1862, doing much of the fighting at the Battle of Fayetteville near the New and Kanawha rivers.

The regiment was mounted during May 1863. Colonel John Toland was killed July 18, 1863, in the Wytheville Raid. When the regiment's term of enlistment expired late in 1863, the men voted to re-enlist on December 23. They were part of Crook's Expedition against the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad in early May 1864. A detachment fought in the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain on May 9, while the main portion of the regiment fought in the Battle of Cove Mountain on May 10. There were more smaller engagements in the region. The regiment was re-mustered as a veteran regiment on January 19, 1864, and participated in many of the battles of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, including the Battle of Opequon near Winchester, Virginia.[2]

The 34th Ohio suffered 10 Officers and 120 enlisted men killed in battle or died from wounds, and 130 enlisted men dead from disease for a total of 260 fatalities.[1] The much depleted regiment was amalgamated with the 36th Ohio Infantry on February 22, 1865.[3]

See also

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References

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Citations

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Sources

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  • Dyer, Frederick Henry (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (PDF). Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co. pp. 1512–1513. ASIN B01BUFJ76Q. LCCN 09005239. OCLC 8697590. Retrieved July 11, 2024.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • Federal Publishing Company (1908). Military Affairs and Regimental Histories of New York, Maryland, West Virginia, And Ohio (PDF). The Union Army: A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal States, 1861–65 – Records of the Regiments in the Union army – Cyclopedia of battles – Memoirs of Commanders and Soldiers. Vol. II. Madison, WI: Federal Publishing Company. pp. 382–383. OCLC 1086145633. Retrieved July 11, 2024.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • Ohio Roster Commission (1886). 21st–36th Regiments-Infantry. Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861–1865. Vol. III. Cincinnati, OH: The Ohio Valley Pub. & Mfg. Co. pp. 553–599. OCLC 181357575.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • Reid, Whitelaw (1868). The History of Her Regiments, and Other Military Organizations. Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers. Vol. II. Cincinnati, OH: Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin. pp. 221–222. ISBN 9781154801965. OCLC 11632330.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • "34th Regiment Infantry". The Civil War Archive. 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  • "Battle Unit Details, 34th Regiment, Ohio Infantry". nps.gov. U.S. National Park Service. January 19, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2024.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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