​

     The inspiration for developing the website began many years ago when I was but a child. With my family, I visited several eastern theater Civil War battlefields, and my fledgling interest in the great conflict was sparked. As a lad, my father informed me that my great, great, grandfather had fought in the Civil War on the Union side. His name was Jesse Mason. The family lore, passed down through the generations, was that Jesse Mason may have been captured at Lookout Mountain at an unknown time, and may have been imprisoned somewhere. There were no more details known or at least shared. In the absence of any definitive information, my mother loved to tease my father that Mason was most likely captured either sleeping under a tree or while romancing a southern belle.

     In the mid-1990's, at the time of the passing of my paternal grandmother, Genevieve Hill, granddaughter of Alfred Frost (18th OVI) my father and I found numerous original letters stuffed in a family bible that were written by other ancestors while they were fighting in the Civil War: Alfred Frost, Albert Frost (179th OVI), and Samuel Corwin. (Samuel Corwin, who was a sergeant with the 125th OVI, died of typhoid fever at Franklin, Tennessee in May, 1863.)  These letters provided excellent glimpses into their hopes, fears, and daily trials while in the service during the war. To date, we have not found any letters written by Jesse Mason (but we have located his pension affidavit as well as additional references to him in other soldiers' documents).

     These letters served as a renewed motivation to learn more. Next, my father and I visited the archives at the Ohio History Connection (formerly called the Ohio Historical Society), Columbus. Here we discovered the regiment assignments of our ancestors, and the basic discharge information that was included in the Official Roster. With this information, we then sent for their military and pension records at the National Archives at Washington, DC.

     We discovered that my great, great grandfather Jesse Mason was a field musician (a drummer) in company C, 26th OVI.  He enlisted at the age of 18 in April,1861, shortly after President Lincoln's first call for troops. He was captured at the battle of Chickamauga (not at Lookout Mountain) on September 20,1863, and he was imprisoned at various Confederate prisons, including: Libby, Pemberton, Danville, Andersonville, Charleston, and Florence until December 7, 1864. Although he suffered severely from scurvy and was emaciated beyond recognition, somehow he managed to survive, and was honorably discharged January, 1865. We also discovered that his older brother (and my great great grand uncle), Benton, also served in Co. C, 26th OVI. Jesse's and Benton's older sister, Melissa was married to Jonathan Sherwood at the time of the War. Sherwood enlisted as well with Jesse and Benton in Co. C. Sherwood was mortally wounded at the Battle of Stones River on December 31, 1862, dying ten days later.

    In an effort to learn more, we tried to locate a definitive written regimental history of the 26th OVI, similar to what is available for many other regiments; however, we came up empty. We did find at the Ohio Historical archives a booklet by the 26th Association (the post war fraternal organization for the 26th OVVI members) that alluded to the intent of the surviving veterans to compile such a detailed regimental history. However, in 1895, it appears that intention could not fulfilled due to the lack of funding to pay for publication. There did exist several excellent company history accounts and/or diaries by the soldiers. Thus, we decided that we would research and compile all available information on the 26th OVI and develop a web site as a lasting means to share the information with any and all interested persons. The response was phenomenal, and we met many fellow descendants as a result.

     We learned a great deal so far, and believe that the visitor will find the web site contains the most comprehensive info available on the 26th OVI anywhere in the world. Although my father passed away in 2009, I continue to research and make new discoveries all the time. The web site continues to be updated and remains a work in progress, and truly a labor of devotion.

     The web site is respectfully and humbly dedicated to the soldiers who fought with the 26th Ohio Infantry in the American Civil War, and to all who gave their lives to preserve our country. On a personal note, the web site is dedicated to the following thirteen confirmed ancestors who fought in the Civil War; five of whom died during the conflict *:

Jesse Mason, 26th OVI, Co. C
Benton Mason, 26th OVI, Co. C
Jonathan Sherwood, 26th OVI, Co. C*
Samuel Corwin,125th OVI, Co. E*
Alfred Frost,18th OVI, Co. D
Albert Frost,179th OVI, Co. A
Edwin Frost, 96th OVI, Co. C*
Major Frost, 31st OVI, Co. E/I
Isaac Guthrie,151st OVI, Co. K
Benjamin Hill, 27th OVI, Co. C*
Caton Hill, 76th OVI, Co. C
Ezra Hill, 76th OVI, Co. K*

Tarlton Mason,125th OVI, Co. E
               

Their sacrifice, commitment, and perseverance serves as a daily inspiration.

Jeffrey Hill, descendant and webmaster