Organized on May 7, 1864 at Camp Zanesville in Zanesville, Ohio, the 160th OVI was composed of elements from four battalions of the Ohio National Guard - the 40th Battalion of Brown County, the 53rd Battalion of Perry County, the 73rd Battalion of Fairfield County, and the 91st Battalion of Muskingum County. The regiment formally mustered into service on May 13, 1864 under the command of Colonel Cyrus Reasoner and departed for Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Assigned to the First Brigade of the First Division of the Department of West Virginia, the regiment received orders to the front on May 17, 1864 with a supply train of 200 wagons intended for the division encampment at Cedar Creek, Virginia. The regiment conducted picket and garrison duty until reassigned on May 25 to the newly formed Reserve Division, Department of West Virginia. The regiment conducted operations throughout the lower Shenandoah Valley in support of wagon trains and on multiple occasions engaged Confederate guerrilla forces under the command of Colonel Harry W. Gillmor and Colonel John S. Mosby. Notable engagements occurred on May 29–30 at Newtown, Virginia and on June 7 at Middletown, Virginia. The regiment proceeded to conduct operations in and about Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and Martinsburg, West Virginia. From July 03–07, the regiment participated in delaying maneuvers and the defense of Maryland Heights, Maryland during Lieutenant General Jubal Early's invasion of Washington, D.C. with the Confederate Army of the Valley. On July 14, the regiment conducted a 27-mile single day's march to Hagerstown, Maryland where it took charge of a wagon train full of necessary supplies for renewed operations across the theatre. On July 21, the regiment marched to Brown's Crossing, West Virginia and established a network of pickets and patrols along the segment of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad running between Harper's Ferry and Martinsburg. Under its guard, the railroad line resumed operations for the first time since July 03, 1864. The regiment additionally played an instrumental role in the completion of the strategic breastworks along Bolivar Heights in Harper's Ferry. On August 25, 1864, having exceeded its term of enlistment, the regiment received orders to return home. The 160th OVI mustered out of service on September 07, 1864 at Camp Goddard in Zanesville, Ohio.
Ohio National Guard
Over 35,000 Ohio National Guardsmen were federalized and organized into regiments for 100 days service in May 1864. Shipped to the Eastern Theater, they were designed to be placed in "safe" rear areas to protect railroads and supply points, thereby freeing regular troops for Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s push on the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. As events transpired, many units found themselves in combat, stationed in the path of Confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s veteran Army of the Valley during its famed Valley Campaigns of 1864. Ohio Guard units met the battle-tested foe head on and helped blunt the Confederate offensive thereby saving Washington, D.C. from capture. Ohio National Guard units participated in the battles of Monacacy, Fort Stevens, Harpers Ferry, and in the siege of Petersburg.
Casualties
The regiment suffered 20 casualties during its term of service; 5 men killed in action, 2 men wounded in action, 1 man captured who later died as a prisoner of war, and 12 men who died due to disease. Killed in Action: Private John J. Stewart ; Private Isaac N. Steers ; Private Peter Beth ; Private Isaac Kelly ; and Private George States. Wounded in Action: Principal Musician Thomas Jackson ; Corporal Josiah Petty. Captured: Sergeant James M. Marlow. Died of Disease: Private John T. Dutro ; Private Thomas Fry ; Corporal Isaiah M. White ; Private Charles W. Smith ; Private Josiah McLees ; Corporal Lyman C. Lamb ; Commissary Sergeant Nathan S. Kelley ; Sergeant Andrew J. Wright ; Private Andrew Garrett ; Private Samuel Anderson ; Private John Prall ; and 2nd Lieutenant Isaac T. Cramer.
