Description: Andrew L. Harris wrote this letter to "friend Lough" on June 7th 1863 from Brooke's Station Virginia, the Army of Potomac's encampment after the Battle of Chancellorsville. The letter was written in response to a request for an explanation of the part that the 75th OVI (Ohio Volunteer Infantry) played in the Battle of Chancellorsville. The 75th OVI was part of the 11th Corps that was blamed for the crushing defeat of the Union Army by "Stonewall" Jackson's famous flanking maneuver. Harris places the blame for the defeat on the Union Generals who in Harris's judgment were either incompetent for not knowing what the Rebel army was planning or indifferent for not trying to defeat the plan. Harris goes on to explain how the 75th changed front and deployed for battle "with as much coolness as though on parade." The fatal wounding of the regiment's Colonel Robert Riley is described in detail. Harris notes that the regiment lost one fourth of their force engaged in less than fifteen minutes of battle. Harris was born November 17, 1835, in Butler County, Ohio, and graduated from Miami University in 1860. In April 1861, he enlisted as a private in the 20th O.V.I. and was later commissioned as an officer in the 75th O.V.I. He saw active service in eighteen battles. At the battle of McDowell in Virginia he was seriously wounded, and his right arm permanently disabled by gunshot. He was also wounded in the fighting at Gettysburg. At Chancellorsville, he was made colonel and commander. On January 15, 1865, he was mustered out. After the Civil War, Andrew Harris served in various public offices including the Ohio Senate, lieutenant governor under William McKinley and in the McKinley presidential administration. Andrew L. Harris was Ohio's forty-fourth governor from 1906-1909. The 75th OVI (Ohio Volunteer Infantry) was organized at Camp McLean in Cincinnati and left Ohio for Grafton, Virginia (now West Virginia) on January 28, 1862. The unit saw action at the McDowell, Cross Keys, Cedar Mountain, Freeman's Ford, and Bull Run (all in Virginia) in 1862. In 1863, the 75th sustained heavy casualties at the Battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. The 75th OVI moved to Morris Island, South Carolina, in 1863 and Jacksonville, Florida, in 1864. Parts of the 75th OVI were mustered out in October and November 1864 with the balance of the 75th OVI mustered out July 15, 1865. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3428_6643000_001
Subjects: Military Ohio; Civil War; 75th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I); Harris, Andrew L. (Andrew Lintner), 1835- 1915; Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives; Chancellorsville, Battle of, Chancellorsville, Va., 1863
Places: Butler County (Ohio); Brookes Station (Virginia); Chancellorsville (Virginia); Spotsylvania County (Virginia)