Booknotes: Through the Civil War with the 14th Ohio Infantry

New Arrival:

• Through the Civil War with the 14th Ohio Infantry: Horatio Quiggle’s Memoir of Service, 1861-1865 edited by Joanna R. Hagopian & David A. Powell (Savas Beatie, 2026).

Ohioan Horatio Quiggle was as dedicated a Union soldier as one could be. "He initially joined the 14th Ohio Infantry, a three-month militia unit from northwestern Ohio, in April 1861. After its term expired that August, he promptly reenrolled in the three-year organization of the 14th, serving with the Army of the Ohio (later christened the Army of the Cumberland). On December 17, 1863, he again reenlisted for the duration of the war, not mustering out until the summer of 1865. His enduring commitment offers a unique perspective on the entire wartime experience."

Quiggle's postwar account of his Civil War experiences, which was based on his wartime diary, has been co-edited by Joanna Hagopian and David Powell and published under the title Through the Civil War with the 14th Ohio Infantry: Horatio Quiggle’s Memoir of Service, 1861-1865. Apparently, there isn't terribly much primary source material available out there for the 14th, which makes this publication all the more valuable.

Quiggle's regiment certainly had an eventful fighting career. More from the description: "It fought at Mill Springs in early 1862 and engaged repeatedly under Generals Don C. Buell, William S. Rosecrans, and George H. Thomas. Among its most brutal engagements were the battles in Georgia at Chickamauga in September 1863, and a year later at Jonesboro outside Atlanta. Quiggle’s firsthand descriptions of Chickamauga’s bloody scenes are particularly striking, offering vivid insight into the realities of combat."

The Quiggle memoir and other connected materials have been preserved by Hagopian's family for generations, and with the expert assistance of David Powell, these are presented to the reader in well-organized fashion. Hagopian starts things off with a brief Quiggle family history. Each chapter of Quiggle's account is duly footnoted but also enhanced through inclusion of other letters from the regiment as well one or two local newspaper articles. The appendix section contains a brief 14th Ohio unit history, a collection of 14th Ohio soldier letters published in the Daily Toledo Blade newspaper, and a compilation of veteran writings (both campaign reports and National Tribune articles).