John Nelson Fouts
by Greg White
John Nelson Fouts was born to a farming family in Darke
County Ohio in 1846. John was the only son of his parents Frederick
and Catherine. John had three older sisters and one younger sister.
Growing up, all of the Fouts children served as farmhands on the family farm.
Being the only son, he was relied upon at an early age to help his father
with the farm work.
John joined C Company of the 133rd regiment of the Ohio
Volunteer Infantry. John was mustered out to join the other regiments
called in for the final 100 days. The 133rd was organized at Camp Chase
Ohio on May 6, 1864. This regiment spent roughly a month drilling and
training for battle before moving to Bermuda Hundred. This regiment
was under the command of Colonel Gustavus L. Innis.
The 133rd regiment was responsible for the destruction
of railroad lines throughout Richmond and Petersburg. The troops helped
reinforce an armory while they used cannons to hold off the rebel troops
for several hours. The troops had to hold off rebel troops as well
as bend and burn miles of railroad. They were also responsible for
repairing telegraph lines at Fort Powhatan. This regiment repaired
telegraph lines and also built a rather large signal tower.
These soldiers only served for a one hundred days term
and didn’t face any real battlefield action, but this regiment still lost
one enlisted soldier and one officer. Twenty-nine other members of
the regiment died due to disease. This regiment faced extreme amounts of
sickness during their term of service. It was noted from “Dyer’s Compendium,”
that at one point the regiment had 300 men on the sick list.
John attended the Otterbein Academy in 1865. John
was married to Elizabeth Purdy on March 22, 1866 in Highland Ohio.
In Highland, John and Elizabeth lived as a farming family with no children.
John died at a rather young age. In 1873, John had just turned twenty
when he deceased.