James S. Anderson
by Sarah Hadley
James S.
Anderson, born between the years of 1842-43, was one of the many brave men who
fought in the Union army during the American Civil War. Originally from
Newcomerstown, Ohio, located in Tuscarawas County, he served as a private in
the One Hundred and Twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. According
to the Official Roster of Soldiers of the State of Ohio, Anderson
enlisted in the war on August 22, 1865, at the age of nineteen and was mustered
into the “G” Company on October 5, 1862, at Camp Zanesville in Ohio by
Charles C. Goddard, Captain of the 17th Infantry U.S.A.[1]
Anderson served
in the One Hundred and Twenty-second Regiment for three years, until he was
mustered out on June 26, 1865, near Washington D.C., by J. C. Robinson, brevet
Major. Once he returned home, Anderson attended Martin-Boehm Academy Senior
Preparatory in 1867 where he was actually expelled for unknown reasons.[2]
According to the American Civil War Research Database at The State Library of
Ohio, Anderson was married to a Mary J. Anderson. Unfortunately, it is noted
that she later became his widow. The dates of his marriage and his wife’s death were
not provided. Finally, it is reported that Anderson died on January 19 1907.[3]
There is little known about James S. Anderson’s life before and after the Civil War;
however, the history of his regiment during the war is well documented.
[1] Foraker, Joseph B.,
Robinson, James S. and Axline, H. A. Official Roster of the Soldiers of the
State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866. (Cincinnati: The
Ohio Valley Press, 1888) 331.
[2] Roster of Students of
Otterbein University who served in the Union Army during the War of the
Rebellion 1861-1865. Otterbein College Archives, Courtright Memorial Library,
1908.
[3] The American Civil War
Research Database at The State Library of Ohio. (Historical Data Systems, Inc.
Duxbury, MA) Soldier History 1.
Bibliography
The
American Civil War Research Database at The State Library of Ohio. Historical Data Systems, Inc.
Duxbury, MA. Regiment Assignments 1.
Foraker,
Joseph B., Robinson, James S. and Axline, H. A. Official Roster of the
Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866. Cincinnati: The Ohio Valley Press, 1888.
Granger,
Moses Moorhead. The Official War Record of The 122nd Volunteer
Infantry. (Volumes 25, 27, 29, 33, 36, 37, 40, 42, 43, & 46, Series I,
U. S. war Records, and from Volumes 3 & 5 of Series III. Zanesville: George Lilienthal Printer, 1912,
5.
Hartley,
James J. The Civil War Letter of the
Late 1st Lieut. James J. Hartley, 122nd Ohio Infantry
Regiment. Jefferson, NC &
London: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 30.
Hunter,
Robert, ed. Sketches of War History:
1862-1865. Cincinnati: Robert
Clarke & Co., 1890; reprint Broadfoot Publishing Co., Wilmington, n.d., 142.
Ohio
In The War: Vol. II - 40.
122nd (Regiment Ohio
volunteer Infantry: Roster, Three Years’ Service, 625.
Roster
of Students of Otterbein University who served in the Union Army during the War
of the Rebellion 1861-1865. Otterbein
College Archives, Courtright Memorial Library, 1908.