Vause Schrock
by Renata Ramsini
Vause Schrock was born on
April 23, 1846. In 1861, at the
outbreak of the Civil War, Vause was only fifteen years old and hence unable to
volunteer to fight for the Union. Instead,
he played the violin for the Westerville band until his eighteenth
birthday. His obituary stated him as
having “considerable music ability” and after the war in 1869, Vause attended
Otterbein College for 20 weeks in the study of music.
Just weeks after his
eighteenth birthday, Vause signed up for 100 days of service in the Union Army
in the 133rd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Organized at Camp Chase, the regiment was
composed of two companies one being the Fifty Eight Battalion Ohio National
Guard from Hancock County and the other was a combination of two companies of
the Seventy Sixth Battalion Ohio National Guard from Franklin County. Vause was in Company C and they were
mustered out on May 6, 1864. Directly
after being mustered in, the regiment was ordered to Parkersburg, West Virginia
where they arrived on May 8th, 1864. From Parkersburg they were ordered to New Creek and from New
Creek they traveled to Washington City where they arrived on June 7th,
1864. The regiment was then ordered to
Bermuda Hundred where they arrived on June 12, 1864. It can be assumed that this month the regiment spent traveling
from place to place was utilized as formal training for the hundred-day
soldiers. While waiting for orders, the
officers of the 133rd more than likely had the soldiers engaged in drills and
other such military training in a quick attempt to prepare the men for battle
should they more than likely be involved in one. Because the majority of the Civil War was fought by civilians and
not by soldiers there was always a necessity for such training. On June 16th, 1864 the 133rd
O.V.I was ordered to destroy the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. It was then assigned (according the Official
Roster…) to the support of a battery “which opened a cannonade on the enemy
and with other troops, succeeded in holding the Rebels in check for five hours”. This was the 133rd O.V.I.’s first
and only battle. On July 17th,
1864 they were ordered to Fort Powhatan where they worked on fortification and
the repair of telegraph lines. On August
10th, the Regiment went to Washington City and from there to Camp
Chase. Here they were mustered out on
August 20th, 1864 on the expiration of term of service.
Vause later married and had
six children, five of whom lived to adulthood. He was a farmer for the rest of
his life, living in Blendon Township near Westerville. He died on August 27th, 1932 at
the age of 86.
Bibliography
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.
Children of George W. and
Rachel Schrock. Typescript in Schrock
Vertical Files, #S17011, Local History Center, Westerville Public Library,
Westerville, Ohio.
The Week in Westerville.
Schrock Vertical Files, #S17026, Local History Center, Westerville Public
Library, Westerville, Ohio.
Foraker, Joseph B. &
Robinson, James S. Official Roster
of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866. Vol. 8.
Cincinnati, Ohio: The Ohio Valley Press, 1888.
Roamer,
“Short Sketches of Farmers” Westerville Public Opinion, February 1930.
Sharon Koehler, letter to
author (obituary), 29 January 2005.
Sharon Koehler, letter to
author (family chart), 14 February 2005.
Sharon Koehler, letter to author,
11 February 2005.
George W. Schrock, Letter to
Vause Schrock, 15 July 1864.
Vause Schrock Obituary.
“Vause Schrock, Civil War Veteran, Succumbs” Columbus Dispatch. 27
August 1932.