Jacob M. Winter  was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania on December 26, 1836 to parents Isaac and Elizabeth Winter.¹   He had a younger brother named Winfield, and an older sister named Mary Catherine, who was the first woman to graduate from Otterbein College, and who married famous Westerville native Benjamin Hanby.²   From their roots in Pennsylvania, the Winter family moved to Ohio and settled in Licking County, where Jacob’s grandfather, whose name was also Jacob, was a minister who wrote numerous articles about the churches of Licking County.³   Before Jacob enlisted in the Union Army, he was a carpenter and a joiner, two very handy crafts to be adept at while working on rural farms in Ohio.⁴

When the Civil War broke out, Jacob enlisted in the service on October 16, 1861 at the age of twenty-three.  He was first assigned to the 46th Ohio Voluntary Infantry Regimental Band, where he was a musician and served for three years (his instrument is not listed).  But, the band was mustered out on August 27, 1862 at Memphis, Tennessee by order of the War Department.⁵   After the band was mustered out, Jacob was assigned to Company C of the 10th Ohio Voluntary Cavalry on November 12, 1862 at the age of twenty-six.  Shortly after joining the 10th OVC, Jacob was appointed to sergeant on November 23, 1862.  From there, he made his way up the ranks quickly, being appointed to 1st Sergeant on March 1, 1864, and then again to 2nd Lieutenant on June 16 of the same year.⁶   Unfortunately, Jacob only served in the 10th OVC for three years, as he was killed in the line of duty at the battle of Jonesborough in Georgia on August 20, 1864.⁷   However, the battle of Jonesborough did not start until August 31, so perhaps his death date is inaccurate.  In any event, his body was discovered by his brother Winfield, who was also assigned to Company C in the 10th OVC.  Jacob was found dead, with a shot through the heart.  Winfield proceeded to take his brother’s watch, which he kept until his death.⁸

Lieutenant Winter has a memorial headstone in Otterbein Cemetery in Westerville, Ohio.  It can be found in lot number 108, grave number 2.  It is a small, upright, white headstone that lies very near the vicinity of his sister and brother-in-law’s headstone and state monument.  However, his body is not buried in the cemetery, for when he was killed, his body was buried in the South.⁹   Unfortunately, the inscription on the side of the monument is not legible due to extreme weathering over the years.  The only thing that is legible is his name, which is on the front of the memorial, that faces away from the brunt of the extreme weather conditions.

Lieutenant Winter’s name can be found on the Civil War Memorial that sits in front of Towers Hall on the campus of Otterbein College.  The memorial lists the names and regiments of Civil War soldiers that were either students or professors at Otterbein College during the war.  Unfortunately, the Otterbein Room in Otterbein’s Courtright Memorial Library has no record of Jacob Winter either attending or graduating from the college.  This could be due to the fact that record keeping procedures were very poor and unreliable during the mid to late 1800s.

“Georgia Civil War Map of Battles.”  American Civil War: Civil War Documents.  Database on-line.  Available from
    http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/ga/ga022.html; Internet.

“Jonesborough.”  The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Battle Summaries American Battlefield
    Protection Program.  Database on-line.  Available from http://ww2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/ga022.htm; Internet.

“National Colors of the 10th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry.”  Fight for the Colors: The Ohio Battle Flag Collection Ohio
    Historical Society Online Relic Room, Flags by Heroes Borne.  Database on-line.  Available from
    http://www.ohiohistory.org/etcetera/fftc/relicroom/index.cfm?war=2&image=219; Internet.

Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866, vol.IV, 37th-53rd
    Regiments-Infantry.  Ohio Historical Society, Columbus; Akron: Werner Ptg. & Mfg. Co., 1887.  Text-fiche.

Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866, vol. IX.  Akron: Werner
    Ptg. & Litho Co., 1891.

Reid, Whitelaw.  Ohio in the Civil War: Her Statesmen, Generals, and Soldiers, 1861-65, vol. 2.  Cincinnati: Robert
    Clarke Co., 1895.

“Shaft In Cemetery Honors J.M. Winter,” Public Opinion, 8 July 1937.

Stevens, Larry.  10th Ohio Voluntary Cavalry Ohio in the Civil War, 1995.  Database on-line.  Available from
    http://ohiocivilwar.com/cwc10.html; Internet.

---.  46th Ohio Infantry Ohio in the Civil War, 1995.  Database on-line.  Available from
    http://ohiocivilwar.com/cw46.html; Internet.

United States Government, 1860 Census.  Held at the Local History Resource Center,Westerville, Ohio.

Winter, Chester.  Interview by author, 25 February 2001.  Telephone interview.

“Winter, J.M.,” State of Ohio Adjutant General’s Dept. Graves Registration Cards.  Ohio Historical Society, Columbus;
    Salt Lake City: the Genealogical Society, Williamson-Wnuczak, GR 3235.