Madison resident and MHS member Wayne Reed recently loaned us some unique, amazing pieces of his great-great grandfather’s history. Mr. Reed brought to our attention three framed documents relating to the military service his ancestor, Thomas Kissick, received for defending his home state of Ohio, and the Union, during the American Civil War. The first and largest was a colored, framed ‘Soldier’s Record’ identifying Thomas Kissick’s service as a Private in ‘C’ Company, the 1st Regiment of the Ohio Volunteers Light Artillery. The other two documents were something we’d never seen before at MHS – Thomas Kissick’s ‘Squirrel Hunter’s Discharge’ and the State of Ohio Executive Order for the Printing of the Discharges. The latter two documents brought to light a mostly-forgotten chapter in Ohio history during the Civil War.
In early September 1862, the Confederate Army was marching northward in Kentucky to access a fresh food source, place a pro-Confederate government in the capitol and recruit thousands of Kentuckians into the Confederate army. Confederate troops under General Kirby Smith captured Lexington, and Smith directed General Henry Heth and his troops to capture Covington Kentucky and Cincinnati Ohio, on opposite sides of the Ohio River. Union Army Major General Lew Wallace was put in charge of preparing the defense of both cities. Wallace called up newly mustered Ohio Infantry regiments with no combat experience from nearby Camp Dennison to come to the aid of Cincinnati. Wallace swiftly declared martial law in the city, ordering local business owners to close their shops, and local civilians to report for military duty to prepare to defend the two cities. Wallace also put out the call in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan for a volunteer militia.
Ohio Governor David Tod left Columbus for Cincinnati to assist General Wallace. Tod ordered Ohio’s adjutant-general to send any available troops to Cincinnati, and the state quartermaster to send five thousand guns to equip the newly formed militia. Many Ohio counties offered to send men to Cincinnati, and Tod accepted the offer. Tod stated that only armed men should report and that railroad companies should transport the men for free and then later send a bill to the State of Ohio. Civilians from sixty-five Ohio counties quickly responded. The men who responded were quickly christened ‘Squirrel Hunters’ – depending on the source, it was either because of their antiquated, small-game firearms, or that they were “farm boys, who never had to shoot at the same squirrel twice.” The response from Ohioans was overwhelming, and within two days Tod requested Ohioans stop sending additional men.
Among the 15,766 men who answered the call to defend Cincinnati was Thomas Kissick. He was born in 1829 in the Isle of Man. The 1860 census records identify him as living in the village of Chardon, in Geauga County, single, and his occupation was farmer. Along with the other Squirrel Hunters, he left his livelihood and family behind to answer Governor Tod’s call, without any indication of how or when their service would end. Churches, meeting halls, warehouses, and Cincinnati’s largest Markethouse were commandeered to serve as barracks and dining halls as volunteers poured into the city. Between volunteers and regular army, General Wallace’s men numbered close to 70,000 strong.
The Confederate advance was quickly repelled without direct engagement or bloodshed, due to the overwhelming Union numbers. By September 13, 1862 Wallace declared martial law over, and allowed all businesses to reopen. The Confederate forces were withdrawing from Kentucky, and Cincinnati was no longer in danger. Wallace gained the nickname “Savior of Cincinnati”, and the Squirrel Hunters returned home. For his service to Ohio Thomas Kissick received The Squirrel Hunter’s Discharge, which reads ‘Cincinnati was menaced by the enemies of our Union. David Tod, Governor of Ohio called on the Minute Men of the State and the Squirrel Hunters came by the thousands to the rescue. You Thomas Kissick were one of them and this is your Honorable Discharge.’
Far more impassioned was the State of Ohio Executive Order for the Printing of the Discharges. Dated March 4 1863, it reads:
‘To Thomas Kissick Esqr. Of Geauga County, O
The Legislature of our State has this day passed the following resolution;
“Resolved, by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the State of Ohio, That the Governor be, and he is hereby authorized and directed to appropriate out of his contingent fund, a sufficient sum to pay for the printing and lithographing discharges for the patriotic men of the State, who responded to the call of the Governor, and went to our Southern border to repel the invaders and who will be known in history as the “SQUIRREL HUNTERS.”
And in obedience thereto, I do most cheerfully herewith enclose a Certificate of your service. But for the gallant services of yourself and the other members of the corps of patriotic “Squirrel Hunters,” rendered in September last, Ohio, our dear State, would have been invaded by a band of pirates determined to overthrow the best government on earth; our wives and children would have been violated and murdered, and our homes plundered and sacked. Your children, and your children’s children, will be proud to know that you were one of this glorious band.
Preserve the Certificate of service and discharge, herewith enclosed to you as evidence of this gallantry. The rebellion is not yet crushed out, and therefore the discharge may not be final: keep the old gun then in order; see that the powder horn and bullet pouch are supplied, and caution your patriotic mothers or wives to be at all times prepared to furnish you a few days cooked rations so that if your services are called for (which may God in his infinite goodness forbid) you may again prove yourselves “Minute Men” and again protect our loved homes.
Invoking God’s choicest blessings upon yourself and all who are dear to you,
I am, very truly, yours
David Tod, Governor’
Additionally, in 1908 the Ohio General Assembly passed a resolution to pay each Squirrel Hunter $13, equal to one month’s pay for an Ohio militiaman in 1862.
Thomas Kissick returned home, and a little over a year later, at age 31, he mustered in to the 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery C in December 1863. This battery was made up of men primarily from Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula counties. During Kissick’s service, he and his battery were in the Atlanta campaign, saw action at (among others) Rocky Faced Ridge, Adairsville, Marietta, Kennesaw, and Jonesboro in Georgia; and was engaged in the battles at Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville in Tennessee. At the conclusion of the Civil War, Kissick was mustered out on June 15 1865.
In January 1867, Thomas Kissick applied for marriage to Margaret Jane Clague of Leroy, in Lake County. According to the 1880 census, they were living in Leroy along with their two sons – John, born 1873, and Henry, born 1876. By 1890, according to a U.S. Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, Kissick was residing in Madison Township and suffered from Rheumatism. The Lake County 1898 historical map and 1900 U.S. census indicate he owned 100 acres (‘free and clear’) on Ford Road in the township, and lived there with his wife, son Henry, and daughter-in-law Nellie.
Thomas Kissick died in 1902, his wife Margaret died in 1905, and are buried in Fairview Memorial Park in Madison. It’s important to recognize that men like Thomas Kissick, who responded to Governor Tod’s call to defend Ohio, had no idea how long they would be pressed into service. They were leaving their jobs, their farms during harvest, their families – with no promises of compensation, and no assurance they would come home. We greatly appreciate and are indebted to Wayne Reed and his family for sharing their family history with us.
Submitted by Jesse Devin, Social Media Assistant Madison Historical Society
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