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Subject: Fw: Chapter 43 - Abbot's History of Ohio
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 22:18:49 -0500

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Chapter 43

Lives of the Governors - Continued.

Hon. Jacob D. Cox

In January, 1866, Jacob D. Cox was inaugurated Governor of Ohio. He was
born in Montreal, Canada, on the 27th of October, 1828. His parents were
residents of New York, but his father had been called temporarily to
Montreal,
to superintend the carpenter work upon the magnificent Cathedral of Notre
Dame, in that city.
In 1829 the family returned to New York, where the son passed his
childhood
and youth. Here he received the rudiments of a good education. In 1846, when
but eighteen years of age, he entered the renowned college at Oberlin, Ohio,
whose fame had then begun to extend through all the states. Here he remained
for about three years, prosecuting his studied with great diligence and
great success.
Graduating, he married in 1849 a daughter of President Finney, and in
1852
was admitted to the bar in Warren, Trumbull County, Ohio. As was to have
been
expected of a young man who had distinguished himself at Oberlin, Mr. Cox
early espoused and earnestly and untiringly advocated the cause of universal
freedom. He believed, and under all circumstances announced his belief, in
the brotherhood of man, and that all men should be equally protected by the
law.
In 1859 he was elected by those who held similar views with himself to
represent the Trumbull and Mahoning District in the State Senate. He had
then
a high reputation for integrity, native talent, and accomplished
scholarship.
He was especially distinguished for the thoroughness with which he pursued
any studies or prosecuted any enterprise in which he might engage. He was
alike capable of forming the most comprehensive of plans, and of attending
to the minutest details essential for the accomplishment of those plans.
This
combination of powers is one of the highest attributes of successful genius.
Mr. Cox was a fine classical scholar, and also proficient in both the
French
and German languages. Some one made the very true remark that a person might
have a special aptitude for the acquisition of languages, and yet might be
very deficient in other mental operations.
"For instance," said he, "I doubt very much whether Mr. Cox could master
the difficulties of short-hand writing, or phonography." But it was
afterwards
appeared that Mr. Cox, as one of the amusements of his leisure hours, had
become such a proficient in that difficult are that he could rival the most
skillful reporters.
From an unusual and admirable sketch of the life of Governor Cox, by
William
H. Busbey, Esq., who was apparently personally acquainted with his career,
I make the following valuable extract:
"This same quality of mind carried him forward in scientific
investigation,
in political discussion and inquiry, in the walks of literature, and in the
work of his profession. He possessed the rare quality of comprehending great
measures without losing sight of necessary details. He had his mental powers
so well in hand that they accompanied results always without loss of time.
"Mr. Cox took his seat in the Ohio Senate on the first Monday in January,
1860. This session of the Legislature was a notable one. One of the most
noteworthy of the legislative struggles was over the effort to repeal the
kidnapping law, so-called.
"Senator Cox was on the judiciary committee. The other Republicans on the
committee were conservatives, and united with the Democrats in a report
favoring
repeal. Mr. Cox made a minority report, defending the law, and carried the
Republicans of the Senate with him against the majority report of the
committee.
"This law provided for penalties against those who should attempt to
carry
free blacks out of the state without legan proceedings. It was, like
personal
liberty bills, a counterbalance to the fugitive slave law. In many other
important struggles of the session the personal influence of Senator Cox was
felt, and he was extremely popular with the radical wing of his party.
"The tremendous questions sprung upon the people by the threatening
indications
of civil war, found Senator Cox ready to grapple with them. Convinced that
the country was in immenent danger, he held that while no unnecessary
provocation
should be given, there should be no further yielding to slavery; and that if
the advocates of slavery made war we should fight it out. He comprehended
the
necessity for preparation, and assisted in the organization of the state
militia. His knowledge of military systems and duties was already very
great,
and he was made brigadier general."
When treason opened its fire upon national flag at Sumter, and sought the
demolition of this Republic, founded upon equal rights for all men, that
there
might be reared upon its ruins another governor whose corner-stone should be
slavery, Mr. Cox espoused, with all the inflexible enthusiasm of his nature,
the cause of human rights and of the integrity of the Union. Immediately,
relinquishing all other engagements, he consecrated his tireless energies
day
and night to patriotic labors. Very efficiently he aided Governor Dennison
and General George B. McClellan in organizing troops.
So entire was his consecration to this work that he found time to enter
the Senate chamber only to vote upon the most important questions. At this
early period he was associated with all the military measures adopted by the
state to rescue our country from impending perils.
A large number of troops in the service of the general government were
rendezvoused at Columbus, Ohio. General Cox was placed in command of them,
at what was called Camp Jackson, on the 23d of April, 1861. Immediately
after
this he was commissioned by President Lincol Brigadier General of United
States Volunteers. With the assistance of General Rosecrans, an engineer, he
laid out Camp Dennison, and remained in command of the gathering forces
there
until the 6th of July, when, by orders of General McClellan, he took
position
with his troops at the mouth of the Grand Kanawha, in Virginia.
The upper portion of this valley was held by the rebels, under General
Henry A. Wise. With prompt and vigorous movements, the details of which we
have not space here to give, General Cox drove his opponents from the
valley.
He sounded no trumpet to proclaim his achievements, but those best qualified
to judge declare that much military ability was displayed in his strategy
and his tactics.
Marching triumphantly into the interior, he took possession of the city
of
Charleston, from which the rebels had fled, and ascended the valley some
forty
miles farther, established a fortified camp at the mouth of the Gauley
River.
>From this point he successfully carried on operations against the foe during
the whole Summer. Though the rebel troops outnumbered the patriots three or
four to one, and though General Cox was in the very heart of the enemy's
country, they were unable to obtain any foothold in the valley, or to cut
off
his communications with the Ohio.
We must glide over many adventures in which he took part, while
participating
in movements against Wise, Floyd and Lee. When General Reno fell at the
battle
of South Mountain, General Cox succeeded him in command of the North Corps.
In this battle and in the subsequent bloody conflict at Antietam, of Major
General, to date from October 7, 1862.
The District of West Virginia, and soon after the District of Ohio, were
entrusted to his protection. In December, 1863, he was placed in command of
the Twenty-third Corps, with his headquarters at Knoxville, Tennessee.
In the Atlanta campaign General Cox led the third division of that corps.
But he commanded the entire corps in the engagement at Columbia, and in the
sanguinary battle of Franklin, on the 30th of November, 1864. In this
engagement he signalized himself for coolness and courage. In the desparate
engagement at Nashville, General Cox took a prominent part.
In 1865 there was an important movement of the patriot army against the
rebels at Wilmington. General Cox took part in this movement. His entire
force was engaged in the battle of Kingston, on the 5th of March of that
year.
Being placed permanently in command of the Twenty-third Army Corps, he
advanced with his well-trained band upon Raleigh. Then he was entrusted with
the protection of the western half of North Carolina, and superintended the
parole of Johnson's troops at Greensboro.
In July, 1865, he was again placed in command of the District of Ohio,
and
superintended the mustering out and discharge of the Ohio soldiers. Mr.
Busbey
writes, in his interesting biographical sketch:
"While still in active service, he was brought forward as the soldiers'
candidate for governor of the state. In June, 1865, he was nominated by
acclamation as the candidate of the Union Republican party. The political
campaign which succeeded was peculiar on account of the after-war issues
involved, and the sensitiveness of the different factions of the Republican
party. Conscious that he was entering the political field at a critical
period,
General Cox defined himself, both in letters and speeches, with great
distinction. He did not hestitate to express his views on any subject
presented
by the people. Having carried the state by a handsome majority, he was
inaugurated in January, 1866.
"In his first message, and in subsequent ones he discussed the state
financial system, the common school system, and questions bearing on reform
in charitable and reformatory institutions. In all departments he made
recommendations which formed the basis of subsequent legislative action. His
discussion of the proposed constitutional amendments attracted very general
attention, and had much influence. His culture, his dignified bearing, his
strong individuality, his freedom from any feeling of petty partisanship,
his ability to grapple with questions as soon as presented, and his good
judgement in settling them, made his administration very popular."
At the close of his term of two years he declined a re-nomination and
resumed the practice of law in Cincinnati. In 1869, President Grant chose
him
as Secretary of the Interior. The appointment was received with universal
approval. The position was environed with difficulties. The reforms he urged
met with opposition. He was unwilling to surrender points which seemed to
him important, and, after a few months, tendered his resignation, and
retiring
from the Cabinet, returned to his law office in Cincinnati.
Since that time, he has vigorously engaged in all those civil duties
which
can promote the welfare of his fellow men. In 1873, being intrusted with the
responsible office of President of the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway,
he removed to the city of Toledo, where at the present writing, he resides.
I cannot close this brief sketch more satifactorily than in the words of Mr.
William H. Busbey, who, from his personal acquaintance with the governor, is
entitled to speak upon his moral, social, and intellectual traits:
"Ex-Governor Cox is a man of fine culture and great strength of
character.
In person he is tall and commanding; in manner the personification of
gentlemanly dignity. As has been intimated, he is a genius in mastering
details
and in concentrating his powers of mind for immediate and determined action.
He is thorough in everything he undertakes, and however brilliant or worthy
any special act of his may appear at first glance, it is sure to be more
brilliant or worthy on investigation. The power to meet emergencies, to
master
things, and the disposition to grapple with questions of all kinds, are
distinguishing characteristics. He examines carefully, decides quickly, acts
unhesitatingly. He entered the Ohio Senate without legislative experience,
and yet his qualifications were those of a leader. He entered the army with
complete knowledge as to a soldier's duties - as far as the opportunities of
civil life would allow. He could excel any of his subordinates in executing

all the minutia of the manual and drill, and surprised old officers by the
fact that he fenced well. He planned a campaign or conducted a battle with a
full sense of the emergency to be met, and a full knowledge of plans to meet
it. As a soldier, he was without parade or flourish, a man of unfailing
resources, and in all his careeer there is the record of no blunder in the
management of a department or the conduct of a battle. Where others learned
by mistakes, he avoided mistakes by the application of principles.
"He plunged into the first complications of the war, ready to meet the
difficulties and competent to act. At the close of the war, he entered a
critical political campaign, as ready to meet the issues presented, and more
fearless than his party cared to have him, in grappling with vital questions
over which the people were puzzling.
"Imperious and earnest in carrying out measures which meet his approval,
he is frank and determined in opposing measures that he cannot approve. But
he always leaves with his opponents a clear conviction of his honesty of
purpose, a respect for his integrity, and a consciousness of his ability."


Hon. Rutherford B. Hayes

The parents of Rutherford Birchard Hayes emigrated from Windham County,
Vermont, to Delaware, Ohio, in the year 1817. Delaware then, half a century
ago, in the center of the state, was a small but unusually pleasant village
of four or five hundred inhabitants. Here Gen. Hayes was born, Oct. 4, 1822.
At the age of twenty he graduated at Kenyon College, Ohio, and commenced
the study of law at Columbus. After three years of study, having attended a
course of lectures at the celebrated law school of Harvard University,
Mass.,
he was admitted to the bar, and commenced the practice of his profession at
Fremong. After remaining here four years, he removed in 1849 to Cincinnati.
In 1852 he married Miss Lucy Ware Webb, of Chilicothe, and was thus fairly
embarked upon that ocean of life which is ever swept by storms.
A few years passed peacefully away when the bugle blasts of civil war
called
him to the horrid scenes of the battle-field. Heroically he performed his
part on many a bloody field. Mr. Reid, in his excellent history of Ohio
during
the war, writes:
"In October, 1864, Colonel Hayes was appointed Brigadier General 'for
gallant and meritorious services at the battles of Winchester, Fisher's
Hill,
and Cedar Creek.' In the Spring of 1865, he was given command of an
expedition
against Lynchburg, by way of the mountains of West Virginia, and was engaged
in preparations for that campaign when the war closed." He was then in honor
of his distinguished services breveted Major General.
The following incident is related by General Comly, in his account of
Sheridan's victory of Winchester: "After the usual amount of marching and
counter-marching, from the 4th to the 18th of September, the battle of
Winchester was fought on the 19th. General Crook's command was in reserve,
but was very soon brought into action and sent to the extreme right of the
line to make a flank attack. Hayes' brigade had the extreme right of the
infantry. The position was reached under cover of an almost impenetrable
growth of cedar crossing a swampy stream. Here the division was halted and
formed: First brigade (Hayes') in front, and the second (Johnson's) in the
rear. Throwing out a light line of skirmishers, the brigade advanced rapidly
to the front, driving the enemy's cavalry. The national cavalry at the same
time advanced out of the woods on the right. After advancing in this way
across two or three open fields, under a scattering fire, the crest of a
slight elevation was reached, when the enemy's infantry line came into view,
off diagonally to the left front, and he opened a brisk artillery fire.
Moving
forward double-quick under this fire, the brigade reached a thick fringe of
underbrush, dashing through which it came upon a steep slough, forty or
fifty
yards wide and nearly waist deep, with soft sand at the bottom, overgrown
with a thick bed of moss, nearly strong enough to bear the weight of a man.
"It seemed impossible to get through it, and the whole line was staggered
for a moment. Just then Colonel Hayes plunged in with his horse, and under a
shower of bullets and shells, crossed over. When he was about half the way
over, his horse mired down. His dismounted and waded, and pushed his way
through - the first man over. The Twenty-third was immediately ordered by
the right flank and crossed over the slough at the same place. In
floundering
through this morass men were suffocated and drowned; still the regiment
plunged through, and, after a pause long enough partially to reform the
line,
charged forward again, yelling and driving the enemy. Sheridan's old cavalry
kept close upon the right, having passed around the slough, and every time
the enemy was driven from cover, charged and captured a large number of
prisoners. This plan was followed throughout the battle; by which the
cavalry
was rendered very effective. In one of these charges, Colonel Duvall, the
division commander, was wounded and carried from the field, leaving Colonel
Hayes in command. He was everywhere exposing himself recklessly as usual. He
was the first over the slough, and he was in advance of the line half the
time afterward. His adjutant general was severely wounded, and men were
dropping all around him, but he rode through it all as it he had a charmed
life." He was wounded four times, once very severely.
Just before the termination of this dreadful strife, he was elected to
Congress from the Second Cincinnati District, and re-elected in 1866. He was
ever an able and highly valuable supporter of the principles of the
Republican
party. In 1867, this party, in Ohio, by general acclaim, nominated him for
the governorship of the state. There were many complications in this
election;
the community being greatly agitated and divided by the "negro suffrage"
question. General Hayes, who had won much esteem by his dignified bearing
during the conflict, was elected by about three thousand majority, and in
1869 he was re-elected by an increased majority.
Governor Hayes' administration was illustrious in the benefits it
conferred
upon the state. A home for the orphan children of soldiers was provided. A
reform school was established. Great improvements were introduced in the
treatment of the insane. The penitentiary was enlarged, and vigorous
measures
of improved prison discipline adopted. Additional authority was given to the
Board of State Charities to investigate and bring to light all abuses in the
penal and charitable legislation of the state. An Agricultural College was
founded. A geological survey of the state was undertaken. New efforts were
adopted to protect all important historical documents. Portraits of the
governors and other distinguished citizens were secured. Casts of the
pottery
of the mound-builders were obtained and carefully preserved. A Lincoln and
soldiers' monument was erected in the rotunda of the State House. And last,
but by no means least, the true democratic doctrine of extending the right
of
suffrage to colored citizens was adopted.
Governor Hayes still lives. One who knows him well has paid the following
fine tribute to his character:
"General Hayes is one of the few men capable of accomplishing much
without
any egotistical assertion of self. As a soldier in the army, an advocate at
the bar, or an earnest supporter of radical measures he has been content to
do his duty with an unpretending, noiseless energy that makes him a marked
man. The people will find his utterances full of sound thought, and his
deportment modest, dignified and unassuming. He proved himself not only a
gallant soldier, but a model officer. We had opportunities of close
observation
while serving with him in Virginia, and found him cool, self-possessed, and
as thorough in the discharge of his duties as he was gallant in action."
It is also pleasant to give the following still more decisive testimony
to the merits of Governor Hayes from one of the leading papers of the state.
This testimony was repeated by many other public journeys, without, so far
as we know, any dissentient voices:
"That the gubernatorial chair of Ohio has never been filled by a man more
personally and specially esteemed by the people than Governor Hayes, is a
fact admitted by everybody of all parties. He is recognized as a most
efficient,
discreet, practical executive officer. His messages, proclamations, etc.,
have
been universally complimented by the press for their brevity, directness,
and good common sense. Editors and reporters have never been obliged to
trouble themselves about condensing any state paper he issued - it was
always
couched in the fewest words possible, clear and forcible. He retires with a
splendid record, high in the confidence of the people of our noble state."


Hon. Edward F. Noyes

Edward Follensbee Noyes was born at Haverhill, Mass, October 3, 1832. His
parents were Theodore and Hannah Noyes, both of whom died before he was
three years of age, leaving the little orphan child with the world before
him, in which his battle was to be fought single-handedly and alone. He was
taken in charge by maternal grandparents, Edward and Hannah Stevens, who
resided at East Kingston, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. At twelve years
of age, his grandfather having died, he went to live with his guardian,
Joseph Hoyt, of Newton, New Hampshire.
To New Hampshire boys life is not altogether playtime. At thirteen the
youth took care of twenty head of cattel, worked on the farm in Summer, and
in Winter made a daily pilgrimage of four miles and cut and piled his half
cord of swamp maples - certainly a fair day's work for a youngster in the
beginning of his teens. But here was laid the foundation of robust, vigorous
health, that stood him well in hand in times of after trial, when less
hearty
strength would have succumbed. At forty-two years of age Governor Noyes is
of a hale, cheery temperament. His good nature is infectious. His vivacity
is inspiring, and his intellect is clear and incisive. He is not put down by
adverse circumstances, but attacks difficulties and overcomes them by
persistency, or if vanquished in turn, bears ill-success with equanimity.
How much of character, of energy and of mental faculty depend upon the
simple fact of good health is not generally appreciated. A sound mind cannot
flourish in an unwholesome body; and to the complete and perfect exercise of
such powers as have been given to men, the first and most essential
requisite
is unimpaired physical condition.
It does not exceed the truth to say that Governor Noyes is one of the
foremost political orators in the West; and those who have been moved by the
power of his pathos until their eyes became misty - who have been excited to
boisterous laughter by the overflowing humor of his happy nature or exalted
by his eloquence - are not perhaps aware of how much of the sublime
influence
is owing to the twenty head of cattle, the maple cord-wood, and that early
life which gave to an active mind an entirely healthful body.
At fourteen young Noyes was apprenticed as a printer in the office of the
Morning Star, the organ of the Free Will Baptist denomination, published at
Dover, New Hampshire, and boarded in the family of the editor, Wm. Burr, a
kind-hearted and good man, where he remained for four years. By the
necessary
indentures the future governor of Ohio was a "bound boy," whose term of
service
was to last until he reached the age of twenty-one. Mr. Burr was well
pleased
with his youthful charge, who was smart and active, and did his work
intelligently
and well, and was surprised one day when the boy went to his room, and with
a form of statement at once precise and emphatic said, "Mr. Burr, I want to
quit your office." The good editor inquired the reason, and was informed by
the lad that he had no cause for dissatisfaction or complaint, that he had
been always treated with consideration that a father might show to a son,
"but I feel that there is something more in me than a journeyman printer";
he added, "I want to go home and go to school." The old gentleman pondered
a moment, and then said, "Yes, Edward, you can go; and if ever I can be of
assistance to you, call upon me freely." So they parted. Mr. Burr lived long
enough to see his bound boy successful in life, but not long enough to see
him as he afterwards became - a leading man in Ohio.
Young Noyes prepared for college at the academy in Kingston, New
Hampshire,
under the tutelage of Professor Joseph Eastman; entered Dartmouth College in
1853, graduating in 1857, one of the most foremost scholars in his class.
Even then were recognized in him brilliant possibilities for the future. He
was at that time considered the best speaker in his class; and whenever he
had occasion to appear upon the rostrum he always commanded the attention of
his fellows to a degree that foreshadowed the power of after years. Upon
commencement day he was requested by the Faculty to deliver a poem, and it
is suggestive that the theme assigned him was "Eloquence."
In the Winter of his senior year Noyes commenced the study of law in the
office of Stickney & Tuck, at Exeter, New Hampshire. This was Amos Tuck, for
many years a member of Congress, and a man of considerable note in those
days. Before leaving the halls of his Alma Mater the collegiate had imbibed
from such men as Amos Tuck, John P. Hale, Henry Wilson, Charles Sumner ideas
which made him an old school Liberty man, a Free Soiler, an Independent
Democrat and Republican - following the party that opposed slavery through
all its changes of name and vicissitudes of fortune. In 1856, at the request
of state for John C. Fremont, much to the disgust, as one of his class-mates
tells us, of the theological professor of old Dartmouth.
In 1857 Governor Noyes went to Ohio, rather by accident than otherwise,
to visit a college classmate, never for a moment dreaming that it was to be
his future home. Some people would call it luck; others, more thoughtful,
might ascribe it to Providence; but whatever the fact, the young New
Englander
was not long in discovering that the West was the field for self-reliant
energy. It is not an exaggeration to say that his career thus far in the
State
of Ohio has been exceptionally brilliant. He went there a poor boy, without
a dollar in his pocket, or at his command, a perfect stranger outside the
family in whose household he visited, yet within fourteen years he was
governor
of that great commonwealth, and perhaps as widely and favorably known as any
of her distinguished public men now on the stage of action.
The visit to Cincinnati was altogether a pleasant one, and the new-comer
was welcomed to a hospitable society. Being one of those who easily make
friends, his circle of acquaintance was soon enlarged, and not lacking in
qualities of address that impress themselves favorably upon others, those
who knew him soon like him. As he pondered upon the proposition of returning
to his native hills, he could not avoid an involuntary contrast between the
staid, sober, plodding ways of his old home, and the dash, energy, and
vivacious
pluck of the West. Without yet any definite plan of action, he resumed the
study of law in the office of Tilden, Rairden & Curwen, attending the
lectures
of the Cincinnati Law School, in the Winter of 1857-58.
In Mr. M. E. Curwen, then Professor in the Law School, and a lawyer of
high standing and character, Mr. Noyes found a faithful friend and most
conscientious mentor. To this preceptor, whose wise judgment and perfect
integrity of life may now be spoken of, as it is worthy to record the
virtues
of the dead, the pupil acknowledges the debt of gratitude for the advice
and friendly conduct which induced him to make Cincinnati his home.
An office was opened in Cincinnati in 1858. Business began to come, and
came quite rapidly, and the way to success seemed opening, when the tocsin
of war sounded in 1861. Those who had studied the political history of the
country with any reasonably degree of appreciation, foresaw that the
struggle
was to be for life or death, and the young lawyer did not believe that the
impending contest was such as could be determined by the three months'
volunteers. He turned his thoughts towards the army. He knew nothing about
war, but in this he was not different from the thousands and thousands of
others who, in the end, composed the victorious cohorts, whose heavy tread
shook from its throne the fearful power that had ruled the Republic from the
beginning, and now sought to ruin it.
Perhaps, as he was considering the gravity of the occasion, some vision
of
military glory may have flitted across his brain. It was natural to years
that were few, and ambition that was strong, but he knew that the picture
had
its reverse side, and deliberately weighing the future, he concluded that
whatever might happen, there was a duty owing which could not be postponed
or shirked.
On the 8th of July, 1861, a notice was published in the Cincinnati papers
calling upon officers representing company organizations, and desiring to
enlist for the war, to report at the law office of E. F. Noyes - then
Stephenson & Noyes - without delay. On the 20th of August a full regiment,
the 39th Ohio Infantry, took the field, with John Groesbeck as colonel, A.W.
Gilbert as lieutenant colonel, and Edward F. Noyes as major. It was believed
by these officers that the most brilliant campaign of the war would be in
opening up the Mississippi River to the commerce of the West, and in
breaking
through the center of the Rebellion. So, by request, this regiment, with the
27th Ohio Infantry, was transferred from the eastern to the western army,
and sent to Missouri, where General John C. Fremont was in command. After
marching fifteen hundred miles in the State of Missouri, dispersing guerilla
bands under Sterling Price and Martin Green, the regiment, early in 1862,
joined the expedition of Major General John Pope, forming part of the old
Army of the Mississippi. Under this distinguished commander, Major Noyes
took
part with his regiment in the capture of New Madrid and Island No. 10, and
was then detailed to General Pope's staff, where he remained until that
officer
was transferred to the Army of Northern Virginia.
Colonels Groesbeck and Gilbert having left the service, and General Pope
having gone to Virginia, Noyes was commissioned colonel and took command of
his regiment in October, 1862. He took active part in the battles of Iuka
and Corinth under General Rosecrans, and under General G. M. Dodge in all
the operations against the commands of General Forest and other rebel
generals
in the Tuscumbia Valley. In 1864, the Thirty-ninth Ohio Infantry formed a
part of the First Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps, and in the army of
General Sherman took part in the famous Atlanta campaign. On the fourth of
July, 1864, Colonel Noyes, while leading an assault upon the enemy's works
at
Ruff's Mills, Nicojack Creek, Georgia, was severely wounded, and suffered
the
amputation of a limb upon the field. Five weeks later he endured a second
operation at Cincinnati, having in the mean time been brought from Marietta,
Georgia, to Louisville in a cattle car, and from Louisville to Cincinnati by
boat. This second amputation nearly cost him his life, but a vigorous
constitution
and a frame hardened by healthy labor and temperate habits, carried him
through
the great suffering he endured. In October, 1864, while still on crutches,
he reported for duty to Major-General Joseph Hooker, and was assigned to the
command of Camp Dennison. While in the discharge of his military duty there,
and without solicitation on his part, he was elected to the important office
of City Solicitor for Cincinnati, to accept which position he resigned his
commission in the army.
Having been recommended, before he was wounded, for promotion to the full
rank of brigadier-general, he was breveted after the loss of his limb.
Of General Noyes as a soldier, General J. W. Sprague says: "I observed
the
conduct and bearing of Colonel Noyes at Iuka, Corinth, New Madrid, Resaca,
Dallas, and all the affairs in which his regiment was engaged during the
campaign against Atlanta, up to the time of his being disabled by wounds. He
was ever and always distinguished for his gallantry, zeal and constant
devotion
to his command." General D. S. Stanley says: "He was intrepid, bright and
untiring officer, having an aptness for military life." General Pope speaks
of him as "conspicuous for gallantry, military ability and zeal; an educated
gentleman and an accomplished soldier, eminently qualified for promotion,
which he has fairly earned by long and distinguished service in the field."
Rosecrans commends him "for bravery, efficiency and intelligence," and
General G. M. Dodge, in whose command he was for nearly two years and up to
the time of his being wounded, says, in a very complimentary letter, he
knows
"of none among all the gallant officers of his command, more brave, earnest
and patriotic."
General Sherman endorsed a recommendation for promotion by brevet as
follows:

"HEADQUARTERS, MIL. DIV., Aug. 23, 1865.
"I take special pleasure in endorsing this recommendation that Colonel
Noyes be breveted brigadier-general, to date from July 4th, 1864. I was
close
by when Colonel Noyes was shot. We were pressing Johnson's army back from
Marietta to the Chattahoochie, when he made a stand at Smyrna Camp-ground,
and I ordered his position to be attacked. It was done successfully at some
loss, and Colonel Noyes lost his leg. He fully merits this honorable title.
(Signed) "W.T. SHERMAN,
"Maj. Gen'l Com'dg."
Before General Noyes' term as City Solicitor had expired, he was elected
Probate Judge of Hamilton County, one of the most lucrative offices at that
time in Ohio. He served the usual term of three years, and in the Fall of
1871 resumed the practice of law. For a second time his prospects for
success
in the profession were flattering, when he was tendered the nomination for
governor by the Republican party. Although loth to abandon his law office,
he did not feel at liberty to decline an honor tendered with entire
unanimity.
After a brilliant campaign, he was elected by over twenty thousand majority.
Two years later, having been again nominated by acclamation, he was defeated
by Governor Allen by a majority of about 800 in a vote of 448,000. After
this
he received the unanimous vote of his party in the Legislature for the place
of United States Senator.
The administration of Governor Noyes was eminently conservative and
nonpartisan, his treatment of political opponents generous, and his
published
speeches breathe the spirit of conciliation. He was among the first of our
public men to advocate general amnesty for southern rebels, while at the
same time he demanded civil and political rights for the colored race.
Early in 1863 Colonel Noyes received leave of absence from the army for
two weeks, and was married at Kingston, New Hampshire, Feb. 15 of that year,
to Margaret Wilson Proctor, of that place.
Governor Noyes now practicing law in the City of Cincinnati.


Hon. William Allen.

William Allen, the present Governor of Ohio, was born in Edenton, Chowan
County, North Carolina, in the year 1807. He was, by the death of both
father and mother, left an orphan in his infancy. His parents were poor. In
his boyhood days there were no common schools in North Carolina, nor in
Virginia, whither he early removed; and he never attended any school of any
kind, except a private infant school for a short time, until he came, at the
age of sixteen, to Chilicothe, Ohio. He, however, early managed to acquire
the rudiments of learning; and that was the golden age of public speaking,
and the era of oratory and orators in this country. He was enthused and
carried away with a passion for listening to public addresses upon every
occasion and upon any subject, marking the manner and treasuring up the
words
of the various speakers he listened to - and he would go far to get the
opportunity to hear. He soon secured a prize, to him more precious than
silver
and gold - a pocket copy of Walker's Dictionary, which he consulted for the
pronunciation and meaning of every word that he heard and did not
understand.
This companion always accompanied him to public meetings, all of which he
sought and attended as a deeply interested hearer.
Several of the years of his boyhood life were spent at Lynchburg,
Virginia,
where he supported himself working as a saddler's apprentice. When he was
sixteen years ofl, he collected together his worldly goods, tied them in a
handkerchief, and set out on foot, walking every step of the way from
Lynchburg, Virginia, to Chilicothe, Ohio, where he found his sister, Mrs.
Pleasant Thurman, the mother of Hon. Allen G. Thurman, who was then a small
boy whom he had never seen before.
After taking up residence at Chilicothe, which has ever since been his
home, young Allen was by his sister placed in the old Chilicothe Academy,
where he received his only real instruction from a teacher. She herself
selected and supervised his general reading. In this he considers that he
derived the greatest advantage. The books she placed in his hands were the
works of the best and most advanced writers and thinkers, by the aid of
which
his thoughts were impelled in the right direction, and his mental
development
became true and comprehensive.
Struggling on and maintaining himself as best he could, Allen entered as
law student the office of Edward King, father of Hon. Rufus King (President
of the late Ohio Constitutional Convention), and the most gifted son of the
great Rufus King, of Revolutionary memory and fame. When he came to the bar,
and while he continued to practice, forensic power - the ability and art of
addressing a jury successfully - was indispensible to the lawyer's success.
This Allen possessed and assiduously cultivated, rather than the learning of
cases and technical rules and pure legal habit of thought and statement,
which make a counselor influential with the court.
Political activity, a wide-spread reputation as a legal power in the
judicial forum before a jury, and a fine military figure and bearing, joined
to a voice of marvelous force and excellence, fixed him in the public eye as
one deserving of political promotion. He had not long to wait. His
congressionaly district was strongly Whig. William Key Bond and Richard
Douglas
so hotly contested for the position of congressman in that party that a
"split" was produced, to heal which Governor Duncan McArthur was induced to
decline a gubernatorial reelection and become the candidate - they both
withdrawing in his favor. Against his William Allen was put in nomination by
the Democracy, to make what was deemed a hopeless race. With a determination
to succeed, such as he manifested in the late gubernatorial canvass, he
spoke
everywhere most ably and effectively, mapped out every road and by-road in
the district, and visited nearly every voter at his home, thus insuring the
full vote of his party at the polls and the accession of many converts.
During
this campaign, he met and overcame in debate William Sumter Murphy, the
grandson of the Revolutionary General Sumter, and at that time recognized as
the first orator in Ohio, who had been put forward as another Democratic
candidate to divide with Allen the Democratic vote. The power he displayed
in this canvass was fully exemplified in Allen at a later period, when he
accepted the challenge of the Whigs to debate with Thomas Ewing. In the very
first debate, Allen, in the opinion of the audience, had much the best of
it, and so firm did this conviction become, that Ewing was withdrawn after
the second joint discussion.
At the end of that memorable contest for a seat in Congress, William
Allen
was declared elected by one vote, when he had scarce attained the
constitutional
age to occupy it. Five hundred men are yet living who claim the honor of
having, by lucky accident, cast that vote. Although the youngest member,
he at once took rank among the foremost men in the House of the Twenty-third
Congress, and took a leading part in its most important discussions.
An election for United States Senator was soon to occur, and the two
parties
struggled for a majority in the General Assembly. Ross County was Whig, but
the Democrats nominated a strong man for representative. Allen labored for
his success, and he was elected by one vote, which give the Democrats a
small
majority in the Legislature. There were a number of candidates of senator.
An
eight of January supper, with speeches, came off, at which all the
candidates
were present and delivered addresses. That of William Allen took the
Assembly
by storm, and he was nominated and elected over Thomas Ewing, who was in the
Senate at the time. He reached Washington City on the evening of the 3d of
March, 1837, to witness the inauguration of President Van Buren, and to take
his seat in the Senate the next day. Late at night, he went to the White
House,
where he was cordially welcomed, and congratulated by Andrew Jackson, the
retiring President, who was his friend and admirer. Before the end of his
first term, he was reelected by a handsome majority; and he remained in the
United States Senate until the 4th of March, 1849, being then at his
retirement
one of the youngest members of that body.
During the twelve eventful years that he represented the State of Ohio in
the Senate of the United States, he took a prominent and leading part in all
the discussions upon the great questions that Congress had to deal with.
Most
of the time, and until he voluntarily retired, he was Chairman of the
Committee
on Foreign Relations, being entitled to that position on account of his
eminent
abilities. He had just reached the meridian of his splendid powers; tall, of
a majestic and commanding figure, with a magnificent voice, an opulence of
diction seldom equaled, a vigorous and bold imagination, with much fervor of
feeling, and graceful and dignified action withal, he combined all the
qualities of a great orator in that memorable era when the Senate was full
of
great orators - in the day of its greatest intellectual magnificence. And in
all the years he was there he never uttered a word or gave a vote that he
would now recall or change.
While William Allen was a member of the Senate, he married Mrs. Effie
McArthur Coons, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of General Duncan
McArthur - his early, true, and only love. She chose him from among a host
of distinguished suitors from several States. She inherited the old
homestead
and farm, where Allen, having added many acres to the latter, still - with
his daughter, Mrs. Scott, her husband, and their children and his
grandchildren -
resides. Prior to her first marriage, she and Allen were devoted to each
other; and while her father, General McArthur, was not personally unfriendly
to him, yet their opposition in politics and strong positive qualities
caused
him to think that their marriage would cause them to antagonize and
untimately
to produce discord between them, and he, therefore, disapproved of their
union.
Mrs. Allen died shortly after the birth of their daughter and only child,
Mrs. Scott. In health and in sickness, William Allen was a most devoted,
affectionate and exemplary husband; and after the death of his wife, he rode
on horseback, with the remains, from Washington to Chilicothe. He has never
thought of remarrying again, and it is almost certain that if he had not
married her, his only love, he never would have married at all.
Governor Allen has always possessed unyielding integrity, and has ever
strongly set his face against corruption and extravagance in every form.
When
he entered public life, he had the Postmaster General certify in miles the
shortest mail route between Chilicothe and Washington City; and he always
drew pay for milage according to that certificate. He refused constructive
milage; and after his retirement from the Senate, the Whig Congressman from
his district offered to procure and forward to him $6,000 due him on that
score; but he would receive none of it. William Allen and John A. Dix alone
refused it.
No man was ever more true and faithful in his friendships than William
Allen; and few public men have gone as far as he to maintain a
straightforward
consistency in this respect. He virtually declined the Presidency of the
United States rather than seem to be untrue and unfaithful to an illustrious
statesman who he loved and supported.
Since his retirement from public life at Washington, he has greatly
improved
by study. He is a more profound man than he was at any time during his
career
in the Senate. He is a great historian, is deeply versed in philosophy and
the sciences, and is better acquainted with rare books than almost any
scholar
one can meet. His home is the home of hospitality, and to visit him there is
to receive a hearty welcome and a rare intellectual treat. His farm is not
surpassed by any other farm in the magnificent Valley of the Scioto; and as
a thrify and successful farmer, no man in the State is his superior. Younger
by several years than the great statesman and generals who to-day shape and
control the destiny of the Old World, his most illustrious public services
will undoubtedly crown the years that are to come of his noble and useful
life.
In August, 1873, William Allen consented to take the Democratic
nomination
for Governor of Ohio. He became satisfied that it was a duty he owed his
party, and the people without distinction of party; and when it became a
public duty, he promptly accepted the situation, and came forth from his
retirement to make what everybody (but himself and the writer and compiler
of this sketch) deemed a hopeless race. He made an able and effective
canvass,
and was elected by nearly one thousand majority, being the only candidate on
his ticket who was successful.
His inauguration occurred on the 12th of January, 1874, in the presence
of
the largest assemblage of people that was ever before at the Capitol of
Ohio. His inaugural address was everywhere regarded at a magnificent State
paper. The New York Tribune pronounced it "a very model of a public document
for compactness and brevity, devoted to a single topic - the necessity for
reducing taxes and enforcing the most rigid economy in all matters of State
expenditures." Upon this point the Governor said: "I do not mean that vague
and mere verbal economy which public men are so ready to profess with regard
to public expenditures; I mean that earnest and inexorable economy which
proclaims its existance by accomplished facts."
His appointments, and all the other acts of his administration, so far,
give general satisfaction, and are commended by the people without
distinction
of party. His inauguration was the herald of a new era - "the era of good
feeling" in Ohio. Colonel John W. Forney, in his Philadelphia Press, but
states a universally recognized truth, when he says: "Governor Allen, of
Ohio, is winning golden opinions from all parties by the excellence of his
administration of the affairs of the State."
The general and spontaneous uprising of the people to do honor to this
illustrious statesman is a hopeful indication for the republic. He is the
embodiment and representative of purity, honesty, and fidelity in public
affairs, as in private life. The invitations that daily pour in upon him
from
all parts of the country, to be present at public and private assemblages of
the people, to deliver addresses and orations before them, are among the
grand manifestations of his great popularity; and wherever he goes, he is
enthusiastically received with expressions of popular homage, and is
attended
by magnificent ovations.

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