Ellis & the 157th Ohio Volunteer Infantry - Military Monday

Ellis Bickerstaff (or Biggerstaff as his name was recorded), of Steubenville, Jefferson County, Ohio, was a member Company D of the 157th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (157th OVI) during the Civil War.  He was one of the Hundred Days Men, enlisted for 100 days' time over the spring and summer of 1864.

According to his Civil War Service Records, Ellis entered military service on May 2, 1864, in Steubenville.  Most information about the regiment gives the mustering in date as May 15th and the location as Camp Chase, Franklin County, Ohio.  The 157th was composed of soldiers from both Jefferson and Carroll Counties, some who had enlisted in the fledgling Ohio National Guard.  The soldiers were under the command of Colonel George W. McCook.

Fort Delaware by Seth Eastman

From Camp Chase they were sent to Baltimore, Maryland, where they reported to General Lew Wallace and were put under the command of General Erastus B. Tyler.  They remained there several weeks for training and were then transferred by the U.S. War Department to Fort Delaware where the Regiment performed guard duty over the prisoners held there.

At the end of their hundred days of service, all soldiers of the 157th OVI companies except those in Company C returned to Camp Chase and were mustered out on September 2. 

Ellis served in Company D with two of his brothers.  Augustine was about nine years his senior and William N. was about two years younger.  Ellis was 24.  Other Bickerstaff/Biggerstaff men included Rezin P. and Samuel, probably cousins of the three brothers.

When I first read overviews describing the 157th Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry I honestly didn't give too much thought to exactly what Ellis's duties were.  I was just grateful that he had remained off the field and was in less danger of being killed or maimed.  Little did I know.  The next post is this series will be about Camp Delaware.

Other posts in this series
The Hundred-Days Men of the Civil War
Fort Delaware Prison and the 157th Regiment OVI in the Civil War
Coming to Terms with History - Musings on Ellis's Service in the Civil War



Sources:
Civil War Index:  157th Ohio Regiment Infantry
Civil War Archive: 157th Regiment Infantry
Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866, Volume 9, by Ohio Roster Commission (Joseph B. Foraker, Governor, James S. Robinson, Sec'y of State and H. A. Axline, Adjutant-General), 1886
Union Garrison Units at Fort Delaware

--Nancy.
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