Ohio Volunteer Veteran's medal, William Saunders

[Uniforms of the Day]

I haven't even received it yet, but I just bought this medal. This particular medal is often found in parts. The top bar is very often missing. This one is missing only the fragile red, white and blue ribbon that hung behind the medal. Tiffany & Co. was contracted to produce 20,000 of these for the State of Ohio. They were awarded to men who had finished one enlistment and then reenlisted as a veteran volunteer. They were made available to veterans in the summer of 1866. Most were mailed to the veterans, but some men travelled to Columbus to pick up tgeir medals. This example is engraved to "Wm. A. SAUNDERS. Co. I. 23d. REGt. INFt.". 

Saunders enlisted May 22, 1861. He was discharged for wounds received at the battle of Cloyd's Mountain, in Pulaski County, Virginia, on May 9, 1864. He served a total of 3 years. In 1862, future president Rutherford Hayes became the regiment's colonel. It's Commisary Sergeant was none other than William McKinley, another future president. The regiment's members included a number of other notable men. The regiment fought in 14 significant engagements including Antietam. It's neat to realize that this medal's owner interacted regularly with two presidents during his service. I would love to know more about Saunders (home town, etc, etc). So far, the above info is all I can find. 

[MWalsh]

Nice find. Those Ohio medals nicely tie a specific person to the Civil War, which is not nearly as common and easy a thing to do as it is for some of the 20th Century veterans. 

 

Might consider contacting the Ohio Historical Society and see what they can offer you, or at least look into their holdings on the web. It is difficult to find a lot out there for info at times as there just were not things in their lives which lent themselves to archival records that can now be searched. 

 

One last thought is to figure out where his company in the regiment mustered in at, and check that county's historical society and see what they might have. Often those regiments were raised from specific areas and locales, so there might be a local historian for that unit or regiment. 

 

Good luck!       

[Uniforms of the Day]

Thanks a bunch.