Correspondence to the Governor & Adjutant General of Ohio, Series 147, Volume 21, Adjutant General

September 13, 1861:

William B. Cassilly, Lieutenant Colonel, Fremont Guard, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that he had visited Sidney, Ohio to see about some recruits for the Fremont Guard, that upon arriving in Sidney, he was introduced to Captain Kaga who had approximately one hundred men and Captain Fry who had about the same number, that he informed both Captains that the commanding officer of the Fremont Guard would be particular in reference to the competency of the company officers and that if any were found unfit for their position, they could not hold it, that the members of Captain Fry's company consulted together and reported that they considered themselves obligated to the 20th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry and declined to go with the Fremont Guard, that he never saw or spoke to any member of Captain Fry's company thereafter, that Captain Kaga's company did come with him for the Fremont Guard, that his object was not to take companies fully organized, but only a few picked men, that it had not been, nor would it be, his object or desire to interfere with companies belonging to any regiment, and that he had never seduced men away by any unusual preferments.- 3 pp. [Series 147-8: 78]

November 30, 1861:

E. Smith, and John H. Mathews, Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio. To William Allen. Letter stating that B.F. Lefevre of Shelby County was induced to raise a company in Shelby County to go in the Fremont Body Guard or as it was afterwards called, the "Benton Cadets", that Lefevre was induced to abandon his law studies, give up a very advantageous position as a teacher, and spend all his time and a great deal of money, which he could ill afford to spare, in recruiting the company, that Lefevre went out to St. Louis and was elected by the company as 1st Lieutenant, that by some means, the company was officered by men from Cincinnati and the wishes of the company entirely ignored, that Lefevre was induced to raise the company under the solemn promise that he should be the 1st Lieutenant, and consequently there had been "base treachery" somewhere, that Lefevre belonged to a highly respectable and influential family in Shelby County and had a great many warm friends who felt "outraged" at his treatment, and that the "Benton Cadet" regiment was now the 83rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was to be officered by the Governor of Ohio; and requesting Allen to send a letter to the Governor on Lefevre's behalf. Bears a note from Governor William Dennison. - 2 pp. [Series 147-19: 184]

December 4, 1861:

William B. Cassilly, Lieutenant Colonel, Benton Cadets, St. Louis, Missouri. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that under a commission from General [John C.] Fremont, he recruited some companies in Ohio for the Benton Cadets, that they now had six companies, but not enough men to legally make more than four full companies, that three of these companies were all from Ohio, that they could fill up the six companies at once, that he applied for leave of absence to call on Dennison to arrange for making them an Ohio regiment, that General [Henry] Halleck would not consent to any leave being granted unless there was a written promise from Dennison to make them an Ohio regiment, that since all the officers, but two, and over three hundred of the men were from Ohio, he asked that Dennison consolidate them with some fragments of regiments and make them an Ohio regiment, that the officers would require a new Colonel to be appointed as they would not serve another campaign under Colonel Marshall, that the command was probably the best disciplined battalion in the volunteer service, that as all their officers had been chosen apart from the men they commanded, it enabled them to maintain the same distinction and discipline as in the regular service, and it would ensure the rapid and efficient organization of new troops to be put in with them, and that their companies had not yet been regularly mustered, but there was now an order for it to be done dating back to the time of their organization so that if they were made Ohio troops it could be done at the same time. - 3 pp. [Series 147-18: 170]

December 10, 1861:

Benton Cadets, Camp of Benton Cadets, near Rolla, Missouri. To Major General [Henry] Halleck, Commanding Western Department. Letter unanimously signed by the enlisted men of the Benton Cadets, Major General John C. Fremont's Infantry Body Guard; laying before Halleck their claims which they believed were founded upon justice; and stating that the oath administered to them on entering the service was as Fremont's Infantry Body Guard and nothing else, that they were to be a school of instruction, that with these understandings, they enlisted in their present regiment which otherwise they would not have done as many of them sacrificed positions offered them in other regiments, that their regiment on entering the field consisted of 381 men, but now was reduced to 177, that these men were being divided into five separate companies, that having a required staff for a full regiment, they were consequently incurring needless expense, that having never been regularly mustered into any regiment and while in an unpleasant position, they were not the less loyal to their country, that the majority wished to enlist in regiments of their respective states, that they were from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, that they did not ask for their discharge at Springfield when General Fremont was superseded because they were daily expecting a battle and their patriotism would not allow them to falter in the face of an enemy, that they came to do their duty to their country and honor to the name of their General, and that they left it to Halleck to decide whether they had done their duty and fulfilled their obligations, and whether they were entitled to an honorable discharge.- 3 pp. [Series 147-21: 200]

December 16, 1861:

William B. Cassilly, Lieutenant Colonel, Benton Cadets, Camp Near Rolla, Missouri. To Adjutant General C.P. Buckingham. Letter stating that they were organized under orders of General [John C.] Fremont to be the infantry body guard, that the men were enlisted in Ohio, with two companies from Sidney, one from Cincinnati, and the balance from throughout the State, that the officers were selected outside of the men for military ability, that before they completed their organization, Fremont took the field and they went with him for that reason, that they did not have their muster in rolls made out or any commissions for the officers, that they intended to have the regiment filled up at the end of the campaign, that it made no difference so long as Fremont was in command as the officers were paid at the end of each month and the men had been paid in part, that now, however, they stood alone, that they had as yet not been mustered, but there was an order from General [Henry] Halleck to have all such troops as theirs mustered in dating back to the proper time, that as the object (Fremont's Guard) of the organization was broken up, the men were anxious to be recognized by their native State, that it was understood that Governor [William] Dennison had already named them the 83rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but as they had never received official notice of it, they could not use it with Halleck, that their object now was to have Dennison write to Halleck claiming the troops for Ohio, that as they had served for four months under the name of Benton Cadets without being mustered in, they would have to be mustered in first as Benton Cadets or get an order issued to cover their issues and drawings for that time and then be made an Ohio regiment, that he had no hesitation in saying they could fill up from the neighborhood of Sidney and Cincinnati as the men now with them had friends enough in those neighborhoods to do so, and that they now had four full companies and half of another which was being recruited and had promises of being filled. - 3 pp. [Series 147-20: 190]

December 18, 1861:

J.S. Conklin, Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio. To Governor William Dennison. Letter stating that at the request of the Shelby County Military Committee and other leading citizens, he was calling Dennison's attention to the condition of two companies from Shelby County now in Colonel Marshall's regiment in Missouri, that these companies went with the assurances of the recruiting officer (Lieutenant Pond) and Lieutenant Colonel Cassilly that they would compose a part of [John C.] Fremont's infantry bodyguard and that Colonel M[arshall] was not only a competent but desirable officer to serve under, that these companies were accepted by Fremont in the capacity of infantry bodyguards and so treated during his stay in the army, that now there were constant and most urgent appeals from the officers and most reliable men in these companies urging that something be done, if possible, for their relief from what they regarded as intolerable treatment, that they all concurred in saying that M[arshall] was a drunken, cruel, and shockingly profane and coarse man, utterly reckless of the health and comfort of his men, a large portion of whom were already sick and disabled from such neglect and bad treatment, that they begged to be transferred to the 20th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry or some other Ohio regiment not full, that if they must remain, they begged that M[arshall] not be commissioned as Colonel over them, that they would be satisfied with either Lieutenant Colonel Cassilly or Major Loring, and that there was no doubt that their situation was worse than free men or even civilized beings could bear; imploring Dennison to do whatever he could for these suffering and shamefully abused fellow citizens who had cheerfully risked their lives in defense of their country; and stating that several of the company officers, Captain Kaga, Lieutenant Rinehart, and others, had served in Virginia from the beginning of the war. - 3 pp. [Series 147-20: 211]

December 20, 1861 :

H. Kelton, Assistant Adjutant General, Headquarters, Department of the Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri. To the Governor of Ohio. Extract of Special Orders, No. 78, stating that the resignation of Captain H. Hazleton, Benton Cadets, was accepted to take effect on December 20, 1861. By order of Major General [Henry] Halleck. - s1 p. [Series 147-21: 3]

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