| William Harmon | 17th Ohio Voluntary Infantry |
| by Jeff Eichorn |
William H Harmon was born in the small Licking County town of Granville, Ohio in 1836. Granville is located roughly thirty miles northeast of Columbus. It was there in Granville that he spent most of his life. He married a woman named Catherine and had two children. Their first child, Joseph, was born in 1865, the same year William enlisted in the 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. William and Catherine did not have their second child until William was completely done serving in the Union army. Ovid, their second child, was born 1867.
Some time before entering the Union army, William J. Harmon was affiliated with Otterbein University, now called Otterbein College. The only record though that Otterbein has of William, is the Civil War monument, which has his name engraved on it in front of Tower Hall. In addition, he is not listed in the Roster of Students, which means he was not a student or a faculty member at the school. He quite possibly could have held some other type of job at the University, such as a maintenance worker. However, that is just a hypothesis.
While serving in the Civil War, William H. Harmon served under three different regiments. His first regiment, the 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was one in which served from April 24, 1861 to August 15, 1861. Their task was to guard provision trains, make river expeditions, and guard against guerrilla attacks while in Virginia. His second regiment, the 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served from October 9, 1861 until July 15, 1865. They fought in forty-seven battles, with two of the most famous being The Battle at Vicksburg and The Siege of Atlanta. However, William did not fight in the Siege of Atlanta with this infantry though. The reason for this is that he had been wounded and discharged on July 25, 1863 with a Surgeon’s Certificate of Disability. What a Surgeons Certificate of Disability means is that Harmon was either wounded , or became extremely sick for a period of time. However, Harmon would reenlist in his third infantry, this one being the 113th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He joined this infantry by appointment on January 29, 1864, and remained with it until it was mustered out on July 6, 1865 at the close of the Civil War. This infantry, like the 76th, was also part of the Siege on Atlanta, and the “March to the Sea,” both of which Harmon was a member of.
Upon the war coming to an end, William returned home to Granville, Ohio. It was there he worked as a wagon maker for the rest of his life. William passed away in the T.B. Hospital in Columbus Ohio at the age of sixty-two. The cause of William H. Harmon’s death on April 9, 1918, was the popular tuberculosis. Harmon was then burred one day later in Granville’s Maple Grove Cemetery. As we can see, William H. Harmon lived a typical life, he married, had children, and worked to support his family. However, we must not forget he represented the northern states in the Union army form 1861 to 1865. Along with all that, William H. Harmon represented a true American throughout his lifetime.
Bibliography
"American Battlefield Protection Program." http://www.2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/ms011.htm (accessed February 25, 2001).
Grerhart, A. L. Letter of reminiscence of the 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, wrote to no one in particular, March 6, 1907. A. L. Grerhart Collection, Ohio Historical Society.
Licking County. Civil War Registration Card. Microfilm. Ohio Historical Society.
Licking County. Graves Registration Cards, 1915-1930. Microfilm. Ohio Historical Society.
Ohio Census Report 1870. Licking County; Granville Twp. Ohio Historical Society.
Ohio. Roster Comm. Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion. Volumes 1, 6, and 8. Akron, OH: Werner Ptg &Mtg Co, 1888.
Steven, Larry. http://www.ohiocivilwar.com/cw76.html (accessed February 20, 2001).
Steven, Larry. http://www.ohiocivilwar.com/ce113.html (accessed February 27, 2001).
Willson, Charles. Letter to Ellie, wrote May 26, 1863. Charles Willson Collection, Ohio Historical Society.
Willson, Charles. Letter to Mother, wrote June 26, 1863. Charles Willson Collection, Ohio Historical Society.
Willson, Charles. Letter to Father, wrote July 4, 1863. Charles Willson Collection, Ohio Historical Society.
Willson, Charles. Reminiscences of a Boy's Service with the 76th Ohio in the Ohio, in the Fifteenth Army Corps, Under General Sherman, During the Civil War, by that "Boy" at Three Score. Huntington, WV: Blue Acorn, 1995.