| Vause Schrock | 133rd Ohio Voluntary Infantry |
| by Renata Ramsini |
Vause Schrock was born on April 23, 1846. In 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, Vause was only fifteen years old and hence unable to volunteer to fight for the Union. Instead, he played the violin for the Westerville band until his eighteenth birthday. His obituary stated him as having “considerable music ability” and after the war in 1869, Vause attended Otterbein College for 20 weeks in the study of music.
Just weeks after his eighteenth birthday, Vause signed up for 100 days of service in the Union Army in the 133rd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Organized at Camp Chase, the regiment was composed of two companies one being the Fifty Eight Battalion Ohio National Guard from Hancock County and the other was a combination of two companies of the Seventy Sixth Battalion Ohio National Guard from Franklin County. Vause was in Company C and they were mustered out on May 6, 1864. Directly after being mustered in, the regiment was ordered to Parkersburg, West Virginia where they arrived on May 8th, 1864. From Parkersburg they were ordered to New Creek and from New Creek they traveled to Washington City where they arrived on June 7th, 1864. The regiment was then ordered to Bermuda Hundred where they arrived on June 12, 1864. It can be assumed that this month the regiment spent traveling from place to place was utilized as formal training for the hundred-day soldiers. While waiting for orders, the officers of the 133rd more than likely had the soldiers engaged in drills and other such military training in a quick attempt to prepare the men for battle should they more than likely be involved in one. Because the majority of the Civil War was fought by civilians and not by soldiers there was always a necessity for such training. On June 16th, 1864 the 133rd O.V.I was ordered to destroy the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. It was then assigned (according the Official Roster…) to the support of a battery “which opened a cannonade on the enemy and with other troops, succeeded in holding the Rebels in check for five hours”. This was the 133rd O.V.I.’s first and only battle. On July 17th, 1864 they were ordered to Fort Powhatan where they worked on fortification and the repair of telegraph lines. On August 10th, the Regiment went to Washington City and from there to Camp Chase. Here they were mustered out on August 20th, 1864 on the expiration of term of service.
Vause later married and had six children, five of whom lived to adulthood. He was a farmer for the rest of his life, living in Blendon Township near Westerville. He died on August 27th, 1932 at the age of 86.
Bibliography
Roster of Students of Otterbein University who served in the Union Army during the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865. Otterbein College Archives, Courtright Memorial Library, 1908.
Children of George W. and Rachel Schrock. Typescript in Schrock Vertical Files, #S17011, Local History Center, Westerville Public Library, Westerville, Ohio.
The Week in Westerville. Schrock Vertical Files, #S17026, Local History Center, Westerville Public Library, Westerville, Ohio.
Foraker, Joseph B. and James S. Robinson. Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1866. Vol. 8. Cincinnati, Ohio: The Ohio Valley Press, 1888.
Roamer, “Short Sketches of Farmers” Westerville Public Opinion, February 1930.
Sharon Koehler, letter to author (obituary), January 29, 2005.
Sharon Koehler, letter to author (family chart), February 14, 2005.
Sharon Koehler, letter to author, February 11, 2005.
George W. Schrock, Letter to Vause Schrock, July 15, 1864.
Vause Schrock Obituary. “Vause Schrock, Civil War Veteran, Succumbs." Columbus Dispatch. August 27, 1932.