The following letter was written by Percival C. Bishop (1842-1921) who was 21 when he enlisted on 27 September 1864 in Co. I, 175th Ohio Infantry. He mustered out of the service at Columbia, Tennessee, on 19 June 1865. The regiment was organized for one year’s service on October 11, 1864, under Colonel Daniel W. McCoy. It proceeded at once to Nashville. During Hood’s invasion it performed garrison duty at Columbia, Tennessee. One of the Regiment’s outposts was captured, after strong resistance, by Hood’s troops. At Franklin the regiment was positioned near the Carter Cotton Gin and when the Confederate line broke through, they were ordered to counterattack with a bayonet charge, driving the Patrick Cleyburne’s Division before it. They played a more significant role in winning the battle than they were given credit for. Its loss in this engagement was 161. It occupied Fort Negley during the battle of Nashville, and afterwards guarded the Railroad near Columbia. The Regiment was finally mustered out July 13, 1865.

Percival was the son of Reuben Bishop (1810-1875) and Mary Cooper (1815-1895) of Perry, Wood county, Ohio.

See video for good sketch of the 175th Ohio at the Battle of Franklin. See letter by Joseph Tuttle Garner of Co. A, 175th Ohio for a description of the Battle of Franklin.

T R A N S C R I P T I O N

Post Hospital
Columbia, Tennessee
March 24, 1865

Dear Cousin,

It is with becoming reverence that I seat myself to try to answer your much beloved letter which I received a few days ago and was pleased to know that you were well and all the rest well. I am not very well yet. I have had the bilious fever since I wrote to you before but am pretty near well again now. This is the reason I have not written to you before, because I was not able to answer it sooner.

Well Amanda, I hope when this reaches you, it will find you and all the rest well and enjoying yourselves. Well Amanda, you spoke of a soldier’s life as being a hard one. Well, I tell you, it is, that is so. Since I left home I have seen a good deal—some pretty hard times and some very good ones too. Our regiment has always been so fortunate as to be stationed at one place—only while Old Hood run us back to Nashville. So you can see that we have never had no hard marching to do. We have never been engaged in but one battle and that was at Franklin and it was a very hard one. Our regiment lost 150 men killed and wounded.

Well, Amanda, as for a soldier’s life, I like it very well while I am well. But when one gets sick, then it is hard. I am on detached duty now here in the hospital and expect to stay here as long as our regiment does stay at this place which I suppose will be until our time expires. I have a very good place to stay here and a plenty to eat and am enjoying myself very well as soldiers will.

I suppose you are a having good times now a making sugar. Well I hope you may. I should like to be there to eat some of the sugar but I can not now and if nothing happens, I will come and see you all when my time is out.

Well, I must close for his time. Give my love to all of your folks and take a share for yourself. Tell Seymour I will write to him soon. So goodbye. Write soon. From your cousin, — P. C. Bishop

To Miss Amanda Aldrich

Dear Aunt,

It is with the greatest of pleasure that I seat myself to answer your kind letter which I received the other day and it found me sick with the bilious fever. But I am now almost well again. Well Aunt, I hope when this reaches you it will find you well and enjoying yourself. Well, as for a soldier, I am enjoying myself very well now. It is very pleasant weather down here now and I hain’t much to do and have a plenty to eat and a good place to stay.

Well Aunt, you must take all the comfort you can and when this cruel war is over and I get home, I shall come and see you all and if I don’t get to come, I will try and live so that we can meet in heaven above. Well, I must close for this time. So goodbye. Write soon. From your nephew, — P. C. Bishop to Aunt Cynthia Aldrich

Direct to Percival C. Bishop, Co. I, 175th OVV, in care of [Capt.] Abram Houghland