On a rose-colored tombstone in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky, it is engraved "Richard Teller, Born September 10, 1844, Died October 22, 1938". Mysteriously it also says "GAR". GAR in a real sense held the meaning of his life of 94 years. Back in August of 1862 this little blue-eyed, Hoosier boy marched across the Ohio River and into history. A first generation American of German parents he had joined an all German Regiment, the 108^th Ohio. Now he lies buried on that same south side of the Ohio River he crossed before officially mustering in. This regiment was being rushed south to defend Covington, KY, from the threat of Kirby Smith’s raid. Unprepared greenhorns, being led from Ohio soil to Kentucky soil to set up defenses. What did they know of defenses? Of light complexion this lad had probably never crossed the Ohio River before. He was about to celebrate his 18^th birthday on September 10. It was exciting; he was young; he was with his friends; he was brave.

The organization of his regiment had begun at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Ohio. He was finally mustered in on the 13^th day of September 1862, at Camp Salyer near Newport, Kentucky. The 108^th also trained at Camp Salyer. The original four regiments grew to eight regiments in Kentucky. He became a member of Company “G”. Richard had traded his cooper’s tools for a uniform and musket. He was a soldier now; he was a Yankee.

The next several months saw them crisis-crossing Kentucky. Louisvillle, Shelbyville, Frankfort, Lawrenceburg, Bardstown, Bowling Green, Glasglow, Tomkinsville, and escape to Hartsville, TN. They had marched and camped, marched and camped,….It was 10 days from Frandfort to Bowing Green. Ten foot wary days for a young recruit, marching 15 to 20 miles a day was not unusual. The 108th had tried before to capture John Hunt Morgan near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. These endeavors did not succeed. Another regiment did not arrive on time. Morgan escaped. Now, November 28, they had escaped Morgan and were at Hartsville.

At Hartsville the commander of the 39th Brigade shifted, to Colonel Absalom B. Moore of the 104^th Illinois, and so did their fortunes. On December 7, 1862 General Morgan captured the entire brigade. Hereafter, the 108^th regretted having anything to do with the “Hartsville affair”. It was a permanent blemish on their record. A “scar” they would carry along with the 106^th Ohio, 104^th Illinois, 2^nd Indiana Cavalry, 13^th Indiana Battery (section), and 11^th Kentucky Cavalry, Company E.

This young man, whose father had been murdered five years earlier, was now a prisoner of war on his way to Murfreesboro, TN, South of the Cumberland River. On December 8, 1862 they were paroled. John Hunt Morgan was commissioned a Brigadier General and married to 21 year old Martha Ready on December 11, 1862. Richard was taken to Camp Chase at Columbus, Ohio, (I assume by train) in disgrace. The regiment was then sent to Camp Dennison, where it all begun for the 108^th, for reorganization. Finally, they were exchanged on January 12, 1863. They next were ordered to Lexington, KY, and stayed in the Central Kentucky area till May 1863.

For now we are going to leave this ordinary young American soldier that grew up on the banks of the Whitewater River and Canal. Though he lived in Indiana on the Indiana/Ohio border he had probably never been more than 15 miles from home. Now he had crossed the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers; marched as much as 20 miles a day; been in battle and taken prisoner. He carried the shame of Hartsville. He had duty before him; adventure in his step and a sense of belonging to something big.

Let’s pick the story up again here.

The 108^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI) began railroad guard duty in May of 1863. They were moved from Central Kentucky to Nashville, Tennessee. From Nashville they guarded the railroad running to Chattanooga, TN. Life was hard and monotonous. But it would get harder, as guard duty changed to repairing road duty. This duty continued through Stevenson, AL., Anderson’s Cross Roads, TN., Battle Creek, TN., and Waldron’s Ridge, TN. All of this road repair duty was necessitated by General Rosecrans threatening of Bragg’s Confederate army in Chattanooga; the subsequent Battle of Chickamauga; and Rosecrans becoming “bottled-up” in Chattanooga. The last road, Waldron’s Ridge, TN., became the only open road for Rosecrans to obtain supplies. It was a narrow mountainous trail through the Sequatchie Valley. Keeping this mountain trail open in the mid-fall of 1863 had to be strenuous work. U. S. Grant would enter the picture in Chattanooga about this time. The 108^th OVI camp was on the extreme slope of Moccasin Point at the foot of Lookout Mountain, as support for the 18^th Ohio Battery. They were under Confederate artillery fire for 10 days at this location. The Union army would fight its way out of Chattanooga, crossing the Tennessee River November 22, 1863, with two days cooked rations in their haversacks. The One Hundred and Eighth engaged the enemy at Graysville, GA. The Rebels continued their retreat. This was the first real fighting Richard and the 108^th had taken part in since the disaster at Hartsville, TN; and their only engagement of the Chattanooga Campaign.

General Burnside needed reinforcements against Longstreet at Knoxville. The One Hundred and Eight, with other regiments, was ordered to Knoxville. On this march Richard said he marched three days without shoes on frozen ground. Somewhere around Morgantown, TN, they were ordered back to Chattanooga. They had been marching nearly four solid weeks.

Next for this German Regiment would be the Atlanta Campaign of May-September 1864. At Resaca for four hours they stood their ground in a continuous hailstorm of bullets. In this battle they felt they more than redeemed themselves of the unfortunate “Hartsville Affair”. They fought next at Rome, GA, at Acworth, at Big Shanty, and at Kenesaw.

After the Kenesaw Mountain Battle, they were assigned to railroad guard duty. Their supply lines were long; extending from Nashville through Chattanooga to Atlanta. The railroads and bridges were vulnerable to Confederate raids and destruction. Guard duty would not end until November 1864. Most of this time their camp was at Dalton, GA. They were not present when the Union troops took Atlanta on September 1, 1864. The 108^th OVI was in the 2^nd Division of the 14 Corps. A white acorn was the corps emblem. The Corps Commander was Jefferson C. Davis, of Indiana fame. General James D. Morgan commanded the 2^nd Division.

When notified of the “March to the Sea” Campaign they immediately broke camp in Dalton and advanced to Atlanta. The “March to the Sea” was uneventful as far as opposition/battles are concerned. They destroyed their part of a sixty-mile swath on their way to Savannah. Tearing up, burning, and wasting all that came before them. Savannah was taken December 20, 1864.

On February 1, 1865, Sherman turned his army toward South Carolina. At that time, the 14^th Corps reported its strength at 14,420

infantry and artillery. It contained 47 regiments of infantry and 4 batteries of light artillery. The One Hundred and Eight was one of these regiments.

The Battle of Bentonville, NC, March 19-21, 1965, was to be perhaps the 108^th’s finest stand. Six rebel attacks were repulsed. From there they would occupy Goldsboro, NC and advance to Raleigh, NC. Their last battle was near Smithfield, NC. Co. H lost a Captain in this battle. Confederate General Joseph E. Johnson’s final surrender was at the Bennett House near Durham Station, NC, April 26, 1865. U. S. Grant approved the terms of surrender at Raleigh, NC, the same day.

It was 192 miles from Raleigh to Richmond. They marched this in six and a half days. The march on to Washington, D.C. was at a much slower pace, arriving May 19, 1865. On this march, Richard went through six pairs of shoes. He said they were cheaply made. The Grand Review was May 24, 1865.

Richard Teller was mustered out the 9^th day of June 1865 with 412 other men, the balance of his regiment. They returned to Camp Dennison, Ohio, where it had all begun. During their service the 108^th had lost 3 officers, 22 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 42 enlisted men by disease for a total of 67 men.

Richard’s final train ride into camp and home, West Harrison, IN, was on the Little Miami Columbus & Xenia Railroad (LMC&XRR). His discharge papers were so stamped. The Civil War was over for Private Richard Teller and thousands of other Americans.

The balance of his life was spent in Indiana and Kentucky as a cooper. Most of it was spent in Jeffersonville, New Albany, and Louisville. Many summers were spent at Snow Hill, IN. visiting near by family and friends. He would join the Grand Army of Republic (GAR). He obtained the rank of Jr. Vice Command of the Department of Kentucky in 1937; and represented the Department as a delegate at two National Encampments in 1934 and 1938.