HAYES, Rutherford B.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Songs Sung at the Reunion of the 23d Regiment, O.V.I. A songsheet from the reunion of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, signed at the head by the 19th US President Rutherford B. Hayes, who had commanded the regiment and presided over the reunion, and with a commemorative ribbon from the day: an excellent and unique memento of the event, regiment, and president.The 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry was mustered in July 1861 in Columbus, Ohio. William Rosecrans was initially regimental commander; Hayes was his staff officer. In April 1862, Hayes became commander. He led with distinction, took a bullet in the arm in the battle of Antietam, and had a horse shot from under him. In July 1862, he defeated the Confederate raiders who had entered Ohio. Among the troops he commanded in the regiment was another future president, William McKinley.Hayes used his achievements in the regiment as a springboard for his political career, serving as a Republican congressman for Ohio and two terms as governor of the state, before winning the presidency.He presided over this reunion as both President of the United States and president of the 23rd's regimental society. Among the crowd of around 2,000 were about 300 veterans. Addressing the crowd, Hayes said, "No period of my life was so dear as the four years we spent together in the war for the Union. The one regret, the one sadness in an occasion like this is that for those who did most to give our regiment that good name we prize - that so many of t

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.