Mrs. Kathryn Barnes, and her sons James A. Barnes
and C. Cortlandt Barnes donated the Milton Barnes Papers to George
Mason University in 1975. Mrs. Barnes is the widow of a direct
descendant of Milton and Rhoda Barnes.
Milton Barnes was a recently married lawyer in
Cambridge, Ohio, when the Civil War began. He served first as
a captain, commanding G Company of the 62nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry
Regiment. This unit participated in the first Federal invasion
of the Shenandoah Valley in the spring of 1862. When the 62nd
Ohio was transferred to the Rappahannock in mid-1862, Captain Barnes
was discharged on medical grounds and returned briefly to Cambridge,
Ohio.
Later in 1862 he obtained an appointment as lieutenant
colonel of the 97th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment and served as
its deputy commander and often-acting commander until mustered out
in June 1865. Lieutenant Colonel Barnes fought with the 97th
Ohio in major engagements in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia until
wounded at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, in June 1864. He returned
to the field in time to take part in the defense of Tennessee against
the Confederate re-invasion and was again wounded at Nashville, Tennessee
in December 1864. The remainder of his and the 97th Ohio’s
service was on provost duty at Huntsville, Alabama, and in the East
Tennessee mountains on guard against a last possible threat from the
failing Confederates in Virginia.
His war letters include first-hand accounts of
several battles, notably Stones River (Murfreesboro) and Missionary
Ridge at Chattanooga, as well as, details of ordinary life on campaign
and in camp. The occasional gaps in the correspondence were
mostly the result of several campaigning which left no time for writing.
His wife’s letters include political news and comments as well
as family matters.
After the war, Barnes resumed law practice in
Cambridge. In 1867 he was brevetted Colonel in the Volunteer
Force, AUS, to date from March 13, 1865 for “gallant and meritorious
service” in the war. He was elected Secretary of State
for Ohio for two terms (187701878) and later served for a year (1891-1892)
as special Treasury Agent for Alaska. A lengthy account of his
arrival and duties at St. George Island in the Bering Sea is included
in the collection.
The Milton Barnes Papers consists of about two
hundred items, mostly correspondence between Milton and Rhoda Barnes
during the Civil War. The remainder of the collection consists
of documents concerning Milton Barnes as Secretary of State, Rhoda
Barnes, and photographs of both.
The collection was organized and transcribed
by Dr. Daniel Shumate and Dr. Robert Hawkes of George Mason University.
