Die Neuner

The Ninth Ohio Infantry, "Die Neuner", "The First German Regiment"

The Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was recruited almost entirely from the city of Cincinnati, which had a notably large German community. Its members lived mainly in the area of the city known then and now as "Over-the-Rhine."

The organizer and first colonel of the regiment was Robert L. McCook. When Lincoln first called for troops in 1861, McCook declared his idea for forming an all-German regiment. "I know the Germans will fight!" he said, "Our American boys of course mean well enough but they don't know how." Ironically, McCook was noted as the only non-German in the entire regiment. McCook was killed in battle.

Battles:
  • Jul 10, 1861 Rich Mountain, WV
  • Sep 10, 1861 Carnifax Ferry, WV
  • Jan 19, 1862 Mill Springs, KY
  • Oct 08, 1862 Perryville, KY
  • Jun 26, 1863 Hoover's Gap, TN
  • Sep 19/20 1863 Chickamauga, GA
  • Nov 25, 1863 Missionary Ridge, TN
  • Feb 25, 1864 Buzzard Roost, GA
  • May 13-16, 1864 Resaca, G

The regiment's worst casualties came at the Battle of Chickamauga, where 256 were dead wounded or missing (51% of the effective 502 men that were on hand on Sept. 19.)

Organization and Affiliations:
  • Organized at Camp Dennison, Ohio, May 27 to June 13, 1861.
  • Attached to 3rd Brigade, Army of Occupation, W. Va., to August, 1861.
  • 2nd Brigade, Kanawha Division West Virginia, to November, 1861.
  • 3rd Brigade, Army Ohio, to December, 1861.
  • 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Army Ohio, to September, 1862.
  • 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Corps, Army Ohio, to November, 1862.
  • 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, Center 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863.
  • 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, 14th Army Corps, to October, 1863.
  • 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 14th Army Corps, to May, 1864.
Service:
  • Ordered to West Virginia June 16.
  • West Virginia Campaign July 6-17, 1861.
    • Battle of Rich Mountain July 10.
    • Capture of Beverly July 12.
  • Duty at New Creek till August 27.
  • At New River till November 24.
  • Moved to Louisville, Ky., November 24-December 2.
  • Moved to Lebanon, Ky., and duty there till January, 1862.
  • Advance to Camp Hamilton January 1-17.
  • Battle of Mill Springs January 19-20.
  • March to Louisville, Ky., thence moved to Nashville, Tenn, via Ohio and Cumberland Rivers February 10-March 2.
  • March to Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., March 20-April 7. (Presented by ladies of Louisville with a National flag for gallantry at Mill Springs.)
  • Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., April 29-May 30.
  • Ordered to Tuscumbia, Ala., June 22, and duty there till July 27.
  • Moved to Decherd, Tenn., July 27, thence march to Louisville, Ky., in pursuit of Bragg August 21-September 26.
  • Pursuit of Hood into Kentucky October 1-15.
    • Battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8.
  • March to Nashville, Tenn., via Bowling Green, Lancaster, Danville and Lebanon October 16-November 7.
  • Duty at South Tunnel opening communications with Nashville November 8-26.
  • Guard fords of the Cumberland till January 14, 1863.
  • Duty at Nashville, Tenn., January 15-March 6.
  • Expedition toward Columbia March 6-14.
  • Moved to Triune and duty there till June.
  • Franklin June 4-5.
  • Middle Tennessee or Tullahoma Campaign June 23-July 27.
  • Occupation of Middle Tennessee till August 16.
  • Passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22.
    • Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., September 19-21.
  • Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23.
    • Reopening Tennessee River October 26-29.
    • Brown's Ferry October 27,
  • Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27.
    • Battles of Orchard Knob November 23.
    • Mission Ridge November 24-25.
  • Demonstration on Dalton, Ga., February 22-27, 1864.
    • Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost Gap and Rocky Face Ridge February 23-25.
  • Reconnoissance from Ringgold toward Tunnel Hill April 29.
  • Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1-25.
    • Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11.
    • Battle of Resaca May 14-15.
    • Advance on Dallas May 18-25.
  • Left front May 25.
  • Mustered out at Camp Dennison, Ohio, June 7, 1864, expiration of term.
Regimental losses during service
  • 6 Officers and 85 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded.
  • 2 Officers and 60 Enlisted men by disease.
  • Total 153.
Sources:
Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (Des Moines, Iowa: The Dyer Publishing Company, 1908).
Grebner, Constantin. We Were The Ninth: A History of the Ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry April 17, 1861, to June 7, 1864 (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1987). Translated and edited by Frederic Trautmann.