This record of soldiers who enlisted from the eight township heritage region was compiled from a variety of sources. The lists in standard county histories: Portrait and Biographical Record of Guernsey County, Ohio and The History of Muskingum County, Ohio, compiled a generation after the war, are not inclusive. Many soldiers "dropped through the cracks,"especially those who served in the early months of the war. A variety of other sources were used to augment the county lists.
Frank King compiled a careful Roll of Honor shortly after the war. Mollie Ramsey recited the Bloomfield Roll of Honor every Memorial Day from her sixth to her ninetieth birthday. George Foley recorded a list of Union Township soldiers posted during the 1864 draft. Names found in diaries and letters were added. Veterans Discharge Records in Guernsey and Muskingum County were used. Cemetery records throughout the townships added to the list.
Hardestys Military History of Ohio for Muskingum County holds 1,453 names. But my soldier list of 992 names* holds 600 names NOT in Hardesty. Even with the three Guernsey County townships numbers not being listed (116 men), there is a staggering disparity between my list and Hardesty and it underscores the difficulty of compiling an accurate soldier list. Most of the soldiers missing in Hardesty had died or had moved away. Many men listed in Hardesty in the Thomas Newton Hanson G.A.R. list are not listed in the general Hardesty listing. Most ranking officers from Muskingum County were also ommitted. Less than a dozen new names (mostly in unknown units) were added to my list from Hardesty.
All names generated were cross checked with the Ohio Roster of Soldiers. Veterans not in the Roster are in italics.
I have included soldiers in the 1890 Soldier Census who live in rural areas. As the 1880s was the decade of great movement to urban areas, it is reasonable to posit that men still residing in the rural townships had resided there at the time of the war.
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