Chubb, Alonzo (Lt.
Co. D)
Church, D.J. (Sutler)
Hall, Albert (Colonel)
Terrill, William Rufus (Brig. General)
Tolles, William (Lt. Colonel)
"One of the amusing anecdotes of the war involving whiskey concerned Lieutenant Alonzo Chubb of Company "D," 105th Ohio Infantry. The lieutenant was captured at Murfreesboro, Jan 21, 1863. Chubb, who "did not always decline to partake of intoxicating beverages," had lost the two middle fingers of one hand. His favorite answer when asked to imbibe was to put this hand, with only the first and little fingers on it, beside the glass and say: "Only two fingers, if you please!"
The joke was always new and usually convulsing. On the way (as prisoner) from Atlanta to Richmond, Chubb and others were under a genial Confederate captain, who was so enamored by this joke of Chubb's that he got Lieutenant Chubb out of ever station where they stopped long enough to visit a saloon, to show the Yankee method of measuring a drink. The "Persimmon Whiskey" which abounded in the Confederacy made this a trying ordeal to the Lieutenant, but the efforts he made to entertain his host were at least commendable. It must be admitted that the favor showed to him greatly excited the envy of his comrade prisoners of war."
SOURCE: Civil War Sutler s and their Wares by Francis A. Lord. Thomas Yoseloff. Cranbury, New Jersey. 1969. p.48.
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Editor's Notes -
Not much is known yet about Mr. Church other than that he was the
regimental sutler for the 105th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In short,
officers and enlisted men were allowed to buy personal items such as
books, pencils, candy, envelopes, combs, and the like from a traveling
"mercantile" which followed the regiment. The sutler was generally the
only entity allowed to legally sell to the troops of a given
regiment. In many cases soldiers did not have money - the paymaster was
notoriously slow in coming. In fact, many times the troops would go
three or four months without pay.
In lieu of money to buy from the sutler, soldiers could have their commanding officers draw up orders for sutler credit . The sutler would then sell to that soldier but rather than maintaining a debit account for each soldier, many sutlers would provide tickets/tokens or script which the soldier could pocket and then redeem for items in the sutler's inventory of like value. When the paymaster did arrive, the sutler would stand nearby as men were being paid and present those orders for credit so that his accounts would be settled out of the men's pay.
In several of the 105th letters home, Church is mentioned only as" the sutler" and not by name. However, Francis Lord states that D.J. Church was the 105th Ohio's Regimental sutler and quotes as his source "James J. Curto's" books which were apparently a collection of books referencing sutler's tokens.
To have been identified with the 105th Ohio by extant sutler tokens/tickets or script, D.J. Church MUST have had his inscription on those articles of trade.
SOURCE: Civil War Sutler s and their Wares by Francis A. Lord. Thomas Yoseloff. Cranbury, New Jersey. 1969. p. 122.
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SUNDAY 28; Louisville, Ky.
Dear Mother:
... "Our Col. is a short black haired man with
eyebrows knit together. He is brave and swears like a pirate sometimes.
He says that if a man can take a thousand men or a span of mules and
break them in a week without swearing he will have boils - and
he does not want them. He thinks this Reg. is the d---st one he ever
heard of, for when they were drawn up in line of battle on that march,
half were alseep while the enemy were in sight. He thinks the boys know
what the sick call means now, for the whole Reg. went at the sick call,
while now but half a dozen go from a Co. The boys like him better now
than they did at first. He talks after this manner to the Officers -
"Damn you Lieut. - you are here for use not for ornament!"...
Bliss Morse
SOURCE: CIVIL WAR DIARIES &
LETTERS OF BLISS MORSE. Loren J. Morse. Wagoner, OK. 1985. p. 29.
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Terrill, William Rufus (Brig. General) -
SUNDAY 28; Louisville, Ky.
Dear Mother:
... "Our Brig. Gen. Terril is a tall light haired man
with a coarse voice which makes him quite a target for the boys to mock
at. He loves good liquors and beef for this table was well supplied
with them while I was on guard before his quarters. The boys rather
dislike him since that review down to Louisville. Some of them
swore they wouud take his life. He heard of it - for the march used up
a good many boys who have not got over it yet and did not amount to a
row of pins."...
Bliss Morse
SOURCE: CIVIL WAR DIARIES & LETTERS OF BLISS MORSE. Loren J. Morse. Wagoner, OK. 1985. p. 29.
William Terrill managed to rise to the rank of brigadier general before being killed in Kentucky. A Virginia-born West Pointer (1853) and artillery officer, Terrill was reluctant to fight in Virginia but continued in the regular army, as a first lieutenant in the 4th Artillery. On May 14, 1861, he was appointed captain of the newly authorized Battery H, 5th Artillery, and he spent the next few months organizing his command. His later assignments included: brigadier general, USV (September 9, 1862); commanding 33rd Brigade, 10th Division, Army of the Ohio (mid-September-September 29, 1982); and commanding 33rd Brigade, 10th Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Ohio (September 29 - October 8, 1862). Moving his company to Kentucky late in 1861, Terrill led it in the campaign through middle Tennessee the next spring and, as part of McCook's Division of Buell's Army of the Ohio, arrived to reinforce Grant's command at Shiloh. On the second day of that fight, Terrill and his battery distinguished themselves. He then participated in the siege of Corinth, before being sent back to Kentucky to face Bragg's invasion. Promoted to brigadier and given command of a newly organized brigade, he led it in the battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862. The division was heavily engaged and the division and both brigade commanders were killed. Terrill himself was struck by a piece of shell late in the day and died that night.
SOURCE: Who was Who in the Union: Volume I of Who was Who in the Civil War by Stewart Sifakis. Facts on File, Inc. New York, New York. 1988. Pg. 407.
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Tolles, William R. (Lt. Colonel) -
SUNDAY 28; Louisville, Ky.
Dear Mother:
... "Lieut. Col. Tole is the opposite of the Co. He is a very patient
man, does not get riled easy and does not feel raised up by his straps.
He and the Col. was in the battle at Shiloh. He is a dark complected
man with a Roman nose." ...
Bliss Morse
SOURCE: CIVIL WAR DIARIES & LETTERS OF BLISS MORSE. Loren J. Morse. Wagoner, OK. 1985. p. 29.
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Much more to come ...
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Last Updated on 3/2/4
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