The 59th Ohio Infantry

Isaac Penny - Company H

A few days ago I started a Facebook page on the 59th Ohio Infantry, raised from men (and perhaps two women) from Brown, Clermont, and to a lesser extent, Highland Counties.  Why did I start another Facebook page?  Because the more I learn and study about this regiment, the more I become convinced that a regimental history might be a good book project to tackle.  But, I also know that I am not the best researcher out there - I love learning, but digging in, and having the bulldog determination to see a project like this through is a bit daunting.  And really, where does one start?  How do I know what libraries and repositories might have information on the 59th?  Luckily knowing a few folks on Facebook who are Civil War experts is starting to yield some results, and it might lead to a collaborative effort with a noted author, who has offered to work on this together, if we find there is enough source and primary material to put together a good story on the 59th.  More on this later if it comes to fruition.

Because the men from the 59th were mostly from Brown and Clermont Counties, finding their graves has also become a bit of obsession for me.  I've already adopted the grave, through the Civil War Augusta Adopt-A-Soldier program, of Sergeant Nathaniel Yates, who is actually buried in Payne Cemetery in Augusta.  Yates must have moved to Bracken County after the war, and most likely with his brother, as I have also found the brother's grave in another cemetery outside of Augusta.  There are also another half dozen men from the 59th buried in Bracken County, and this really got the bug going for me.  To that end I have created a virtual cemetery on Find A Grave, and at this time have 132 men of the 59th listed.  I will visit as many of these men as I can, and do a little cleaning of their stone, so that their grave will attract a few visitors as we think about their stories.

UPDATE:  Now 210 men on the Find A Grave virtual cemetery.

Nathaniel Yates' grave in Augusta, Kentucky