Henry Faust Biography - Phil Sheridan Camp 4, SUVCW

My Union Ancestor

HENRY FAUST

Co. G, 21st Ohio Infantry

Great-great-granduncle of Daniel M. Bunnell, PDC

Henry Faust was born in 1845 in Ohio. He was the youngest of eleven children, five of whom fought in the Civil War. Henry's father, Jacob Faust, was a farmer with a 1000 acre farm in Harrison County, Ohio.

Henry was mustered into Company G, 21st Ohio Infantry on 1 April 1862 as a Private. The 21st Ohio was moved to Kentucky and fought at Stone River.

In September 1863, the 21st Ohio was with General Rosecrans at Chickamauga, Georgia. On the second day of fighting, General Rosecrans sent some men from his center to reinforce his right flank, in the process creating a hole in his center 150 feet long. Confederate General Longstreet smashed into the Federal center, and Rosecrans' line collapsed. Longstreet almost overran Rosecrans' headquarters. General Rosecrans and half the Federal Army fled in panic though MacFarland's Gap.

General Thomas commanded the rest of the Federal Army and he continued to fight. He would come to be known as "The Rock of Chickamauga." As twilight started to fall, Thomas worked to get his men safely away. One by one the hard-pressed units left the field and hurried toward safety. In the end only three regiments were left on Snodgrass Hill to cover Thomas' retreat: the 21st and 89th Ohio and the 22nd Michigan. The 21st Ohio was armed with Colt Revolving Rifles and in five hours of fighting the fired 43,000 rounds of ammunition. "My God," said a dazed Confederate prisoner, "we thought you had a division here."

The three regiments finally ran out of ammunition, so they fixed bayonets and charged down the hill. In the three regiments, 322 soldiers were killed or wounded, and 563 captured.

Henry Faust was captured by the enemy, and spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp. He was released in 1865, but had pneumonia and was sent to the General Hospital at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He died there on 20 April 1865. At the time of his death Henry was twenty years old.

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