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Born August 15, 1842
Died May 21, 1912

Married Margaretha Bruckner, 1868

The 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 8th OVI) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a number of campaigns and battles, but perhaps is most noted for its actions in helping repulse Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg.

On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces that had recently seceded from the Union fired upon Federal controlled Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. In response to the attack, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion. Hundreds of men from northeastern Ohio were quick to respond, volunteering for three months of military service. The 8th Regiment was organized in Cleveland between April 18 and May 4, 1861. In June, the regiment moved via train to Camp Dennison near Cincinnati for training and garrison duty. It mustered out June 22, having not left the Buckeye State.

Many of the three-months men reenlisted for three years on June 22–24, and the regiment was mustered in on June 26 under Col. Herman S. DePuy of Sandusky. On the evening of July 8, the regiment loaded onto trains and traveled to Grafton, Virginia, termed the “seat of war” by Lt. Col. Franklin Sawyer.[1]. From July 1861 through March 1862, the 8th OVI was a part of George B. McClellan’s army in the conflicts during the West Virginia Campaign. During this time, the regiment fought a series of small skirmishes around Mount Beverly, Mount Grafton, and Mount Romney in the Appalachians, but saw no serious combat.

On March 1, 1862, the 8th Ohio moved to Winchester, Virginia, located in the Shenandoah Valley. There the regiment was brigaded with the 4th Ohio, 14th Indiana, and 7th West Virginia Infantry. During the next two and a half years, this brigade would primarily serve in the Army of the Potomac and would become known as the "Gibraltar Brigade." Initially, the brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen. Nathan Kimball of the 14th Indiana in Maj. Gen. James Shields's division. While in the Shenandoah Valley, the 8th OVI participated in its first real battle, Winchester, where it attacked and defeated a portion of Stonewall Jackson's force, while suffering almost twenty-five percent casualties. In all, the 8th listed forty-six men as killed or wounded.

In September 1862, during the Maryland Campaign, the 8th OVI and the rest of the II Corps hastily marched northward in pursuit of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The two armies met near Sharpsburg, Maryland, along the banks of Antietam Creek. Here, the 8th experienced what to date was its hardest fighting of the war. Kimball's brigade repeatedly attacked Alabama troops under D. H. Hill stationed in a sunken road during the Battle of Antietam, taking 50% casualties but eventually pushing through the defensive line at a cost of 162 officers and men killed or wounded.

In early December, replenished by new recruits, the 8th Ohio participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg, where it was initially assigned as skirmishers after crossing the Rappahannock River on pontoon bridges. The regiment took shelter inside a cluster of buildings in the town of Fredericksburg approximately 150 yards from the Confederate line. From the comparative safety of their position, the men witnessed the series of bloody and futile attacks on Marye's Heights ordered by Ambrose Burnside. After firing relentlessly for hours from the houses and with its ammunition exhausted, the 8th Ohio withdrew under heavy enemy fire to the rear of the Union line.

On June 3, 1863, elements of Lee's army began heading away from Fredericksburg towards the Shenandoah Valley. In response, the Union army, under first Joseph Hooker and then George G. Meade, slowly began to pursue Lee into Maryland and subsequently into south-central Pennsylvania. The 8th OVI lost a number of men to sunstroke and heat exhaustion during the brutal march northward, but arrived near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, late in the day of July 1 and took up a defensive position along Cemetery Ridge with 209 men in its ranks. When James Longstreet and A. P. Hill launched attacks aimed at rolling up the Union line from south to north, the 8th was quickly shifted to a position near the Emmitsburg Road, where it engaged in a series of attacks and counterattacks on July 2 with Mississippi troops under Brig. Gen. Carnot Posey, while the rest of the brigade (now under Col. Samuel "Red" Carroll) was sent to Cemetery Hill to reinforce the embattled XI Corps.

After a restless night, the 8th held their position in the fields west of Emmitsburg Road, duelling with Confederate skirmishers for much of the morning of July 3. Following a lengthy cannonade in the early afternoon, over 12,000 Confederates under George Pickett, Isaac R. Trimble, and Johnston Pettigrew stepped off from Seminary Ridge and marched towards the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Facing a force several times its number, the 8th Ohio held its advanced position and was able to flank portions of a Virginia brigade under Col. John M. Brockenbrough. Assisted by artillery fire from Cemetery Hill and Ziegler's Grove, the 8th succeeded in routing much of Brockenbrough's force, the first brigade to ever break and flee during Lee's tenure in command of the Army of Northern Virginia. The 8th then shifted and poured fire into the flank of other Confederate regiments. As the assault waned, the regiment collected over 300 prisoners of war. As the Ohioans reentered the Union lines, they were given a salute of arms and cheers from the other regiments.

The 8th Ohio rested on July 4 before joining the Army of the Potomac in the pursuit of the retreating Confederates into Virginia.

On May 8, 1864, the regiment halted a Confederate assault on the Union lines in the dense woods known as the Wilderness. The next day, the regiment was again attacked and managed to hold its ground despite serious losses. After fighting at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, the 8th marched southward as Ulysses S. Grant continually sidestepped Lee and relentlessly moved towards Richmond and Petersburg.

With only three weeks left in their original three-year term of enlistment, on June 1 the regiment was sent forward in the ill-fated attacks at the Battle of Cold Harbor, where it again suffered considerable casualties before withdrawing. After the attack at Cold Harbor, the regiment was placed in reserve until its enlistment expired. On June 24, the 8th OVI withdrew from Petersburg and was sent back to Ohio. A number of men stayed in the service and were transferred to Company A, 4th Ohio Infantry on June 24–25.

The 8th Ohio lost during service 8 officers and 124 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 1 officer and 72 enlisted men by disease (a total of 205 fatalities).

After fighting in most of the major campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, the 8th Ohio had acquired a reputation as one of the best fighting units in the Union army.

Andreas Dittmann
Born November 22, 1834 in Roehrsdorf, Silesia, Preussen, Germany
Died: September 27, 1906 in Cincinnati, Ohio

Married Mary Elizabeth Menchen (born April 14, 1846 in Alsace-Lorraine, France; died December 16, 1929 in Cincinnati, Ohio) November 12, 1863 in St. Augustus Church, Bank Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

Andreas "Andrew" Dittmann was born in Bavaria, Germany on November 22, 1834. He was one of nine children of Andreas Dittmann and Anna Maria Voelker. After a sibling emigrated to Clermont County, Ohio, Andrew made the trip himself.

Shortly thereafter, he enlisted with the 60th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Judging from Andrew's National Archives file, his service with the army caused permanent health problems. In his first month with Captain Gardner's Company C at Gallipolis, Ohio, (February 1862), he contracted an intestinal disorder. He recovered enough to participate in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, but Colonel Cluseret's forced march of June 1862 further damaged his health. Apparently, his marching in the hot sun and crossing ice cold streams on foot weakened his already fragile system. Many other men took ill, too, after sleeping on the ground in their still wet clothing. Andrew contracted malaria by the time he reached Harpers Ferry. Furthermore, he was troubled by rheumatism for the rest of his life.

His responsibilities during his enlistment included guard duty and the construction of fortifications at Winchester, Virginia. He was captured during the disastrous battle at Harpers Ferry, and paroled with the rest of the unit. He mustered out on November 10, 1862 at Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois.

There were actually two regiments called the 60th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. One was raised for a term of one year, and the second for three years. The One Years' Service was organized at Gallipolis, Ohio on February 25th and 28th in 1862 to serve one year. It was mustered out of service November 10, 1862, in accordance with orders from the War Department.

Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center is located in the heart of Greater Cincinnati and sits on 13.1 acres of landscaped property in a residential area of Norwood, Ohio. This structure, originally built in 1920 under the direction of Archbishop Henry Moeller as a major seminary, has now become a Marian center.

November 7, 1980 - January 14, 1997

January 14, 1997 - WRECK KILLS TWO ROGER BACON STUDENTS
A Roger Bacon High School cheerleader and a soccer player were killed today in a two-car accident in Winton Hills. Another Roger Bacon student was in critical condition after the 8 a.m. accident and a fourth also was hospitalized.

Dead are Sara Garibay, 17, of Windmill Way, Seven Hills, and Greg VonBargen, 16, of Star Gate Lane, New Burlington. In critical condition at University Hospital is Kyle Yearion, 15, of Resor Road, Fairfield. Steve VonBargen, 17, of New Burlington, is in fair condition.

Thursday, January 16, 1997 - High speed may be to blame for 3 deaths, investigators say
Brown and white pompons. A wrestling uniform. A well-worn soccer ball signed by the team.
In the Roger Bacon High School gymnasium Wednesday afternoon, the mementos piled up. And as each one was placed carefully on the stage by students, sniffles broke into sobs and moans turned into wails. It was a day of grieving at the Roman Catholic school here as students, teachers, parents and friends struggled to cope with the deaths of three sophomores killed Tuesday morning when their speeding car crashed on the way to school.

Sarah Garibay, 17, of New Burlington was a cheerleader. Greg Von Bargen, 16, of New Burlington was a soccer player. Kyle Yearion, 15, of Fairfield was a wrestler.

While students grieved, Cincinnati police continued to investigate the accident, trying to determine what caused driver Steven R. Von Bargen, 17, Greg's brother and a Roger Bacon junior, to go into a skid on the dry, straightaway and slide into oncoming traffic in the 5300 block of Este Avenue in Winton Hills. Excessive speed contributed to the accident, said Sgt. Bill Coombs of the police traffic unit. Steven's vehicle was traveling 60 mph or more in a 35-mph zone.

''We need to find out for sure ... but it looks at this point like this is a case of kids running late for school,'' Sgt. Coombs said. The students were 2 miles from school and five minutes from the first bell when they wrecked. Steven had a speeding conviction Oct. 24, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles records show.

The driver of the other car, Donald Robinson, 37, of Union Township, Clermont County, remained hospitalized in serious condition Wednesday in Good Samaritan Hospital.

Steven Von Bargen was released by noon Wednesday from University Hospital. Police have yet to interview him.

Sunday, January 19, 1997 - School holds funeral for three
The three teens - cheerleader Sarah Garibay, 17, soccer player Greg Von Bargen, 16, and wrestler Kyle Yearion, 15 - were buried after a funeral Mass in the Catholic school's gym. Afterward, the band performed - its 100-strong ranks sorely depleted as many members opted to mourn alongside family and friends.

Cincinnati police closed Vine Street north of Mitchell Avenue to accommodate the funeral procession to the cemeteries. Kyle was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Springdale; Sarah in Crown Hill Memorial Park in Colerain Township; and Greg in St. Mary's Cemetery in St. Bernard.

January 21, 1997 - SURVIVOR'S SUIT NAMES TEEN DRIVER
Pressed by a looming deadline, a survivor of the crash that killed three Roger Bacon High School students filed a lawsuit today. Donald T. Robinson is seeking more than $75,000 in damages for injuries he suffered in the Jan. 14 crash on Este Avenue. He filed the suit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court against Steven R. Von Bargen, who was driving the car that slammed into Robinson's 1989 Mazda 323.

All three passengers in Von Bargen's car were killed: his brother, Greg Von Bargen, 16; Sarah Garibay, 17, and Kyle Yearion, 15. Police say Von Bargen's car was traveling an estimated 76 mph in a 35-mph zone.

Thursday, May 22, 1997
Steven Von Bargen's handsome 17-year-old face was twisted in pain. His mother, eyes already swollen, pulled a neatly folded bale of tissues from her purse. Her fragile composure dissolved as she told Judge David Grossmann, "I have so much trouble missing my son Greg. Please don't take this one, too."

Greg, 16, was killed last January along with Kyle Yearion, 15, and Sarah Garibay, 17. Police estimate that Steven was driving 77 mph on Este Avenue in Winton Hills when he skidded sideways into another car.

This was three months after he had been cited for driving 89 mph in a 65 mph zone. Somebody is going to get hurt, he was told by a magistrate. Convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault, Steven Von Bargen was in juvenile court Tuesday to hear his sentence.

In the hallway outside, classmates - mostly girls in plaid Roger Bacon uniform skirts and white shirts - recited the Apostles' Creed. Many of them attended a vigil on Fountain Square in February in Steven's support. More than 200 people attended the event, just before a decision on whether his case should be sent to a grand jury.