Back to Main Roster Index of the 4th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
Frank and Oliver ROBIE
I was recently contacted by the archivist at the Oshkosh Public Museum in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He wrote to me
regarding an item that was found in their archives that belonged to a soldier
in the 4th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. The following is our
correspondence:
From: "Scott
Cross" <cross@publicmuseum.oshkosh.net>
To: "Karin 'Casey' Corbeil"
<corbeil@ga.prestige.net>
Karin,
I recently discovered a small pocket dictionary
in our archival collection with the inscriptions, "Atlanta, Georgia/Sept.
10th, 1864" and "Frank Robie/Co. G/4th/OVC/Atlanta GA" also on
the back "Frank Robie/Capt. Co. G 4th/ OVVC".
I am assuming that this dictionary, published in
1863, was carried by Captain Frank Robie, Company G, 4th Ohio Veteran Volunteer
Cavalry. I know the 4th Ohio was in Atlanta at this time. Unfortunately, your
website does not contain a roster for Company G to confirm this. I searched the
Wisconsin Civil War Veterans Census records for 1885, 1895, and 1905 without
finding anyone with this name. Can you check in your resources?
Scott Cross
Archivist
Oshkosh Public Museum
Oshkosh, Wiscsonsin
Dear Scott:
How interesting! He was originally and I have him listed in Company A.. He was
transferred to Company G in Sept. 1863. Here is a synopsis of Frank ROBIE's
service record:
Frank Robie
Service Record:
Promoted to Full Comm? Sergeant
Enlisted as a Sergeant on 28 September 1861 at
the age of 26
Enlisted in Company A, 4th Cavalry Regiment Ohio
on 20 November 1861
was POW on 17 October 1862
was Paroled on 18 October 1862
Promoted to Full Lieutenant 2nd Class on 01
February 1863
Transfered on 20 September 1863
Promoted to Full Lieutenant 1st Class on 20
September 1863 (As of Co. G)
Promoted to Full Captain on 09 December 1864
Killed on 02 April 1865 in Selma, AL
[Sources: Official Roster of the Soldiers of the
State of Ohio. Published in 1886]
The Story of the Fourth Regiment
by Lucien Wulsin, published 1912, Cincinnati, Ohio. pages 67-73 mentions the
death of Captain Robie on April 2, 1865 during the capture of Selma. Let me
know if you would like a copy of the transcription of these pages, I would be
happy to send them to you.
The History of Hamilton County, OH [Ford,
Henry A., Kate B. Ford, History of Hamilton County, OH, Cleveland, OH: L.A.
Williams 1881] lists him as a Sergeant in Co A. His brother may have been
Oliver P. Robie, Capt. of Company A. Oliver was about 2 years older than Frank.
He became a Full Colonel on November 3, 1864.
ROBIE, COL. OLIVER P., formerly of the U. S.
army; d. by suicide in San Francisco, Cal., March 16, 1874. [Source: Hough,
Franklin Benjamin. American Biographical Notes: Being Short Notices of Deceased
Persons, Chiefly Those Not Included in Allen's or Drake's Biographical
Dictionary. Albany, NY: Munsell, 1875.]
I do not know if they were brothers but were
probably related somehow. Such a sad
legacy, Frank dying in the war and Oliver committing suicide after the war.
Do you know where or how the Museum got a hold
of this dictionary. What is the Wisconsin connection?
Nancy Findley who is writing a book on the 4th
might be interested in the information on this. Her book...I believe is going to the publisher on July 1. I am
copying this e-mail to her.
Thanks for contacting me.
Best regards,
Karin Corbeil
From:
"Scott Cross" <cross@publicmuseum.oshkosh.net>
To: "Karin 'Casey' Corbeil"
<corbeil@ga.prestige.net>
Cc: "Nancy Findley" <findley@lni.net>
Subject: Re: Frank Robie - 4th OVC
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 16:40:25 -0500
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4
Karen and Nancy,
Thank you very much
for the detailed information. I found the book last week while doing an
inventory and assessment of our library collection. I had pulled it out to save
it in our rare book section when I discovered the inscription from Captain
Robie. Unfortunately there was no accession number written in the book, so I
have no way to track when it was donated to the museum or by whom. His death a
few days prior to the end of the war explains why I could not find him living
in Wisconsin. I will check the city directories to see if another family member
moved to Oshkosh after the war. It is possible some of his effects were sent
home to family members and they moved here. Another possibility is that a local
Wisconsin soldier may have picked it up from him and brought it home. The
inscription date of September 10, 1864 also makes me wonder if he didn't
"liberate" it from a house in Atlanta when his regiment entered the
city.
Scott Cross
Oshkosh Public Museum
From:
"Nancy/Dennis Findley" <findley@lni.net>
To: "Scott Cross"
<cross@publicmuseum.oshkosh.net>,
Subject: Re: Frank Robie - 4th OVC
Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2002 08:46:46 -0400
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4
Scott and Karin,
This is
interesting. I am finishing the regimental history. Would there be
any way you could get a photo of the dictionary to me before July
1, especially the inscription? A scanned and emailed copy is
fine. I can print it here. I would also need to know how to
cite it. I can tell you the 4th Ohio was on Sept 7 at a camp 9 miles from
Decatur, GA and 11 miles from Atlanta. They were camped at Cross Keys on
Sept 11. So somewhere around there Frank signed this dictionary.
I do not know the
exact connection but assume they are brothers from their ages. No descendants
have contacted me. I wonder if Oliver went west to find gold and could
not handle it. We recently did a story on a veteran, for a cemetery
tour, that went west during the gold rush and it was amazing the number of
suicides that occurred during that time.
Thank you for sharing your find. Nancy
Findley