James C Gribben

James C. Gribben

James C. Gribben was born in Ashland County, Ohio, November 27, 1829, and died April 6, 1862, at Pittsburg Landing (Shiloh), Tennessee. At the time of his volunteer enlistment, James resided in Kalida, Ohio, and was the prosecuting attorney for Putnam County. He resigned his office and joined other Putnam County men as a private in Company E of the “ninety-day” 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.), which served from April 27, 1861 until August 12, 1861. They were deployed to the Kanawha River area of (West) Virginia and saw action against the rebel army at Scarey Creek in July 1861.

On September 16, 1861, James enlisted with other Putnam County men in the newly formed 57th O.V.I., which trained at Camp Vance in Findlay, Ohio. He was appointed 1st Lieutenant in Company A. On February 8, 1862, he was promoted to Captain of Company A. The 57th deployed to western Kentucky and was among the first units to be engaged with the Confederate Army at Shiloh. The Captain suffered two minie ball wounds to the chest during the battle; the second proving fatal.

The family had the Captain’s remains returned to Ohio, where he is buried beside his parents, his sister Margaret, and two infant siblings in the cemetery in Savannah, Ohio, near where he grew up.

Photograph and information submitted by James Gribben's great-great nephew, Douglas Benson.

James C. Gribben