Abram Sanders Piatt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1821-05-02)May 2, 1821 |
| Died | March 23, 1908(1908-03-23) (aged 86) |
| Place of burial | Mac-a-cheek Cemetery, West Liberty, Ohio |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Branch | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1863 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Commands | 13th Ohio Infantry Regiment 34th Ohio Infantry Regiment 1st Brigade, 3rd Division,III Corps |
| Battles / wars | American Civil War |
| Relations | Col.Donn Piatt (brother) Col.Benjamin Piatt Runkle (nephew) |
| Other work | politician |
Abram (or Abraham) Sanders[1] Piatt (May 2, 1821 – March 23, 1908) was a wealthy farmer, publisher, poet, politician, and soldier from southernOhio who served as ageneral in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War. He organized the onlyzouaveregiment from Ohio and later led abrigade in theArmy of the Potomac. In 1864, he and his brother constructed thePiatt Castles, two sprawlingchateaux nearWest Liberty, Ohio, that are still used today for weddings, meetings, retreats, and other social gatherings.[2]
Piatt was born inCincinnati, Ohio, to Benjamin McCullough Piatt and Elizabeth Barnett. His father was a Federal Circuit Judge and entrepreneur engaged in land development and flat boat trade in Cincinnati, who moved his family to Logan County in 1828.
On November 10, 1840, Piatt married his Kentucky-born first cousin Hannah Anna Piatt at the home of his grandfather, Federal Hall,Boone County, Kentucky. They eventually would have eight children. He attended what is nowXavier University before deciding to return home to the Mac-a-cheek Valley inLogan County, where he became a prosperous farmer.[3] In 1846, Piatt studied law briefly and began editing and publishing the localMac-a-cheek Press newspaper.[4]
His brotherDonn Piatt became a staff officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, and after the war edited and published "The Capital," a weekly newspaper in Washington, D.C. that fiercely criticized the administration of President Grant.
Piatt's wife Anna died April 10, 1861, in Macochee, Ohio, as the American Civil War was beginning. A grief-stricken Abram became thecolonel of the three-months'13th Ohio InfantryRegiment on April 30, leaving his children in the care of a servant and his other family members. Later that summer, he raised a new three-years' regiment, the34th Ohio Infantry, and clothed and fed them for a month and six days with his own gold. The regiment became known as Piatt's Zouaves for their early war red pants andzouave attire. Piatt also raised and equipped the54th Ohio Infantry, which went into the field under the command ofThomas Kilby Smith.
On September 1, 1861, Piatt and the 34th moved toCamp Dennison near Cincinnati. The regiment then was ordered towestern Virginia later in the month. It received its baptism of fire from a VirginiaConfederate regiment at theBattle of Kanawha Gap, on September 25. During the fall and winter months, Piatt's Zouaves were on picket and scouting duty, and engaged in occasional skirmishing withguerrillas. In May 1862, the regiment had a sharp fight with the Confederate forces underHumphrey Marshall nearPrinceton.[5]
In 1862, Piatt was promoted to brigadier general and assigned command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, Headquarters, Mountain Department. Later serving in theArmy of the Potomac, he saw action at theSecond Battle of Bull Run that August.
During theMaryland Campaign in the fall of 1862, Piatt and his regiment were detached from the Army of the Potomac and served in theDefenses of Washington, thereby missing theBattle of Antietam on September 17.[4] He badly injured his back when his horse stumbled and brought both of them to the ground during theBattle of Fredericksburg on December 12, 1862. As a result of his injury, he resigned from the army on February 17, 1863.[6]
Piatt returned to his home in Logan County and soon remarried and resumed farming. He and his brother both prospered and they builta pair of castles near West Liberty, Ohio.[2]
His brother Donn Piatt was a member of theOhio House of Representatives, 1865–66, and was the Washington correspondent of theCincinnati Commercial from 1868 to 1871. He established and edited, withGeorge Alfred Townsend, theCapital at Washington, D.C., 1871–72, and was its editor-in-chief, 1873–80. He was arrested in 1876 by order of PresidentUlysses S. Grant on the charge of inciting the people through his paper to rebellion, insurrection and riot. He retired to his estate Mac-a-cheek in 1880 and devoted himself to literary work. He editedBelford's Magazine from 1888 to 1889.[7]
Abram S. Piatt was a candidate for Ohio Governor in 1879 on the Greenback ticket.
Abram S. Piatt died in 1908 inMonroe Township from cancer and is buried in the nearby Piatt Cemetery.
