James Perry Fyffe was born in Mason County, Kentucky on March 4th. 1820. His family moved to a farm a few miles south of Georgetown in 1830. In 1845 he joined the Masonic Lodge that had such prominent members as Congressman Thomas Hamer, Georgetown’s founder Robert Allen, teacher John D. White, and Jesse Grant.
When Thomas Hamer called for volunteers in 1846 to serve with him in the Mexican War Fyffe was one of the first to step forward. Fyffe was first elected a sergeant and later as first lieutenant of the Georgetown company. When his one year enlistment expired he and 22 of his men re-enlisted to serve for another year.
Lt. Fyffe’s courage was never lacking and showed itself at the Battle of Monterrey. Fyffe’s company was part of the First Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. The regiment was under fire for over eight hours and for much of the time receiving point blank fire from Mexican artillery. The regiment suffered 60 men lost out of 350 in the battle from the effects of the ‘grape’ and ‘canister’ fire (up to 72 one to three inch steel balls were fired from cannon into advancing troops).
Lt. Fyffe was always at the forefront of his troops in Mexico. His acts of bravery and leadership led to increasing his men’s respect. In a letter to friends in Georgetown an unknown soldier wrote, “As the boys say, Jim Fyffe would fight his way through Hell itself.”
Fyffe returned to Ohio in 1848 and read law in Batavia. Fyffe learned quickly and passed the Bar in 1849.
In 1850 Fyffe ventured to California to seek his fortune in the gold fields. In 1851 he raised a company of volunteers to fight Indians in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He wrote in his diary an account of a typical engagement with the hostile Indians:
“The Indians, about 100, broke as we came over the rise. Charge was in order. Up the hill and down we drove after them a mile or two, but they were all fresh. Our horses were worn down, and they all escaped. We fired several shots after them.”
Fyffe returned to Georgetown in 1858 and opened a law practice in a building owned by his friend, Carr B. White, on the SW corner of Apple and Cherry Streets. Ironically Fyffe had fought a duel with White on their return from the Mexican-American War. Fyffe was also co-editor of the Georgetown newspaper, the Democratic Standard, with Thomas Taylor. That newspaper after several sales, years, and mergers would become the News-Democrat. In 1860 he was elected Probate Judge of Brown County but resigned that position in 1861 when he was commissioned the Colonel of the 59th Ohio Volunteer Infantry from Brown, Clermont, and Highland Counties.
Colonel Fyffe was a very capable field officer. He was a strong disciplinarian but his troops loved him. He never asked his troops to due anything he didn’t do himself. At Shiloh he led his regiment through frigid chest deep water to the battle while other Colonels waited for boats.
The 59th was the one of the first reinforcements to reach Grant’s hard-pressed army.
Fyffe wrote to his wife about his thoughts at Shiloh: “Then standing out in the rain Sunday night with no coat on, with the sights and sounds around and about us of a largely discomforted and disorganized army. The play of lightning and the roll of thunder with the near land crash from gunboat and shell, the roaring rain, the uncertainty of the morrow made Sunday night, April 6th, the longest to be remembered of unpleasant ones of any experience of life. Then the life struggle if it might be so called of the long hours of that memorable Monday, for well we knew our fate if defeated. We could not have re-crossed the Tennessee or the State of Kentucky. We had to whip them or we were gone up community.”
After the Battle of Shiloh the 59th camped for 10 days in a swampy area surrounded by the stench of dead horses and men. The names of the men and officers began to fill the sick call rolls. Finally the regiment was to march and Fyffe was so ill that he could barely sit in his saddle. No other officer was fit for duty. Fyffe’s unrelenting devotion for duty is evident in a speech he gave to his men, “So long as there is a prospect of a fight, if I can sit on my horse I will be with you.”
Col. Fyffe would never be in good health again though he would lead a brigade at the Battle of Stones River in December 1862 with honor. In July of 1863 Colonel Fyffe’s health was so bad he was sent home to recuperate. Arriving in Brown County a few days before Morgan’s Raiders he took command of the county’s militia and deployed them brilliantly on the ridge between Old Routes 68 and 62 thus defending both possible routes to Ripley.
Fyffes’ health continued to decline and on January 5th, 1864, he died of pneumonia and other illnesses which he contracted do to exposure while in the service of his county.
James Perry Fyffe died before he could reach his full potential. He left behind a wife and an unborn son. On September 29th, 1885, Gen. Buell, Fyffe’s Civil War commander, referred to Fyffe as a “gallant and faithful officer” in a letter to the War Department recommending Fyffe’s son for a commission as a lieutenant. James P. Fyffe received his long overdue promotion to General on April 9th, 1865.
When Thomas Hamer called for volunteers in 1846 to serve with him in the Mexican War Fyffe was one of the first to step forward. Fyffe was first elected a sergeant and later as first lieutenant of the Georgetown company. When his one year enlistment expired he and 22 of his men re-enlisted to serve for another year.
Lt. Fyffe’s courage was never lacking and showed itself at the Battle of Monterrey. Fyffe’s company was part of the First Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. The regiment was under fire for over eight hours and for much of the time receiving point blank fire from Mexican artillery. The regiment suffered 60 men lost out of 350 in the battle from the effects of the ‘grape’ and ‘canister’ fire (up to 72 one to three inch steel balls were fired from cannon into advancing troops).
Lt. Fyffe was always at the forefront of his troops in Mexico. His acts of bravery and leadership led to increasing his men’s respect. In a letter to friends in Georgetown an unknown soldier wrote, “As the boys say, Jim Fyffe would fight his way through Hell itself.”
Fyffe returned to Ohio in 1848 and read law in Batavia. Fyffe learned quickly and passed the Bar in 1849.
In 1850 Fyffe ventured to California to seek his fortune in the gold fields. In 1851 he raised a company of volunteers to fight Indians in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He wrote in his diary an account of a typical engagement with the hostile Indians:
“The Indians, about 100, broke as we came over the rise. Charge was in order. Up the hill and down we drove after them a mile or two, but they were all fresh. Our horses were worn down, and they all escaped. We fired several shots after them.”
Fyffe returned to Georgetown in 1858 and opened a law practice in a building owned by his friend, Carr B. White, on the SW corner of Apple and Cherry Streets. Ironically Fyffe had fought a duel with White on their return from the Mexican-American War. Fyffe was also co-editor of the Georgetown newspaper, the Democratic Standard, with Thomas Taylor. That newspaper after several sales, years, and mergers would become the News-Democrat. In 1860 he was elected Probate Judge of Brown County but resigned that position in 1861 when he was commissioned the Colonel of the 59th Ohio Volunteer Infantry from Brown, Clermont, and Highland Counties.
Colonel Fyffe was a very capable field officer. He was a strong disciplinarian but his troops loved him. He never asked his troops to due anything he didn’t do himself. At Shiloh he led his regiment through frigid chest deep water to the battle while other Colonels waited for boats.
The 59th was the one of the first reinforcements to reach Grant’s hard-pressed army.
Fyffe wrote to his wife about his thoughts at Shiloh: “Then standing out in the rain Sunday night with no coat on, with the sights and sounds around and about us of a largely discomforted and disorganized army. The play of lightning and the roll of thunder with the near land crash from gunboat and shell, the roaring rain, the uncertainty of the morrow made Sunday night, April 6th, the longest to be remembered of unpleasant ones of any experience of life. Then the life struggle if it might be so called of the long hours of that memorable Monday, for well we knew our fate if defeated. We could not have re-crossed the Tennessee or the State of Kentucky. We had to whip them or we were gone up community.”
After the Battle of Shiloh the 59th camped for 10 days in a swampy area surrounded by the stench of dead horses and men. The names of the men and officers began to fill the sick call rolls. Finally the regiment was to march and Fyffe was so ill that he could barely sit in his saddle. No other officer was fit for duty. Fyffe’s unrelenting devotion for duty is evident in a speech he gave to his men, “So long as there is a prospect of a fight, if I can sit on my horse I will be with you.”
Col. Fyffe would never be in good health again though he would lead a brigade at the Battle of Stones River in December 1862 with honor. In July of 1863 Colonel Fyffe’s health was so bad he was sent home to recuperate. Arriving in Brown County a few days before Morgan’s Raiders he took command of the county’s militia and deployed them brilliantly on the ridge between Old Routes 68 and 62 thus defending both possible routes to Ripley.
Fyffes’ health continued to decline and on January 5th, 1864, he died of pneumonia and other illnesses which he contracted do to exposure while in the service of his county.
James Perry Fyffe died before he could reach his full potential. He left behind a wife and an unborn son. On September 29th, 1885, Gen. Buell, Fyffe’s Civil War commander, referred to Fyffe as a “gallant and faithful officer” in a letter to the War Department recommending Fyffe’s son for a commission as a lieutenant. James P. Fyffe received his long overdue promotion to General on April 9th, 1865.
James Perry Fyffe was born in Mason County, Kentucky on March 4th. 1820. His family moved to a farm a few miles south of Georgetown in 1830. In 1845 he joined the Masonic Lodge that had such prominent members as Congressman Thomas Hamer, Georgetown’s founder Robert Allen, teacher John D. White, and Jesse Grant.
When Thomas Hamer called for volunteers in 1846 to serve with him in the Mexican War Fyffe was one of the first to step forward. Fyffe was first elected a sergeant and later as first lieutenant of the Georgetown company. When his one year enlistment expired he and 22 of his men re-enlisted to serve for another year.
Lt. Fyffe’s courage was never lacking and showed itself at the Battle of Monterrey. Fyffe’s company was part of the First Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. The regiment was under fire for over eight hours and for much of the time receiving point blank fire from Mexican artillery. The regiment suffered 60 men lost out of 350 in the battle from the effects of the ‘grape’ and ‘canister’ fire (up to 72 one to three inch steel balls were fired from cannon into advancing troops).
Lt. Fyffe was always at the forefront of his troops in Mexico. His acts of bravery and leadership led to increasing his men’s respect. In a letter to friends in Georgetown an unknown soldier wrote, “As the boys say, Jim Fyffe would fight his way through Hell itself.”
Fyffe returned to Ohio in 1848 and read law in Batavia. Fyffe learned quickly and passed the Bar in 1849.
In 1850 Fyffe ventured to California to seek his fortune in the gold fields. In 1851 he raised a company of volunteers to fight Indians in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He wrote in his diary an account of a typical engagement with the hostile Indians:
“The Indians, about 100, broke as we came over the rise. Charge was in order. Up the hill and down we drove after them a mile or two, but they were all fresh. Our horses were worn down, and they all escaped. We fired several shots after them.”
Fyffe returned to Georgetown in 1858 and opened a law practice in a building owned by his friend, Carr B. White, on the SW corner of Apple and Cherry Streets. Ironically Fyffe had fought a duel with White on their return from the Mexican-American War. Fyffe was also co-editor of the Georgetown newspaper, the Democratic Standard, with Thomas Taylor. That newspaper after several sales, years, and mergers would become the News-Democrat. In 1860 he was elected Probate Judge of Brown County but resigned that position in 1861 when he was commissioned the Colonel of the 59th Ohio Volunteer Infantry from Brown, Clermont, and Highland Counties.
Colonel Fyffe was a very capable field officer. He was a strong disciplinarian but his troops loved him. He never asked his troops to due anything he didn’t do himself. At Shiloh he led his regiment through frigid chest deep water to the battle while other Colonels waited for boats.
The 59th was the one of the first reinforcements to reach Grant’s hard-pressed army.
Fyffe wrote to his wife about his thoughts at Shiloh: “Then standing out in the rain Sunday night with no coat on, with the sights and sounds around and about us of a largely discomforted and disorganized army. The play of lightning and the roll of thunder with the near land crash from gunboat and shell, the roaring rain, the uncertainty of the morrow made Sunday night, April 6th, the longest to be remembered of unpleasant ones of any experience of life. Then the life struggle if it might be so called of the long hours of that memorable Monday, for well we knew our fate if defeated. We could not have re-crossed the Tennessee or the State of Kentucky. We had to whip them or we were gone up community.”
After the Battle of Shiloh the 59th camped for 10 days in a swampy area surrounded by the stench of dead horses and men. The names of the men and officers began to fill the sick call rolls. Finally the regiment was to march and Fyffe was so ill that he could barely sit in his saddle. No other officer was fit for duty. Fyffe’s unrelenting devotion for duty is evident in a speech he gave to his men, “So long as there is a prospect of a fight, if I can sit on my horse I will be with you.”
Col. Fyffe would never be in good health again though he would lead a brigade at the Battle of Stones River in December 1862 with honor. In July of 1863 Colonel Fyffe’s health was so bad he was sent home to recuperate. Arriving in Brown County a few days before Morgan’s Raiders he took command of the county’s militia and deployed them brilliantly on the ridge between Old Routes 68 and 62 thus defending both possible routes to Ripley.
Fyffes’ health continued to decline and on January 5th, 1864, he died of pneumonia and other illnesses which he contracted do to exposure while in the service of his county.
James Perry Fyffe died before he could reach his full potential. He left behind a wife and an unborn son. On September 29th, 1885, Gen. Buell, Fyffe’s Civil War commander, referred to Fyffe as a “gallant and faithful officer” in a letter to the War Department recommending Fyffe’s son for a commission as a lieutenant. James P. Fyffe received his long overdue promotion to General on April 9th, 1865.
When Thomas Hamer called for volunteers in 1846 to serve with him in the Mexican War Fyffe was one of the first to step forward. Fyffe was first elected a sergeant and later as first lieutenant of the Georgetown company. When his one year enlistment expired he and 22 of his men re-enlisted to serve for another year.
Lt. Fyffe’s courage was never lacking and showed itself at the Battle of Monterrey. Fyffe’s company was part of the First Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. The regiment was under fire for over eight hours and for much of the time receiving point blank fire from Mexican artillery. The regiment suffered 60 men lost out of 350 in the battle from the effects of the ‘grape’ and ‘canister’ fire (up to 72 one to three inch steel balls were fired from cannon into advancing troops).
Lt. Fyffe was always at the forefront of his troops in Mexico. His acts of bravery and leadership led to increasing his men’s respect. In a letter to friends in Georgetown an unknown soldier wrote, “As the boys say, Jim Fyffe would fight his way through Hell itself.”
Fyffe returned to Ohio in 1848 and read law in Batavia. Fyffe learned quickly and passed the Bar in 1849.
In 1850 Fyffe ventured to California to seek his fortune in the gold fields. In 1851 he raised a company of volunteers to fight Indians in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He wrote in his diary an account of a typical engagement with the hostile Indians:
“The Indians, about 100, broke as we came over the rise. Charge was in order. Up the hill and down we drove after them a mile or two, but they were all fresh. Our horses were worn down, and they all escaped. We fired several shots after them.”
Fyffe returned to Georgetown in 1858 and opened a law practice in a building owned by his friend, Carr B. White, on the SW corner of Apple and Cherry Streets. Ironically Fyffe had fought a duel with White on their return from the Mexican-American War. Fyffe was also co-editor of the Georgetown newspaper, the Democratic Standard, with Thomas Taylor. That newspaper after several sales, years, and mergers would become the News-Democrat. In 1860 he was elected Probate Judge of Brown County but resigned that position in 1861 when he was commissioned the Colonel of the 59th Ohio Volunteer Infantry from Brown, Clermont, and Highland Counties.
Colonel Fyffe was a very capable field officer. He was a strong disciplinarian but his troops loved him. He never asked his troops to due anything he didn’t do himself. At Shiloh he led his regiment through frigid chest deep water to the battle while other Colonels waited for boats.
The 59th was the one of the first reinforcements to reach Grant’s hard-pressed army.
Fyffe wrote to his wife about his thoughts at Shiloh: “Then standing out in the rain Sunday night with no coat on, with the sights and sounds around and about us of a largely discomforted and disorganized army. The play of lightning and the roll of thunder with the near land crash from gunboat and shell, the roaring rain, the uncertainty of the morrow made Sunday night, April 6th, the longest to be remembered of unpleasant ones of any experience of life. Then the life struggle if it might be so called of the long hours of that memorable Monday, for well we knew our fate if defeated. We could not have re-crossed the Tennessee or the State of Kentucky. We had to whip them or we were gone up community.”
After the Battle of Shiloh the 59th camped for 10 days in a swampy area surrounded by the stench of dead horses and men. The names of the men and officers began to fill the sick call rolls. Finally the regiment was to march and Fyffe was so ill that he could barely sit in his saddle. No other officer was fit for duty. Fyffe’s unrelenting devotion for duty is evident in a speech he gave to his men, “So long as there is a prospect of a fight, if I can sit on my horse I will be with you.”
Col. Fyffe would never be in good health again though he would lead a brigade at the Battle of Stones River in December 1862 with honor. In July of 1863 Colonel Fyffe’s health was so bad he was sent home to recuperate. Arriving in Brown County a few days before Morgan’s Raiders he took command of the county’s militia and deployed them brilliantly on the ridge between Old Routes 68 and 62 thus defending both possible routes to Ripley.
Fyffes’ health continued to decline and on January 5th, 1864, he died of pneumonia and other illnesses which he contracted do to exposure while in the service of his county.
James Perry Fyffe died before he could reach his full potential. He left behind a wife and an unborn son. On September 29th, 1885, Gen. Buell, Fyffe’s Civil War commander, referred to Fyffe as a “gallant and faithful officer” in a letter to the War Department recommending Fyffe’s son for a commission as a lieutenant. James P. Fyffe received his long overdue promotion to General on April 9th, 1865.
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