THE JOURNEY HOME - DAY 1

The day that every soldier had been waiting for and dreaming about for more than three years, finally arrives. On this day, at their Morganza, Louisiana, camp, the 16th Ohio turns over its guns to the 69th Indiana. The soldiers then say goodbye to the "recruits", those members of the regiment which joined later on and were now being transferred to other organizations, mostly the 114th Ohio Infantry, to finish out their terms of service. Late in the evening the regiment boarded the steamer Luminary which would take them up the Mississippi River and most of the way home. Cpl. Wolbach tells us the following:

October 6th we, as a regiment, fell into ranks for the last time with arms. Marching to the camp of another regiment we stacked the new rifles that had barely been initiated to the noise of battle in the short time that we carried them. We then bade good-by to the recruits that must now end their service in other organizations. Going aboard of the steamboat Luminary we swung out into the broad and deep river and commenced our journey homeward.

Pvt. Robert "Newt" Gorsuch, Company B, mentions the Luminary had to stop, several times, due to heavy fog on the river.

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Starting their journey home to Ohio late in the night at Morganza, Louisiana, this period map shows the approximate route of the 16th Ohio on board the steamer Luminary, and the farthest, approximate position they reached that night.

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Modern day map showing the approximate route and location of the 16th Ohio on their voyage home from the war.

A - Approximate location of the 16th Ohio's primary camp at Morganza Bend, Louisiana. The regiment camped in the spot from July 4 to October 6, 1864.
B - Approximate point which the steamer Luminary reached late on the night of October 6, 1864.