Another remarkable piece of ephemera in my collection is a folded document detailing the discharge of Joseph Gregory, also known as Josephus A. Gregory, a private in Captain James Cadot’s Company F, First Regiment of the Ohio Heavy Artillery. Enrolled on August 22, 1862, to serve for three years or until the war’s end, Gregory was officially discharged from service on July 25, 1865, in Knoxville, Tennessee, by orders of the War Department.
What adds further historical depth to this document is the included Oath of Identity. In this oath, Joseph Gregory swore before Justice of the Peace J.A. Fleming that he was a resident of Harrisonville, Scioto County, Ohio, and that he had served as a private under Captain James C. Cadot and Colonel Chauncey D. Hawley. This document not only signifies the conclusion of Gregory’s military service but also provides a tangible connection to his personal and local identity during the Civil War.