09/14/2026
“Beatty’s Bravery” Painted by Robert Kroeger
This three-bay English threshing barn, an old one with rare vertical saw marks and built in 1827, appears to be an ordinary one, which it would be, were it not for its former owner, General Samuel Beatty, a hero of the Civil War.
Thanks to Doris Wertz, I had a black and white photo that showed the Beatty barn in its original location in Jackson Township. In 2006 the farmhouse and barn were dismantled and the land was developed into a subdivision called Scottish Highlands. The barn was moved to Clinton, a small village in southwestern Summit County.
Beatty was born in 1820 in Pennsylvania and, after his family moved westward as many easterners did in those years, he was raised on a farm in Stark County. At 25 he entered the army to fight in the Mexican-American War and in 1846 Beatty was appointed a first lieutenant in Company K, 3rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry for his service in the war. After it ended, he returned to work on his family farm and was elected the Sheriff of Stark County in 1857, winning reelection two years later.
When the Civil War broke out, Beatty once again answered the call, resuming his military career. He helped form the “Canton Light Guards,” formally known as Company A of the 19th Ohio Infantry. He was elected the regiment’s first colonel in 1861 and he led his troops in a series of battles in western Virginia, which prompted General William Rosecrans to cite his good work. Though the 19th Ohio was mustered out, it reorganized in September 1861 and was attached to the 11th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio. Beatty commanded a brigade in this army during the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 and subsequent campaigns. For his service he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in November 1862.
Beatty continued to lead brigades and, when General Horatio Van Cleve fell wounded in the Battle of Stones River, Beatty took over leadership, rallied his troops when they were driven back, and defeated the Confederates. As the war continued, Beatty kept leading his men, this time a brigade in the Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Major General George H. Thomas. Beatty led his brigade through the middle Tennessee campaign that ended with the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, culminating in the epoch battle of Missionary Ridge.
The Confederates had established control of the top of this ridge – about 500-600 feet high with vertical sides and a rocky crest, an ideal defensive position. The Rebel sharpshooters had an easy time stopping the advancing Union soldiers, essentially perfect targets as they marched up the hillside. With thousands of troops on either side, confusion was rampant, especially when the Army of the Cumberland began its ascent, surprising even the Confederates. Most experts agree that this ascent was one of the war’s most dramatic events. Military historians Herman Hattaway and Archer Jones wrote that the Battle of Missionary Ridge was “the war's most notable example of a frontal assault succeeding against entrenched defenders holding high ground.” Beatty and his men were in the thick of it and were among the first Union soldiers to gain the crest. Within hours the Confederates were routed and fled southwards.
General Ulysses Grant, in charge of the Union forces, was shocked when he saw his troops climbing the ridge, almost inviting certain su***de. When he asked his generals Granger and Thomas who had given the orders, neither claimed responsibility, though Granger remarked, “When those fellows get started, all hell can't stop them.”
For his leadership, especially in this victory, in March 1864 President Lincoln awarded Grant command of the Union Army and promoted him to Lieutenant General, the first time that any soldier held this rank since George Washington.
General Beatty continued to lead troops in battles throughout the war and was mustered out in January 1866. In March President Andrew Johnson nominated him, which was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, for a retroactive award of the brevet grade of major general of volunteers. This recognized his leadership of the Third Division, IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, during the Nashville campaign. The promotion made him the highest-ranking Union Army officer from Stark County. He, like the Roman general Cincinnatus did 2,300 years earlier, returned to farming in Jackson Township. He died in 1885 and is buried in the city cemetery in Massillon
This painting is selling for $250
