Hulbert Hopson Palmer was one of the very first soldiers to enlist for military service in the American Civil War from Cuyahoga County, Ohio. "Corporal Hulbert E. Palmer" enlisted at age 20 in the Garibaldi Rifles, a company of volunteers who could claim mostly German and Swiss ancestry. They spent nearly a month in Cleveland, training and waiting for the Ohio Adjutant General to accept their unit for federal service. Ohio Governor William Dennison announced that he accepted the company and designated them as Company H, 24th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, on 30 May 1861.

Hulbert Palmer was a good soldier and received rewards for his attention to duty and service. On 3 December 1862, he was promoted to Sergeant. It was at this time that Palmer started a diary about his war service. Palmer's consistent notes about the weather transformed him into the 24th O.V.I.'s unofficial meteorologist. After the battle of Stones River, Tennessee, Palmer received another promotion to First Sergeant. From time to time during the Chattanooga Campaign in late 1863, Palmer was temporarily in command of the company whenever Captain Jacob Diehl was ill.

Since Company H and the 24th Ohio's manpower had dwindled to about one-fourth of its original strength, Palmer was sent to Cleveland on recruiting duty during the winter of 1863-1864. With a few volunteers, Palmer rejoined the 24th Ohio Regiment at their Chattanooga campsite in early 1864. Palmer mustered out with Company H on 20 June 1864.

Following his war service, Hulbert Palmer returned to Cleveland. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Michigan. In 1889, he filed for, and received, a war pension.

By 1893, Palmer had made contact with the surviving members of the 24th Ohio Infantry Regiment's reunion association. He reported that he was living in Bellvue, Michigan.

Hulbert Hopson Palmer died in 1911.

Sources:

24th O.V.I. Pension Index.
Ohio Adjutant General's Roster of Ohio Troops.
Whitelaw Reid, "Ohio in the War."
24th O.V.I. 8th Reunion Roster (1893).
Hulbert Palmer Diary (Chickamauga Battlefield).
Additional biographical information provided by Katie Bradford.

Return to Company H Page.
Return to the 24th Ohio Main Page.