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ORIGIN OF THE COMPANY NAME,
SLIPPER
Y
ROCK VOLUNTEERS
The 1872 History/1873 Atlas of Lawrence
County describes the "Slippery Rock Volunteers" as
following: The uniform of the "Slippery Rock Volunteers" was
a yellow linen hunting shirt, trimmed with red fringe; red
leggings, a citizen's hat with a white plume. Each man
furnished his own uniform and his own rifle, with which
weapon the men were armed. William Stoughton was probably
the first captain of this company, and Samuel Riddle also
held the position for a time. After their name was changed
to the "Washington Guards", they also changed their uniform
to blue pants and coat, red sash, and cloth cap with a white
plume. They had four gatherings annually: drill May 4th,
review, May 12, and drill July 4th and September 10th. This
company contained about one hundred men, and entered the
service in 1861 with nearly that strength. And under the
following officers, viz: Captain, Samuel Bentley; First
Lieutenant, Andrew Nelson; Second Lieutenant, Norman
Maxwell. They joined the One Hundredth or "Roundhead"
regiment, and were mustered into the service as Company E of
that body, and before the close of the war saw much severe
service.
ORIGINS OF THE REGIMENT'S NAME
"We will call them 'Roundheads".
The "Roundheads" fought in the Carolinas, in Virginia, Maryland, and
Tennessee (author's note: and 'Mississippi') and suffered 887 wounds
all told, of which 248 were mortal. The regiment lost 3
colonels, 5 captains, and 8 lieutenants killed. The bivouacs
of these dead Cromwellians lie upon the battlefields, but their
requiems are sung only in the peaceful valley of the Shenango, where
the kith and kin perpetuate the iron faith and loyal blood of
Colonel Leasure's "Roundheads".
--Passage from Newspaper Article titled, "Odd War
Nicknames, Crack Regiments with High Sounding Adopted
Titles, SOME WERE WON IN BATTLE", From Col. N.J. Maxwell
Scrapbook, Author's Collection.
MOTTO: WE KNOW ONLY OUR COUNTRY
This was the motto of this fighting union regiment of the American Civil War 1861-1865. In the early part of the war when the regiment was part of the Port Royal, SC operations from November 1861 to July of 1862, the regiment had their own printing press. A regimental newspaper that was "published at every opportunity" was developed and titled The Camp Kettle. The motto, 'We know only our country' was prominent under the title of the newspaper.
