The Original Bloody Tinth

The first Bloody Tinth was the Ohio 10th Volunteer Infantry - a regiment made up of predominantly Irish immigrants and formed in Cincinnati May 1861. In a city that boasts the largest annual Oktoberfest celebration outside of Bavaria (Ja, they eat 80,000 bratwurst in one weekend) finding a bit of green among the city's black, red, and gold history is unusual. When the band stumbled upon this proud if slightly gruesome nickname in "Melting Pot Soldiers" by William L. Burton it was a clear winner.

It's been suggested that the 10th OVI became "The Bloody Tenth" (or Bloody Tinth as it was prounounced by the Irish) because of their reputation both on the
battlefied and off. Numerous accounts abound of fist fights erupting between the regiment's Irish and, for once outnumbered but equally bloody, German companies during their basic training at Fort Dennison. By June the 24th, 1861 however the 10th was firmly united under
Colonol William Haines Lytle a venerated local politician and favorite Cincinnati son. Between 1861 and 1864 The Bloody Tinth lost 163 enlisted men and 5 officers including their famous Colonol Lytle who fell in Georgia only one month after his release as a prisoner of war.