Colonel Jesse Hildebrand

Colonel Jesse Hildebrand. . Hildebrand was born on May 29, 1800 near Cold Springs, PA and moved tó Washington County, OH in 1814. Here he joined the local militia as drummer boy. In 1828 he was commissioned a Maj. Gen. in the State Militia. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Hildebrand, age 61, and B.D. Fearing organized the 77th OVI. On April 6, 1862 at Shiloh, TN Hildebrand commanded a brigade of the 53rd, 57th and 77th OVI when Confederate forces began their attack. Throughout the day Hildebrand rode on horseback at the front rallying his brigade and others. After holding the line for three hours, Gen. Sherman remarked, “Col. Hildebrand was as cool as any man I ever saw.” , After Shiloh, the77th, riddled by losses, was assigned prison guard duty at Alton, IL. There, Hildebrand died of pneumonia on April 18, 1863. Before the war he was active in the community operating a livery and stagecoach service and served as Sheriff in 1850-52. He was an early member of I.O.O.F. Lodge #67 and served as its Secretary. Upon his death the Lodge adopted this resolution: “That by the death of Brother Hildebrand the Lodge mourns the loss of one who was devoted and attached to the principals of our order and whose conduct in all relations of life as citizen, husband, father, and devoted patriot endeared him to us and to the esteem of the entire community.” Hildebrand is buried in Mound Cemetery with his wife, Aesenath Perkins.