Phillip P. Stiles

Co. K, 15th Ohio Infantry

Co. G, 71st Ohio Infantry

Great-great-granduncle of Owen R. Stiles, PCC

Phillip P. Stiles came from a long line of Stiles in America, dating back to Robert Stiles of Boxford, Massachusetts in 1637. Phillip’s father Benjamin Stiles migrated to Ohio in the 1820s and obtained land grants in what is now Auglaize County. Benjamin married Jemima Elliott, the granddaughter of Capt. Samuel Elliott, a veteran of the Lancaster Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolution. Benjamin Stiles had nine children, two of whom, Phillip and John, served in the Civil War.

Phillip Stiles enlisted April 22, 1861 as a Private in Company K, 15th Ohio Infantry, a three-month regiment, being among the first to respond to President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 troops. The regiment proceeded to Camp Goddard at Zanesville, Ohio where it remained until the latter part of May, drilling, disciplining and preparing for the field. It then went to West Virginia, where it performed a large amount of marching and guard duty, rendering valuable service in assisting to stay the progress of the Confederates towards the North. It was actively engaged at Philippi, Laurel Hill and Carrick’s Ford. The term of service having expired, Private Stiles was mustered out August 27, 1861.

On January 2, 1862, Phillip Stiles again enlisted in the Union Army, this time as a Private in Company G, 71st Ohio Infantry. The regiment was first engaged at the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee on April 6-7, 1862. During the first moments of the battle Private Stiles was captured and subsequently held prisoner of war for five months. While in captivity he contracted dysentery and recieved a disability discharge on February 12, 1863.

After the war, Philip Stiles moved west and settled in Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he is buried. He married Sarah Conkle and had seven children.