I’m back in my hometown of Zanesville, Ohio, for the weekend. Dinner last night with some of my wife’s relatives, attending a wedding today for my nephew, and some other family get-togethers. Debi and I were born here and all of our siblings and both of our mothers all live in the vicinity. The town is perhaps best noted for its Y-shaped bridge, as well as being the home of western author Zane Gray.
Zanesville has six ACW generals buried here, most notably Robert S. Granger who served in the western armies, fighting most notably in Kentucky and Tennessee against Joe Wheeler’s cavalry. Zanesville was a major recruiting and training center for southeastern and southcentral Ohio. Camp Goddard is today’s county fairgrounds.
There is a direct connection with Gettysburg. Not far from the grave of another of my nephews is the plot of Lt. Charles E. Hazlett, a Zanesville resident who labored with his crew to haul his guns up to the summit of Little Round Top. Hazlett of course was gunned down there and, as he lay dying, was comforted briefly by General Weed, who also soon fell victim to a gunshot presumably from Devil’s Den. His brother John C. Hazlett also died during the Civil War, killed at Stone’s River. One of their relatives, Robert Hazlett, was among the most prominent riverboat captains on the Muskingum and Ohio rivers. There are dozens of the Hazlett clan buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, and descendants abound in the region.
As Charles Hazlett moved off to LRT and his fate, he clasped hands with Major Charles H. Ross (MG James Barnes’ aide-de-camp), another Zanesville native and Hazlett’s boyhood friend. Ross’s great-great-grandson roomed with my son in college.
Zanesville Post 81 of the Grand Army of the Republic was named in Hazlett’s honor. A city street is named Hazlett Court.
However, Hazlett’s tomb has been neglected and vandalized over the years. Recent efforts have started to better maintain it and restore it. The Muskingum County Civil War Association, Inc. is accepting donations at Box 1863, Zanesville, Ohio, 43702 (phone 740-452-1075, hazlett@muskingumcivilwar.org)
CHARGE! Civil War miniature wargaming and dioramas 
Another little fact about my cousin Charles’s death is, of all things, his hat.
He wore a rather showy blue hat during most of the battle, despite constant warnings and cautions voiced by his fellow soldiers. Defiant to the last, this hat was his downfall – he was likely killed by a sniper.
Although I have no evidence to back it up, I highly suspect that Hazlett Street in Pittsburgh is also named for Charles.
Something else possibly of interest to you is Charles’s uncle (and my great-great grandfather), Dr. Robert Hazlett. He was a prominent battlefield surgeon with the Second West Virginia Infantry and was later appointed as pension examiner by President Lincoln. He lived most of his life in Wheeling, West Virginia, where there are also a lot of Hazletts.
I am most interested in the Hazlett that rode with John Brown at harpers Ferry. Was he a relation to Charlie? I turned up some data that suggested Zanesville. Would be grateful if you knew anything concerning anti-slavery sentiment in the family or any earlier family members involved in such a local AS Society, a common organization in many communities in 1830’s till Civil War.
With the artillery smoke on LRT, the blue hat would have been less clear a target. It was always my gut feeling it was a lucky shot during the hectic ordeal of battle. Gold braid does beam in sunshine and has reflective quality but when smoke surrounds it the sun is less of a factor. Concern by troops shows their admiration for him as a man.
Craig Caba