The 37th Ohio Infantry was a Union Army regiment, composed of German-Americans, in the American Civil War. It was organized in the fall of 1861, under Colonel Edward Siber, and served in the Kanawha Valley until December, 1862. It joined the Union army operating against Vicksburg, Mississippi, in January, 1863, and participated in the various engagements of the siege. After the fall of that stronghold it was moved across Tennessee from Memphis to Chattanooga, and took part in operations of the 15th Corps, subsequent to, and at the taking of Atlanta, Georgia. It then followed the fortunes of that well-known corps until the reaching of Washington, D.C. From Louisville, Kentucky, it went with the 2nd Division of the Corps to Little Rock, Arkansas, and was there mustered out in August 1865.
Nine men earned the Medal of Honor while serving with the 37th Ohio. Six were awarded the medal for their actions on May 22, 1863, during the Siege of Vicksburg; Private Joseph Hanks for rescuing a wounded comrade and five others (Corporal Franz Frey, Private William John, Corporal Louis Renninger, Private Frederick Rock, and Corporal Christian Schnell) for participating in a "forlorn hope" attack on Confederate defenses. At the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863, Musician John S. Kountz picked up a rifle and joined the attack, was seriously wounded, and was subsequently rescued from under heavy fire by Private William Schmidt; both men received the Medal of Honor. The regiment's last medal was earned on July 28, 1864, during the Battle of Ezra Church, when Sergeant Ernst Torgler saved the badly wounded commanding officer, Major Charles Hipp, from capture.