Gen. Schwartz commanded the 247th Ohio Light Horse Artillery, distinguishing himself in July 1864, at the little-known Battle of Red Dog Tavern in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. There his troops, mistaking the drums and tambourines of the local temperance society for the volley of Confederate muskets, successfully defended a local saloon and bawdy house.

Rooella Schwartz, an early advocate of women's suffrage, was President of the Cuyahoga Falls Temperance Society from 1863-1865.