Color guard of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry with the national colors
of their regiment, ca. 1863-1865.
"Three out of
every five Ohio men between the ages of 18 and 45 served at various
times in the Union Army and Navy
during the Civil War. "
– Ohio Historical
Society
I wonder if locals really understand
the unequaled impact of Ohio and its population on the outcome of the
American Civil War. Some actually claim, “Ohio won the Civil War.”
While one must understand the tremendous contributions of all the
Union States in the conflict, it is difficult to dispute this claim
when considering the troops, the leadership, the supplies, and the
total commitment provided by Ohio.
Due to its central location in the
Northern United States and burgeoning population, Ohio was both
politically and logistically important to the war effort. Ohio was a
major Union "breadbasket," supplying large amounts of corn
and grains. It also had the most horses of any northern state, and
the most sheep (providing wool for uniforms).
Nearly 320,000 Ohioans served the Union
Army in the Civil War, the third largest number of soldiers of any
Union state. As the third most populous state in the Union at the
time, Ohio was behind only New York and Pennsylvania in total
manpower that contributed to the military effort. Ohio had the
highest per capita service of any Union state –
3 of 5 eligible men in the state served.
Ohio men fought in every major battle
of the war. 35,475 Ohioans died during the Civil War in battle, from
wounds or from disease. Eighty-four of every one thousand Ohio men
who served died in the war. Another forty-four for every one thousand
deserted. This was one of the lowest desertion rates in the Union
states.
When President Abraham Lincoln called
for 75,000 recruits in April 1861, Ohio's quota was 13,000. Within
forty-eight hours of President Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers
in April 1861, two Ohio infantry regiments already had departed for
Washington, DC. Sixteen days after Lincoln’s call for troops,
enough Ohioans had volunteered to meet the full national requirement.
More than 100,200 men enlisted that year.
The federal government required each
state to supply a set number of soldiers determined by the state's
population. Ohio exceeded the government's call for men by 4,332
soldiers. This number does not reflect the 6,479 men who paid a
monetary fine to the government to escape military duty. It also does
not include the 5,092 African-American soldiers who served in the
United States Colored Troops or in units from other states, including
the famous Fifty-Fourth and Fifty-Fifth Massachusetts Infantry
Regiments. In all, Ohio exceeded the federal government's
requirements by more than fifteen thousand men.
During the American Civil War, the
State of Ohio provided the United States government with three types
of military units: artillery units, cavalry units, and infantry
units. Ohio supplied the federal government with more than 260
regiments of men; not counting several companies that formed the
basis of regiments in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Massachusetts.
An Ohio brigade protected the Union
army's retreat at the Battle of First Bull Run in 1861. Ohio
regiments also helped secure Kentucky and West Virginia for the
North. They participated in the Battles of Fort Donelson, Fort Henry,
Gettysburg, Antietam, Fort Wagner, Shiloh, Chickamauga, Chattanooga,
and many others.
Historical Note – NARA
records show that four men from Scioto County won the Medal of Honor
for their actions during the Civil War: William Reddick, George
Wilhelm, James M. Cumpston, and Martin J. Hawkins.
Among those who served from Ohio, more
than 200 reached the rank of general, including several Confederate
generals. Prominent generals included Irvin McDowell, Don Carlos
Buell, Philip Sheridan, George McClellan, William T. Sherman, and
Ulysses S. Grant.
Five veterans of the war with links to
Ohio became president. The state lays partial claim to Ulysses
Grant, who was elected from Illinois, and Benjamin Harrison, who was
elected from Indiana. They were both born in Ohio. Rutherford B.
Hayes, James A. Garfield and William McKinley all served with Ohio
units and were elected president as Ohioans.
Historical Note – In March,
1940, George Farley passed away. He was the last Scioto County Civil
War veteran. Farley was born in Portsmouth, and he enlisted at the
age of 15. After serving exactly one year to the day, he wIn March,
1940, George Farley passed away. He was the last Scioto County Civil
War veteran. Farley was born in Portsmouth, and he enlisted at the
age of 15. After serving exactly one year to the day, he was promoted
to 1st Sergeant of Co. H, 44th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops.
Ohio women were also among the leaders who emerged during the war. They raised money, served as nurses at military hospitals, ran their family farms and sometimes fought in battle … not to mention providing great moral support for the troops.
Soldiers aid societies were groups of
women who raised money for supplies and soldiers' medical care, There
were strong societies all over Ohio. The women organized events to
raise thousands of dollars for the war effort. The U.S. Sanitary
Commission provided the medical care for soldiers, but the groups
didn't like how it handled that effort and chose to send their
supplies and money directly to the hospitals and those caring for
soldiers.
"They were using the argument that
these men don't have time for your bureaucracy," said Christie
Weininger, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center executive
director.
Another woman who didn't like legal red
tape, Mary Ann Bickerdyke of Mount Vernon, also led efforts to get
supplies to the front and tended to hurt soldiers. She once
approached a Union general and told him what she needed to properly
care for the solders.
When he asked her on whose authority
she was doing this, she responded, "God Almighty. Do you have a
higher authority?"
The general let her take what she
needed.
After the war, women wanted to continue
having an influence in those areas, which led to the women's
movement. "They realized what they could do," Weininger
said.
Historial Note –
When the first unit from Portsmouth left
in 1861, several women formed the Ladies Aid Society in Portsmouth.
The first soldiers from Portsmouth were killed at the Battle of
Vienna in 1861. The following year, the Ladies Aid Society marked May
30th as the day to place flowers on the soldiers’ graves and hold
memorial services Headed by Amanda Pursell, these ladies raised funds
for the soldiers and their families. Amanda Pursell, a widow, was the
only woman known to have hired a man to serve in the war in place of
her husband. She insisted that she not know who he was or what
happened to him.
The monument in Tracy Park represents
John R.T. Barnes, the first soldier from Scioto County to die in the
war, and is a memorial to all those who gave their life. It took 12
years to raise the $7,500 needed for the monument and it was
dedicated on May 30, 1879.
"The Civil War was the single most
important event in American history," said Eric Wittenberg, a
Columbus historian/author who served on Ohio's Civil War
Sesquicentennial Advisory Committee. "It took a collection of
states and turned them into the United States of America, it freed
the slaves and it established the predominance of the federal
government."
The Ohioans who helped win the Civil
War have faded from memory … all traces gone but a few lines on
monuments and markers. Today, there are more than 200 Civil War
monuments and memorials in 85 of Ohio's 88 counties … and countless
Union soldiers whose names remain in etchings on grave stones.
James Bissland of Bowling Green, author
of Blood, Tears and Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War,
believes Ohio shouldn't remember these bygone combatants for their
losses, but for their hope.
"From 1861 to 1865, hundreds of
thousands of Ohioans from all walks of life put their lives on the
line and the creature comforts on hold to save the nation, confident
they could achieve it," he said.
"Ohioans were tremendously
important and confident years ago; we need our ancestors to inspire
us to believe what we can do instead of dwelling on what we don't
have."
Civil War Vets, Scioto -- 1915
No comments:
Post a Comment