Ohio -- Unparalleled Union Service in the Civil War

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