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FORWARDED MESSAGE - Orig: 26-Nov-98 13:48
Subject: Ohio National Guard, 1864-1865
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This message is for all who may be interested. Since I have received
several inquiries about these units, it is my honor to reply with this
overview.
During the American Civil War, the Ohio National Guard regiments were
originally part of Ohio Governor William Dennison's "Militia of the
Reserve" plan, whereby citizens statewide would have militia training in
case of emergencies.
Most of these Militia of the Reserve units expressly asked to be
enrolled as Home Guards, so that they would serve only within the
state.
However, Ohio Governor John Brough made a new wrinkle in this militia
training plan. The U. S. War Department pressured states to put more
troops in the field in early 1864. Governor Brough responded on April
25, 1864, by declaring all Home Guard units the "Ohio National Guard"
and activated various units around the state of Ohio by companies or
by battalions and regiments for 100 days of service unless sooner
discharged.
This was certainly a surprise to most militia units around the state
(and draws immediate parallels of Vietnam and Desert Storm National
Guard units). Thus, the Ohio National Guard was born....
A typical Ohio National Guard unit was the 166th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry Regiment, also called the 166th O.N.G. It was organized at
Camp Taylor in Cleveland, and arrived at Washington, D.C in late May,
1864. The regiment was broken up by companies to man the various
forts around the nation's Capital. The unit was forced to grueling
duty when Confederate General Jubal Early and his veterans made a raid
toward Washington in July 1864. Most of the soldiers were kept on
alert for
anywhere from six to eight days in a row until Early's army retreated
back into Virginia. The 166th O.N.G. did not take part in a major
battle from what I can see in Whitelaw Reid's "Ohio in the War" v.2,
p.696. But these veterans can be proud that they helped save
Washington, D.C., from capture.
John C. Rutherford
<ovi24th(a)yahoo.com>
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