With the American Civil War's outbreak, neither the North nor the South had sufficient military forces to conduct a war. Both the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, at first, relied upon volunteers either to form or to bolster their respective militaries.
With the American Civil War's outbreak, neither the North nor the South had sufficient military forces to conduct a war. Both the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, at first, relied upon volunteers either to form or to bolster their respective militaries. Typically, individual states would recruit and send volunteers to their respective federal governments. Initially, many states relied on militia forces. Historically, every British colony in North America had established a militia. The militia usually consisted of adult, able-bodied men, who would rally to defend the colonies and, following the American Revolution, states during military crises. By the start of the American Civil War, unfortunately for both the Confederate States of America and the United States of America, most state militias were in a decline and unprepared for a major war.
In Ohio, Governor William Dennison hoped to supply the United States government with men and supplies from the Ohio militia. Ohio's militia system was virtually nonexistent by 1861. While militia forces played a vital role in Ohio's history from the American Revolution to the War of 1812, most major military threats to Ohio's security ended with the War of 1812. Following this conflict, the federal government quickly removed most Native Americans further west, and in the decades immediately following the war, no European or other major power attacked the United States. Facing no serious internal or external threats, most states, including Ohio, allowed their militia organizations to weaken. Most militia groups became mere social organizations and did not actively practice or study military maneuvers or tactics.
Dennison quickly discovered that Ohio's militia system could not play an active role in the American Civil War. Following the Battle of Fort Sumter and President Abraham Lincoln’s call for seventy-five thousand volunteers to return the seceded states to the Union in April 1861, Ohio's governor sent Jacob Cox, a state politician, and George McClellan, a former United States Army officer and current businessman, to Ohio's arsenal to assess the availability of weapons and supplies. Cox and McClellan found three or four crates of smoothbore muskets, a number of inoperable six-pound cannons, and some mildewed horse harnesses. Upon learning of the dire condition of the state's military supplies, Dennison still encouraged Ohioans to reestablish militia units to defend the state from Southern attack and to assist the federal government in reuniting the nation.
Ohioans quickly responded to the governor's and the federal government's call for troops. Among Ohio's earliest regiments was the 10th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This organization enrolled at Camp Harrison, at Cincinnati, Ohio, between April 18, 1861 and April 24, 1861.In mid May 1861, military authorities ordered the 10th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry; to Camp Dennison, a military base north of Cincinnati. Officials soon requested that the soldiers reenlist for three years of service. Most soldiers agreed, but those men who did not reenlist were mustered out of service upon the end of their three-months term on August 23, 1861.
10th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Months Service):
Roster of Officers:
|
Name |
Age |
Rank |
Date of Entering Service |
Term of Service |
|
William H. Lytle |
34 |
Colonel |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Herman J. Korf |
36 |
Lieutenant Colonel |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Joseph W. Burke |
25 |
Major |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles S. Muscroft |
42 |
Surgeon |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John B. Rice |
29 |
Assistant Surgeon |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
James A. Grover |
23 |
Adjutant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Nicholas Knox |
43 |
Sergeant Major |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
George C. Miller |
36 |
Quartermaster Sergeant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
William T.O. Higgins |
33 |
Chaplain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles Nickel |
39 |
Principal Musician |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John O'Dowd |
30 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Emil Seip |
36 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Oliver C. Pier |
35 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Robert M. Moore |
44 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
James P. Sedam |
26 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Thomas G. Tiernon |
35 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
William N. Ward |
28 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Henry Robinson |
37 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Christian Amis |
37 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Stephen J. McGroarty |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
|
John Fanning |
30 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John E. Hudson |
24 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
P.C. Marmion |
24 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Thomas McMullen |
38 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles C. Cramsey |
26 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
S.G.W. Peterson |
32 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Isaac J. Carter |
20 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
;Conrad Friedrich |
35 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
;James M. Fitzgerald |
28 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
George Schaefenacker |
30 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John Bentley |
33 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
;Nicholas Lacy |
25 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Joseph Connolly |
24 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
William H. Steel |
23 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Sebastian Eustachio |
37 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John Sullivan |
23 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John S. Mulroy |
21 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
James T. Hickey |
24 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Rudolph Seebaum |
24 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
;John Cranley |
29 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
;
