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11th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Months Service)

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 11th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This organization enrolled between April 15, 1861 and April 25, 1861.Most members of the11th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry came from Miami County, Clinton County, Hamilton County, Montgomery County, and Columbiana County, all of which are counties in Ohio. Officials soon requested that the soldiers reenlist for three years of service. Very few soldiers agreed to extend their service, and those men who did not reenlist were mustered out of service upon the end of their three-months term between August 1, 1861 and August 28, 1861.

11th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Months Service):

Roster of Officers:

Name

Age

Rank

Date of Entering Service

Term of Service

James F. Harrison

36

Colonel

April 25, 1861

Three months

Joseph W. Frizell

38

Lieutenant Colonel

April 25, 1861

Three months

Augustus H. Coleman

32

Major

April 25, 1861

Three months

Jonas F. Gabriel

34

Surgeon

May 2, 1861

Three months

Henry Z. Gill

29

Assistant Surgeon

May 2, 1861

Three months

Henry T. Ravenscraft

38

Adjutant

April 25, 1861

Three months

Edward H. Mayo

24

Sergeant Major

April 22, 1861

Three months

David Kelly

23

Quartermaster Sergeant

April 22, 1861

Three months

George M. Porter

35

Drum Major

April 20, 1861

Three months

William Newkirk

27

Fife Major

May 4, 1861

Three months

Calvin J. Childs

36

Captain

April 15, 1861

Three months

Thomas L.P. De Frees

48

Captain

April 20, 1861

Three months

Robert A. Knox

33

Captain

April 24, 1861

Three months

John V. Curtis

39

Captain

April 22, 1861

Three months

John C. Langston

30

Captain

April 19, 1861

Three months

Stephen Johnston

48

Captain

April 18, 1861

Three months

Michael P. Nolan

36

Captain

April 22, 1861

Three months

John C. Drury

40

Captain

April 20, 1861

Three months

Jonathan Cranor

37

Captain

April 23, 1861

Three months

John M. Newkirk

30

Captain

April 23, 1861

Three months

Henry C. Angel

23

First Lieutenant

April 23, 1861

Three months

J.B. Creviston

33

First Lieutenant

April 23, 1861

Three months

Cornelius N. Hoagland

33

First Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Samuel B. Smith

24

First Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Jackson Shade

31

First Lieutenant

April 19, 1861

Three months

Henry T. Ravenscroft

38

First Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Charles Calkins

34

First Lieutenant

April 24, 1861

Three months

Samuel Alward

27

First Lieutenant

April 20, 1861

Three months

George W. Hatfield

25

First Lieutenant

April 15, 1861

Three months

Thomas J. McDowell

32

Second Lieutenant

April 24, 1861

Three months

John D. Shannon

22

Second Lieutenant

April 20, 1861

Three months

Jarvis S. Rogers

34

Second Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Hiram Moore

32

Second Lieutenant

April 19, 1861

Three months

Solomon C. Teverbaugh

27

Second Lieutenant

April 18, 1861

Three months

Robert Patterson

25

Second Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Thomas L. Steward

27

Second Lieutenant

April 18, 1861

Three months

Wesley Gorsuch

41

Second Lieutenant

April 23, 1861

Three months

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