In the American Civil War, Ohio provided the federal government with 260 regiments of men, including infantry, artillery, and cavalry units. Ohioans also served in several other regiments from other states, most notably from Kentucky, West Virginia, and Massachusetts, as well as in federal units.
In the American Civil War, Ohio provided the federal government with 260 regiments of men, including infantry, artillery, and cavalry units. Ohioans also served in several other regiments from other states, most notably from Kentucky, West Virginia, and Massachusetts, as well as in federal units. Almost 330,000 Ohio men, including 5,092 African Americans, served in the Union military during the conflict.
Infantry regiments formed in Ohio became known as regiments of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. They served for varying lengths of time, averaging one hundred days to three years. In 1864, the governors of several Northern states convinced federal authorities to call up state militia forces for regular military duty. The governors believed that these militiamen would free regular soldiers currently serving in forts or guarding other important sites in Northern states for duty with the Union's invading armies in the Confederacy. Hopefully this surge of men, known as Hundred Days' Men, would allow the North to defeat the South in one hundred days or less while keeping Northern states safe from Confederate attack and anti-war unrest.
On May 19, 1864, the 169th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry mustered into service at Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, Ohio. Most enlistees came from the following militia units: the 50th Battalion Ohio National Guard from Sandusky County and the 52nd Battalion Ohio National Guard from Wayne County. The men in the regiment were to serve one hundred days.
On March 19, 1864, authorities dispatched the 169th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry to Washington, DC. Upon arriving in Washington, the regiment performed garrison duty in Fort Ethan Allen, one of several fortifications protecting the nation's capital. The 169th remained at Ethan Allen for its entire term of service except for a few weeks period in July 1864, when it served as reserves for a Union force assigned to stop Confederate General Jubal Early's army's advance towards Washington, DC. In late August or early September 1864, officials sent the 169th to Ohio, where authorities mustered the regiment out of service on September 4, 1864.
During its time of service, the 169th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry had forty-one soldiers die from disease or accidents.
