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. On March 2, 1865, the 186th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry organized at Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio. The men in the regiment were to serve a one-year term of enlistment.
On March 2, 1865, authorities dispatched the 186th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry to Nashville, Tennessee, where it became part of the Department of the Cumberland. Upon the regiment’s arrival in Nashville, the soldiers remained here just a short time before being transferred to Murfreesboro, Tennessee on March 8, 1865. The 186th arrived in Murfreesboro on March 10, 1865 and proceeded to Cleveland, Tennessee, where the regiment encamped. The soldiers in the regiment actually did not receive weapons until they arrived in Cleveland. The 186th Regiment remained in Cleveland until May 2, 1865, when it moved to Dalton, Georgia and then, after just a few days, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. The regiment remained on guard duty at Chattanooga until July 20, 1865, when authorities ordered the soldiers to Nashville. The 186th Regiment remained in Nashville until September 18, 1865, when officials mustered it out of military service. The regiment departed for Columbus, Ohio on September 19, 1865 and was discharged on September 25, 1865.
Unfortunately for the soldiers, the Civil War ended approximately six weeks after the regiment’s formation on March 2, 1865, preventing the soldiers of the 186th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry from seeing any major combat in the American Civil War. The regiment did lose one man killed in a skirmish with Confederate forces and an additional forty-nine men due to disease or accidents. Despite not engaging in major combat as the 186th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, many of the regiment’s enlisted men had served in other regiments of Ohio Volunteer Infantry earlier in the war.
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