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 6th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This organization was formedon April 20, 1861, at Camp Harrison near Cincinnati, Ohio. Most of the enlistees came from Cincinnati, and most members belonged to the Guthrie Gray Battalion, a pseudo-military organization. The 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry's members enlisted for three months of military duty. Officials sent the entire regiment to Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati. Military authorities soon requested that the soldiers reenlist for three years of service. Most men agreed, but those who did not were mustered out of service upon the end of their three-months term on August 21, 1861.
6th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Months Service):
Roster of Officers:
|
Name |
Rank |
Age |
Date of Entering Service |
Term of Service |
|
William K. Bosley |
Colonel |
35 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Eliphalet Loring |
Lieutenant Colonel |
29 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Alexander C. Christopher |
Major |
37 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Starling Loving |
Surgeon |
May 2, 1861 |
Three months |
|
|
Fisher W. Ames |
Assistant Surgeon |
35 |
May 2, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Nicholas L. Anderson |
Adjutant |
23 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John P. Wood |
Sergeant Major |
30 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles C. Peck |
Quartermaster Sergeant |
29 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John A. West |
Hospital Steward |
27 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Marcus A. Wescott |
Captain |
34 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Julian White |
Captain |
30 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John C. Lane |
Captain |
30 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Frank Ehrman |
Captain |
22 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Samuel C. Erwin |
Captain |
36 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
George S. Smith |
Captain |
27 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Anthony O. Russell |
Captain |
34 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Henry H. Tinker |
Captain |
25 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
James Beuse |
Captain |
30 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Julius C. Guthrie |
Captain |
24 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Richard Southgate |
First Lieutenant |
30 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John W. Morgan |
First Lieutenant |
22 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
William S. Getty |
First Lieutenant |
28 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John W. Wilson |
First Lieutenant |
25 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
James W. Wilmington |
First Lieutenant |
20 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John A. Ashbury |
First Lieutenant |
28 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John C. Parker |
First Lieutenant |
21 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John F. Hoy |
First Lieutenant |
39 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles H. Brutton |
First Lieutenant |
25 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Francis M. Hulburd |
First Lieutenant |
23 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Augustus B. Billerbeck |
Second Lieutenant |
23 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles F. Porter |
Second Lieutenant |
28 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Edgar M. Johnson |
Second Lieutenant |
24 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Jules J. Montagnier |
Second Lieutenant |
25 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles H. Heron |
Second Lieutenant |
23 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Lewis S. Worthington |
Second Lieutenant |
35 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Ezekiel H. Tatern |
Second Lieutenant |
24 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles H. Titus |
Second Lieutenant |
25 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Thomas S. Royse |
Second Lieutenant |
28 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Henry McAlpin |
Second Lieutenant |
29 |
April 20, 1861 |
Three months |
;
