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7th 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 7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This organization was formedbetween April 18, 1861 and April 25, 1861. Most enlistess came from northern Ohio, including from Cleveland, Oberlin, warren, Painesville, Youngstown, Norwalk, and Franklin. The 7th Ohio Volunteer Infantry's members enlisted for three months of military duty. Officials sent the entire regiment to Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, Ohio in early May 1861. 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 between August 18, 1861 and August 22, 1861.

7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Months Service):

Roster of Officers:

Name

Age

Rank

Date of Entering Service

Term of Service

Erastus B. Tyler

39

Colonel

April 25, 1861

Three months

William R. Creighton

23

Lieutenant Colonel

April 19, 1861

Three months

John S. Casement

30

Major

April 25, 1861

Three months

Henry K. Cushing

34

Surgeon

April 25, 1861

Three months

Francis Salter

31

Assistant Surgeon

April 25, 1861

Three months

Louis G. De Forest

22

Adjutant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Frederick T. Brown

Chaplain

April 25, 1861

Three months

Leicester King

36

Sergeant Major

April 25, 1861

Three months

Marcus S. Hopkins

20

Quartermaster Sergeant

April 25, 1861

Three months

Joshua L. Woodard

21

Drum Major

April 25, 1861

Three months

Harry Wood

51

Fife Major

April 25, 1861

Three months

William R. Creighton

23

Captain

April 19, 1861

Three months

Orrin J. Crane

28

Captain

April 19, 1861

Three months

Charles A. De Villiers

41

Captain

April 22, 1861

Three months

James T. Sterling

26

Captain

April 22, 1861

Three months

Giles W. Shurtleff

30

Captain

April 22, 1861

Three months

John N. Dyer

38

Captain

April 22, 1861

Three months

John W. Sprague

44

Captain

April 25, 1861

Three months

John Morris

26

Captain

April 23, 1861

Three months

William Stedman

45

Captain

May 14, 1861

Three months

Fred A. Seymour

40

Captain

April 23, 1861

Three months

Joel F. Asper

39

Captain

April 24, 1861

Three months

William R. Sterling

39

Captain

April 24, 1861

Three months

John J. Wiseman

36

Captain

April 20, 1861

Three months

John F. Schutte

31

First Lieutenant

April 20, 1861

Three months

Samuel M. McClelland

22

First Lieutenant

April 24, 1861

Three months

George L. Wood

23

First Lieutenant

April 24, 1861

Three months

W.H. Robinson

20

First Lieutenant

April 23, 1861

Three months

John Rouse

26

First Lieutenant

April 20, 1861

Three months

Ralph Lockwood

31

First Lieutenant

April 25, 1861

Three months

Benjamin F. Gill

First Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

H. Kinston

First Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Judson N. Cross

23

First Lieutenant

April 29, 1861

Three months

Thomas T. Sweeney

30

First Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Albert C. Burgess

21

First Lieutenant

April 29, 1861

Three months

Oscar W. Steel

25

Second Lieutenant

April 20, 1861

Three months

Edwin F. Fitch

28

Second Lieutenant

April 24, 1861

Three months

Halbert B. Case

22

Second Lieutenant

April 25, 1861

Three months

James B. Cleveland

27

Second Lieutenant

April 24, 1861

Three months

Elliott S. Quay

20

Second Lieutenant

April 23, 1861

Three months

Isaac N. Wilcox

28

Second Lieutenant

April 20, 1861

Three months

Arthur T. Wilcox

26

Second Lieutenant

April 25, 1861

Three months

Andrew Williams

32

Second Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Stephen Cole

22

Second Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Ephraim H. Baker

30

Second Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

Dudley A. Kimball

25

Second Lieutenant

April 22, 1861

Three months

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