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 9th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This organization was formedon April 22, 1861 and enrolled into the United States military at Camp Harrison, at Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 8, 1861. Most members of the regiment were German-Americans from Cincinnati. On May 18, military authorities ordered the 9th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry; to Camp Dennison, a military base north of Cincinnati. Officials soon requested that the soldiers reenlist for three years of service. Most soldiers agreed, making the 9th Regiment the first three-years regiment from Ohio, but those men who did not reenlist were mustered out of service upon the end of their three-months term on August 4, 1861.
9th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Three Months Service):
Roster of Officers:
|
Name |
Age |
Rank |
Date of Entering Service |
Term of Service |
|
Robert L. McCook |
31 |
Colonel |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles Sondershoff |
37 |
Lieutenant Colonel |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Frank Linke |
38 |
Major |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles E. Boyle |
40 |
Surgeon |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Rudolph Worth |
28 |
Assistant Surgeon |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
August Willich |
40 |
Adjutant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Herman Raimund |
42 |
Sergeant Major |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Adolph Raedelheim |
25 |
Quartermaster – Sergeant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
George Schveinfest |
Principal Musician |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
|
Guenther Seidensticker |
25 |
Fife Major |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles Joseph |
29 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
William C. Margedant |
26 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Henry Broderson |
37 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Frederick Schroeder |
35 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Lewis C. Frintz |
24 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Gustav Kammerling |
41 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Theodore Lammers |
28 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Frank Coguelin |
30 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
John Gausen |
35 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
George Sommer |
40 |
Captain |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Morris Pohlman |
25 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles Jahn |
25 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Bartholmew Benz |
32 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Ernst Rubenow |
33 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
George H. Harries |
27 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Gebhard Krug |
39 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Louis Heuser |
34 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Gustav F. Nepper |
27 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Nathan Levy |
43 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Lucas Schwank |
53 |
First Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Theodore Haffner |
37 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Jacob Gluchowsby |
31 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Adolph Kuehn |
30 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Henry Hunger |
43 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles Mumm |
29 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Martin Bruner |
22 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Charles Lauenstein |
28 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Joseph Haider |
32 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Jacob Muller |
33 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
|
Ferdinand Muller |
24 |
Second Lieutenant |
August 22, 1861 |
Three months |
;
