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Camp Circleville

With the Civil War’s outbreak, both the North and the South were ill prepared for the conflict. Ohio Governor William Dennison hoped to utilize the state’s militia forces to assist President Abraham Lincoln in reuniting the nation.

With the Civil War’s outbreak, both the North and the South were ill prepared for the conflict. Ohio Governor William Dennison hoped to utilize the state’s militia forces to assist President Abraham Lincoln in reuniting the nation. Unfortunately for Dennison, many of Ohio’s militia units were no longer in existence. Those units that continued to operate were primarily social organizations that rarely practiced military maneuvers. Following the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1861, President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand volunteers to subdue the Confederate States of America. Despite the lack of a well-trained militia, Governor Dennison beseeched communities to send their militia companies to Circleville, Ohio for possible use by the North during the American Civil War.

To process Ohio’s volunteers, Governor Dennison ordered the creation of Camp Jackson at Circleville. To help speed soldiers’ inductions into Ohio’s military, Dennison soon authorized the establishment of other camps across the state, including Camp Circleville at Circleville, Ohio. Camp Circleville remained in operation only during 1862. Officials named the base after the city of Circleville. The base was located at the intersection of Kingston Pike and Tarlton Road in Circleville. The 90th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and the 114th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry organized at Camp Circleville.

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