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 Columbus, 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 Columbus. To help speed soldiers’ inductions into Ohio’s military, Dennison soon authorized the establishment of other camps across the state, including Camp Taylor. In all likelihood, officials named Camp Taylor after U.S.-Mexican War hero and former President of the United States of America Zachary Taylor. The camp remained in use from 1861 to 1863. The 7th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 8th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 19th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 21st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 60th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 105th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 107th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 124th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 125th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 129th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 150th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 164th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 166th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 169th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 12th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, the 19th Regiment Ohio Light Artillery, and the 20th Regiment Ohio Light Artillery organized at Camp Taylor.