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 Zanesville at Zanesville, Ohio. Officials named the camp after the city of Zanesville. Camp Zanesville remained in use from 1861 to 1864. The 16th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 62nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 78th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 97th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 122nd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 159th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, the 160th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and the 9th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry organized at Camp Zanesville. The camp was located at the Muskingum County Fairgrounds.
