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Wallace Guards

1862

In the American Civil War, Ohio provided the federal government with 260 regiments of men, including infantry, artillery, and cavalry units. Ohioans also served in several other regiments from other states, most notably from Kentucky, West Virginia, and Massachusetts, as well as in federal units.

In the American Civil War, Ohio provided the federal government with 260 regiments of men, including infantry, artillery, and cavalry units. Ohioans also served in several other regiments from other states, most notably from Kentucky, West Virginia, and Massachusetts, as well as in federal units. Almost 330,000 Ohio men, including 5,092 African Americans, served in the Union military during the conflict.

Infantry regiments formed in Ohio became known as regiments of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. They served for varying lengths of time, averaging one hundred days to three years. On September 2, 1862, the Wallace Guards organized at Cincinnati, Ohio. The unit mustered into service at Covington, Kentucky, on September 9, 1862. The men in the Wallace Guards were part of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry and were to serve thirty days.

In August 1862, Confederate forces under the command of Braxton Bragg and Kirby Smith had invaded Kentucky. Union officials feared that Bragg would assault Louisville, Kentucky, while Smith would attack Cincinnati. On September 2, 1862, Major General Lew Wallace, the commanding officer of United States soldiers in Cincinnati, issued an order, requiring each city councilman to organize the adult males in his respective city ward into one hundred-man militia companies. The city eventually provided Wallace with three regiments or thirty companies of men, plus a company of cavalry and an artillery battery. The city also provided additional military units for Wallace's use, including the Wallace Guards, which were named in the general's honor.

During the organization's term of service, the Wallace Guards primarily manned fortifications on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River in the vicinity of Covington. Officials mustered the organization out of service on October 4, 1862.

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