1861–1865
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.
Artillery batteries formed in Ohio became known as batteries of Ohio Volunteer Artillery. They served for varying lengths of time, averaging one hundred days to three years. On October 11, 1861, the 9th Ohio Independent Battery of Ohio Volunteer Artillery organized at Camp Wood, at Cleveland, Ohio. Initially, the organization was to be part of the 41st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but officials established the 9th Battery instead. The battery was also known as York’s Battery, named after one of the organization’s captains, Harrison B. York. The men in the battery were to serve three years.
On December 7, 1861, officials dispatched the 9th to Camp Gilbert, Kentucky, with the unit arriving at this location on December 20, 1861. The battery remained at Camp Gilbert until January 7, 1862, when the organization advanced to Somerset, Kentucky, arriving at this new city ten days later. On January 19, 1862, the 9th fought in the Battle of Mill Springs. After this Union victory, the battery returned to Somerset on January 22, 1862.
On January 30, 1862, the 9th departed Somerset for Cumberland Ford, Kentucky. Traveling via London, Kentucky, the battery reached Cumberland Ford on February 16, 1862. The battery participated in a reconnaissance of Cumberland Gap, which Confederate forces held, on March 21, 1862. The next day, an engagement occurred at Cumberland Gap, but the battery had no men killed or wounded. The unit returned to Cumberland Ford the next day, remaining there until June 7, 1862, when the organization joined a one-week expedition into the Cumberland Mountains. Following this movement, the battery entered camp at Williamsburg, Kentucky.
On June 19, 1862, the 9th fought in the Battle of Cumberland Gap, capturing this site from Confederate forces. The battery remained at Cumberland Gap throughout July and early August 1862. On August 18, 1862, Confederate soldiers under General Kirby Smith invested the Union position. A portion of the 9th participated in the Battle of Richmond, Kentucky (August 29 and 30, 1862), which resulted in a resounding Confederate victory. Constant skirmishing occurred in the vicinity of Cumberland Gap. On September 17, 1862, Northern forces evacuated Cumberland Gap, retreating to the Greenupsburg, Kentucky on the Ohio River. The union soldiers reached Greenupsburg on October 2, 1862 and crossed the Ohio River to Wheelersburg, Ohio.
After resting for a few days at Wheelersburg, the 9th advanced to Covington, Kentucky, arriving on October 17, 1862. Two weeks later, the battery reached Lexington, Kentucky, where the organization encamped on the farm of James B. Clay until late November 1862. On November 25, 1862, the unit moved to Nicholasville, Kentucky, arriving the following day. Except for a brief scout towards Lebanon, Kentucky in December 1862, the battery remained at Nicholasville until January 26, 1863, when the organization advanced towards Louisville, Kentucky. At Louisville, the battery boarded transports on January 31, 1863 and sailed for Nashville, Tennessee, where the 9th joined the Army of the Cumberland.
The 9th remained at Nashville until March 6, 1863, when the unit advanced to Franklin, Tennessee. Three days later, the battery pursued Southern cavalry to within five miles of Columbia, Tennessee, where a skirmish occurred. The 9th returned to Franklin on March 12, 1863. On March 28, 1863, the battery advanced to Brentwood, Tennessee, returning to Franklin on April 8, 1863. That same day, the battery and a detachment of infantry skirmished with Confederate forces, with the Northerners driving the Southerners from the battlefield. On June 11, 1863, the battery skirmished with Confederate forces at Triune, Tennessee, again emerging victorious. Constant skirmishing occurred during June and July 1863 in the vicinity of Triune and Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
On September 5, 1863, the 9th advanced to Tullahoma, Tennessee. While at Tullahoma, on February 22, 1864, many of the unit’s original members reenlisted and received a thirty-day furlough to their homes in Ohio. On April 9, 1864, these men returned to Tullahoma, rejoining the battery.
In early May 1864, the 9th embarked upon William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. The battery participated in the major battles of this expedition. Upon the Union’s capture of Atlanta, Georgia in early September 1864, the battery rested for two months in the vicinity of the city before joining Sherman’s March to the Sea in November 1864. Following this campaign’s end in late December 1864, the 9th rested several weeks at Savannah, Georgia before embarking upon Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign. With Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s surrender in late April 1865, the Carolinas Campaign and the Civil War ended. The 9th traveled to Washington, DC, where the unit participated in the Grand Review. In mid July 1865, officials ordered the battery to Cleveland, where the organization mustered out of service on July 25, 1865.
During the 9th Battery’s term of service, one man died on the battlefield, while twenty-two men perished from disease or accidents.
