Introducing the official Ohio Civil War 150 Speakers Corps!

In order to provide Ohio communities with some of the best Civil War presenters in the state, the Ohio Humanities Council and the Ohio Historical Society have collaborated to create the Ohio Civil War 150 Speakers Corps. Together, OHC and OHS hope to provide and support the best possible scholarship and educational resources pertaining to this crucial topic.

The list of speakers includes living historians and academics presenting on various Civil War topics such as John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Matthew Brady, Civil War medicine, the Underground Railroad and Ohio in the Civil War.

To book a speaker for your event visit:

http://www.ohiohumanities.org/?page_id=1727

McHenry points out that scholars have consistently ranked Reagan as a better president than Grant. In a Wall Street Journal survey from 2005, Reagan was ranked No. 6 while Grant was No. 29.

Grant was the legendary Union general from Ohio who led the North to victory, became our 18th president and was a champion of African American rights. Unfortunately, his administration was plagued by scandal which often overshadowed his accomplishments.

Articles and Blogs:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/03/reagan.fifty.dollar.bill/index.html

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/03/04/they-want-to-put-ronald-reagan-on-the-50-b/

http://technorati.com/politics/article/congressman-wants-ronald-reagan-unbreakable-in/

James A. Garfield National Historic Site
8095 Mentor Avenue
Mentor, Ohio 44060
440-255-8722
440-974-2045  fax
www.nps.gov/jaga

In the 1990s I saw Ken Burns’ PBS film “The Civil War” but I was disappointed that no mention was made of the role played by German-Americans, especially the many German regiments who fought for the Union.  I felt this was mainly due to the fact that the major book on the topic, written by Wilhelm Kaufman, was in German and had never been translated. After talking with colleagues I decided to pull together a team to bring out a translation, which resulted in the publication of Germans in the American Civil War.*

Kaufmann was the editor of a German newspaper in Cleveland. His Civil War history had previously appeared in serial form in 80 German-American papers across the country. As a result, Kaufmann received a great deal of correspondence from German-American Civil War veterans, making his book a goldmine of information on the topic and includes an extensive biographical directory of more than five hundred German-American officers. According to Kaufman and other sources, one-third of Union troops were German-American, either German- or American-born!

With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War approaching, my concern again is that the role played by German-Americans will be overlooked so I am translating another important book on the topic: Gustav Tafel’s history of the Cincinnati Germans in the Civil War.

When President Lincoln called for volunteer regiments to protect the Union, Germans from Cincinnati were eager to enlist. Gustav Tafel (1830-1908) wrote a fascinating book about these Cincinnati Germans in 1901 as a chapter in a German-language history of the Cincinnati Germans. Like Kaufmann’s work, this has never been translated, so I decided to take the project on. What I like about Tafel’s work is that it is by a Civil War veteran and he is more than familiar with what he is talking about.

Tafel belonged to the 48er generation that came to America as a result of the 1848 Revolution in Germany. In Cincinnati he co-founded the first Turnverein and helped organize the 9th O.V.I., known as a Turner regiment.  The 9th O.V.I., made up of mostly foreign-born Germans, fought at Rich Mountain, Shiloh, Tullahoma, Corinth and Chickamauga among others. Tafel was also appointed commander of the 106th O.V.I. and, later on, served as mayor of Cincinnati.

Tafel’s history tells us that the Cincinnati Germans formed six German regiments, but also formed companies in non-German units as well. For example, Cincinnati’s 10th O.V.I. was formed by Irish-Americans, but also had two German companies.

The German regiments were dubbed the “Dutch devils” by the Confederates.  Robert E. Lee was reported to have said, “Take the Dutch out of the Union Army and we could whip the Yankees easily.” Known for their tenacity in battle, the 9th  O.V.I., for example, lost 11 officers and 237 troops out of a total of some 500 men at the Battle of Chickamauga.

German regiments were formed elsewhere in Ohio and it would be interesting to see translations done of their histories if they can be located. Some of them might not be in book form, but in the pages of the German-language press of Ohio. I would be interested in finding out about any other German-language regimental histories in need of translation, or of Civil War letters and diaries in German as well.

*Germans in the American Civil War, by Wilhelm Kaufman, translated by Steven Rowan and edited by Don Heinrich Tolzmann with Werner Mueller and Robert E. Ward (Carlisle, Pa.: John Kallmann Publishers, 1999).

Don Heinrich Tolzmann is President of the German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati and Curator of the German Heritage Museum and the author and editor of numerous books on German-American history and culture. He has received many awards, including the Federal Service Cross from Germany and the Ohioana Book Award. Dr. Tolzmann recently retired as Curator of the German-Americana Collection and Director of the German-American Studies Program at the University of Cincinnati. http://www.donheinrichtolzmann.net/index.html

Meeting highlights can be viewed in our online discussion forum or downloaded here[PDF]. We welcome your comments and suggestions.

A sizable number of white Ohioans, especially those living along the Ohio River, had migrated to the state from slaveholding states. While opponents of the war could not legally own slaves in Ohio, many of them had family members residing in the South who did own African American slaves. These people often sympathized with slaveholders, agreeing with many white Southerners that the federal government did not have the power to limit slavery’s existence. These Ohioans preferred political compromise rather than warfare.

Other Ohioans had economic ties to the South. These Ohioans either operated businesses in the South or engaged in trade with Southerners. These Ohioans feared that a war would hurt them financially, as it theoretically could end trade between Ohio and the Southern states.

Some Ohioans did not support the war for religious reasons. Numerous groups in Ohio objected to violence due to their religious beliefs. These people included members of the Society of Friends, the Mennonites, the Amish, and several other denominations. While these groups did not formally protest the war, many of their followers refused to participate in the conflict. Some members of these faiths violated their religious teachings and did take up arms against the Confederacy. While groups like the Quakers opposed violence, they also believed that slavery was equally unjust and against God’s will.

Later, some Ohioans began to oppose the Civil War after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862. That document declared that the slaves in areas still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863 would receive their freedom on that date. By issuing the proclamation, Lincoln made ending slavery one of the North’s war aims. Many Northerners, including some Ohioans, were willing to fight to reunite the nation and to secure a government where the majority ruled, but they were unwilling to fight a war to terminate slavery. This was especially true among some soldiers from the working class. These men feared that, with slavery’s end, African Americans would migrate to the North, taking jobs away from the white workers. Several Northern soldiers, including some Ohioans, deserted from the Union army in protest of the Emancipation Proclamation.

A final and, perhaps, most important reason for anti-war protests was the draft. In 1863, the United States government implemented the Conscription Act, which was also known as the Enrollment Act. This act required states to draft men to serve in the Union military if individual states did not meet their enlistment quotas through volunteers. The Conscription Act permitted drafted men to pay a commutation fee of three hundred dollars or to hire a substitute to escape service if they were drafted.

Draft riots occurred in both New York City, New York and Boston, Massachusetts. Some Ohioans also strongly objected to the Conscription Act. Many of the opponents were members of the anti-war or “Peace” section of the Democratic Party and encouraged men to resist the draft or to desert once they were drafted. In Hoskinville, residents attempted to hide a deserter from government authorities. The local federal marshal called in soldiers to arrest the deserter. In Holmes County, nine hundred to one thousand men created a makeshift fort to defend themselves from federal officials sent to enforce the Conscription Act. These men were responding to attempts by the federal government to enlist men into the Union army during June 1863. A mob had attacked an officer sent to enlist men into the service, and a provost marshal captured the ringleaders behind the assault. A group of residents freed the four men arrested. They built Fort Fizzle to resist future attempts to arrest the ringleaders and to prevent the draft’s enforcement. They equipped themselves with guns and four artillery pieces, although some scholars doubt that any cannons were actually inside of the fort. Approximately 420 federal soldiers arrived to disarm the men and to implement the draft. A brief skirmish occurred, with the soldiers emerging victorious. Two draft resisters were wounded. The demonstrators dispersed into the woods, and the Battle of Fort Fizzle, as it became known, quickly ended. The soldiers continued to hunt for the protestors. Eventually a deal was brokered in which the four men originally arrested would surrender. When the men turned themselves in, a majority of the soldiers returned to Columbus. This was just one of many protests in response to the draft in Ohio. Unlike the Battle of Fort Fizzle, government authorities easily put down most of these uprisings without having to resort to violence.

Clement Vallandigham and the Peace Democrats

Several Ohioans participated in a peace convention during early 1861. The convention was held in Washington, DC, and the delegates hoped to convince President Abraham Lincoln to either agree to the Confederacy’s demands to get its citizens to rejoin the Union or simply to let the Southern states leave the United States. Lincoln ignored the peace convention’s attempt to end the conflict peacefully. Politically, most people who participated in the peace convention affiliated themselves with the Democratic Party. These people became known as Peace Democrats.

Clement Vallandigham was the best known Peace Democrat in Ohio. He helped organize a rally for the Democratic Party at Mount Vernon, Ohio, on May 1, 1863. Peace Democrats Vallandigham, Samuel Cox, and George Pendleton all delivered speeches denouncing General Order No. 38. In April 1863, General Ambrose Burnside, commander of the Department of Ohio, issued General Order No. 38. Burnside placed his headquarters in Cincinnati. Located on the Ohio River, just north of the slave state of Kentucky, Cincinnati had a number of residents sympathetic to the Confederacy. Burnside hoped to intimidate Confederate sympathizers with General Order No. 38.

General Order No. 38 stated:

The habit of declaring sympathy for the enemy will not be allowed in this department. Persons committing such offenses will be at once arrested with a view of being tried or sent beyond our lines into the lines of their friends. It must be understood that treason, expressed or implied, will not be tolerated in this department.

Burnside also declared that, in certain cases, violations of General Order No. 38 could result in death.

Vallandigham was so opposed to the order that he allegedly said that he “despised it, spit upon it, trampled it under his feet” He also supposedly encouraged his fellow Peace Democrats to openly resist Burnside. Vallandigham went on to chastise President Lincoln for not seeking a peaceable and immediate end to the Civil War and for allowing General Burnside to thwart citizen rights under a free government.

In attendance at the Mount Vernon rally were two army officers under Burnside’s command. They reported to Burnside that Vallandigham had violated General Order No. 38. The general ordered his immediate arrest. On May 5, 1863, a company of soldiers arrested Vallandigham at his home in Dayton and brought him to Cincinnati to stand trial.

Burnside charged Vallandigham with the following crimes:

Publicly expressing, in violation of General Orders No. 38, from Head-quarters Department of Ohio, sympathy for those in arms against the Government of the United States, and declaring disloyal sentiments and opinions, with the object and purpose of weakening the power of the Government in its efforts to suppress an unlawful rebellion.

A military tribunal heard the case, and Vallandigham offered no serious defense against the charges. He contended that military courts had no jurisdiction over his case. The tribunal found Vallandigham guilty and sentenced him to remain in a United States prison for the remainder of the war.

Vallandigham’s attorney, George Pugh, appealed the tribunal’s decision to Humphrey Leavitt, a judge on the federal circuit court. Pugh, like his client, claimed that the military court did not have proper jurisdiction in this case and had violated Vallandigham’s constitutional rights. Judge Leavitt rejected Vallandigham’s argument. He agreed with General Burnside that military authority was necessary during a time of war to ensure that opponents to the United States Constitution did not succeed in overthrowing the Constitution and the rights that it guaranteed United States citizens.

As a result of Leavitt’s decision, authorities were to send Vallandigham to federal prison. President Lincoln feared that Peace Democrats across the North might rise up to prevent Vallandigham’s detention. The president commuted Vallandigham’s sentence to exile in the Confederacy. On May 25, Burnside sent Vallandigham into Confederate lines.

Some Peace Democrats resorted to more radical means, including subversion, to protest the Civil War. Some of these men formed secret societies such as the Sons of Liberty. Members of these organizations resided primarily in Northern and Border States. In February 1864, Clement Vallandigham was elected supreme commander of the sons of Liberty. Ohio government officials estimated that between eighty thousand and 110,000 Ohioans belonged to these organizations, but most historians discount these numbers as being dramatically higher than the group’s actual numbers.

Rumors circulated throughout the North during 1864 that the Confederate sympathizers intended to free Southern prisoners at several prison camps, including Johnson’s Island and Camp Chase in Ohio. These freed prisoners would form the basis of a new Confederate army that would operate in the heart of the Union. Supposedly, General John Hunt Morgan, who had raided Ohio the previous year, would return to the state and assist this new army. The plot never materialized. William Rosecrans, assigned to oversee the Department of Missouri, discovered the planned uprising and warned Northern governors to remain cautious. John Brough, Ohio’s governor sent out spies to infiltrate the sympathizer groups. These men succeeded and stopped the uprising before it could occur. Confederate supporters hoped to capture the Michigan, a gunboat operating on Lake Erie near Sandusky. They would then use the gunboat to free Confederate prisoners at Johnson’s Island. Union authorities arrested the plot’s ringleader, Charles Cole.

While some Ohioans did openly oppose the Civil War, these people remained a distinct minority. Most Ohioans supported the war and a very large number of them volunteered for military service. Nevertheless, at least to some degree, the war protesters caused difficulties for both the state and federal government and hampered the government’s abilities to wage the war.

References and Suggested Reading

* Dee, Christine, ed. Ohio’s War: The Civil War in Documents. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2007.
* Klement, Frank L. The Limits of Dissent: Clement L. Vallandigham & the Civil War. New York, NY: Fordham University Press, 1998.
* Knepper, George. Ohio and Its People. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2003.
* Reid, Whitelaw. Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Generals and Soldiers. Cincinnati, OH: Clarke, 1895.
* Roseboom, Eugene H. The Civil War Era: 1850-1873. Columbus: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1944.
* Vallandigham, Clement Laird. Speeches, Arguments, Addresses, and Letters of Clement L. Vallandigham. New York, NY: J. Walter, 1864.
* Vallandigham, Clement Laird. The Trial of Hon. Clement L. Vallandigham, by a Military Commission and the Proceedings Under his Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio. Cincinnati, OH: Rickey and Carroll, 1863.
* Vallandigham, James L. A Life of Clement L. Vallandigham, by his Brother, Rev. James L. Vallandigham. Baltimore, MD: Turnbull Brothers, 1872.

If you would like to be on the list of reenactors available for Civil War commemoration events, please use our forum to post a description of the character(s) you can portray or your reenactment unit along with your contact information (we recommend including just your e-mail address or website link).

Roger Micker (Jefferson County) was also mentioned in the Herald Star Online. Micker is a high school social studies teacher at Steubenville High School, a member of the Ohio Historical Society Teacher Advisory Committee and is President of the Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable.

Catherine Wilson (Greene County) was mentioned in the Xenia Gazette Online. She is the Executive Director of the Greene County Historical Society. She has experience in archives, genealogy, history scholarship and Civil War reenacting.

Paul LaRue (Fayette County) was mentioned in the Record Herald Online. He is a high school social studies teacher at Washington High School. He has been honored for his innovative methods of teaching Civil War history by the American Legion (2003 Educator of the Year) and the Civil War Preservation Trust.

Bob Minton (Hancock County) was mentioned in The Courier Online. He is the colonel and commanding officer of the Army of the Ohio Reenacting Battalion. He has been involved in efforts to preserve land at Johnson’s Island Civil War Prison site and raised significant funds to conserve two Ohio Civil War flags.

John Switzer was mentioned in The Columbus Dispatch Online. He is a journalist with The Columbus Dispatch and writes a Sunday Metro column, often revealing his love of history in his topics.

In response to Gov. Ted Strickland’s directive to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in Ohio (2011-2015), the Ohio Historical Society has appointed 15 Ohioans to the Civil War 150 Advisory Committee. Made up of individuals from around the state, the committee will provide guidance to the historical society on programs and activities to ensure a successful commemoration effort at both the state and local levels. The first meeting of the group is Jan. 28. Members will serve until the end of 2015.

The monument reads:

In memory of Lt. Col. Thomas F. Wildes
116th Ohio Regiment
Who, when ordered by Gen. Sheridan to burn the town of Dayton, Va. in retaliation for the death of a Union officer, refused to obey that order, risking court-martial and disgrace. His refusal and plea to Gen. Sheridan resulted in a countermand to the order, and saved this town from total destruction

Source: submitted by Duncan Aukland

Resources:

http://www.daytonva.us/history.htm

http://shenandoahscivilwar.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/monument-to-lt-col-thomas-wildes-dayton-virginia/

The Society’s five year project, “Hell & Homefront: Civil War Through Fulton County Eyes” will contain exhibits, educational programs and a publication on the history of Fulton County from the Underground Railroad movement in the 1830s through the reconstruction era. Rather than glorify the war or particular battles, the Society’s objective is to present the views of Fulton County citizens on the battlefield and on the home front. They plan on presenting their research in a series of free lectures in the spring.

The museum has an extensive Civil War artifacts collection, which will be showcased during the commemoration. The Society is seeking family stories, collectors, historians, veterans and volunteers to get involved in the project. You can also share your ideas on the blog!

For more information, contact Mr. Swearingen through the museum’s email address, museum@fultoncountyhs.org or at the museum where the research project is taking place, (419)337-7922.

http://www.fultoncountyhs.org/
FULTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
229 Monroe Street, P.O. Box 104
Wauseon, OH 43567-0104

The itinerary is available on the National Park Service website at http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/veterans_affairs/.

McPherson was born on November 14, 1928 in Clyde, Ohio and was the highest ranking Ohio soldier to die in the American Civil War. He served under Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Shiloh as well as during the Vicksburg campaign and was Grant’s head engineer.

Visitors to the general’s home can see period furniture, photographs, documents, books, his sword, a bust and numerous other items.

The McPherson House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974.

Read the full story.

Visit the Clyde Heritage League website.

Without preservation funds, historical organizations may be reluctant to use their battle flags in Civil War sesquicentennial events.

For information about the Ohio Historical Society’s “Save the Flags Campaign” click here and for the flag digitization project visit “Fight for the Colors”.

Read the recent AP article “Battle flag preservation efforts hit by money woes”.

For more information visit www.pbs.org and www.weta.org.

The best way to remove wrinkles from a textile in good condition is to use a steamer. To display the flag, cut a piece of  acid-free foam core slightly larger than the flag. Cover the foam core with unbleached muslin. If the flag is in good condition, hand sew the flag to the muslin in large stitches using natural fiber thread. Make sure that you use thick, acid-free matt within the frame so that the flag does not touch the glazing. The glazing should block UV light.

When displaying the flag, keep in mind that all light is damaging, not just UV light. Light damage is cumulative and irreversible so avoid natural light. Consider displaying the flag only on special occasions, or cover it when it is not being viewed.

Call the Ohio Historical Society at 614-297-2510 for more information or contact your local historical society.

In 1864, during the American Civil War, Ohioan Benjamin Franklin Wade, a United States Senator, and Henry Winter Davis, a United States Representative from Maryland, introduced the Wade-Davis Bill. This legislation sought to create a policy for how seceded states would rejoin the United States following the war’s conclusion. It required fifty percent of white Southern voters living in a seceded state to take an oath of allegiance to the United States before the state could apply for readmission to the Union. The bill easily passed Congress, but President Abraham Lincoln refused to sign it. Lincoln favored a much more lenient policy and the bill never became law.

Many members of the Senate and the House of Representatives were Radical Republicans and desired to punish the South for causing the American Civil War. The Congress repeatedly the relatively lenient plans of Presidents Lincoln and Johnson to reunite the country upon the war’s conclusion.

Found at http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2083

What is Ohio’s Civil War story when viewed through a fresh perspective today?

The results of that day’s work and the subsequent thinking and writing of that group is now posted on the Civil War 150 website for you– whether you are a Civil War enthusiast, local history organization staff member, leader in a Civil War organization or group, or other interested individual– to review and share your feedback.  We want to know what you think!

The entire draft interpretive framework can be accessed here [PDF]. You are welcome to share your thoughts in the comments below.

For those that would like to do a more in-depth reading, the themes of the document are broken down in the discussion forums on this website, allowing you to discuss each theme more specifically.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Performances will consist of a 30-40 minute monologue followed by a Q&A session. In addition, you will have the opportunity to give multiple performances and workshops as well as attend various social and publicity events. Scholars will receive an honorarium, per diem, as well as travel and lodging expenses.

The application deadline is April 1, 2010.

For more information, please visit: http://www.ohiohumanities.org/?p=1614

(COLUMBUS, OHIO)—In response to Gov. Ted Strickland’s directive to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in Ohio (2011-2015), the Ohio Historical Society has appointed 15 Ohioans to the Civil War 150 Advisory Committee, announced Jim Strider, acting executive director.

Made up of individuals from around the state, the committee will provide guidance to the historical society on programs and activities to ensure a successful commemoration effort at both the state and local levels.  Meeting will run quarterly, and members will serve until the end 2015.

“These individuals represent men and women who have a deep interest in Ohio history, particularly its Civil War heritage,” Strider said. “Advisory committee members also will contribute their professional expertise in history, education, state government, historical organizations, media and tourism.”

The Civil War 150 Advisory Committee includes:

James Bissland is from Bowling Green in Wood County. He taught in the journalism program at Bowling Green State University for 20 years and serves today as an associate professor of journalism emeritus.  Bissland is the author of “Blood, Tears, & Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War,” published in October 2007.

Tom Brinkman Jr., a former Ohio legislator (2001-2008) from Cincinnati, has an educational background in history and experience with former commemorative initiatives in Ohio. He lives in Cincinnati in Hamilton County.

Andrew Cayton is a Distinguished Professor of History at Miami University. He lives in Oxford in Butler County.  He is the author of “Ohio: The History of a People,” published in 2002.  He has earned many honors and distinctions for both his scholarship and his teaching, including a Fulbright position in American Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Bob Davis serves as commander of the Department of Ohio, Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War.  This patriotic and educational organization seeks to preserve the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic and to care for GAR memorials and identify the location of union veterans’ gravesites. Davis lives in Canal Winchester in Fairfield County.

Gainor Davis is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Reserve Historical Society of the Western Reserve Historical Society, an organization whose collections include an extensive and unique Civil War-era collection.  She has more than 27 years of experience, including leadership roles in history organizations in Pennsylvania, Vermont and Louisiana. She resides in Cleveland Heights in Cuyahoga County.

Paul LaRue is a social studies teacher at Washington High School and lives in Washington Court House in Fayette County. He has been honored for his innovative methods of teaching Civil War history by the American Legion (2003 Educator of the Year) and the Civil War Preservation Trust, among others.

Roger Micker, from Wheeling (West Virginia), is a social studies teacher at Steubenville High School in Steubenville, Jefferson County. He is president of the Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable, a re-enactor, a member of the Ohio Historical Society Teacher Advisory Committee, and a Teaching American History program participant.

Bob Minton is Colonel of the Army of the Ohio Reenacting Battalion and involved in Friends and Descendants of Johnson’s Island. He has also raised funds to conserve two Ohio Civil War battle flags. Minton lives in Fostoria in Hancock County.

Don Murphy, from Cincinnati in Hamilton County, serves as chief executive officer of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.  He is the former deputy director of the National Park Service and before that served for seven years as the director of California State Parks.

Rep. Mark Okey represents House District 61, which includes Carroll County and parts of Mahoning, Stark and Tuscarawas counties. The McCook House, an Ohio Historical Society site, is within his district. His interest in Civil War history is evidenced by his personal collection and research. He resides in Carrollton  in Carroll County.

Dave Roth is the co-founder and publisher of Blue & Gray Magazine, which focuses on Civil War battlefields and provides in-depth information on Civil War sites for its readers.  The magazine has surpassed 25 years of operation and 150 issues. Roth lives in Columbus in Franklin County.

John Switzer is a journalist with the Columbus Dispatch, who lives in Columbus in Franklin County.  Previously a weather columnist, today he writes a Sunday Metro column, often revealing his interest in historical topics.

Diana Thompson is the executive director of the Miami County Visitors & Convention Bureau. She has 26 years of experience in the hospitality field and is active in the Ohio Travel Association, including teaching for the Ohio Tourism Leadership Academy. Thompson lives in Piqua in Miami County.

Catherine Wilson is the executive director of the Greene County Historical Society. She has experience in archives, genealogy, history scholarship and Civil War re-enacting. She has authored a number of articles on topics of relevance to Civil War history as well. She resides in Xenia in Greene County.

Eric Wittenberg, from Columbus in Franklin County, is an attorney who has authored more than 10 books about the Civil War and also writes a blog, Rantings of a Civil War Historian.  He is a member of the Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable and Vice President of the Buffington Island Battlefield Preservation Foundation.

About the Civil War 150
Ohio’s leadership before, during and after the Civil War had a profound influence on American history. Decades later, Gov. Ted Strickland wants to make sure that all Ohioans remember the past of their great state and the sacrifices that were made to preserve the Union. He chose the Ohio Historical Society to lead the effort because the state history organization is “uniquely positioned” to direct the initiative.

“It is important not only to commemorate the historic significance of the Civil War, but to also celebrate the role that Ohio and Ohioans played in achieving the monumental victory,” Gov. Strickland said in his directive to historical society last April. “The Ohio Historical Society is uniquely positioned with the expertise and physical resources to lead the state in commemorating the Civil War in Ohio.”

Civil War 150 Efforts Underway
In addition to establishing the Civil War 150 Advisory Committee, the historical society has organized a statewide network of organizations and historic sites so that the Civil War tribute can be organized seamlessly. One goal is to raise awareness of the upcoming sesquicentennial and encourage Ohioans to visit the many Civil War sites across the state.

“Ohio’s link to the Civil War is a very significant one,” Strider said. “Ohioans had a deep and lasting influence on the war, and the war spurred an age of great prosperity and political power for the state.”

To help raise awareness about Ohio’s pivotal role in Civil War history, the Ohio Historical Society and Cleveland State University’s Center for Public History and Digital Humanities recently launched www.ohiocivilwar150.org to commemorate the upcoming 150th anniversary of the war in 2011 to 2015. The Web site is a collection of information as well as a dynamic tool for the public, educators and local history groups to collaborate and share their knowledge of Ohio’s fascinating Civil War history.
The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, natural history, archaeology and historic architecture.  For more information about programs and events, visit www.ohiohistory.org.

Although scholars disagree on the exact number of McCooks who fought in the Civil War, it appears that Daniel McCook and eight of his nine sons took up arms for the North, as did his brother, John McCook, and his five sons. Individually, the two families were known as the Tribe of Dan and the Tribe of John. Together, they came to be referred to as the “Fighting McCooks”.

Photograph of an oil painting by Charles T. Webber titled "The Fighting McCook's" done in 1871. The painting depicts members of the McCook Family who served in the Union Army during the Civil War and the pre-Civil War Navy.

Daniel McCook, the patriarch of the Tribe of Dan, lived in Carrolton, Ohio, before the Civil War. He received a commission as major and lost his life in the Battle of Buffington Island in 1863. George McCook, Dan’s son, was a brigadier-general and served as an Ohio Attorney -General before the Civil War. Other members of the Tribe of Dan included Latimer, Robert, Alexander, Daniel, Jr., Edwin Stanton, Charles Morris, and John James. Latimer attained the rank of major. Confederate guerrillas murdered him while he lay wounded in the back of an ambulance in Tennessee during 1862. Robert rose to the rank of brigadier-general and also died in Tennessee. Alexander became a major general and survived the war. Edwin also was a major general. Although wounded severely three times in the conflict, Edwin survived the war. He eventually became the governor of the North Dakota Territory and was assassinated. Daniel McCook became a brigadier-general and was killed in 1864 at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Charles Morris was the first McCook killed in the war, dying from wounds he received at the First Battle of Bull Run. John James survived the war with the rank of colonel.

The Tribe of John included the family patriarch, John McCook. A doctor in Steubenville before the war, he served as a volunteer surgeon during the Civil War. Other members of the Tribe of John included Edward, Anson, Henry, John James, and Roderick. All members of the Tribe of John survived the Civil War. Edward and Anson attained the rank of major general. Henry and John James each attained the rank of lieutenant and served as chaplains in the Union Army. Roderick became a commander in the United States Navy.

Fourteen of the McCooks became officers. Four of them died in service to their country. The Fighting McCooks’s dedication to the Union war effort made them well known in the North.

References and Suggested Reading

* Dee, Christine, ed. Ohio’s War: The Civil War in Documents. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2007.
* Knepper, George. Ohio and Its People. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2003.
* Reid, Whitelaw. Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Generals and Soldiers. Cincinnati, OH: Clarke, 1895.
* Roseboom, Eugene H. The Civil War Era: 1850-1873. Columbus: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1944.
* Whalen, Charles, and Barbara Whalen. The Fighting McCooks: America’s Famous Fighting Family. Bethesda, MD: Westmoreland Press, 2006.

Credit: Ohio History Central, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=589&nm=Fighting-McCooks

Photo Credit: Ohio Historical Society, The Fighting McCook’s, H 39534, SC 4461, AL00548

Civil War Films for the Classroom (PDF)

The commission will consist of 25 members from government, business and academia. It is tasked with encouraging interdisciplinary examination of the Civil War, coordinating and facilitating the public distribution of scholarly research publications and interpretations of the Civil War, and providing technical assistance to States, localities and non-profits to assist in their commemorations.

In awarding grants, the NEH is directed to consider established university, museum or academic programs with national scope that sponsor multidisciplinary projects, including those that concentrate on African Americans in the Civil War.

As a result of the Mexican War, the United States acquired most of the present-day American Southwest. The acquisition of this land immediately increased tensions between the North and the South, as the two regions debated whether or not to extend slavery into the area. In 1849, California applied for statehood as a free state. Many Southerners realized that they would lose the tie in free and slave states in the United States Senate that had been maintained since the passage of the Missouri Compromise in 1820. For this reason, they refused to support California’s admission to the Union.

To settle the differences arising over California’s request for statehood, Henry Clay proposed eight resolutions to the Senate. He grouped six of the eight resolutions as pairs known as omnibus bills. He included in each pair one resolution that the South could support and one resolution that the North might support. Clay hoped that the two sides would compromise and pass the resolutions. The first pair of resolutions called for California to become a free state, while the people residing in the New Mexico Territory would decide for themselves whether or not to permit slavery. The second set of resolutions settled a dispute between Texas and the New Mexico Territory over the location of the boundary between the two areas. New Mexico acquired significant territory as a result of this resolution. The second part of this resolution instructed the federal government to assume Texas’ debts and place the young state on solid financial footing. The third pair of resolutions outlawed the slave trade in the nation’s capital but still permitted people to own slaves in Washington, DC. The final two resolutions called for a stronger fugitive slave law and prohibited Congress from interfering in the interstate slave trade.

While many people welcomed some of Clay’s proposals, they found some of the other resolutions infuriating. Seven months of debate took place before Northerners and Southerners in the United States Senate finally agreed to a compromise. After some initial debate, the Senate formed a special committee with Henry Clay as chairman. The committee submitted a series of measures to the Senate based on Clay’s original proposals. California would become a free state; the people residing in the New Mexico and Utah Territories would decide for themselves whether or not to permit slavery; and New Mexico would receive significant land from Texas. The State of Texas would receive ten million dollars from the federal government in compensation.

A group of Northern Democratic and Southern Whig Senators supported the committee’s recommendations, but these men only comprised one-third of the Senate. This was not nearly enough to implement the proposals. President Zachary Taylor also objected to the proposals, fearing that they were too pro-South. While the Senate continued to debate during the summer of 1850, President Taylor died. Vice President Millard Fillmore assumed the presidency. President Fillmore was much more supportive of the compromise measure. Despite his support, the United States Senate rejected the compromise in a vote on July 31.

When Clay became ill, Stephen Douglas, a Senator from Illinois, became the leading proponent of the Compromise of 1850. He provided the means to get the compromise enacted. Instead of proposing the various measures as a single bill, he chose to introduce them as individual bills. He labored to create a coalition of Southerners and Northerners for each bill. Northern Whigs, Northern Democrats, and some Upper-South Whigs supported California entering the United States as a free state, the ending of the slave trade in the nation’s capital, and the ten million dollar payment to Texas. Northern Democrats and Southerners of all parties supported a stronger fugitive slave law and permitting the people of the New Mexico and Utah territories to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. Thanks to Douglas, each proposal passed and became the Compromise of 1850.

When the Compromise of 1850 went into effect, many Ohioans vehemently opposed it. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, requiring the federal government to assist Southern slaveholders in recapturing their runaway slaves, resulted in the most anger from Ohio abolitionists. Ohioans who assisted in the Underground Railroad redoubled their efforts to assist runaway slaves find freedom in Canada. They also tried to protect the runaways who remained in the North. Other Ohioans favored the Compromise of 1850 and the admission of California as a free state. Thousands of Ohioans moved to California hoping to find a new life and new opportunities.

Taken from http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=492&nm=Compromise-of-1850

One of the most successful chapters of the Female Moral Reform Society was founded in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1835. Ultimately, the Oberlin group became the fourth largest chapter in the country. Its success was based on its recruitment of women students from nearby Oberlin College. Many of the students were concerned that if they did not join they would be viewed as having low morals. Oberlin’s chapter of the Society, like others, stressed the importance of its member’s behavior and standards of dress. Members agreed not to do anything that might have a negative effect on their reputation or corrupt their morals, such as dancing or reading novels.

The various Ohio chapters of the Society met in Cleveland in 1840 to agree on goals. In the early 1840s, the Female Moral Reform Society in Ohio focused on issues such as temperance and legal reform. In 1842, the Society submitted petitions to the Ohio legislature demanding that politicians make adultery a crime punishable with prison time. State legislators subsequently voted against the bill.

In the 1850s and 1860s, membership in the Female Moral Reform Society declined. Women were drawn into a number of other organizations, such as local benevolent associations. During the Civil War, the society disappeared entirely as women participated in organizations that provided aid for troops and their families.

While the Female Moral Reform Society only lasted approximately thirty years, the organization’s impact was immense. It was one of the first national organizations for women. It allowed women to escape the private sphere and to play a role in the public sphere. The group united many women together and helped convince them to play an active role in bettering the United States. Many of the Female Moral Reform Society’s members eventually became active in the women’s rights movement, the abolitionist movement, the temperance movement, and other attempts to reform America. This organization helped show both men and women that women could and should play an active role in American life.

Portrait of Betsey Mix Cowles (1810-1876) from the 1909 edition of Henry Howe's "Historical Collection of Ohio." She was known for her contributions to education, abolitionism, and women's rights in Ohio. Photo courtesy of The Ohio Historical Society.

References and Suggested Reading:
* Booth, Stephane Elise. Buckeye Women: The History of Ohio’s Daughters. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2001.
* Knepper, George. Ohio and Its People. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2003.
* Roseboom, Eugene H. The Civil War Era: 1850-1873. Columbus: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1944.
* Weisenburger, Francis P. The Passing of the Frontier: 1825-1850. Columbus: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1941.

Credit: “Female Moral Reform Society”, Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=889

Photo Credit: Ohio Historical Society, AL03953, 977.1 H838h2 http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=88

The Philanthropist was an anti-slavery newspaper first published in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, in September 1817. Its first editor was Charles Osborn. He was a member of the Society of Friends who were often called “Quakers.” Osborn called for an immediate end to slavery. He hoped his paper would educate white Northerners about slavery’s injustice.

The paper was the first anti-slavery gazette newspaper in the United States. Osborn emerged as one of the leading abolitionists in Ohio because of the paper. Other prominent abolitionists joined The Philanthropist, including Benjamin Lundy, who contributed several articles. In October 1818, Elisha Bates acquired the newspaper from Osborn. He continued to publish it until 1822. The Philanthropist enjoyed a wide circulation, principally in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Osborn flooded southern Ohio with copies of the paper. Many southern Ohioans had migrated there from slaveholding states. A few of these people continued to own slaves although this was a violation of the Ohio Constitution.

The paper remained true to Osborn’s Quaker faith. It strongly opposed the enslavement of African Americans. The Philanthropist also encouraged its readers to abstain from drinking. Under Osborn’s leadership, the paper rejected a gradual end to slavery as proposed by the American Colonization Society and other abolitionists of that time. Osborn contended that only the immediate emancipation of the slaves was acceptable. Upon Bates’s becoming the editor, the paper continued to support the temperance and the anti-slavery crusades. The Philanthropist also devoted space to other issues concerning Ohioans such as internal improvements and public education. Bates also called for fair treatment of the Native Americans.

In 1822, Bates stopped publishing the newspaper. In 1836, James Birney began to publish a new paper titled The Philanthropist in Cincinnati. Birney, like his predecessors, advocated an immediate end to slavery. He also believed that African Americans were entitled to equal rights and opportunities with white people. Many Cincinnatians opposed Birney’s views. Some of these people were former slave owners and believed that African Americans were inferior to whites. Other people opposed slavery but believed that African Americans would move to the North and deprive white people of jobs. To prevent Birney from printing, a mob of white Cincinnatians destroyed the newspaper’s printing press on July 12, 1836. Undeterred, Birney remained in Cincinnati and continued to publish his newspaper.

James Birney. Ohio Historical Society

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1428

By 1850, many Ohioans believed that the time had come to replace the Constitution of 1803. New issues had arisen that the drafters of the first constitution had not foreseen. The Constitution of 1803 had given great power to the Ohio General Assembly. With the exception of the governor, the legislature had the power to appoint judges and all other government officials. This gave the legislature nearly complete control over the government. The Constitution of 1803 also required the Supreme Court to meet once each year in every county in the state. When the Constitution of 1803 originally went into effect, few counties existed. Over the next fifty years the number of counties increased until it was virtually impossible for the Supreme Court to fulfill its obligations under the original constitution.

A majority of the Constitutional Convention of 1850’s delegates belonged to the Democratic Party. The Democrats were divided into liberal and conservative factions. Liberal Democrats, like Charles Reemelin, tended to favor working class issues. Conservatives were more likely to believe that power should remain in the hands of the wealthy. Because of this division, the Whig Party delegates commonly served as the swing votes between the Democratic Party’s divided representatives.

The convention was to meet originally in Columbus, but a cholera epidemic moved the meeting to Chillicothe. William Medill served as the convention president. The Constitution of 1851 created a more democratic system within the state. The new constitution gave Ohio voters the right to elect the governor, other high-ranking state officials, and judges. Rather than having only two levels of courts within the state, a third level of district courts was added between the Ohio Supreme Court and common pleas courts. Only adult white men who had resided in the state for at least one year could vote. An overwhelming majority of the delegates voted against extending the suffrage to African-American men and women of all races. The voters had to approve all constitutional amendments in the future and received the option to call a new constitutional convention every twenty years.

Even after the adoption of the new Constitution of 1851, the state legislature was still the dominant branch of state government in Ohio. The governor did not have the right to veto legislative acts. The legislature had the power to tax, but the legislature had to tax all social classes at the same rate and could not implement a lottery or a poll tax. The legislature also had the power to create new counties, but only with the approval of the residents of the proposed county. The last county created in Ohio was Noble County. It was established on April 1, 1851. This was several months before the Constitution of 1851 went into effect.

The convention adjourned its proceedings on March 10, 1851. Seventy-nine delegates voted in favor of the constitution, while fourteen opposed it. The people in opposition primarily belonged to the Whig Party and the Free Soil Party. To go into effect, Ohio voters had to approve the constitution. They did so overwhelmingly on June 17, 1851. Although numerous amendments have been made over the years, the Constitution of 1851 remains the fundamental law of Ohio.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1457

Levi and Catharine Coffin. University of Cincinnati.

*Coffin, Levi. Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the reputed President of the Underground Railroad, p.316

]]> http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/2009/10/anti-slavery-sewing-society/feed/ 0 http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/2009/10/the-battle-of-lumbarton/ http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/2009/10/the-battle-of-lumbarton/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:48:17 +0000 mepps http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/?p=943

In 1857, the Battle of Lumbarton occurred between federal marshals, who were enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, and anti-slavery Ohioans.

Addison White, an escaped slave, set the chain of events in motion that culminated in the Battle of Lumbarton. In 1856, White ran away from Kentucky to Ohio along the Underground Railroad. He eventually made his way to Mechanicsburg, Ohio, in Champaign County. Here, he sought refuge in the home of Udney Hyde. White remained in the Hyde home for eight months, purportedly helping Hyde recover from a broken ankle. White’s owner and some federal marshals eventually located the fugitive slave at Hyde’s home. The marshals attempted to capture White, who had barricaded himself in the loft of a log cabin with a gun. White was able to drive the marshals away, but they soon returned. Mechanicsburg townspeople had also arrived on the scene and surrounded the barn. Armed with pitchforks and other weapons, they refused to let the marshals take the fugitive slave, who, the mob falsely said, had fled to Canada. The marshals did arrest several people for aiding White in his escape.

The marshals took their prisoners, including Udney Hyde’s son, Russell Hyde, towards Urbana, Ohio. The sheriff of Clark County attempted to arrest the federal marshals for illegally detaining the men. The marshals refused to release the captives and proceeded to beat the sheriff and the posse severely. Eventually, a mob of Ohioans detained the marshals and jailed them in Springfield, Ohio on the charge of assault with intent to kill, due to the altercation with the Clark County sheriff. The first skirmish between the marshals and the sheriff’s posse and the second one with the mob of Ohioans became known as the Battle of Lumbarton.

Eventually, Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase negotiated the release of the federal prisoners as well as of the marshals, with all charges being dropped against both groups. Mechanicsburg residents raised 950 dollars and purchased Addison White’s freedom from his owner. Daniel White agreed to the sale.

The Battle of Lumbarton illustrates the increasing tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces during the mid nineteenth century. These tensions eventually contributed to the American Civil War’s outbreak in 1861.

Information found at http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=3361

On December 7, 1858 thirty-seven Wellington and Oberlin citizens, eleven of which were free blacks, were indicted for their part in rescuing Price and violating the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The thirty-seven indicted were arraigned in Cleveland, all plead not guilty. The trial began on April 5, 1859. Representing the defense was Rufus P. Spalding, Franklin Thomas Backus, Albert G. Riddle, and Seneca O. Griswold. The prosecution was represented by George W. Belden.

Charles Langston, an African American and Oberlin College Graduate, and Simeon Bushnell were the first to stand trial. Both were found guilty, fined, and jailed by a predominantly Democratic jury. The remaining thirty-five indicted were not to be tried until July. The trial never took place. In response to the federal indictments, Ohio authorities arrested the federal marshall and other men that participated in the detention of Price. After negotiating, state authorities agreed to release the federal marshal in exchange for releasing the thirty-five awaiting trial.During there three month sentence Bushnell and Langston wrote anti slavery tracts and printed a newspaper called the Rescuer.

Reproduction of a photograph depicting the Oberlin Rescuers at the Cuyahoga County Jail in April 1859. Ohio Historical Society

Oberlin College (Right) from the Ohio Historical Society. Mary Church Terrell (Left) Photographed by Addison N. Scurlock, circa 1920s. Library of Congress

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