600 - HISTORY OF OHIO 100,000 and at the end of that year were in the field forty-six regiments of infantry besides twenty-two regiments complete or nearly complete in camp, and thirteen regiments in process of organization. Of cavalry there were four regiments, a squadron and four independent companies in the field, twelve batteries of artillery. Up to December 31, 1863, Ohio troops in the federal service totaled more than 200,000. The state had furnished 129 regiments of infantry, twelve regiments of cavalry, one regiment and twenty-six batteries of light artillery and two regiments of heavy artillery besides miscellaneous companies and organizations and some eight thousand white and colored soldiers that had been recruited in Ohio for other states. In the first movement of federal troops into southern territory, McClellan's West Virginia campaign, in the spring and early summer of 1861, the invading forces comprised seventeen Ohio regiments of infantry besides some artillery and cavalry. Ohio troops were also engaged in the Kentucky and Missouri campaigns of the same year. But it was not until the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862, that Ohio really experienced the grim realities of warfare. • In that battle 22 per cent of the Union forces, nearly 15,000, were from Ohio and the killed and wounded from the state were 1,955, or 15 per cent of the Union losses, in that, one of the great battles of the war. The participating regiments from Ohio were the 1st, 6th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 22nd, 24th, 41st, 46th, 48tH, 49th, 53rd, 54th, 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th, 64th, 65th, 68th, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 76th, 77th, 78th and 81st infantries, the 5th Cavalry, 5th, 8th and 14th independent batteries and batteries A and B of the first light artillery. Nothing like a detailed account of the movements of Ohio troops during the war can be attempted in this chapter. But some idea of the vital part played by Ohioans in the winning of the war is afforded by a brief summary of the activities of Ohio troops for the year 1864, during the concluding great campaigns of the rebellion. Says Ryan in his "Ohio in Four Wars :" "In March, April and May, the 48th, 56th and 96th Ohio Volunteer Infantry participated in the disastrous Red River expedition under General Banks. Other Ohio troops were in the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, the Army of the James and with Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. But the greatest glory of the year can be credited to Ohio for the participation of her soldiers in the battles around Atlanta and in Sherman's March to the Sea. In all of these brilliant campaigns the men from Ohio figured conspicuously In the operations of the armies of the Cumberland, the Tennessee and the Ohio, from Chattanooga to Atlanta, the State of Ohio attributed eighty-six regiments and sixteen batteries. Ohio commanders were the principal leaders in the battles of the Atlanta campaign. The roll is one, indeed, of glory and honor ; Major General William T. Sherman was commanderin-chief. Major General J. B. McPherson was commander of the army of the Tennessee ; Major General David S. Stanley, commander of the 4th army corps ; Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox, commander of the 23rd army corps; Manning F. Force, John W. Fuller, William B. Hazen, Mortimer D. Leggett, Thomas J. Wood and Charles R. Woods were division commanders ; R. N. Adams, Samuel Beatty, John R. Bond, P. E. Burke, John S. Casement, Charles Candy, George P. Este, William H. Gibson, C. G. Harker, Theodore Jones, Wells S. Jones, Isaac M. Kirby, Daniel McCook, N. C. McLean, John G. Mitchell, Emerson Opdycke, Sidney Post, B. F. Potts, J. W. Reilly, James S. Robinson, Robert K. Scott, John R. Sprague, Silas A. Strickland, Jacob E. Taylor, F. Van Derveer, Charles C. Walcutt, G. F. Wiles and William B. Woods were brigade commanders." "When General Sherman set out on his historic march from Atlanta to the Sea and through the Carolinas, the following Ohio regiments formed a part of his magnificent organization : 5th, 11th, 14th, 17th, OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 601 20th, 21st, 27th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 37th, 38th, 39th, 43rd, 46th, 47th, 51st, 53rd, 54th, 55th, 57th, 61st, 63rd, '66th, 68th, 69th, 70th, 73rd, 74th, 76th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, 89th, 92nd, 94th, 98th, 105th, 108th, 113th, 121st, 174th, 178th, 180th and 181st Infantries ; 1st Ohio Squadron and 5th, 9th and 10th Ohio Cavalry ; 1st Ohio Light Artillery ; Battery C and 15th Ohio Battery." Of Ohio men high in the councils of the nation during the struggle over slavery, the first to be mentioned is Thomas Ewing, who was sent by the whigs to the United States Senate for the term 1831-1837. While in the senate he presented a memorial for the abolition of slavery. He became secretary of the treasury in 1841 under Harrison and in 1849 was the first to fill the office of secretary of the interior after the creation of that cabinet position. In 1850 he left the cabinet to enter the senate again as the successor of Thomas Corwin. During his second term he opposed the fugitive slave law, Clay's compromise bill and advocated the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. He was a delegate to the peace congress of 1861. Thomas Ewing was the foster father of William T. Sherman, who grew up in the whig home from the age of nine years and through Mr. Ewing was appointed a cadet at West Point. The young soldier subsequently married Ellen Ewing. The uncompromising anti-slavery sentiment of Ohio was best reflected by Joshua Giddings and Ben Wade, both of whom lived in the old Western Reserve section of the state. Giddings had been prominent in the debates in Congress over the compromise measures of 1850. His congressional service came to an end in March, 1859, but he continued to exercise a strong influence in the early events of the war. He edited a paper, the Ashtabula Sentinel. He opposed the formation of a Union party in Ohio in 1861. Ben Wade, his fellow townsman and close friend, was in the United States Senate from 1851 until 1869 and was leader of the anti-slavery minority. Wade was present on the battle field of Bull Run. He strongly recommended the appointment of Edwin M. Stanton as secretary of war and he labored earnestly for a vigorous prosecution of the war, being the chairman and foremost spirit of the joint committee on the conduct of the war during 1861-62. He urged the passage of a confiscation bill and in 1862 reported a bill to abolish slavery in all the territories. Of more conciliatory temper was Thomas Corwin, whose career in national affairs was also drawing to a close and whose last speech in Congress was made January 21, 1861, when he urged the compromise measures formulated by the House committee of thirty-three of which he was chairman. These proposals recommended a constitutional amendment safeguarding slavery in the states, the strengthening of the fugitive slave law, and the admission of New Mexico as a slave state. The compromise was extremely liberal to the South, and it is said that Lincoln would have been satisfied with such an adjustment. Ohio was one of the two states that gave assent to the amendment and that reflected the spirit of conciliation among Ohio people in general at the time. Another powerful figure in Congress from Ohio was John Sherman, who had been elected in 1854 as an anti-Nebraska republican. He was one of the committee that investigated the border conditions in Kansas. In 1859 he came within two votes of being elected speaker of the House. his defeat being laid to his opposition to the extension of slavery. On March 23, 1861, he succeeded Mr. Chase in the United States Senate. He became a recognized authority on finance and scrutinized all government expenditures closely. His influence was invaluable in sustaining and defending the President's war measures. He raised and equipped what was known as the Sherman brigade of volunteer soldiers. Lincoln's first cabinet contained the name of Salmon Chase as secretary of the treasury. Chase had been elected to the United States 602 - HISTORY OF OHIO Senate in 1849 by a fusion of democrats and free soilers. He had opposed the compromise measures and the fugitive slave law and subsequently the repeal of the Missouri compromise. He was Ohio's favorite son for the republican nomination for President in 1860, getting f ortynine votes in the convention. His friends were responsible for Lincoln's nomination over Seward. His management of the finances of the government during the first three years of the war has received the highest praise. In his first report in December, 1861, he recommended a national currency with a system of national banking associations, these recommendations being carried out in the issue of "greenbacks" which were made legal tender. The establishment of the national banking system is also credited to Chase. He resigned as secretary of the treasury June 30, 1864, and in the following December became chief justice of the United States Supreme Court and in that capacity presided at the impeachment of President Johnson. Lincoln's great secretary of war was Edwin M. Stanton, a native of Steubenville, Ohio. He had practiced law in Ohio for a time, but in 1848 had removed to Pittsburg and after 1857 in order the better to attend to his practice before the Supreme Court had moved to Washington. He was originally a democrat, was an anti-slavery man, though his hostility to that institution was qualified by his view of the obligations imposed by the Federal constitutions. He first became a figure in national affairs when in December, 1860, he was appointed attorney general in President Buchanan's cabinet and contributed to the new vigor manifested by the Buchanan administration in the three months before the inauguration of Lincoln. In the cabinet he took a firm stand for the Union and indignantly opposed Secretary Floyd's proposition to withdraw the United States forces from the southern ports including Sumter. On January 15, 1862, President Lincoln called Mr. Stanton to the head of the War Department. "Stanton made a great war minister bringing to his task an indomitable spirit, overpowering energy and hatred of all sorts of corruption." Stanton began a vigorous military policy. His impatience with the inactivity of McClellan was one of the causes that led to that general's subsequent retirement. He was also instrumental in the promotion of Grant after the victory at Fort Donelson and in the autumn of 1863 he placed Grant in supreme command of the three armies operating in the Southwest. Lincoln said that he never took an important step without consulting his secretary of war. Rhodes, in the "History of the Civil War" gives the following picture of Stanton : "The Stanton of tradition is a stern man, standing at a high desk, busy and careworn, grumbling, fuming and' swearing, approached by every subordinate with fear, by every officer except the highest with anxiety, by the delinquent with trepidation. The Stanton of the official records is a patient, tactful, unobtrusive man, who bearing a heavy responsibility, disposes of business promptly, who takes a firm grasp of many and varied facts and conditions and adapts himself to circumstances, keeping always in view the great result to be achieved. No one accustomed to affairs can go through the correspondence of the summer of 1864 without arriving at a high opinion of Stanton's executive ability. He was patient and considerate with those to whom patience and consideration were due but when he believed himself in the right, he was unyielding and resolute. He was wise in his conduct of affairs, but it is surprising that on top of the trials of three years he and Lincoln were not crushed by the disappointments and cares which fell to their lot from May to September, 1864." The first of Ohio's war governors was William Dennison. He was born at Cincinnati in 1815 was a graduate of the Miami University, was admitted to the bar in 1840 and served in the state senate as a whig and was one of the founders of the republican party in Ohio. He was elected governor in 1859, his term of service for the two years, OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 603 1860-61. Upon him developed the primary responsibility in carrying out his injunction, "Ohio must lead in the war." For the magnificent response made by Ohio to the Government's early call for troops, Governor Dennison deserves a large share of credit. He believed in carrying on the war vigorously and aggressively. It was mainly at his suggestion and urging that the West Virginia campaign was instituted in the spring of 1861, this being the first considerable invasion of the South. It was undertaken partly as a means of defending Ohio from the threat of similar invasions by the Confederates. Governor Dennison appointed George B. McClellan, a former regular army officer and then president of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, living at Cincinnati, major-general of Ohio state troops and it was General McClellan who commanded the Ohio soldiers in the West Virginia campaign. A forceful executive is seldom popular with all classes. That was true of Governor Dennison. As Daniel J. Ryan says : "Every dissatisfaction that prevailed was charged upon him. Every disappointed place seeker, every grafting contractor, every ambitious politician whose purposes he thwarted, helped to arouse popular discontent. It was soon seen that the opposition thus fomented was an insuperable objection to his renomination. And yet no chief executive exercised his great duties and met his heavy responsibilities with more purity of purpose, integrity of execution or wiser patriotism. The very honest and courageous manner in which he discharged his duties brought upon him the brutal condemnation of public opinion. "Yet at this distance, when all the conditions can be calmly viewed, he can well be appreciated and his administration credited as fully equal to any of the 'War Governors' for sagacious ability and wise accomplishments. Unlike Tod and Brough who followed him, he had to meet conditions that were new and alarming both to the government and the people. He solved many a problem that made official life easier for his successor and he met courageously new situations that he settled once and forever. They never could arise to plague or puzzle those who came after. "During his term he organized twenty-three regiments for the three months' service and eighty-two for three years. He so thoroughly 604 - HISTORY OF OHIO pressed enlistments that Ohio raised 20,751 soldiers above her quota. He controlled and dispensed millions of dollars without any restraint save public duty and private honor. No reflection from any source was cast upon his integrity. He supervised the vast and numerous army contracts of the state with success and despatch, and no suspicion ever rested upon his conduct. His plan of occupying western Virginia and Kentucky resulted in the rescue of the one and the forced neutrality of the other. It was a bold and far seeing case of military wisdom." Governor Dennison was permanent chairman of the Republican National Convention in 1864 and in October of that year was appointed postmaster general by Lincoln, thus being the third Ohio man in the war cabinet. He served until July, 1866. In August, 1861, the republican executive committee sent out an invitation to, "all loyal citizens of Ohio who are in favor of the maintenance of the Government and of the vigorous and continued prosecution of the war" to meet and appoint delegates to a Union convention. Thus there came into existence the Union party, which for the period of the war supplanted the regular republican organization in Ohio. This non-partisan convention met on September 5. Most of the delegates were republican but there were also a number of "War Democrats." The platform though adopted unanimously, was an evident expression of the compromising spirit, containing as it did the following : "That this war is not waged on our part in any spirit of opposition nor for any purpose of conquest or subjection nor for the purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of the states, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the constitution and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality and rights of the several states unimpaired ; and that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease." The nominee of this Union convention was David Tod of Mahoning County. He was born at Youngstown in 1805 and had been democratic candidate for governor in 1844 and 1846. In the election in 1861 he was chosen by a majority of over 55,000, the largest majority ever given a candidate for governor to that time. The two years of his term as governor in 1862-63, were the two years of the war when the hardest work fell upon all officials. But Governor Tod was equal to the occasion. His requests of the President and secretary of war were so few that they were granted with alacrity. President Lincoln said : "Governor Tod has aided me more and troubled me less than any other governor." The election occurred five months after the war had opened but there had been no question from the beginning as to where David Tod stood. He had counselled peace through the recognition of national authority by the secessionist element but when Fort Sumter was fired on he no longer thought of peace. One of his first acts was to organize a company among his friends and neighbors, equipping the soldiers in part from his own means. He took the governor's chair January 1, 1862, and from that time forward made every effort to aid the imperiled Government. Governor Tod's position was one of extreme delicacy and difficulty. With men's minds inflamed as they were and the uncertainties that had been thrown around the issue by the flood of eloquence and the rancor of partisanship, together with the unfortunate result of early campaigns, no border state was absolutely safe for the Union. Upon the governor depended to a great extent Ohio's attitude and even more of its usefulness. An illtimed or indiscreet word was likely to cause trouble, perhaps light fires of treason. On the other hand, a wavering vacillating policy would rob the state, no matter what its resources, of most of its power for good and endanger even its actual loyalty. Through all this David Tod conducted the State of Ohio with credit to it and to himself. His zeal for the welfare of Ohio soldiers was so intense that he some- OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 605 times indulged in communications that raised the ire of the military authorities, but they usually brought an answer in the provision of things needed for our men in the field. David Tod has been criticized for the severity with which he denounced seditious utterances, but in the light of history and a clear understanding of his motives it must be conceded that his measures were justified even in the case of the arrest of Vallandigham. Leading one of the three greatest states in the Union side, Governor Tod naturally exercised a tremendous influence on national affairs. He was closely associated with Governor Curtin of Pennsylvania and Governor Andrew of Massachusetts in arranging the memorable Altoona Conference in the fall of 1862. President Lincoln had expressed his high approval of such a conference the purpose of which was to define the issues between the North and the South, and discourage the rising tide of feeling for compromise. The Altoona Conference was attended by the governors of eighteen states and it not only endorsed the war policy and the emancipation policy, but it urged the President to call. for 100,000 men in addition to the 300,000 called out a short time previously. The year 1862 had been discouraging, even a disastrous one to the cause. In the field the Confederacy had been generally successful and the news from the front had reacted in the elections. In that held in October, 1862, the democrats carried Ohio, electing their candidate for secretary of state who headed the ticket that year. They were successful in Indiana and Pennsylvania and elected Horatio Seymour governor of New York State. This democratic victory was unmistakably an indication of lack of confidence in the administration and created much apprehension at Washington. Governor Tod had not been merely staunchly Unionist. He had been aggressively so. He had made enemies among the democrats and had alienated the weak-willed by his arrest of Vallandigham. There were complaints of hardships from the soldiers in the field and the time had come when the people were to crowd around the newspaper offices impatiently waiting for the list of the dead and wounded after each battle. No one knew what would be the attitude of many voters for the enthusiasm of the first days had vanished and the nation had been forced to face the war as the fearful tragedy it was. After Lincoln's call in August, 1862, Ohio had to use extraordinary means to secure enlistment, beginning at that time the payment of bounties and in the end even resorting to the draft. Governor Tod believed that the chief influences operating to slow up enlistments came from the radical democrats. Consequently at the request of the governor a prominent democrat was arrested. This was the beginning of a number of military arrests made during the year and provoked a great deal of bitterness and controversy throughout Ohio. In the fall of 1862, while the democrats were generally victorious at the polls, there was one conspicuous exception. Clement L. Vallandigham was defeated for reelection to Congress. Vallandigham had from the very first been a "conscientious objector" to any war for coercing the seceding states. The judgment of history was that, he was thoroughly honest and sincere. His last speech in Congress was delivered January 14, 1863, and contained a bitter indictment of President Lincoln and his administration for their part in the prosecution of the war. The general opinion throughout the North was that the speech was tantamount to treason. The peace democrats or "Copperheads" as they were called, not only in Ohio but throughout the west, were under the spell of Vallandigham's brilliant leadership. The most sinister consequences of this movement, however, was the organized opposition to soldier enlistment. The first open and armed antagonism to the federal authorities in Ohio occurred in Noble County. Troops were finally sent there and a number of arrests made. 606 - HISTORY OF OHIO A more serious situation developed in Holmes County, in June, 1863, when nearly one thousand armed men fortified themselves and defied the draft. Again the troops were called out to suppress this miniature rebellion. In the meantime in April, 1863, General Burnside had issued his famous general. Order No. 38, "ordering the arrest as spies and traitors of all persons found within our lines who commit acts for the benefit of the enemies of our country." It was in pursuance of this order on May 4, 1863, that Vallandigham was arrested at his home in Dayton. The arrest caused tremendous excitement and resentment among the radical democrats. A mob farmed in Dayton and destroyed the Journal, the Union newspaper. Vallandigham was tried and found guilty by a military commission and President Lincoln on May 19, directed that he be sent beyond the Union lines and a few days later he was turned over to the Confederate General Bragg. In this as in many other instances, President Lincoln showed a great shrewdness in refusing to make Vallandigham a martyr. Lincoln subsequently in replying to a memorial from New York democrats protesting against military arrests and violation of the executive power in general replied, with the Vallandigham case particularly in mind, using the words that have been so many times quoted : "Long experience has shown that armies cannot be maintained unless desertions shall be punished by the severe penalty of death. The case requires and the law and the constitution sanction, this punishment. Must I shoot a simple minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wily agitator who induces him to desert ? This is none the less injurious when effected by getting a father, or brother or friend into a public meeting and there working upon his feelings till he is persuaded to write the soldier boy that he is fighting in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptible Government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case to silence the agitator and save the boy is not only constitutional but withal a great mercy." Though Vallandigham was thus made an involuntary exile, it early became apparent that the democrats of Ohio would nominate him for governor in 1863. The Union party, as previously in the case of Governor Dennison, felt the necessity of finding some candidate less objectionable than Tod to the compromise element. Tod was sacrificed because he had been boldly defiant of treason instead of trying to pursue a middle and less efficient course. While he had shown a willingness to give himself unsparingly to the service of the state and nation during his term as governor, Tod, in the opinion of his biographer, made the greatest sacrifice when he refused to insist on renomination for a second term. He had been practically without opposition and the delegates from eighty-eight counties had been instructed to support him for nomination on the Union ticket. At the last moment, however, the republican leaders, counselled, it was claimed, by administration leaders at Washington, decided to nominate John Brough. Governor Tod 1 was present and made an address congratulating Brough and pledging his support, but to the end of his life, he cherished a sense of injustice at the hands of men and officials for whom he had done much and from whom he had every right to expect gratitude. In 1864 he was offered the position of secretary of the treasury as successor to Chase but he promptly declined the honor. 1 - Governor Tod had a winning personality and .a saving sense of humor. General Wright tells us that one evening while the Governor was visiting the White House Mr. Lincoln said, "Look here, Tod, how is it that you spell your name with only one d. I married a Todd, but she spells her name with two ds. All of her relations do the same. You are the first Tod I ever knew who spelled his name. with so few letters." Mr. Tod, smiling, replied. "Mr. President, God spells His name with only one d, and what is good enough for God, is good enough for me." It is said that Lincoln "used to repeat this story to some of his intimate friends with great hilarity." OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 607 In his biographical sketch of Governor Tod, published in the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, General George B. Wright explains how the campaign was quietly organized for Brough by the enemies of the governor who had failed to secure coveted appointments for their friends. William Henry Smith, then manager of the Cincinnati Gazette, engineered the campaign for Brough and brought to his support many of the newspapers of Southern Ohio. General Wright concludes his account of Governor Tod's failure to secure re-nomination as follows : At the nominating convention Brough received 216 votes and Tod 193, giving Brough the nomination by twenty-three majority. As soon as the vote was announced, Governor Tod rose on the platform and heartily endorsed the nomination, pledging his earnest support of the ticket, which was given; up to the day of the election. This was regarded as a wonderful exhibition of the magnanimity by a candidate who, only a few hours before, felt confident of his nomination, as did many others. His speech was warmly applauded, and many who were present were moved to tears by Governor Tod's patriotic and earnest appeal for unity and harmony, and their disappointment at his defeat. And several who had voted for Brough said publicly, "We have made a mistake, we ought to have voted for Tod." The general feeling was then, and has been ever since, that a great injustice had been done to a most worthy citizen in not re-nominating him for a second term. But this was not a time of second term governors ; Dennison was only given one term ; Brough failed for a second term for precisely the same alleged reasons that had been urged against Governor Tod's renomination ; and the next Governor, Gen. J. D. Cox, was only given one term ; thus, in eight years the state had four governors. Brough was not even named for re-nomination at the Republican State Convention in June, 1865, but Gen. J. D. Cox was nominated by acclamation. John Brough, third of Ohio's war governors, was the son of an Englishman and was born at Marietta, September 17, 1811. While still governor of the state he died at Cleveland, August 20, 1865. In early life he was engaged in newspaper work. In 1838 he was elected to the lower House of the general assembly. In 1839 he was elected state auditor of Ohio, taking the office when the state was burdened with many liabilities. He devoted himself to the reconstruction of the financial system and when he retired from office in 1846 it was with a high reputation as a public official. He then bought a Cincinnati newspaper, changing its name to. the Enquirer and became its editor. In a carefully prepared contribution to the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, 2 Mr. Osman C. Hooper has written the most adequate sketch of Governor John Brough that has been published. From it we learn that while Brough was personally opposed to slavery, he defended the right of the states to establish and perpetuate it under the constitution if they chose to do so. He was bitterly hostile to the abolitionists and helped to drive Senator Thomas Morris out of the democratic party because of his opposition to slavery. Brough was unwavering in his loyalty to the Union. When it came to a choice between the perpetuation of slavery and the preservation of the Union he did not hesitate to unite with Abraham Lincoln in the resolution that slavery and secession should perish together. In this respect his position seems to have been identical with that of Governor Tod. At the opening of the war, Brough was 'president of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad. His business ability and his executive power had been demonstrated in this position and as auditor of the state. "Brough was," says his biographer, "aflame with zeal for the Union 2 - Vol. XIII, pp. 40-70. 608 - HISTORY OF OHIO cause and was invited to speak to his former fellowtownsmen at Marietta. He accepted the invitation and on June 10, 1863, delivered a stirring speech before the largest audience that had ever gathered in Washington County. In the course of that speech he arraigned some of his old party associates on the score of disloyalty, declared that slavery was destroyed by the very act of rebellion and earnestly appealed to all patriots, regardless of former party adherence, to unite against the insurgents of the South. His vigorous words reached every corner of the state and found repetition far beyond its borders. They were a trumpet call to duty and stayed the mental retreat as no other single incident of the year had done." Brough's nomination for governor followed, and then began the Brough-Vallandigham campaign of 1863 which has had no parallel in the history of Ohio, if indeed of any other state. It would be pleasing to record that our state never wavered in the support of Abraham Lincoln, but that in truth could not be said. The days that in a very special sense "tried the soul" of Lincoln were between September 22, 1862, and October 13, 1863. On the former of these two dates he issued what is generally called his "preliminary Emancipation Proclamation," in which he declared that if the Southern states in rebellion did not lay down their arms, he would, by virtue of the war power vested in him by the constitution, liberate all their slaves. Lincoln had been elected on a platform pledged to oppose the extension of slavery into the territories. The proposal to end that institution where it already existed was new and at first encountered violent opposition, even in the loyal North. At the fall elections following the issue of the "preliminary Proclamation" New York, Pennsylvania, the President's state, Illinois, and our own Ohio registered their votes against his party and, of course, inferentially against his "emancipation policy." This placed the President in a most difficult position. The South in arms against him and winning victories on the field of battle ; the North arrayed against him at the ballot box and organizing secret societies to destroy his administration and aid the enemies of the Republic. With threatening clouds on every hand growing darker with each passing day ; with foes exulting in his discomfiture; with faltering friends advising that the promised Emancipation Proclamation be postponed, Abraham Lincoln moved onward in his course with conscience uncompromised and courage sublime to the accomplishment of his mission. On the first day of January, 1863, he issued his Emancipation Proclamation and linked his name with the immortals. The closing lines express the spirit and unfaltering faith with which this instrument was written : And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. The Proclamation was issued and upon his broad shoulders fell heavily the responsibility to make it good. Dark days were ahead. The summer and autumn brought the Vallandigham campaign. It is difficult for us at this day to understand how thoroughly the people of Ohio were aroused and how bitterly the contending parties hurled denunciation at each other. A single stanza from a popular song of the followers of Vallandigham gives but an inadequate glimpse of the spirit of the time : We are coming, Abraham Lincoln, From mountain, wood and glen ; We are coming, Abraham Lincoln, With the ghosts of murdered men. Yes ! We're coming, Abraham Lincoln, With curses loud and deep, OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 609 That will haunt you in your waking, And disturb you in your sleep. The fate of the nation turned upon the result of the election in Ohio. Lincoln and his followers felt this. The result at times seemed involved in doubt. Accounts of that campaign, even at this distance, have the power to grip the interest of the reader. No one can without a thrill picture Abraham Lincoln in Washington anxiously receiving from John Brough, candidate for governor in Ohio, the telegraphic returns of that fateful election. Early in the evening following the close of the polls the President was cheered with the assurance that Ohio had sustained him. At midnight he was further encouraged on learning that the majority was a substantial one. At 5 o'clock of the morning following, on receiving word from Brough that the majority was more than one hundred thousand, Abraham Lincoln poured forth his soul in that famous telegram : "Glory to God in the highest; Ohio has saved the Nation." Ohio indeed had redeemed herself and by a decisive majority had rallied to the support of Abraham Lincoln and universal liberty in America. Today every Ohioan must read with pride the record of our state, in this fateful test, for liberty and union. At the beginning of the campaign the North generally was depressed through the lack of success of its armies in the field. Vicksburg still held out while Lee had started his brilliant invasion of the North, which was turned back at Gettysburg in the early days of July at the same time that the fall of Vicksburg thrilled the country. During the summer occurred Morgan's famous raid. In the summer of the previous year, General Morgan had threatened Cincinnati with attack and in August of the same year the Confederate General Kirby Smith had invaded Kentucky, exposing the northern part of that state and the Ohio River to immediate danger. Special alarm was felt for Cincinnati. Gen. Lew Wallace was assigned to defend that city. Governor Tod went in person and in response to his appeal volunteers rushed from their homes all over the state, their equipment earning them the title, "Squirrel Hunters." It was largely in consequence of this popular uprising to defend the borders of the state that General Smith retired. While the expedition of General Morgan in 1863 was not a military enterprise of first rank, it was one of the boldest raids of the entire war. It is linked with the political campaign of that year, because among various reasons assigned as the object of the raid, the most reasonable is that Morgan or his superiors believed that the friends and supporters of Vallandigham would take the opportunity to flock to the standard of the invader and bring about an overthrow of the state government. Morgan with his force of cavalry during June and July in 1863 fought their way in rapid progress across hostile Kentucky, across the Ohio River to Southeastern Indiana and turning east reached the Ohio line on July 13. In the meantime Governor Tod had called out all the organized militia of the southern counties for the defense of Cincinnati. Morgan in spite of the rising tide of opposition ahead of him and gathering on all sides, and with a large force of Federal troops in his rear, swept around Cincinnati and raced on through the southern counties until reaching Meigs County. There in attempting to cross the Ohio, his opponents closed in on him and in the fight that followed his troops were scattered, but Morgan himself with about twelve hundred men escaped and again and again eluding his pursuers, he made his last stand south of New Lisbon (now Lisbon) in Columbiana County, July 26, where the bold raider surrendered. John Brough was inaugurated governor January 11, 1864. He declared then for an aggressive policy in the conduct of the war and during the eighteen months that followed until his death he proved OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 611 himself laborious, patriotic, far sighted, clear in his convictions of duty, firm in their maintenance and fearless in their execution. His first measure was the enlistment of the state militia for the Ohio National Guard for one hundred days' service. This movement was originated by Governor Brough when he called the convention of war governors of the states, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. This conference was held at Washington and on April 21, 1864, the governors notified President Lincoln that they could furnish him 85,000 men for one hundred days without a dollar of bounty or a single draft. Ohio's share was 30,000 men, but as a matter of fact, many more responded to the call, enough to make five or six regiments over the quota. Consequently Ohio organized forty-one regiments and one battalion in the hundred days' service, a total strength of nearly 36,000 men. They garrisoned the defenses around Washington, thereby freeing 30,000 veterans who were transferred to Grant's army for the Wilderness campaign. Brough promptly recommended that adequate provision be made for the relief of the families of the soldiers in the field. A tax was levied for this purpose and the funds derived were supplemented by private contributions in response to the earnest appeal of the governor. He manifested the same interest in the soldiers themselves. The relief agencies that had previously been organized were increased in number and made more efficient. "They were the ministering hands of the state and, while they were carrying comforts to the Ohio troops, they were also answering thousands of questions about them from the dear ones at home." 3 He was zealous in "his purpose to make Ohio soldiers in the field the state's special care. The hospitals, too, were brought under his inspection and the sick or wounded Ohio soldiers found in Brough the staunchest kind of a champion." He suppressed every manifestation of disloyalty within the borders of the state with a stern and relentless hand. That species of dishonesty and corruption, which feeds and fattens at the public expense in time of war, found in him a vigilant and merciless foe. Appointments among Ohio troops had made trouble for his predecessors and soon made trouble for Brough. "He early decided that he would promote regimental officers according to seniority of service therein, except in cases of intemperance. He would give every man a chance and leave it to the regiment to rid itself of incompetents. This set the governor at odds with the commanding officers of the regiments because it took away their power to recommend for promotion." 4 A man of such positive character was certain to make enemies in the discharge of the manifold duties that came to him in war time. There was another source of opposition : Added to the resentful antagonism of the regimental officers was a certain unpopularity because of his brusqueness. Brough was no courtier. He was a plain, blunt, honest and determined man, with some personal habits which those who admired him for his integrity and sterling patriotism could not condone. 5 Brough was the last of the Civil war governors of Ohio, each of whom was elected for but a single term. He died before his term expired, August, 29, 1865, and was succeeded by Lieut.-Gov. Charles Anderson. A list of Ohio's eminent commanders in the war was compiled by Gen. J. Warren Keifer, more than twenty years ago. It has been carefully revised and brought down to date by the editor of these volumes. The list follows : 3 - Osman C. Hooper, Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, Vol. XIII, p. 65. 4 - Ibid, p. 67. 5 - Osman C. Hooper, Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, Vol. XIII, p. 67. 612 - HISTORY OF OHIO OHIO GENERAL OFFICERS, WITH STATE AND DATES OF BIRTH AND DEATH (The * indicates a graduate of West Point ; the t that the officer was major-general by brevet, usually for some special gallantry on the field of battle.) GENERALS Ulysses S. Grant, born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April 27, 1822, died July 23, 1885. *William T. Sherman, born at Lancaster, Ohio, February 8, 1820, died February 14, 1891. *Philip H. Sheridan, born at Albany, New York, 6 March 6, 1831, died August 5, 1888. MAJORS-GENERAL *Don Carlos Buell, born at Lowell, March 23, 1818, died November 19, 1885. *George Crook, Montgomery Co., September 8, 1828 ; March 21, 1893. *George A. Custer, Harrison Co., December 5, 1839 ; June 25, 1876. James A. Garfield, Cuyahoga Co., November 19, 1831; September 19, 1881. *Quincy A. Gilmore, Lorain Co., February 28, 1825 ; April 7, 1888. *Alexander McD. McCook, Columbiana Co., April 22, 1831 ; June 12, 1903. *Irvin McDowell, Columbus, October 15, 1818; May 4, 1885. *James B. McPherson, Clyde, November 14, 1828; July 22, 1864. *William S. Rosecrans, Delaware Co., September 6, 1819 ; March 11, 1898. Robert C. Schenck, Warren Co., October 4, 1809 ; March 23, 1890. *David S. Stanley, Wayne Co., June 1, 1828 ; March 13, 1802. Wager Swayne, Columbus, November 10, 1834 ; December 18, 1902. *Godfrey Weitzel, Cincinnati, November 1, 1835 ; March 19, 1884. MAJORS-GENERAL RESIDENT IN OHIO BUT BORN ELSEWHERE Jacob D. Cox, born in New York, October 27, 1828 ; died August 4, 1900. *William B. Hazen, Vermont, September 27, 1830 ; January 16, 1887. Mortimer D. Leggett, New York, April 19, 1831 ; January 6, 1896. *George B. McClellan, Pennsylvania, December 3, 1826; October 29, 1885. *Ormsby M. Mitchel, Kentucky, August 28, 1810 ; October 30, 1862. James B. Steedman, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1818 ; October 18, 1883. BRIGADIERS-GENERAL OF OHIO BIRTH *William T. H. Brooks, born at New Lisbon, January 28, 1821; died July 19, 1870. *William W. Burns, Coshocton, September 3, 1825 ; April 19, 1892. Catharinus P. Buckingham, Zanesville, March 14, 1808 ; August 30, 1888. t Henry B. Banning, Knox Co., November 10, 1834 ; December 10, 1881. John Beatty, Sandusky, December 16, 1828 ; December 21, 1914. Joel A. Dewey, Ashtabula, September 20, 1840 ; June 17, 1872. t Hugh B. Ewing, Lancaster, October 31, 1826; June 30, 1905. t Thomas H. Ewing, Lancaster, August 11, 1829 ; January 21, 1896. 6 - In infancy Sheridan was brought by his parents to Ohio. See sketch on another page. OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 613 *James W. Forsyth, Ohio, August 26, 1836; June 30, 1905. t*Kenner Garrard, Cincinnati, 1830 ; May 15, 1879. t*Robert S. Granger, Zanesville, May 24, 1816; April 25, 1894. t*Charles Griffin, Licking Co., 1827; September 15, 1867. t Rutherford B. Hayes, Delaware, October 4, 1822 ; January 17, 1893. t J. Warren Keifer, Clark Co., January 30, 1836. William H. Lytle, Cincinnati, November 2, 1826; September 20, 1863. *John S. Mason, Steubenville, August 21, 1824; November 29, 1897. Daniel McCook, Carrollton, July 22, 1834 ; July 17, 1864. Robert L. McCook, New Lisbon, December 28, 1827; August 6, 1862. Nathaniel C. McLean, Warren Co., February 2, 1815 ; June 28, 1884. John G. Mitchell, Piqua, November 6, 1838 ; November 7, 1894. t Emerson Opdycke, Trumbull Co., January 7, 1830 ; April 25, 1884. A. Sanders Piatt, Cincinnati, May 2, 1821; March 16, 1908. Benjamin F. Potts, Carroll Co., January 29, 1836; June 17, 1887. James W. Reilly, Akron, May 21, 1828 ; February 29, 1896. t James S. Robinson, Mansfield, October 14, 1828; January 14, 1892. t Benjamin P. Runkle, West Liberty, September 3, 1836; June 28, 1916. *Joshua W. Sill, Chillicothe, December 6, 1831; December 31, 1862. John P. Slough, Cincinnati, 1829 ; December 16, 1867. *William Sooy Smith, Pickaway Co., July 22, 1830; March 4, 1916. Ferdinand Van Derveer, Butler Co., February 27, 1823 ; November 5, 1892. Melanchton S. Wade, Cincinnati, December 2, 1802 ; August 11, 1868. t Charles C. Walcutt, Columbus, February 12, 1838 ; May 2, 1898. t Willard Warner, Granville, September 4, 1826 ; November 23, 1906. t*Charles R. Woods, Newark, February 19, 1827 ; February 26, 1885. t William B. Woods, Newark, August 3, 1824; May 14, 1887. BRIGADIERS-GENERAL RESIDENT IN OHIO BUT BORN ELSEWHERE *Jacob Ammen, born in Virginia, January 7, 1808; February 6, 1894. t Samuel Beatty, Pennsylvania, September 16, 1820 ; May 26, 1885. t* Benjamin W. Brice, Virginia, 1809; December 5, 1892. Ralph P. Buckland, Massachusetts, January 20, 1812 ; May 27, 1892. Henry B. Carrington, Connecticut, March 2, 1824 ; October 26, 1912. George P. Este, New Hampshire, April 30, 1830 ; February 6, 1881. t Manning F. Force, Washington, D. C., December 17, 1824 ; May 8, 1899. t John W. Fuller, England, July, 1827 ; March 12, 1891. t Charles W. Hill, Vermont, July 7, 1813 ; November 27, 1881. t August V. Krautz, Germany, January 5, 1828 ; September 4, 1895. George W. Morgan, Pennsylvania, September 20, 1820; July 26, 1893. William H. Powell, South Wales, May 10, 1825 ; _____ 1904. *Eliakim P. Scammon, Maine, December 27, 1816 ; December 7, 1894. Thomas Kilby Smith, Massachusetts, 1821; December 14, 1887. t John W. Sprague, New York, April 4, 1817 ; December 23, 1893. t* John C. Tidball, Virginia, June 25, 1825 ; _____1906. t Erastus B. Tyler, New York, ____ 1822 ; January 9, 1891. t August Willich, Prussia, November 19, 1810 ; January 29, 1878. Of the foregoing list George A. Custer was killed in battle with the Indians. William H. Lytle, Robert L. McCook, Daniel McCook and Joshua W. Sill were killed in battle or died from wounds. Of all the list, Gen. J. Warren Keifer at this date (1925) is the only one living. 614 - HISTORY OF OHIO In addition to this list Ohio furnished 150 officers who were raised by brevet to the rank of brigadier-general. In commenting on this galaxy of officers from Ohio, Gen. J. Warren Keifer has said : "But proud as we are of Ohio on account of her military chieftains * * * and of her still larger number of officers, holding lesser rank, but equally skillful, brave and meritorious, we are justly prouder of Ohio on account of her more than 340,000 enlisted volunteer soldiers and sailors of the Civil war. The diversified industries of our state and the system of free labor which it had enjoyed from the beginning developed- citizens who proved especially serviceable in the trying times of the great Civil war. The writer heard General Garfield years ago illustrate this fact by an incident that occurred under his command. He stated that trains were bearing Union soldiers toward the scene of action when one of the engines of the leading train suddenly slowed down and was found to be so seriously crippled that it could not proceed. While he and other officers were wondering what could be done a bronze faced soldier boy stepped forward and said, "General, I think I can repair that engine, I worked in the shop where she was made." "He went to work," said the general, "and in an hour we were thundering on to put down th rebellion." Diversified industry was then and has ever been a source of strength to Ohio ; and free homes in possession of her sons have been a veritable citadel of liberty in peace and war. Among the majors-general, Irvin McDowell had the misfortune to be the commander of the Federal forces in the first battle of Bull Run in July, 1861. His further usefulness as a commander was undoubtedly impaired because popular prejudice associated his name with that first great defeat to Union arms. McDowell was born at Columbus in 1818, was a graduate of West Point, distinguished himself at the battle of Buena Vista and at the beginning of the Civil war was made brigadier-general, May 14, 1861, and shortly after given command of the army of the Potomac. After Bull Run he was superseded by General McClellan. On March 14, 1862, he was promoted to major-general of volunteers, but after the fall of that year was relieved of field service. Don Carlos Buell was born at Lowell, Ohio, in 1818, graduated from West Point in 1841 ; won distinction in the Mexican war and attained the rank of brigadier-general of volunteers in May, 1861. In November of that year he superseded General Sherman in the Department of the Cumberland, which was organized as the Department of the Ohio. He was the commander of the Federal forces in the Kentucky campaign early in 1862 and in March of that year was promoted to major-general. He and his divisions had a prominent part in deciding the battle of Shiloh. During 1862 Buell was driven out of Tennessee by the Confederate Bragg and compelled to retreat as far as Louisville, from which point he followed Bragg as the latter slowly retired. This campaign culminated in the battle of Perryville. Shortly after Buell was ordered to transfer his command to General Rosecrans. William S. Rosecrans, another major-general from Ohio, was born in Delaware County in 1819, graduated from -the military academy in 1842 and after leaving the army was an architect, civil engineer, coal operator and manufacturer at Cincinnati. At the beginning of the war he became an aide to General McClellan, was appointed chief engineer of Ohio, and soon after organizing Camp Chase at Columbus he was commissioned a brigadier-general in the regular army. He participated in McClellan's West Virginia campaign and on July 25, 1862, succeeded McClellan as commander of the Department of the Ohio, continuing the campaign which thwarted the Confederate attempts to gain a footing in West Virginia. He commanded the Army of the Mississippi in the battles of Iuka and Corinth in September and October, OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 615 1862, when he succeeded General Buell in command of the Department of the Cumberland, during which time he fought the battle of Murfreesboro and pushed the Federal salient to Chattanooga. During the last year of the war he was commander of the Department of Missouri at St. Louis. He received the brevet rank of major-general in the regular army for his services at the battle of Stone River or Murfreesboro. Reference has been made to the defeat of Vallandighan for Congress in 1862. His successful opponent was Robert C. Schenck, who was born in Warren County, Ohio, in 1809 ; was a lawyer by profession and had served as a whig in Congress from 1843 to 1851. At the outbreak of the Civil war he was one of the first brigadier-generals appointed by President Lincoln. He was at Bull Run, and after some successful operations in the Shenandoah Valley he was put in command of a division. At the second battle of Bull Run he was wounded and on September 18, 1862, was promoted to major-general. After the Gettysburg campaign he resigned his commission in December, 1863, to enter Congress and rendered effective service as chairman of the committee on military affairs. He was given the same committee during his next term. Of Ohio's majors-general the one who achieved the greatest distinction after the war was James A. Garfield. At the beginning of the war he was a member of the Ohio Senate, being at the head of what was known as the "radical triumvirate," composed of himself, Jacob D. Cox and James Monroe, Cox subsequently becoming a governor of Ohio and secretary of the interior, while Monroe was in Congress. Garfield's first contribution to the war was a bill defining and providing punishment for treason. In August, 1861, he was commissioned by Governor Dennison as a lieutenant-colonel, his regiment, the Forty-second, including many of his old pupils at Hiram College. Later General Buell assigned him the command of a brigade and he performed the difficult tasks of driving the Confederate forces out of eastern Kentucky. In acknowledgment of this service he was commissioned a brigadier-general by President Lincoln. He was at Shiloh and subsequent operations before Corinth and in 1863 became chief-of-staff under General Rosecrans. For exceptional gallantry on the battle field of Chickamauga in September, 1863, he was promoted to major-general. Soon after at the request of President Lincoln he resigned from the army to take his seat in Congress as successor of Joshua R. Giddings. Among Ohio's brigadiers-general individual reference can be made to only a few. Two of them were sons of Senator Thomas Ewing, whose influence as one of the older statesman has been noted. The family of fighting McCooks in the eastern part of the state furnished two brigadiers-general in addition to the major-general, Alexander McD. McCook. Rutherford B. Hayes, who was born at Delaware in 1822, was commissioned a major of the famous Twenty-third Ohio Volunteers by Governor Dennison ; was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the regiment in October, 1861, and was severely wounded in the battle of South Mountain in September, 1862. He was promoted to colonel October 24th. On recovering he took command of the regiment. He commanded a brigade in the spring of 1864 and gained distinction in the battles of Cloyd's Mountain, Berryville and Winchester during 1864. For his service at Cedar Creek in October, 1864, he won his commission of brigadier-general at the request of General McCook and in March, 1865, was breveted major-general of volunteers for his services in the campaign of 1864. It should not be forgotten that William McKinley was a junior officer on General Hayes' staff and likewise a member of the famous Ohio Twenty-third Regiment. From this regiment came two men 616 - HISTORY OF OHIO who were presidents, one who became a United States Senator, several members of Congress and others who reached high places of honor and responsibility. One of the last survivors of the notable list of Ohio's generals in the war was Joseph W. Keifer of Springfield, who was born in Clark County in 1836 and left a law practice to enlist on April 19, 1861. He was commissioned a major of the Third Ohio Infantry, took part in the West Virginia campaign and while with General Buell's army was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of his regiment in February, 1862. He became colonel of the One Hundred and Tenth Ohio in September, 1862. He was twice wounded at the battle of Winchester in June, 1863, and at the battle of the Wilderness in May, 1864, was again wounded but resumed the command of a brigade in time to participate in the Shenandoah Valley campaign that fall. He commanded the Third Division at Cedar Creek and for this service was breveted a brigadier-general. In March and April, 1865, his division had a prominent part in the final assaults upon the Confederate works at Petersburg and Richmond, and on the 5th of April his command aided in cutting off the retreat of Lee's army, forcing it to give battle at Sailor's Creek. He was breveted major-general "for gallant and distinguished services during the campaign ending in the surrender of General Lee." UNION CAMPS AND CONFEDERATE PRISONS IN OHIO In the Civil war troops were inducted into the service of the United States at camps established in various parts of the state. Two of these were under the direct control of the United States: Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati ; Camp Chase, near Columbus. Nine were organized for state troops : Camp Jackson, near Columbus ; Camp Harrison, near Cincinnati ; Camp Taylor, near Cleveland ; Camp Goddard, near Zanesville ; Camp Anderson, near Lancaster ; Camp Putnam, near Marietta ; Camp Wool, near Athens ; Camp Jefferson, near Bellaire ; Camp Scott, near Portland. Here the troops were enlisted, equipped, drilled and organized for the service. There were two important prisons within the State of Ohio, where captured Confederate soldiers were kept while the war was in progress. The larger of these was at Camp Chase, a short distance west of Columbus. A detailed history of these was written and published by William H. Knauss, a Union veteran, in 1906. Accounts have also been written by different prisoners. There is evidence that these prisoners were well kept and that much interest was manifested in them, especially at Camp Chase. Women of southern birth living in Columbus did much to care for those who were ill and to keep others in communication with their kindred in the South. Of course, all letters were carefully censored by the Union authorities. While the health of these prisoners seems to have been generally good, the long list of those who died is a mute testimonial to the effect of prison life under the most favorable conditions. In the Confederate cemetery at Camp Chase there are buried 2,134 prisoners who died here. The bodies of 126 had been removed prior to 1906, making the total number buried here 2,260. The graves of these have been well kept, and on the first of June each year their friends hold memorial services here. The other prison was on Johnson's Island in Sandusky Bay. The area of this island is about three hundred acres. After the necessary buildings were installed the first prisoners were brought here in April, 1862. The largest number confined here at any one time was slightly in excess of three thousand. They were coming and going as they were exchanged or transferred to other points. The entire number that OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 617 were confined here for a time in the history of the prison was about fifteen thousand. 7 To guard against their escape the gunboat Michigan, carrying eighteen guns, was stationed near the prison. It was the only armed vessel on the lake. In the summer and autumn of 1864 a bold conspiracy was formed to capture this gunboat, liberate the prisoners, levy tribute on the port of cities of the lake, rush to Columbus, liberate the Confederate prisoners at Camp Chase and organize a campaign against the United States Government from the Northwest. The details as recorded by s different writers do not agree in minor matters. Some leave the impression that Capt. John Yates Beall, a wealthy Confederate naval officer of Virginia, planned the enterprise. Others put forth Capt. Charles Cole, a Confederate officer under General Forrest, as the chief conspirator. The Confederate Veteran of July, 1900, makes the following statement, which is doubtless substantially correct : "Jacob Thompson, formely secretary of the interior under Buchanan, Maj. C. H. Cole, of the Fifth Tennessee Regiment, Maj. Thomas C. Hinds of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and several others hatched a conspiracy for the liberation of all the Confederate prisoners in the North." Captain Beall proceeded to Detroit and boarded the Philo Parsons at Sandwich on the Canadian shore, with three men. At Malden twenty men dressed as laborers boarded the boat with a heavy trunk without exciting suspicion. After the Philo Parsons had left Kelly's Island, September 19, 1864, the clerk in command of the vessel was confronted by four men with revolvers pointed at his head. The trunk was opened, the conspirators armed themselves and took possession of the boat. They then changed their course and proceeded to Middle Bass Island. When another vessel, the Island Queen, arrived, Beall's men boarded and took possession of her in spite of the resistance of her captain, G. W. Orr. The engineer of the Queen refused to obey the orders of his captors and was shot through the cheek. The passengers, including thirty-five members of Company K of the One Hundred and Thirtieth Regiment, Ohio National Guard, who had been mustered out of service and were unarmed, were permitted to go ashore. The Island Queen was then lashed to the Philo Parsons, taken in the direction of Johnson's Island. and when about three miles out was scuttled and sent adrift. The Philo Parsons proceeded to the 7 - The number of Confederate prisoners who died and are buried here is 206. 618 - HISTORY OF OHIO mouth of Sandusky Bay and Captain Beall eargerly watched for the signal from the gunboat Michigan, seen in dim outline in the distance. Captain Cole was to entertain the officers and some friends on the Michigan that night, drug their wine and signal Beall when all was in readiness for boarding the gunboat. Long and anxiously Captain Beall peered through the darkness. His followers were restive and anxious, too. A f ear came over them that the plot had been discovered and the possibility of a very warm reception from the Michigan began to disturb them. The result, to the surprise of Captain Beall, was a mutiny among his followers. A written statement signed by most of them was a notice to him that they would proceed no further. Disgusted and disappointed he returned to Sandwich, discharged his crew, destroyed the vessel and escaped. In the meantime interesting developments had been in progress at Sandusky. Captain Cole, who had been there for some time in the guise of the agent of a Pennsylvania Oil Company had made many friends without becoming an object of suspicion. Not only had he been on board the Michigan, but it is said that on one occasion he had accompanied the vessel in a cruise on the lakes. He and Beall had a conference shortly before the date set for the capture of the Michigan. Cole was to play the part already indicated, but when the evening arrived and the grand entertainment was about to begin a United States officer appeared and placed Cole under arrest. A commission found in his pocket from the Confederate authorities sealed his fate. The plot had been betrayed and the ambitious enterprise ended in a fiasco. The Confederate Veteran is authority for the statement that the "betrayor was Colonel Johnson, of Kentucky, a prisoner on Johnson's Island, who, siezed with remorse for the act, committed suicide shortly afterward." Cole was tried and sentenced to be shot on Johnson's Island, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was afterward pardoned and for many years lived on a ranch in Texas. Captain Beall was captured December 16, 1864, at Niagara Falls. He was tried by a court-martial in New York City, convicted as a spy and hung February 24, 1865, on Governor's Island. THE ANDREWS RAIDERS In the rotunda of the statehouse near the west entrance is a bronze tablet. At the top the artist represented a locomotive and tender. Under the cab window is the word "General" ; on the tender the letters—"W. & A. R. R." The inscription underneath reads : In Memory of the ANDREWS RAIDERS Big Shanty, Georgia April 12th, 1862 Executed James J. Andrews, Flemingsburg, Ky. George D. Wilson, Co. B, 2nd Ohio Vol. Inf. Marion A. Ross, Co. A, 2nd Ohio Vol. Inf. Charles P. Shadrack, Co. K, 2nd Ohio Vol. Inf. Samuel Slavens, Co. E, 33d Ohio Vol. Inf. Samuel Robertson, Co. G, 33d Ohio Vol. Inf. John M. Scott, Co. F, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. William H. Campbell, Salineville, O. OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 619 Escaped October 16th, 1862 Wilson W. Brown, Engineer, Co. F, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. William J. Knight, Engineer, Co. E, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. John Reed Porter, Co. G, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. Martin J. Hawkins, Co. A, 33d Ohio Vol. Inf. Mark Wood, Co. C, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. John A. Wilson. Co. C, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. Daniel O. Dorsey, Co. H, 33d Ohio Vol. Inf. John Wollam, Co. C, 33d Ohio Vol. Inf. Exchanged March 18th, 1863 Jacob Parrott, Co. K, 33d Ohio Vol. Inf. Robert Buffum, Co. H, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. William Pittenger, Co. G, 2nd Ohio Vol. Inf. William Bensinger, Co. G, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. William H. Reddick, Co. B, 33d Ohio Vol. Inf. Elihu H. Mason, Co. K, 21st Ohio Vol. Inf. For sheer audacity the undertaking commemorated by this tablet is almost unsurpassed in military annals. Though it failed, it was an adventure that thrilled both North and South, and even yet it remains a story of daring that stirs the pulse wherever told. It exceeded in danger to the participants the well remembered exploit of Captain Hobson in sinking the Merrimac at the mouth of Santiago harbor to "bottle up" Cervera's Spanish fleet during the Cuban war. Far from being an isolated act of audacity, the undertaking was linked up with one of the great military projects for breaking the resistance of the South. Lincoln and his military advisers early set themselves to the working out of a plan to "split the Confederacy in two." The seizing of the Mississippi River was only a partial solution of the problem. A more central highway than the Mississippi, through the very heart of the Confederacy, was the great valley extending southward from Harper's Ferry into Northern Georgia and Alabama. The countless battles fought in the northern end of this valley—the Shenandoah—attest its strategic importance. From the capital of the Confederacy ran a main line of railway down the valley. Near the south end of the valley in the vicinity of Chattanooga this line met another railway coming up from Central Georgia and Atlanta. Westward from this point ran still another main railway out through Northern Alabama and Mississippi. With them intact, supplies and troops could be moved quickly, and these quick movements more than once enabled the Confederates to concentrate their forces to beat back threatening campaigns on the eastern and western fronts. The junction point of these three railways was therefore a key position. It was coveted by the Union leaders, while the Confederates suffered tremendous losses before they yielded it. The war was well into its third year before the Federals succeeded in dominating this strategic point. The Andrews raid was an attempt to execute a daring plan to destroy temporarily this vital unit of railway communication. Obviously the wrecking of a railroad could have no great importance unless it was followed by the advance of an army in sufficient force to occupy the territory through which the railroad passed. Its immediate purpose, in fact, was to prevent a swift transfer of reinforcements until the Union forces could capture and establish themselves in Chattanooga. The success of the entire campaign, of which the Andrews raid was an incident, might well have set the progress of the war ahead by a full year. Fort Donelson had fallen, the Battle of Shiloh was imminent, and the Union forces had overrun Middle Tennessee and were threatening Northern Mississippi and Alabama. This was the situation in the 620 - HISTORY OF OHIO spring of 1862, which was the time of this dramatic incident. Gen. O. M. Mitchel commanded the eastern wing of the Federal armies, the main bodies being under Buell and Grant in the vicinity of Shiloh. General Mitchel moved his troops south from Nashville through Murfreesboro to Shelbyville, from which point he planned a rapid advance overland to strike Huntsville, which was on the main railway line above mentioned, known as the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. This movement was begun on April 9th, just after the Battle of Shiloh, and two days later General Mitchel was in possession of Huntsville. Without pausing, he ordered portions of his division west to Decatur and others east to Stevenson, capturing both these junction points. It was a brilliant movement, and had it been followed up the North might have been spared the exhausting campaigns of the next year in battling over practically the same ground. Having possessed himself of the railroad from Decatur to Stevenson, a natural extension of his campaign would have turned Mitchel further east to strike at Chattanooga. With the small forces at his command it was necessary for him to move quickly before the enemy could concentrate. Therefore, a blow to paralyze the railway line between Chattanooga and Atlanta, struck at just the moment of the capture of Huntsville, might have enabled Mitchel to turn his "raid," as it has been frequently called in history, into a campaign that would have placed the Union banners over "the gateway to the South" in the spring of 1862. The instrument to strike this blow was "the Andrews raiders." Andrews was a Kentuckian, but had undertaken several dangerous missions and was thoroughly trusted by the Northern military authorities. The original sources of his authority probably came from the headquarters o f the Western army, but it was from General Mitchel's command that his twenty-three followers were selected for the dangerous adventure. From the record on the tablet it will be seen that only one or two were chosen from a company, but practically all came from the Second, Twenty-first and Thirty-third Regiments, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. All were volunteers in the sense that each was given the privilege of declining, since the mission was outside the ordinary duty of a soldier and failure to accomplish the purpose meant almost certain death. When the men assembled at the rendezvous, Andrews explained in detail his plan. After that they separated and in small groups set out across country, with Marietta, Georgia, as their destination. It was agreed that they should represent themselves as Kentuckians on the way South to join the Confederate Army. It was not a difficult disguise to assume at that stage of the war. However two of the number were arrested and never reached the rendezvous. or this reason the names on the tablet number only twenty-two. The undertaking by Andrews was to coincide with Mitchel's attack on Huntsville. That attack was carried out according to plan on April 1 1 th. But Andrews, underestimating the ability of that aggressive general to move his troops so quickly, allowed an extra day and consequently did not reach Marietta until the night of the 11th. When, on the following morning, he and his followers boarded the train as it came up from Atlanta bound for Chattanooga, reports were being received that Huntsville had been captured. As a result the railroad was congested with trains coming South. Andrews' movements depended on a customary operation of trains, and now the schedule was completely disturbed. From Marietta the train ran north to Big Shanty, where stop was made for breakfast, all the train crew and many of the passengers getting off. Now was the appointed time for action. One of the raiders drew the coupling, detaching the engine with the three boxcars next to it. Andrews with Brown, Knight and Wilson took their places in the cab. The others scrambled into a boxcar. The throttle was opened and the train was rounding a curve before the sentries and other spec- OHIO IN THE WARS OF THE NATION - 621 tators were aware of anything unusual. A mile or so away a halt was made to raise steam in the "General," while the telegraph wire was cut. Expecting no immediate pursuit, the regular schedule of speed was maintained over the thirty-two miles to Kingston. There occurred an unexpected delay. Instead of one freight train from the North there were three. An entire hour had passed before these trains had run by. Andrews in the meantime played his part perfectly, impersonating a Confederate officer who had impressed the train to carry a supply of powder to Beauregard's army. The daring of Andrews was fully matched by the resourcefulness of W. A. Fuller, conductor of the stolen train. On hearing the "General" pull out, he with his engineer and another railroad man darted from the station and started to run after the escaping train. After going a couple of miles they found a handcar, which they set on the rails and propelled with such energy that they were not many miles behind the raiders. At Etowah a spur ran from the main track to a mine a few miles away, and as chance would have it, the engine used in pulling these mine-cars had just reached the main line. Fuller at once took possession and was soon in hot pursuit. He reached Kingston only about twenty minutes after the departure of Andrews, who was completely unaware that a general alarm had been spread and that a large force of armed pursuers were only a few miles behind. Andrews and his party had gone into the enemy country for the purpose of wrecking a railroad, but armed only with pistols and of course without any of the modern explosives which would have accomplished their object in short order. They expected to find track-lifting tools in the train or at the stations they passed, but the only implement of much value was an iron bar. This explanation seems necessary to account for the very small amount of destruction wrought by the raiders. From Kingston the "General" ran on some ten miles farther to Adairsville, where another freight train was passed. Then came the first burst of speed, which carried them another ten miles to Calhoun, where the last south-bound train was passed. A short distance above Calhoun a stop was made to pull up a rail and cut the telegraph wire. While the men were tugging at the rail, the whistle of an engine gave them the first intimation of the nearness of their pursuers. Fuller in the meantime had taken another engine at Kingston and with it continued the chase until halted by a rail that had been removed. Leaving the engine he proceeded on foot again until he met the freight train coming south from Adairsville. Its engine, the "Texas," was one of the largest and best on the line. Quickly pushing the cars on a siding, the "Texas," running backward, was soon traveling at a dangerous rate of speed. It was necessary now and then to slow down to remove obstructions from the track, but they were steadily gaining on the raiders. It was beyond Calhoun that the real chase began. Andrews pushed the "General" to its utmost speed, but for the rest of the way the interval between the two trains was never more than a few minutes, and there was no opportunity for the work of destruction that had been planned. On reaching the top of a grade Andrews had the engine reversed, and, the rear boxcar having been uncoupled, gave it a backward shove, hoping it would dash into the pursuing train and wreck it. But Fuller also reversed and after a harmless impact coupled the car securely and came on as rapidly as ever. Andrews repeated the maneuver with the second car, but with similar results. The stolen engine was now close to Dalton, from where two branches ran up to the Memphis & Charleston Railway. Andrews took the one running to Chattanooga. A short distance farther on a halt was made to cut the telegraph line, but not until Fuller had gotten a message through to the Confederate commander at Chattanooga. As 622 - HISTORY OF OHIO a last desperate move to delay their pursuers and enable them to escape from the net that was closing in on all sides, the remaining boxcar was set on fire and was left to burn on the covered bridge over Chickamauga Creek. But the timbers were wet from the rain, and before serious damage was done Fuller's train had come up and pushed the burning car off the bridge and on to a siding. The "General" had made a magnificent run, but was now exhausted. The oil was gone, and many of the bearings had been burned out ; there was neither water nor fuel. Andrews, after commanding his men to run for the woods, had the engine reversed. There was just enough steam to carry it back to an easy impact upon the pursuit train. The famous "chase of a locomotive" was over. Thousands turned out to hunt the raiders and in a few days all were captives in Chattanooga. Later they were removed to Knoxville and then to Atlanta. Their fate is graphically told on the tablet. Andrews was the first to be executed, and some days later seven others were sentenced by court martial and hanged. With the exception of the leader, all the raiders were credited to Ohio. It was eminently fitting that Ohio should seek to commemorate their deeds and their names. CHAPTER IV OUR WAR WITH SPAIN William Jennings Bryan, in a notable speech before our entrance into the World war, described in graphic language the extent of that conflict. "It is the biggest war in all recorded time," said he. "I say the biggest war, not, the greatest war. There is a difference." Assuming that his audience understood this—and they did— he continued with an array of figures to describe the extent of the World war and its waste of property and treasure and blood. Mr. Bryan, had he been questioned, would doubtless have put our War with Spain in the class of the great wars of history. He promptly enlisted as soon as that war was declared, and served as colonel of a Nebraska regiment. In all the years that followed he must have treasured with a degree of pride' his service in this brief war. When thoughts of a final resting place for his remains came with his closing years, he chose a grave in Arlington among the soldier dead of the Republic a right and privilege that was his by virtue of his service in the War with Spain. He was an eloquent advocate of peace, opposed to militarism, and at times regarded as a pacifist, but he was throughout his career a soldier of the crusader type. The War with Spain was a great war because of the altruistic spirit in which America entered it. As early as 1851 the sympathies of the United States were aroused in behalf of the Cuban people. In that year the ill-fated Lopez expedition reached the island, raised the banner of revolt, and awaited the uprising of the people to throw off the yoke of Spain. The uprising failed to materialize. Lopez and his followers were soon prisoners in the hands of the Spanish soldiery, and promptly executed. The fate of Lieutenant William L. Crittenden, a graduate of West Point, left a deep impression on this side of the Florida straits. Facing the guns of the Spanish firing squad, he died like a soldier. His last words deserve a place in the world's laconics of courage. When asked to turn his back and kneel while his executioners shot him to death, he answered : "No, I never turn my back to the enemy, and kneel only to my God !" Other uprisings in the island had occurred from time to time, but all had been brought to naught by false promises or ruthlessly put down by the military power of Spain, while the burdens and privations of the Cuban people increased with the passing years. The revolution antedating but a short time the last uprising aroused widespread sympathy throughout the United States and demands for intervention in behalf of humanity and the suffering islanders. Much sympathy was expressed by the newspapers of the United States, and the cause of the Cubans was not wholly without literary support. A New York paper carried some lines of verse that did not wholly perish with this revolution. They ran in part as follows : O spirits of the brave and just, Ye millions who have died, While fighting for sweet liberty 'Gainst arrogance and pride If ye can aid a patriot band Determined to be free, Then nerve those who are fighting now For Cuba's liberty. - 623 - 624 - HISTORY OF OHIO As the administration of Grover Cleveland approached its close, the revolution in Cuba assumed larger proportions, and the details of the sufferings of the people, as they were portrayed in the papers of the United States, aroused a sympathy that was sincere, unselfish and pro found. This sympathy began to take organized form. The Cuban League of America was formed in New York City under the leadership of Colonel Ethan Allen, a lineal descendant of Ethan Allen of Revolutionary fame. A branch was organized in Columbus with Colonel James Kilbourne as president. Under the auspices of the league a number of public meetings were held in the interest of the Cuban cause. These were addressed by Daniel J. Ryan, former secretary of state of Ohio ; Congressman John J. Lentz of the Columbus district ; Thomas E. Powell, former candidate for governor ; Henry J. Booth, prominent Columbus attorney ; and other local speakers. In response to a special invitation, Fidel G. Pierra, of the Cuban delegation in New York City, came to Columbus and addressed a large meeting. Mr. Pierra was a cultured and scholarly Cuban, who years before had been forced to leave his native island because of his political views. When the Pan-American Congress was organized tinder the leadership of James G. Blaine, Mr. Pierra, for a time, had served as its secretary. He made a most favorable impression in Columbus, where he was entertained by Colonel Kilbourne and other prominent citizens. There was much speculation as to what the policy of the McKinley administration would be toward the Cuban crisis. It therefore became eminently a matter of Ohio interest. In his earlier public statements the new President manifested conservatism and caution in his references to this issue. William McKinley had been a soldier in the Civil war, and he hesitated to do anything that would involve the nation in a war with a foreign power at the outset of his administration. He knew the stern significance of such a conflict and the loss and suffering that it would involve. He would do nothing to precipitate war until all efforts at a peaceful solution had failed. On the day that William McKinley became President, Joseph Benson Foraker took his seat in the Senate of the United States. What Foraker's views on the Cuban question were, nobody seemed to know. When approached by some of the friends of the Cuban cause, his answer was simply that he was making a study of the situation and welcomed information from all sources. In the meantime the situation on the island was growing more critical. On the 11th of April, 1898, the President sent a lengthy message to Congress setting forth the conditions on the island, and asking that body "to authorize and empower the President to take measures to secure a full and final termination of hostilities between the government of Spain and the people of Cuba, and to secure in the island the establishment of a stable government, capable of maintaining order and observing its international obligations." Congress, however, was in no mood to continue negotiations along the conservative lines indicated. On February 15 the battleship Maine, on a peaceful mission to Havana harbor, was sunk with a loss of two officers and 264 men. Conditions in Cuba were becoming intolerable and the people of the United States were almost unanimously demanding that Spain should leave the island or be driven out by the armed forces of the United States. Various resolutions were presented in both houses of Congress. On the 13th of April Senator Foraker rose to address the Senate on certain resolutions that had been introduced recognizing the people of the island of Cuba as free and independent, and demanding Spain to relinquish its authority over Cuba and "withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters." In his preliminary remarks Senator Foraker explained that, as a member of the committee to which this resolution had been referred, he