Ohio's War: The Civil War in Documents

by Christine Dee

Overview

In 1860, Ohio was among the most influential states in the nation. As the third-most-populous state and the largest in the middle west, it embraced those elements that were in concert-but also at odds-in American society during the Civil War era. Ohio's War uses documents from that vibrant and tumultuous time to reveal how Ohio's soldiers and civilians experienced the Civil War. It examines Ohio's role in the sectional crises of the 1850s, its contribution to the Union war effort, and the war's impact on the state itself. In doing so, it provides insights into the war's meaning for northern society.

Ohio's War introduces some of those soldiers who left their farms, shops, and forges to fight for the Union. It documents the stories of Ohio's women, who sustained households, organized relief efforts, and supported political candidates. It conveys the struggles and successes of free blacks and former slaves who claimed freedom in Ohio and the distinct wartime experiences of its immigrants. It also includes the voices of Ohioans who differed over emancipation, freedom of speech, the writ of habeas corpus, the draft, and the war's legacy for American society.

From Ohio's large cities to its farms and hamlets, as the documents in this volume show, the war changed minds and altered lives but left some beliefs and values untouched. Ohio's War is a documentary history not only of the people of one state, but also of a region and a nation during the pivotal epoch of American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780821416839
Publisher:	Ohio University Press
Publication date:	11/01/2006
Series:	Civil War in the Great Interior
Edition description:	1
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Christine Dee is an Assistant Professor of History at Fitchburg State College. Her current project is a comparative study of northern Alabama and southern Ohio during the Civil War.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations     xi
Series Editors' Preface     xiii
Preface     xv
Acknowledgments     xvii
Introduction     1
Ohio at the Center of the Nation     6
Abigail House Favors Free Soil in the Western Reserve     10
An Ohio Democrat Opposes the Kansas-Nebraska Act     13
John P. Parker Recalls His Work on the Underground Railroad     14
The Kidnap and Return of Oliver Anderson     19
Charles H. Langston Addresses the Court in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Case     21
A Fugitive Case in Zanesville     26
Ohio Responds to John Brown's Raid     28
Salmon P. Chase: "The people desire Union and Concord"     30
The Election of 1860 and the Secession Crisis     33
Do the North and South Understand Each Other?     36
William Dennison's Inaugural Speech     37
Republicans Appeal to Iron Workers     39
Freedom of Lands to Actual Settlers     40
The Union-What Is It Worth?     41
Republicans Care Very Little about Slavery     42
The Brave Cheese-Mongers     43
Cleveland Welcomes Abraham Lincoln     44
Rutherford B. Hayes: "We shall of course not agree about theWar"     45
A Belmont County Family Wants Peace     47
"I am going"     51
Taking Up and Giving Up a Short War     53
Troops in Columbus Are Not in "Apple-Pie Order"     55
A Cincinnati Woman Records the First Months of War     56
"Oh how hard it was to let him go"     62
The Farming Interest     63
Marietta's Working Class Organizes     64
Ohio Learns of Bull Run     64
"What is to be done with the helpless blacks?"     66
Governor Dennison Appeals for Aid for Ohio Soldiers     67
Dr. John B. Rice Defends the Honor of His Regiment at Shiloh     68
The Monarch Aids the Shiloh Wounded     70
A Report on the Ladies of Amesville     72
Debates over Liberty and Loyalty     75
More Than a Matter of Property     77
The Toledo Riot     79
The "Conscious Impotence" of Emancipation     81
"A few days more and the game will be up"     83
William Nelson Recalls Freedom in Ohio     83
Elizabeth Gray Reports on the Siege of Cincinnati     85
An Ohio Soldier Hunts Rebels in Kentucky     87
"The persons and property of the citizens are sacred"     90
"We have now...a divided north"     91
Lines of Battle: Soldiers and Their Communities     94
The Taylors' Battles Are Close to Home     96
Park Johnson Operates with the Eighteenth Ohio Infantry     99
"An inheritance to my beloved children"     105
Darwin D. Cody Fights at Chancellorsville     108
George Benson Fox and the "Seventy-fives" at Gettysburg     112
A Father and Son Go to War     117
"To secure justice to the colored soldiers"     127
The Costs of War     129
"The experiment has failed"     131
A Timely Word to Farmers     132
Welsh Immigrants Believe the Country Will Never Be the Same     133
The Trials of Vallandigham     136
A Citizen Recounts Morgan's Raid     144
"All can't go, all won't go and all don't want to go"     146
William A. Johnston Seeks Deserters in Coshocton     148
A Word to Laboring Men     150
The Forty-fifth Ohio Infantry Supports John Brough     151
A "Monstrous Outrage" in New Lisbon     152
"Shameful Conduct" of Women in Portsmouth     153
Sarah Rice Engages in Politics in Fremont     154
John Chase's Father Has Turned His Enemy      158
"I am just as I always was"     159
Prisoner Shootings at Camp Chase     161
The Battles of 1864     165
A Soldier in the Fifth U.S. Colored Regiment Predicts a Brighter Day     167
"The negro question is only just opening upon us"     169
An Ohio Soldier in the Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Fights for Liberty     172
A Prognosis for Farmers     174
The Resolutions of Working Men in Cincinnati     175
Governor Brough Investigates Recruiting in Ohio     177
Chauncey Welton Explains "The eavel attending a chainge"     179
Republican Women in Salt Creek Take Action     181
"The 'public' is simply crazy"     183
Democrats Question the "Good Times" of the Lincoln Administration     184
Alvin C. Voris Believes the North Is Awakening     185
A Mother and Son Write of War     188
The Imprint of War     190
"Fourth of Julys, every one"     193
Benjamin Rees Advises Prospective Immigrants to Stay Home     194
Aplin Martin Comes Home     195
The Oberlin Committee Presses J. D. Cox on Black Suffrage     196
Benjamin Wade Speaks Out on Labor and Capital     198
Thomas Smith Dedicates the Soldiers' Monument in Washington County      202
Timeline     207
Discussion Questions     221
Notes     225
Selected Bibliography     231
Index     237

Editorial Reviews

"...a chorus of diverse voices that project the complex mixture of opinions and ideas with which Buckeyes experienced the war....will be of interest to professional and amateur historians interested in the Civil War in the Ohio Valley."--Ohio Valley History

"Ohio's War is a significant contribution to the study of the Civil War, providing rich context especially for readers interested in state history. The interpretive additions were very well crafted, providing a backdrop for how each source fits into the topic."--Northern Ohio Bibliophilic Society Newsletter

"A solid achievement....finely balances well-known documents and subjects with the heretofore unknown voices of ordinary Ohioans living through a momentous era."--Northwest Ohio History

"Christine Dee's marvelous collection of documents will captivate anyone interested in the history of Ohio and the American Civil War. Ohio's War: The Civil War in Documents allows us to experience battle with soldiers at places such as Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. As important, we see how the Civil War mobilized, divided, traumatized, and inspired Ohio's diverse citizens, forcing them to think hard about what was worth living for--and what was worth dying for."--Andrew Cayton, author of Ohio: The History of a People

"I would suggest this book to someone just starting on their study of the Civil War, as well as to the person who has been reading and studying the war for many years.... Professor Dee and Ohio University Press are to be commended for this excellent publication...."--Ohio's Civil War Genealogy Journal

From the Publisher