Ohio's War: The Civil War in Documents

by Christine Dee (Editor)

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:	9780821443927
Publisher:	Ohio University Press
Publication date:	06/20/2014
Series:	Civil War in the Great Interior
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	1 MB

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

Contents List of Illustrations 000 Series Editors' Preface 000 Preface 000 Acknowledgments 000 Introduction 001 Chapter 1: Ohio at the Center of the Nation 000 Abigail House Favors Free Soil in the Western Reserve 000 An Ohio Democrat Opposes the Kansas-Nebraska Act 000 John P. Parker Recalls His Work on the Underground Railroad 000 The Kidnap and Return of Oliver Anderson 000 Charles H. Langston Addresses the Court in the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Case 000 A Fugitive Case in Zanesville 000 Ohio Responds to John Brown's Raid 000 Salmon P. Chase: "The people desire Union and Concord" 000 Chapter 2: The Election of 1860 and the Secession Crisis 000 Do the North and South Understand Each Other? 000 William Dennison's Inaugural Speech 000 Republicans Appeal to Iron Workers 000 Freedom of Lands to Actual Settlers 000 The Union; What Is It Worth? 000 Republicans Care Very Little about Slavery 000 The Brave Cheese-Mongers 000 Cleveland Welcomes Abraham Lincoln 000 Rutherford B. Hayes: "We shall of course not agree about the War" 000 A Belmont County Family Wants Peace 000 "I am going" 000 Chapter 3: Taking Up and Giving Up a Short War 000 Troops in Columbus Are Not in "Apple-Pie Order" 000 A Cincinnati Woman Records the First Months of War 000 "Oh how hard it was to let him go" 000 The Farming Interest 000 Marietta's Working Class Organizes 000 Ohio Learns of Bull Run 000 "What is to be done with the helpless blacks?" 000 Governor Dennison Appeals for Aid for Ohio Soldiers 000 Dr. John B. Rice Defends the Honor of His Regiment at Shiloh 000 The Monarch Aids the Shiloh Wounded 000 A Report on the Ladies of Amesville 000 Chapter 4: Debates over Liberty and Loyalty 000 More Than a Matter of Property 000 The Toledo Riot 000 The "Conscious Impotence" of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation 000 "A few days more and the game will be up" 000 William Nelson Recalls Freedom in Ohio 000 Elizabeth Gray Reports on the Siege of Cincinnati 000 An Ohio Soldier Hunts Rebels in Kentucky 000 "The persons and property of the citizens are sacred" 000 "We have now. . . . a divided north" 000 Chapter 5: Lines of Battle: Soldiers and Their Communities 000 The Taylors' Battles Are Close to Home 000 Park Johnson Operates with the Eighteenth Ohio Infantry 000 "An inheritance to my beloved children" 000 Darwin D. Cody Fights at Chancellorsville 000 George Benson Fox and the "Seventy-fives" at Gettysburg 000 A Father and Son Go to War 000 "To secure justice to the colored soldiers" 000 Chapter 6: The Costs of War 000 "The experiment has failed" 000 A Timely Word to Farmers 000 Welsh Immigrants Believe the Country Will Never Be the Same 000 The Trials of Vallandigham 000 A Citizen Recounts Morgan's Raid 000 "All can't go, all won't go and all don't want to go" 000 William A. Johnston Seeks Deserters in Coshocton 000 A Word to Laboring Men 000 The Forty-fifth Ohio Infantry Supports John Brough 000 A "Monstrous Outrage" in New Lisbon 000 "Shameful Conduct" of Women in Portsmouth 000 Sarah Rice Engages in Politics in Fremont 000 John Chase's Father Has Turned His Enemy 000 "I am just as I always was" 000 Prisoner Shootings at Camp Chase 000 Chapter 7: The Battles of 1864 000 A Soldier in the Fifth U.S. Colored Regiment Predicts a Brighter Day 000 "The negro question is only just opening upon us" 000 An Ohio Soldier in the Fifty-fifth Massachusetts Fights for Liberty 000 A Prognosis for Farmers 000 The Resolutions of Working Men in Cincinnati 000 Governor Brough Investigates Recruiting in Ohio 000 Chauncey Welton Explains "The eavel attending a chainge" 000 Republican Women in Salt Creek Take Action 000 "The 'public' is simply crazy" 000 Democrats Question the "Good Times" of the Lincoln Administration 000 Alvin C. Voris Believes the North Is Awakening 000 A Mother and Son Write of War 000 Chapter 8: The Imprint of War 000 "Fourth of Julys, every one" 000 Benjamin Rees Advises Prospective Immigrants to Stay Home 000 Aplin Martin Comes Home 000 The Oberlin Committee Presses J. D. Cox on Black Suffrage 000 Benjamin Wade Speaks Out on Labor and Capital 000 Thomas Smith Dedicates the Soldiers' Monument in Washington County 000 Timeline 000 Discussion Questions 000 Notes 000 Selected Bibliography 000 Index 000

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