Ohio Milita and Pike County Soldiers in the American Civil War
The Ohio Militia had been reorganized in 1863. After revision it was divided into two groups. The old-line Ohio Militia was composed of all Ohioans 18 to 45 who were not in active service. This group would respond only to emergencies to its home area. The second group of Militia was the Ohio Volunteer Militia which was to receive more training and be ready to march at an hour's notice. This group, called the "Home Guard" later evolved into the Ohio National Guard. The Home Guard saw service against Morgan's Raiders in 1863. Pike County sent nine companies with 782 men against Morgan.
In 1864, Governor John Brough wrote to General Grant with a novel plan. Brough would meet with several other Midwestern Governors and send Grant Home Guard to stand guard duty thereby freeing veteran soldiers for use in battle. The men would enlist for 100 days and Brough promised 30,000 men from Ohio alone. It is now impossible to say how many Pike Countians served as 100 day men, but the number was probably close to 100. Although these units were assigned to guard duty, nearly all were under fire and suffered casualties.
One other group of Pike Countians deserved special attention because of their uniqueness of their contribution. These were the men who served in the fifth and the twenty-seventh regiments of the U. S. Colored/Troops. Although blacks in the north were willing to serve, the Union Army did not let them join in the early months of the war. Some blacks worked as laborers or cooks for the Army, but no Negro wore a uniform. Then slowly the attitudes changed as white enlistment fell off. Black regiments were organized although the officers were always white. The Fifth and 27th U. S. C.T. was organized in Ohio and more than 50 Blacks from Pike County served in the two units.
Blacks in the Army faced difficulties that their White counterparts did not. Southerners did not accept captured Black soldiers as soldiers, but treated them as escaped slaves. More often than not, any Negro soldier unfortunate enough to be captured was executed on the spot. Few Negro prisoners lived to be exchanged.
Blacks also faced prejudice from many of the northern troops as well as receiving less than equal pay. As the war drew on, the blacks remained in the service serving as Indian fighters on the western frontier.
For all the men from Pike County who served, the war was a serious undertaking. The excitement and glory of battle they had anticipated swiftly turned into the reality and drudgery of harsh army camp life. Battles brought not glory, but death and suffering, yet in this conflict where all men faced the supreme sacrifice, the accomplishments of some Pike Countians stand out.
This is dedicated to the descendants of all who served in the Civil War from Pike County.
Pike County News Watchman
Oct 21, 2009
Jim Henry, Pike's Past author
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Pike Co. Genealogy & Historical Society
P. O. Box 224,
Waverly, Ohio 45690