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 v Taking Up and Giving Up a Short War I   of , as eager men in Ohio rushed to volunteer for three months’ service to defend the Union, the state government struggled to mobilize for war. It would take the state approximately two years to create an efficient war machinery.1 In  the state militia had fewer men and armaments than the militia of any other Northern state. Legislation in  had reformed the militia, at least on paper. It mandated the enrollment of all white men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, who were required to participate in musters and attend an annual encampment. The militia continued, however, to be largely ceremonial, spawning a vast number of officers but few troops prepared for actual service. During the secession crisis, Ohio had not prepared for possible military conflict because public opinion had favored compromise. Following the firing on Fort Sumter, however, the disorganized Ohio militia formed the nuclei for many of the first companies sent to Columbus. These would help fill the First and Second Ohio Infantry regiments.2 In Lincoln’s initial call for troops, Ohio was allotted thirteen regiments. Men sufficient for twenty regiments flooded the state capital, eager to defeat the Confederacy in what promised to be a short war. The state legislature swiftly passed a bill appropriating funds to subsidize ten regiments. Boardinghouses, city hotels, and the statehouse were all used to house the eager volunteers. When Ohio’s adjutant general refused to accept any more companies, Ohioans grew frustrated, complaining of inefficiency, corruption, and the incompetence of state officials. The state legislature tried to remedy the situation, passing a million-dollar appropriation bill. The money was desperately needed; Ohio’s arsenal could not supply enough guns or munitions to arm the newly formed regiments. Troops lacked uniforms. When Ohio’s first regiments departed Columbus on April , headed for the nation’s capital, state agents were in other states looking for uniforms and equipment for the soldiers while state officials strained to feed the ones who remained in Columbus. From the earliest days of the war, people in Ohio recognized that their state occupied an important, if precarious, position in the Union and the war effort.  The Ohio River, central to the state’s development, influenced Ohioans’ view of the war. In the spring of  it was unclear whether Virginia and Kentucky would remain in the Union. Ohioans themselves disagreed about the best course to pursue . Some citizens along the river called for a boycott of all shipments to Kentucky . On May , Kentucky’s governor proclaimed a policy of armed neutrality. In response, Governor William Dennison of Ohio sent an emissary to discuss the common interests of people along the border in maintaining peace. Dennison issued a public letter distinguishing between seceded states and neutral states. Yet he also met with the governors of Illinois and Indiana and called for the seizure of prominent Kentucky cities to prevent Confederate recruiting and more fully secure Ohio’s southern border. Dennison took more aggressive action toward Virginia . On April , two days after Virginia ratified its ordinance of secession, he ordered the fortification of Marietta, across the Ohio River from Parkersburg and the terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He anxiously called on General George B. McClellan to take Ohio troops into Virginia and hold the railroad. On May , McClellan ordered state troops into Virginia, where they clashed with Confederate troops at Philippi and Laurel Hill. The Union victories encouraged Unionist sentiment in the mountainous region. Before the war, western Virginians had long resented eastern Virginians’ dominance in political affairs. When Virginia seceded, public opinion in the state’s western counties favored the Union. The Wheeling Convention in June  brought together Union delegates from twenty-six counties who declared their secession from Virginia. Unionism culminated in the proclamation of the state of West Virginia, composed of fifty counties , in May . West Virginia was admitted to the Union as the thirty-fifth state in April the following year. Conditions at home and in the field tested the initial enthusiasm and vigor of Ohio’s people during the first spring of the war. Early calls to support the Union irrespective of party resulted in a fusion movement that elected former Democrat David Tod governor on a Union ticket in October . His election notwithstanding , Democrats remained powerful in the state. They had achieved victories throughout the state in the spring elections held during the secession crisis and held a large share...

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