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| When the message of Lincoln's call
for troops reached Ohio, the reaction was immediate. An Oberlin College student later
wrote: "War! and volunteers were the only topics of conversation or thought."
The reaction was similar from some young Shelby County men. Within 48 hours of the
president's message, Dr. Albert Wilson, a 48-year-old Sidney physician, became the first
Shelby County, Ohio volunteer. He traveled to Dayton and signed on as a surgeon with the
1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment. One of the first units formed after President Lincoln's announcement was Company F of the 15th Ohio Voluntary Infantry. Just four days after the call for troops, 100 young men from Sidney signed up for Company F. Led by Captain Abraham Kaga, the Sidney soldiers bore the last names of many families living in the county today, such as Ginn, Gamble, LeFevre, Miller, Swigert, Sharp, Burns, Staley, Moyer, Williams, and many more. The men were mustered out of service in August of 1861 after their 90 day enlistment expired, but most immediately re-enlisted for 3 years. Not everyone stepped forward with such ease. At Ohio Wesleyan University, a freshman student named Henry O. Dwight also pondered his future. (Dwight would become a private, sergeant, and finally a lieutenant with the 20th Ohio, the regiment in which many Shelby Countians served.) Dwight's memoirs and notes, which were published after the war, give a vivid account of the life and death that was the lot of a Civil War soldier. Dwight wrote of his decision to enlist: "At last came the battle of Bull Run (April, 1861). Thus we all knew that the time had to come for action." The patriotic fever did not have the same effect on all the students, however. When some of the 100 members of his local college militia company were lined up and asked to volunteer for military service, only Dwight and fellow student V. T. Hills stepped forward. To ease the difficulties of recruiting, the prospective soldiers were promised they could serve with their relatives and friends. For example, an entire regiment, composed of 1,000 men, was recruited from the town of Flint, Michigan, and its mayor signed on as the commanding officer. Large numbers of boys from Port Jefferson enlisted with the 99th Ohio. Company C of the 118th Ohio contained many soldiers from Ft. Loramie and Cynthian Township. Friends from Sidney served together in the 20th Ohio. [Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] [ 'Civil War' segment written in July, 1998 by Rich Wallace ] |
