Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-05-03
THE Centennial HISTORY OF OHIO.
BIZ W. w.TARRAND FRLoH.
Copyrighted. All rightsreserred.

Says Whitelaw Reid, In the intro
ductory chapter to his "Ohio in the
War" "When the nation, striving
only to enforce its laws and maintain
its lawfully elected rulers, suddenly
found itself plunged into war that
promised to envelop half Its territory,
it confided its Grand Army TO the
leadership of an Ohio General, Irwin
Mcdowell, a native of Ohio, and one of
her cadets at West Point.) When
beaten less by the enemy than by its
own rawness, that army treated in dis
order from the field it had fairly won,
and the panic of the first Bull Run
seemed to freeze the currents of nation
al life, another Ohio General, George
B. Mcclellan fresh from the first sue
cessful campaign of the war, was called
in to restore public confidence, and re.
organize the army on grander scale
which the increasing perils demanded;
while still another Ohioan was left to
assume his vacated command in the
mountains, (Wm. S. Rosecrans, nati\ e
of Ohio, and one of her cadets at West
POint.)
GAS the war expanded, the State con-
tinued to preserve a similar pre-emi-
nence. Through three campaigns, the
greatest of the national armies re-
mained under the leadership of an
Ohio General. This officer succeeded
the veteran Scott as General-in-chief in
command of all our armies. An Ohio
General commanded the great depart
ment which lay south of his native
State, don Carlos Buell., native of
Ohio.)
"An Ohio General, 20. M. Mitchell
of Cincinnati,) after brilliant services
elsewhere, commanded the Department
of the South, till, in the midst of his
labors, death came to relieve him; and
when active operations In the depart
ment were resumed, it was reserved for
another Ohio General to revOlutionize
gunnery, in destroying the fort around
which the war had opened and in
whose downfall was written the doom
of the Rebellion, (Gen. Quincy A. Gill
more.)
"Its close found another native of
Ohio, Grant, after career as Won
derful and as varied as that of any
Marshall of France, in command of all
our armies, and hailed by popular ac-
claim, our greatest soldier. Another.
(Sheridan,) rising from the rank of a
quartermaster. was foremost in enfOrc-
ing the surrender of Lee, and stood con-
fessed the first Cavalry General of the
continent. Another, (Sherman,) set
aside for insanity at the outset, led the
great consolidated armies of the west
from victory to victory, till one of their
successes decided Presidential con-
test, and another, as they marched
down to the sea and swept like de-
stroying angel through the birthplace
and home of secession, ended the war.
"Other sons of the State had borne
parts no less conspicuous in the nation
al councils. One, at the head of the
War Department, (E. M. Stanton
illustrated by his fiery energy and his
wonderful executive capacity, all, and
more than all, than has been said of
the greatest war minister of the most |
war-like nation of Europe. Another so
well discharged the great duties of the
Treasury Department, carrying the ma
tion and its armies through financial
expenditures without parallel, with
security and public confidence without
precedent in the worlds history of war,
that a leader of the Rebellion had been |
forced at the close to say: 1T was not |
your Generals that defeated us. it was |
your Treasury Salmon P. Chase, ex-
Governor of Ohio and eX-United States
Senator. Another, foremost among all
the brave hearts who surrounded and |
upheld the Government, and in all the
gloomiest hours never once despaired |
of the Republic, was the chairman of
the committee on the conduct of the
war, (Benj. F. Wade, U. S. Senator
from Ohio, and Vice President of the
United States.) Another, manned
with honorable wounds received in the
public service, passed from the field to
take his place at the head of the COM
mittee which controlled the military
legislation of the country, (Gen. Robt.
G. Schenek, native of Ohio, Major
General of Volunteers, and Chairman
of the Military Committee of the
House of Representatives, n
Finding them grouped thus together,
those who come after us may trace the
career of Grant, Sherman and Sheri-
dan; of Rosecrans, Mitchell and Nc
Pherson; of Mcdowell, Mcclellan and
Buell.; Of Gilmore, Steedman, Hazen
and Schenck, and the whole host of
our worthless; of Stanton, Chase and
Wade; of Dennison, Tod and Brough,
and the two hundred and thirty mill
tary organizations they sent into the
field"
Mr.. Ried commences his narrative as
far back as the Presidential contest of
l84S, and traces down to the war times
the growth of the sentiment for the
abolition of slavery. He then contin-
ues: whether it was through far
seeing anticipation of what was to
grow out of this anti-slavery struggle,
or whether it was only result of the
sagacious forecast which in most things
his administration, Gov
ernor Chase early began to attempt an
effective organization of the militia.
IT In this, as in his political views,
he was in advance ofhis times. y
Gov. Chase had the satisfaction of re-
viewing at Dayton nearly thirty COM
panies assembled from different parts |
Of the State, every one of which was
soon to participate in the war that was
then SO near and so little anticipated.
His successor continued the general
policy thus inaugurated, urged the
Legislature to pay the militia for the |
time spent in drill and enforced the |
necessity of expanding the system"
Again he says: mo little hostility |
toward some members of Governor |
Dennison's staff was exhibited, but |
with the Governor himself the rela-
tions Of the Legislature was entirely |
In concert with him the
war legislation was completed and