Cincinnati in the American Civil War During the American Civil War , the Ohio River port city of Cincinnati , Ohio , played a key role as a major source of supplies and troops for the Union Army . It also served as the headquarters for much of the war for the Department of the Ohio , which was charged with the defense of the region , as well as directing the army ' s offensives into Kentucky and Tennessee . Cincinnati at the outset of the Civil War . Antebellum Cincinnati played a large role in the abolitionist movement , partially due to its location as a major city in the free state of Ohio directly across the river from the slave state Kentucky . The " Queen City " became a major migration path for escaped slaves . Leading abolitionists such as Lyman Beecher , James Birney , Salmon P . Chase , Levi Coffin , and Theodore Weld frequently spoke or wrote in support of freeing the slaves . They often encountered local resistance , including violent actions from those with opposing viewpoints . Several locations in the region were alleged to be stops on the Underground Railroad . Debates held at the Lane Theological Seminary fueled the anti - slavery controversy . Cincinnati had mixed political views . Many of the city ' s swelling immigrant population , including Germans , embraced the fledgling Republican Party . In 1859 , Abraham Lincoln made his first political visit to Cincinnati , where he challenged presidential hopeful Stephen Douglas ' s views on slavery . The political editor of the Cincinnati " Daily Gazette " later wrote the positive biography , " The Life of Abraham Lincoln " , which was used as campaign propaganda during Abraham Lincoln ' s 1860 presidential campaign . The Cincinnati " Daily Times " , a Democratic newspaper , openly supported the South ' s right to secede . At the outset of the war in early 1861 , hundreds of Cincinnati ' s young men flocked to military service . Among the more prominent regiments raised in Cincinnati was the 9th Ohio Infantry , the first almost all - German unit to enter the Union Army . The city gave $ 250 , 000 . 00 for the organization of this unit . In May 1861 , the United States Sanitary Commission recruited associate members in Cincinnati , who began supplementing the government in providing comfort for the soldiers . Through their efforts , the Good Samaritan Hospital was completed as a medical facility for injured or wounded soldiers . A year later , they established a Soldiers ' Home . The city became noted as a major source of gunboats and other Union Navy vessels from the burgeoning shipyards in the east side Fulton neighborhood along the Ohio River . Boilers , armor plating , and cast iron cannons were also manufactured in Cincinnati . The city also was a major distribution point for grain , pork , beef , other food , and military supplies to the Union armies serving in the Western Theater . Camp Dennison . With the outbreak of the Civil War , George B . McClellan , a prominent Cincinnati resident and the commander of Ohio ' s state militia , was charged with selecting a site for a recruitment and training center for southern Ohio . The Cincinnati region was a possible target for the Confederate Army due to its Ohio River location and proximity to slave states such as Kentucky and Virginia , from which invasions could be launched . He chose a level tract of land near Indian Hill , Ohio , 17 miles from Cincinnati . More than 50 , 000 Union soldiers were mustered in or out of service at Camp Dennison . As many as 12 , 000 occupied the camp at any one time . Among the post ' s commanders was Cincinnati horticulturalist and former Ohio Militia general Melancthon Wade . Shortly after the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 , a military hospital was established on the grounds of Camp Dennison , with over 200 beds situated in a series of wooden barracks . The nearby Waldschmidt Cemetery served as the temporary gravesite for Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners of war . As the war progressed , Camp Dennison became a significant base of operations for Federal military units heading south to the front lines . Another significant U . S . Army training camp near Cincinnati was Camp Harrison , located six miles north of Cincinnati , on the Cincinnati , Hamilton and Dayton Railroad . The post was named for President William Henry Harrison , who was from Hamilton County . The soldiers at Camp Harrison usually remained at the camp for only a short time for training . 1862 invasion threat . In September 1862 , Confederate Brig . Gen . Henry Heth was sent north from Lexington , Kentucky to " make a demonstration " in front of Cincinnati , then the sixth largest city in the United States , according to Heth ' s memoirs . Mayor George Hatch declared martial law , and Union Maj . Gen . Lew Wallace organized the citizens for defense and raised the Black Brigade of Cincinnati . Along eight miles of hilltops from Ludlow to present - day Fort Thomas , Kentucky , volunteers and soldiers constructed rifle pits and other defensive works , which were defended by 22 , 000 Union soldiers and 50 , 000 local militia volunteers , called " Squirrel Hunters . " On September 5 , Governor Tod announced to the public that no more volunteers would be needed for the defense of Cincinnati , but he advised that all military organizations be kept up for future needs . Cincinnati was briefly threatened by the Confederate cavalry of Brig . Gen . Albert G . Jenkins , who bypassed Cincinnati to the east and entered Ohio near Buffington Island . General Heth and his men marched up the Lexington Road in Northern Kentucky towards the Ohio River . He soon encountered the strong line of Federal defenses and wisely decided not to attack . He lingered in the region for one day and then retreated on September 13 . Union General Wallace soon earned the nickname " Savior of Cincinnati " for his energetic defensive actions . The Squirrel Hunters returned to their homes . By war ' s end , Cincinnati was defended by 27 earthwork forts and batteries . Six of these artillery positions remain ; Hooper Battery and Shaler Battery are open to the public . Later war years . Maj . Gen . Ambrose Burnside , the new commander of the Department of the Ohio as of March 1863 , established his headquarters in Cincinnati and garrisoned the area with veteran units from his newly created XXIII Corps . During Morgan ' s Raid in July , troops from Camp Dennison , at Burnside ' s orders , responded to the invasion by Confederate cavalry under Brig . Gen . John Hunt Morgan . Gunboats dispatched from Cincinnati played a large role in contributing to Morgan ' s defeat at the Battle of Buffington Island . In December 1863 , the U . S . Sanitary Commission opened the " Cincinnati Sanitary Fair " at the opera house as a way of focusing attention on local relief efforts for the soldiers . Bazaars , food stands , art galleries , lectures , and concerts were among the attractions . The Fair ran until April 1864 and garnered $ 234 , 000 in revenues and donations , $ 175 , 000 collected from Cincinnatians themselves . Cincinnati became the scene of numerous military courts - martial and trials of civilians accused of treason or aiding the Confederate cause . Among those convicted in these tribunals was Ohio Copperhead Clement Vallandigham . During the 1864 Presidential Election , Cincinnatians voted heavily for President Lincoln over General McClellan , whose strong personal Cincinnati ties were not enough to carry Hamilton County . With the cessation of hostilities in 1865 , Cincinnati became a major place for Federal troops to disembark from river steamers and reenter Northern soil . A network of roads and railroads carried soldiers back to Camp Dennison or to their home cities to be mustered out of the service . Prominent Cincinnatians in the war effort . Note that Ulysses S . Grant was born in Point Pleasant , about 25 miles ( 40 km ) east of Cincinnati . He maintained Cincinnati ties . For much of the Civil War , his favorite mount was a large horse named " Cincinnati " .