The 138th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 138th OVI) was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Service

The 138th Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Dennison

Camp Dennison

Camp Dennison was a military recruiting, training, and medical post for the United States Army during the American Civil War. It was located near Cincinnati, Ohio, not far from the Ohio River. The camp was named for Cincinnati native William Dennison, Ohio's governor at the start of the war.With...

 near Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

 and mustered in May 14, 1864 for 100 days service.

The regiment was attached to 1st Brigade, DeRussy's Division, XXII Corps. Assigned to 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, X Corps, Army of the James

Army of the James

The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.-History:...

.

The 138th Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at Camp Dennison on September 1, 1864.

Detailed service

Left Ohio for Washington, D.C., May 14. Picket duty at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, May 16-22. Reached Washington May 22. Assigned to garrison duty at Forts Albany

Fort Albany (Arlington, Virginia)

Fort Albany was a bastioned earthwork built by the Union Army in Arlington County in Virginia. It was built in 1861 as part of the defense of Washington during the American Civil War.The fort...

, Craig

Fort Craig

Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico....

, and Tillinghast, defenses of Washington, south of the Potomac, until June 5. Moved to White House Landing, Viriginia, June 5. Picket and guard duty there until June 16. Moved to Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, June 16. Picket and fatigue duty at Bermuda Hundred, Point of Rocks, Broadway Landing, and Cherrystone Inlet until August.

Ohio National Guard

Over 35,000 Ohio National Guardsmen were federalized and organized into regiments for 100 days service

Hundred Days Men

The Hundred Days Men was the nickname applied to a series of volunteer regiments raised in 1864 for 100-days service in the Union Army during the height of the American Civil War...

 in May 1864. Shipped to the Eastern Theater, they were designed to be placed in "safe" rear areas to protect railroads and supply points, thereby freeing regular troops for Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

’s push on the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 capital of Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. As events transpired, many units found themselves in combat, stationed in the path of Confederate Gen. Jubal Early’s veteran Army of the Valley

Army of the Valley

The Army of the Valley was the name given to the army of Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's independent command during the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns in the summer and autumn of 1864. The Army of the Valley was the last Confederate unit to invade Northern territory, reaching the outskirts of Washington, D.C....

 during its famed Valley Campaigns of 1864

Valley Campaigns of 1864

The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...

. Ohio Guard units met the battle-tested foe head on and helped blunt the Confederate offensive thereby saving Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 from capture. Ohio National Guard units participated in the battles of Monacacy

Battle of Monocacy

The Battle of Monocacy was fought on July 9, 1864, just outside Frederick, Maryland, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, in the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early defeated Union forces under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace...

, Fort Stevens

Battle of Fort Stevens

The Battle of Fort Stevens was an American Civil War battle fought July 11–12, 1864, in Northwest Washington, D.C., as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 between forces under Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early and Union Maj. Gen. Alexander McD. McCook. Although Early caused consternation...

, Harpers Ferry

Battle of Harpers Ferry

The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, a portion of his army under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...

, and in the siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

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See also

• List of Ohio Civil War units
• Ohio in the Civil War
  Ohio in the Civil War
  During the American Civil War, the State of Ohio played a key role in providing troops, military officers, and supplies to the Union army. Due to its central location in the Northern United States and burgeoning population, Ohio was both politically and logistically important to the war effort...
  
  

External links

• Ohio in the Civil War: 138th Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Larry Stevens