Cincinnati in the Civil War
Encyclopedia
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...
, the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
port city of 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...
, played a key role as a major source of supplies and troops for 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...
. It also served as the headquarters for much of the war for the Department of the Ohio
Department of the Ohio
The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.General Orders No...
, 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 OhioOhio 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...
directly across the river from the slave state
Slave state
In the United States of America prior to the American Civil War, a slave state was a U.S. state in which slavery was legal, whereas a free state was one in which slavery was either prohibited from its entry into the Union or eliminated over time...
Kentucky. The "Queen City" became a major migration path for escaped slaves. Leading abolitionists such as Lyman Beecher
Lyman Beecher
Lyman Beecher was a Presbyterian minister, American Temperance Society co-founder and leader, and the father of 13 children, many of whom were noted leaders, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Catharine Beecher, and Thomas...
, James Birney
James Birney
James Birney may refer to:*James G. Birney , American presidential candidate for the Liberty Party*James M. Birney , Michigan politician, son of James G. Birney...
, Salmon P. Chase
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
, Levi Coffin
Levi Coffin
Levi Coffin was an American Quaker, abolitionist, and businessman. Coffin was deeply involved in the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio and his home is often called "Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad"...
, 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
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. Debates held at the Lane Theological Seminary
Lane Theological Seminary
Lane Theological Seminary was established in the Walnut Hills section of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1829 to educate Presbyterian ministers. It was named in honor of Ebenezer and William Lane, who pledged $4,000 for the new school, which was seen as a forward outpost of the Presbyterian Church in the...
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
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. In 1859, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
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
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
newspaper, openly supported the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
's right to secede
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
.
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
9th Ohio Infantry
The 9th Ohio Infantry ' was an infantry regiment that was a part of the Union Army during the American Civil War. The members of the regiment were primarily of German descent and the unit was the first almost all-German unit to enter the Union Army.-Organization:Between 1836 to 1860, four German...
, the first almost all-German unit
German-Americans in the Civil War
German-Americans in the American Civil War were the largest ethnic contingent to fight for the Union. More than 200,000 native Germans served in the Union Army, with New York and Ohio each providing ten divisions dominated by German-born men....
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
United States Sanitary Commission
The United States Sanitary Commission was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. It operated across the North, raised its own funds, and enlisted thousands of volunteers...
recruited associate members in Cincinnati, who began supplementing the government in providing comfort for the soldiers. Through their efforts, the Good Samaritan Hospital
Good Samaritan Hospital (Cincinnati)
Good Samaritan Hospital, the oldest and largest private teaching and specialty health care facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, was opened in 1852 under the sponsorship of the Sisters of Charity. The hospital is member of TriHealth, a joint operating agreement between Catholic Health...
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
Union Navy
The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States 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
Western Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
.
Camp Dennison
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
, a prominent Cincinnati resident and the commander of Ohio's state militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, 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
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, from which invasions could be launched. He chose a level tract of land near Indian Hill, Ohio
Indian Hill, Ohio
The Village of Indian Hill is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and an affluent suburb of the Greater Cincinnati area. The population was 5,907 at the 2000 census. Prior to 1970, Indian Hill was incorporated as a village, but under Ohio law became designated as a city once its...
, 17 miles from Cincinnati. More than 50,000 Union
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...
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
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
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
Camp Harrison
Camp Harrison was one of several Union Army training posts in Hamilton County, Ohio, established during the American Civil War.In early 1861, Governor William Dennison ordered the creation of a new military camp six miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio, on the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad,...
, located six miles north of Cincinnati, on the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad
The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad was a railroad based in the U.S. state of Ohio that existed between its incorporation on March 2, 1846, and its acquisition by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in December 1917...
. The post was named for President William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
, who was from Hamilton County
Hamilton County, Ohio
As of 2000, there were 845,303 people, 346,790 households, and 212,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,075 people per square mile . There were 373,393 housing units at an average density of 917 per square mile...
. The soldiers at Camp Harrison usually remained at the camp for only a short time for training.
1862 invasion threat
In September 1862, ConfederateConfederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Brig. Gen.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Henry Heth
Henry Heth
Henry "Harry" Heth was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He is best remembered for inadvertently precipitating the Battle of Gettysburg, when he sent some of his troops of the Army of Northern Virginia to the small Pennsylvania village,...
was sent north from Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
to "make a demonstration" in front of Cincinnati, then the sixth largest city in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, according to Heth's memoirs. Mayor George Hatch
George Hatch
George Hatch was a Democratic politician, who served as Mayor of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1863....
declared martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
, and Union Maj. Gen.
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace
Lewis "Lew" Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author...
organized the citizens for defense and raised the Black Brigade of Cincinnati
Black Brigade of Cincinnati
The Black Brigade of Cincinnati was a military unit that was organized during the Civil War when the city of Cincinnati, Ohio was in danger of being attacked by Confederates. The men that were a part of the Black Brigade were among the first of their race to be employed by the military of the...
. Along eight miles of hilltops from Ludlow
Ludlow, Kentucky
Ludlow is a city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,409 at the 2000 census. Ludlow is a suburb of Covington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio, located on the Ohio River...
to present-day Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Fort Thomas is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, on the southern bank of the Ohio River and the site of an 1890 US Army post. The population was 16,325 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in Campbell County and it is officially part of the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan...
, volunteers and soldiers constructed rifle pits and other defensive works, which were defended by 22,000 Union soldiers and 50,000 local militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
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
Albert G. Jenkins
Albert Gallatin Jenkins was an attorney, planter, representative to the United States Congress and First Confederate Congress, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War...
, who bypassed Cincinnati to the east and entered Ohio near Buffington Island
Buffington Island
Buffington Island is an island in the Ohio River in Jackson County, West Virginia, United States, east of Racine, Ohio. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Buffington Island took place on July 19, 1863, just south of the Ohio community of Portland....
. 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
Hooper Battery
Hooper Battery was a hilltop earthworks fortification, built for the Defense of Cincinnati during the American Civil War in Northern Kentucky by the Union Army to turn back invading Confederate troops. It was constructed to protect Cincinnati and the Ohio River valley...
and Shaler Battery
Shaler Battery
Shaler Battery was a hilltop earthwork fortification built during the American Civil War in Northern Kentucky by the Union Army to turn back invading Confederate troops. It was constructed to protect Cincinnati and the Ohio River valley...
are open to the public.
Later war years
Maj. Gen. Ambrose BurnsideAmbrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
, 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
XXIII Corps (ACW)
XXIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Western Theater as part of the Army of the Ohio.The corps was organized in April 1863 by order of the departmental commander, Ambrose E. Burnside...
. During Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
in July, troops from Camp Dennison, at Burnside's orders, responded to the invasion by Confederate cavalry under Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
. Gunboats dispatched from Cincinnati played a large role in contributing to Morgan's defeat at the Battle of Buffington Island
Battle of Buffington Island
The Battle of Buffington Island, also known as the St. Georges Creek Skirmish, was an American Civil War engagement in Meigs County, Ohio, and Jackson County, West Virginia, on July 19, 1863, during Morgan's Raid. The largest battle in Ohio during the war, Buffington Island contributed to the...
.
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
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
and trials of civilians accused of treason or aiding the Confederate cause. Among those convicted in these tribunals was Ohio Copperhead
Copperheads (politics)
The Copperheads were a vocal group of Democrats in the Northern United States who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads," likening them to the venomous snake...
Clement Vallandigham
Clement Vallandigham
Clement Laird Vallandigham was an Ohio resident of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives.-Biography:...
.
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
- Nicholas Longworth AndersonNicholas Longworth AndersonNicholas Longworth Anderson was a United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War as Colonel of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.-Biography:...
- William DennisonWilliam Dennison (Ohio governor)William Dennison, Jr. was a Whig and Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 24th Governor of Ohio and as U.S...
- William DwightWilliam DwightWilliam Dwight, Jr. , was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:William Dwight was born July 14, 1831 in Springfield, Massachusetts...
- James A. GreerJames A. GreerJames Agustin Greer was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, who served during the Civil War.-Early years:...
- George HatchGeorge HatchGeorge Hatch was a Democratic politician, who served as Mayor of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1863....
- Andrew HickenlooperAndrew HickenlooperAndrew Hickenlooper was an Ohio civil engineer, politician, industrialist, and most famously, an officer who served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and Civil War career:...
- William Haines LytleWilliam Haines LytleWilliam Haines Lytle was a politician in Ohio, renowned poet, and military officer in the United States Army during both the Mexican-American War and American Civil War, where he was killed in action as a brigadier general.-Biography:Lytle was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the scion of a leading area...
- Ormsby M. MitchelOrmsby M. MitchelOrmsby MacKnight Mitchel was an American astronomer and major general in the American Civil War....
- Dr. John MooreJohn Moore (physician)John Moore, MD was a leading United States Army physician during the American Civil War who rose to become Surgeon General of the Army in the late 1880s.-Early life and medical training:...
- Edward F. NoyesEdward F. NoyesEdward Follansbee Noyes was a Republican politician from Ohio. Noyes served as the 30th Governor of Ohio.-Biography:...
- John P. SloughJohn P. SloughJohn Potts Slough was an American politician, lawyer, Union general during the American Civil War, and Chief Justice of New Mexico. He commanded the Union forces at the Battle of Glorieta Pass.-Early life and career:Slough was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...
- Godfrey WeitzelGodfrey WeitzelGodfrey Weitzel was a major general in the Union army during the American Civil War, as well as the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Federal occupancy of the city.-Early life and career:...
- August WillichAugust WillichAugust Willich , born Johann August Ernst von Willich, was a military officer in the Prussian Army and a leading early proponent of Communism in Germany. In 1847 he discarded his title of nobility...
Note that 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...
was born in Point Pleasant
Point Pleasant, Ohio
Point Pleasant is a small unincorporated community in southern Monroe Township, Clermont County, Ohio, United States. It is located near the mouth of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area at the Ohio River, around 25 miles southeast of Cincinnati. U.S. Route 52 passes through Point...
, 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".
Civil War memorialization and tourism
- The National Steamboat Monument on Mehring Way (near its intersection with Broadway) in Cincinnati commemorates the hundreds of Ohio soldiers who were liberated from Southern prison camps but perished in the SultanaSultana (steamboat)The SS Sultana was a Mississippi River steamboat paddlewheeler whose destruction in an explosion on April 27, 1865 was the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. An estimated 1,800 of the Sultanas 2,400 passengers were killed when three of the ship's four boilers exploded and the...
tragedy. An Ohio Historical SocietyOhio Historical SocietyThe Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 as The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society "to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio"...
marker at Sawyer Point also recounts the Sultana tragedy, as an estimated fifty Cincinnatians died in the disaster. The ill-fated ship had been constructed in 1862 by the John Lithoberry Shipyard on Front Street in Cincinnati. - Other markers and monuments are scattered throughout the town. Cincinnati has busts for Robert L. McCook and Friedrich Hecker and statues of Civil War-era composer Stephen FosterStephen FosterStephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
and Union general / President James A. Garfield. There are two statues of President Lincoln. - The Cincinnati Civil War Memorial Hall was erected in 1908.
- Cincinnati's sprawling and well-landscaped Spring Grove CemeterySpring Grove CemeterySpring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
is the final resting place for 40 former Civil War generals. A prominent member of Lincoln's cabinet, Salmon P. ChaseSalmon P. ChaseSalmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
, who became Chief JusticeChief JusticeThe Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the US Supreme Court, was also interred in the cemetery. Sculptor Randolph RogersRandolph RogersRandolph Rogers was an American sculptor. He was a prolific sculptor of subjects related to the American Civil War and other historical themes.-Biography:...
' statue of a Union infantryman on guard, "The Sentinel", was installed in Spring Grove Cemetery in 1865; it was one of the state's first formal Civil War monuments. - The city's importance as a stop along the Underground RailroadUnderground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
is memorialized at the National Underground Railroad Freedom CenterNational Underground Railroad Freedom CenterThe National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio based on the history of the Underground Railroad. The Center also pays tribute to all efforts to "abolish human enslavement and secure freedom for all people." Billed as part of a new group of "museums of...
on the Ohio River. The placement of the museum on the riverfront is symbolic. Crossing the river from Kentucky to Ohio meant the fugitives were escaping slavery and entering free territory. - A number of Civil War reenactor encampments are held each year in the greater Cincinnati area, including "Civil War Days" the first weekend of May in Sharon Woods Park.