When the Civil War began in 1861, many people in Ohio thought it would be over in less than a year.  After local men fought at the Battle of Rich Mountain on July 11 in 1861, friends and relatives in the Mahoning Valley wanted to welcome home the soldiers who had fought there.  They had a celebration that probably lasted longer than the 1½ hour battle, and the mothers of 24 local boys made Zouave uniforms for their sons to dress up in.

But the war was not over so quickly.  In 1861, David Todd, a ‘Mahoning Valley man, born and bred’ who had been a state senator and United States minister to Brazil, was elected governor, to hold the state together and organize its military units during very difficult years.  Ohio citizens enlisted in record numbers throughout the war, and more would have served if allowed—Todd’s son, William, wrote to his father in Columbus, asking if he could enlist.

As the war continued, local soldiers wrote home about skirmishes and battles, some with heavy losses. James Brisbine, born in Trumbull County in 1836, a former teacher who was studying law in Warren, enlisted in 1861 in the 7^th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  He wrote home to an uncle in June of 1862 about some ‘pretty hard sights’ at the Battle of Port Republic where less than 3000 Union troops fought against a Confederate force of about 14,000.  At Cedar Mountain in Virginia, where ‘the 7^th Ohio lost more men …than any other regiment engaged therein on either side,’ James Brisbine died.

Have you read any stories about the Civil War?  How would you feel if older people you knew left to fight, but you weren’t allowed?  Do you write letters or a journal about your experiences?  Visit the website of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society at www.mahoninghistory.org to learn more about Valley history.  Under ‘Education,’ and ‘What Do You Know About,’ click on an article title to access downloadable files of these and other images.