Camp Hutchins
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Camp Hutchins was a Union Army training camp located in
Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...
, which trained local volunteers from October to December 1861.


Civil War and Camp Hutchins development

In the spring of 1861, the U.S. War Department commissioned Ohio Senator
Benjamin Wade Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade (October 27, 1800March 2, 1878) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator for Ohio from 1851 to 1869. He is known for his leading role among the Radical Republicans.
of Jefferson and local Congressman John Hutchins, both of which would supervise the Union Army's recruitment services in
Northeast Ohio Northeast Ohio is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that comprises the northeastern counties of the U.S. state of Ohio. Definitions of the region consist of 16 to 23 counties between the southern shore of Lake Erie and the foothills ...
. As part of the process, recruitment rolls had to be filled during the summer, in order for training to be conducted in the fall. During the location selection process, the Oak Grove Fairgrounds in Warren, Ohio was chosen as one of the sites where the prospective soldiers trained. In Hutchins' honor, the training site was named Camp Hutchins. With the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
's outbreak, both the North and South weren't prepared for conflict. Following the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
's attack on
Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...
in April 1861, President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
called for 75,000 trained volunteers to assist in Union military efforts. Ohio Governor William Dennison Jr. wanted to utilize his state's militia forces to aid Lincoln. Unfortunately for Dennison, many of Ohio's militia forces were no longer in existence by spring 1861. Dennison initially encouraged communities across the state to send their militia companies to
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
for possible use by the North during the Civil War. Eventually, Camp Hutchins was established in Warren, where training began in October 1861.


6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry

With their official designation as the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, the training for these soldiers commenced on October 7, 1861 at Camp Hutchins in Warren. More than 800 soldiers comprised the cavalry. Authorized by the War Department to serve in the Civil War, the cavalry became the second regiment in Wade & Hutchins' Cavalry Brigade. Camp Hutchins only remained in use until the end of 1861. During training, the regiment received support from their Warren community in the form of a Thanksgiving feast, a Christmas Eve ball in Warren's Gaskill House, and a New Year's picnic. The 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry would eventually depart at the beginning of 1862. In January 1862, the regiment relocated to
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 ...
for drill instruction. In March, the regiment was assigned to guard Confederate prisoners at
Camp Chase Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp established in Columbus, Ohio, in May 1861 after the start of the American Civil War. It also included a large Union-operated prison camp for Confederate prisoners during the American Civil Wa ...
. During the Civil War, the regiment shifted command several times, eventually engaging in conflict with General
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
and his Confederate forces at the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...
in July 1863. Following Lee's surrender to General
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
at Appomattox Courthouse, the regiment escorted Grant from Appomattox to Burkesville Station. In August 1865, the 6th Ohio was mustered out of service in
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
. In total, casualties for the 6th Ohio reached 238.


Current dedication

The former site of Camp Hutchins stands as an official landmark in Warren's history. Camp Hutchins shared the same location as the Trumbull County Fairgrounds and the present-day
Warren G. Harding High School Warren G. Harding High School is a public high school in Warren, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Warren City School District. Sports teams are called the Raiders, and they compete in the Ohio High School Athletic Associatio ...
campus. In 2012, the landmark was dedicated while students from Harding performed music that dated back a century and a half ago. In a 2012 WFMJ (
Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
) article, Wendell Lauth, a member of the Civil War 150 Committee, dedicated to honoring the, at the time, 150th anniversary of the Civil War, said; It's a perfect teaching lesson in local history for high school classes."


References

{{reflist American Civil War army posts