The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.

1st Department 1861–1862

General Orders No. 14, issued by the

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

's Office in Washington, D.C., on May 3, 1861, combined all Federal troops in the states of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

in a new military department called the Department of the Ohio, with headquarters in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan was designated as its first commander. McClellan led efforts in the spring and early summer of 1861 to occupy the area of western

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

that wanted to remain in the Union. His forces defeated two small Confederate armies and paved the way for the region to later became the state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. After McClellan was reassigned to command the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

, Brig. Gen.

Ormsby M. Mitchel Ormsby MacKnight (or McKnight) Mitchel (August 28, 1810, or possibly 1809,October 31, 1862) was an American astronomer and major general in the American Civil War. A multi-talented man, he was also an attorney, surveyor, professor, and publisher ...

commanded the Department of the Ohio from September to November 1861. Under his directive, troops pushed southward towards

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

, from

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, it also extends into Marion County, Tennessee, Marion County on its west ...

, but were turned away. Then, General Orders No. 97 commanded Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell to assume command of the department. All the forces of the department were then organized into the

Army of the Ohio The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863. History 1st Army of the Ohio General Orders No. 97 appointed Maj. Gen. ...

with Buell in command. The Department of the Ohio was dissolved on March 11, 1862, when it was merged into the Department of the Mississippi and the Department of the Mountains.

2nd Department 1862–1865

The Department of the Ohio was recreated on August 19, 1862, and consisted of the states of Ohio,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, Indiana, Illinois,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and the part of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

east of the Tennessee River. Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright was assigned to command the reconstituted department. In September, western Virginia was added to the department, along with all Federal troops in the region. On March 25, 1863, after the Senate refused to confirm Wright's promotion to major general, Maj. Gen.

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...

assumed command of the Department of the Ohio. Wright, after briefly occupying a subordinate command in Louisville, Kentucky, transferred in May 1863 to the Army of the Potomac to command the 1st Division of VI Corps. Burnside consolidated all the forces of the department and created the XXIII Corps, which was also named the

, with himself in command. Elements of the new Army of the Ohio helped repel Morgan's Raid, although the entire army rarely functioned as a single unit during this campaign. On October 16, 1863, the Department of the Ohio (along with the Department of the Tennessee and the Department of the Cumberland) became part of the Military Division of the Mississippi, under the overall command of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Due to illness, Burnside asked to be relieved of command after the Battle of Fort Sanders and was replaced by Maj. Gen. John G. Foster on December 9. On February 9, 1864, Maj. Gen.

John M. Schofield John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served a ...

assumed command of the Department of the Ohio. For much of the remainder of the war, the department was synonymous with the Army of the Ohio.

References

* Eicher, John H., and

Eicher, David J. David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of '' Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and America ...

, ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . * ''The Military History of Ohio. Its Border Annals, Its Part in the Indian Wars, in the War of 1812, in the Mexican War, and in the War of the Rebellion, with a Prefix, Giving a Compendium of the History of the United States''. New York: H.H. Hardesty, 1885. * U.S. War Department
''The War of the Rebellion''
''a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. {{Ohio in the Civil War Ohio in the American Civil War Ohio, Department of the Cincinnati in the American Civil War 1861 establishments in the United States