The Guthrie Grays was an independent
Ohio Militia company formed before the
American Civil War.
The Guthrie Grays were organized in
Cincinnati, Ohio in April 1854 as an "independent company", that is, a private military unit outside regular state control. Its first captain, Presley Guthrie, was a veteran of the
Mexican–American War and the company came to attract many of "the most promising young men" of Cincinnati. Its first public appearance was in Cincinnati's
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
parade on July 4, 1854.
The company was reorganized, expanded, and redesignated the Guthrie Grays Battalion on January 10, 1859. The same year the Ohio legislature enacted a law recognizing the so-called "independent companies" such as the Guthrie Greys. They, thereafter, received access to state arms and munitions and would be subject to mobilization by the
Governor of Ohio
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, but were otherwise permitted to select their own members, elect their own officers, drill at their own leisure, and choose their own uniforms.
The Guthrie Grays were amalgamated into the
6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry when it was formed in April 1861, becoming companies A and B of the regiment. The entire regiment carried the moniker "Guthrie Grays" during service in the U.S. Civil War.
References
Cincinnati in the American Civil War
Militia of the United States
{{AmericanCivilWar-unit-stub