Description: Brigadier General Robert Latimer McCook, who appears in this 4 by 6.25-inch (10.16 by 15.88 cm) carte de visite, was a member of the Fighting McCooks, an Ohio family that sent fifteen men to serve in the Civil War. Robert Latimer (1827-1862) was born in Lisbon, Ohio to Daniel and Martha Latimer McCook. Prior to the Civil War, he was a lawyer. McCook served in the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.). He was wounded at the battle of Mill Spring, Kentucky in 1862, but continued to command his troops for eight months until he was killed by a Southern guerilla group. Daniel McCook, Sr. and his eight sons, together with his brother John McCook and his five sons fought in the Civil War. Daniel (1798-1863) and John (1806-1865) were born in Pennsylvania, and moved to Lisbon in Columbiana County, Ohio in 1826. Daniel subsequently moved to Carrollton, where he served as Carroll County's first clerk of the court of common pleas. John settled in Steubenville, where he practiced medicine. When President Lincoln made the first call for volunteers, 63-year-old Daniel Sr. answered and his sons and relatives followed. Daniel Sr., Daniel Jr., Robert Latimer, and Charles Morris McCook were killed in the war. Cartes-de-visite, photographic portraits on cardboard, were popular in the late nineteenth century. Some were used as calling cards, others were sold and traded as collectibles. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1289_793711_009
Subjects: Military Ohio; Civil War; 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.); McCook family; Military officers
Places: Carrollton (Ohio); Carroll County (Ohio); Lisbon (Ohio); Columbiana County (Ohio)
 

Description: Two photographs show Charles Young, one of the first African American men to enjoy a successful military career. One photograph, which measures 3.2 by 4.1 inches (8.22 by 10.46 cm), shows Young in the uniform of a United States Military Academy cadet. In the second image, measuring 3.7 by 6.2 inches (9.4 by 15.75 cm), Young wears the uniform of an army officer. Young (1864-1922), a Kentucky native raised in Ohio, graduated from Ripley Colored High School in 1880. He won appointment to West Point in 1884 and in 1889 became the third African American graduate from the school. Young taught military science at Wilberforce University and later served in the Spanish American War as the major in command of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.). He had an exceptional military career, highlighted by his appointments to serve as military attache to Haiti and Liberia. He commanded troops in the "Punitive Expedition" in Mexico, and during the "Filipino Insurrection." He was also superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks. At the outset of World War I, Young was the highest-ranking African American in the army. Rather than promote him, and place in a position of authority over white soldiers, the army involuntarily retired Young from active duty, ostensibly because of ill health. To prove his fitness for duty, he rode horseback from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. The army, nevertheless, did not promote him to colonel until after he retired from service. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om873_807073_001
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Military Ohio; Spanish American War; 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.); African American Soldiers
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio); West Point (New York)
 

Description: This 4.7 by 6.8-inch (11.94 by 17.27 cm) painting depicts Charles Young, a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Young (1864-1922), a Kentucky native raised in Ohio, graduated from Ripley Colored High School in 1880. He won appointment to West Point in 1884 and in 1889 became the third African American graduate from the school. Young taught military science at Wilberforce University and later served in the Spanish American War as the major in command of the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.). He had an exceptional military career, highlighted by his appointments to serve as military attache to Haiti and Liberia. He commanded troops in the "Punitive Expedition" in Mexico, and during the "Filipino Insurrection." He was also superintendent of Sequoia and General Grant national parks. At the outset of World War I, Young was the highest-ranking African American in the army. Rather than promote him, and place in a position of authority over white soldiers, the army involuntarily retired Young from active duty, ostensibly because of ill health. To prove his fitness for duty, he rode horseback from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. The army, nevertheless, did not promote him to colonel until after he retired from service. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om873_806518_004
Subjects: Arts and Entertainment; African American Ohioans; Military Ohio; Spanish American War; 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.); African American Soldiers
Places: Wilberforce (Ohio); Greene County (Ohio); West Point (New York)
 

Description: Portrait of Eugena Ballard, wife of Lieutenant Wilson Ballard, who served in the 9th Battalion Ohio Volunteer Infantry with Charles Young. Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army and, at the time of his death in 1922, was the highest-ranking African American officer in the Army. He is known for having been forced into retirement due to health concerns before the start of World War I and later riding from Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, D.C. to prove his physical fitness for duty. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2_B04F08_B
Subjects: African American women; 9th Battalion Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.); African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Military officers
 

Description: Photograph of Arthur K. Lawrence in his Spanish American War uniform, ca. 1898. Lawrence served as a hospital steward in the 9th Battalion, Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish American War. The battalion was not sent to Cuba to fight, but spent the duration of the war at several camps in the United States. After the war, Lawrence became a doctor and established a medical practice in Columbus, Ohio; his office was located in the Williams Building at 681 East Long Street. Arthur Kelton Lawrence (1877-1954) was the son of Thomas Lawrence and Martha Hartway Lawrence. Martha escaped from slavery and was taken in by the Kelton family in Columbus, who also employed Thomas. The two were married in 1864. The Spanish American War broke out in April 1898 and ended in July of the same year, during the presidency of Ohioan William McKinley. The United States and Spain battled over control of Cuba, urged on by newspapers such as the New York Journal and the New York World. The so-called "yellow press" presented events from a slanted perspective, favoring Cuban independence from Spain and arousing public sentiment in support of American intervention. As a result of the war, the United States gained control not only of Cuba, but also Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1277_781359_112
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Military Ohio; Spanish American War; African American soldiers; 9th Battalion Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.)
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of Arthur K. Lawrence in Spanish American War uniform with a horse, posing with two other African American members of the Medical Corps in front of a tent. Lawrence served as a hospital steward in the 9th Battalion, Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish American War. The battalion was not sent to Cuba to fight, but spent the duration of the war at several camps in the United States. After the war, Lawrence became a doctor and established a medical practice in Columbus, Ohio; his office was located in the Williams Building at 681 East Long Street. Arthur Kelton Lawrence (1877-1954) was the son of Thomas Lawrence and Martha Hartway Lawrence. Martha escaped from slavery and was taken in by the Kelton family in Columbus, who also employed Thomas. The two were married in 1864. The Spanish American War broke out in April 1898 and ended in July of the same year, during the presidency of Ohioan William McKinley. The United States and Spain battled over control of Cuba, urged on by newspapers such as the New York Journal and the New York World. The so-called "yellow press" presented events from a slanted perspective, favoring Cuban independence from Spain and arousing public sentiment in support of American intervention. As a result of the war, the United States gained control not only of Cuba, but also Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1277_781359_113
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Military Ohio; Spanish American War; African American soldiers; 9th Battalion Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.)
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)