Description: Discharge of T.M. Welsh from the "Squirrel Hunters" ("Minute Men of Ohio"), called to defend Cincinnati from attack during the Civil War. In the second year of the American Civil War, Confederate troops were ordered to capture Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. Major General Horatio Wright, commander of Union forces in Kentucky, ordered General Lewis (Lew) Wallace to prepare Covington's and Cincinnati's defenses. Upon arriving in Cincinnati, Wallace immediately declared martial law. He issued a call in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan for a volunteer militia. Men in the regular army would fight on the battlefield, while the civilians would prepare trenches and other defensive features to prepare the two communities for attack. Cincinnati residents reportedly "cheerfully obeyed" the order. Ohio Governor David Tod left Columbus, the state capital, and came to Cincinnati to assist Wallace. Tod immediately ordered Ohio's adjutant-general to send any available troops other than those guarding Ohio's southern border to Cincinnati. A number of Ohio counties offered to dispatch men to Cincinnati as well, and civilians from sixty-five counties numbering 15,766 men reported for duty at Cincinnati. These volunteer men became known as the "Squirrel Hunters." Many of the Squirrel Hunters had no military training and carried antiquated weapons. Despite these shortcomings, they still rallied together to help defend Ohio from Confederate invasion. A Confederate scout reported that, "They call them Squirrel Hunters; farm boys that never had to shoot at the same squirrel twice." Thanks to the actions of Wallace and Tod, Covington and Cincinnati had adequate defenses to repel the Confederate advance within two days. By September 13, 1862, news reached Cincinnati that the Confederate forces were withdrawing from Kentucky and that Cincinnati was no longer in danger. Wallace earned the nickname "Savior of Cincinnati" for his actions in September 1862. The Squirrel Hunters returned to their homes. To thank the Squirrel Hunters, the Ohio legislature, in 1863, authorized funds for Governor Tod to print discharges for these men from military duty. The discharges thanked the men for their patriotism and their willingness to sacrifice their lives in the defense of Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: VFM2637
Subjects: Squirrel Hunters; Ohio History--Military Ohio, United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Cincinnati (Ohio)--History
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio);
 

Description: This photograph is of an engraved portrait of frontiersman Daniel Boone (1734-1820) sitting on rock with his rifle and with his dog beside him. The engraving's lower border has Boone's signature. American artist and book illustrator Alonzo Chappel (1828-1887) created the original painting ca. 1861. Chappel portrays Boone as an older man with white hair but still rugged and purposeful. Daniel Boone was a legendary man of the frontier in early America. He is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now Kentucky. He was born near Reading, Pennsylvania, but in 1750 the family moved to North Carolina. Boone participated in the French and Indian War, barely escaping with his life during General Edward Braddock’s attack on Fort Duquesne. Boone went to Kentucky in fall 1767 and spent the winter exploring and hunting. The signing of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768) by the Iroquois Indians encouraged Boone to return to Kentucky in 1769. In 1775, Richard Henderson, the head of the Transylvania Company, hired Boone to assist him in establishing a settlement in Kentucky. Boone and his settlers arrived at the site that they had chosen for their community by April 1, 1775, and immediately began to build Fort Boonesborough, one of the first settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains. He spent the next several years exploring, surveying, and trapping. He also faced constant opposition from local Native Americans. During the American Revolution, Boone played an active role against the British and their Indian allies in the Ohio Country, accompanying both militia forces and regular army troops north of the Ohio River on several occasions to secure this territory for the Americans and to open it up for settlement. In February 1778, Boone and a few settlers were captured by a band of Shawnee Indians at Blue Licks (Kentucky) and held hostage at Old Chillicothe. Boone spent the next five years in various government positions, including sheriff, deputy surveyor, and a delegate to the legislature. The frontiersman also continued to assist the American military in the struggle against the Native Americans in the Ohio Country. He had laid claim to large tracts of land in Kentucky during the 1770s, but he had filed the paperwork establishing his ownership incorrectly. The end result was that he lost all of his Kentucky lands. By 1799 he had left Kentucky for Missouri, where he died in 1820. Boone did much to open the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, including the Ohio Country, to white settlement. In many respects, he was typical of the British colonists and the settlers who succeeded them after the American Revolution. Many of these people viewed the west as a land of opportunity and endless possibility. They faced innumerable hardships to expand the borders of the United States of America. However, in many cases, entire Native American tribes were displaced and removed due to the settlers' desire for land. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06329
Subjects: Boone, Daniel, 1734-1820; Chappel, Alonzo, 1828-1887; Portraits; American frontier; Folk heroes
 

Description: Lithograph titled "The Battle of Stone River or Murfreesboro," January 2-4, 1863, drawn by Alfred Edward Mathews. In August 1861, Mathews (1831-1874) enlisted in Captain Cotter's battery of the 1st Ohio Artillery. He later served with the 31st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a regiment that fought in the western theater of the Civil War. During his three years in the army he used his artistic ability to make topographic maps and drawings, and also drew sketches that were made into lithographs and sold. Harper's Weekly magazine published two of his lithographs, and General Ulysses S. Grant saw and admired Mathews' work. His many lithographs depict scenes including the Battle of Shiloh, the Battle of Corinth, the Battle of Perryville, the Siege of Vicksburg and battles at Stone River and Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. After mustering out of the 31st O.V.I., he exhibited panoramic scenes of the War. The Battle of Stones River (also called the Second Battle of Murfreesboro) took place between December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863. It was considered a Union victory, but had a very high percentage of casualties on both sides. Noted on the lithograph are numbers representing troops of the 19th Ohio, 9th Kentucky, 79th Indiana, and 11th Kentucky, as well as General Sam Beatty and staff. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV117_F2_001
Subjects: Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Pictorial works; Battlefields; Military Ohio;
Places: Murfreesboro (Tennessee);
 

Description: This is the front facade of the Kentucky State Capitol at 700 Capitol Ave. in Frankfort, Kentucky. This Beaux-Arts structure was designed by Frank Mills Andrews. The building, commissioned to accommodate a growing government, was built in 1906. It has several statues, including one of Abraham Lincoln that is 14 feet tall. A pediment featuring Lady Kentucky surrounded by Progress, Plenty, Art and Agriculture was designed by C.H. Niehous and sculpted by Austrian P. Rossak and cost $40,000. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F07_542
Subjects: Capitols--Kentucky; National Register of Historic Places; porticoes; Ionic order; pediments; Beaux-Arts
Places: Frankfort (Kentucky);
 

Description: View of the Ohio River and the City of Cincinnati, facing southeast. The plain two story brick building on the left is Sattler's Groceries and Meats. Near the center of the photograph, a water tower with the word "Seeds" can be seen, underneath which is a sign reads "The J. Chas. McCullough Seed Co.. Only Retail Space. [?]30 East 4th. [?]erald Lawn." The J. Chas. McCullough Seed Company was founded in 1838, and originally gathered from the families' 48 acre farm. The company expanded many times, with offices and warehouses located all along Walnut Street, just below Fourth Street. The Ohio River is the largest tributary of the Mississippi River and is about 981 miles long. It begins at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in Point State Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It forms the border between Ohio and West Virginia, as well as Ohio and Kentucky, Indiana and Kentucky and Illinois and Kentucky. It joins the Mississippi near Cairo, Illinois. The first bridge, from left to right, is the L&N Bridge or Louisville & Nashville RR Bridge, opened in 1872 as the Newport & Cincinnati Bridge and was the first railroad bridge to cross the Ohio River in Cincinnati. The bridge was modified in 1897 to include street car and horse and cart traffic. In 1904, the cart path was paved for automobiles and the bridge renamed as the L&N Bridge after its new owners. By the late 1940's street car service was removed and in 1987 railroad traffic ceased. By the 1990's the bridge was lightly used by automobile traffic, and was officially renamed the CSX Bridge after new owners. On April 17, 2001 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, closed to automobiles in 2002, and reopened in 2003 after a $4 million renovation as a pedestrian only bridge. The center bridge, called the Central Bridge or Cincinnati & Newport Bridge, was finished in 1890 and was the first "standard" cantilever truss bridge to be built. Located next to the L&N Bridge seen in the background, the Central Bridge had a similar type and length of approach spans to that of the L&N bridge, with the piers built from identical stone. Demolished in 1992, the bridge was replaced by the Taylor-Southgate Bridge in 1995. The last bridge, locally known as "The Suspension Bridge", was designed by engineer John A. Roebling, the Covington and Cincinnati Bridge was completed in December of 1866, following a decade of construction which was delayed by the Civil War and financial constraints. At the time it was built, the bridge had the longest main span in the world and was also the first bridge to use both vertical suspenders and diagonal stays branching out from the towers. The bridge was remodeled in 1894 to widen the deck and to accommodate more weight. The bridge was named the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge in 1984. The Ohio River is the largest tributary of the Mississippi River and is about 981 miles long. It begins at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in Point State Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It forms the border between Ohio and West Virginia, as well as Ohio and Kentucky, Indiana and Kentucky and Illinois and Kentucky. It joins the Mississippi near Cairo, Illinois. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B03F08_029
Subjects: Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Bridges--Ohio River; Ohio River; National Register of Historic Places;
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, which links Covington, Kentucky, with Cincinnati, Ohio. Formerly named the Covington-Cincinnati Bridge, the structure was the first Ohio River bridge linking the North and South after the Civil War. This view shows the bridge from the Kentucky side looking toward the downtown Cincinnati skyline. Clearly visible are the suspension cables and one of the bridge towers. In 1846 the Kentucky General Assembly granted a charter to the founders of the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company, which hoped to build a bridge across the Ohio River that would connect the two cities. Cincinnati was a major metropolis by the 1850s, and Kentucky farmers and businessmen hoped to have an easier time transporting their goods to the city. For various reasons, many Ohioans were less enthusiastic. As a result of this opposition, the Ohio legislature did not grant the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company a charter to construct a bridge in 1849. Despite these hurdles, the Covington & Cincinnati Bridge Company persevered, and in 1856 it signed civil engineer John A. Roebling (1806-1869) to construct a suspension bridge. Construction began that year, but it stopped the next year due to the Panic of 1857. Construction resumed during the American Civil War when Ohio and federal government authorities realized the need for a bridge to supply the soldiers operating in the South. Due to the high inflation during the war, Roebling had to pay his workers in gold, and shortages forced him to import some construction materials from England. Workers completed a small footbridge across the Ohio River on September 24, 1865, nearly six months after the war ended. This initial bridge gave construction workers an easier means of stringing the cables. The Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge was opened to pedestrian traffic on December 1, 1866, but its formal opening occurred a month later. To help offset the construction cost (approximately $1.8 million), the company established tollbooths at both ends of the bridge and charged three cents per person to walk across the span. At the time of its completion, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge (a span of 1,619 feet). When the Ohio River flooded in 1937, the Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge was the only bridge that remained open along the Ohio River between Steubenville, Ohio, and Cairo, Illinois, a distance of more than eight hundred miles. The bridge was privately operated until Kentucky purchased it in 1953. In 1982 the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officially renamed it the “John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge.” It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. The Covington & Cincinnati Suspension Bridge is regarded as a prototype for Roebling’s next project, which would become his most famous structure. The New York Bridge Company hired him to design and build a bridge over the East River that would connect Brooklyn and Manhattan. Roebling, however, would not live to see the completion of the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge. He contracted tetanus after being injured on the work site and died in 1869. His son Washington Roebling, a civil engineer, and daughter-in-law Emily Warren Roebling supervised the construction and completion of the bridge, which opened in 1883. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06657
Subjects: John A. Roebling Bridge (Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Ky.); Suspension bridges; National Historic Landmarks Program (U.S.); Roebling, John Augustus, 1806-1869; Bridges; Ohio River
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Carte de visite of General Lovell H. Rousseau, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. As a Kentucky legislator, originally from Stanford, Kentucky, Rousseau fought successfully to keep Kentucky seceding. After Kentucky officially decided to remain neutral, Rousseau resigned and raised two regiments of Kentuckians across the Ohio River in Indiana. These regiments became known as the "Louisville Legion," and prevented the capture of Louisville by Confederate forces. He went on to serve with distinction at Shiloh, Stones River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV200_b03_f33_46
Subjects: Ohio--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Pictorial works; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Photographs; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Military officers--Union
Places: Ohio; Stanford (Kentucky)
 

Description: A certificate remembering, honoring, and recognizing Colonel Charles Young for his military service by Senator Robin L. Webb and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F04_H
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Kentucky
 

Description: An acclamation paying tribute to Charles D. Young for his service by Matthew G. Bevin, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: NAM_MSS2009_B01F05_D
Subjects: African Americans; African American soldiers; Young, Charles, 1864-1922.; Buffalo Soldiers; National Minority Military Museum Foundation (NMMMF); Certificates
Places: Frankfort (Kentucky)
 

Description: This 1866 map shows Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as Newport and Covington, Kentucky, directly across the Ohio River. It was drawn by Gilbert & Hickenlooper (of No. 200 Vine Street in Cincinnati) for inclusion in the 1866 edition of the Williams' Cincinnati Directory. Covington and Newport are two Kentucky cities situated on the Ohio River and separated from one another by the Licking River. They are considered a part of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area (or Greater Cincinnati) which includes counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. These two cities were first connected by bridge in 1853, and the John Roebling Suspension Bridge, connecting Covington with Cincinnati across the Ohio River, was completed in 1866. In 1788, Israel Ludlow, Matthias Denman, and Robert Patterson purchased eight hundred acres from John Cleves Symmes along the Ohio River at the Licking River's mouth. By early January 1789, Ludlow had platted the town, and the three men named the town Losantiville. The name was a convoluted contraction of the idea that this was a "city across from the mouth of the Licking River." In 1790, the governor of the Northwest Territory, Arthur St. Clair, proceeded to establish Hamilton County and made Losantiville the county seat. St. Clair disliked the name Losantiville and changed the town's name to Cincinnati in recognition of the Roman citizen soldier Cincinnatus. Cincinnati emerged as a major city, primarily due to its strategic location on the Ohio River, and by 1820 had reached a population of nearly ten thousand people. By the late 1880s, Cincinnati was the largest city in Ohio, with almost 300,000 people. It also had the densest population of any city in the United States, with an average of 37,143 people per square mile. By 1890, Cincinnati had provided Ohio with thirteen governors and had become an important industrial, political, literary, and educational center in both Ohio and the United States. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MAPVFM0426_4
Subjects: Cincinnati (Ohio)--History; Ohio River; Maps--Midwest--Ohio; Bridges--Ohio River;
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio); Newport (Kentucky); Covington (Kentucky)
 

Description: Latonia Race Track was built in 1883 and was considered a force in racing, offering top horses, top jockeys, and the country's richest purses. In its heyday the race track offered the major horse race of the year, the Latonia Derby. The Latonia Derby often outshone the Kentucky Derby. In July 1939, Latonia Race Track closed due to the effects of The Great Depression. The property was sold to Standard Oil of Ohio, the track was torn down, and racing disappeared from Northern Kentucky. The spirit of Latonia Race Track was reborn in 1959 when Turfway Park opened in Florence, Kentucky. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID:
Subjects: Arts and Entertainment; Sports; Racetracks (Horse racing); Plants and Animals; Horses; Jockeys
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio); Covington (Kentucky); Florence (Kentucky)
 

Description: Latonia Race Track was built in 1883 and was considered a force in racing, offering top horses, top jockeys, and the country's richest purses. In its heyday the racetrack offered the major horse race of the year, the Latonia Derby. The Latonia Derby often outshone the Kentucky Derby. In July 1939, Latonia Race Track closed due to the effects of The Great Depression. The property was sold to Standard Oil of Ohio, the track was torn down, and racing disappeared from Northern Kentucky. The spirit of Latonia Race Track was reborn in 1959 when Turfway Park opened in Florence, Kentucky. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID:
Subjects: Arts and Entertainment; Sports; Racetracks (Horse racing); Plants and Animals; Horses; Jockeys
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio); Covington (Kentucky); Florence (Kentucky)