Description: Military security police watch a C-130 take off with 3rd Armored Division soldiers aboard for their return trip to the United States at the end of the Persian Gulf War. This photograph, from the Rodger Cuccio Collection, was taken at Kuwait International Airport, Kuwait City, 1991. Rodger Cuccio was a member of the 356th Tactical Airlift Squadron stationed at Rickenbacker Air Force Base near Columbus. His unit, along with four others, was attached to the 907th Tactical Airlift Group, U.S. Airforce Reserve. This squadron, made up of over 250 servicemen and women, served in the Gulf War from January to June of 1991. While in Kuwait, Cuccio’s unit flew over 2,000 sorties, hauled over 4,400 tons of cargo and moved more than 13,000 people during Operation Desert Storm. Additional missions of the 907th squadron included resupplying Kuwait City after its liberation, redeployment of troops from Iraq to Saudi Arabia following the signing of the United Nations peace treaty, and evacuation of Shiite Muslims from southern Iraq. The men and women of the 907th Tactical Airlift Group returned to Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts on June 14, 1991, after 141 days overseas. Other photographs in the Cuccio Collection depict camp life for U.S. soldiers, old artillery and military aircraft, Kuwaiti refugees, and Kuwait City and the surrounding areas. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03440
Subjects: Military Ohio; Transportation; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Soldiers; Aircraft; Flags; Jeep automobiles; Military police
Places: Kuwait City (Kuwait)
 

Description: This photograph shows Civil War General Philip Henry Sheridan in uniform. Sheridan (1831-1888) was born to Irish immigrants John and Mary Sheridan, who settled in Somerset, Ohio. As a young man, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. When the Civil War broke out, Sheridan was a captain in the army; by the end of the war, he had been promoted to major general. Just before his death he became the fourth man to receive the rank of full general, following George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and William T. Sherman. Over the course of his career he held numerous important positions, including Commander of the Army of the Shenandoah, military governor of Texas and Louisiana, and commander in chief of the U.S. Army. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1289_793701_008
Subjects: Military Ohio; American Civil War, 1861-1865; Military officers; Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888
Places: Somerset (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows various military aircraft at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Two men are standing in the center background of the photograph. Beginning in the 1910s, with World War I's outbreak, the United States government began investigating the use of airplanes in war. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson created the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA). This committee suggested establishing a center to research the use of airplanes in the military and also to seek improvements in airplane technology. Due to the presence of several automobile and aircraft plants in Ohio, the NACA established this center at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio. By 1924 the United States Air Corps had outgrown the facilities at McCook Field. Hoping to keep the Air Corps in Dayton, city officials and residents donated 5,250 acres of land on the city's outskirts. The Air Corps accepted the land and built Wright Field on the site. The base was named Wright Field to honor Orville and Wilbur Wright's contributions to flight. The Wrights had tested many of their early airplanes in the vicinity of Wright Field. Wright Field formally opened in 1927. In 1926 the United States government created the Army Air Corps, replacing the earlier Air Corps. The Army Air Corps stationed its Materiel Division at Wright Field. Here, scientists continued to improve aircraft. The scientists also realized that they had to work together to create the best possible plane. Before creation of the Army Air Corps, researchers studied individual parts of the plane, like engines, armor, wings, and propellers. Now scientists continued to specialize in individual components of planes, but they realized that changes in a plane's armor would affect all other parts of the plane. The same held true for changes in engines, wings, and the other parts of a plane. Under the Army Air Corps, researchers now kept a dialogue open between the various experts. Despite Wright Field's existence, the United States Army Air Corps entered World War II at a severe disadvantage numerically and technologically when compared to the air forces of other nations. To help overcome these weaknesses, the federal government in 1940 designated $300 million to improve Wright Field and to create an Air Corps with at least 5,500 planes. In 1941 only forty buildings existed at Wright Field, but by 1944 the airfield consisted of more than three hundred buildings. During World War II, research continued on airplanes, with much attention focused upon improving the horsepower of plane engines, airplanes' ranges and maneuverability, safety features for crews, and weapons. Workers at Wright Field helped to design and to construct numerous airplanes, such as the C-47 Skytrain, the C-54 Skymaster, the Curtiss C-46 Commando, the Sikorsky XR-4, the Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawk, the B-24 Liberator, and the B-29 Superfortress, among many others, during World War II. After World War II, Wright Field continued to play a major role in aircraft research and construction. In 1947 the United States government created the United States Air Force, eliminating the Army Air Forces and establishing a new branch of the United States military. That same year the Air Force combined Wright Field with nearby Patterson Field, creating Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Research continues at the base's facilities today, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is also home to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06663
Subjects: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio); United States. Army. Air Corps; Aviation; Military aircraft; United States. Air Force--History; Aviation
Places: Dayton (Ohio); Montgomery County (Ohio)
 

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;
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio);
 

Description: Carte de visite of General Winfield Scott, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Originally from Petersburg, Virginia, he refused to resign from his position when his home state seceded. Placed in command of the Union Army, he held himself responsible for the loss at Bull Run. By the start of the war, he was old and too overweight to ride a horse. Command was given to McClellan shortly after. While he did not serve much during the Civil War, his career was long and distinguished, having spent nearly 50 years in the US military. Scott served with great distinction in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, and is considered one of the best, if not the best, general to ever serve the United States. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV200_b03_f33_37
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; Military Ohio
Places: Ohio; Petersburg (Virginia)
 

Description: This carte de visite depicts Ambrose E. Burnside, a military officer who fought in the Mexican War and the Civil War. He was born on May 23, 1824, near Liberty, Indiana. After graduating from West Point in 1847, he served in the Mexican War. As a Union Army general in the Civil War, he conducted successful campaigns in North Carolina and East Tennessee, but suffered disastrous defeats in the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of the Crater. Following the war, he served as the governor of Rhode Island from 1866 to 1868, and in the United States Senate from 1875 to 1881. Burnside died in Bristol, Rhode Island, on September 13, 1881. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04214
Subjects: Generals--United States; West Point (Military academy); Mexican War, 1846-1848; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Ohio History--Military Ohio
Places: Rhode Island
 

Description: Established in 1861, Camp Dennison was a military recruiting and training camp for the Union Army during the Civil War. Named for Ohio Governor William Dennison, it was located near Cincinnati, Ohio. Camp Dennison encompassed more than five hundred acres of land, and housed more than fifty thousand men who passed through the camp during the Civil War. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04217
Subjects: United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Ohio History--Military Ohio; Military training
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Postcard with image of Ohio governor George K. Nash (1842-1904), Charles F.W. Dick (then a Congressman from Ohio and also a major general in the Ohio National Guard), and staff at Ohio National Guard encampment, Newark, Ohio. The picture shows a group of men, the majority in military uniform, standing in front of two tents in a wooded area. Dick (1858-1945), chair of the House Committee on Militia Affairs, co-sponsored the Militia Act of 1903 (also called the Dick Act), which created the National Guard from the organized state militias. The legislation gave state militias federal status and funding; in turn, the U.S. Army now had a pool of reserve units that could be mobilized for various emergencies and military needs. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05890
Subjects: National Guard; Ohio--Militia; Nash, George Kilbon, 1842-1904; Dick, Charles, 1858-1945; Ohio History--Military Ohio
Places: Newark (Ohio); Licking County (Ohio)
 

Description: A crowd watches a military parade along North High Street near a restaurant called Frank N Stein in the University District of Columbus, Ohio. The University District includes the small neighborhoods to the east and south of The Ohio State University campus on either side of the High Street corridor. The High Street Photograph Collection is comprised of over 400 photographs of High Street in Columbus, Ohio, taken in the early 1970s. These photographs were taken primarily at street level and document people and the built environment from the Pontifical College Josephinum on North High Street in Worthington through Clintonville, the University District and Short North, Downtown and South Columbus. The photographs were used in a television photo documentary that aired on WOSU called "High Street." Photographers that were involved in this project were Alfred Clarke, Carol Hibbs Kight, Darrell Muething, Clayton K. Lowe, and Julius Foris, Jr. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV254_B11F283_01
Subjects: Columbus (Ohio)--History--20th century; Street photography; University District (Columbus, Ohio); Parades & processions; Military Ohio
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Carte de visite of General Winfield Scott Hancock, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. A native of Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania, Hancock was considered one of the best military commanders in the Union (nicknamed "Superb Hancock"), though he never rose above corps command. He is best known for his fighting at Gettysburg and Spotsylvania Court House, but also fought at Williamsburg, where he earned his nickname, Fredericksburg, the Wilderness, Chancellorsville, and Petersburg. Due to his wounds, and the self-criticism resulting from his only major defeat, at Petersburg, Hancock resigned from command, and took over in the now-quiet Shenandoah Valley. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV200_b03_f33_43
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; Military Ohio
Places: Ohio; Montgomery Square (Pennsylvania)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1933-1939, this aerial photograph shows Camp Chase, a military prison located four miles outside of Columbus, Ohio, which held Confederate troops during the American Civil War. Camp Chase eventually replaced Camp Jackson as a recruitment and training center for the Union Army. During the course of the Civil War, over two thousand Confederate prisoners died at Camp Chase. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B05F04C_003_1
Subjects: Military Ohio; Civil War; Camp Chase (Ohio); Military prisons; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) used this iron document box to store orders, correspondence, and inventories of supplies. Grant received the box after he was promoted to general-in-chief in command of all Union armies in March 1864. It measures 12.67 by 9 by 6.69 inches (32.2 by 23 by 17 cm). Born Hiram Ulysses Grant in Point Pleasant Ohio, in 1839 Grant entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, where a roster mistakenly listed his name as Ulysses Simpson. He was known as Ulysses S. Grant for the rest of his life. Grant served in the Mexican War, but was never happy with military life and resigned his commission in 1854. After unsuccessful attempts at farming and real estate, Grant moved to Galena, Illinois, where he worked in his father's leather shop. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he organized a company in Galena and later accepted command of the 21st Illinois Regiment. In August 1861, Lincoln made Grant brigadier general of volunteers. Grant came to national attention by capturing the Confederate Forts Henry and Donelson, the first major Union victories of the war. In spite of a devastating defeat at Shiloh, Grant won major victories at Vicksburg and Chattanooga. In 1864, Grant was made lieutenant general commanding all the armies of the U.S. In this position, Grant devised a concerted plan of action for all the Union armies. Although Grant lost to Confederate General Robert E. Lee in battle, other Northern armies were successful and weakened the Confederacy. He presided over General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. Grant served as president from 1869-1877. Southern reconstruction was one of the major issues of Grant's presidency. He occasionally encouraged the process with the force of federal troops. Although Grant is considered to have been honest himself, he was surrounded by dishonest men, causing his administration to be marred with scandal. He was re-elected in 1872 and ran for a third time in 1880 but was unsuccessful. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1428_1535042_001
Subjects: Military Ohio; Presidents and Politics; Boxes; Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
Places: Point Pleasant (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)