Located on the South Plaza (State Street)

The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, and the Ohio Historical Society created this marker in 2003 to commemorate the history Ohio's role in the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Civil War - Ohio Historical Marker
THE CIVIL WAR
With five army camps in Columbus, Capitol Square was a military crossroads from 1861 to 1865. Ohio troops were mustered, paid, and on some occasions garrisoned at the Statehouse. Three of every five male Ohioans between the ages of 18 and 45 served in the Civil War. Ohio's contribution to the war effort was enormous, supplying almost 320,000 soldiers to the Union Army, representing 230 regiments and 26 independent artillery batteries. More than 35,000 soldiers died during the war, and 30,000 more were disabled. Over one hundred fifty Ohio soldiers received the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor. Perhaps Ohio's greatest contribution to the war was to the Union leadership that won it: Generals Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip H. Sheridan, and James B. McPherson, as well as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, were all Ohioans.
THE OHIO BICENTENNIAL COMMISSION
CAPITOL SQUARE REVIEW AND ADVISORY BOARD
THE OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
2003
80-25