This message is for all who may be interested. Since I have received several inquiries about these units, it is my honor to reply with this overview. During the American Civil War, the Ohio National Guard regiments were originally part of Ohio Governor William Dennison's "Militia of the Reserve" plan, whereby citizens statewide would have militia training in case of emergencies. Most of these Militia of the Reserve units expressly asked to be enrolled as Home Guards, so that they would serve only within the state. However, Ohio Governor John Brough made a new wrinkle in this militia training plan. The U. S. War Department pressured states to put more troops in the field in early 1864. Governor Brough responded on April 25, 1864, by declaring all Home Guard units the "Ohio National Guard" and activated various units around the state of Ohio by companies or by battalions and regiments for 100 days of service unless sooner discharged. This was certainly a surprise to most militia units around the state (and draws immediate parallels of Vietnam and Desert Storm National Guard units). Thus, the Ohio National Guard was born.... A typical Ohio National Guard unit was the 166th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, also called the 166th O.N.G. It was organized at Camp Taylor in Cleveland, and arrived at Washington, D.C in late May, 1864. The regiment was broken up by companies to man the various forts around the nation's Capital. The unit was forced to grueling duty when Confederate General Jubal Early and his veterans made a raid toward Washington in July 1864. Most of the soldiers were kept on alert for anywhere from six to eight days in a row until Early's army retreated back into Virginia. The 166th O.N.G. did not take part in a major battle from what I can see in Whitelaw Reid's "Ohio in the War" v.2, p.696. But these veterans can be proud that they helped save Washington, D.C., from capture. John C. Rutherford _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com