BATAVIA, Ohio — Clermont County’s honorary historian returned to the Board of County Commissioners this week with another chapter of local Civil War history, detailing the local regiments that carried the county’s name into battle and how towns including New Richmond, Batavia and Milford reacted when word of the attack on Fort Sumter reached Ohio.
Gary Knepp’s presentation was part of Clermont County’s America 250 Moment, a recurring history segment the county has built into commissioner sessions as it marks the nation’s 250th anniversary, according to the county. Knepp highlighted local regiments with strong Clermont ties and the thousands of Clermont Countians who served in the war, the county said.
Knepp, a retired attorney and former adjunct professor of history and political science at the University of Cincinnati Clermont College, serves as the county’s honorary historian and has directed the Clermont County Underground Railroad Research Project. He is also the author of “An American Moment,” a 24-part history series the county is publishing through America 250 Clermont, a commemoration led by the Clermont County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
This week’s talk followed an earlier session, held Sept. 2, in which Knepp walked commissioners through the county’s “countdown” to the Civil War, including how slavery shaped local churches, courts and politics in the years before the fighting began. That talk also revisited his Underground Railroad research, which has helped document 19 Clermont County sites accepted into the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom program.
Clermont County’s mobilization came quickly once news of the Fort Sumter attack reached Ohio in April 1861. According to an 1880 county history, the courthouse bell in Batavia “pealed out the notes of alarm and entreaty, arousing the entire county” as word of the attack spread. Independent companies organized within days: the Clermont Guards of Batavia became Company E of the 22nd Ohio Infantry, the Felicity Guards became Company I of the same regiment, and the Union Guards of New Richmond became Company C of the 12th Ohio Infantry. The county ultimately sent nearly 4,000 volunteers into the war, with only six men conscripted, the history states.
The county has also counted itself the birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant, the Union’s commanding general, who was born in Point Pleasant along the Ohio River.
America 250 Clermont’s programming continues this fall with additional historical talks, public art, a history and museum passport program and other events tied to the 250th anniversary, according to the county.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Clermont County.