130-901: Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp established in Columbus, Ohio , in May 1861 after the start of the American Civil War . It also included a large Union-operated prison camp for Confederate prisoners during the American Civil War . The camp was closed and dismantled after the war and the site has been redeveloped for residential and commercial use, except for the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery , which contains 2,260 graves of Confederates who died in captivity both in Camp Chase and in Camp Dennison near Cincinnati . Camp Chase
260-581: A confederation of independent states, functioning similarly to the European Union . Confederates generally saw the Union as being opposed to slavery, occasionally referring to them as abolitionists, in reference to the U.S. Navy as the "abolition fleet" and the U.S. Army as "abolition forces". In 2015, historian Michael Landis called for an end to the use of the term "Union", writing "The employment of 'Union' instead of 'United States,' implicitly supports
390-518: A Baptist preacher and leader in the city's African-American community until the turn of the century. During the Civil War , Columbus was a major base for the volunteer Union Army . It housed 26,000 troops and held up to 9,000 Confederate prisoners of war at Camp Chase , at what is now the Hilltop neighborhood of west Columbus. Over 2,000 Confederate soldiers remain buried at the site, making it one of
520-525: A Unitarian minister, and the social reformer Dorothea Dix . Systematic funding appeals raised public consciousness as well as millions of dollars. Many thousands of volunteers worked in the hospitals and rest homes, most famously poet Walt Whitman . Frederick Law Olmsted , a famous landscape architect, was the highly efficient executive director of the Sanitary Commission. States could use their own tax money to support their troops, as Ohio did. Under
650-521: A city park. The main entrance was on the National Road 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Downtown Columbus, Ohio . Boundaries of the camp were present-day Broad Street (north), Hague Avenue (east), Sullivant Avenue (south), and near Westgate Avenue (west). Named for former Ohio Governor, Salmon P. Chase , who was Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury ; it was a training camp for Ohio volunteer army soldiers,
780-431: A complete regiment. Not until Washington approved gubernatorial control of all new units was the problem resolved. Allan Nevins is particularly scathing of this in his analysis: "A President more exact, systematic and vigilant than Lincoln, a Secretary more alert and clearheaded than Cameron, would have prevented these difficulties." By the end of 1861, 700,000 soldiers were drilling in Union camps. The first wave in spring
910-597: A diverse economy without reliance on any one sector. The metropolitan area is home to the Battelle Memorial Institute , the world's largest private research and development foundation; Chemical Abstracts Service , the world's largest clearinghouse of chemical information; and the Ohio State University , one of the largest universities in the United States . The Greater Columbus area is further home to
1040-592: A large glacier that covered most of Ohio during the Wisconsin Ice Age . However, there are sizable differences in elevation through the area, with the high point of Franklin County being 1,132 ft (345 m) above sea level near New Albany , and the low point being 670 ft (200 m) where the Scioto River leaves the county near Lockbourne . Several ravines near the rivers and creeks also add variety to
1170-435: A male householder with no spouse present, and 33.7% had a female householder with no spouse present. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26, and the average family size was 3.03. 21.0% of the city's population were under the age of 18, 67.5% were 18 to 64, and 11.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age
1300-610: A modern railroad system, to be mobilized by the United States Military Railroad . The South had resisted policies such as tariffs to promote industry and homestead laws to promote farming because slavery would not benefit. With the South gone and Northern Democrats weak, the Republicans enacted their legislation. At the same time they passed new taxes to pay for part of the war and issued large amounts of bonds to pay for most of
1430-516: A mound that existed by the intersection of Mound and High Streets . The mound's clay was used in bricks for most of the city's initial brick buildings; many were subsequently used in the Ohio Statehouse . The city's Ohio History Center maintains a collection of artifacts from these cultures. The area including present-day Columbus once comprised the Ohio Country , under the nominal control of
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#17330859189181560-544: A national mission that has defined America ever since. Lincoln's charm and willingness to cooperate with political and personal enemies made Washington work much more smoothly than Richmond , the Confederate capital, and his wit smoothed many rough edges. Lincoln's cabinet proved much stronger and more efficient than Davis's, as Lincoln channeled personal rivalries into a competition for excellence rather than mutual destruction. With William Seward at State , Salmon P. Chase at
1690-470: A number of prominent cybersecurity researchers called on the city to drop the lawsuit. On Saturday November 19 2024 about a dozen men dressed in black and masked carried red swastika flags in Columbus making racist slurs and using pepper speech. The group identified themselves as "Hate Club". Oren Segal, ADL vice-president, said that this might related to the hate group Blood Tribe "Blood Tribe views itself as
1820-678: A parole camp, a muster outpost, and later a prisoner-of-war camp. The nearby Camp Thomas served as a similar base for the Regular Army . As many as 150,000 Union soldiers and 25,000 Confederate prisoners passed through its gates from 1861 to 1865. By February 1865, over 9,400 men were held at the prison. More than 2,200 Confederates are buried in the Camp Chase Cemetery. Western Virginia and Kentucky civilians suspected of actively supporting secession , including former three-term United States Congressman Richard Henry Stanton were held at
1950-533: A permanent settlement on the west bank of the forks of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. An admirer of Benjamin Franklin , Sullivant chose to name his frontier village " Franklinton ." The location was desirable for its proximity to the navigable rivers – but Sullivant was initially foiled when, in 1798, a large flood wiped out the new settlement. He persevered, and the village was rebuilt, though somewhat more inland. After
2080-458: A plan to build a new city in the state's center, near major transportation routes, primarily rivers. As well, Franklinton landowners had donated two 10-acre (4.0 ha) plots in an effort to convince the state to move its capital there. The two spaces were set to become Capitol Square , including for the Ohio Statehouse and the Ohio Penitentiary . Named in honor of Christopher Columbus ,
2210-613: A population boom. A wave of European immigrants led to the creation of two ethnic enclaves on the city's outskirts. A large Irish population settled in the north along Naghten Street (presently Nationwide Boulevard), while the Germans took advantage of the cheap land to the south, creating a community that came to be known as the Das Alte Südende (The Old South End). Columbus's German population constructed numerous breweries, Trinity Lutheran Seminary and Capital University . With
2340-474: A population density of 4,109.64 people per square mile (1,586.74/km ). There were 415,456 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 57.4% White , 29.2% Black or African American , 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native, and 5.9% Asian . Hispanic or Latino of any race made up 6.3% of the population. There were 392,041 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 25.1% had
2470-478: A population of 3,500, Columbus was officially chartered as a city on March 3, 1834. On that day, the legislature carried out a special act , which granted legislative authority to the city council and judicial authority to the mayor. Elections were held in April of that year, with voters choosing John Brooks as the first popularly elected mayor. Columbus annexed the then-separate city of Franklinton in 1837. In 1850,
2600-525: A wide diversity of neighborhoods with different characters, and is thus sometimes known as a "city of neighborhoods." Some of the most prominent neighborhoods include the Arena District , the Brewery District , Clintonville , Franklinton , German Village , The Short North and Victorian Village . The city's climate is humid continental ( Köppen climate classification Dfa ) transitional with
2730-488: Is land and 5.94 square miles (15.38 km ) is water. Columbus currently has the largest land area of any Ohio city; this is due to Jim Rhodes 's tactic to annex suburbs while serving as mayor. As surrounding communities grew or were constructed, they came to require access to waterlines, which was under the sole control of the municipal water system. Rhodes told these communities that if they wanted water, they would have to submit to assimilation into Columbus. Columbus has
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#17330859189182860-548: Is purportedly an apparition that haunts Camp Chase Cemetery. The story goes that the ghost is looking for her lost love, and cannot find him in the cemetery. The woman is described as young, in her late teens or early twenties, dressed entirely in gray, and carrying a clean white handkerchief. The legend of the Lady in Gray dates back to just after the Civil War, when visitors to Camp Chase spotted
2990-702: The Anti-Saloon League in neighboring Westerville . In the steel industry , a forward-thinking man named Samuel P. Bush presided over the Buckeye Steel Castings Company. Columbus was also a popular location for labor organizations. In 1886, Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor in Druid's Hall on South Fourth Street, and in 1890, the United Mine Workers of America
3120-509: The Columbus Public Health department. The outbreak, which remained in the city from July to September 1833, killed 100 people. Columbus was without direct river or trail connections to other Ohio cities, leading to slow initial growth. The National Road reached Columbus from Baltimore in 1831, which complemented the city's new link to the Ohio and Erie Canal , both of which facilitated
3250-529: The Columbus and Xenia Railroad became the first railroad into the city, followed by the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad in 1851. The two railroads built a joint Union Station on the east side of High Street just north of Naghten (then called North Public Lane). Rail traffic into Columbus increased: by 1875, eight railroads served Columbus, and the rail companies built a new, more elaborate station. Another cholera outbreak hit Columbus in 1849, prompting
3380-557: The French colonial empire through the Viceroyalty of New France from 1663 until 1763. In the 18th century, European traders flocked to the area, attracted by the fur trade . The area was often caught between warring factions, including American Indian and European interests. In the 1740s, Pennsylvania traders overran the territory until the French forcibly evicted them. Fighting for control of
3510-515: The Great Flood of 1913 devastated the neighborhood of Franklinton, leaving over 90 people dead and thousands of West Side residents homeless. To prevent flooding, the Army Corps of Engineers recommended widening the Scioto River through downtown, constructing new bridges and building a retaining wall along its banks. With the strength of the post- World War I economy, a construction boom occurred in
3640-503: The Miami , Delaware , Wyandot , Shawnee and Mingo nations, as well as European traders. The tribes resisted expansion by the fledgling United States, leading to years of bitter conflict. The decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers resulted in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which finally opened the way for new settlements. By 1797, a young surveyor from Virginia named Lucas Sullivant had founded
3770-470: The Midwestern United States . Severe thunderstorms can bring lightning , large hail and on rare occasions tornadoes , especially during the spring and sometimes through fall. A tornado that occurred on October 11, 2006, caused F2 damage. Floods, blizzards and ice storms can also occur from time to time. In the 2020 United States census, there were 905,748 people living in the city, for
3900-832: The Morrill tariff , the Homestead Act , the Pacific Railroad Act , and the National Banking Act . Lincoln paid relatively little attention to this legislation as he focused on war issues but he worked smoothly with powerful Congressional leaders such as Thaddeus Stevens (on taxation and spending), Charles Sumner (on foreign affairs), Lyman Trumbull (on legal issues), Justin Smith Morrill (on land grants and tariffs) and William Pitt Fessenden (on finances). Military and reconstruction issues were another matter. Lincoln, as
4030-611: The National Football League . Nearly a decade later, in 1931, at a convention in the city, the Jehovah's Witnesses took that name by which they are known today. The effects of the Great Depression were less severe in Columbus, as the city's diversified economy helped it fare better than its Rust Belt neighbors. World War II brought many new jobs and another population surge. This time, most new arrivals were migrants from
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4160-572: The Treasury , and (from 1862) Edwin Stanton at the War Department , Lincoln had a powerful cabinet of determined men. Except for monitoring major appointments and decisions, Lincoln gave them free rein to end the Confederate rebellion. The Republican Congress passed many major laws that reshaped the nation's economy, financial system, tax system, land system, and higher education system. These included:
4290-487: The dozens of wooden arches that spanned High Street at the turn of the 20th century. The arches illuminated the thoroughfare and eventually became the means by which electric power was provided to the new streetcars . The city tore down the arches and replaced them with cluster lights in 1914 but reconstructed them from metal in the Short North neighborhood in 2002 for their unique historical interest. On March 25, 1913,
4420-556: The high-tech manufacturing sector, with Intel announcing plans to construct a $ 20 billion factory and Honda expanding its presence along with LG Energy Solutions with a $ 4.4 billion battery manufactory facility in Fayette County . The COVID-19 pandemic muted activity in Columbus, especially in its downtown core, from 2020 to 2022. By late 2022, foot traffic in Downtown Columbus began to exceed pre-pandemic rates; one of
4550-556: The humid subtropical ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) to the south characterized by warm, muggy summers and cold, dry winters. Columbus is within USDA hardiness zone 6b, bordering on 7a. Winter snowfall is relatively light, since the city is not in the typical path of strong winter lows, such as the Nor'easters that strike cities farther east. It is also too far south and west for lake-effect snow from Lake Erie to have much effect, although
4680-553: The "extraordinarily depressed rural areas" of Appalachia , who would soon account for more than a third of Columbus's growing population. In 1948, the Town and Country Shopping Center opened in suburban Whitehall , and it is now regarded as one of the first modern shopping centers in the United States. The construction of the Interstate Highway System signaled the arrival of rapid suburb development in central Ohio. To protect
4810-536: The 16th president of the United States , and sought to preserve the nation, a constitutional federal union . In the context of the Civil War, "Union" is also often used as a synonym for "the northern states loyal to the United States government". In this meaning, the Union included 20 free states (in the north and west) and four southern border slave states , Delaware , Maryland , Kentucky , and Missouri , though Missouri and Kentucky both had dual competing Confederate and Unionist governments. The Union Army
4940-592: The 1863 draft law led to riots in several cities and in rural areas as well. By far the most important were the New York City draft riots of July 13 to July 16, 1863. Irish Catholic and other workers fought police, militia and regular army units until the Army used artillery to sweep the streets. Initially focused on the draft, the protests quickly expanded into violent attacks on blacks in New York City, with many killed on
5070-723: The 1920s, resulting in a new civic center , the Ohio Theatre , the American Insurance Union Citadel and to the north, a massive new Ohio Stadium . Although the American Professional Football Association was founded in Canton in 1920, its head offices moved to Columbus in 1921 to the New Hayden Building and remained in the city until 1941. In 1922, the association's name was changed to
5200-470: The Americas on behalf of Isabella I of Castile and Spain. Although no reliable history exists as to why Columbus, who had no connection to the city or state of Ohio before the city's founding, was chosen as the name for the city, the book Columbus: The Story of a City indicates a state lawmaker and local resident admired the explorer enough to persuade other lawmakers to name the settlement Columbus. Since
5330-631: The Columbus metropolitan area was a center to indigenous cultures known as the Mound Builders , including the Adena , Hopewell and Fort Ancient peoples. Remaining physical evidence of the cultures are their burial mounds and what they contained. Most of Central Ohio's remaining mounds are located outside of Columbus city boundaries, though the Shrum Mound is maintained, now as part of a public park and historic site. The city's Mound Street derives its name from
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5460-507: The Confederacy gave paper promissory notes when it seized property, so that even loyal Confederates would hide their horses and mules rather than sell them for dubious paper. Overall, the Northern financial system was highly successful in raising money and turning patriotism into profit, while the Confederate system impoverished its patriots. The United States needed $ 3.1 billion to pay for
5590-571: The Confederacy would never voluntarily rejoin the U.S. The most prominent Copperhead was Ohio's Clement L. Vallandigham , a Congressman and leader of the Democratic Party in Ohio. He was defeated in an intense election for governor in 1863. Republican prosecutors in the Midwest accused some Copperhead activists of treason in a series of trials in 1864. Copperheadism was a grassroots movement, strongest in
5720-465: The Confederacy. During the 37th and 38th Congresses, the committee investigated every aspect of Union military operations, with special attention to finding commanders culpable for military defeats. It assumed an inevitable Union victory. Failure was perceived to indicate evil motivations or personal failures. The committee distrusted graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point, since many of
5850-579: The Copperheads damaged the Union war effort by fighting the draft, encouraging desertion and forming conspiracies. However, other historians say the Copperheads were a legitimate opposition force unfairly treated by the government, adding that the draft was in disrepute and that the Republicans greatly exaggerated the conspiracies for partisan reasons. Copperheadism was a major issue in the 1864 presidential election—its strength waxed when Union armies were doing poorly and waned when they won great victories. After
5980-601: The Dayton facility which opened in 1867 and became the largest veterans home in the nation. In 1895, former Union soldier William H. Knauss organized the first memorial service at the cemetery. In 1906 he published a history of the camp. The Confederate Soldier Memorial was dedicated in 1902. From 1912 to 1994, the United Daughters of the Confederacy held annual services to commemorate Confederate soldiers who had been held and died there. The Hilltop Historical Society now sponsors
6110-560: The Democrats gained control of the legislature, they were unable to impede the war effort. Republican Governor Oliver P. Morton was able to maintain control of the state's contribution to the war effort despite the Democratic majority. Washington was especially helpful in 1864 in arranging furloughs to allow Hoosier soldiers to return home so they could vote in elections. Across the North in 1864,
6240-523: The Lost Cause, Confederate view of secession wherein the nation of the United States collapsed [...] In reality, however, the United States never ceased to exist [...] The dichotomy of 'Union v. Confederacy' lends credibility to the Confederate experiment and undermines the legitimacy of the United States as a political entity." In 2021, the Army University Press noted that it was replacing usages of
6370-456: The Midwest and wanted to allow Confederate secession. In the East, opposition to the war was strongest among Irish Catholics, but also included business interests connected to the South typified by August Belmont . The Democratic Party was deeply split. In 1861 most Democrats supported the war. However, the party increasingly split down the middle between the moderates who supported the war effort, and
6500-406: The North's largest Confederate cemeteries. North of Columbus, along the Delaware Road, the Regular Army established Camp Thomas , where the 18th U.S. Infantry organized and trained. By virtue of the Morrill Act of 1862 , the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College – which eventually became the Ohio State University – was founded in 1870 on the former estate of William and Hannah Neil. By
6630-406: The Republicans and War Democrats joined to campaign under the National Union Party banner, which also attracted most soldiers, and scored a landslide victory for Lincoln and his entire ticket against Democratic candidate George B. McClellan . The war years were quite prosperous except where serious fighting and guerrilla warfare ravaged the countryside. Almost all military actions took place in
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#17330859189186760-421: The Revolution, land comprising parts of Franklin and adjacent counties was set aside by the United States Congress for settlement by Canadians and Nova Scotians who were sympathetic to the colonial cause and had their land and possessions seized by the British government. The Refugee Tract , consisting of 103,000 acres (42,000 ha), was 42 miles (68 km) long and 3–4.5 miles (4.8–7.2 km) wide, and
6890-415: The Search for Administrative Reform," Ohio History 96 (Winter Spring 1987): 33 56 Columbus, Ohio Columbus ( / k ə ˈ l ʌ m b ə s / , kə- LUM -bəs ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio . With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest (after Chicago ), and
7020-435: The South. Michigan was especially eager to send thousands of volunteers. A study of the cities of Grand Rapids and Niles shows an overwhelming surge of nationalism in 1861, whipping up enthusiasm for the war in all segments of society, and all political, religious, ethnic, and occupational groups. However, by 1862 the casualties were mounting, and the war was increasingly focused on freeing the slaves in addition to preserving
7150-506: The South. Prosperity was stimulated by heavy government spending and the creation of an entirely new national banking system. The Union states invested a great deal of money and effort in organizing psychological and social support for soldiers' wives, widows, and orphans, and for the soldiers themselves. Most soldiers were volunteers, although after 1862 many volunteered in order to escape the draft and to take advantage of generous cash bounties on offer from states and localities. Draft resistance
7280-410: The U.S. Columbus originated as numerous Native American settlements on the banks of the Scioto River . Franklinton , now a city neighborhood, was the first European settlement, laid out in 1797. The city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and laid out to become the state capital. The city was named for Italian explorer Christopher Columbus . The city assumed
7410-412: The U.S. Army firing grape shot down cobblestone city streets. The Democrats nominated George McClellan , a War Democrat for the 1864 presidential but imposed an anti-war platform on him. In terms of Congress the opposition against the war was nearly powerless—as was the case in most states. In Indiana and Illinois pro-war governors circumvented anti-war legislatures elected in 1862. For 30 years after
7540-460: The Union. Copperhead Democrats called the war a failure, and it became an increasingly partisan Republican effort. Michigan voters remained evenly split between the parties in the presidential election of 1864. Perman (2010) says historians are of two minds on why millions of men seemed so eager to fight, suffer, and die over four years: Some historians emphasize that Civil War soldiers were driven by political ideology, holding firm beliefs about
7670-546: The Union. Most Northern states had Republican governors who energetically supported the war effort and suppressed anti-war subversion, particularly that that arose in 1863–64. The Democratic Party strongly supported the war at the beginning in 1861, but by 1862, was split between the War Democrats and the anti-war element known as Peace Democrats, led by the extremist " Copperheads ". The Democrats made major electoral gains in 1862 in state elections, most notably in New York. They lost ground in 1863, especially in Ohio. In 1864,
7800-422: The Westgate #623 Masonic Temple, in a community in the Hilltop section of west Columbus. This development was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Camp Chase is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery is managed along with five National Cemeteries by the Dayton National Cemetery. On August 22, 2017, part of a chain of removal of Confederate monuments and memorials ,
7930-408: The academy's alumni were leaders of the enemy army. Members of the committee much preferred political generals with a satisfactory political record. Some of the committee suggested that West-Pointers who engaged in strategic maneuver were cowardly or even disloyal. It ended up endorsing incompetent but politically correct generals. The opposition came from Copperhead Democrats , who were strongest in
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#17330859189188060-401: The area just north of the Ohio River, as well as some urban ethnic wards . Some historians have argued that it represented a traditionalistic element alarmed at the rapid modernization of society sponsored by the Republican Party . It looked back to Jacksonian Democracy for inspiration—with ideals that promoted an agrarian rather than industrialized concept of society. Weber (2006) argues that
8190-488: The city added 164,000 jobs, which ranked second in the United States. In February and March 2020, Columbus reported its first official cases of COVID-19 and declared a state of emergency, with all nonessential businesses closed statewide. There were 69,244 cases of the disease across the city, as of March 11, 2021 . Later in 2020, protests over the murder of George Floyd took place in the city from May 28 into August. Columbus and its metro area have experienced growth in
8320-444: The city was founded on February 14, 1812, on the "High Banks opposite Franklinton at the Forks of the Scioto most known as Wolf's Ridge." At the time, this area was a dense forestland, used only as a hunting ground. The city was incorporated as a borough on February 10, 1816. Nine people were elected to fill the municipality's various positions of mayor, treasurer and several others. Between 1816 and 1817, Jarvis W. Pike served as
8450-404: The city's tax base from this suburbanization, Columbus adopted a policy of linking sewer and water hookups to annexation to the city. By the early 1990s, Columbus had grown to become Ohio's largest city in land area and in population. Efforts to revitalize downtown Columbus have had some success in recent decades, though like most major American cities, some architectural heritage was lost in
8580-527: The city. The Scioto Mile began development along the riverfront, an area that already had the Miranova Corporate Center and The Condominiums at North Bank Park . The 2010 United States foreclosure crisis forced the city to purchase numerous foreclosed, vacant properties to renovate or demolish them – at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. In February 2011, Columbus had 6,117 vacant properties, according to city officials. Since 2010, Columbus has been growing in population and economy; from 2010 to 2017,
8710-443: The cost of a full-scale war but the Treasury Department under Secretary Salmon P. Chase showed unusual ingenuity in financing the war without crippling the economy. Many new taxes were imposed and always with a patriotic theme comparing the financial sacrifice to the sacrifices of life and limb. The government paid for supplies in real money, which encouraged people to sell to the government regardless of their politics. By contrast l,
8840-540: The critical post of state adjutant general was held in 1861–64 by elderly politician Anthony C. Colby (1792–1873) and his son Daniel E. Colby (1816–1891). They were patriotic, but were overwhelmed with the complexity of their duties. The state lost track of men who enlisted after 1861; it had no personnel records or information on volunteers, substitutes, or draftees, and there was no inventory of weaponry and supplies. Nathaniel Head (1828–1883) took over in 1864, obtained an adequate budget and office staff, and reconstructed
8970-426: The draft law as a violation of their local autonomy. In June 1863, small-scale disturbances broke out; they ended when the Army sent in armed units. The Union economy grew and prospered during the war while fielding a very large army and navy. The Republicans in Washington had a Whiggish vision of an industrial nation, with great cities, efficient factories, productive farms, all national banks, all knit together by
9100-494: The end of the 19th century, Columbus was home to several major manufacturing businesses. The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company was a major supplier of coal mining equipment. The city became known as the "Buggy Capital of the World," thanks to the two dozen buggy factories – notably the Columbus Buggy Company , founded in 1875 by C.D. Firestone. The Columbus Consolidated Brewing Company also rose to prominence during this time and might have achieved even greater success were it not for
9230-879: The energetic leadership of Governor David Tod , a War Democrat who won office on a coalition "Union Party" ticket with Republicans, Ohio acted vigorously. Following the unexpected carnage at the battle of Shiloh in April 1862, Ohio sent three steamboats to the scene as floating hospitals equipped with doctors, nurses, and medical supplies. The state fleet expanded to 11 hospital ships, and the state set up 12 local offices in main transportation nodes, to help Ohio soldiers moving back and forth. The Christian Commission comprised 6,000 volunteers who aided chaplains in many ways. For example, its agents distributed Bibles, delivered sermons, helped with sending letters home, taught men to read and write, and set up camp libraries. The Army learned many lessons and modernized its procedures, and medical science—especially surgery—made many advances. In
9360-579: The entire United States of America. Using the term "Union" to apply to the non-secessionist side carried a connotation of legitimacy as the continuation of the pre-existing political entity. Before the American Civil War, the United States was known as the "United States' federal union", a union of states controlled by the federal government in Washington, D.C. This was opposite to the CSA's first government,
9490-530: The event on the second Sunday in June. The living conditions at Camp Chase were inadequate for a number of reasons. The prisoners were never intentionally starved, but because the Union army focused on feeding its own soldiers first it often left the prisoners with little to no food. The largest number of soldiers and officers held at Camp Chase at a single time was in 1863 when the prison camp held around 8,000 men. Because of
9620-468: The facility. The prison camp also held Confederates captured during Morgan's Raid in 1863, including Col. Basil W. Duke . The camp was closed in 1865, and by September 1867, dismantled buildings, usable items, and 450 patients from Tripler Military Hospital (also in Columbus ) were transferred to the new National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Dayton, Ohio (Now Dayton VA.) Building materials taken from dismantled buildings were sent to help build
9750-483: The fall of Atlanta in September 1864, military success seemed assured and Copperheadism collapsed. Enthusiastic young men clamored to join the Union army in 1861. They came with family support for reasons of patriotism and excitement. Washington decided to keep the small regular army intact; it had only 16,000 men and was needed to guard the frontier. Its officers could, however, join the temporary new volunteer army that
9880-488: The fierce battles more typical of the political arena." Historian Michael Smith argues that as the war ground on year after year, the spirit of American republicanism grew stronger and generated fears of corruption in high places. Voters became afraid of power being centralized in Washington, extravagant spending, and war profiteering. Democratic candidates emphasized these fears. The candidates added that rapid modernization
10010-448: The first appointed mayor. Although the recent War of 1812 had brought prosperity to the area, the subsequent recession and conflicting claims to the land threatened the new town's success. Early conditions were abysmal, with frequent bouts of fevers, attributed to malaria from the flooding rivers, and an outbreak of cholera in 1833. It led Columbus to create the Board of Health, now part of
10140-461: The function of state capital in 1816 and county seat in 1824. Amid steady years of growth and industrialization, the city has experienced numerous floods and recessions. Beginning in the 1950s, Columbus began to experience significant growth; it became the largest city in Ohio in land and population by the early 1990s. Growth has continued in the 21st century, with redevelopment occurring in numerous city neighborhoods, including Downtown . The city has
10270-667: The governor appointed the senior officers, and Lincoln appointed the generals. Typically, politicians used their local organizations to raise troops and were in line (if healthy enough) to become colonel. The problem was that the War Department, under the disorganized leadership of Simon Cameron , also authorized local and private groups to raise regiments. The result was widespread confusion and delay. Pennsylvania, for example, had acute problems. When Washington called for 10 more regiments, enough men volunteered to form 30. However, they were scattered among 70 different new units, none of them
10400-569: The great majority of soldiers voted Republican. Men who had been Democrats before the war often abstained or voted Republican. As the federal draft laws tightened, there was serious unrest among Copperhead strongholds, such as the Irish in the Pennsylvania coal mining districts. The government needed the coal more than the draftees, so it ignored the largely non-violent draft dodging there. The violent New York City draft riots of 1863 were suppressed by
10530-413: The headquarters of six Fortune 500 companies, namely Cardinal Health , American Electric Power , Bath & Body Works, Inc. , Nationwide , Bread Financial and Huntington Bancshares . The city of Columbus was named after 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus at the city's founding in 1812. It is the largest city in the world named for the explorer, who sailed to and settled parts of
10660-460: The immense armies and fleets raised to fight the Civil War—over $ 400 million just in 1862 alone. Apart from tariffs, the largest revenue by far came from new excise taxes —a sort of value added tax —that was imposed on every sort of manufactured item. Second came much higher tariffs, through several Morrill tariff laws. Third came the nation's first income tax; only the wealthy paid and it
10790-486: The importance of liberty, Union, or state rights, or about the need to protect or to destroy slavery. Others point to less overtly political reasons to fight, such as the defense of one's home and family, or the honor and brotherhood to be preserved when fighting alongside other men. Most historians agree that, no matter what he thought about when he went into the war, the experience of combat affected him profoundly and sometimes affected his reasons for continuing to fight. On
10920-466: The lakes to the north contribute to long stretches of cloudy spells in winter. The highest temperature recorded in Columbus is 106 °F (41 °C), which occurred twice during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s: once on July 21, 1934, and again on July 14, 1936. The lowest recorded temperature was −22 °F (−30 °C), occurring on January 19, 1994 . Columbus is subject to severe weather typical to
11050-567: The landscape. Tributaries to Alum Creek and the Olentangy River cut through shale, while tributaries to the Scioto River cut through limestone. The numerous rivers and streams beside low-lying areas in Central Ohio contribute to a history of flooding in the region; the most significant was the Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus, Ohio . The city has a total area of 223.11 square miles (577.85 km ), of which 217.17 square miles (562.47 km )
11180-534: The large number of prisoners crowded in a relatively small area, there was also a large outbreak of smallpox and other deadly diseases. This resulted in the death of hundreds of prisoners in the winter of 1863–1864. Many POW camps had the same conditions on both sides of the war. Because of this, the Union and the CSA agreed to exchange prisoners to stop the suffering of men on both sides. Ultimately around 10,000 soldiers were exchanged between both sides. The Lady in Gray
11310-750: The late 20th century, historians have criticized Columbus for initiating the European conquest of America and for abuse, enslavement, and subjugation of natives. Efforts to remove symbols related to the explorer in the city date to the 1990s. Amid the George Floyd protests in 2020, several petitions pushed for the city to be renamed. Nicknames for the city have included "the Discovery City", " Arch City ", "Cap City", " Cowtown ", "The Biggest Small Town in America" and "Cbus." Between 1000 B.C. and 1700 A.D.,
11440-752: The leader of the moderate and conservative factions of the Republican Party, often crossed swords with the Radical Republicans , led by Stevens and Sumner. Author, Bruce Tap, shows that Congress challenged Lincoln's role as commander-in-chief through the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War . It was a joint committee of both houses that was dominated by the Radical Republicans, who took a hard line against
11570-492: The legitimacy of the Confederacy's secession and maintained at all times that it remained entirely a part of the United States. In foreign affairs, the Union was the only side recognized by all other nations, none of which officially recognized the Confederate government. The term "Union" occurs in the first governing document of the United States, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The subsequent Constitution of 1787
11700-581: The long run, the wartime experiences of the numerous Union commissions modernized public welfare, and set the stage for large—scale community philanthropy in America based on fund raising campaigns and private donations. Additionally, women gained new public roles. For example, Mary Livermore (1820–1905), the manager of the Chicago branch of the US Sanitary Commission, used her newfound organizational skills to mobilize support for women's suffrage after
11830-491: The main white supremacist group in Ohio, so … (the) ‘Hate Club’ march appears to have been an intentional effort to antagonize them." The confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers is just northwest of Downtown Columbus . Several smaller tributaries course through the Columbus metropolitan area , including Alum Creek , Big Walnut Creek and Darby Creek . Columbus is considered to have relatively flat topography thanks to
11960-400: The missing paperwork. As result, widows, orphans, and disabled veterans received the postwar payments they had earned. More soldiers died of disease than from battle injuries, and even larger numbers were temporarily incapacitated by wounds, disease, and accidents. The Union responded by building army hospitals in every state. The hygiene of the camps was poor, especially at the beginning of
12090-632: The much enlarged United States Army Medical Department, and the United States Sanitary Commission , a new private agency. Numerous other new agencies also targeted the medical and morale needs of soldiers, including the United States Christian Commission , as well as smaller private agencies, such as the Women's Central Association of Relief for Sick and Wounded in the Army (WCAR), founded in 1861 by Henry Whitney Bellows ,
12220-422: The muster of companies and regiments, the determined action of governors and legislatures. McClintock states: At the time, Northerners were right to wonder at the near unanimity that so quickly followed long months of bitterness and discord. It would not last throughout the protracted war to come—or even through the year—but in that moment of unity was laid bare the common Northern nationalism usually hidden by
12350-541: The opening of the city's Green Lawn Cemetery . On January 7, 1857, the Ohio Statehouse finally opened after 18 years of construction. Site construction continued until 1861. Before the abolition of slavery in the Southern United States in 1863, the Underground Railroad was active in Columbus and was led, in part, by James Preston Poindexter . Poindexter arrived in Columbus in the 1830s and became
12480-423: The parole exchange system broke down in 1863, about 195,000 went to Confederate prison camps. Some tried to escape but few succeeded. By contrast 464,000 Confederates were captured (many in the final days) and 215,000 imprisoned. Over 30,000 Union and nearly 26,000 Confederate prisoners died in captivity. Just over 12% of the captives in Northern prisons died, compared to 15.5% for Southern prisons. Discontent with
12610-613: The peace element, including Copperheads, who did not. It scored major gains in the 1862 elections, and elected the moderate Horatio Seymour as governor of New York. They gained 28 seats in the House of Representatives , including the Speaker of the House's seat but Republicans retained control of both the House and the Senate. The 1862 election for the Indiana legislature was especially hard-fought. Though
12740-516: The population were employed, and 38.5% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Union (American Civil War) The Union , colloquially known as the North , refers to the United States when eleven Southern slave states seceded to form the Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederacy or South, during the American Civil War . The Union was led by Abraham Lincoln ,
12870-591: The process. In the 1970s, landmarks such as Union Station and the Neil House hotel were razed to construct high-rise offices and big retail space. The PNC Bank building was constructed in 1977, as well as the Nationwide Plaza buildings and other towers that sprouted during this period. The construction of the Greater Columbus Convention Center has brought major conventions and trade shows to
13000-472: The quickest downtown areas to recover in the United States. On June 23, 2023, ten people were injured in a mass shooting in the city's Short North district. In July 2024, Columbus was subject to a ransomware attack, for which the hacker group Rhysidia took credit. In August 2024, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther claimed that the files obtained by Rhysidia were "unusable" to the thieves due to being either encrypted or corrupted . Ginther's assertion
13130-432: The rebel Confederacy, but it took a long time for the Union to fully mobilize these resources. The attack on Fort Sumter rallied the North to the defense of American nationalism. Historian Allan Nevins writes: The thunderclap of Sumter produced a startling crystallization of Northern sentiment ... Anger swept the land. From every side came news of mass meetings, speeches, resolutions, tenders of business support,
13260-450: The rest. Economic historians attribute the remainder of the cost of the war to inflation. Congress wrote an elaborate program of economic modernization that had the dual purpose of winning the war and permanently transforming the economy. In 1860 the Treasury was a small operation that funded the small-scale operations of the government through land sales and customs based on a low tariff. Peacetime revenues were trivial in comparison with
13390-425: The rifles, cannons, wagons, tents, telegraph sets, and the myriad of other special items the army needed. While business had been slow or depressed in spring 1861, because of war fears and Southern boycotts, by fall business was hiring again, offering young men jobs that were an alternative way to help win the war. Nonpartisanship was the rule in the first year, but by summer 1862, many Democrats had stopped supporting
13520-652: The rural slaveholding South. Additionally, the Union states had a manpower advantage of five to two at the start of the war. Year by year, the rebel Confederacy shrank and lost control of increasing quantities of resources and population. Meanwhile, the United States turned its growing potential advantage into a much stronger military force. However, much of the US strength had to be used to garrison former-Confederate areas, and to protect railroads and other vital points. The loyal states' great advantages in population and industry would prove to be vital long-term factors in its victory over
13650-498: The slave owners, as the guilty party in the war. Historians have overwhelmingly praised the "political genius" of Abraham Lincoln's performance as president. His first priority was military victory. This required that he master entirely new skills as a strategist and diplomat. He oversaw supplies, finances, manpower, the selection of generals, and the course of overall strategy. Working closely with state and local politicians, he rallied public opinion and (at Gettysburg ) articulated
13780-581: The statue of a Confederate soldier on top of the camp memorial was pushed off the arch and in the process had its head broken off. The vandals were never found. They stole the head of the Confederate statue but not the hat. The statue has been repaired under the auspices of the Dayton National Cemetery and was re-installed in May 2019. Miller, Robert Earnest, "War Within Walls: Camp Chase and
13910-467: The streets. Small-scale riots broke out in ethnic German and Irish districts, and in areas along the Ohio River with many Copperheads. Holmes County, Ohio was an isolated parochial area dominated by Pennsylvania Dutch and some recent German immigrants. It was a Democratic stronghold and few men dared speak out in favor of conscription. Local politicians denounced Lincoln and Congress as despotic, seeing
14040-438: The surgeons prescribed coffee, whiskey, and quinine. Harsh weather, bad water, inadequate shelter in winter quarters, poor policing of camps, and dirty camp hospitals took their toll. This was a common scenario in wars from time immemorial, and conditions faced by the Confederate army were even worse. What was different in the Union was the emergence of skilled, well-funded medical organizers who took proactive action, especially in
14170-583: The territory in the French and Indian War (1754–1763) became part of the international Seven Years' War (1756–1763). During this period, the region routinely suffered turmoil, massacres and battles. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded the Ohio Country to the British Empire . Up until the American Revolution , Central Ohio had continuously been the home of numerous indigenous villages. A Mingo village
14300-446: The third-most populous U.S. state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas ). Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County ; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area , which encompasses ten counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2.139 million in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan area entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest metro area in
14430-650: The war effort, and volunteering fell off sharply in their strongholds. The calls for more and more soldiers continued, so states and localities responded by offering cash bonuses. By 1863, a draft law was in effect, but few men actually were drafted and served, since the law was designed to get them to volunteer or hire a substitute. Others hid away or left the country. With the Emancipation Proclamation taking effect in January 1863, localities could meet their draft quota by sponsoring regiments of ex-slaves organized in
14560-408: The war the Democrats carried the burden of having opposed the martyred Lincoln, who was viewed by many as the salvation of the Union and the destroyer of slavery. The Copperheads were a large faction of northern Democrats who opposed the war, demanding an immediate peace settlement. They said they wanted to restore "the Union as it was" (that is, with the South and with slavery) but they realized that
14690-400: The war when men who had seldom been far from home were brought together for training with thousands of strangers. First came epidemics of the childhood diseases of chicken pox , mumps , whooping cough , and especially, measles . Operations in the South meant a dangerous and new disease environment, bringing diarrhea , dysentery , typhoid fever , and malaria . There were no antibiotics, so
14820-414: The war. She argued that women needed more education and job opportunities to help them fulfill their role of serving others. The Sanitary Commission collected enormous amounts of statistical data, and opened up the problems of storing information for fast access and mechanically searching for data patterns. The pioneer was John Shaw Billings (1838–1913). A senior surgeon in the war, Billings built two of
14950-626: The whole, the national, state, and local governments handled the avalanche of paperwork effectively. Skills developed in insurance and financial companies formed the basis of systematic forms, copies, summaries, and filing systems used to make sense of masses of human data. The leader in this effort, John Shaw Billings , later developed a system of mechanically storing, sorting, and counting numerical information using punch cards . Nevertheless, old-fashioned methodology had to be recognized and overcome. An illustrative case study came in New Hampshire, where
15080-405: The woman walking through the cemetery, trying to read the carved names on the marked grave markers. She was seen quite often for several years, before disappearing completely. Aside from the two-acre Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, the land that formerly housed Camp Chase has been redeveloped as a residential and commercial area known as Westgate . A corner stone to the camp is located in front of
15210-464: The word "Union" with "Federal Government" or "U.S. Government". The Army University Press stated this was "more historically accurate" as "the term 'Union' always referred to all the states together." Unlike the Confederacy, the loyal areas of the United States had a relatively large industrialized and urbanized area in the Northeast, and more advanced commercial, transportation and financial systems than
15340-865: The world's most important libraries, Library of the Surgeon General's Office (now the National Library of Medicine ) and the New York Public Library ; he also figured out how to mechanically analyze data by turning it into numbers and punching onto the computer punch card, later developed by his student Herman Hollerith . Hollerith's company became International Business Machines (IBM) in 1911. Both sides operated prison camps; they handled about 400,000 captives, but many other prisoners were quickly released and never sent to camps. The Record and Pension Office in 1901 counted 211,000 Northerners who were captured. In 1861–63 most were immediately paroled; after
15470-421: Was 33.3. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. According to the U.S. Census American Community Survey , for the period 2016-2020 the estimated median annual income for a household in the city was $ 61,727, and the median income for a family was $ 76,383. About 18.1% of the population were living below the poverty line , including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. About 67.2% of
15600-478: Was a new formation comprising mostly state units, together with units from the regular U.S. Army . Keeping the southern border states in the Union was considered essential to its winning the war. The Northeast and Midwest provided the industrial resources for a mechanized war producing large quantities of munitions and supplies and financing the war. They provided soldiers, food, horses, financial support, and training camps. Army hospitals were also set up across
15730-566: Was called up for only 90 days, then the soldiers went home or reenlisted. Later waves enlisted for three years. The new recruits spent their time drilling in company and regiment formations. The combat in the first year, though strategically important, involved relatively small forces and few casualties. Sickness was a much more serious cause of hospitalization or death. In the first few months, men wore low quality uniforms made of "shoddy" material, but by fall, sturdy wool uniforms—in blue—were standard. The nation's factories were converted to produce
15860-478: Was claimed by 67 eligible men. The Ohio Statehouse sits on land once contained in the Refugee Tract. After Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, political infighting among prominent Ohio leaders led to the state capital moving from Chillicothe to Zanesville and back again. Desiring to settle on a location, the state legislature considered Franklinton , Dublin , Worthington and Delaware before compromising on
15990-413: Was formed, with expectations that their experience would lead to rapid promotions. The problem with volunteering, however, was its serious lack of planning, leadership, and organization at the highest levels. Washington called on the states for troops, and every northern governor set about raising and equipping regiments, and sent the bills to the War Department. The men could elect the junior officers, while
16120-673: Was founded at the old City Hall . In 1894, James Thurber , who would go on to an illustrious literary career in Paris and New York City, was born in the city. Today, Ohio State's theater department has a performance center named in his honor, and his childhood home, the Thurber House , is located in the Discovery District and is on the National Register of Historic Places . Columbus earned one of its nicknames, "The Arch City," because of
16250-575: Was issued and ratified in the name not of the states, but of "We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union ..." Union , for the United States of America, is then repeated in such clauses as the Admission to the Union clause in Article IV, Section 3. Even before the Civil War began the phrase "preserve the Union" was commonplace, and a "union of states" had been used to refer to
16380-686: Was located at the forks of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, with Shawnee villages to the south and Wyandot and Delaware villages to the north. Colonial militiamen burned down the Mingo village in 1774 during a raid. After the American Revolution, the Virginia Military District became part of the Ohio Country as a territory of Virginia. Colonists from the East Coast moved in, but rather than finding an empty frontier , they encountered people of
16510-502: Was located in what is now the Hilltop neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio . Camp Chase is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Camp Chase was an American Civil War training and prison camp established in May 1861, on land leased by the U.S. Government . It replaced the much smaller Camp Jackson which was established by Ohio Governor William Dennison Jr as a place for Ohio's union volunteers to meet. It originally operated from
16640-572: Was notable in some larger cities, especially in parts of New York City , with its massive anti-draft riots of July 1863 and in some remote districts such as the Coal Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania . In the context of the American Civil War , the Union, or the United States, is sometimes referred to as "the North", both then and now, as opposed to the Confederacy, which was often called "the South". The Union (the United States) never recognized
16770-413: Was putting too much political power in the hands of Eastern financiers and industrialists. They warned that the abolition of slavery would bring a flood of freed blacks into the labor market of the North. Republicans responded with charges of defeatism. They indicted Copperheads for criminal conspiracies to free Confederate prisoners of war and played on the spirit of nationalism and the growing hatred of
16900-498: Was subsequently shown to be false by security researcher David Leroy Ross (who goes by the alias Connor Goodwolf), who revealed that the files were intact and contained data including names from domestic violence cases and Social Security numbers of crime victims. Columbus then sued Ross for alleged criminal acts, negligence, and civil conversion, as well as taking out a restraining order against Ross, both of which actions were later defended by City Attorney Zach Klein. In response,
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