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Town Hard Hit by Civil War
Newcomerstown News,
August 16, 1964
The start of the Civil War and the call to arms fell especially
hard on little Newcomerstown, which by 1860 had a population of
577. At first no company was mustered in the town but many
volunteered at once and joined units in nearby towns. In the
fall of 1861 Camp Meigs was established on Dover fairgrounds.
Most of the enlisted troops of the country received early
training there, which consisted of a few weeks of drilling and
then off to the battle fronts.
The 51st Regiment was organized at Fort Meigs and Company C of
that regiment was made up of Newcomerstown men. Trainloads of
troops passed through Newcomerstown, the men sitting or standing
in open flat cars.
The telegraph was used only for most important messages and the
folks at home could only wait for newspapers and "hearsay."
Often weeks went by before they learned of the death or wounding
of a loved one. As very few newspapers reached town, it was the
custom for some good reader to take the Cincinnati Enquirer as
soon as it arrived, mount a box at what is now Baltimore corner,
and read aloud the war news to the crowd which assembled daily
for this event. Many touching scenes were enacted as families
learned for the first time of the death of a father, son, or
brother. |
