A Week with the Niners:
Week One
A day-by-day account of Fort Sumter's impact on Cincinnati Germans
Day One
April 12, 1861
Take a moment out of your day to really reflect on what life would have been like for a German immigrant living in Cincinnati on the eve of what would become a four year desperate struggle between North and South.
Imagine that you are a resident in the cramped Cincinnati neighborhood known as “Over-the-Rhine”. You were born in Prussia, Baden, or any number of the various ethnic German states. If you were a male, you may have left to avoid being drafted into military service. Perhaps you had learned a trade and turned to the United States as an opportunity for a better life. You or your family members may even have been involved in some of the uprisings across Europe in 1848 and 1849. Whatever your background in Europe, that was in the past, and you put your efforts into making a go of it in America.
You likely settled on Cincinnati because it already had a large German population - perhaps some of your friends or acquaintances even lived there. After a weeks-long trek across the Atlantic on a steamer, you pass through New Orleans and up the Mississippi, or down the Miami Erie canal from the East Coast, where you finally arrived in Cincinnati.
Surprised how large and bustling the city was compared to most others you had seen in the US, you rented a room with your family in a tenement in Over-the-Rhine, hoping to eventually make enough money to buy one of the cheap lots just north of town and have a place of your own.
But something still tugged at you from your homeland. The customs of this, your new home, seemed a little strange, so the German social organizations throughout the city provided a sort of anchor back to what was familiar to you. Maybe you attended meetings for a local Sängerchor, workers' union, or Turner club.
One April morning, picking up one of the several German language newspapers, you look over the day's news. Talk of the recent secession is widely passed over in favor of local news, so much so that you might have missed the single line on the last page of the paper:
“Charleston, 11th April. There is a rumor that General Beauregard has demanded the evacuation of Fort Sumter.”
Day Two
April 13, 1861
In the back pages of the Cincinnati German language newspaper the Volksfreund, we find account after account of the opening of hostilities. Batteries opened fire around 4am. Two cannon destroyed. Anderson refused to surrender. Three ships in sight, hopefully to support the fort.
If there was any doubt how the Germans would respond, the Volksfreund's editing staff added the following note:
“Satisfaction through force of arms and then atonement through the power of persuasion is our motto; one which we support under all circumstances in the same manner as required by justice and humanity.”
Day Three
April 14, 1861
The Sunday edition of the Volksfreund was brief and to the point, indicating “Fort Sumter had surrendered”, and “no one injured.”
It would be a mistake to assume Cincinnatians had been entirely at rest that day, however. Already there was a meeting being held Sunday evening at the Catholic Institute of Cincinnati (pictured) to discuss the prospects of war. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Catholic Institute was right next door to the Volksfreund offices...and Volksfreund publisher Joseph A. Hemann also just so happened to be the President of the Catholic Institute Board of Directors.
Day Four
April 15, 1861
On the third day after news of the firing on Fort Sumter reached Cincinnati, President Lincoln’s call went out for 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion. This was accompanied by a mobilization of 6,000 Ohio militia and 35,000 reserves ordered by Adjutant General Henry B. Carrington.
The meeting held the previous evening at the Catholic Institute of Cincinnati was reported by the Volksfreund:
“Magnificent large-scale gathering of Cincinnati citizens...more than five thousand patriots in attendance...with no distinction for party.”
A fiery, patriotic speech was given by the president of the assembly, after which members of the committee gave speeches in turn. The committee, including the likes of R. B. Hayes and Judge Stallo, a jurist with more political connections in Cincinnati than any other German-American, set forth a resolution that those assembled would seek to quickly reinforce and support the government against the states in rebellion.
For his part, Judge Stallo is noted at this assembly as having said that “all his fellow German countrymen were inspired by the greatest patriotism, and would defend their adopted fatherland and government with German loyalty and strength,” a pledge which was met with thunderous applause.
Day Five
April 16, 1861
By this time newspapers throughout the northern states were reporting heavily on efforts to raise units for the war effort. One of the Democratic Volksfreund's competitors, another German language paper called the Republikaner, informed its readers that former Prussian officer and 1848 revolutionary was raising his own company.
At the same time, it was stated in the Ninth Ohio's regimental history, Die Neuner, that prominent lawyer and founding member of the Cincinnati Turners, "accidentally" ran into one Robert Latimer McCook, a fellow lawyer with many political connections in both the German and American communities.
Tafel states that it was McCook's idea to organize a German regiment, but as someone who was involved in every level of German Cincinnati society, as well as being Judge Stallo's law partner, it is very likely that this discussion occurred much sooner than stated, and quite possible it was Tafel himself who put the idea in McCook's head.
A post was made calling for a meeting at the Turner Hall, the epicenter of German culture in Cincinnati at the time, stating:
“We, the undersigned adoptive citizens of Cincinnati hereby call an assembly in order to take the necessary steps for the formation of an independent German regiment this evening at 8pm at Turner Hall. Mr. Stallo and several other men will speak to the assembly. Currently commissioned officers, as well as soldiers from the free German companies, are especially invited to attend the assembly in full in order to demonstrate how necessary and how important it is to have an independent regiment under its own command.”
Day Six
April 17, 1861
What took place at the meeting at Turner Hall?
Knowing that this all-German regiment would be much more likely to be accepted into service with proper funding, first a committee was formed to secure capital to support the raising of the regiment. The committee consisted of 20 members, notable representatives with all sorts of backgrounds, newspaper editors, a pair of brewers, attorneys and more.
The next step was determining recruiting stations. The committee was certain to choose locations throughout Over-the-Rhine, but in a true testament to German-American character, the recruiting stations consisted of a heavy mix of breweries, biergartens and coffee houses (see photo).
When it came time to decide who would command this intrepid regiment, things did not go as the crowd expected. The first name proposed was August Moor, and he was met with chants of “Moor! Moor!”. Moor was a German-American who had immigrated decades earlier, and had served in the Mexican War. His experience in the Mexican War, however, was what caused him to call the entire idea into question. He was of the opinion that they had tried - and failed - to field all-German regiments in that war...it would be impossible to do so without winning over the opinion of those who would oppose it. “If one thousand men are not enlisted by tomorrow night, the German regiment is a chimera! (i.e., something that would never happen - a pipe dream).
Gustav Tafel rose to speak. His words, as one of the founding members of the Cincinnati Turners, held massive weight within the German-American community. So it came as something of a shock when he proposed Robert Latimer McCook as the prospective colonel of the new regiment, explaining to the assembly that his connections in Columbus and Washington would be extremely beneficial to the ability of the regiment to retain its German character.
And who stepped forward to speak to this, but none other than McCook himself, the grandson of a Scots-Irish immigrant, the second born in a powerful family with national recognition...who just-so-happened to be at the meeting at Turner Hall.
After McCook gave a fiery oratory both supporting the idea and giving details of why and how, the proposal was moved and adopted by the committee. The city of Cincinnati would raise an all-German regiment, with Robert Latimer McCook as its commander. All that was left was to post the lists and collect recruits. But would the Germans answer the call?
Day Seven
April 18, 1861
And just like that, within 24 hours, the rosters of the Ninth Ohio were full. Word spread incredibly quickly, as companies were raised not just from Over-the-Rhine, but across the river in Covington and Newport, KY, even from as far away as Indianapolis and Louisville. The next day, a group of Hamilton Turners under the leadership of Wilhelm Margedant would arrive to complete the regiment. In fact, the recruiting campaign was so successful that it was estimated between 1200 and 2000 men showed up to enlist in the 1000 man regiment!
This glut of recruits was a great boon for the regiment, as they conducted strenuous physical examinations, which allowed them to keep only the most fit of the lot. That was no trouble for the 1st Company, comprised almost entirely of Turners, and it was said that they were supple as antelopes, their chests sounding as anvils when struck by the army surgeon.
By evening, April 18th, 1861, the Ninth Ohio was a fait accompli - an established fact. In the initial mustering of the regiment, it had been decided to appoint each company with a captain who had already seen service, whether in local militias here in the United States, or more often service in one of several Germanic nations. The regiment also intended - as a precondition of their enlistment - to hold to the Prussian manner of command.
At full strength with officers having been selected, the Ninth Ohio, the 1st German Regiment, was ready to be accepted into service. They set to drill and exercise in the interim as they awaited orders to move to their first encampment.