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Near Milford in Hamilton County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

Camp Dennison

"The Camp Must Be Held!"

— John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail —

 
 
Camp Denison Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 9, 2017
1. Camp Denison Marker
Inscription. On Sunday afternoon, July 12, 1863, Camp Dennison's commandant, Lieutenant Colonel George W. Neff, learned of Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's approach from Indiana with more than 2,000 Confederate cavalrymen. Neff had about 600 Union soldiers — most either new recruits or convalescents — and 200 of these were unarmed. Despite these odds, Neff prepared to defend his strategically important camp.

On Monday, Neff deployed scouts and posted guards at Little Miami River bridges from Milford to Fort Ancient. He ordered Captain Joseph L. Proctor and 50 men to dig rifle pits overlooking the vital crossroads of Kugler Mill,Loveland and present-day Camargo roads. Proctor's men felled trees to block the crossroads and fortify their rifle pits. By dawn on Tuesday, 350 convalescent soldiers and militia manned the earthworks. Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox, the District of Ohio commander, telegraphed Neff: "The camp must be held!"

About 6 am on July 14, the Confederates appeared on Kugler Mill Road and were sent reeling by a Union volley. Morgan's ran soldiers dismounted and began a brisk firefight with Proctor's troops. Morgan directed two howitzers of Byrne's Battery to shell Proctor's position for nearly thirty minutes. The Union lines held firm. Unable to afford a time-consuming engagement, Morgan
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ordered a retreat to Montgomery.

Camp Denison
At the request of Ohio Governor William Dennison, Major General George B. McClellan established Camp Dennison on April 27, 1861, as a place to muster, train, and discharge volunteer soldiers. Between 75,000 and 100,000 Union soldiers passed through the camp on their way to and from the battlefront. A military hospital for Union soldiers and Confederate POWs was added in April 1862. Boasting 2,300 beds, it was among the North's largest such hospitals.

[Photo caption]
Top left map: Camp Dennison encompassed more than 700 acres by July 1863. It was dismantled between November 1865 and June 1866. Only these sites remain:
1) reservoir; (2) guardhouse; (3) "tents and shanties" campground of 1861,;
(4) Waldschmidt House (temporary headquarters): (5) camp cemetery
(6) post headquarters; and (7) camp road.
Top right: Camp Dennison, June 1861
A view looking northwest from the intersection of Galbraith (Kugler Mil) Road and SR 126 (Glendale-Milford Road).


Text: David L. Mowery
Illustration: Bev Kirk

 
Erected 2013 by the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Ohio History Connection, and the Ohio Civil War Trail Commission. (Marker Number 8.)
 
Topics and series.
View north towards the Camp Dennison Civil War Museum on OH-126. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 9, 2017
2. View north towards the Camp Dennison Civil War Museum on OH-126.
This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & ViaductsWar, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail in Ohio series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 12, 1863.
 
Location. 39° 11.365′ N, 84° 17.522′ W. Marker is near Milford, Ohio, in Hamilton County. Marker is on Kugler Mill Road west of Glendale-Milford Road (Ohio Route 126), on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7270 Glendale Milford Rd, Camp Dennison OH 45111, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Dr. Alfred Buckingham (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Camp Dennison (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Camp Dennison (a few steps from this marker); Camp Dennison Civil War Museum (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Richard Michael Weaver (approx. 0.3 miles away); Waldschmidt Cemetery (approx. 0.4 miles away); First Methodist Church (approx. 0.9 miles away); Promont (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Milford.
 
The view towards the marker on Kugler Mill Road. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 9, 2017
3. The view towards the marker on Kugler Mill Road.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 26, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 12, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 709 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on September 12, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

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Mar. 29, 2024