Camp Hutchins-Warren's Civil War Training Camp / Camp Hutchins and the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry

Camp Hutchins-Warren's Civil War Training Camp, also, Camp Hutchins and the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. . Side A , Camp Hutchins-Warren's Civil War Training Camp , After the outbreak of the Civil War in the spring of 1861, the U.S. War Department commissioned Ohio Senator B.F. Wade of Jefferson and local Congressman John Hutchins of Warren to supervise the Union Army's recruiting service in Northeastern Ohio. Recruitment rolls were to be filled in summer so training could be conducted during the fall. The Oak Grove Fairgrounds in Warren, home of the Trumbull County Agricultural Society, was one of the sites selected for the training. This camp was named Camp Hutchins in Congressman Hutchins' honor. John Hutchins, an attorney by profession, had served as Trumbull County Clerk of Courts and had been assocaited with future Ohio governors David Tod (1862-1864) and Jacob Cox (1866-1868), in their law firms. An ardent anti-slavery man and Underground Railroad agent, Hutchins served in the U.S. Congress from 1859 to 1863. , , Side B , Camp Hutchins and the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry , With the official designation as the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, more than 800 men trained in Warren from October to December of 1861. Camp life was augmented by the generous support of the community which provided a Thanksgiving feast, a Christmas Eve ball in Warren's Gaskill House, and a New Year's picnic party. A beautiful stand of colors was provided by the "Mothers and Sisters of the Regiment". Its azure canopy was dotted with stars speaking of freedom and featured a full-fledged eagle, bearing in his powerful talons, arrows for the hearts of the invaders, and the generous olive branch for yielding foes. Warren sent off the 6th Cavalry with waving flags, campfires, thronged barracks, and soldiers at drill. Crowds gathered to wish the soldiers "God Speed" as they departed on their high and dangerous mission.