View source for 3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment

{{Infobox Military Unit
|unit_name=3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment
|image=
|image_size=
|caption=
|country= {{flag|United States|1863}}
|allegiance= [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]
|type=[[Infantry]]
|branch=[[Union Army|Volunteer Army]]
|dates=1861–64
|specialization=
|command_structure=
|size=~1,000 soldiers at outset of the war
|current_commander=
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|nickname=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles={{plainlist|
* [[Battle of Rich Mountain]]
* [[Battle of Cheat Mountain]]
* [[Tullahoma Campaign]]
* [[Battle of Perryville]]
* [[Battle of Stones River]]
* [[Streight's Raid]]
* [[Morgan's Raid]]}}
|notable_commanders=[[John Beatty (Ohio banker)|John Beatty]], [[J. Warren Keifer]]
|anniversaries=
}}{{Military unit sidebar
 |title=Ohio  U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiments 1861-1865
 |previous=[[2nd Ohio Infantry Regiment]]
 |next=[[4th Ohio Infantry Regiment]]
}}
The '''3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment''' (or '''3rd OVI''') was an [[infantry]] [[regiment]] in the [[Union Army]] during the [[American Civil War]]. It served in several important campaigns in the [[Western Theater of the American Civil War|Western Theater]] in [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], and [[Alabama]].

==Three-months regiment==
With the outbreak of the Civil War, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] called for 75,000 volunteers to help put down the rebellion. Ohioans responded well, and several new regiments were enrolled for a term of three months, thought to be long enough to end the war. The 3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Jackson in [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]] on April 25, 1861, under Colonel Isaac Morrow, Lieutenant Colonel [[John Beatty (Ohio banker)|John Beatty]], and Major [[J. Warren Keifer]]. The regiment moved to newly constructed [[Camp Dennison]] near [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]] on April 28, and served on garrison duty there until June 12, at which time many of the men joined the newly reorganized three-years regiment with the same numerical designation. Those three months men who elected not to join the three-years regiment were mustered out on July 24.

==Three-years regiment==
===Early service===
The three-years 3rd Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Dennison on June 12, 1861. After a few days of training and drilling, it moved to [[Grafton, West Virginia|Grafton, Virginia]] (now [[West Virginia]]) and then on to [[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg]] on June 20–25, where it was attached to the 1st Brigade, Army of Occupation, West Virginia, until September. The regiment saw action in the West Virginia Campaign, capturing the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]]-held town of [[Beverly, West Virginia|Beverly]] on July 12. They remained on duty in western Virginia through the balance of the year, fighting in several small skirmishes and battles, including the battles of [[Battle of Rich Mountain|Rich Mountain]] and [[Battle of Cheat Mountain|Cheat Mountain]].

In October, the 3rd Ohio Infantry was shipped to [[Louisville, Kentucky]], and served for the rest of the war in the [[Western Theater of the American Civil War|Western Theater]]. After wintering near [[Elizabethtown, Kentucky]], the regiment, then in the army of [[Ormsby Mitchel]], was part of the general advance on [[Confederate States Army|Confederate-held]] [[Nashville, Tennessee]], in February 1862. After occupying the city, the 9th moved toward [[Murfreesboro, Tennessee]] and assisted in capturing the city of [[Huntsville, Alabama]], on April 11. The 3rd Ohio remained in Alabama until late August when it was part of the Union forces that pursued [[Braxton Bragg]]'s Confederate army during the [[Kentucky Campaign]].

On October 8, 1862, the 3rd Ohio Infantry was heavily involved at the [[Battle of Perryville]]. Two weeks later, it marched back to Murfreesboro and remained there through the winter, participating in the [[Battle of Stones River]] at year's end.

In April 1863, the regiment was part of [[Streight's Raid]] to [[Rome, Georgia]] from April 26 until May 3. It was involved in fights at Day's Gap, Sand Mountain, and Crooked Creek and Hog Mountain. Much of the regiment was captured on May 3 near Rome and taken as [[prisoners of war]]. The officers and men were sent to [[Belle Isle (Richmond, Virginia)|Belle Isle]] and [[Libby Prison]]. The captives were exchanged later that month and sent northward to [[Camp Chase]] in [[Columbus, Ohio]], to reorganize.<ref>[http://www.ohiocivilwar.com/cw3.html Stevens, 3rd OVI] Retrieved 2008-10-10.</ref>

In June, the regiment helped quell the [[Holmes County Rebellion]], and a month later was involved in the pursuit of [[Morgan's Raid]]ers. On August 1, the regiment was transported to Nashville and then on to [[Bridgeport, Alabama]], where it was on guard duty until October. Then, it was part of the Union expedition against Confederates under [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]]. On November 27, the regiment was sent to the rear lines to perform garrison duty at [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], until June 1864. It was then ordered back to Camp Dennison on June 9, where it mustered out June 23, 1864.

During its term of service, the 3rd Ohio Infantry lost 4 officers and 87 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and 3 officers and 78 enlisted men by disease, for a total of 172 fatalities.<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm CWSS]  Retrieved 2008-10-10.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ohio in the Civil War]]
* [[148th Infantry Regiment (United States)]]

==References==
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===Citations===
{{Reflist|60em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|60em}}
* Baumgartner, Richard A., ''Buckeye Blood: Ohio at Gettysburg.'' Huntington, West Virginia: Blue Acorn Press, 2003. {{ISBN|1-885033-29-X}}.
* {{cite book| last = Dyer| first = Frederick H| title = A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion| publisher = Dyer Pub. Co.| place = Des Moines, IA| year = 1908| asin = B01BUFJ76Q| url = https://archive.org/details/08697590.3359.emory.edu}}
* {{cite book | author =Ohio Roster Commission | title =1861 Three-Month Organizations — 1st–22nd Regiments, Etc.| publisher =The Werner Company| series =Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861–1865| volume =I| year =1893| location =Akron, OH| pages = 810 | hdl=2027/mdp.39015004198746 |oclc =633556}}
* {{cite book | author =Ohio Roster Commission  | title =1st–20th Regiments-Infantry | publisher =Wilstach Baldwin & Co| series =Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861–1865| volume =II| year =1886| location =Cincinnati, OH| pages = 840 | hdl=2027/mdp.39015004198787 |oclc =633556}}
* {{cite book | last =Reid| first =Whitelaw| author-link =Whitelaw Reid| title =The History of Her Regiments, and Other Military Organizations| publisher =Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin| series =Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers| volume =II| year =1868| location =Cincinnati, OH| pages =1002| url =https://archive.org/details/00444862.3383.emory.edu/page/n9/mode/2up| isbn =9781154801965| oclc =11632330 }}

===Further reading===
* Ohio Roster Commission. ''Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War on the Rebellion, 1861–1865, compiles under the direction of the Roster commission.'' 12 vol. Akron: Werner Co., 1886–95.{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ohiocivilwar.com/cw3.html Ohio in the Civil War: 3rd OVI by Larry Stevens]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070503001930/http://www.ohiohistory.org/etcetera/exhibits/fftc/relicroom/index.cfm?war=2 Ohio Historical Society: Battleflags and Relics]
* [https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm National Park Service: Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System]
* {{Internet Archive|06675282.3205.emory.edu|The citizen-soldier, or, Memoirs of a volunteer (1879)}}
* [https://civilwarindex.com/3rd-ohio-infantry-3-months.html Civil War Index: 3rd Ohio Infantry - 3 Months Service in the American Civil War]
* [https://civilwarindex.com/3rd-ohio-infantry-3-years.html Civil War Index: 3rd Ohio Infantry - 3 Years Service in the American Civil War]

{{portal bar|American Civil War|Ohio}}
{{American Civil War |expanded=CTCBS}}
{{Ohio in the Civil War}}
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[[Category:Units and formations of the Union army from Ohio]]
[[Category:The Lightning Mule Brigade]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1861]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1864]]
[[Category:1864 disestablishments in Ohio]]