View source for Battle of Fort Fizzle

{{short description|1863 draft riot in Ohio}}
{{about|the Civil War battle in Ohio|the fort in Montana|Fort Fizzle (Montana)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Fort Fizzle
| width = 
| partof = [[American Civil War]]
| image = File:Fort Fizzle Marker - panoramio.jpg
| caption = State of Ohio Historical Marker for the event
| date = June 17, 1863
| place = [[Glenmont, Ohio|Glenmont]], [[Holmes County, Ohio]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|40|31|12.23|N|82|5|50.55|W}}
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| map_marksize = 
| map_caption = Location of Glenmont, OH
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The "'''Battle of Fort Fizzle'''" (also called the '''Holmes County Draft Riots''' and the '''Holmes County Rebellion''') was a skirmish fought on June 17, 1863,<ref>[http://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com/entry.php?rec=227 "Battle of Fort Fizzle," Ohio Civil War Central]</ref> which took place during the [[American Civil War]] in the village of [[Glenmont, Ohio|Glenmont]] (then known as Napoleon) in [[Holmes County, Ohio]], between [[Union Army|Union]] troops and local [[draft resister]]s opposed to the [[Conscription Act of 1863]].

Adopted by [[United States Congress|Congress]] on March 13, 1863, the Conscription Act authorized [[President of the United States|President]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] to [[conscription|draft]] men into military service in states that did not meet their volunteer [[Quota Share|quota]]s. When Federal officials tried to enforce the act in Holmes County in June, about 900 to 1,000 locals built a makeshift fort, equipped with four [[artillery]] pieces, to prevent the act's enforcement. After a brief encounter in which two resisters were wounded, Ohio Governor [[David Tod]] ordered a force of nearly 420 Union troops, including the [[3rd Ohio Infantry]], to disperse the resisters, giving the place the name "Fort Fizzle" because the rebellion had "fizzled out". The episode ended when the last four resisters who had assaulted a Federal draft official turned themselves in.<ref>[http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=474 Ohio History Central]</ref>

Forty-three men from the Napoleon area were indicted for assaulting an officer and preventing the execution of law (US Military Conscription Act of 1863). The armed men involved in the prisoner rescue were indicted for treason. An additional 37 men were indicted for their involvement in activities in other parts of Holmes County, and in nearby [[Knox County, Ohio|Knox]] and [[Coshocton County, Ohio|Coshocton]] counties.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.remarkableohio.org/index.cfm?action=search_markers.marker_details&marker_id=993 |title=Ohio Historical Marker #3-38 |access-date=2006-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222163724/http://www.remarkableohio.org/index.cfm?action=search_markers.marker_details&marker_id=993 |archive-date=2015-12-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Of the 80 men involved in these activities, the cases of just two men went to trial. Only one man, Laurant Blanchat (also known as Blanchard) was found guilty. Sentenced to six months at hard labor at the [[Ohio Penitentiary]], Blanchat was pardoned by President Lincoln prior to the completion of the sentence. The prosecution of every other case was eventually dropped.

== Fort Fizzle, Ohio ==
In 2009, the landmark Fort Fizzle became a census designated town with the same zip code as [[Glenmont, Ohio]].

==See also==
* [[List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
*[http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=474 Ohio History Central Online Encyclopedia: Battle of Fort Fizzle]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20151222163724/http://www.remarkableohio.org/index.cfm?action=search_markers.marker_details&marker_id=993 Ohio Historical Marker #3-38: Holmes County Draft Riots]
*Drouhard, Patrick J., ''It Don't Look Right For the Times: The Factual History of the Holmes County Rebellion'', 2005.

{{Ohio in the Civil War}}
{{Riots in the United States (1607–1865)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Fizzle}}
[[Category:1862 riots]]
[[Category:1862 in Ohio]]
[[Category:1862 in the United States]]
[[Category:Riots and civil unrest during the American Civil War|Fort Fizzle]]
[[Category:Conscription in the United States]]
[[Category:Ohio in the American Civil War|Fort Fizzle]]
[[Category:Holmes County, Ohio]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in Ohio]]