Side A: With news of hostilities at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Ripley men formed one of Ohio’s first military units and established Camp Ripley on what was the 12-acre Ripley Fairgrounds. Chosen as Captain was West Point graduate Jacob Ammen. His unit would be a saving force for Ulysses S. Grant’s troops at Pittsburg Landing raising him to the rank of Brigadier General. Soon barns and buildings became military quarters, and tents dotted the landscape from William Street to Maplewood Cemetery. Camp Ripley, also known as Camp Ammen, served as a regional mustering point and military drilling location. Ripley gained distinction as being the only town in the United States to have soldier’s organizations fighting from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.
Side B: Soldiers who mustered and trained here served in these units: 7th Regiment, Company E, Ohio Volunteer Cavalry; First Regiment, Company E, Battery F, Ohio Light Artillery;12th Regiment, Company H, Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI); 34th Regiment, Company B, OVI; 70th Regiment, Company A, OVI; 188th Regiment, Company K, OVI;10th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (USA); 100th Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry; 59th Regiment, OVI; 89th Regiment, OVI; 91st Regiment, OVI; 16th Regiment, Kentucky Infantry (USA); U.S. Navy, River Gunboat Service.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.