After the attack on Fort Sumter, and the call from Abraham Lincoln, hundreds of Ohio men volunteered to fight for the Union army. They volunteered in Cleveland,Ohio between the days of April 18 to May 4th, then the men of Ohio were moved to be trained at and then garrison Camp Dennison early June 1861. Come June 22, the men had been taught the basics and combat drills and were reported to have excellent dicipline and were well at follwing orders. Thousands of men formed several Infantries but the 8th OVI was the most notable. The 8th OVI first moved out to the Eastern front under the command of George B.McClellan, engaging with small pockets of resistance in some states all throughout their tour around the Appalachian mountains. However on the 1st of March, 1862 at Shenedoah valley in Winchester, Virginia was when they finally had a good fight. Command of the 8th OVI was moved to the command of Brigadier General Nathan Kimball. At the battle the 8th OVI moved in on, and forced one of General Jackson's Infantries to retreat. After the battle it was reported that the 8th OVI had lost 25% of their fighting force. loosing 65 men and officers either as wounded or dead. In September, command of the 8th OVI was still under General Kimball, and the 8th OVI made it's most remarkable feat of strength and will power as well as strategy and cleverness. The 8th OVI lead by an NCO charged to take a hill, after enduring minor casualties they held the hill from attacking Confederate forces loosing a good amount of men and also having to scavenge weapons from the field of battle. With 35% casualties they charged down the hill into bloody lane where they and several other regiments drove back Confederate forces. In the end the 8th OVI lost almost 50% of thier fighting force, a total amount of 165 men wounded or dead that served in the 8th OVI. During the battle of Fredricksburg still under the command of General Kimball the 8th OVI was assigned as a skirmish Infantry due to the losses and remaining men and were tasked with quickly taking the flank due to their ferocity shown at Antietam. The 8th OVI ended up taking a cluster of buildings just a little on the right flank of the Confederate forces, and had tried to cover fire the main Force that tried to assault Marye's heights that was futile. The CO, NCO, and even the Infantry of the 8th OVI saw the huge flaw the main commanding officer, Ambrose Burnside, when they saw the heavy casualties sustained. The 8th OVI exhuasted their ammunition and then made a retreat under heavy fire of the enemy. They made a good effort to try and support the retreating Infantry and did atleast save 1/3rd of 2 infantries. At the cost was a small amount of soldiers. The 8th OVI then encamped itself now under the command of Lt.Colonel Franklin Sawyer and with him and most of the 2nd corps, served as the reserve in the Chancellorville Campaign. They then were taken under command of Joseph Hooker before serving under the command of General George G.Meade, loosing a few men to exhaustion and heat, though they did not die they surely were put up in the hospital. On the first day they reached Gettysburg, the 8th OVI as well as many other OVI regiments took up a defensive position on Cemetary Hill. On the 2nd day the 8th OVI moved out and took a defensive on Emmitsburg road, and combated with a section of the Mississippi also commonly known as the "43rd Tigers". After the first day and a restless night, the 8th OVI dueled it out with some Virginia Skirmishers and ended up having to face a force several times their own size. While the OVI companies defending Cemetary Hill took on the brunt of the attack, the 8th OVI pushed their flank, firing and advancing, bayoneting anyone who charged them, as well as gunning down the sides. The combined attack of Flank and firing from an entrenched postion forced the 12,000 man confederate force down to between 8,000 and 9,000. Brockenbrough saw he was loosing too many men compared the OVI and retreated. Over 300 Confederate soldiers were taking as POW's (Prisoner of war) of the battle on the Ohio forces position. The 8th OVI then followed the main fighting force to run down the retreating Confederate forces. This eventually led them to the battle of the Wilderness and Cold Harbor. The 8th OVI celebrated the victory but soon after held a ceremony for the 8th OVI soldiers who fell away form home, they constructed a monument in Cleveland that was re-done and still stands today.