In August of 1904, six thousand members of the Ohio National Guard and nearly one thousand US Army Regulars assembled in Athens County for a week long encampment. They would spend a week maneuvering through the hills and hollows northwest of the City of Athens. However, early in the encampment, an armed altercation between Guardsmen and Regulars took place in uptown Athens that left several Guardsmen wounded and one dead. This presentation will look at the evolution of the National Guard, its relations with the Regular Army, and how it lead to the deadly clash in Athens during a time that should have been marked by cooperation and modernization.

Cyrus Moore is a local historian who specializes in Ohio history. He has done extensive research on Ohio’s military history, with a focus on the Ohio National Guard. Currently he serves as the Director of the Baltimore Community Museum, located in the canal town of Baltimore in Fairfield County.