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Headed “Special requisition for blanks for use of Ohio Volunteers U.S.A. stationed at Camp Jackson,” the document requests hundreds of official morning-report forms needed for the administration of the newly organized Ohio troops:
“400 Company Morning Reports
100 Consolidated Morning Regimental Reports
40 Morning Brigade Reports”
Rosecrans certifies that the requested forms are necessary and signs as:
“W. S. Rosecrans
Col. 23d O.V.S. Army Comdg.”
At the bottom, he signs a second time to acknowledge receipt of the forms from Captain John H. Dickerson, assistant quartermaster, identifying himself as:
“W. S. Rosecrans
Col. Comdg U.S. Army
at Camp Jackson”
The reverse bears a further signed notation by Captain Dickerson stating that the requested forms were not included among those authorized by Army regulations.
The document dates from one of the most consequential moments in Rosecrans’s career. He had only recently entered Civil War service and was serving as colonel of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a regiment that would include future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley. Rosecrans helped reorganize Camp Jackson, subsequently renamed Camp Chase, before participating in the western Virginia operations that produced some of the Union’s earliest victories.
Rosecrans later rose to command the Army of the Cumberland and became one of the most prominent Union commanders of the war, remembered particularly for the battles of Stones River and Chickamauga and the nearly bloodless Tullahoma Campaign.
A highly desirable early-war Rosecrans document, distinguished by two strong signatures, his uncommon colonel’s rank, his command of the historic 23rd Ohio and its direct association with the organization of Ohio’s first Union forces.
Date: June 13, 1861
Place: Camp Jackson, Columbus, Ohio
Signatures: William S. Rosecrans, twice; John H. Dickerson, once
Format: Manuscript document on blue-lined paper, docketed on reverse
Condition: Original horizontal and vertical folds, light toning and minor edge wear, with a short separation or weakness along one fold at the left edge. Ink remains dark and legible; both Rosecrans signatures are clear. Overall very good condition for an actively handled Civil War military document.
