Description

In 1904, over 7,000 soldiers of the Ohio National Guard and the United States Regular Army assembled in Athens County, Ohio, to participate in the first large-scale military maneuvers held by the state. During an era of change in the National Guard across the country, the maneuvers garnered great interest. This interest quickly turned to outrage after the death of an Ohio Guardsmen at the hands of a mob of armed US Regulars. In The Athens Maneuvers, Moore discusses the Athens County maneuvers as well as the unfortunate death of the Guardsman and examines the effects of the event on the fragile relationship between the National Guard and the US Army. “This is a well-researched and clearly presented study of the Ohio National Guard in the “Battle of Athens” and the maneuvers in 1904 that resulted in a riot and in the fatal shooting of a Guardsman. Moore draws on local events to demonstrate how the states developed a more effective National Guard prior to the First World War. The narrative of the maneuvers, resulting riot, and murder itself is well crafted. This is a work of local history that should appeal to readers interested in the history of Athens, Ohio, the American militia and guard tradition, and in US military history in general.” –Dr. Ingo Trauschweizer, author of The Cold War US Army: Building Deterrence for Limited War. “Set against the national movement to modernize America’s outmoded militia system a decade before the Great War, Moore successfully tells the story of an almost forgotten episode in Ohio’s past: the 1904 jointly-conducted Regular Army/Ohio National guard maneuvers. When these rival forces collided, a tragic murder on an Athens street resulted. Thoughtfully written and thoroughly researched, the depth of primary sources should delight historians, while pleasing general readers.” –Larry Strayer, Military Historian. Published by the Athens County Historical Society and Museum.

160 pages, 27 Illustrations.

Soft cover.

Fully indexed.