There  was no more patriotic community in Union County than Jerome Township, and every call for troops from April 15th, 1861, to the close of the war, the quota was filled by volunteers and there was no draft made in the township.
     During the war, with scarcely an exception every boy who attended the Select School at New California enlisted in the army.
     They were intelligent farmer boys, lithe of limb and with strong healthy bodies.  Accustomed to hard work on the farm, and handling wild vicious horses, they were ideal cavalrymen.
     They were also trained marksmen with the rifle and were used to the chase in hunting wild turkeys and all kinds of small game.  This was the class of boys who enlisted in that community to fight for the preservation of the Union.
     The ancestors of many of these boys had fought for liberty during the War of the Revolution and had left their descendants a noble heritage in which they took an honest pride.
     It has been truly said that "It is the mass of character that determines human conditions and decides natural destiny; whoever leads a good life, sets a good example, establishes a well-conducted calling, who is frugal and industrious, makes the most precious contribution to his kind." 
     Thus had lived these hardy pioneers who came with the Bible, the ax and the rifle, praying, working and watching.  Though far removed in kinship, blood will tell for successive generations when opportunity comes, and that they sway and guide us after death of the ancestor is an accepted truth of history.
     The warm blood of patriotism and heroism which flowed in the veins of the men of '76 does not become cold by the lapse of years in the veins of their descendants.
     The spirit which led them to battle for liberty inspired their descendants to fight the battles of all our wars, in which they have taken so prominent a part, in the War of 1812, war with Mexico, the War of the Rebellion, and the Spanish-American War.
     Therefore, at the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion these boys, inspired by the deeds of their forefathers, of which they had heard through their parents from early childhood, were ready to respond to the call to arms before the smoke had cleared from the battered walls of Fort Sumter.
     On the evening of the 24th of April, 1861, in response to the call for the first 75,000 volunteers, a war meeting was held in the old Seceder Church at New California.  Patriotic speeches were made by many of the old citizens, and among others the Rev. B. D. Evans and Llewellyn Curry.  Volunteers were called for, and the first young man to enroll his name and offer his services was David O. Taylor, who soon after joined the Thirteenth Ohio Regiment, and after serving his country for three years with honor, was killed on the battlefield of Dallas, Georgia, on the 27th day of May, 1864.  About forty of the young men of the neighborhood volunteered that evening.
     Dr. James Cutler was a young practitioner, residing in the village, and as he had served two years in the Regular Army during the Mexican War, all eyes were turned toward him as a leader.  He was an intelligent and progressive young man with a good practice and in whom the fathers and mothers had great faith.
     They were, therefore, extremely anxious that he should enter the service and command the company in which their boys enlisted.  But he did not need any prompting, as he was enthusiastic and was among the first to sign the enlistment roll.  He was elected Captain and gave the company their first drill in the old Scott tactics.
     W. L. Curry was elected First Lieutenant and D. R. Cone Second Lieutenant.
     Among the first to volunteer was Walter Gowans, a patriotic Scotchman upward of 60 years of age, and in honor to him the company was named the "Gowans Guards."  The company began drilling immediately at New California.  The busy hands of mothers and sisters in a few days furnished uniforms, consisting of red jackets and black caps.  The young ladies of the neighborhood made a large silk flag, which was presented to the company. 
     The company soon numbered sixty volunteers, but before it was recruited tot he required number to enter the service the call was made for three years' troops, and many of the boys becoming impatient to be off for the seat of war, began to enlist in companies that were being recruited more rapidly in the larger towns.  The organization never entered the service, as their ranks were rapidly decimated by these enlistments in other organizations.  All but two or three of this company soon enlisted and seventeen of them died in the service.
     The following list of names composes about a complete roster of the company which has been submitted to other members of the company for verification and correction:   James Cutler, Captain; W. L. Curry, First Lieutenant; D. R. Cone, Second Lieutenant; J. D. Bain, David Bain, William Beaver, W. J. Conklin, Otway Curry, W. W. Curry, David Curry, James A. Curry, James Curry, J. C. Cone, S. B. Cone, O. B. Cone, William Channell, W. H. H. Fleck, T. S. Fleck, Walter Gowans, Sr., Andrew Gowans, S. W. Gowans, Lewis Hoffner, James Hill, L. J. Ketch, Lewis Ketch, John Liggett, R. A. Liggett, B. F. Lucas, William B. Laughead, John Morford, James R. Mitchell, George Mitchell, David McIntire, J. L. McCampbell, Jeff Mahaffey, Jacob Nonnemaker, D. G. Robinson, Delmore Robinson, C. L. Robinson, J. B. Robinson, George Ruehlen, David Shinneman, James Smith, George Stokes, Atlas Perkins, David O. Taylor, Daniel Taylor, David Wise, William Wise and Samuel Wise.
     In this company were twenty-seven who had been students at the Select School.  Seventeen of the original members were killed or died of wounds or disease, and of those who lost their lives in the service nine were students in the Select School.
     A company was organized at Plain City, Ohio, for the first three months' service, in which twenty-nine Jerome Township soldiers served.  The company was assigned as Company G, 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  At the expiration of their term of service, every one of them re-enlisted in other regiments, as did those who served in the 13th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, first three months' service.  The first and only full company recruited in the township was organized at the village of Jerome, under the first call for three years'' service, and went into camp in August, 1861.  The company was assigned as Company E, 30th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  Other detachments enlisting in the first call for three years' service were assigned in the First Ohio Cavalry, the 13th, 32nd, 40th, 46th, 54th, and 66th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.  During the years 1862, 1863, 1864, and until the close of the war every quota assigned to the township was filled, and they served in the following designated organizations:

     In the year 1864 an organization was formed of prominent citizens who were not eligible, by reason of age or disability, for military service, to pay bounties to the boys who were willing to enter the service.  A large amount of money was contributed voluntarily for that purpose, and in some instances several hundred dollars were paid to each volunteer.  Samuel B. Woodburn was treasurer of the association, and among other prominent members were A. H. McCampbell, John McCampbell, John K. Dodge, Thomas Jones, James Roney, Wm. Thompson, Joseph Cole, John Curry, Albert Chapman, James Mitchell, and many others.  There was scarcely a family in the township that did not have someone in the Army of the Union, and there was continuous recruiting.  The people thought, talked, and read of but little else than the means of prosecuting the war to a successful end.
     To write the history of the services of the soldiers of Jerome Township who served in forty-two regiments and other organizations, would be to write the history of every great campaign along the battle lines from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, for some of them participated in almost every great battle of the war.  As an evidence of that fact the reader has only to peruse the brief history of each organization in this volume.  They fought at Gettysburg, and Chickamauga, the two greatest battles of the war.  Some of them were at Antietam, Vicksburg, Shiloh, the Wilderness, Stone River, Port Republic, Seven Pines, Lookout Mountain.  One hundred days under fire, from Chattanooga to Atlanta.  They marched with General Sherman's Army to the Sea.  They were in the greatest cavalry expedition of the war, under General James H. Wilson, through Alabama and Georgia.  Were in the saddle when the war closed.
     Those in the navy were at Fort Henry and Fort Donaldson.  Some of them participated in the great review at Washington.
     But a brief history can be given in the limited space in this little volume of each organization, and much time has been devoted to securing the data for enlistment, discharge or death of each soldier.  Only the time and place of muster-in of each of the different organizations, with a short history of their campaigns, battles, losses and date of muster-out, is given.  Great pains have been taken to get correct dates and statistics as to the true history of the service of each organization.  The regiments of long service and hard campaigns made more history and are entitled to more extended notice, but the members of all organizations are entitled to full credit, for they all did their duty in whatever capacity they served.  The majority of them were boys and usually enlisted at the first opportunity, not knowing where or what the service of the organization to which they were assigned would be.  It was only "their's to obey."