Ohio opens 4-year Civil War anniversary observance

COLUMBUS (AP) — The first muskets have been fired to begin Ohio’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Ohio National Guard members stood on the Statehouse lawn Sunday with Civil War re-enactors wearing blue, heavy wool uniforms. The Columbus Dispatch reports the sounds of fife and drums and musket volleys accompanied the ceremony, which recreated the mustering of troops for the 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry as the war got under way in 1861.

The state will mark milestones in the war for the next four years.

Earlier on Sunday, the Ohio Historical Society co-hosted a fundraising brunch in the Statehouse atrium. Proceeds will help the society restore and preserve its collection of 388 flags flown by Ohio Civil War regiments.