The 2nd OVI was launched and incorporated in 1957 in Columbus, Ohio. The main task that year was recruiting and practicing. Members were recruited at gun shows and they drove to Cincinnati to practice with the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry. Jim Shutt was the first commander of the 2nd OVI. At the time of writing (2009), only one man is still living who joined in 1958: Elmer Smith. Here is a list of past commanders: Jim Shutt, Elmer Smith, Phil Schnitzspahn, Dick Ketter, Duane Welker, Bob York, Don Ketter and Dick Hahn.
During the Civil War Centennial the 2nd OVI checked out the re-enacting side of the hobby. They went east to a few big events but were put off by the lack of safety rules. The group ventured out again in the early 1970’s but, again, found the re-enactment business very much not to their liking.
Practice ranges shifted with the times and included a range in east Columbus, a farm in Knox County and, finally, the Centerburg Conservation Club. Second OVI members joined the Conservation Club en masse in 1969 and braved snow and mud to clear the woods that is now the rifle range in order to have a permanent place to shoot. The first 2nd OVI “Heart of Ohio” skirmish took place in 1970. Today, there are only four active members of the regiment who were present at that shoot. This year will see the 40th consecutive, annual “Centerburg Shoot.”
The 2nd honors one major patriotic duty per year, the Worthington, Ohio Memorial Day parade. The unit started marching in the parade in the mid to late ‘60s and, except for a couple of years when it was rained out, has not missed one. Somewhere along the line the parade sponsors asked the 2nd to fire the three-volley salute at the ceremony in the cemetery, and that has continued to the present day. About 1970 two members built field drums and one or both of those drums have been played in the parade ever since.
In the years leading up to 1970, one of the members of the 2nd OVI, artist and historian Robert Needham, was supervising the restoration of Ohio’s Civil War battle flags as they were removed from the State House Rotunda to make way for its restoration. Rob made photographs and reconstruction paintings of all the flags having sufficient remaining fabric. The flags and photos are in the care of the Ohio Historical Society and the paintings are in the possession of the Ohio Adjutant General. The flags and paintings have been in and out of public view since about 1970. Two captured battle flags were found with the Ohio flags, one from Georgia and one from Alabama. In the early ‘70s the 2nd OVI comprised the honor guard accompanying the Ohio delegations sent to those states to return the flags.
The 2nd OVI is known for its easygoing ways and its willingness to make competition safe and fun. We have an ongoing recruiting program with a renewed commitment emphasizing team unity and practice.