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Gc 977.1 R950 1634220
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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7 ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02405 6357
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WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON
Born in Berkeley, Virginia, February 9. 1773; educated ar Hamp. ton Sidney College, Virginia: Secretary of the Northwest Territory, 1798-99; delegate in Congress; appointed Governor of Indiana Terri- tory: won the battle of Tippecanoe November 7. 1811; in the War of 1812 bad command of the Ohio army; fought the battle of the Thames (October 5. 1813), ind which, in conjunction with Ferry's victory, gave the United States control of the Lakes; afterward member of Congress and Minister to Colombia, was nominated by the Whigs, 1839, for the presidency; elected, 1840; died April 4, 1841.
OHIO IN FOUR WARS
A MILITARY HISTORY
BY DANIEL J. RYAN
Former Secretary of State of Ohio; Vice President Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society; Author "The Civil War Literature of Ohio." "Masters of Men." Co-Author. Randall and Ryan's "History of Ohio."
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
COLUMBUS, OHIO THE HEER PRESS 1917
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F 892.771
1634220
Copyright 1917, By DANIEL J. RYAN
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To THE YOUNG MEN OF OHIO in the ARMY AND NAVY of the UNITED STATES
"They needs must fight To make true pesce their own; They needs must combat might with might, Or might would win alone."
FOREWORD
T HE chief merit herein is this: for the first time there is presented in a single volume with continuity, brevity and historical accuracy the narration of the participa- tion of the State of Ohio in the four wars waged by the National Government, viz .: the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War and the War with Spain.
For that purpose I have freely used with modifications. the chapters that I wrote for Ran- dall and Ryan's History of Ovio.
I have purposely avoided, as far as consistent with exactitude, a work of crowded statistical detail and mere naked recital. On the contrary, I have in its historical composition, while adher- ing to the facts, given to the reader the heroic accomplishments of the four wars in a narration that I hope will awaken love for his country and pride in his state.
From these pages he will learn that Ohio has never failed in her duty to the Nation. When- ever she has been called upon in its defense for men or money her lives and treasure have been generously tendered.
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FOREWORD
At a time when our Nation is engaged in a great war in which Ohio is doing her part so effectively and loyally, it will surely be an in- spiration and lesson to the men and women of our State to recur to the patriotic conduct and illustrious deeds of their forefathers.
DANIEL J. RYAN.
Columbus, O., 1917.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
THE WAR OF 1812
PAGE
Causes of the War of 1812 - Ohio's Perilous Position -- Governor Return J. Meigs, Jr. - Ohio Troops Mobilized at Dayton -General Hull Commander -in- Chief --- His Cowardly Surrender of Detroit -- General William Henry Harrison Assumes Command of the Ohio Army - His Campaigns in the Northwest --- An Indian Hero - The Siege of Fort Meigs --- Dudley's Defeat - British Abandon Siege of Fort Meigs ...... 1
CHAPTER II THE WAR OF 1812 - (Concluded)
Indian Council at Franklinton - Second Siege of Fort Meigs - British and Indians Unsuccessful - Proctor's Attack on Fort Stephenson -- Gallant Defense and Victory by Major Croghan -- Ladies of Chillicothe Present Him With a Sword -Congress Votes Thanks and a Medal- Captain Oliver H. Perry and His Bril- liant Victory on Lake Erie -Ohio's Contribution to the War -- Effects of the War Upon the State. .... 37
CHAPTER III THE WAR WITH MEXICO
War Declared Against Mexico --- Events Preceding --- Ohio Responds to the Call for Troops -- History and Rosters of the Regiments -- Distinction of Ohio
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CONTENTS
PAGE
Officers in Army and Navy -- General Thomas L. Hamer - His Death -- Grant's Opinion of Hamer - Thomas Corwin's Opposition of the War - Sustained by the Whigs- Corwin's Subsequent Life - His Death
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CHAPTER IV THE CIVIL WAR
Approaching Civil War-Attempts to Compromise By Congress --- The Committee of Thirty-three --- Concil- iation in Ohio -- Governors and Legislatures of Ken- tucky and Tennessee Visit Columbus - Ohio in the Peace Congress -- The Call to Arms - Chio's Unpre- paredness - Action of the Legislature - Clement L. Vallandigham Opposes War-Ohio's Response to Lincoln's Call for Troops --- Campaign in West Vir- ginia by Ohio Militia - Governor Dennison's Patriotic Administration - Organization of the Union Party of Ohio -- David Tod Nominated for Governor
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CHAPTER V THE CIVIL WAR - (Continued)
Inauguration of Governor Tod-Ohio Troops in the Battle of Shiloh - Anti-War Influences - Military Arrests --- Confederate Forces Under Kirby Smith Besiege Cincinnati - Daring Expedition by Ohio . Soldiers -- The Andrews Raiders -- Penetration of Southern Confederacy to Destroy Communications - Capturing a Locomotive - Failure of the Expedition - Capture and Execution of Participants - Monument to Andrews' Raiders -- Address of Joseph B. Foraker -- The Political Revolution of 1863 in Ohio -- Demo- crats Carry the State.
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CONTENTS 1X
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CHAPTER VI
THE CIVIL WAR - (Continued)
PAGE
A New Political Situation in Ohio -- Opposition to the War Becomes Formidable - Clement L. Vallandigham the Leader -- His Life and Character --- He Opposes the Draft -- Governor Tod Arrested -- Vallandigham's Mt. Vernon Speech - His Arrest, Trial, and Banish- ment - Democrats Protest to Lincoln -- His Letter in Reply --- Vallandigham Nominated for Governor While in Canada -- The Union Party Nominates John Brough --- His Business and Political Record -- A Campaign of Excitement and Bitterness --. Election of Brough .... 162
CHAPTER VII THE CIVIL WAR -- (Continued)
Morgan's Raid Through Southern Ohio -- Its Effect --- His Capture and Imprisonment -- Escapes from the Ohio Penitentiary --- Review of Tod's Administration ---- Inauguration of Governor Brough -- Call of the War Governors - Ohio Raises More Troops - Ohio Soldiers in the Field --- Economic Effects of the War at Home on Education, Agriculture, Marriage and Finance 200
CHAPTER VIII THE CIVIL WAR - (Concluded)
Conspiracy of "The Knights of the Golden Circle" -- Vallandigham Its Head - Operations in Canada - Plot to Release Confederate Prisoners in Ohio -- The Lake Erie Movement -- The End of the War ---. Ohio's Pa- triotic Contribution -- List of General Officers --- Her Part in Its Civil Administration 229
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER IX
THE WAR WITH SPAIN
PACE
Causes of the War With Spain - President Mckinley's Special Message to Congress - Calls for Troops -- Ohio the First State to Mobilize -- Governor Bush- nell's Activity --- Roster and History of Ohio Regi- ments -- The Military Honors of Ohio Officers - Distinction in Civil Life-Ohioans in the Cabinet -- Senator Joseph B. Foraker Leader in the United States Senate 258
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ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
William H. Harrison (Frontispiece)
Return J. Meigs, Jr. Facing 4
Major George Croghan
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Plan of Fort Stephenson 30
Perry Ordering the First Firing.
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Perry's Victory
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Historic Sites of Northwestern Ohio
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Thomas Corwin
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Thomas L. Hanier 82
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William Dennison
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David Tod :
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Clement L .. Vallandigham
164
John Brough 192 6:
¥ 204
William T. Sherman
216
Philip H. Sheridan. 224
William S. Rosecrans
280
Edwin M. Stanton
248
Asz S. Bushnell. -
262
Troops Leaving Camp Bushnell for the War With Spain
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American Troops Entering the City of Mexico.
Ulysses S. Grant.
OHIO IN FOUR WARS
CHAPTER I
THE WAR OF 1812
T HE second war with England, usually called the "War of 1812," was declared by the United States, June 18, 1812. It grew out of a long series of aggressions on the part of Great Britain that were a provocation to, and an attack on our national pride and inde- pendence. In her arrogance England assumed the right to search American ships and impress therefrom into her service all seamen who had at any time been British subjects, claiming that "once an Englishman, always an Englishman." In doing this, many American born citizens were impressed, as well as duly naturalized citizens who were entitled to the protection guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. The most outrageous instance of this practice occurred in 1807; the American frigate, "Chesa- peake," commanded by Commodore Barron, was fired on by the British frigate. "Leopard," and compelled to deliver four American seamen.
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OHIO IN FOUR WARS
This event greatly angered the American people, and aided in the formation of a war sentiment.
In violation of former treaties Great Britain maintained forts and posts on American soil, and encouraged numerous barbarities by Indian tribes, even going to the extent of paying the savages for American scalps. Everything that could be done to exasperate this country England tried. One event in particular created intense indignation among the American people. Some of the retaliatory legislation of Congress against England created much dissatisfaction in New England, and it was reported that the Eastern States would secede from the Union. Hearing of this report, Sir James Craig, the Governor General of Canada, employed a secret agent named John Henry to go into New England "to make observations and report the prospects, in case the foreign difficulties should be continued, of a division of the United States." This agent spent three months "feeling out" public sentiment, and found no disunion opinions, but rather opposition to the legislation. He made regular reports to the Canadian authority. When he had concluded his work he applied for his pay, which was refused him.
Furious at this treatment, he presented him- self to President Madison and sold him all the
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THE WAR OF 1812
papers and correspondence of his mission, in- cluding important letters of the British Ministry, for $50,000. Madison turned over all these papers to the Twelfth Congress in March, 1812. England in the meantime was continuing her depredations on our vessels, and this Henry affair was the last straw. An intense war feel- ing was prevalent everywhere except in New England. There seemed to be no other manly course left but to fight. Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in a speech in Congress on England's attitude, said: "We have complete proof of her capture of our ships, in her exciting our frontier Indians to hostility, and in her sending an emissary to our cities to excite civil war, and that she will do anything to destroy us. Our resolution and spirit are our only dependence." The act de- claring war followed. It was vigorously opposed by the Federalists, but Clay represented the desires and sentiment of the American people when he declared that the war would be just, and would have for its object "free trade and sailors' rights against the intolerable and oppres- sive acts of British power on the ocean."
The war in which the Nation was about to engage placed the young state of Ohio in a most trying situation. By virtue of her posi-
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OHIO IN FOUR WARS
tion it would be largely fought within or adjacent to her boundaries. It demanded of her the best of her resources both in men and money. She was amply able to meet all these demands, and did so with patriotic promptness. That Ohio . could do this was due to the fact that she had a remarkable growth in the first decade of the nineteenth century. The population in 1803 was slightly over 45,000; in 1810 it had increased to 230,750. She was therefore enabled when the call to arms came to send to the field more than her share of defenders, thus contributing to the glory of the Nation and to her own patriotic record.
It was fortunate for Ohic that Return Jona- than Meigs, Jr., occupied the gubernatorial chair at this critical period. He was one of the type of men that did so much to lay the foundations of the State. He was born at Middletown, Connecticut, in 1765. He came to Ohio with his father, Return Jonathan Meigs, in 1788 as one of the original settlers at Marietta. The senior Meigs was a valiant Revolutionary officer, with a brilliant record at Long Island, Stony Point and Quebec. Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., graduated with honor at Yale in 1785, and thus, like many of the Ohio pioneers, he took with him into the Western country the culture and refine-
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RETURN J. MEIGS, JR., The War Governor of 1812. (From a painting by John Henry Witt in the Capitol in Columbus.)
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THE WAR OF 1812
ment of his native State. Pioneer life had attractions for him. He loved its free and ad- venturous spirit, and entered into close com- panionship with the leaders of the new country. In 1803-4 he was a judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, a position which he resigned to accept from President Jefferson the appointment of commandant of the United States troops and militia of the St. Charles District of Louisiana. This afforded him a military experience that was useful to him in subsequent years. He also served as a member of the Supreme Court of that Territory for 1805-6. In 1807 he was appointed judge of the United States District Court of Michigan Territory. This commission he resigned in October of the same year to be- come a candidate for Governor of Ohio. He received a majority of the votes cast for this office, but was declared ineligible. He was elected to the United States Senate from Ohio and served from January 6, 1809, to May 1, 1810. In this year he was elected Governor, in which position he continued until March 25, 1814, when he resigned to accept the Postmaster- Generalship in President Monroe's Cabinet. He filled the place until June, 1823, when he retired to Marietta where he died March 29, 1825.
This survey of his life enables us to see that
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OHIO IN FOUR WARS
he was one who had the executive force to meet the events as they occurred. It can truthfully be said of him that during this war he did more than any other governor to aid the country by a prompt organization of the militia. When mutterings of the conflict with Great Britain were heard, Governor Meigs was quick to realize the importance of his position and the necessity for prompt and vigorous action in anticipation of the coming struggle. The National govern- ment had ordered him to mobilize 1,200 men, preparatory to garrisoning the fort at Detroit and effecting a defense against the English in Canada. In response to this call, three regi- ments of Ohio militia were assembled at Dayton in May, 1812; the first from the Scioto Valley, under Colonel Duncan McArthur, the second from the Miami Valley, under Colonel James Findlay, and the third from eastern Ohio, under Colonel Lewis Cass. The troops were raised without difficulty. Ohio, even in that early day, was prompt to furnish her quota for the defense of the common country, and more men offered their services than could be accepted under the call. Citizens of the best families readily en- rolled themselves in the ranks and eagerly entered the service of their country. No adequate equipment for the little army had been
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THE WAR OF 1812
provided, and the troops were obliged to camp without tents. It was the middle of May before blankets and other equipment arrived from Cincinnati.
William Hull, Governor of the Michigan Territory and Brigadier General in the Army of the United States, was appointed to the com- mand of these troops. He came to Cincinnati on April 22, from Washington, accompanied by his aides, Captain Hickman and Captain Abraham F. Hull, his son. He established his headquarters at the Columbian Inn, on the southwest corner of Main and Second Streets, then the principal tavern of the town. During the last of April and the first week of May he made his arrangements for the necessary sup- plies and transportation of the army. In the latter part of May he proceeded to Dayton where on the 25th, Governor Meigs turned over to him the command of the Ohio troops as directed by the Secretary of War.
The Governor addressed the troops and con- gratulated them that they were to serve under a distinguished officer of the Revolutionary War, who, as superintendent of Indian affairs and Governor of the Michigan Territory, to which they were about to march, was especially fitted by training and experience to conduct suc-
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OHIO IN FOUR WARS
cessfully the campaign that had been planned. Colonel Lewis Cass aroused much enthusiasm in a few well directed words.
General Hull then addressed the troops, and created a most favorable impression. He com- mended their patriotism, spoke of the necessity of rigid discipline, and concluded as follows: "In marching through a wilderness memorable for savage barbarity, you will remember the causes by which that barbarity has been hereto- fore excited. In viewing the ground stained by the blood of your fellow-citizens, it will be im- possible to suppress the feelings of indignation. Passing by the ruins of a fortress, erected in our territory by a foreign nation in times of peace, and for the express purpose of exciting the savages to hostility, and supplying them with the means of conducting a barbarous war, must remind you of that system of oppression and in- justice which that nation has continually practiced, and which the spirit of an indignant people can no longer endure."
There was in this address nothing to suggest an unfortunate termination of the campaign upon which the little army was about to venture with enthusiastic anticipations. General Hull had served in the Revolutionary War with credit, and had won honors under General Anthony
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THE WAR OF 1812
Wayne at Stony Point; but he was now old and fat, and had lost his energy both of body and mind. A more unfortunate selection could not have been made to lead this campaign. Never- theless, his dignified and soldierly bearing, with his eloquent words, inspired confidence, and the troops began their northward march with every assurance of success.
While at that early day Ohio had made re- markable progress, and in many portions of the State the forests were giving way to cultivated farms, the means of communication and trans- portation were of the most primitive character. For the most part the road to the northwest was · over miry wagon trails and along the out- skirts of impassable swamps. The over-arching branches were the chief protection against the inclement weather. Ague chills shook the sturdy frames of the pioneer soldiers. The ambuscade of the savage foe was ever imminent, and danger lurked in many forms by the river bank and the portage trail. It is not necessary to say that under these conditions the move- ment of the troops was necessarily slow and hazardous.
When the troops reached Urbana they were joined by a regiment of regulars under Lieu- tenant Colonel Miller, a veteran of Tippecanoe.
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OHIO IN FOUR WARS
From this point General Hull, with a force of about 1,900 men, marched through forests and marshes, and after enduring many hardships, arrived at the Maumee Rapids the latter part of June. Here the bad judgment of Hull began to be manifest. In spite of the fact that he knew the English were in force on the western shore of Lake Erie, he transferred to a schooner the sich, with the stores and baggage of the army, including even his military papers. The schooner proceeded down the Maumee into the Lake and when opposite Malden, was captured by a British gunboat. Hull's military papers, including instructions and plans of the campaign, were at once forwarded to General Brock, the military Governor of Canada. In the meantime the English were on the alert and were making vigorous preparation to concentrate their forces at Malden, a fort on the eastern bank of the Detroit River and not far from its entrance into Lake Erie.
After many delays General Hull's army arrived at Detroit, July 5. His forces were easily superior to the enemy and by prompt action he might have overthrown the British before their reinforcements arrived. He did not choose to do this, but rested contentedly in the security of the fort. General Brock, taking
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THE WAR OF 1812
advantage of this delay, gathered a large force of British and Indians. To the latter under the leadership of Tecumseh, and numbering fully 1,000 he held forth the alluring prospect of restoring their hunting grounds north of the Ohio River. The Indians were pleased with his confident assurances. In a subsequent inter- view Tecumseh and other chiefs pledged their united support against the Americans. The British and their Indian allies then proceeded to Sandwich, opposite Detroit, which was evacuated at their approach, and planted a bat- tery for the reduction of the fort within the walls of which Hull had collected his forces. The American artillerists wished to fire upon the battery as soon as it was unmasked, but Hull forbade this and the enemy proceeded without molestation in their preparation for an assault. The indecision and timidity of their general greatly exasperated the Americans. In the presence of the enemy he seems to have been the prey of conflicting purposes and emotions. Unfortunately at this critical juncture he had sent two of his ablest officers, Colonels Cass and McArthur, to open up communication with the River Raisin. He was deceived by letters in- tended to be intercepted, into the belief that Brock's army had been reinforced by a large
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OHIO IN FOUR WARS
force of British regulars. He peremptorily refused to permit Captain Snelling to cross the river and make a night attack on the works of the enemy. In his trepidation he magnified the real dangers of the situation. The enemy was gradually hemming him in on every side. His supply of provisions was running low, and he saw little prospect of receiving more from Ohio. If the fort should be taken after a battle he feared that there would be a general massacre of the garrison and inhabitants by the Indians.
When Brock had completed his preparations for an attack, on August 15, he summoned Hull to unconditional surrender, and declared that the large body of Indians attached to the British army would be beyond control the moment the contest should commence. He seems to have understood fully how to play upon the fears of the aged American general. Hull hesitated long before he replied. His officers were confident of their ability to hold the fort and eager to give battle to the enemy, and he finally refused com- pliance with the demand to surrender. Soon afterward the British bombardment of the fort began. For some time firing was returned with spirit. On the morning of the 16th the British landed without molestation on the American side and advanced upon the fort. With them came
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THE WAR OF 1812
Tecumseh and seven hundred of his warriors. As they advanced, Hull ordered his troops to withdraw within the fort, and soon afterward, without consulting his officers, had a white flag of surrender raised above the works. He then arranged with Brock the terms of surrender. His troops and officers, deeply sensitive to the disgrace in which they all were involved by this action, were emphatic in their protests.
Colonel Cass afterwards, on September 10, 1812, wrote to the Secretary of War his in- dignant feeling on this occasion as follows: "To see the whole of our men flushed with the hope of victory, eagerly awaiting the approaching con- test, to see them afterwards dispirited, hopeless, desponding, at least five hundred shedding tears because they were not allowed to meet their country's foes, and to fight their country's battles, excited sensations which no American has ever before had cause to feel, and which I trust in God will never again be felt, while one man remains to defend the standard of the Union."
By this shameful surrender the whole of Michigan Territory, the public stores, and all the American troops, including the detachment under Colonels McArthur and Cass, who were absent, were delivered to the British. Twenty-five
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OHIO IN FOUR WARS
pieces of iron and eight pieces of brass ordnance, the latter captured from General Burgoyne just thirty-five years before, fell into the hands of the enemy; also twenty-five hundred muskets and rifles and a large supply of ammunition.
Hull's surrender filled the Nation with indig- nation, and especially did the people of Ohio dis- play their rage and exasperation at the disgrace- ful event. Most of the troops were from Ohio, and the State felt the humiliation and disgrace cast upon its brave sons through a betrayal by incompetence and cowardice. Hull was made the subject of denunciation and ridicule through the press. The maker of ballads -- more power- ful than the maker of laws - embodied him in a popular song, which was sung all over Ohio, and which began,
Old Hull, you old traitor, You outcast of Nature, May your conscience torment you as long as you live ; And when old Apollyon His servants does call on, May you be ready your service to give.
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