Not long after the firing on Fort Sumter, the village of Findlay began preparations for war with flags flying, large banners across Main Street, and a cannon leading a procession of several hundred citizens to the river for a 34-gun salute. The names of those who had already volunteered were read, and plans were made to raise several companies of the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry in Northwest Ohio. About 3,000 residents of Hancock County served in the 21st and other regiments. Many early soldiers enlisted for three months, thinking the war would be short, but after reorganizing at Camp Vance in September they were mustered into three years of service. In 1862, a group of Ohioans known as Andrews' Raiders volunteered for a secret mission deep into Confederate territory to disrupt transportation and communication lines. Four Hancock County men took part: William Bensinger of McComb, who was captured and exchanged; John Scott of Hancock County, who was hanged as a spy; John Reed Porter of McComb, who overslept and missed the raid; and Wilson W. Brown of Hancock County, an engineer who escaped after being captured.