I’m back on the trail of General John Hunt Morgan, in order to attend dedication ceremonies at Portland Ohio, and the site of the Battle of Buffington Island. July 19th, 1863, the Union Army finally caught up with the main body of Morgan’s Confederate troops and surrounded them. Nearly half were capture. Morgan Escaped.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself. That’s a tale for tomorrow, on the anniversary.
I started out at Camp Dennison near Miamiville, OH. Camp Dennison was a Union Hospital and encampment. Morgan attacked it, but was repelled by 600 convalescing soldiers.
He was also turned back on a bridge across the Little Miami River defended by other Union troops at Miamiville. Mogan finally crossed the river, made his way to Branch Hill and moved southeasterly on the Branch Hill-Guinea Pike. He did not stop for a rest until he reached Williamsburg. Morgan and his 1900 men, on horseback with a few wagons and four pieces of artillery, covered 95 miles in 35 hours.
In Williamsburg, Morgan is being hotly pursued. He follows the Appalachian Highway. Today’s route is a modern Ohio SR 32.
On the other side of Jackson, the route follows SR 124 through scenic back roads towards Pomeroy.
Pomeroy citizens and Home Guard effectively repelled Morgan northward. Morgan moved his troops to Chester, and was delayed because his guide disappeared No one could be found who could lead Morgan through the hills to Portland and a crossing at Buffington Island. This delay caused Morgan to arrive in Portland after dark. He decided to wait until morning to try to cross. This set of circumstances set the stage for the Battle of Buffington Island when the Union Troops finally caught up.
Below is the memorial on the Ohio Historical Society site, Battle of Buffington Island.
Tomorrow, escape from Buffington Island.
Today’s ride, with all the side trips, was a total of 278 miles.
DBrent
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What’s on the grounds of Camp Dennison now? Is there any evidence that the miles covered 95 miles on horseback led to extraordinary fatigue–that just seems like a lot of miles on horseback! This is getting quite exciting! Thanks.
Sharon, there are a couple of buildings left from the old camp. One of them is the headquarters. I have a photo, but did not include it here. There are other homes that have been built on the property. One large structure in the middle is called The Schoolhouse. It’s a restaurant now. It looks old, but not 145 years old. It was probably built after Camp Dennison was closed and turned over to the locals. There is also a very large park across the street. It was probably part of the camp.
Exhaustion was prevalent. The men were proceeding on three to four hours of rest per night, but going around Cincinnati, there was very little rest. The horses were “swapped out” with local horses during the entire Great Raid. Of course, the locals didn’t like this, they called it horse thievery! With the Union troops in hot pursuit, there were no fresh horses to be found anywhere.
It’s a fascinating story.
Brent