Captain D. L. Wood’s world had been turned upside down. In July, 1863 he had a Civil War desk job as a mustering officer at Camp Marietta (also called "Camp Putnam"). Suddenly he was leading two companies of mostly untrained militia to fortify a river crossing ("ford") at Buffington Island, 40 miles down river. Why?
Marietta has been spared the horrors of war in its own backyard. War came close during Morgan's Raid in the Civil War (aka "The War of Rebellion," or in Southerners' understated phrasing, "The Recent Unpleasantness"). In July, 1863 General John Hunt Morgan led 2,500 cavalry on an unauthorized (yes, he violated orders of Confederate General Bragg to not cross north of the Ohio River) raid through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Union cavalry commanded by General Edward Hobson doggedly pursued Morgan but could barely keep up.
There were only days - even hours, at times - to counter this raid. Raiders entered Ohio near Cincinnati on July 13. Days later they were racing across the state headed to the Marietta area for an escape across the Ohio River. Defending was a challenge: all able-bodied defenders were already enlisted and fighting elsewhere, such as at Gettysburg 10 days before. The militia, or "home guard," included mostly untrained old men and very young men. The women had a role, too, as we'll see.
CLICK TO ENLARGE Camp Putnam (aka Camp Marietta) May, 1861, from mariettacastle.org
Camp Marietta became the epicenter of military planning, under the command of Colonel William Rufus Putnam Jr., grandson of Marietta founder Rufus Putnam.
July 12: Governor David Tod called out the militia in southern Ohio counties. Most reported to Camp Putnam (also called "Camp Marietta"), then a sprawling complex at the fairgrounds in Marietta.
July 14: Putnam reported 175 men in camp. By the 18th, there would be 12,000 men deployed from the Camp.
July 15: Union Army officer Lieutenant Conine refuses to accept orders from Putnam, who was an Ohio militia officer, not regular Army. Putnam asks Gov. Tod to intervene. He also requests authority to "press" horses (take horses from citizens) for use by the hundreds of cavalry volunteers arriving. Estimates are that 25,000 horses were used by Morgan and defenders during the raid. One reason: horses taken from citizens were often not conditioned to military duty and would last only a few miles.
July 16: 3,218 men at Camp Marietta. Putnam asks Gov. Tod to authorize Captain Wood, a Union Army officer, to lead a detachment. "He declines unless thus ordered." Units under Wood's command played an important role.
July 17: Putnam to Tod: "I have sent about 400 infantry and 50 mounted scouts to check Morgans at fords below." He also pleads for arms, "Thousands of men are here impatiently waiting to be armed..."
July 18: Putnam reports to General Burnside in Cincinnati that he has deployed 250 men to guard the ford at Buffington island, 250 to guard boats at Mason City (opposite Pomeroy), and 750 men to Chillicothe.
Morgan's forces were then bearing down on Buffington Island, intending to escape across the Ohio River. Union Cavalry were close behind. Militia defenders were in place; the crossing was fortified. Thousands of volunteers were working to block roads, guard fords, and remove all boats that Morgan could use.
Historian S. J. Hathaway: "...while many volunteers had no arms, they could all get axes, shovels, picks and tin cups (for food and drink). Hence they were called the 'tin cup militia.'" Other citizens willingly supplied equipment, horses, and food.
About the food: with no time to set up military supply lines, women from every farm and village in Indiana and Ohio fed the defenders. A popular staple was fried chicken, often passed directly to men in the field. They quenched their thirst with “Sometimes water, sometimes milk; Sometimes applejack, fine as silk," words from a wartime song celebrating camaraderie in a common cause. One unnamed veteran officer observed gratefully, "Gunboats, steamboats, ferryboats, cavalry, infantry, artillery, all joined in pursuit (of Morgan), but none were more helpful than the women with their rations of fried chicken."
Capt. D. L. Wood reported from Buffington Island: “On July 18th I made a line of entrenchments covering the approach to the ford (and) sent out cavalry scouts….” Wood’s men had also discovered the steamboat STARLIGHT at Buffington hard aground. The Rebellion Record: “they immediately unloaded the vessel, raised steam, crewed the boat themselves…,” and moved it away from Morgan’s forces. Historian Hathaway concluded that Captain Wood’s actions at Buffington helped prevent Morgan from crossing on the night of the 18th, thus allowing Union soldiers and militia to surround him on the 19th.
Defenders succeeded. Morgan ‘s second-in-command Basil Duke: “…the militia impeded our progress in every conceivable way.” Morgan’s raiders were stopped at Buffington Island. Almost. Morgan and a thousand raiders evaded capture. Now Marietta was now in the cross hairs as a likely upriver crossing point for Morgan’s remnant.
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Harmar Bridge over Muskingum ca 1860, then a covered bridge, from flickr.com "Christopher Busta-Peck, courtesy Hidden Marietta," It was fortified during Morgan's Raid.
Volunteers doubled their efforts. The tin cup militia blocked every river crossing and road in the area. Men under William P. Cutler obstructed roads between the Marietta and Cincinnati rail line and the Ohio River. Cutler: "We accomplished the objective in a thorough manner."
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Ehpraim Cutler’s “Old Stone House” occupied during the raid by his son William P. Cutler and family. River road and Ohio River are visible on the right edge of painting.
Cutler’s own farm near near Constitution was occupied by hundreds of militia to guard nearby Bailey’s Ford. That ford and others had been scouted out a few days earlier by Morgan's men. One was seen near Cutler's farm - identified later as a Confederate soldier - riding nonchalantly at dusk along the river road.
Guards were posted at the Harmar Bridge, and bales of hay were placed to block access. Locals later joked about the hay, saying how nice it was that defenders left so much feed for Morgan’s horses. They also pointed out that the Muskingum River was low enough at the time to wade across even if the bridge was blocked. Three companies under John Newton were sent up the Muskingum River to remove all boats, and three more under Capt. Levi Barber blocked roads between Coolville and Little Hocking River.
The tin cup militia, area women, and the leadership of Col. William Rufus Putnam “got ‘er done.” Morgan was diverted, damage in the area was avoided, and soon he was captured. Hathaway: “There are few men that could have handled so large a body of men so well, under such circumstances, as Colonel Putnam did…”
