Old Portland Road

Old Portland Road. Ford and Redoubt Site. Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan had been searching for a place like Buffington Island , a ford where he could lead his 1,900-man raider force back onto friendly soil , since crossing into Ohio. This ford, which had been used for decades, ordinarily was only about three feet deep and an easy place to cross the Ohio River. But on July 19, 1863, heavy rainfall in Pennsylvania had raised the level to a surging five feet., The 200-man Marietta militia, commanded by Union Captain D. L. Wood, had been ordered to this location to guard the Buffington Island ford and, at all costs, to prevent Morgan from crossing. They constructed a smal earthen redoubt (defensive barrier) on the hill behind you and placed two cannons there. The emplacement helped to delay Morgan's crossing until morning, by which time Union forces were near at hand. The militia units watched as Morgan's men came into the valley. During the night, the militia was ordered to abandon their position. They spiked their guns, rolled them down the hill, and fled across the river. Surprisingly, they did it without alerting the Confederates. , A Historic Crossing , The Buffington Island ford also was the site of the Ohio River crossing by about 350 Confederate cavalrymen under Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins on September 3, 1862. Raiding Portland and Racine in search of horses and arms, the half-day expedition on Ohio soil took 25 animals and shot a deaf man who was unable to hear the Confederates' order to halt. The ford was also an important crossing for fugitive slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad., [Photo caption]: Before the Ohio River was dammed in the 20th century, Buffington Island ford was passable at normal water levels. The flooding of the river, and the fact that Confederate scouts were unable to determine the strength of the Union forces guarding the ford, fatefully delayed Morgan's crossing here. , Text: Edd Sharp and David L. Mowery , Illustration: Bev Kirk