Salineville

Salineville. Final Engagement at Sharp's Farm. On the morning of July 26, 1863, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and several hundred Confederate raiders were attacked in this immediate area by Union cavalry advancing from Monroeville under the command of Major William B. Way.

After the raiders were spotted at Riley Church, about a mile northeast of here, a running fight ensued. Captain Ralph Sheldon's troopers of Company C, 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, wheeled about and directed a withering fire into the Union pursuit, effectively breaking it up. Lieutenant Smith Fisk, riding at the head of the Union forces, was shot from his horse near this spot. Several Confederates were wounded or captured.

This would be the last engagement in Morgan's Raid. From here the Confederates split, some riding north and the remainder, under Morgan, heading west toward Carrollton. Morgan's group circled back toward the east and rejoined the other members of his command west of Summitville.

As had been his practice, Morgan enlisted local guides, including citizens on their way to services at the Summitville Catholic Church. With this largely involuntary assistance, Morgan's troops resumed an easterly march near Bethesda Church, hoping to reach the Ohio River and cross to safety. Time and circumstances were clearly working against Morgan.

(sidebar) , The Sharp Family Gains A Laborer , Following the engagement at the Sharp farm, an African American youth was found hiding on the property. Variously identified as Boxer or Sam, the boy claimed to have accompanied Morgan as a menial worker. The Sharp family employed the youth on their farm for several years. It was reported that he was killed in Detroit, Michigan, after leaving Ohio.

(captions) , Lieutenant Smith W. Fisk, Company K, 9th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, was severely injured when the Confederates put up a rearguard defense. The lieutenant and the other casualties were carried to the Sharp home, which stood along the Salineville-Carrollton Road (SR 39) several hundred feet from here, The Sharp family cared for Fisk until his wife arrived from Coldwater, Michigan.

A native of Alabama, John Hunt Morgan was working as a businessman in Kentucky at the start of the Civil War. He was immediately commissioned as a captain in the Confederate cavalry. Named a brigadier general in 1862, he was given an entire cavalry division and quickly gained fame conducting numerous raids behind enemy lines.

Next marker, Gavers, is 18.9 miles away. . This historical marker was erected by John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail. It is Near Salineville in Carroll County Ohio