Historical Markers and War Memorials in Meigs County, Ohio
Pomeroy is the county seat for Meigs County
Adjacent to Meigs County, Ohio
Athens County(69) ► Gallia County(53) ► Vinton County(19) ► Jackson County, West Virginia(26) ► Mason County, West Virginia(96) ► Wood County, West Virginia(114) ►
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Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and his raiders arrived in Chester
around 1 pm on July 18, 1863, after a grueling ride across Meigs County. Knowing that Union forces were close behind, Morgan expected an attack at any moment. . . . — — Map (db m108280) HM
Chester Academy
Built 1840
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior — — Map (db m209397) HM
Chester Courthouse
Built 1823
has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior — — Map (db m209396) HM
Side A: Morgan's Raid Route
General John Hunt Morgan of Kentucky led a force of Confederate calvarymen into Meigs County during a forty-six-day raid north of the Ohio River. The advance forces burned Benjamin Knight's carding mill and . . . — — Map (db m30456) HM
This garden is a living tribute to all of America's veterans and their families. In silence and respect, this is a place to remember why millions of Americans have fought and died for our liberty and our freedom.
Here we renew our promise to . . . — — Map (db m214469) WM
On July 18, 1863, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate raiders rode through Bashan on their way to Buffington Island. At the Old Bashan Church crossroads, they encountered a funeral party. Morgan stopped his column and, out of . . . — — Map (db m122833) HM
On Sunday morning, July 19, 1863, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan led
the remainder of his tired and weary Confederate raiders out of the whirlwind
of Buffington Island. Colonel Basil Duke stayed behind with a small force to delay
the . . . — — Map (db m108290) HM
General John Hunt Morgan led 2,000 Confederate cavalrymen into Meigs County on July 18, 1863, during a 45-day raid north of the Ohio
River. In pursuit, Union forces under Gen.
James M. Shackelford and Col. Frank L. Wolford
deployed near Bashan . . . — — Map (db m122828) HM
While exploring the lands of "the Ohio Country" in 1770, George Washington reached this point on October 28 and encamped over night. The impressions gained on this trip influenced his entire later life. — — Map (db m222790) HM
General James V. Hartinger, 1925-2000, was born in Middleport, Ohio, and graduated from Middleport High School in 1943. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1949 and was a career-long fighter pilot with the United . . . — — Map (db m28498) HM
Major John B. Downing was born in Rutland in February 1834, son of Rodney and Marian Black Downing. Educated at Marietta College, he spent 27 years as a pilot and boat owner on the Mississippi River, operating between St. Louis and New Orleans. . . . — — Map (db m28508) HM
Rear Admiral Arthur Clark served two tours as in-country military advisor to South Vietnam military and with USMAV and was one of the last to leave in 1973. He went on to serve in many leadership roles which transformed the U.S. Navy and . . . — — Map (db m28510) HM
Middleport native William Outerbridge (1906-1986) initiated the first shots of American involvement in World War II at 6:37 a.m. prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Outerbridge was commander of the destroyer USS Ward, . . . — — Map (db m28507) HM
Side A: The Ohio River
The Ohio River begins at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and flows 981 miles to join the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois. The Iroquois called the river "Oyo" or . . . — — Map (db m28497) HM
Edward A. Bennett, PFC, Co. B., 358th. Inf. Regt., 90th Inf. Div. Honored for bravery during combat in Germany, Feb., 1945. Award presented by President Truman in October. Bennett retired from service with the rank of Major on Feb. 1, 1965. He was . . . — — Map (db m224695) HM
George Sumner Huntington was born on April 9, 1850, in East Hampton, Long Island, New York. His father and grandfather had both been medical practitioners, and George followed them into the medical profession, graduating from Columbia University . . . — — Map (db m224526) HM
James Edwin Campbell was born on September 28, 1867, in the Kerr's Run area of Pomeroy to James and Letha Campbell. He graduated from Pomeroy High School with the class of 1884. After graduation, Campbell taught in various parts of Meigs County. . . . — — Map (db m28478) HM
Educated children from first to eighth grade, including James Edwin Campbell and James McHenry Jones, first and third presidents of what is now West Virginia State University. These children, through incredible odds, became some of the first . . . — — Map (db m178588) HM
In memory of the
Soldiers of Meigs County
1861 - 1866
Their country asked their lives,
Their lives they gave
[Honor Roll of County Veterans] — — Map (db m28964) HM
General John Hunt Morgan led a force of 2,000 Confederate cavalrymen
into Meigs County during a raid north of the Ohio River. More
than 500,000 Union troops and militia pursued Morgan across
Ohio. Colonel Basil Duke wrote that while passing near . . . — — Map (db m122850) HM
General John Hunt Morgan led a force of
2,000 Confederate cavalrymen into Meigs
County on July 18, 1863, during a forty-six day
raid north of the Ohio River. After a skirmish
with the 23rd Ohio Infantry, the Confederates
paused to drink and . . . — — Map (db m108185) HM
Side A: Morgan's Raid Route
Pursuers converge at Pomeroy
As Morgan's Raiders rode eastward across southern Ohio during the third week of July 1863, the scattered defensive forces pursuing him consolidated and drew closer. Four regiments . . . — — Map (db m28480) HM
After riding through a gauntlet of Union troops in Salisbury Township, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate raiders desperately needed time to reorganize and rest. The fight had taken a toll on their physical reserves and cost . . . — — Map (db m108189) HM
Upon approaching the road to Pomeroy just before noon on July 18, 1863, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and his Confederate raiders faced a major challenge. Colonel Adam Johnson's detachment, which had been sent south to investigate a river . . . — — Map (db m108278) HM
The Three Sycamore Trees
were planted on the Ohio River bank by George Nye shortly after the close of WWI, as a memorial for the first three soldiers from Meigs County killed in WWI.
Pvt McKinley (Kinney) Thompson of . . . — — Map (db m178591) HM WM
He built in Pomeroy in 1836, the world's first towboat, the Condor. Member the 34th, 35th, and 37th Congresses of the U.S. Member of President Lincoln's peace conference in 1860 [sic - 1861]. President of the board that established the Ohio . . . — — Map (db m28481) HM
Since it was formed in 1819, Meigs County was fostered by its location on 57 miles of the Ohio River, named by the Indians"Oyo," meaning beautiful river. Pomeroy, the county seat, was named for Samuel Wyllys Pomeroy, an early landholder. His . . . — — Map (db m28500) HM
Closing the Net
Frustrated by multiple failed attempts to overtake
Morgan in Kentucky, Major General Ambrose Burnside
dispatched Union Brigadier General Edward Hobson
and 2,500 Union soldiers on July 6 with specific
orders to intercept . . . — — Map (db m108368) HM
(Front side):
On and near this spot, July 19, 1863, occurred what is known as the Battle of Buffington Island between the forces of Gen. John H. Morgan, Confederate leader, who was attempting to cross the river near the middle of the island . . . — — Map (db m35822) HM
After thirty-eight days of raiding for supplies,
damaging bridges and rail lines, and drawing
the pursuit of Union troops, Morgan's men arrived
here on the evening of July 18, 1863. His objective
was to reach the Buffington Island ford . . . — — Map (db m108335) HM
End of the Longest Raid
Under fire from three directions, Morgan and
his troops scrambled for cover by following the
River Road upriver in hopes that they could cross
at another ford. Confederate Colonel Basil Duke
brought up the rear . . . — — Map (db m108395) HM
A Naval River Blockade
As darkness and dense fog set in on July 18,
Morgan's men stopped to rest in the fields near
Portland. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Leroy
Fitch and his tinclad U.S.S. Moose headed upstream
from Pomeroy . . . — — Map (db m108398) HM
On the morning of July 19, 1863, Confederate Brigadier General
John Hunt Morgan learned that the Union redoubt guarding
the ford had been abandoned in the night. Colonel Basil Duke
was ordered to send a force south to try to preserve the . . . — — Map (db m108315) HM
Was it an Inside Job?
Entering the prison gates, the captured Confederate
officers were immediately stripped, washed, shaved,
and taken to their section of the prison. The men
were treated much like the other inmates rather
than . . . — — Map (db m108372) HM
Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins of Virginia, with 350 Confederate cavalrymen, crossed the Ohio River near this point on September 3, 1862 and advanced to Racine. After occupying the town for a few hours and after seizing a dozen horses, the . . . — — Map (db m143872) HM
Public-spirited Meigs countians whose names are perpetuated below, through their generosity made possible the acquisition of a 1.5 acre tract which is incorporated within this public State Park. The prehistoric Indian Mound, standing on the area so . . . — — Map (db m108400) HM
About one thousand feet southwest of this monument, Major Daniel McCook of the famous "Fighting McCooks" fell mortally wounded in the Battle of Buffington Island, July 19, 1863. — — Map (db m108227) HM
The Battle Site Then and Now
The Battle of Buffington Island did not take place
on the island in the Ohio River. Rather, Confederate
and Union troops fought in this area. Much of
the battlefield has not changed and continues
to be used . . . — — Map (db m108396) HM
While Confederate Colonel Basil Duke attempted to
stop the Union advance up the Ohio River Valley from
the south early on July 19, 1863, Brigadier General
John Hunt Morgan still thought that the path to the
Buffington Island ford was clear. . . . — — Map (db m108291) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m108311) HM
Claims Against the Rebels
Morgan's prime objective was striking
fear in the civilian population. Along
the route of the raid, Morgan's men
took horses and provisions, destroyed
property, and pillaged items from
homes and businesses. . . . — — Map (db m108367) HM
Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and about 1,900 Confederate raiders
arrived in the Ohio River Valley near Portland late in the evening of July 18, 1863.
He established his headquarters in the Middleswart House, which stood on the
rise directly . . . — — Map (db m108295) HM
Union Troops Withdraw
In the early morning of July 19, Union Brigadier
General Henry Judah's forces, dispatched the day
before from Pomeroy, surprised both themselves
and the raiders by virtually running right into
Confederates hidden . . . — — Map (db m108361) HM
Dedicated to the Men and Women of the Portland community who braved the atrocities of the Battle of Buffington Island fought in the Portland bottom lands on July 19, 1863, and to the generosity of these people in feeding and caring for the wounded . . . — — Map (db m35741) HM
(Side A):
Department of the Ohio - Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside
Cavalry Brigade, 3rd Division XXIII Corps - Brig. Gen. Henry M. Judah
5th Indiana Cavalry (2 companies) (Lt. John O'Neil)
11th Kentucky Cavalry (Maj. Milton Graham) . . . — — Map (db m35744) HM
Born at Oak Grove, prospected in the California
goldfields in 1849. During the Civil War he
raised a militia company at Racine, and was
later promoted Captain of Co. K. 18th O.V.I.
After the war, he served on the Racine Village
council, Sheriff . . . — — Map (db m122848) HM
In honor of the veterans
who dutifully served our country
Dedicated 26 May 1997
Dedicated to the honor
and sacrifice of the
men and women who served
our country in
World War I
World War II
The Korean War
The Vietnam War . . . — — Map (db m28738) HM
An influential American journalist of the late nineteenth century, Ambrose
Bierce (1842 c. 1914) was born in Meigs County and reared in Kosciusko
County, Indiana. He fought in the Union Army during the Civil War,
a formative experience related in . . . — — Map (db m122825) HM
Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan arrived at the Ohio River
crossing at Reedsville late on July 19, 1863, with the 1,100
Confederate raiders remaining after the battle at Buffington
Island. The raiders could plainly see West Virginia — . . . — — Map (db m108288) HM
After the Battle of Buffington Island, Brigadier General John Hunt
Morgan and his remaining Confederate force of about 800 raiders
turned inland from the Ohio River to escape the navy's gunboats
and avoid pursuit. Union Brigadier General James M. . . . — — Map (db m108283) HM
Situated in an agriculturally rich area, county fairs have long been a significant tradition and event in Meigs County. The Meigs County Agricultural Society held its first fair on October 22, 1851, in Middleport and its second at the Rock-Spring . . . — — Map (db m28495) HM
Surgeon and songwriter Brewster Higley VI was born in Rutland in 1823, the grandson of Brewster Higley IV, a veteran of the American Revolution and founder of Rutland. Higley began studying medicine at age 18 and opened his first practice in . . . — — Map (db m30463) HM
General John Hunt Morgan led a force of 2,000 Confederate
cavalrymen into Meigs County during a raid north of the
Ohio River. More than 50,000 Union troops and militia
had been in pursuit of Morgan across Ohio. Near this site
on July 18. 1863, . . . — — Map (db m122882) HM
