Defense of Cincinnati

The Defense of Cincinnati occurred during what is now referred to as the Confederate Heartland Offensive (or Kentucky Campaign) of American Civil War from September 1 through September 13, 1862, when Cincinnati, Ohio, was threatened by Confederate forces.

Confederate Brigadier General Henry Heth had been sent north to threaten Cincinnati, then the sixth largest city in the United States. Heth was under orders from his superior, Major General Edmund Kirby Smith not to attack the city, but to make a "demonstration". Cincinnati's mayor George Hatch ordered all business closed, and Union Major General Lew Wallace declared martial law, seized sixteen steamboats and had them armed, and organized the citizens of Cincinnati, Covington and Newport, Kentucky for defense. Among the groups organized were the Black Brigade, a volunteer force of free men of color. Although not armed, the Black Brigade was given a flag and paid $13 for one month's service (the same pay given to privates at that time).

Along eight miles of hilltops from Ludlow to present-day Fort Thomas, Kentucky, volunteers and soldiers constructed rifle pits and earthwork fortifications, which were defended by 25,000 Union Army soldiers and 60,000 local militia volunteers, called "Squirrel Hunters." Construction of the defenses was directed by Colonel Charles Whittlesey until relieved by Major James H. Simpson, chief of Topographical Engineers for the Department of the Ohio.

On September 5, Ohio governor David Tod announced to the public that no additional volunteers would be needed for the defense of Cincinnati, but he advised that all military organizations be kept up for future needs.

Heth and his men marched from Lexington, Kentucky on the Lexington Turnpike (present-day U.S. Route 25) arriving south of Covington on September 6. After reconnoitering the defenses at various points, he determined that an attack was pointless. Heth's forces stayed only a few days, skirmishing near Fort Mitchel on September 10-11 and returning south to Lexington on September 12, 1862.

On September 12, Wallace telegraphed Major General Horatio Wright (commander of the Department of the Ohio) in Cincinnati: "The skedaddle is complete; every sign of a rout. If you say so I will organize a column of 20,000 men to pursue to-night." The large pursuit was never ordered as most of the military forces were sent via steamboats to Louisville, Kentucky to prevent capture by General Braxton Bragg. However, small scouting forces were sent southward to harass the rear-guard of Heth's forces. A skirmish occurred at Florence, Kentucky on September 17. Another skirmish occurred near Walton, Kentucky on September 25 when Colonel Basil W. Duke attacked a Union camp of approximately 500 men near Snow's Pond.

For his vigorous defense of the city, Wallace earned the nickname "Savior of Cincinnati" and within a month of the panic, the Squirrel Hunters returned to their homes.