While Lee's Army of Virginia was retreating from Gettysburg, and Grant was still celebrating his Fourth of July victory at Vicksburg, Confederate John Hunt Morgan was in the midst of his raid north of the Ohio River. In a little village in Meigs County, OH, Morgan was caught while trying to cross the Ohio River ford at Portland. The ensuing battle all but destroyed Morgan's cavalry and was the only pitched baffle to take place on Buckeye soil.

Portland lies about 20 miles east of Pomeroy, the county seat. Although the Battle of Buffington Island was minuscule by Civil War standards, its importance lies in the fact that the present day battlefield is under an attack of a different sort -- development. Currently, much of the area where the battle took place is owned by Richards & Sons, a subsidiary of Shelly Company. Plans are in the works to turn this area into a large gravel mine, which would destroy the Stiversville Road, an important piece of the battlefield. Although the Shelly Company is well within its legal rights to mine the area, something should be done to prevent the destruction of Ohio's only Civil War battlefield.

Before you start thinking that I'm about to ask for your dollars, let it be known this is not a call to send money. This is plea to take a few moments and let those who may make the decision to allow the mining to begin know how you feel about the destruction of our heritage.

The gravel company has a permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a 2,200 foot loading facility on the Ohio River, as the road structure in the area would not allow sufficient access for trucking. The Corps of Engineers is required under the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106, to determine if the granting of this permit will adversely impact any historical property. As the Stiversville roadbed would be completely destroyed, there is no question that there would be all impact should the permit be granted. To voice your concern, please write, call or email the following folks at the Corps of Engineers:

Michael Green and James Richmond (Northern Permit). U.S'. Army Corps of Engineers, 502 8th St., Huntington, WV 25701. (304) 527-5487, or e-mail: mikeg@mail orh.usace.army.mil and jimr@mail.orh.usace.army.mil

That's the first step, but there is more to do to win this preservation fight. The gravel company also has a permit with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Unfortunately, and typical for Ohio, the Buckeye State does not have any requirement to consider historic properties when approving or denying such a permit. As is also typical, the legislation to amend this requirement is lost in the governmental red tape. Contact the ONR and tell them not to approve the permit:

Donald Anderson, Director, Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Fountain Square, 1930 Belcher Dr., Bldg. D-3, Columbus, OH 43224. (614) 265-6875, or e- mail: Don -Anderson @dnr.state.oh.us

The sad thing here is that if Ohio was more aware of its historic past beyond ancient Indian civilizations, this battlefield probably wouldn't be in danger today. Therefore, contact the Ohio Historic Preservation Office and tell them to get on the ball:

Amos J. Loveday, Preservation Officer. Ohio Historic Preservation Office, 567 East Hudson St., Columbus, OH 43211, (614) 297-2470, or e-mail: ajloveday@aol.com

I understand that there are many organizations out there who currently are fighting to preserve our historic past, and I myself support some of these organizations in other states with my hard-earned dollars: South Mountain, MD; Tippecanoe, IN; Mill Springs, KY; APCWS; The Civil War Trust). So, I am "putting my money where my mouth is," so to speak. In this fight, voices are what is needed now. So, please take a few moments and tell these folks that we will not tolerate the loss of one more square foot of historic soil.

For those of you who are wanting more information on the Buffington Island fight, check out the Spring 1998 issue of Blue & Gray Magazine. The feature story is on Buffington Island. Contact the good folks at Blue & Gray at P.O. Box 28685, Columbus, OH 43228. (800) 248-4592, or e-mail: BGEDITORS@aol.com, web site: www.bluegraymagazine.com.