The Tin Cup Militia and Fried Chicken
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Marietta has been spared the horrors of war. War came close when Confederate General John Hunt Morgan led 2,500 cavalry on a daring raid through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Raiders entered Ohio near Cincinnati on July 13, 1863. Days later they were streaking through the state towards the Marietta area. Since most able-bodied men were fighting elsewhere, volunteers and women played a crucial role.
Captain D. L. Wood's world had been turned upside down. He had a desk job as a mustering officer at Camp Marietta. Suddenly he was leading two companies of mostly untrained militia to fortify a river crossing at Buffington Island, 40 miles down river.
Camp Marietta became the epicenter of planning, under the command of Col. William Rufus Putnam Jr., grandson of Marietta founder Rufus Putnam.
July 12: Militia called out by Governor David Tod to Camp Marietta at the fairgrounds in Marietta.
July 14: 175 men in camp. Incredibly,five days later there would be 12,000 men deployed.
Morgan's forces approached Buffington Island on July 18, planning to escape across the Ohio River. Putnam had dispatched dozens of units to stop Morgan. Thousands of volunteers were organized to block roads, guard fords, and remove all boats that Morgan could use. Historian S. J. Hathaway: "…while many men had no arms, they could all get axes, shovels, picks and tin cups (for food and drink). Hence they were called the 'tin cup militia.'" Citizens willingly supplied equipment, horses, and food.
About the food: with no time to set up military supply lines, women from every farm and village fed the defenders. A popular staple was fried chicken, often passed to men in the field. They quenched their thirst with -"Sometimes water, sometimes milk; Sometimes applejack, fine as silk," words from a wartime song celebrating camaraderie in a common cause. One veteran officer observed gratefully, "the capture of Morgan...was largely due to the assistance (of) women in Indiana and Ohio."
Capt. Wood: "On July 18th I made a line of entrenchments covering the approach to the ford (and) sent out cavalry scouts...." Wood's men had also found the steamboat STARLIGHT at Buffington hard aground. The Rebellion Record: "they immediately unloaded the vessel, raised steam, crewed the boat ...," and moved it away from Morgan's forces.
Historian Hathaway concluded that Captain Wood's actions at Buffington prevented Morgan from escaping.
Defenders succeeded. Morgan 's second-in-command Basil Duke: "...the militia impeded our progress in every conceivable way." Morgan's raiders were stopped at Buffington Island. Almost. A thousand raiders evaded capture. Now Marietta was now in the cross hairs as a likely crossing point for Morgan's remnant.
Volunteers doubled their efforts. The tin cup militia blocked every river crossing and road in the area. Men under William P. Cutler obstructed roads between the Marietta and Cincinnati rail line and the Ohio River. Cutler: "We accomplished the objective in a thorough manner." Cutler's own farm near Constitution was occupied by hundreds of militia to guard nearby Bailey's Ford.
Guards were posted at the Harmar Bridge, and bales of hay were placed to block access. Locals later joked about the hay, saying how nice it was that defenders left so much feed for Morgan's horses. Three companies under John Newton were sent up the Muskingum River to remove all boats, and three more under Capt. Levi Barber blocked roads between Coolville and Little Hocking River.
The tin cup militia, area women, and the leadership of Col. William Putnam "got 'er done." Morgan was stopped; damage in the area was avoided, and he was soon captured. Hathaway: "There are few men that could have handled so large a body of men so well, under such circumstances, as Colonel Putnam did..."