PORTLAND — The once missing historical marker recognizing Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins’ raid into Ohio in 1862 has been restored to its proper place at the Buffington Island State Memorial.
The marker, originally erected in the park in 1965 by the Ohio Civil War Centennial Commission, for some unknown reason was removed years ago, stored and forgotten. It was found last year and has now been refurbished and restored to its rightful place. The marker is located near the new exhibit kiosk at the Buffington Island Park on State Route 124 in Portland.
The historical marker commemorates an event vital to the nation’s and Ohio’s Civil War history, because it was General Jenkins and his 350 cavalrymen who led the first invasion of Confederate forces onto Ohio soil.
Jenkins and his cavalrymen crossed the Ohio River near Portland on Sept. 3, 1862, and then continued down river into Racine where they stayed only a few hours seizing about a dozen horses before re-crossing the Ohio river near Wolf’s Bar into what is now West Virginia. There is a plaque marking the crossing site at Racine.
The Ohio Historical Skociety had the historical marker re-erected in the Memorial Park in Portland before the commemoration of the 150th anniversary observance of the raid held in Racine last fall at the Racine American Legion Post’s military monument located on State Roiute 124 in Racine. The event was sponsored by the Ohio Commandery Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S., the state’s oldest Civil War Group.
Jenkins’ raid is often overlooked since Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s raid with his forces of nearly 2,000 the next year engaged in a bloody battle with Union soldiers when they attempted to cross the river at Buffington Island.
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