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 . The defenses . In September 1862 , only five batteries were extant in Kenton County and only three in Campbell County , all having been constructed in 1861 . Two batteries protecting the city ' s flanks were located on hills at the west and east sides of Cincinnati . Altogether , the defenses were armed with just 15 heavy guns . When Wallace moved his headquarters from Cincinnati to Kentucky , he selected the main building at the Thompson Winery that was designated Fort Henry , although no earthworks were ever constructed on the site . It was the approximate center of the line of fortifications and telegraph lines connected each of the earthwork positions with his headquarters . Following the threat , many more batteries and forts were constructed through November 1864 , mostly under the direction of Major James H . Simpson . Kentucky batteries . [ Note : Unless otherwise noted , all traces of these earthworks are gone . ]