BY CINDY SCHROEDER and ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- A small band of male volunteers trudged up overgrown trails and an old military road in the woods of Devou Park Saturday, walking back in time to help bring history to life.
Their target was Battery Bates, one of 29 earthworks built atop Kenton and Campbell county ridges between 1862 and 1865 to protect Northern Kentucky from a Confederate invasion during the Civil War.
Their mission was to clear the area of debris, reroute trails and build footbridges for easier access to one of the area's most significant historic sites.
"I never knew this was here until my brother told me about it," said Chris Hogan, 15, of Park Hills. "I hope more people know about it after today."
Sean Hogan, a member of Boy Scout Troop 236 from Crestview Hills, is making the restoration of Battery Bates his Eagle Scout service project. With the aid of the staff at the Behringer-Crawford Museum, Sean also received help Saturday from members of the Cincinnati Civil War Round Table.
"I've walked these trails and I've always been a Civil War enthusiast," Sean said. "Now other people will know what's here."
Tucked behind an apartment building at the Devou Village complex, Battery Bates is about a half-mile into the woods, atop a hill.
As far as historians can tell, it's one of only three on public property, said Laurie Risch, museum director.
"What they would do is literally shovel dirt up into a mound, where they could get behind it," Ms. Risch said. "There were wooden slats on the inside, and the soldiers would get behind it with their cannons."
The earthwork, the military road leading to the battery, and a mile of rifle trenches are still visible.
Restoration of Battery Bates became necessary because of erosion and "digging by irresponsible collectors who left large holes," after magazine articles began publicizing the battery's remote location in the early 1980s, Ms. Risch said.
Adding to the mess were campers who left "tons of garbage," and operators of all-terrain vehicles, who destroyed part of the earthworks when they repeatedly drove over it, Ms. Risch said. Ms. Risch said the Behringer-Crawford Museum, assisted by the city of Covington and a number of Northern Kentucky organizations, is coordinating the restoration of Battery Bates because of its importance as a Civil War site.
"People should care about (Battery Bates) because it's the most well preserved site of a very important event in Northern Kentucky's Civil War history," said Jim Ramage, history professor at Northern Kentucky University.
In September 1862, Confederate Gen. Henry Heth led more than 8,000 soldiers into Northern Kentucky in an attempt to capture Cincinnati, a major producer of supplies for the Union war effort, and gain control of the Ohio River valley.
"They were trying to take Cincinnati, and at least shell Newport and Covington," Mr. Ramage said.
However, Union Major Gen. Lew Wallace declared martial law and mobilized several thousand Union soldiers, as well as the home guard militia, Mr. Ramage said. Within days, volunteers built protective earthworks throughout Northern Kentucky's hills. Fresh from victories in Richmond and Lexington, the Confederate troops were facing an undermanned Union Army that prompted Gen. Wallace to issue a gun to "just about everybody," including some women dressed as men, Ms. Risch said.
"When the Confederates saw Battery Bates and Fort Mitchell, and this ring of 12 miles of forts and rifle pits, they withdrew," Mr. Ramage said. "It represents a bloodless victory, which is the best kind."
How to help
Work on Battery Bates will continue on Sept. 19 when volunteers will work on other parts of the trail leading to the battery. For more information or to volunteer, call the Behringer-Crawford Museum at 491-4003.
