The men who made their escape from Ohio, after the disastrous fight at
Buffington, marched for many a weary mile through the mountains of
Virginia. At last, worn down and half famished, they gained the
Confederate lines, and first found rest at the beautiful village of
Wytheville, in Southwestern Virginia.
Thence they passed leisurely down the fair valley, not then scarred by
the cruel ravages of war, to the vicinity of Knoxville. Colonel Adam R.
Johnson then endeavored to collect and organize them all. "On the--of
August, 1863," says an officer who was a valuable assistant in this
work, "Colonel Johnson issued orders, under instructions from General
Buckner, Department Commander, for all men belonging to Morgan's command
to report to him (Colonel J.) at Morristown, in East Tennessee. These
orders were published in the Knoxville papers, and upon it becoming
known that there was a place of rendezvous, every man who had been left
behind when General Morgan started on the Ohio raid now pushed forward
eagerly to the point designated. When that expedition was undertaken,
many had been sent back from Albany as guards for returning trains, and
because their horses were unserviceable. Many, too, had to be left on
account of sickness or disability from wounds. In a week or ten days,
Colonel Johnson had collected between four and five hundred men
(including those who made their escape from Ohio) in his camp at
Morristown. These men were organized into two battalions--one commanded
by Captain Kirkpatrick, representing the first brigade of the division,
and the other commanded by Captain Dortch, representing the second
brigade.
"The camp was well selected, with wood and water in abundance, and
plenty of forage in the neighborhood. Colonel J. was making great
efforts to have the men paid off, and properly armed, clothed, etc.,
when the enemy moved upon Knoxville. The evacuation of that place by our
troops made it necessary for us to leave our comfortable resting place.
We immediately broke camp at Morristown, and joined General Buckner, who
was moving to reinforce General Bragg in front of Chattanooga. * * * * * At
Calhoun, the men were paid off, and received a scanty supply of
clothing. Many of them had not been paid before for fourteen months.
From Calhoun we were ordered to Lafayette, from Lafayette to Dalton,
thence to Tunnel Hill. On the morning of the 18th of September, the
whole army moved out for battle. Our small force, was ordered to report
to General Forrest, and did so about ten A.M. on the field. We were
immediately deployed as skirmishers, mounted, in front of Hood's
division, of Longstreet's Corps, just come from Virginia. As the men
galloped by Forrest, he called to them in language which inspired them
with still higher enthusiasm. He urged them to do their whole duty in
the battle. He spoke of their chief, who had been insulted with a
felon's treatment, and was then lying in the cell of a penitentiary. He
gave them 'Morgan' for a battle-cry, and bade them maintain their old
reputation.
"The infantry objected to having 'the d--d cavalry' placed in front of
them in a fight. But they did not easily catch up with 'the d--d
cavalry.' After moving briskly forward for perhaps half a mile, through
the tangled undergrowth of pine, the clear crack of rifles told that the
enemy was on the alert. Driving in their pickets, we pushed on and found
a regiment of cavalry in line to receive us. This fled upon the receipt
of the first volley. The undergrowth was too thick for maneuvering on
horseback, and we were dismounted and advanced at double-quick. Our boys
were anxious to drive the enemy and keep them going without letting the
infantry overtake us. The enemy first engaged fell back upon a
supporting regiment. We soon drove both back upon a third. By this time
our small 'Lay out' found the fighting rather interesting. Engaging
three time our number, and attacking every position the enemy chose, was
very glorious excitement, but rather more of it than our mouths watered
for. Yet no man faltered--all rushed on as reckless of the opposing
array of danger as of their own alignment.
"The enemy had formed in the edge of a woods, in front of which was an
open field. This field was fought over again and again, each side
charging alternately, and forced back. At last a charge upon our part,
led by Lieutenant Colonel Martin, was successful. The enemy fell back
still further. We now saw clearly from many indications, and were told
by prisoners, that the Federal line of battle, the main force, was not
far off. We, therefore, moved more cautiously. Just about sundown, we
found the enemy's cavalry drawn up directly in front of the infantry,
but they made little resistance. After one or two volleys, they fell
back behind the protecting 'Web-feet.' Night falling stopped all further
operations for that day. We camped in line of battle, and picketed in
front. On the morning of the 19th, we were ordered to report to Colonel
Scott, and found him engaging the enemy on our extreme right, at the
'Red House.' Colonel Scott gave us position, dismounted, and put us in.
The fighting continued at intervals throughout the day.
"Late in the evening Scott made a vigorous charge and drove the enemy
handsomely. We learned from prisoners that we had been fighting a select
body of infantry commanded by General Whitaker of Kentucky, which had
been detailed to guard the ford, here, across the Chickamauga. The
fighting ceased at nightfall and we were again camped in line of battle.
The fighting of the next day was very similar to that of the previous
ones--the enemy falling back slowly with his face toward us. But late in
the evening the retreat became a rout. The army made no attack on the
21st. In the afternoon Colonel Scott was sent with his brigade over
Missionary ridge into the valley, and engaged a few scattered cavalry
and an Illinois regiment of infantry--capturing nearly all of the latter
before they could reach the works around Chattanooga. Forming his
brigade Colonel Scott sent a portion of our command, on foot, to
reconnoiter the enemy's position. The reconnoitering party drove in the
pickets, took the outside rifle pits, and forced the enemy to their
breastworks and forts.
"This closed the battle of Chickamauga--Morgan's men firing the _first_
and _last_ shot in that terrible struggle.
"General Forrest and Colonel Scott, both complimented our little command
more than once during the battle. Immediately after the battle, the
entire cavalry of the Army of Tennessee was actively employed. The two
battalions of our command were separated. Dortch going with Forrest up
the Chattanooga and Knoxville railroad. Kirkpatrick went with Wheeler on
his raid through Middle Tennessee. Dortch was in the fight (against
Woolford) at Philadelphia--in the skirmishes at Loudon and Marysville,
and was at the siege of Knoxville. Kirkpatrick's battalion was at the
fights at McMinnville, Murfreesboro', Shelbyville and Sugar creek. In
the latter fight, Wheeler's whole force fell back rapidly, and
Kirkpatrick was kept in the rear until we reached the Tennessee river.
When we returned to the army, Kirkpatrick's battalion was placed on
severe picket duty--its line extending from the mouth of the Chickamauga
up the Tennessee some three miles, where it connected with the line of
the First Kentucky cavalry.
"This duty was exceedingly heavy. The pickets stood in squads of three
every four hundred yards, with mounted patrols to ride the length of the
whole line. One would suppose that men who had ridden through the States
of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia and Georgia, and been in
as many as twenty-five or thirty engagements, in the space of three
months, would be completely worn out, discouraged, and disheartened. Not
so, however, the few left were willing and anxious to thoroughly do
soldier's duty."
The writer goes on to narrate how after all these trials, came the order
to dismount Morgan's men--generous reward for their toil and
sacrifices. He speaks of Forrest's gallant stand against it--preventing
the execution of the order, but costing the high-souled chief his own
command, forcing him to seek other fields of enterprise, and with an
organization of conscripts and absentees win fights that a romancer
would not dare to imagine. He speaks, too, of unhappy dissensions among
officers which added to the discouraging condition of the little
command.
But the brave fellows patiently endured all--watching and hoping fondly
for the return of the imprisoned leader. The two battalions were at
length placed in a brigade commanded by Colonel Grigsby; in which were
the Ninth and First Kentucky.
The writer describes the dreary days and long cold nights of that
winter. The arduous duty--men shivering through the dark, dragging
hours, with eyes fixed on the enemy's signal lights burning on Waldron's
ridge and Lookout mountain. Then the Federal battalions pouring, one
night, across the river--the bright blaze and quick crash of rifles,
suddenly breaking out along the picket line. The hurried saddling and
rapid reinforcement, but the steady Federal advance driving the cavalry
back. Even amid the snarl of musketry and roar of cannon, could be heard
the splash of the boats plying from shore to shore. Couriers were sent
to army headquarters, with the information, but, losing their way in the
pitch darkness, did not report until day light. Next day came the grand
Federal attack and the terrible and unaccountable "stampede" of the
entire Confederate army from Missionary ridge--that army which a few
weeks before had won the great victory of Chickamauga.
When General Bragg halted at Dalton, this brigade was again posted on
the front and suffered, hungry, half clad (many barefooted), through
that awful winter.
But a great joy awaited them--before the spring came it brought them
relief. General Morgan made his way safely (after his escape) to the
Confederate lines. All along his route through South Carolina and
Georgia, he was met by a series of heart-felt ovations. Crowds flocked
to congratulate him. All the people united in greeting him. The
officials in all the towns he visited, prepared his reception. The
highest and lowest in the land were alike eager to do him honor. The
recollection of his former career and the romantic incidents of his
escape combined to create a wonderful interest in him. Perhaps no man
ever received such a welcome from the people of his choice. At Richmond,
the interest manifested in him knew no bounds. He was the guest of the
city for weeks--but none others felt the true and earnest satisfaction
at his deliverance and return, which repaid the devoted band of his
followers who had so anxiously looked for him. The Morgan men felt, in
the knowledge that their idolized leader was safe, a consolation for all
that they had endured.
General Morgan's first care, upon arriving at Richmond, was to strongly
urge measures which he thought would conduce, if not to the release, at
least to a mitigation of the rigorous treatment of his officers and men
in prison. He repeatedly brought the subject to the notice of the
Confederate authorities, but perfect indifference was manifested
regarding it. The officials found nothing in their soft berths at
Richmond which could enable them to realize the discomforts of a prison,
and the chances of their own captivity appeared so remote that they
really could not sympathize with those who had the ill-luck to be
captured. Just before leaving Richmond, General Morgan addressed a
letter to President Davis, dated the 24th of March, in which he declared
that, while imperatively summoned by a sense of duty to place himself at
the head of the remnant of his old division, which was still in the
field, he desired to earnestly press the claims of those who were
captive to the best offices of their Government. No men, he said, better
deserved than his own "the proud title of Confederate soldiers," and
none had a better right to expect that every effort would be made by
their countrymen in their behalf. He stated that in his entire service,
"not one act of cruelty was ever committed by men of my command, but
prisoners of war met with uniform good treatment at our hands." In
response to all this, Commissioner Ould made a public protest against
the treatment of the officers confined in the penitentiaries, and was
assured that their condition was good enough and would not be bettered.
General Morgan was naturally desirous of having all of the men of his
old command assigned him, but in this he was grievously disappointed.
Breckinridge's regiment, the Ninth Kentucky, was positively refused him;
nor was he permitted to have Dortch's battalion, although it was
composed of men from more than one regiment of his old division, the
bulk of which was in prison. Kirkpatrick's battalion petitioned to be
assigned to him, immediately that the news of his arrival within the
Confederate lines was known. General Morgan was, in this respect, the
victim of an utterly absurd policy regarding organization and
discipline, which was prevalent about this time among the military sages
at Richmond. Some other equally insane idea having just gone out of
date, this one was seized on with all the enthusiasm with which
theorists adopt fancies costing them nothing but the exercise of a crazy
imagination. It is hard to combat a fantasy. Three years of warfare had
elapsed, and the red-tape and closet warriors suddenly discovered and
gravely declared a reform which was to produce a military millenium. All
officers were to be removed from the commands with which they had served
during these three years, and placed elsewhere. This _reform_ was to
pervade the army. This separation of officers and men who had learned
mutual trust in each other, was intended to produce a perfect and
harmonious discipline. A commander who had acquired the confidence and
love of his men, was, in the opinion of the Richmond gentry, a dangerous
man--such a feeling between troops and officers was highly irregular and
injurious. They thought that the best way to improve the morale of the
army was to destroy all that (in common opinion) goes to make it.
They said that this policy would make the army "a machine," and it
would be difficult to conceive of a more utterly worthless machine than
it would have then been. It is highly probable that, under certain
conditions, the Southern boys can be disciplined. If a few of them were
caught up at a time, and were penned up in barracks for five or six
years, so that a fair chance could be had at them, they might perhaps be
made automatons, as solemn and amenable as the Dutch of the "old army."
But it was absolutely impossible to so discipline the thousands of
volunteers who were suddenly organized and initiated at once into
campaigns and the most arduous duties of the field. In the lack of this
discipline, it was imperatively necessary to cherish between officers
and men the most cordial relations, and to leave always in command those
officers whose characters and services had inspired love, confidence,
and respect.
In the spring of 1864, General Morgan was sent to take command of the
Department of Southwestern Virginia, and which included also a portion
of East Tennessee.
The forces at his disposal were two Kentucky cavalry brigades and the
militia, or "reserves," of that region. One of these brigades of cavalry
had been previously commanded by General George B. Hodge, and was
subsequently commanded by General Cosby. The other was commanded by
Colonel Giltner. Both were composed of fine material, and were together
some two thousand or twenty-five hundred strong.
Kirkpatrick's battalion had passed the latter part of the winter and
early part of spring at Decatur, Georgia, a small village near Atlanta.
Here it enjoyed comparative rest and comfort. The men recovered from the
effects of previous hardships, and the effective strength of the command
was more than doubled by men who escaped from prison, or who, having
been absent upon various pretexts, hurried back as soon as they learned
of General Morgan's return.
Leaving Decatur in April, the battalion marched leisurely through
Georgia and South and North Carolina--receiving everywhere the greatest
kindness at the hands of the citizens--and reported, in early May, to
General Morgan at Saltville in Western Virginia. Almost immediately
after its arrival, it was called upon to again confront the enemy.
Upon the 8th or 9th of May, the intelligence was received of the advance
of strong columns of the enemy; the department was threatened,
simultaneously, by a raid upon the salt works, and the approach of a
heavy force of infantry and cavalry to Dublin depot, not far from New
river bridge. The cavalry column advancing upon Saltville was commanded
by General Averill, and the other by General Crook. It was of the utmost
importance to repulse both. The former, if successful, would capture the
salt works, and the lead mines near Wytheville, and the loss of either
would have been a great and irreparable disaster; the latter, if
established at New river, or that vicinity, would entirely cut off
communication with Richmond, prevent the transmission of supplies, from
all the region westward, to General Lee's army and might do incalculable
damages besides. It was necessary then that battle should be given to
both, and that they should be crippled to some extent, if too strong to
be defeated.
The dismounted cavalry of the department--most of which were men of
Morgan's old division--about four hundred strong, were sent to reinforce
the troops under General Jenkins. The latter had fallen back before
Crook to Dublin depot. General Morgan prepared with Giltner's brigade,
and the mounted men of his old command, now formed into two battalions
commanded by Captains Kirkpatrick and Cassell, and about six hundred
strong in all, to fight Averill. The two battalions of Kirkpatrick and
Cassell, or the "Morgan brigade," as the organization was then called,
were placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alston.
On the 9th, General Morgan became convinced, from reports of his scouts,
that Averill did not intend to attack Saltville but that he was about to
march on Wytheville. Leaving Saltville on the 10th, General Morgan
followed upon the track of the enemy to the junction of the
Jeffersonville and Wytheville and Jeffersonville and Crab Orchard
roads. Here Averill had taken the Crab Orchard road, designing, General
Morgan believed, to induce a close pursuit.
Had General Morgan followed upon his track, Averill, by the judicious
employment of a comparatively small force, could have held him in check
in the mountains, and could himself have turned upon Wytheville,
captured the provost-guard there, destroyed the military stores, the
lead mines, and torn up the railroad, rendering it useless for weeks.
General Morgan therefore moved directly through Burk's garden to
Wytheville, thus (taking the shorter road) anticipating his wily
adversary. Reaching Wytheville some hours in advance of his command.
General Morgan placed a small detachment of General Jones' brigade of
cavalry, which he found there, under Colonel George Crittenden and
ordered that officer to occupy a small pass in the mountain between
"Crocket's Cave" and Wytheville, through which the enemy would have to
advance upon the town, or else be forced to make a wide detour.
On the afternoon of the 11th, the command reached Wytheville and were
received by the terrified citizens with the heartiest greetings. The
little town had been once captured by the Federals and a portion of it
burned. The ladies clapped their hands and waved their handkerchiefs
joyfully in response to the assurances of the men that the enemy should
not come in sight of the town. Fortunately, while the men were resting
near Wytheville, their attention was attracted by the efforts of a squad
of citizens to handle an old six-pounder which "belonged to the town." A
good deal of laughter was occasioned by their impromptu method.
General Morgan, having no artillery, at once took charge of it and
called for volunteers to man it. Edgar Davis and Jerome Clark of Captain
Cantrill's company and practical artillerists came forward and were
placed in command of the piece.
About 3-1/2 P.M., the enemy engaged Colonel Crittenden at the gap. The
column was immediately put in motion and marched briskly in the
direction of the firing. When near the gap, it filed to the left, and
moving around the mountain and through the skirting woods, was soon in
line, upon the right flank and threatening the rear of the enemy.
Alston's brigade was formed on the right, occupying an open field,
extending from Giltner's left to the mountain. The enemy at the first
intimation of this movement had withdrawn from the mouth of the gap and
was advantageously posted upon a commanding ridge. Both brigades were
dismounted, under a smart fire from sharpshooters, and advanced rapidly,
driving in the skirmishers and coming down upon the enemy (before his
formation was entirely completed), they dislodged him from his position.
Falling back about five hundred yards, he took position again around the
dwelling and buildings upon Mr. Crockett's farm, and maintained it
obstinately for some time. The piece of artillery, well served by the
gallant volunteers, did excellent service here.
General Morgan, himself, assisted to handle it. The enemy were dislodged
from this position also. The fight continued until after nightfall, and
was a succession of charges upon the one side and retreats upon the
other. The Federal troops were well trained and their officers behaved
with great gallantry.
General Morgan's loss in this engagement, in killed and wounded, was
about fifty. The enemy's loss was more severe. Nearly one hundred
prisoners were taken and more than that number of horses.
General Morgan was cordial in his praise of the alacrity, courage and
endurance of officers and men.
It was, indeed, a very important affair and a defeat would have been
exceedingly disastrous.
The dismounted men who had been sent under Colonel Smith to reinforce
General Jenkins, were engaged at the hotly contested action at Dublin
depot, and behaved in a manner which gained them high commendation.
Colonel Smith reached Dublin about 10 A.M. on the 10th, and learned
that the forces under the command of General Jenkins were being hard
pressed by the enemy and that the gallant General was severely wounded.
Colonel Smith immediately marched with his command, about four hundred
strong, toward the scene of the action. After proceeding a short
distance, he found the Confederate forces in full retreat and some
disorder. He pressed on toward the front, through the retreating mass.
Reporting to Colonel McCausland (who assumed command upon the fall of
General Jenkins), and who was bravely struggling with a rear-guard to
check the enemy's pursuit, Colonel Smith was instructed to form his
command in the woods upon the left of the road and endeavor to cover the
retreat.
This was promptly done, and in a few minutes Colonel Smith received the
pursuing enemy with a heavy and unexpected volley.
Driving back the foremost assailants, Colonel Smith advanced in turn and
pressed his success for an hour. Then the entire hostile force coming
up, he was forced back slowly and in good order to Dublin, which had
already been evacuated by the troops of Colonel McCausland.
Colonel Smith followed thence after Colonel McCausland to New River
bridge, crossing the river just before sunset, and encamping on the
opposite bank.
After some skirmishing on the next morning, the Confederates retreated,
giving up the position. The fight on the 10th was a most gallant
one--highly creditable to the commanding officer, subordinates and men.
Among the killed was C.S. Cleburne (brother of General Pat Cleburne),
one of the most promising young officers in the army. General Morgan had
made him a captain, a short time previously, for unusual gallantry.
In the latter part of May, General Morgan undertook the expedition known
as the "last" or "June raid" into Kentucky. He had many reasons for
undertaking this expedition. He was impatient to retrieve, in some
manner, the losses of the Ohio raid, by another campaign of daring
conception, and, he hoped, successful execution. He wished to recruit
his thinned ranks with Kentuckians, and to procure horses for the men
who had none. Moreover, there were excellent military reasons for this
movement.
Averill and Cook were not far off, and could pounce down at any moment,
but were supposed to be awaiting reinforcements, without which they
would not return.
These reinforcements were coming from Kentucky under Burbridge and
Hobson, and consisted of all or nearly all the troops in Kentucky,
available for active service.
General Morgan despaired of successfully resisting all these forces if
they united and bore down on the department. But he believed that, if he
could move into Kentucky, and gain the rear of the forces coming thence
before the junction with the other Federal forces was affected, he could
defeat the plan. The Kentucky troops would turn and pursue him, and the
attack upon the department would not be made. In short, he hoped to
avoid invasion and attack by assuming the offensive--to keep the enemy
out of Southwestern Virginia by making an irruption into Kentucky.
He wrote on the 31st of May to General S. Cooper, Adjutant General,
detailing his plan and the information upon which it was based.
In this letter, he said: "While General Buckner was in command of this
department, he instructed me to strike a blow at the enemy in Kentucky.
"As I was on the eve of executing this order, the rapid movement of the
enemy from the Kanawha valley, in the direction of the Tennessee and
Virginia Railroad, made it necessary that I should remain to co-operate
with the other forces for the defense of this section. Since the repulse
of the enemy, I have obtained the consent of General Jones to carry out
the original plan agreed on between General Buckner and myself."
"I have just received information that General Hobson left Mt. Sterling
on the 23rd inst., with six regiments of cavalry (about three thousand
strong), for Louisa, on the Sandy. This force he has collected from all
the garrisons in Middle and Southeastern Kentucky. At Louisa there is
another force of about two thousand five hundred cavalry, under a
colonel of a Michigan regiment, recently sent to that vicinity. It is
the reported design of General Hobson to unite with this latter force,
and co-operate with Generals Averill and Crook in another movement upon
the salt works and lead mines of Southwestern Virginia." "This
information has determined me to move at once into Kentucky, and thus
distract the plans of the enemy by initiating a movement within his
lines. My force will be about two thousand two hundred men. I expect to
be pursued by the force at Louisa, which I will endeavor to avoid. There
will be nothing in the State to retard my progress but a few scattered
provost-guards."
In the latter part of May, General Morgan commenced the movement
indicated in this letter.
His division consisted of three brigades. The first under command of
Colonel Giltner, was between ten and eleven hundred strong, and was a
magnificent body of hardy, dashing young men, drawn chiefly from the
middle and eastern counties of Kentucky. The second brigade was composed
of the mounted men of the old Morgan division. It consisted of three
small battalions, commanded respectively by Lieutenant Colonel Bowles
and Majors Cassell and Kirkpatrick. It was between five and six hundred
strong and was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alston. The third brigade
was composed of the dismounted men of both the other commands, the
greater number, however, being from the second brigade. It was organized
into two battalions, commanded respectively by Lieutenant Colonel Martin
and Major Geo. R. Diamond, a brave and exceedingly competent officer of
Giltner's brigade. The third brigade was about eight hundred strong and
was commanded by Colonel D. Howard Smith. No artillery was taken--it
could not have been transported over the roads which General Morgan
expected to travel. The column reached Pound Gap on the 2nd of June and
found it occupied by a force of the enemy. Colonel Smith was ordered to
clear the path, and pushing his brigade forward, he soon did it. Several
horses were captured, which was accepted as a happy omen.
[Illustration: MAP SHOWING ROUTE TAKEN BY GEN. MORGAN ON HIS LAST RAID
INTO KENTUCKY.]
Sending a scouting party to observe the direction taken by the
retreating enemy, and to ascertain if they joined a larger force and
turned again, General Morgan pressed on, hoping to reach Mt.
Sterling--the general Federal depot of supplies and most important post
in that portion of Kentucky--before General Burbridge could return from
the extreme eastern part of the State. As Burbridge was incumbered with
artillery and would be two or three days in getting the news, General
Morgan confidently believed that he could reach Mt. Sterling first. The
mountainous country of Southeastern Kentucky, so rugged, steep and
inhospitable, as to seem almost impossible of access, had to be
traversed for this purpose. More than one hundred and fifty miles of
this region was marched over in seven days. The dismounted men behaved
heroically. Straining up the steep mountain sides, making their toilsome
way through gloomy and deep ravines, over tremendous rocks and every
formidable obstacle which nature collects in such regions against the
intrusion of man, footsore, bleeding, panting, they yet never faltered
or complained, and richly won the enthusiastic eulogy of their
commander. They marched from twenty-two to twenty-seven miles each day.
This march was terribly severe upon the mounted commands also. The
fatigue and lack of forage caused many horses to break down--and the
dismounted brigade was largely augmented. Colonel Giltner stated that he
lost more than two hundred horses in his brigade.
On the 6th of June, Colonel Smith was transferred to the command of the
second brigade. Lieutenant Colonel Martin was then assigned to command
of the third. On the 7th, finding that he would succeed in anticipating
Burbridge at Mt. Sterling and that he would not require his whole force
to take the place, General Morgan dispatched Captain Jenkins with fifty
men to destroy the bridges upon the Frankfort and Louisville Railroad to
prevent troops arriving from Indiana for the defense of Lexington and
Central Kentucky. He sent Major Chenoweth to destroy bridges on the
Kentucky Central Railroad to prevent the importation of troops from
Cincinnati, and he sent Captain Peter Everett with one hundred men to
capture Maysville. General Morgan instructed these officers to
accomplish their respective commissions thoroughly but promptly, to
create as much excitement as possible, occasion the concentration of
forces already in the State at points widely apart, to magnify his
strength and circulate reports which would bewilder and baffle any
attempt to calculate his movements and to meet him within three or four
days at Lexington.
When the command emerged from the sterile country of the mountains into
the fair lands of Central Kentucky, the change had a perceptible and
happy effect upon the spirits of the men. Night had closed around them,
on the evening of the 7th, while they were still struggling through the
ghastly defiles or up the difficult paths of the "Rebel trace," still
environed by the bleak mountain scenery. During the night, they arrived
at the confines of the beautiful "Blue Grass country," and when the sun
arose, clear and brilliant, a lovely and smiling landscape had replaced
the lowering, stony, dungeon like region whence they had at last
escaped. The contrast seemed magical--the song, jest and laugh burst
forth again and the men drew new life and courage from the scene.
In the early part of the day, the 8th, the column reached the vicinity
of Mt. Sterling, and preparations were made for an immediate attack upon
the place. On the previous day, Captain Lawrence Jones, commanding the
advance-guard, had been sent with his guard to take position upon the
main road between Mt. Sterling and Lexington, and Captain Jackson was
sent with one company to take position between Mt. Sterling and Paris.
These officers were instructed to prevent communication, by either
telegraph or courier, between Mt. Sterling and the other two places. The
enemy were simultaneously attacked by detachments from the first and
second brigades and soon forced to surrender with little loss on either
side. Major Holliday, of the first brigade, made a gallant charge upon
the encampment which drove them in confusion into the town. Three
hundred and eighty prisoners were taken, a large quantity of stores and
a number of wagons and teams.
Leaving Colonel Giltner to destroy the stores, and provide for the
remounting upon the captured horses of a portion of the dismounted men,
General Morgan marched immediately for Lexington with the second
brigade. Burbridge making a wonderful march--moving nearly ninety miles
in the last thirty hours--reached Mt. Sterling before daybreak on the
9th. Then occurred a great disaster to General Morgan's plans and it
fell upon the brave boys who had so patiently endured, on foot, the
long, painful march. Some of these men had marched from Hyter's Gap in
Virginia, to Mt. Sterling, a distance of two hundred and thirty miles in
ten days. Their shoes were worn to tatters and their feet raw and
bleeding, yet on the last day they pressed on twenty-seven miles.
Encamping not far from the town but to the east of it, Colonel Martin
directed Lieutenant Colonel Brent, who had been left with him in command
of some forty or fifty men to act as rear-guard, to establish his guard
at least one mile from the encampment and picket the road whence the
danger might come. Lieutenant Colonel Brent had been assigned to General
Morgan's command a short time previously to this expedition and was not
one of his old officers. Information which had been received a day or
two before had induced the belief that Burbridge was not near. Scouts
sent by General Morgan to observe his movements had returned, reporting
that he had moved on toward Virginia. This information convinced General
Morgan that he would not arrive at Mt. Sterling for two or three days
after the 8th--although satisfied that he would come.
Colonel Giltner's command was encamped some distance from Martin's and
upon a different road, and was not in a position to afford the latter
any protection. Brent, neglecting the precaution enjoined by Martin,
posted his guard only one or two hundred yards from the encampment of
the dismounted men and extended his pickets but a short distance
further.
On the next morning, about three o'clock, the enemy dashed into the
camp, the pickets giving no warning, and shot and rode over the men as
they lay around their fires. Many were killed before they arose from
their blankets. Notwithstanding the disadvantage of the surprise, the
men stood to their arms and fighting resolutely, although without
concert, soon drove the assailants out of the camp. Being then formed by
their officers, they presented a formidable front to the enemy who
returned, in greater strength as fresh numbers arrived to the attack.
The fight was close and determined upon both sides. Colonel Martin's
headquarters were at a house near by. He was awakened by the rattling
shots and springing upon his horse, rode toward the camp to find the
enemy between himself and his men. Without hesitation he rode at full
speed through the hostile throng, braving the volleys of both lines, and
rejoined his command. The enemy brought up a piece of artillery, which
was taken by a desperate effort, but was soon recaptured. The poor
fellows undaunted by weariness, the sudden attack upon them, and their
desperate situation fought with unflinching courage for more than an
hour.
At length Colonel Martin fell back, cutting his way through Mt. Sterling
which was occupied by the enemy. Two miles from the town he met Colonel
Giltner, and proposed to the latter that, with their combined forces,
the fight should be renewed. Giltner acceding, it was arranged that he
should attack in front, while Martin, moving around to the other side of
the town again, should take the enemy in the rear. This being done, the
fight was pressed again with energy, until Martin's ammunition failing
he was compelled to withdraw. The enemy was too much crippled to pursue.
In this affair, although inflicting severe loss on the enemy, Martin's
command lost heavily. Fourteen commissioned officers were killed and
forty privates. Eighty were so severely wounded that they could not be
removed, one hundred were captured and more than that number cut off and
dispersed. Colonel Martin was twice wounded.
On the morning of the 10th, General Morgan entered Lexington after a
slight skirmish. He burned the government depot and stables and captured
a sufficient number of horses to mount all of the dismounted men, who
were then returned to their respective companies in the first and second
brigades.
Moving thence to Georgetown, General Morgan sent Captain Cooper with one
company to demonstrate toward Frankfort. Captain Cooper ably executed
his orders, alarming and confining to the fortification around the town
a much superior force of the enemy.
From Georgetown, General Morgan directed his march to Cynthiana,
reaching that place on the morning of the 11th. After a sharp fight the
garrison, four hundred strong, was captured. Unfortunately, a portion of
the town was burned in the engagement, the enemy having occupied the
houses. While the fight was going on in town, Colonel Giltner engaged a
body of the enemy, fifteen hundred strong, under General Hobson. General
Morgan, after the surrender of the garrison, took Cassell's battalion
and, gaining Hobson's rear, compelled him also to surrender.
A large quantity of stores were captured and destroyed at Cynthiana.
General Hobson was paroled and sent, under escort of Captain C.C. Morgan
and two other officers, to Cincinnati, to effect, if possible, the
exchange of himself and officers for certain of General Morgan's
officers then in prison and, failing in that, to report as prisoner
within the Confederate lines. He was not permitted to negotiate the
exchange and his escort were detained for some weeks.
On the 12th, the command numbering, after all losses, and deducting
details to guard prisoners and wagon train and to destroy the track and
bridges for some miles of the Kentucky Central railroad, some twelve
hundred men, was attacked by a force of infantry, cavalry and artillery
under General Burbridge which General Morgan estimated at five thousand
two hundred strong. Giltner's command had been encamped on the Paris
road and was first engaged by the enemy. This brigade was almost
entirely out of ammunition. The cartridges captured the day before did
not fit the guns with which it was armed. General Morgan had directed
Colonel Giltner to take, also, the captured guns for which this
ammunition was available, but he was unwilling to abandon his better
rifles and provided his brigade with neither captured guns nor
cartridges. Giltner soon became hotly engaged with the advancing enemy
and although the second brigade moved to his support, their united
strength could oppose no effectual resistance.
General Morgan ordered the entire command to retreat upon the Augusta
road and charged with the mounted reserve to cover the withdrawal. The
action was very disastrous. Colonel Giltner, cut off from the Augusta,
was forced to retreat upon the Leesburg road. Colonel Smith, at first,
doubtful of the condition of affairs, did not immediately take part in
the fight. His gallant and efficient Adjutant, Lieutenant Arthur
Andrews, rode to the scene of the fight, and returning, declared that
Colonel Giltner required his prompt support. Colonel Smith instantly put
his brigade in motion and was soon in front of the enemy.
He says: "My brigade, gallantly led by its battalion commander, attacked
the enemy with great spirit and drove him back along its entire length.
The first battalion moved with more rapidity than the third, doubtless
on account of the better nature of the ground it had to traverse, until
it swung around almost at right angles with the line of the third
battalion. Hastening to correct this defect, I rode to Colonel Bowles,
but before he could obey my instructions a heavy force was massed upon
him, and after a desperate contest he was forced back. I directed him to
reform his command behind a stone fence on the Ruddle's Mill road, which
he did promptly and checked the enemy with heavy loss. At this juncture
I looked for Kirkpatrick, who had been holding his line with his usual
energy and determination. I found that his battalion had been
separated--two companies, commanded respectively by Captain Cantrill and
Lieutenant Gardner, had been fighting hard on his left, while the other
two were acting with the first battalion. Captain Kirkpatrick, severely
wounded, was forced to quit the field. About the same time, gallant
Bowles was driven from his second position, strong as it was, by
overpowering numbers. Colonel Smith now retreated through Cynthiana,
seeking to rejoin General Morgan on the Augusta road. He suddenly found
himself intercepted and surrounded on three sides by the enemy, while
upon the other side was the Licking river. Seeing the condition of
affairs, the men became unmanageable and dashed across the river. Having
been reformed on the other side, they charged a body of cavalry which
then confronted them and made good their retreat, although scattered and
in confusion.
Collecting all the men, who could be gathered together upon the Augusta
road, General Morgan paroled his prisoners and rapidly retreated. His
loss in this action was very heavy, and he was compelled to march
instantly back to Virginia. Moving through Flemingsburg and West
Liberty, he passed on over the mountains and reached Abingdon on the
20th of June. On this raid, great and inexcusable excesses were
committed, but, except in two or three flagrant instances, they were
committed by men who had never before served with General Morgan. The
men of his old division and Giltner's fine brigade were rarely guilty.
General Morgan had accomplished the result he had predicted, in averting
the invasion of Southwestern Virginia, but at heavy cost to himself.