GENERAL JOHN H. MORGAN’S RAID INTO KENTUCKY, JULY 4-28, 1862
At Huntsville, Alabama, John H. Morgan was born on the 28th of June,
1825. He was descended from Virginia ancestry, his father having
moved from Virginia to Alabama in early manhood. His father married
a daughter of John W. Hunt, of Lexington, Kentucky, a man of wealth
and high standing. The father moved to Kentucky in 1829 and purchased
a farm close to Lexington. At that time his son, John H., was four
years of age. The young Morgan grew up proud spirited, brave, manly,
enjoying and rejoicing in the best things of life. He became a very
companionable man. He distributed kindness wherever he went, and none
ever came to him in need and went away empty handed. He was extremely
generous in his judgment of men and sincere in all his friendships.
In military dress, he was among the handsomest of men, six feet tall,
weighing about one hundred and eighty-five pounds, erect, handsome,
graceful. In uniform he attracted attention wherever he went. He was
a lieutenant in a Kentucky cavalry regiment in the Mexican war.
In 1857 John H. Morgan organized a militia company in Lexington
called the “Lexington Rifles.” Later, they became a part of the
Kentucky State Guard. This company was thoroughly drilled and
comprised many of the best young men of the State. Its uniform was
handsome and striking.
It was not until near the end of September, 1861, that General
Morgan undertook service in the armies of the Confederacy. He would
have been earlier in the conflict but for the serious illness of
his wife, who died in the summer of 1861. The authorities suspected
the loyalty of the State Guard and an order had been issued for its
disarmament. This was resented by many of the companies and led
a majority of its men of military tastes to take sides with the
South. After concealing the guns of the Lexington Rifles, early in
the evening of September 21st, General Morgan left Lexington with
two-thirds of his company, and passing through Anderson County,
camped at Lawrenceburg, twenty-two miles away. John Crepps Wickliffe,
later lieutenant colonel of the 9th Kentucky Infantry, also had a
company of State Guards, and these resolved to take service in the
Confederate army. Wickliffe had captured a few Home Guards in Nelson
County, and this put him in conflict with the Federal authorities.
He united his men with those of Morgan and together they numbered
three hundred. The interference with the Home Guards rendered further
stay in Kentucky dangerous. After two days’ hard marching, this
force came to Green River, which was then the dividing line between
the Federal and Confederate forces, and here the newcomers were
enthusiastically welcomed. Captain Wickliffe attached his company to
the 9th Kentucky infantry, then being organized by Colonel Hunt. Half
of Morgan’s infantry had come out mounted. The remainder managed to
find mounts, and there were numerous horsemen scattered around the
Confederate camps who quickly took service with Morgan. In order to
employ his men and to give them experience and steadiness, he used
them as scouts, sometimes, on such expeditions, reaching fifty miles
into territory occupied by the Federals. During the winter two other
companies came to Morgan, under command of Captain Thomas Allen of
Shelbyville and James W. Bowles of Louisville. These made Morgan’s
original squadron, which by the daring and genius of its commander
quickly won fame and renown.
In 1859 a railroad was completed from Louisville, Kentucky, to
Nashville, Tennessee, a distance of one hundred and eighty-six miles.
Its chartered name was the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. All the
streams in Kentucky run northward into the Ohio River. The Louisville
& Nashville passed southwestwardly, and in pulling away from the
Ohio, of necessity it ran perpendicular to the course of the streams,
all of which entered the Ohio or were tributaries of streams that
did. Salt River, Rolling Fork, Green River, Nolin, Barren, Cumberland
and numerous smaller streams all traversed the pathway of this
railroad. The topography of the country through which the Louisville
& Nashville Railroad was constructed naturally demanded many bridges
and trestles of great length. Few railroads were ever built that
offered better facilities for destruction by cavalry raids.
A man of General Morgan’s boldness, intense activity and prevalent
courage could not long remain idle. The enemy in front of him were
the people he had come to fight. All who wore blue were his foes. To
destroy lines of communication and harass and kill these men was the
purpose for which Morgan had enlisted, and he was never idle when he
could get permission to assail and punish them.
In December, 1861, when he was a captain, he won reputation by the
destruction of the bridge over Bacon’s Creek, twenty miles south of
Elizabethtown. At that time the immediate command of the Confederate
troops on the south side of Green River was held by General Thomas
C. Hindman. He and Morgan were kindred spirits and he aided the
cavalryman in many ways in these incursions. General Morgan was
overjoyed when he received permission from General Hindman to
undertake the destruction of the bridge over Bacon’s Creek. In this
enterprise, he was compelled to march for fifty miles in a country
well garrisoned by Federal soldiers. His squadron at that time
numbered two hundred. Apprehending serious work, he took all his men
with him who had mounts that would pass inspection. Nobody could tell
what moment Morgan would be compelled to fight, and he aligned every
available man. The Confederate forces, by this time, were south of
Barren River and it was thirty miles from the Barren to the Green
River. Morgan camped the first night a few miles away from Green
River, and concentrated his forces in a forest on the top of a hill.
He waited until night to resume his march. He crossed the river just
above Woodsonville, in Hart County, and riding until midnight reached
Bacon’s Creek and was glad to find that there were no guards. His
followers at that time were not as experienced in the destruction
of bridges as they became later, but after kindling the fires and
doing all in their power to aid its destructive agencies, in three
hours the bridge crumbled into ruins and its burning timbers told the
story of his success. The results from a military standpoint were
not great. It delayed the advance of the Federals a few days, but to
Morgan and his men it was a great object lesson. They now began to
realize how easy it was by these long marches to do immense damage to
the means of transportation on which the Federals relied to supply
their forces, now slowly but surely making their way southward.
On the 20th of January, 1862, General Morgan undertook a still
more perilous task. With five men he left Bell’s Tavern in Barren
County, found a ferry where he could cross the Green River, and rode
into Lebanon, sixty miles distant, with this small force. Several
hundred Federal troops were encamped near Lebanon and there were
many blue-coated stragglers in town. Morgan rode furiously up and
down through the streets, destroyed supplies and paroled a number
of prisoners. Far within the Federal lines, it became necessary
for him to resort to strategy. He took from the Federal prisoners
their blue overcoats, and he and his soldiers donned these and this
enabled him to pass where, if his identity had been known, he would
have been captured or killed. Unwilling to return empty-handed after
this hazardous journey, he decided to bring with him five prisoners.
Mounting them on horses, he added to his trophies some flags. He made
a vigorous forced march. This was his only hope of escape from the
dangerous situation into which he had fearlessly come.
Pursued by two companies of cavalry he brought his prisoners and
trophies to the banks of the Green River and crossed it and turned
the ferryboat loose, as the Federals arrived on the opposite shore.
These two expeditions, so successful and accomplished under the most
difficult surroundings, not only tried the mettle and the courage
of Morgan’s followers, but gave their leader a wide reputation for
daring. Morgan thus early acquired a taste for such work, which he
afterwards carried out on a much larger scale, and with such success,
which in a little while would mark him as a great partisan leader.
Between the Green River and the Nolin River, or Creek, was twenty-one
miles. Morgan and his scouts had become thoroughly familiar with
every foot of ground, and frequent dashes were made by them into
this territory. There is nothing can create so much enthusiasm in a
soldier as activity and success. The entire command became confident
and courageous in such undertakings, and were impatient for their
constant repetition.
General Albert Sidney Johnston evacuated Bowling Green on the 14th
of February, 1862, and on the 16th of February, Fort Donelson was
captured and fifteen thousand Confederate soldiers and a large amount
of supplies were surrendered to General Grant. A few days later
Nashville, Tennessee, was evacuated. This transferred the operations
of the Confederates south and east of Nashville. From the ruins of
Fort Donelson, General Nathan Bedford Forrest had brought out his
command, and the Confederate cavalry, under Forrest and Morgan,
became a part of the garrison at Nashville, immediately preceding
its evacuation. When Nashville fell the Confederates moved back to
Corinth, Mississippi, and from thence General Johnston advanced
against General Grant and on the 6th of April, 1862, fought the
Battle of Shiloh. At the termination of this struggle such a ratio
of mortality was exhibited as the world had never before seen. At
Shiloh two hundred and eighty men in every thousand were struck, and
twenty-four thousand dead and wounded was the dreadful echo which
came from this scene of havoc, to tell the world the earnestness of
the purpose which moved and led the men who had entered into the
Civil War.
Change of locality brought no cessation of activity to Morgan and
his men. Two days before the Battle of Shiloh he was commissioned
a colonel and given authority, which was to him far more pleasing
than rank,—to act independently. He had now attained his chiefest
ambition. He had a squadron of brave, chivalrous, dashing young men
who would follow wherever he led the way and go wherever he told
them to go, and he could use them where in his own judgment he could
do the most damage to the enemies of the Southland. In the Battle
of Shiloh General John C. Breckinridge, so wonderfully beloved by
Kentuckians, commanded a division. To this division Morgan’s squadron
was now attached. In this battle there was little for the cavalry to
do, but they performed every service bravely and cheerfully. Morgan’s
losses were slight.
A little while after Shiloh, Morgan received permission to make an
expedition into Tennessee. His force had increased to three hundred
and twenty-five men; marching with a swiftness that his enemy had
not time to calculate, he captured Pulaski, Tennessee, and took four
hundred prisoners. Later he made an effort to capture the city of
Murfreesboro. Here he met reverses and it required some time for him
and his men to recover from the shock of this defeat. Later he made a
raid through Tennessee, reaching as far north as Cave City, Kentucky.
Early in the spring, Captain John B. Castleman of Lexington brought
a company of eighty men, and in May, 1862, two cavalry companies,
commanded by Captains Gano and Huffman, came to Morgan. With intense
joy he saw his command now increased to five hundred men.
Prior to June, 1862, no really striking cavalry raid had been
made. Small forces had succeeded in limited forays, but they had
accomplished very little, and the panic produced by the appearance
of such squadrons was mild compared with what such expeditions would
later develop.
On the 13th of June, 1862, Stuart had ridden around McClellan’s
Army, making what was known as the Chickahominy Raid. Before Morgan
had heard of this he had secured data for making an expedition into
Kentucky, which in the length of march, in the terrorizing of the
enemy and in the destruction of property was to be one of the famous
cavalry expeditions of the war. A partisan ranger regiment from
Georgia, under Colonel A. A. Hunt, had been assigned to Morgan’s
command, and he now had, all told, eight hundred and sixty-seven men.
A few more than half of this force were Kentuckians. Hope beat high
in the bosom of the Kentucky contingent when, on the 4th of July,
1862, they rode out of Knoxville, Tennessee, and took the highway for
Sparta, one hundred miles northwest. The portion of Tennessee then
compassed by the command was not in sympathy with the Confederacy.
It was mountainous, sparsely settled and full of bushwhackers, who
improved their skill as marksmen by firing from behind rocks and
trees into Morgan’s followers. On the 7th of July they encamped
a few miles from Livingston, Tennessee, and by the middle of the
day following, the Cumberland River was forded near the village of
Selina. Tompkinsville, the county seat of Monroe County, Kentucky,
was only eighteen miles distant and here was a portion of a battalion
of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Morgan thought this would prove
easy of capture. His presence was unsuspected by the enemy. Sending
forward his scouts to investigate, he held his troops on the banks of
the Cumberland until darkness came. This gave his men a few hours’
rest and at midnight he resumed the march. He calculated that he
could make three miles an hour over the roads, which were extremely
rough. A short distance from Tompkinsville, Morgan detailed Gano’s
company and a company of Mississippi rangers, under Captain Harris,
to take the road to the right and get in the rear of the enemy on
the main road which led from Glasgow to Tompkinsville. Just after
daybreak he found his enemies. They had intimation of his approach
and had made preparations to give him a warm reception. A few volleys
were fired, and the 2nd Kentucky regiment, dismounted, assaulted the
enemy’s position. In a little while it was all over. Twenty of the
enemy were killed and thirty wounded. Some prisoners were taken,
but Gano and Harris were in the rear and put themselves across the
pathway of the fugitives and Major Jordan, Commandant, and a portion
of his command were made captives. Curiously, only one Confederate
was wounded. Colonel Hunt, commanding the Georgia regiment, was shot
in the leg and the bone shattered. He was left behind and died in
a few days. Wagons, arms, munitions of war, the very things Morgan
wanted, were found in abundance. As General Morgan set out with two
hundred unarmed men, this was a great windfall. Saddles and cavalry
equipments were found for many of those who were in want of these
essentials.
[Illustration: GENERAL JOHN H. MORGAN
_In the Early Part of the War_]
It took some hours to destroy the property, parole the prisoners,
and at three o’clock in the afternoon General Morgan set out for
Glasgow. At one o’clock at night he reached that city. These night
marches were hard on his men, but they mystified and terrorized the
enemy. The roughness of the road reduced the speed to three miles an
hour. Captain Bowles’ company, of the 2nd Kentucky, had been largely
recruited at Glasgow. This made a glad and happy reunion between a
portion of the command and their friends. Marching ten miles to Bear
Wallow, General Morgan rested until his telegraph operator, George
A. Ellsworth, could ride to the Louisville & Nashville railroad near
Cave City and attach his pocket instrument to the wires and get the
necessary information as to the disposition of the Federal forces
in front. Heavy storms of rain beat down, and the men as well as
the mounts were drenched to the skin. Riding all night, by eleven
o’clock next morning the command camped within fifteen miles of
Lebanon. For military purposes a railroad had been constructed to
Lebanon from the main line of the Louisville & Nashville at Lebanon
Junction. Detachments were sent out to destroy bridges along this
line. This delayed the march a little while, but at ten o’clock in
the night Morgan surrounded Lebanon, and of the garrison, two hundred
surrendered. The forces sent out to burn the bridges between Lebanon
and Lebanon Junction had no easy sailing. They stopped a train
bearing a large number of soldiers which had been sent to the relief
of Lebanon, and this brought on a battle, in which nobody on either
side was seriously hurt. At Lebanon great treasures were found.
Hundreds of Enfield rifles had been stored there, and buildings
filled with cartridges and ammunition of all kinds which had been
stored away. The two little brass pieces that had received such
rough usage over the narrow and uneven roads, in order to keep pace
with the cavalry, were supplied with all the ammunition they could
need. The hungry were fed and the badly clothed received unlimited
supplies and the tired horses, which had now marched something like
two hundred miles, were replaced, where necessary, with fresh steeds
belonging to the United States Government.
Colonel Morgan issued a stirring proclamation calling upon the young
men of Kentucky to rally to his standard. These were sent forward
by scouts and placed where they thought they would do the most
good. Reaching up to Springfield, ten miles away, another march in
darkness was determined upon, and after tramping all night, at nine
o’clock on Sunday morning Morgan appeared in Harrodsburg. It made
but little difference to these men following Morgan if night was
turned into day. The moon and stars were bright enough for their
guidance and the well-graded and smoothly-packed turnpikes made
plain the paths they were to follow and gave their horses, which had
suffered so severely on the rocky, mountain roads, some rest after
the harassing experiences of the five days before. Here was plenty
of southern sentiment and southern sympathy. A number of Morgan’s
men had come from Harrodsburg, and the people were glad to see a
Confederate force. No time could be allowed for reunions with loved
ones. Marching part of the night, the command reached Lawrenceburg,
where it was necessary to gather more information. Three hundred and
twenty miles had now been put behind these adventurous horsemen. It
was eight days since they left Knoxville. They had averaged forty
miles a day. Ordinarily this terrific strain would have affected the
men seriously, but the pleasure and delight of home-coming to the
Kentuckians and the excitement of those who had never been in the
State kept all the men as fresh and bright as the day, when, with
quickened pulses, they rode out of Knoxville. Stables along the line
supplied some mounts, and the Federal Government had supplied more.
Captures had given arms and ammunition, a few recruits had come in,
and full of hope and full of courage, there were now nine hundred
soldiers; and there was no nine hundred men on the other side that
could have stopped the victorious advance of this daring column. The
three and a half weeks allowed for this journey was so brief that
extended sleep was not considered, and at the dawn of day, the next
morning, stock had been fed and breakfast cooked and the column was
in line on the road from Lawrenceburg to Versailles. Four miles from
Lawrenceburg was the Kentucky River. At the ferry where the turnpike
crossed it was not fordable. The ferryboat had been sunk; the men
quickly raised and repaired it. The whole country was thoroughly
demoralized and frightened by reports of the number of men Morgan had
with him, and the sending out of detachments in many directions had
multiplied in the Federal minds many times the number of his command.
Kentucky was full, at the time, of Home Guards, citizens who had been
armed for the purpose of intimidating the southern sympathizers.
These Home Guards made haste to seek safety and refuge in cities like
Frankfort and Lexington. Every town was looking out for itself. The
country people would make no opposition, for the larger portion of
them were sympathizers, and so Colonel Morgan gave his men a good
rest at Versailles until ten o’clock the next day.
Eight miles from Versailles was the town of Midway, the halfway point
between Lexington and Frankfort, through which a railroad had long
been operated. This railway was used to run trains from Lexington
to Louisville, through Frankfort, a distance of eighty-three miles,
to carry soldiers to impede Morgan’s march. The authorities at
Frankfort and Lexington did not know exactly where Morgan was and so
the advance guard rapidly entering Midway, captured the telegraph
operator. No cavalry commander ever had a more skillful telegraphist
than George A. Ellsworth, and he was a most important factor in
Morgan’s success on these expeditions. He thus tells the story of his
operations at this place:
“At this place I surprised the operator, who was quietly sitting on
the platform in front of his office, enjoying himself hugely. Little
did he suspect that the much-dreaded Morgan was in his vicinity. I
demanded of him to call Lexington and inquire the time of day, which
he did. This I did for the purpose of getting his style of handling
the ‘key’ in writing dispatches. My first impression of his style,
from noting the paper in the instrument, was confirmed. He was,
to use a telegraphic term, a ‘plug’ operator. I adopted his style
of telegraphing and commenced operations. In this office I found
a signal book, which proved very useful. It contained the calls
of all the offices. Despatch after despatch was going to and from
Lexington, Georgetown, Paris and Frankfort, all containing something
in reference to Morgan. On commencing operations, I discovered that
there were two wires on the line along this railroad. One was what we
term a ‘through wire,’ running direct from Lexington to Frankfort,
and not entering any of the way offices. I found that all military
messages were sent over that line. As it did not enter Midway office,
I ordered it to be cut, thus forcing Lexington onto the wire that
ran through the office. I tested the line and found, by applying the
ground wire, it made no difference in the circuit; and, as Lexington
was headquarters, I cut Frankfort off. Midway was called, I answered,
and received the following:
“‘Lexington, July 15th, 1862.
“‘To J. W. Woolums, Operator, Midway:
“‘Will there be any danger in coming to Midway? Is everything right?
“‘Taylor—Conductor.’
“I inquired of my prisoner (the operator) if he knew a man by the
name of Taylor. He said Taylor was the conductor. I immediately gave
Taylor the following reply:
“‘Midway, July 15th, 1862.
“‘To Taylor, Lexington:
“‘All right; come on. No sign of any rebels here.
“‘Woolums.’
“The operator in Cincinnati then called Frankfort. I answered and
received about a dozen unimportant dispatches. He had no sooner
finished than Lexington called Frankfort. Again I answered and
received the following message:
“‘Lexington, July 15th, 1862.
“‘To General Finnell, Frankfort:
“‘I wish you to move the forces to Frankfort, on the line of the
Lexington railroad, immediately, and have the cars follow and
take them up as soon as possible. Further orders will await them
at Midway. I will, in three or four hours, move forward on the
Georgetown pike; will have most of my men mounted. Morgan left
Versailles this morning with eight hundred and fifty men, moving in
the direction of Georgetown.
“‘Brigadier-General Ward.’
“This being our position and intention exactly, it was thought
proper to throw General Ward on some other track. So, in the course
of half an hour, I manufactured and sent the following dispatch,
which was approved by General Morgan:
“‘Midway, July 15th, 1862.
“‘Morgan, with upward of one thousand men, came within a mile of
here, and took the old Franklin road, marching, we suppose, for
Frankfort. This is reliable.
“‘Woolums—Operator.’
“In about ten minutes Lexington again called Frankfort, when I
received the following:
“‘Lexington, July 15th, 1862.
“‘To General Finnell, Frankfort:
“‘Morgan, with more than one thousand men, came within a mile of
here, and took the old Frankfort road. This dispatch received from
Midway, and is reliable. The regiment from Frankfort had better be
recalled.
“‘Brigadier-General Ward.’
“I receipted for this message, and again manufactured a message to
confirm the information General Ward received from Midway, and not
knowing the tariff from Frankfort to Lexington, I could not send a
formal message; so, appearing greatly agitated, I waited until the
circuit was occupied, and broke in, telling them to wait a minute,
and commenced calling Lexington. He answered with as much gusto as I
called him. I telegraphed as follows:
“‘Frankfort to Lexington:
“‘Tell General Ward our pickets are just driven in. Great
excitement. Pickets say force of enemy must be two thousand.
“‘Operator.’
“It was now 2 P. M., and as Colonel Morgan wished to be off for
Georgetown, I ran a secret ground connection, and opened the
circuit on the Lexington end. This was to leave the impression that
the Frankfort operator was skedaddling, or that Morgan’s men had
destroyed the telegraph.”
General Morgan was the only cavalry commander who extensively or
successfully used the telegraph to learn the plans and position of
his enemies and to thwart their arrangements for disturbance of his
progress, or to place troops in his front. The country through which
he operated did much to aid him in this respect, but it was also due
in great part to the marvellous skill of his operator, George A.
Ellsworth. The story of how he misled his foes, and deceived them
as to his intentions and line of march, is not only one of the most
amusing but one of the most surprising of the war’s happenings. He
passed through four years of war, followed telegraphy and died in
Texas about 1910.
The Federals were so thoroughly alarmed that they were unwilling to
risk engines and cars and men on the road. Reports of atrocities
and barbarities of Morgan’s command were circulated through the
country. They were called murderers and thieves and assassins and
horse thieves. Bad names did not worry Morgan’s followers. They
cared little what they were called if they could harass their foes.
They settled down to a feeling of pride that they had been able to
excite in the minds and hearts of the enemy such bitter and malignant
hate. Neither Morgan’s nor Forrest’s command were much troubled over
Federal abuse. They knew that if their foes cussed them, their foes
must have suffered to arouse such maledictions, and they rode on and
fought on, oblivious of what reports were circulated about their
doings. Those who did not have southern sympathies escaped hurriedly
from the contemplated line of march and hastened to Lexington and
Frankfort for protection. Having obtained all the information that
was necessary, at sundown Morgan appeared at Georgetown, the county
seat of Scott County, twelve miles from Midway. With Lexington
demoralized and Frankfort terrorized and with the Federal commanders
at both places afraid that Morgan was going to attack them, he sat
down at Georgetown to have a really good rest. A detachment had been
left at Midway to delay operations between Lexington and Frankfort,
and Captain John B. Castleman of Company D was sent to destroy the
bridges between Lexington and Paris on the Kentucky Central Railroad.
Captain Castleman did thorough work. He was ordered to proceed up
and down the railroad, tear up the track, and burn the bridges.
The country outside of the cities was now completely dominated
by Morgan. Lexington and Frankfort were too fully garrisoned to
justify their assault. Captain Castleman, after fully carrying out
his orders, marched to Winchester. These were ready heroes when the
highest daring was demanded, and the young men who served under
Morgan were equal to any emergency. On reaching Winchester, after
the destruction of the Kentucky Central Railroad, Captain Castleman
would pass near the home of his parents. He had secretly entered
Lexington in disguise and obtained full information as to the numbers
and position of the enemy. Safely performing this hazardous work, he
rejoined his command.
On the way to Winchester he ran afoul of the advance guard of
Metcalf’s brigade. Without a moment’s hesitation he ordered his
eighty men to charge the three thousand Federals. The boldness and
fierceness of this assault demoralized the enemy. They judged that
no sagacious leader with such odds against him would undertake such
reckless work, and they receded before the assault, leaving their
dead and wounded behind. The valiant young captain, not satisfied
with the morning’s experience, returned to Horeb Presbyterian Church,
a few miles away. Here his family had worshipped for many years.
Behind the structure his command were hidden when a company of
Federal cavalry came down a cross road. These also outnumbered the
company which had, with such reckless valor, dispersed their comrades
a few hours before. With the recollection of their previous splendid
success, they did not hesitate to assault this new column. Waving
their hats and filling the air with the rebel yell, they rode at the
advancing foe. Visions of Morgan’s entire regiment flashed before
their surprised minds, and not waiting for the moment of impact, they
turned and rode away, leaving as testimonials of the fierce courage
of the Confederate assailants a number of dead and wounded.
With these thrilling experiences attesting the intrepidity of
his boys, a large proportion of whom were born and reared in the
neighborhood, the youthful commander withdrew his company and pushed
on to Winchester, where later Colonel Morgan found him awaiting his
arrival.
Morgan was now alone in the face of his foes. He could depend upon no
aid from his fellows. Insofar as help was concerned, he had “burned
the bridges” behind him. There were none upon whom he could fall
back. He was as far from all supports as it would be from Richmond
to New York. The supreme audacity of such a campaign had never
been known before. In no country, in no war, had any leader ever
undertaken such a hazard or invited such peril. There were Federal
troops three hundred miles south of him and thousands around him. The
way he had come was lined with Federal garrisons, and urgent calls
were made for Federals to face him and equally as urgent for those
behind him to prevent his escape and crush the little company he had
brought with him so far into the Federal lines. He was smashing all
military precedents. The books written for the guidance of soldiers
contained nothing like the history this bold rider was making, and
there was, in all military annals, no parallel to what he had now
accomplished. This new soldier Daniel had come to judgment, and there
were none who could fathom or interpret his decrees. Later, others
would rise up to emulate him in the pathway he had blazed. He was the
pioneer, and the first cavalryman who had undertaken such marvellous
marches, or defied the formulas and maxims that military authors
had written for the guidance of those who went to war. Sage generals
decreed him reckless, rash, heedless and prophesied destruction,
capture, failure. They reread the books generals read and in all
these there was nothing, they said, for this knight errant, but sure
and certain disaster. But Morgan’s great mind had taken in all the
chances he must face. He knew the country and the people whither he
had come. He knew the courage and almost superhuman endurance of the
youths who rode behind him, and so he bade defiance to axioms and
precedents and pushed on where his genius and daring told him he
would win victory and discomfit his foes, make new records for his
horsemen, show others the effects of bold, dashing movement, and give
to cavalry a power and efficacy of which the soldiery of the world
had not hitherto written or prophesied.
With Federal forces about in every direction, in Frankfort,
Lexington, Falmouth, Danville, Winchester, Cynthiana, it looked as
if escape was well-nigh impossible. Morgan had now fully carried out
his plans and so he turned his eyes toward Cynthiana, the county seat
of Harrison County. It was twenty-two miles distant from Georgetown
over a beautifully-graded macadam road. It was sixty-six miles from
Cincinnati, and if Morgan could reach Cynthiana and capture it, this
would still further disquiet and disturb Lexington and alarm the
people of Cincinnati.
A force was sent to drive in the pickets at Lexington. This was
promptly done, and the outposts went scurrying back to proclaim
the near approach of these desperadoes, and while Lexington was
vigorously defending itself from a present foe, Morgan was marching
on Cynthiana.
The Federal authorities at Nashville, three hundred miles away, were
frantic with fear, and Cincinnati was in the throes of chaos and
fright. General J. T. Boyle was then in command of Kentucky with
headquarters at Louisville, and he kept the wires burning, telling
the story of Morgan’s performances. On the 10th of July he wired
General Buell: “The rebels under Starnes, over two thousand, with
three pieces of artillery, crossed from Sparta, Tennessee, into
Kentucky, cut to pieces Major Jordan at Tompkinsville, and are moving
on Glasgow.” General Buell, calmer, tried to allay the fears, and
so he wired General Boyle: “Force of the enemy doubtless greatly
exaggerated. A regiment of your cavalry, properly managed, will
force him to cross the Cumberland or destroy him.” General Buell at
this time did not seem to be acquainted with Morgan’s ways of doing
things. By the 12th of July the situation appeared much more serious
to General Boyle and so he wired General Buell: “Morgan has fifteen
hundred men. His force is increasing. All the rebels in the State
will join him if there is not a demonstration of force and power
sent in cavalry. The State will be desolated unless this matter
is attended to. The city is so endangered that I am bound to keep
force here. Send me cavalry and other reinforcements. I know more
of Kentucky than you can possibly know, and unless it is proposed
to abandon Kentucky, I must have the force.” On the 15th of July he
telegraphed General Buell: “The secessionists have lied for Morgan
and magnified his forces. He has divided them up and is burning
bridges on the Central Railroad between Paris and Lexington. Only
the low and evil will join him.” On the 12th of July he telegraphed:
“The whole State will be in arms if General Buell does not send me
force to put it down. Morgan is devastating with fire and sword.” On
the 13th of July Mr. Lincoln telegraphed General Halleck at Corinth,
Mississippi: “They are having a stampede in Kentucky. Please look
to it. A. Lincoln.” On the 13th of July Mr. Lincoln telegraphed
General Boyle: “I have telegraphed him (Halleck) that you are in
trouble.” On July 15th Richard Smith, at Cincinnati, telegraphed:
“Danger of serious trouble here, external if not internal. Men
enough for emergencies but no arms, no head. Military commander
should be appointed for this post. Press this upon Stanton at once.”
On the 19th of July General Boyle telegraphed: “The boldness of
Morgan’s raid gives reason to believe that he has been reinforced
and that they will fall upon Kentucky in her helpless condition.”
The mayor of Cincinnati telegraphed that he had called a public
meeting. He wired on July 18th: “Cynthiana surrounded at 5:30 P. M.
Boyd Station, this side of Cynthiana, expects to be attacked any
moment. Morgan reported to have twenty-five hundred men. We have no
organized forces here.” On the 19th of July General Boyle, still
more excited, wired the Secretary of War: “There is a concerted
plan between the traitors at home and the rebels in arms. Morgan’s
force has increased. It is estimated at from twenty-five hundred to
three thousand. I do not believe it is so large. Every species of
falsehood is being circulated by the traitors at home, producing
consternation among the people to get the people to rise. Morgan
proclaims Breckinridge is coming with thirty thousand men. Traitors
throughout the State circulate it.” On July 24th Buell telegraphed
General Boyle: “I approve of punishing the guilty, but it would not
answer to announce the rule of ‘no quarter’ even for guerrillas.
Neither will it be judicious to levy contributions on secessionists
for opinions alone.... I approve of your preventing any avowed
secessionist from being run for office,” and then so as not to show
disregard of the military situation, with a touch of sarcasm, General
Buell telegraphed the same day: “Is it true your troops surrendered
to Morgan at Cynthiana?”
It was impossible for any command with the limited number of men
composing General Morgan’s diminutive brigade to maintain itself
much longer, surrounded as it was, not only by garrisons but
pursuing forces on every side, and from Nashville, Munfordsville and
Bowling Green, troops might be sent to cut off his escape through
Southwestern Kentucky. These home-comers would have been glad to
have pitched their tents around the Bluegrass and remained there
forever, but dangers rose thick, fast, plenteous on every side and
the question of escape now began to loom up as the greatest problem
of the hour. As if to defy fate and to show his enemies the extent to
which he could go, General Morgan determined to capture Cynthiana,
thirty-two miles north from Lexington and twice that distance from
Cincinnati. When he should once reach Cynthiana, if the game became
too strong for him to return along the direction through which he
had come, he might go around by Pound Gap, or up along the Big Sandy
and reach Virginia, and then march down to the place from whence
he had started. Several hundred men under Colonel Landram of the
7th Kentucky cavalry and a number of Home Guards were defending
Cynthiana. The Confederate commander was anxious to give the Federals
once more a touch of his skillful and avenging hand and let them
feel once again the impress of his power and he rapidly marched to
Cynthiana. The guards of the town had a twelve pound brass howitzer.
This had been sent out from Cincinnati in charge of a company of
firemen. Morgan thoroughly understood the topography of Cynthiana.
The Federal pickets were attacked a mile and a half from the town and
an advance guard chased them to the edge of the city.
To get into Cynthiana, troops would have to cross the Licking River.
An old-time, narrow, covered wooden bridge led over the stream, but
by its side there was a ford waist-deep. Above and below, one mile
each way, there were fords. Gano’s battalion was sent up and the
Georgian regiment down, with the command to attack the town from the
directions along which they were ordered to move. The 2nd Kentucky,
deemed the steadiest of those with Morgan, was to enter the town
by the Georgetown road. The Federals had, with great skill, placed
their men on the opposite bank of the river, and no sooner had the
regiment come in sight than they opened a brisk fire. One thousand
feet from the bridge the little Confederate howitzers were placed and
they opened their fire upon the houses which had been occupied by
the enemy. The Federals’ one piece of artillery had been fixed to
sweep the bridge. Two companies marching up the banks of the river
opened such fierce fire across the stream that the Federal troops
at that point were glad to throw down their guns, and it was one of
the curious episodes of war that their captors made them wade across
the river to complete surrender. As the space through the bridge
was in the line of the Federal guns and the approach protected by
sharpshooters, it became apparent that to proceed in that direction
would entail a large loss, so without further ado Company A of the
2nd Kentucky, raising their guns and ammunition above their heads,
waded the stream and established themselves behind houses on the
opposite side and poured in heavy volleys upon the Federal column.
The “bull pups” were brought forward, but as the lines were then
not more than one hundred and twenty-five feet apart, the fire from
the sharpshooters was so fierce that it drove the gunners from the
pieces. The bullets of the Federals, striking the horses, attached
to one of the limbers, they ran away carrying it within the Federal
lines. A game so tense could not last long, and Company C, of which
Captain James W. Bowles, ever valiant—and at that moment thought
reckless—was in command, charged across the bridge and up the main
street. However reckless the movement, it turned the scale for the
Confederates.
In a few moments the Federals were driven from their positions and
forced back to the center of the town. The Texans under Gano and the
Georgians under their lieutenant colonel now began to make themselves
felt, and all three assailing parties met at the same moment around
the piece of artillery which the enemy had fired with such rapidity
and with great effect, and all three claimed the honor of its taking.
The stream was passed, the Federals routed. The attack upon the depot
in which the Federals had taken refuge was effective, and Colonel
Landram, who was commander of the garrison, was chased ten miles on
the Paris road.
Before the victory was won the new recruits, picking up guns which
had been thrown down by the Federals, inspired by the courage of the
veterans, rapidly rushed to the front and received their baptism of
fire. Company A, which with such gallantry had waded the river to
get at the enemy’s head, suffered great loss. The captain, first
lieutenant and second lieutenant had been wounded and the command of
the company fell to the third lieutenant.
The day was filled with stirring incidents. The march of twenty-two
miles from Georgetown had been made to Cynthiana, and the first
act had been closed by its capture before noon. Morgan had wounded
and killed one hundred of his enemy; he had lost forty, killed and
wounded, and had captured four hundred prisoners. With sorrow and
grief he left a portion of the severely wounded behind, and the dead
were abandoned and remained in the hands of kind and sympathizing
friends, to be laid away in the cemetery on the hill.
If it had been difficult to get so far into Kentucky, the danger
of getting out was hourly increasing. By two o’clock the march
was begun for Paris, and Morgan turned his face Dixie-ward. It
was fourteen miles from Cynthiana to Paris. A long way out from
Paris, a deputation from the town met General Morgan, offering to
surrender the place. As the sun went down, the command went into camp
a short distance east of Paris. The day had been a vigorous one.
Twenty-two miles to Cynthiana, a fight, captures, destruction of
property, fourteen miles to Paris, was not a bad day’s work, and in
the beautiful Bluegrass woods, with an abundance of food for man and
beast, the hours of the night were passed. The bold riders had earned
sleep and no fears of the morrow disturbed their tranquility. They
had learned to let each day’s trouble care for itself. If they were
not sleeping the sleep of the just, they were enjoying the repose of
the worn and weary.
Early in the morning a large Federal cavalry force, estimated at
three thousand, commanded by General Green Clay Smith, drove in
Morgan’s pickets. These were not very hungry for Confederate work,
and they did not push the fighting. The prisoners had been paroled,
but a long line of buggies and carriages were sandwiched in between
the commands composing Morgan’s following, bearing away the wounded
who had met their fate at Glasgow, Cynthiana and other points along
the line. There was a sort of brotherhood oath among Morgan’s men
that the wounded would never be left, and it was only under extreme
circumstances that this obligation was voided. The failure to find
the usual number of wounded after a battle encouraged the belief that
Morgan had taken the lives of his wounded to prevent their being made
prisoners. If the Confederates could keep the Federals behind, there
was not much danger. Morgan’s force had been camped on the Winchester
road, and this was the way he intended to take on his march southward.
Well out on the Winchester Pike, Morgan waited for General Smith’s
force, two and a half times as numerous as his own. The Confederate
commander had no fear of those who should follow. He doubted not
that he could outride any pursuers. His chief concern was about
those who should get in front, not those who might come from the
rear. From Paris to Winchester was sixteen miles, and though he was
occasionally attacked by General Smith, he proceeded leisurely along
the macadam highway between the two places, and rested his men at
Winchester from twelve to four o’clock in the afternoon. A twelve
hour march, including the night, brought Morgan to Richmond. He here
found awaiting him a complete company of new recruits under Captain
Jennings. Half a day’s rest at Richmond and another night march
brought the Confederates to Crab Orchard.
Morgan had intended to remain for some time at Richmond and recruit
as large a number of new soldiers as possible, but Smith was behind
him, other detachments were converging toward his path, and the
Federal colonel, Frank Woodford, was collecting forces to intercept
his march southward and troops were being rushed by rail to Lebanon.
Notwithstanding all this, General Morgan exhibited neither fear nor
haste. He preserved the dignities of a complacent withdrawal from
scenes, though full of danger, not yet so imminent as to make him
rush away as if not willing, if necessary, to try out the wage of
battle. A few hours’ rest at Crab Orchard and at eleven o’clock the
march was commenced to Somerset, about twenty-eight miles distant. By
sundown the space had been covered. Here the Confederates again found
large quantities of stores, the telegraph office was open. More than
a hundred wagons were captured and burned, and ammunition, shoes,
blankets and hats, in great quantities, were stored in warehouses in
exceeding abundance. There was lavish appropriation. A few wagons
were loaded with the things which were most needed in Dixie, and the
torch was applied to the others and they were reduced to ashes.
At Stigall’s Ferry, six miles from Somerset, the Cumberland River was
passed, and that night the command camped at Monticello, twenty-two
miles southwardly. All need of hurry was now past. There was no
likelihood that the Federals would cross the Cumberland River. Morgan
had outmarched them and out-maneuvered them and he was safe. With
satisfaction and peace of mind born of noble achievement, he could
look back upon the events of the past twenty-four days. He summed it
up in these words: “I left Knoxville on the 4th of this month with
nine hundred men and returned to Livingston on the 28th inst. with
twelve hundred, having been absent twenty-four days, during which
time I have traveled over a thousand miles, captured seventeen towns,
destroyed all the government supplies and arms in them, dispersed
about fifteen hundred Home Guards, paroled nearly twelve hundred
regular troops. I lost in killed and wounded and missing of the
number that I carried into Kentucky, about ninety.”
At Somerset, Ellsworth, the operator, had telegraphed for Morgan
and himself several messages to the Federal leaders in Kentucky,
and concluded his telegraphic work with the following despatch:
“Headquarters Telegraphic Department of Kentucky, Confederate
States of America. General Order Number 1. When an operator is
positively informed that the enemy is marching on his station, he
will immediately proceed to destroy the telegraphic instruments and
all material in his charge. Such instances of carelessness as were
exhibited on the part of the operators at Lebanon and Midway and
Georgetown will be severely dealt with.—By order of G. A. Ellsworth,
General Military Superintendent, C. S. Telegraphic Department.”
The story of the successes, victories and strategies of this
wonderful expedition was quickly spread abroad throughout the entire
Confederate States. The minds of many of the young men were stirred
by the strange exploits of Morgan on this raid, and their hearts were
thrilled with the story of his adventures and his triumphs. Many who
had not enlisted were inclined to seek service under the Kentucky
chieftain. They longed to have experiences such as he and his
followers had enjoyed on this marvellous raid. What was accomplished
by General Morgan set other Confederate cavalry leaders to thinking
and inspired them with patriotic ambitions to emulate the tactics of
the Kentucky cavalryman.