MORGAN'S RAID.
L. J. WEBER. [In the QUARTERLY for January, 1908, page 48, was published an article on Morgan's Raid. We herewith present another account of this historic event, practically the only feature of the Civil War which occurred within the bounds of the State of Ohio. Every recital in detail or in part of Morgan's Raid, if at all worthy of credence, deserves permanent preservation. Hence the publication of this second article. Mr. L. J. Weber, the author, is a well-known attorney now residing at McConnelsville, and the events herein recited are the result of a very careful and painstaking study on his part of the famous raid of John Morgan. The map is from a drawing made by Mr. Weber and adds especial interest to the article as the route of the raiders may thereby be followed geographically. - EDITOR.] The movements of Gen. Morgan, something of which I shall attempt briefly to narrate, were incidental to the campaign of |
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middle and east Tennessee, or better known as the Chattanooga campaign. The confederates under Generals Bragg and Buckner, were offering stub- born resistance to the union forces, now transferred from the east under the com- mand of Rosencrans, Thomas, Sheridan, Crittendon, McCook and others. General Burnside was organizing his forces, many of them raw recruits, at Cincinnati, shortly to be sent to the aid of Rosencrans. Realizing the effectiveness of this move- ment and feeling that they would soon be |
numbered, it was necessary that something be done to divert the attention of Burnside and the reserve forces of the middle states. Bragg, who had no difficulty in selecting his man for the purpose, ordered the already famous Gen. Morgan, to make a cavalry raid through central and northern Kentucky. The inveterate Mor- 79 |
80 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
gan had ideas of his own. He started
leaving Bragg in south-
ern Tennessee with a force variously
estimated at from 2,000
to 2,500 men and 4 guns. Gen. Judah of
the union forces was
keeping open the connections or
communications clear across
the state of Kentucky between Burnside
and Rosencrans. Mor-
gan, with the union forces to the north
of him, had to flank
Rosencrans in order to get started on
his raid.
For almost ten days, incessant rains had
fallen, yet un-
daunted, on July 2nd, 1863, Morgan left
Sparta, Tenn., and
crossed the Cumberland river, which was
then in flood, at
Turkey Neck Bend, near Burksville,
Kentucky. Had Gen.
Judah been on his guard he could easily
have prevented Morgan
from crossing, as the latter had to
carry his trains across the
wild and swollen stream by boats hastily
constructed for the
purpose and swim his horses. But Judah
relied on the flood
preventing his crossing and before he
could summon sufficient
force to offer respectable resistance
Morgan with a bare skirmish
brushed him aside and hastened on to
Columbia, Adair county,
Kentucky. He crossed the Green river at
Tebb's Bend. He
then proceeded to Campbellsville in
Taylor county, thence to
Lebanon, Marion county. Lebanon was held
by the union Colonel
Hobson, 20th Ky., with 400 men. After 7
hours' fighting on
the 5th of July, he took the town. Here
Morgan's young
brother was killed while leading a
charge.
Owing to this day's delay the union
forces were rapidly
closing in on Morgan and he left Lebanon
in a furious rain
storm compelling the prisoners whom he
had taken, to cover
a distance to Springfield, Ky., of 10
miles in 90 minutes. All
who could not keep the pace were shot
down. Moving rapidly
by Shepardsville and Bardstown, Morgan
struck the Ohio river
at Brandensburg, Kentucky, about 50 or
60 miles below Louis-
ville on July 7th.
It seems that he had intended attacking
the latter city but
gaining control of the telegraph wires
he ascertained that such
an attempt would be futile. It is
probable that it was at this
time he decided to disobey orders which
confined his raid to
Kentucky territory and concluded to make
the bold dash into
Indiana and Ohio which followed. Morgan
was familiar with
Morgan's Raid. 81 the Kentucky country, as he had, under the command of Gen. Kirby Smith, the fall before, traversed the state in a threatened raid upon Cincinnati. The withdrawal of Gen. Smith's troops no doubt saved the city and in all probability its defender who was spared to contribute to the world later, "Ben Hur" and "The Prince of India." In the raid Morgan was while in Ken- tucky within 30 miles of Louisville and there captured a supply train bound for the latter city from Nashville. Before reaching Brandensburg, Morgan had dispatched two companies to procure means for crossing the Ohio. The steamers "J.J. McCombs" and "Alice Dean" by reason of the |
persuading influence of these ad- vance guards, were in waiting at the wharf when Morgan and his main body arrived. Greely in his "History of the American Conflict" says that Morgan's numbers had in- creased during his progress, by Ken- tucky sympathizers, till it was said now to number 4,000 men and 10 guns. I think this was largely over- estimated as later facts will demon- strate unless desertions were numer- ous after striking Indiana soil. No sooner was Morgan about to launch a portion of his army than |
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a company of Indiana militia on the opposite side opened fire on them with musketry and one old cannon. With his Parrott rifles brought into play while crossing the militia were soon forced to retreat, pursued by two of Morgan's com- panies. He was further retarded by the appearance of the little steamer "Springfield" which with much temerity, boldly shoved down the river in their very midst, exhausted her guns which were far from destructive, wheeled about immediately and dis- appeared, very much to the admiration and mirth of Morgan's army. But delay in crossing was already causing Morgan much concern for Gen. Hobson, from Judah's command, who had Vol. XVIII -6. |
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Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
been following him from the Cumberland
was in hot pursuit and
now close upon his trail. Hobson reached
Brandensburg just
after Morgan's last boat had left it.
The latter after landing
all his men, set fire to the "Alice
Dean." The "McCombs" it
seems, had in all probability been
placed there at Morgan's com-
mand, by southern sympathizers and was
left unharmed.
Apparently, little attention had been
paid in the north to
the movements of Morgan up to this time.
The north looked
upon the Ohio as the limit and the
boundary line. This had
been so before and few, or none, at
first believed that such a
bold piece of strategy would at all be
attempted or that such an
invasion was actually begun. The news
spread like a flash and
all was consternation in Ohio and
Indiana, from river to lakes.
Rumors were rife as to Morgan's
intentions. First Indianapolis
and its state treasury were to be
looted. Then Cincinnati with
its numerous banks. Columbus and. Ohio's
treasury were not
to be passed by unnoticed and even
Cleveland was thought not
to be free from danger.
These reports were in keeping with
Morgan's desires. He
knew that the alarm would cause
concentration of the resisting
forces at central points and in the
largest cities and he would
thus be enabled to pass around them, and
by the celerity of his
movements complete his expedition,
recross the Ohio and return
to friendly territory ere his plans
should be known. He had
expert telegraphers at work constantly
tapping the wires and thus
was fully and correctly advised of the
movements of the enemy.
So completely did he deceive the union
forces at the point above
mentioned in Kentucky, where he had
captured a telegraph office
and the union operator, that by
conducting his telegraph com-
munications in the name of the local
operator he came in full
possession of the plans and anticipated
movements of the north-
ern forces.
From Brandensburg he quickly marched
inland to Corydon,
Ind., thence to Greenville and Palmyra
and on to Salem where
on the 9th of July, just one week after
crossing the Cumberland
in Tennessee, he met a resisting force
of some 350 "Home
Guards" and captured them. He tore
up the railroad, burnt the
depot and ordered the destruction of the
mills and factories but
Morgan's Raid. 83
allowed a ransom for each upon payment to him of $1,000 cash. He then passed eastwardly dividing his forces so as to cut rail- roads and telegraphs on all sides, passed through Vienna, Madi- son, Old Vernon and Versailles, doing a thriving business in horse trading all along the line and crossed the Ohio-Indiana |
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boundary at Harrison, Hamilton county July 13, where he con- centrated his forces. "Here," writes Gen. Basil W. Duke, second in command of Morgan's forces, "Gen. Morgan began to maneuver for the benefit of the commanding officer at Cincinnati. He took it for |
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Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
granted that there was a strong force of
regular troops in Cin-
cinnati. Burnside had them not far off,
and Gen. Morgan sup-
posed that they would of course be
brought there. If he would
get past Cincinnati safely, the danger
of the expedition, he
thought, would be more than half over.
Here he expected to be
confronted by the concentrated forces of
Judah and Burnside,
and he anticipated great difficulty in
eluding or cutting his way
through them. Once safely through this
peril, his escape would
be certain unless the river remained so
high that the transports
could carry troops to intercept him at
the upper crossings.
"Thinking that the great effort to
capture him would be made
as he crossed the Hamilton and Dayton
railroad his object was to
deceive the enemy as to the exact point
where he would cross
it and denude that point as much as
possible of troops. He sent
detachments in various directions,
seeking, however, to create the
impression that he was marching to
Hamilton, O."
Howe, in his Ohio Historical Collections
says that when
Morgan entered Ohio he had less than 2,000 men, the others
having been killed or captured in
skirmishes or unable to keep
up with the rapid marching of his flying
column, had fallen ex-
hausted, to be picked up by the citizen
soldiery who hovered
around his line of march.
Cincinnati was, of course, alarmed at
Morgan's advance and
Morgan with his comparatively small
force was equally apprehen-
sive of danger. Would he be permitted,
when almost in sight
of Camp Dennison to pass by without
resistance? With the
greatest march it is said he ever made,
he actually slipped around
the city that night, crossing the Little
Miami railroad at day-
light in sight of Camp Dennison 8 or 10
miles from Cincinnati.
Duke says: "It was a terrible and
trying march. Strong
men fell out of their saddles, and at
every halt the officers were
compelled to move continually about in
their respective com-
panies and pull and haul the men, who
would drop asleep in the
road. It was the only way to keep them
awake. Quite a num-
ber crept off into the fields and slept
until they were awakened
by the enemy. At length day appeared
just as we reached the
last point where we had to anticipate
danger. We had passer
through Glendale and all the principal
suburban roads and were
Morgan's Raid. 85
near the Little Miami railroad. We
crossed the railroad without
any opposition and halted to feed the
horses in sight of Camp
Dennison. After a short rest here and a
picket skirmish we
resumed our march, burning in this
neighborhood, a park of gov-
ernment wagons.
"That evening at 4 o'clock we were
at Williamsburg, 28 miles
east of Cincinnati having marched since
leaving Summansville
in Indiana in a period of 35 hours more
than 90 miles, the
greatest march that even Morgan had ever
made. Feeling com-
paratively safe here, he permitted the
division to go into camp
and remain during the night."
Williamsburg is in eastern Clermont
county about 9 miles
east of Batavia the county seat. Nor was
Morgan idle during
this forced march. His telegraph
operators were busy. All
night they were intercepting dispatches
that were being sent in
from the towns surrounding Cincinnati
purporting to give in-
formation as to the movements of Morgan.
Many of them
were of course, mere rumors, but they
kept Morgan fully ad-
vised in the premises. Here is one of
them: "2 a. m. -A dis-
patch from Hamilton says: It is believed
that the main por-
tion of Morgan's force is moving in that
direction going east.
At this writing, quarter past two, a.
m., it is the impression that
Morgan's main force is going east, while
he has sent squads to
burn bridges on the C. H. & D.
railroad and over the Miami
River, but, he may turn and come down
this way on some of
the roads leading through Walnut Hills
or Mt. Auburn. That
night while the much enduring printers
were putting such stories
in type, John Morgan's entire command,
now reduced to a
strength of bare 2,000 was marching
through the suburbs of this
city of a quarter million inhabitants,
within reach of troops
enough to eat them up absolutely
unopposed, almost without
meeting a solitary picket or receiving a
hostile shot." Reid's
"Ohio in the War" Vol. 1. page
140. They stole horses within 2
miles of the corporation line.
By the next day it dawned upon the
forces at Cincinnati that
the Queen City was not to be attacked
and Morgan's purpose
was then made apparent.
Some semblance of order wrought out of
the chaotic state
86 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
of the Ohio Militia was beginning to be
observed in the region
of Cincinnati and re-enforcements from
Camp Chase at Colum-
bus were pouring in. Companies were
mustered all through
the southern part of the state and were
hurried by extra trains
to contemplated danger points. Hobson
with the energy and
power of endurance little less than that
of Morgan was so close
upon the latter that he had scarcely
time to burn the bridges
and maintain a fresh supply of horses.
The Ohio owing to the
recent rains was (unusual for the stream
at that season of the
year) still at a fair boating stage and
Gen. Judah with his troops
was sent in haste by boats up the Ohio
to head off Morgan, and
more than 50,000 militia called out by
Gov. Tod were moving
toward the seat of war.
Before the expedition was begun Morgan
had sent spies
along the Ohio to discover the fords or
easiest places of cross-
ing. One of the best was at Buffington's
Island about 30 miles
above Pomeroy and about the same
distance below Parkersburg,
or perhaps a little farther. This, then,
became Morgan's ob-
jective point. After leaving
Williamsburg, Morgan divided his
forces, Col. Richard Morgan bearing to
the southeast and pass-
ing through Georgetown the county seat
of Brown county, while
Gen. Morgan with his column marched in a
north east direction
as far as Washington C. H. Thence
turning to the south east
he passed through Ross county leaving
Chillicothe to his left
where quite a considerable force of
militiamen were in waiting.
Passing on through Piketon in Pike
county, Jackson in Jackson
county, Vinton in Gallia county and
Pomeroy where considerable
skirmishing took place, he reached on
the 18th of July the ford
at Portland, a small town just above
Buffington Island, the south-
ern division having joined him before
his arrival.
At last the little column approached its
goal. All the troops
in Kentucky had been evaded and left
behind. All the militia
in Indiana had been dashed aside or
outstripped; 50,000 Ohio
militia had failed to turn it from its
predestined path. Within
precisely 15 days from the morning it
had crossed the Cumber-
land and 9 days from its crossing into
Indiana it stood once
more on the banks of the Ohio. A few
more hours of daylight
and it would be safely across, in the
midst, again, of a popula-
Morgan's Raid. 87
tion to which it might look for sympathy
if not for aid. But
the circle of the hunt was narrowing.
Judah with his fresh
cavalry was up and was marching out from
the river against
Morgan. Hobson was hard on his rear.
Col. Runkle, com-
manding a division of militia, was north
of him. And at last
the local militia in advance of him were
beginning to fell trees
and tear up bridges to obstruct his
progress.
Near Pomeroy they made a stand. For 4 or
5 miles his
road ran through a ravine, with
occasional intersections from hill
roads. At all these crossings he found
the militia posted, and
from the hills above him they made his
passage through the
ravine a perfect running of the
gauntlet. On front, flank and
rear the militia pressed and closed
eagerly upon his track.
At Chester, a small town to the
northwest of the ford at
Portland, he rested for an hour and a
half and hunted for a
guide. That stop though so short was fatal
for it was 8 o'clock
when he reached the ford, too late and
dark to undertake to cross.
Had he pressed right on after arriving
at Chester that to him
most precious hour and a half would no
doubt have seen him
safely on the Virginia side. Tired and
worn out, both men and
horses, he decided to rest for the night
on the north bank of the
Ohio. The handful of men who had thrown
up works near the
river bank and attempted to impede his
progress, might then
have been easily brushed aside. But the
dawn of another morn-
ing brought a more formidable enemy in
the person of Gen.
Judah with his regulars who had arrived
in the night by boat,
fresh and ready for the conflict.
Here is a description of the movements
as given by White-
law Reid in his "Ohio in the
War" p. 146- referring to the
stop at Chester - "But his evil
genius was upon him. He had
lost an hour and a half at Chester in
the afternoon - the most
precious hour and a half since his
horse's feet touched northern
soil: And he now decided to waste the
night.
"In the hurried council with his
exhausted officers it was
admitted on all hands that Judah had
arrived - that some of his
troops had probably given force to the
skirmishing near Pome-
roy - that they would certainly be at
Buffington by morning
and that gunboats would accompany them.
But his men were in
88 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
bad condition and he feared to trust
them in a night attack upon
a fortified position which he had not
reconnoitered. The fear
was fatal.
"Even yet, by abandoning his wagon
trains and his wounded
he might have reached unguarded fords a
little higher up. This,
too, was mentioned by his officers. He
would save all he
promptly replied or lose all together.
And so he gave mortgages
to fate. By morning Judah was up. At
daybreak Duke ad-
vanced with a couple of Rebel regiments
to storm the earthwork,
but found it abandoned. He was rapidly
proceeding to make
dispositions for crossing when Judah's
advance struck him. At
first he repulsed it and took a number
of prisoners, the adjutant
general of Judah's staff among them.
Morgan then ordered
him to hold the force on his front in
check. He was not able to
return to his command till it had been
broken and thrown into
full retreat before an impetuous charge
of Judah's cavalry,
headed by Lieut. O'Neill of 5th Indiana.
He succeeded in rally-
ing them and re-forming his line. But
now, advancing up the
Chester and Pomeroy road, came the
gallant cavalry that over
three states had been galloping on their
track--the 3,000 of
Hobson's command - who for now two weeks
had been only a
day, a forenoon, an hour behind
them."
"As Hobson's guidons fluttered out
in the little valley by the
river bank where they fought, every man
of that band that had
so long defied a hundred thousand knew
that the contest was
over. They were almost out of
ammunition, exhausted and
scarcely 2,000 strong. Against them were
Hobson's 3,000 and
Judah's still larger force. To complete
the overwhelming odds
that, in spite of their efforts, had at
last been concentrated upon
them, the tin-clad gunboats steamed up
and opened fire."
Morgan comprehended the situation as
readily as the hard
riding troopers, who, still clinging to
their bolts of calico, were
already beginning to gallop towards the
rear. He at once
essayed to extricate his trains and then
to withdraw his regi-
ments by column of fours from right of
companies, keeping up,
meanwhile, as sturdy resistance as he
might. For some dis-
tance the withdrawal was made in
tolerable order; then under
a charge of a Michigan cavalry regiment,
everything was broken
Morgan's Raid. 89
and the retreat became a rout. Morgan
with not quite 1,200
men escaped. His brother, with Colonels
Duke, Ward, Huff-
man and about 700 men was taken
prisoner.
This was the battle of Buffington
Island. It was brief and
decisive. But for his two grave mistakes
of the night before,
Morgan might have avoided it and
escaped, and many a thrilling
iale of events that happened in the
following seven days and
nights of the raid would never have been
told, and in all prob-
ability this subject never related in
the Ohio Archaeological and
Historical (Quarterly. "But it
cannot be said he yielded to the
blow that insured his fate without
resistance, and a courage and
tenacity worthy of a better
cause." The superiority in forces
was overwhelming and the Union loss
trifling. The boats car-
ried the prisoners back to Cincinnati
and the troops, with little
rest, pushed on after Morgan and the 1,200 who had
escaped.
About 15 or 20 miles above Buffington he again attempted
to cross and succeeded in landing
one-fourth of his men on Vir-
ginia soil. Morgan himself was in the
middle of the Ohio but
the gunboats were too close upon him and
he was forced back
to the Ohio side with his remaining 900.
Again his hurried
flight was taken up. Almost
insurmountable difficulties sur-
rounded him. His men were exhausted
from long, forced
marches and enormous work. Their
pillaging had greatly de-
moralized them. The blow of defeat was
severe causing a lack
of faith in themselves and a loss of
confidence in their intrepid
commander. They were harassed on every
hand. Every loop-
hole of escape shut off; hunted like
game, day and night and
driven hither and thither.
Yet to the very last the energy of this
daring cavalryman
is worthy the admiration of all-even his
enemies. With no
apparent possibility of escape at
Buffington he slipped away
from Judah and Hobson with more than
half his forces. After
Belleville, he headed almost west and
went as far as McArthur,
thence he undertook to strike the
Muskingum and soon encoun-
tered Gen. Runkle at the head of a large
body of Ohio militia.
Retracing his steps he made toward
Blennerhassett Island, evi-
dently intending to evade his pursuers
and effect a crossing at
this point. They soon surrounded him -Hobson, Judah and
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Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Runkle--at nightfall. Visions of
conquest no doubt visited
these generals that night as they
awaited the dawning of an-
other summer morning for the surrender
of Morgan. While
they slept he and his men walking single
file and leading their
horses, stole out along a steep hillside
thought to be impassable
and when these three generals drew their
net, cast at dusk that
night, it was empty, every man had
passed out through the
hole in the meshes and the hole was
large enough to let a horse
through.
Morgan then pressed on through Athens,
Eastern Hocking
and Perry counties and entered Morgan
county near Porterville,
the afternoon of July 22nd, 1863.
After marching in Morgan
county for about three miles, night
found them on what was then
known as the old Deacon Wright, later
the John Weaver, farm
about 11/2 miles northwest of
Triadelphia, on the head waters
of Island Run. Throwing a guard around
the residence, they
went into camp for the night, about six
miles from the river.
Morgan's guards - always out -
reconnoitered some that night
on Island Run. Thomas L. Gray of
Deavertown, then an ac-
tive "conductor" on the famous
underground railway, who had
a flag station in his barn and who had
furnished food, shelter
and transportation for many a Canada
bound fugitive from the
south, "without money and without
price," together with Reeves
McAdoo and James Foraker, also of that
village, that night
determined that they would venture
toward Eagleport via the
Island Run road to "see what they
could see." Their adven-
tures are described in a very
interesting article prepared by one
of the editors of the Democrat and
published in that paper, some
14 months ago. It is worth repeating:
Along toward midnight Mr. Thomas L.
Gray, of Deaver-
town, (father of S. C. and E. W. Gray)
in company with Reeves
McAdoo and James Foraker, two young men
of the village,
started east toward Eagleport. At the
Baptist church they took
the southeast road and arriving at
Knapp's, called out the young
man Jacob Knapp. The latter on the
Friday previous had an-
swered the governor's call and had gone
to the camp at Ma-
rietta but returned home Monday. He
joined the three Deaver-
town citizens and proceeded on to Jacob
Mast's where they were
Morgan's Raid. 91
joined by Mast's son Peter. From Mast's
they went on to Pen-
nell Garrett's who lived where Hiram
Allard now resides. The
only arms possessed by these bold
adventurers was an old gun
carried by Mr. Gray that was about as
dangerous as a boy's
target rifle. At Garrett's the armament
was very materially in-
creased as Jacob Knapp secured an ax.
This had brought them into Deerfield
township and in their
course down Island Run they passed within
a half-mile of Mor-
gan's camp. Had they known of his
presence so near they
might possibly have captured the whole
outfit. On the next
farm (now owned by James Cunningham),
they woke up John
Daringer and told him of Morgan's having
passed through
Chapel Hill the evening previous and
advised him to get his
horses to a place of safety. He did so
and thereby prevented
their capture when Morgan appeared the
next morning. They
next woke up Jacob Weaver and gave him
the same warning.
Weaver was more skeptical and replied:
"Let him come." He
did come the next morning and Mr. Weaver
lost two horses.
At Isaac Warren's they found Mrs. Warren
alone. Mr.
Warren had gone to McConnelsville the
day previous, and hear-
ing of Morgan's approach, he feared to
risk his team in the vi-
cinity, and remained in town over night.
On the place now
owned by John Eveland, they were joined
by George Swytzer,
who made the sixth member of the
company.
At the Joe Helmick place, now owned by
Charles Daringer,
and then occupied by Jno. Bankes, they
learned that a half
dozen raiders, some hours before, had
secured food and then
gone in the direction of Eagleport. They
held a council of war
and decided to cut off the enemy's
retreat by felling trees across
the road. Knapp started in with his ax,
but it was soon decided
that the noise of the ax was liable to
warn the Rebels of their
"danger" and they concluded to
quit and proceed on down the
creek. Just below the Bankes house the
road forks and as they
approached this point they heard
horsemen coming up the creek,
and the clank of sabers told them that
they were soldiers. It
was about an hour after midnight and
very dark.
Halting in the road and remaining quiet
they awaited the
approach of theenemy. When only a few
feet away Mr. Gray
92 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
in a loud voice ordered them to halt and
demanded an immediate
surrender. The darkness prevented the
Rebels from seeing how
many were in their front and being
deceived by Mr. Gray's firm-
ness and the fact that no guns were
fired, the raiders supposed
they were confronted by a large force of
regular soldiers and
made no resistance.
It was well for one raider at least that
they submitted
peaceably for Jacob Knapp was standing
within reach with his
ax drawn, and as the rebel was on a
small horse not larger than
a good sized pony, Knapp was in position
to cave in his ribs
had he shown a disposition to fight.
They were ordered to dismount and give
up their arms
which they did in true military style.
Hardly had the capture
been made when about a dozen Muskingum
county militiamen
under Colonel Ed. Ball, a brother of
Judge Ball, arrived on the
scene coming down the road leading
north. It was fortunate,
for when the Rebels discovered the
unarmed condition of their
captors, it is probable that they would
have made a desperate
effort to escape. As it was, one of the
six Rebels put spurs to
his horse and escaped in the darkness.
-When captured it was
found that the raiders had Michael
Longstreth as a prisoner.
The rebels were marched to the Helmick
mill and guarded
till morning but in the darkness another
escaped. This fleeing
Rebel lost his way and was captured the
following morning by
Jacob Mast and taken to Deavertown. The
four prisoners at
the mill were taken the next day to
Stovertown and turned over
to the proper authorities.
Thus ended the most notable northern
success, when num-
bers and armament are considered, in the
whole history of Mor-
gan's famous raid. It was one of the
boldest undertakings ever
attempted by citizens of Morgan county
and the marvel is that
these 6 York citizens were not all
killed. Only two of the six
are now living- Jacob Knapp and Geo.
Swytzer. Both reside
still in York township. Morgan county
ought to build a monu-
ment on Island Run where Helmick Mill
formerly stood in com-
memoration of this notable occurrence.
Early in the morning of July 23rd about 20 Union soldiers
ate breakfast at our home at Rokeby
Lock. Where they were
Morgan's Raid. 93
when Morgan approached, no one seemed to
know. Evidently
they had
"Folded their tents like the Arabs
And as silently stole away."
Although not yet six years old, the
writer well remembers
the bright sunny morning of July 23,
1863. I had not long been
out of bed at my home at Rokeby Lock,
when upon looking
across the river just below the dam I
beheld a sight never to
be forgotten. My childish mind was
filled with awe, mingled
with fear and admiration. Morgan's
cavalry was approaching,
as it seemed to me in solid phalanx,
while their polished sabers
glistened in the morning sun. This was
war. Rumors had
reached us the day before that Morgan
was near and would in
all probability cross the river at this
point, and that he was
burning and destroying property on all
sides as he came to it,
and, worse, sparing the lives of no one,
not even the women and
children. Eight children, of whom I was
the youngest, and
mother constituted our family at that
time, our father having
a few days before responded as a
militiaman to the call of Gov.
Tod, and was then at Marietta. Nearly
all able bodied men
were either at the front, or in the
militia.
The ford at Eagleport was then and still
is, as many of
you know, some 200 yards below the dam.
It is approached
from the west side by passing over the
upper end of the island
-there being but little water on the
west side of the island in
the summer season. Immediately opposite
is the Weber farm,
with high and precipitous banks. After
reaching the ford the
bank furnished some protection from
bullets of the rebels, and
a few citizens gathered here for the
purpose of preventing the
crossing. Bullets began to fly around
them, some uncomfortably
close and they ceased resistance and
sought shelter. Robertson
in his Morgan county history says that
with the protection of
this bank and the hollow, which he
places immediately opposite
the ford, a small body of men could have
prevented the pas-
sage. But the fact is, that while the
ford is of course lower,
the bank on the west side and beyond the
island is almost as
high as on the east side, and Morgan
with his Parrott rifles,
94
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
could from that point, readily reach
anyone stationed on the east
bank within squirrel gun shot of the
ford. And the hollow spoken
of is too far up stream, and not
opposite the ford as claimed.
But Morgan did not undertake to cross
all his men below
the dam. Above it there was, as there is
now, a ferry, near the
old Devol store. As his men were passing
opposite our home
a few citizens stationed behind trees in
front of the house, kept
up a fire at them across the river.
Their guns of course would
not throw a bullet that far at least
with any accuracy, and such
conduct served only to aggravate
matters. There was an im-
mediate response from guns that would
and did carry and bullets
flew about and through our house.
Three bullet holes may yet be seen in
the weather boarding.
One of these seemed to have come from a
point farther up the
river, and quite a long distance. My
mother was making up a
bed in a front room, when a bullet
entered the window barely
missing her head. She had just stooped
the moment before, to
arrange the bed clothes. Had she
remained in an upright po-
sition the ball would have struck her in
the face.
By the time this had occurred it is
useless to say that there
were some frightened occupants therein.
We at once "took to
the woods." I can remember, as the
shooting was going on, of
looking out in the back yard and seeing
my sister now Mrs.
Jones, then almost a young woman,
standing in the back yard
crying, while my only brother then
approaching manhood, had
stationed himself near, behind the smoke
house to take observa-
tions. He was evidently seen for soon a
number of bullets
struck uncomfortably close. In our hasty
retreat I took my pet
dog, "Rover," and my sister,
Mary, next older, took "Dash" and
left our purses of silver and pennies
each amounting to eight or
ten dollars. They were not there on our
return nor was a gold
watch which my father had left hanging
on the wall. In fact
there wasn't much of anything left
except the bare building.
Comfortables, quilts, blankets, sheets,
pillows, in fact everything
that could be at all carried, was gone.
I shall never forget the
appearance of the cupboard when I
stepped in the kitchen that
Thursday p. m. when we returned home.
What dishes were left
were empty either on the table or on the
floor. Not a thing left
Morgan's Raid. 95
in it- fruit all gone out of the cellar.
In fact we were per-
fectly destitute. I believe there wasn't
enough food of any kind
left about the house to furnish a
chicken a satisfactory meal.
But we were fortunate to have even the
house left. Morgan's
men were irritated by the annoying rifle
fire from in front as
above mentioned.
When we left the premises that morning
there was one, Dan
Zinsmeister, a tailor, who had no legs
(that he could use) and
consequently, who did not run off with
us but remained at the
house. When Morgan's men entered the
house they reported
that they had received orders to burn
the building. Zinsmeister
pleaded with them, explaining that the
owner of the premises
had not been at home for several days,
and, knew nothing of
what had been going on and consequently
was not responsible for
the shooting. He did not tell them where
the proprietor was,
but did succeed in persuading them to
spare the home. Similar
orders, it was reported, were given by
Morgan for the burning
of the Richard McElhiney home a half
mile below, where many
people from McConnelsville and those who
lived between, and
people from the hills had gathered and
many shots fired as
Morgan emerged from the mouth of Island
Run hollow. But,
upon learning that Mr. McElhiney was not
responsible for the
shooting they did not burn the building.
It is needless to say that consternation
reigned among all
the inhabitants of that vicinity. We
found plenty of company
at our retreat in the woods on the hill
tops. Some of the Eagle-
port people did not have time to get
away. One Mr. Forgrave
sought refuge in a pig pen where a
motherly occupant thereof
was contentedly nursing her progeny. A
rebel in passing saw
Forgrave and inquired of a comrade, so
Forgrave reported,
whether he thought those pigs were all
of the same litter. He
was not disturbed.
The ferry could not accommodate all of
Morgan's men who
desired immediate passage. It was then a
toll ferry owned by
Hiram Winchell. Poor Hiram--good old
soul, I'll venture,
never did a thriftier business or a
harder forenoon's job in his
life and with poorer pay than he did
that eventful day. Dalphin
Devol, merchant, rank abolitionist,
rebel hater, stiff, gruff,
96
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
(though with many commendable
qualities), was impressed into
service with his fine skiff. Dalphin
likewise, worked faithfully
and well, and sweat. The rebels would
get in the skiff and hold
their horses' reins while they swam and
our merchant rowed.
When the last load had been landed on
the Rokeby side he pro-
ceeded to return to his store. When
nearly across they (per-
haps in sport) demanded his return. He
stubbornly refused
and rowed steadily on. They fired two or
three shots in the
direction of the skiff. Devol claimed
that he dodged each of the
bullets by "ducking" his head
the instant the smoke issued from
the guns.
At the upper store in Eagleport,
conducted by Silvey and
Price, Mr. Silvey was likewise pressed
into service with his skiff.
While he was reputed to be a "rebel
sympathizer" and a rank
Democrat (and those terms were in those
days considered by
many as being synonymous) the rebels
were no respecters of
persons, and he performed labor equally
as arduous as Devol.
When he had assisted the last load to
the east side, an officer
handed him a Confederate bill for his
pay and, applying an epi-
thet which it would not be appropriate
to repeat here, ordered
him to "pull for the shore" on
the west and not look up, and if
he ceased "pulling" before he
got there he would never "pull"
any more. He obeyed and had no bullets
to dodge. The other
member of the firm, Wm. Price, when he
learned that Morgan
was in town hastily emptied the money
drawer which contained
a large pocketbook with considerable
money therein, several hun-
dred dollars as I now remember. He was
trying to reach his
home about a quarter of a mile above -a
near cut taking him
through a rank patch of timothy. As he
was hurrying through
this, pocketbook in hand, he was halted
by the rebels and or-
dered to return and unlock the store. He
immediately loosed
his grip and the money fell unobserved
in the high grass. After
he had concluded waiting on his
"customers," he was permitted
to return to his home. He found the
pocketbook unmolested,
where he had dropped it.
A man named Henry Kelly, from Hocking
county, as I
always understood it (Dr. Robinson says
from Nelsonville) was
shot by Morgan's men on the bluffs
overlooking Eagleport. He
Morgan's Raid. 97
had had several horses taken by Morgan
and had followed them
all the way to Eagleport, vainly
endeavoring to get them, and
frequently firing at them. Morgan, by
the use of his glasses,
identified him. He, at the time he was
killed, was in company
with Alex Stinchcomb, of near
Deavertown, who had also lost
some horses. He stepped out on the rocks
in full view of Mor-
gan watching his movements in crossing
the river. Stinchcomb,
but a few yards away, remained under
cover and pleaded with
Kelly to be more cautious, who insisted
that there was no dan-
ger. Robertson says: "Five of the
raiders standing on Devol's
store steps took deliberate aim at him;
three of their shots took
effect, killing him instantly. The
distance is about 250 yards."
The writer's understanding, gathered
from what was told shortly
after, is that the shots were fired from
the eastern shore, that
an officer by the use of his field glass
recognized Kelly and or-
dered him shot and that thereupon the
five men laid their guns
across their horses and fired with above
results. This would
make the distance at least 100 yards
farther.
Morgan remained in the immediate
vicinity of Eagleport
and Rokeby about one and a half or two
hours. He started
up the river ostensibly for Gaysport,
and perhaps thence to
Rural Dale. He had gone but a short
distance when he saw a
steamer loaded with troops coming. It
was the steamer "Dime"
with a portion of the 86th regiment
aboard from Zanesville
under the command of R. W. McFarland.
The troops were
landed about two and a half miles above
Rokeby and ascended
the steep hill on the Eli Barr farm.
Morgan wheeled about,
came back to Rokeby, leaving the river
by the road that leads
east. There is quite a bend in the river
at Eagleport and this
road passes northerly through the Barr
farm only a short dis-
tance from the river hill. Here, at
Barr's Ridge, the opposing
forces unexpectedly met. Morgan, not
knowing the enemy's
strength, avoided an engagement, and
wheeled square to the
right for the McElhiney hollow. Here was
McFarland's op-
portunity. Through lack of judgment or
courage or both, he
failed to seize it. Morgan could easily
have been captured in
that hollow. In fact, Morgan wanted to
quit then and there,
as reported, but declared that he could
find no one worthy to
Vol. XVIII-7.
98
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
accept his sword. Whether this report
was true or not, I do
not know. This hollow is wild and the
hills on either side are
so steep and rocky that only in a few
places in the section where
they crossed it, can a man and horse
scale them, and a company
of 50 men, it seems to me, could have
shot or captured every
man of them as they attempted to emerge
from that ravine.
I remember of following their trail in
company with my
father, not long after and the fresh
marks from the horses'
shoes were yet visible on the huge rocks
down over which they
clambered and it seemed almost
miraculous that anyone would
be able to reach the bottom without
being killed or receiving
serious injury. Not a few shots were
fired at Barr's Ridge.
McFarland, the commander of the union
troops, in a recent
article in the "Ohio Archaeological
and Historical Quarterly,"
relating what occurred after the landing
of his troops says: "In
about two miles we came to the road on
which Morgan was
retreating. The soldiers at the front of
the column were able
to give Morgan one volley at long range.
No one was hurt
but some of the raiders dropped a part
of their plunder. We
picked up a bolt or two of calico and
also a bolt of muslin. On
the west side of the road and about a
hundred yards distant
there was a small frame house on the
face of the hill. The
woman living there was on the porch at
the east side of the
house, watching Morgan's men as they
passed along the road.
One of the soldiers shot at her as she
was leaning against a
post. The bullet hit the post about a
foot above her head and
buried itself in the hard wood. This
outrage occurred about
the time when my men discharged their
guns at long range. I
saw the mark of the bullet and gave the
woman the dry goods
which we had picked up in the road, to
offset as far as possible
the fright which she had suffered. Early
in the morning, only
an hour or so after my troops had
landed, there occurred the
following incident which probably gave
Morgan an exaggerated
estimate of the number of my men. While
waiting for develop-
ments, I saw two cavalrymen approaching
my position. They
were in the woods a couple of hundred
yards distant, but pro-
ceeding very cautiously. They were
attempting to make some
reliable estimate of our numbers. I
called on the half dozen
Morgan's Raid. 99
soldiers who were closest to me 'to
shoot those spies.' The
guns rang out in an instant, but the
soldiers, further away
from my position knowing nothing of the
facts, all fired their
guns also, but fired at random. The roar
of these 350 rifles
was grand, and as we were concealed by
the timber, our num-
bers were largely overestimated."
(Vol. 17, No. 3, p. 245).
Mr. McFarland's memory does not
correctly serve him as
to distance of his position on the ridge
from the river. It does
not much exceed a quarter of a mile if
any, from the landing
at the foot of the bluff. The house
referred to is a log building,
still standing on the Barr farm and was
then occupied by Mrs.
Julia Thomas.
One confederate was shot here. He was
found unconscious,
but later regained consciousness and was
carried on a litter to
our home. I well remember of looking
with much curiosity,
upon him, a real live rebel (or at least
not dead), who wouldn't
hurt me. He was shot in the lung. Can
remember of seeing
the blood blubber in the wound in his
breast as he breathed. He
was taken to Eagleport and after a few
weeks' nursing, he suf-
ficiently recovered so that he was able
to be sent to Columbus.
In the hollow a dead rebel was found,
with a pillow placed
under his head, where Morgan's men,
unable to convey the body
out of there, had left it. He was found
by Chas. Patterson and
Dave Bailey and perhaps others, who
hastily laid the body under
a shelving rock near by, cast some
leaves over it and left it. On
the following day Jas. Shilling
(afterwards the father-in-law
of our fellow townsman, J. M. Betz, and
an uncle to J. L. Shill-
ing on Kennebec Ave.), who is yet
living, Joseph M. Briggs
and Mr. Bailey took the remains and
buried them near by. A
few years after this the run cut into
the grave and it was again
moved to the opposite side only a few
yards away. The grave
is marked with a rough sandstone at
either end and this ro-
mantic spot has been an object of
interest to many a curious vis-
itor. About 20 years ago a
rumor was in circulation in that lo-
cality that some of the dead rebel's
friends had been in that
vicinity searching treasure supposed to
have been hidden in that
hollow at the time of crossing. It was
then that the name was
discovered rudely inscribed on the
headstone of the grave
100 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
"Tommy McGee" which is yet
plainly visible. Dr. Robertson
says that the evidence is strong that
this man was killed at Eagle-
port where another rebel lost his nose,
both from shots fired from
my father's house and that this was the
cause of the special at-
tention given the house by the carbines.
That afternoon a portion of Hobson's
army still in hot pur-
suit, under the command of Gen.
Shackelford, crossed the ford
at Rokeby. About 25 of them rode up to
our house and ordered
dinner. While I do not remember what was
set before them,
it must certainly have been a slim meal.
What transpired at McConnelsville and
elsewhere I will
leave for others to tell, who know more
about it. If history por-
trays the facts I believe that a
monument of donkey skulls should
have been erected somewhere near the
crossing, to the memory
of Col. Hill, for his bravery and valor.
He left Marietta the
morning of July 22 by the Steamer
"Jonas Powell," with 500
troops and two brass cannons aboard. In
the afternoon of that
day a message was received at
McConnelsville from Hill that
Morgan was approaching McConnelsville or
Eagleport. With
this knowledge, he came with his troops
as far as Stockport, 10
miles below, where he landed the steamer
and waited. This was
the evening of the 22nd. Three times
that night he was notified
and urged to proceed to McConnelsville
and on to Eagleport,
for it was that night positively
ascertained that Morgan was
encamped on the head waters of Island
Run. Without an ef-
fort he could have steamed up in the
vicinity of Eagleport that
night and there thwarted Morgan and
without doubt captured
him. But he would not do so, neither
would he permit Capt.
Marsh, under him, to take a company and
march up. Along
about 9 o'clock that day, the 23rd, Hill
arrived at McConnels-
ville. Then a brilliant idea struck him.
He took a portion of
his men and started out the Zanesville
road to head of Morgan
who long before he got started, had the
last of his forces safely
across the river at Eagleport eight
miles above. Col. Marsh
took one division and started up the
river. After going up about
three miles to the Doc Reed farm Marsh
learned that Morgan
had crossed, so he bore to the east
leaving the river and joined
Hill. On the Ritchey farm, less than
one-half mile this side the
Morgan's Raid. 101
Pisgah church, stands a high and
commanding knob. There the
bold (?) Hill planted a cannon; and
observing some stir in the
neighborhood of Meloy's barn which
stands about 1 mile to the
northwest he, without further
investigation, concluded that Mor-
gan might be in that barn. Brilliant
thought! The main body
of his men never were near this barn. A
few straggling foragers,
not to exceed perhaps, half dozen, were
in the vicinity at the
time the shot was fired. More likely was
this building to have
been then occupied by women and
children, but it chanced to be
empty. Hill succeeded in hitting the
barn. The cannon ball
hole may yet be seen from the public
road and its destructive
work inside by opening the barn door.
Robertson says Hill re-
turned to the Steamer Powell without the
loss of a man or ma-
terial. How remarkably and mysteriously
strange.
Mr. James G. Crisman, who lives on the
River road, north
of town, was living with his uncle and
aunt, Daniel Meloy and
wife, on the Meloy farm, when Morgan
went through. Mr.
Meloy was absent, so he and his aunt
were, that day, holding the
fort, the old brick building, which is
still standing near the barn,
which Hill shot into. Jim was a boy of
ten--old enough for
some vivid and lasting impressions. He
was called upon, by
two of Morgan's men, to serve as guide
for his army. Jim didn't
just take to the crowd, and declined to
go alone. His aunt was
at once drafted into service. Her
movements afoot were not
rapid enough, so one of the soldiers
dismounted and Mrs. Meloy
was assisted to the saddle. A large
portion of the troops
was in waiting at the forks of the road,
at the election house
a mile further up the road. They, the
guides, did not go
far. After getting from them the
information desired, they
were permitted to return home. As they
started back, the
troops parted to either side of the road
as an act of courtesy,
and Jim and his aunt, on dress parade,
marched between,
with an escort, who accompanied them
almost to their home.
Mr. Crisman says the shot, which
penetrated the Meloy barn,
was not fired from the Ritchey knob, but
from a position
nearer the barn, along the east side of
the road, and that several
cannon shots were fired. Mr. E. M.
Stanbery, a spectator, says
that other shots were fired from
Ritchey's Knob in bombarding
102 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Meloy's woods to the right. He did not
witness this from a
location similar to that of Mr.
Forgrave's in Eagleport. He had
taken safe refuge in an impregnable
wheat shock hard by. Judge
Evans who was involuntarily doing
service for Morgan in that
section as a guide, reported that the
confederates were not within
hearing when this cannonading was done.
These conflicting state-
ments may be accounted for from the fact
that Morgan's men
were widely scattered. They were
compelled to forage their
living and necessarily covered a wide
scope. Mr. S. A. Thissell,
a farmer living two miles below
Eagleport, claims to know the
exact spot where the rebel found in
McElhiney's hollow was
killed. He says his father, Benjamin F.
Thissell, in company
with Fred Merriam, a brother of the late
Charles Merriam, was
hidden behind the willows at the river's
edge, just above the dam,
watching the rebels as they passed along
the road within a few
rods of them; that just as this man was
passing by the shot was
fired from the hillside above, which
killed him; that the dead
man's comrades strapped him on the horse
he was riding and
left his gun which Mr. Thissell
procured; that the gun was in
their residence which was consumed by
fire in the early seventies
and that he still has the barrel and
lock. This may account for
the shooting of Mr. Kelly (above) by
Morgan's men, on the
same hill, a few minutes thereafter.
Many amusing incidents,
of that stirring day, might be mentioned
but I pass on.
Morgan passed on northeasterly, thro'
Bloom, leaving
Rural Dale to his left, and on through
Museville and High Hill,
Muskingum county, and through Noble,
Guernsey, Carroll, Har-
rison, and Jefferson and into Columbiana
county, with Shackel-
ford not far behind. At Washington,
Guernsey county, he over-
took the rear guard of Morgan's forces,
and some skirmishing
took place. On July 26th, 1863, he
succeeded in reaching Saline-
ville, Columbiana county, (again almost
to the Ohio), between
Steubenville and Wellsville. He was
being guided to the Penn-
sylvania line by one Mr. Burbeck, a
private citizen. - Perceiv-
ing in his flight, clouds of dust rising
on a parallel road, he rec-
ognized that a cavalry force was fast
cutting off his escape.
Shackelford was close pressing him in
the rear. Burbeck, who
Morgan's Raid. 103
had with him a small squad of
volunteeers, was conducting him
through his county on consideration that
Morgan would destroy
no property within its limits. Morgan
realizing the situation, pro-
posed to surrender to Burbeck on
condition that he and all his
men would be immediately paroled. Here
was an opportunity
for Burbeck to immortalize his name. Who
would not have
looked upon this coveted prize with
favor! Burbeck accepted
his sword on these terms. The
arrangement was barely com-
pleted when Major Rue, 9th
Kentucky cavalry, arrived, then
Shackelford. This sly move by Morgan, of
making terms of
capitulation with a private citizen
(for, in fact, with Burbeck,
such was the case), did not meet with
the approval of Rue, who
referred the matter to Shackelford, and
the latter refused to ac-
cept or recognize it. Morgan appealed to
Governor Tod, but
the latter, upon consideration, held
them not binding or effective,
and the prisoners were at once taken to
Columbus.
Here Morgan and his officers, as a
matter of retaliation, it
seems, for similar treatment our men had
received in the South,
were confined in the Penitentiary--their
heads duly shaved.
After several months of confinement,
Morgan and six other
prisoners, on the night of the 27th of
November, made their es-
cape, it is said, by cutting through the
stone floors of their cells,
with knives from the prison table.
Tunneling under the walls
of the building, they scaled the walls
that surrounded the grounds
by aid of ropes made of bed clothes. It
is claimed that this op-
portunity for escape presented itself
through willful neglect on
the part of the prison officials, to
care for these prisoners' cells.
- Many others think they left the prison
through doors that
opened at their bidding.
On the outside they changed their prison
clothes, and Mor-
gan proceeded to the depot and took a
train for Cincinnati, about
1 o'clock a. m. Alighting from the car
in the suburbs of Cin-
cinnati, he ran to the Ohio, crossed on
the ferry and immediately
found shelter. - He then made his way
through Kentucky and
Tennessee to northern Georgia. He
proceeded to Richmond,
where he was greeted with an ovation. In
a speech he declared
that "his escape was made entirely
without assistance from any
104 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
one OUTSIDE" the prison.
"An assertion," says Greely, "not
needed to incite and justify a strong
presumption that the fact
was otherwise."
Morgan lived to make one more
"raid" in the "Blue Grass"
egions, to witness the decline of his
popularity, to be harassed
by officers, in Richmond, who did not
understand him, and by
difficulties in his command, and
finally, the next year after his
escape, at Columbus, to fall while
fleeing through a kitchen gar-
den in a skirmish, in an obscure little
village in East Tennessee.
"He left a name second only to
those of Forrest and Stuart,
among the cavalrymen of the Confederacy,
and a character
which, amid much to be condemned, was
not without traces of a
noble nature."
MORGAN'S RAID.
L. J. WEBER. [In the QUARTERLY for January, 1908, page 48, was published an article on Morgan's Raid. We herewith present another account of this historic event, practically the only feature of the Civil War which occurred within the bounds of the State of Ohio. Every recital in detail or in part of Morgan's Raid, if at all worthy of credence, deserves permanent preservation. Hence the publication of this second article. Mr. L. J. Weber, the author, is a well-known attorney now residing at McConnelsville, and the events herein recited are the result of a very careful and painstaking study on his part of the famous raid of John Morgan. The map is from a drawing made by Mr. Weber and adds especial interest to the article as the route of the raiders may thereby be followed geographically. - EDITOR.] The movements of Gen. Morgan, something of which I shall attempt briefly to narrate, were incidental to the campaign of |
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middle and east Tennessee, or better known as the Chattanooga campaign. The confederates under Generals Bragg and Buckner, were offering stub- born resistance to the union forces, now transferred from the east under the com- mand of Rosencrans, Thomas, Sheridan, Crittendon, McCook and others. General Burnside was organizing his forces, many of them raw recruits, at Cincinnati, shortly to be sent to the aid of Rosencrans. Realizing the effectiveness of this move- ment and feeling that they would soon be |
numbered, it was necessary that something be done to divert the attention of Burnside and the reserve forces of the middle states. Bragg, who had no difficulty in selecting his man for the purpose, ordered the already famous Gen. Morgan, to make a cavalry raid through central and northern Kentucky. The inveterate Mor- 79 |