An Ohio Farmer's Account of Morgan's Raid
Edited by ARVILLE L. FUNK*
ALTHOUGH OHIO contributed soldiers to all of the major
battles of the Civil War, the state
itself was to know war
only through an exciting thirteen-day
invasion of its borders
by "The Thunderbolt of the
Confederacy," General John
Hunt Morgan, and his Confederate
cavalry division.
The purpose of the raid through
Kentucky, Indiana, and
Ohio in July 1863 was to divert federal
troops in these areas
who were moving to join General Ambrose
E. Burnside at
Cincinnati for an invasion of east
Tennessee.
Morgan's division was composed of 2,400
mounted men,
divided into ten regiments and two
brigades. The excited home
guards of Indiana and Ohio variously
estimated the raiders'
strength at from 5,000 to 10,000 men.
After crossing the Ohio
River at Brandenburg, Kentucky, Morgan
had a brief skir-
mish at Corydon, Indiana, the next day,
then spent five days
raiding southeastern Indiana before
crossing into Ohio at
Harrison on July 13. From Harrison, the
raiders by-passed
Cincinnati, then sped through Piketon,
Jackson, and Pomeroy,
until they were cornered and defeated
at Buffington Ford,
where they were attempting to recross
the Ohio River.
Morgan's ill-fated raid finally ended
near Lisbon, in Co-
lumbiana County, on July 26, when he
surrendered with only
300 of his command left.
David Hulse, the writer of the
following letter, was a
farmer living near the little village
of Sharonville, just north
of Cincinnati. Although Hulse did not
actually see the events
* Arville L. Funk is head of the social
studies department of the Perry Town-
ship Junior High School, Indianapolis.