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Posted on 01/15/2004 12:01:10 AM PST by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio (July 1863) One of the most interesting phases of the Civil War was the well-known raid conducted by General John Hunt Morgan through Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana in the summer of 1863. This daringly executed foray deep into enemy territory was strictly a nuisance, and little more, for it did not help the Southern cause to any significance. However, the few days the raid lasted it caused a great deal of excitement and considerable inconvenience to the people of Southern Indiana.  Morgan's Raid, July 2-16, 1863 Local interest in this spectacular raid lies in the fact that Morgan and his men traversed Scott County from west to east over the route of the old historic Cincinnati Trace (then called the Lexington-Salem State Road), and that he and his men spent one of the four nights they camped in Indiana in Lexington, then the county seat of Scott County. Further interest is derived from the fact that General Morgan and the Morgan family of Scott County are related. One of Scott County's pioneers, David Morgan -- father of Nathan R. Morgan, came to the county in 1820 from Bourbon County, Kentucky. Although the exact relationship between the two families has not as yet been established, David Morgan was probably a first cousin of Calvin C. Morgan, father of John Hunt Morgan, and both were grandsons of Gideon Morgan (died 1830) who emigrated from New Jersey to Virginia sometime before the Revolutionary War and who was a kinsman of General Daniel Morgan (1736-1802) of Revolutionary War fame. It is said that when General Morgan and his Raiders came through Scott County he sent word to his Indiana kinfolks that he wished to visit them while in the County, but was prevented from doing so by the exigencies of war!  General John Hunt Morgan, CSA John Hunt Morgan, son of Calvin and Henrietta Hunt, was born June 1, 1825 in Huntsville, Alabama from whence his father and his grandfather, Luther Morgan, had emigrated from Virginia. When he was three years old, his father moved to his mother's home town of Lexington, Kentucky where he grew up. In the war against Mexico he served as a First Lieutenant in a cavalry regiment. Following this, he engaged in manufacturing in Lexington, Kentucky and became quite wealthy. His home can still be seen there. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 he and his four brothers--Calvin, Charlton, Richard and Thomas, joined the Confederate Army. His two sisters were married to Confederate generals--Ditty to General A. P. Hill and Henrietta to General Basil W. Duke, who accompanied his brother-in-law on his famous raid and later wrote his authoritative History of Morgan's Cavalry. In 1862, following the Battle of Shiloh, John Hunt Morgan was made a Colonel and still later a General.  MATTIE READY and JOHN HUNT MORGAN Shortly before Christmas of 1862 Morgan, 37, married Mattie Ready, 17, in Murfreesboro, TN. Several days after the wedding Morgan and his cavalry set out on a raid north of the Cumberland River. Wilder and his men were sent in persuit--on foot! Both brigades would miss each other, and the battle of Stones River. His men, collectively and in detached bands, became famous for partisan warfare throughout Kentucky and Tennessee, raiding towns, robbing trains, destroying railroad property and committing deeds of violence amounting to highway robbery, except so far as excused by the state of war. Morgan's famous raid through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio was probably done with the deliberate intent of creating a diversion from the movement of General Braxton Bragg and his troops from Tullahoma to Chattanooga, Tennessee. However, Morgan disobeyed Bragg's (1817-1876) instructions to confine himself to Kentucky and started on a forlorn trip which was doomed to failure. On May 26, 1863 Morgan had 2460 men, two three-inch Parrott guns and two twelve-inch howitzers. Two brigades under him were principally composed of men from the Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth and Eleventh Kentucky and the Ninth Tennessee Cavalry Regiments. They were commanded by General Basil W Duke and Bushrod Johnson.  Parrott gun On June 11, 1863 they left their headquarters at Alexandria, Tennessee and on July 2 crossed the Cumberland River at Burkesville, Kentucky. In a battle at Columbus, Kentucky on July 4th, they lost sixty men when they unexpectedly encountered Federal troops. On July 5th they fought and captured the Federal garrison at Lebanon, Kentucky. It was during this battle that General Morgan's youngest brother, Lieutenant Thomas Morgan, was killed. On Tuesday, July 7th, Morgan's advance guard reached Brandenburg, Kentucky on the Ohio River forty miles below Louisville. On July 8th his men captured the steamers "J. T. McCombs" and "Alice Dean" and were successfully ferried across the river to the Indiana shore. Then they proceeded to loot the town of Mauckport, two miles down the river from their crossing. From Mauckport the Confederate cavalry drove into Corydon where stores were raided, the county treasury robbed, private homes pillaged and women forced to prepare meals for the unwelcome guests. General Morgan made his headquarters at the town's main hotel, Kintner's. Meanwhile, over 500 horses were taken from their owners in the nearby countryside in exchange for poor, worn-out ones.  The same day, July 9th, Federal troops under General Edward Hobson reached Brandenburg, crossed the river, and subsequently pursued Morgan's Raiders across the entire states of Indiana and Ohio. The Confederates spent the night in Corydon and the morning of July 10th, leaving eleven wounded soldiers to be cared for by the citizens of the town, they advanced on Salem in two columns. Morgan delayed a few hours in Palmyra while one column of his troops looted Paoli and another Greenville, in Floyd County. After dispersing the Home Guard at Salem they occupied and thoroughly plundered the town. Men were seen, it has been said, riding around carrying all sorts of booty. One cavalryman had a bird cage with three canaries in it, and others had bolts of calico tied to their saddles. However, no examples of personal violence or cruelty were reported. Leaving Salem in two columns they headed for Lexington. One column crossed the Jeffersonville and Indianapolis Railroad at Henryville, Clark County, while the other went by way of Canton, New Philadelphia and Leota and, at approximately six o'clock, they arrived at the same railroad in Vienna.  From Harper's New Monthly Magazine (August, 1865), Courtesy of Burton Milward At Vienna the railroad station and the telegraph operator were captured before the operator could give the alarm. General Morgan put one of his own men, Lieutenant Ellsworth who knew how to operate the telegraph, in charge of the office. He listened on the wires until he had learned all the news to be obtained from Louisville and Indianapolis, including the fact that orders had been issued to the Militia to fell timber and blockade the principal roads which the invaders would be likely to travel to the East. According to Duke "our rapid marching had, hitherto, saved us this annoyance." They also learned in this manner that the Union forces under Hobson had crossed the Ohio River and were only a few miles behind them. They learned that the state was virtually swarming with soldiers and that every train entering Indiana was bringing additional forces. The Raiders did all they possibly could to hamper the pursuit of the Union Cavalry, such as burning all the bridges. Their system of horse stealing was almost perfect. They would dispatch men from the head of each brigade to go five miles into the country on each side of the road. They would then seize every available horse and fall in at the rear of the column. In this way the Confederates swept the countryside of all horses for ten miles, leaving their own worn-out animals for the use of the Union forces.  According to Goodrich in his Illustrated History of Indiana (1875), a Scott County farmer ruefully said, "Many are the farmers through this county who have bewailed the day when they 'swapped' their fine, fat, sleek horses for the worn-out, sore-backed jades of the Rebels!" The fine blooded Kentucky horses, however, which were left behind in Indiana, though worn-out, were of such good stock that the breed of Indiana horses was greatly improved. At both Henryville and Vienna the railroad depots were burned, the tracks torn up and the telegraph wires cut. At Vienna they also burnt the water station, the turntable and a railroad bridge which spanned Pigeon Roost Creek. All of these structures were built of wood, as was the custom then. In Vienna they also robbed the stores and private houses.
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If J.E.B. Stuart could have had a dying wish, it probably would have been to die in a great cavalry engagement during battle. And that's exactly what happened at Yellow Tavern, six miles from Richmond, Virginia. Stuart's 3,000 - 4500 men were up against Union Gen. Phil Sheridan's 10,000 man cavalry.
Prior to the battle, Sheridan's soldiers rode four abreast and in a column which stretched 13 miles. Outnumbered and outgunned since Sheridan's troops were armed with the dreaded, rapid firing Spencer carbine, Stuart's two Confederate brigades fought valiantly and fiercely not yielding to the odds. For two solid hours, sabers clanked, pistols cracked and carbines popped as horsemen tumbled from their saddles. When Stuart's Divisions appeared to be slowly giving way, Gen. Sheridan finally called off the attack, calling it a "obstinate contest."
This battle saw the loss of one of the South's premier generals - J.E.B. Stuart. A dismounted cavalryman shot at a large, red bearded Confederate officer on a horse thirty feet away. The officer was Gen. J.E.B. Stuart. He was seriously wounded and would be carried from the field. Stuart observed a group of Confederate stragglers moving away from the battle and he shouted to them, "Go back! Go back! Do your duty as I've done mine. I'd rather die than be whipped!" This was said to be Stuart's last order. Lee could not speak for several hours after being told of Stuart's death. Time Line May 11, 1864
Looking to the past, Stuart never forgot Gettysburg and from this time forward, stayed in contact with the army and lessened his "showboating." He became one of Lee's most trusted generals. Stuart's flamboyant manner with colorful plumes in his hat, a banjo player named "Sweeney" at his side and the love for attention of the ladies was mainly all show. Inside, he was a devoted husband, father and the "Cavalier of Dixie" to his men. He was jovial, always playful except while in battle and he just loved life. But, like Stonewall Jackson, Stuart was an aggressor always looking for the battle and the advantage!
Said one of his aides, John E. Cooke, "Never have I seen a purer, more knightly, or more charming gallantry than his...ladies were his warmest admirers, for they saw that under his laughing exterior, was an earnest nature and warm heart." Stuart was transported to Richmond after he was wounded and died the next day before his devoted wife, Flora, could arrive. The last words he spoke were in a whisper, "I am resigned; God's will be done." He is buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.
Two JEB stories that I like...
The Yankees surprised him causing him to flee (I don't recall the town) suddenly. He had to leave behind his new hat and plume. A few days later, he managed to capture John Pope's baggage. He sent Pope this telegram...
"You have my hat and plume. I have your coat. I suggest a meeting to trade hostages."
Then there was the telegram he sent to the US Quatermaster General during the winter of 1862 complaining about the quality of mules he had been capturing lately. He signed it, "JEB Stuart". The Quartermaster General was not happy to have received it.
God bless JEB Stuart!
LOL. It's a shame his not being there at Gettysburg blemished his record.
First of all, Stuart had permission to get in the Yankee rear and disrupt communications, supply lines, etc. Lee gave him a great deal of latitude.
Second of all... Stuart left instruction with one of his regiments (I want to say Grumble Jones) to ride north and provide cover for Lee. This order was not obeyed. (This tidbit comes from the book "High Tide at Gettysburg")
Third of all... Lee had calvary with him. He was not as blind as history make Lee out to be. He did have calvary with him.
Fourth of all... When the Union Army began North, Stuart rode North to join Lee but chose not to go the direct route. Instead he wanted to circle the Union Army again. This, he should not have done. After capturing 125 wagons... he could not get far enough ahead of the Union Army to circle in front and join Lee.
Fifth of all... Stuart's orders were not to join Lee but to meet Ewell at Hanover. Stuart arrived at Hanover and not only was Ewell not there (he was on his way to Gettysburg), Ewell didn't leave word for Stuart as to where he went.
To me, there is a huge injustice done to Stuart's reputation. I would hold him responsible for his decision to continue to ride around the Union Army instead of disengaging and meeting Ewell at Hanover. But... he wasn't AWOL or disobeying orders... He was performing well within the parameters of his order.
I have two more books on Gettysburg coming in the next week or two. I will have to read and see what the authors say about Stuart.
Wait right here while I recharge my CO2 extinguisher!
Pat Boone sang title theme.
And he didi a good job at it too.
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