CROSSING THE OHIO: Brandenburg, Kentucky

The Alice Dean was used to ferry Morgan’s Men across the Ohio River and then set ablaze so that pursuing Union troops would be unable to use it as well.


The USS Elk was sent to stop Morgan from crossing the Ohio River.

"This rebellion will be the ruination of thousands of men. They have become hardened to everything. Neither cares for God nor man and I among the rest but I still feel for my fellow man. I have not forgotten the kind words and sweet invitation that has been offered to me even from my loving wife. Still I have become hardened more than ever I did in my life. Still I am a believer of everything that is good."

~ William S. Craig, 116th Illinois Infantry [i]

On Tuesday, July 7th, Morgan's advance guard, including Captains H. Clay Meriwether and Samuel Taylor, reached Brandenburg, Kentucky on the Ohio River forty miles below Louisville. They first captured the J. T. McCombs when it docked at Brandenburg to deliver mail. The Raiders took control of the steamer with having to fire a shot and brought it to middle of the river where they halted conspicuously. Hoisting a distress signal above the motionless vessel, the Raiders were able to lure in a second steamboat, a brand new passenger boat, the Alice Dean. The two captured steamers were waiting for Morgan’s main column when they arrived at Brandenburg. Stories abound about the capture of the steamers. Tales abound reporting the excellent treatment of the passengers, and the return of their money and personal belongs.

Yet, if Morgan’s men were behaving as ideal models of the romantic Southern Cavalier, their leader was not. In selecting not to halt his column at the Ohio River, John Hunt Morgan deliberately broke Bragg’s orders.

“Go ahead and raid Kentucky. Capture Louisville if you can. But do not, I repeat do not cross the river. Stay in Kentucky. Go anywhere you want in your home state, but I command you to stay south of the river.”

~ General Braxton Bragg’s communication to Morgan[ii]

Bragg, greatly dismayed with Morgan, declared,

“Morgan never returned from a raid without his command broken and dissipated, with more lost than gained from the undertaking.”

Morgan’s insatiable ego drove forward without a moments regard to his duty to the Confederacy. Personal greed clouded his reason. Morgan’s foremost goal was to regain the acclaim and attention which had so lavishly been bestowed upon him earlier in the war. So driven was Morgan, that he completely disregarding his superior’s orders and his own men’s reactions to his increasingly reckless behavior.

“I have no quarrel with those people. I am perfectly willing to fight for my home land and my rights, but making war on civilians in the north, I cannot do so.”

~ Private Patton Troutt[iii]

Upon reaching Brandenburg, Confederate officers brought three barrels of whiskey out of E. C. Ashcroft’s hotel. Setting the barrels upon the sidewalk, they drank to their success and then allowed the passing soldiers to fill their canteens.[iv]

“When the column reached Brandenburg, early in the morning of July 8, General Morgan was delighted to find two good steamboats lying at the wharf, the transports having been secured by two of his most adventuresome captains, Sam Taylor and Clay Meriwether, who had been sent in advance for that purpose.” [v]

Just after 9:00 A. M., Morgan ordered the first of his regiments to board the steamboats.

Through the dense morning fog, there came a cry from the opposite shore.

“Shut down the steam on the McCombs and send over the steamer Alice Dean or I will blow you to Hades in five minutes.”

~ Colonel John Timberlake, 81st Indiana, calling out from the Indiana side of the Ohio River[vi]

“Oh Hell, old man, come over and take a drink.”

~ Morgan’s Raiders on the Kentucky side, still enjoying their whiskey[vii]

Timberlake, true to his word, ordered his men to shell the Raiders. The first shot landed amidst a group of men killing one of them. The second struck the McCombs. Captain E. P. Byrne’s Kentucky Battery turned two parrot guns toward the Indiana shore. Their first shot splashed down into the river. The second and third took out a log cabin and scattered the Indiana militia into the wooded hills.[viii]

“Wednesday July 8th, 1863. Weather Cloudy. We fed our horses early and had a slight shower of rain. The bread detail brought in some bread and meat. A shell from the Indiana side of the river passed over out camp and small arms could be heard at the river. We saddled up to shift our position out of range. The lady living next to us was very much scared by the shell and cried out, ‘Oh is this war? Are you going to have a battle?’ We moved into a woodland hollow and dismounted to rest.”

~Curtis R. Burke, 14th Kentucky Calvary, Co. B[ix]

By 5:00 P.M. the 1st Brigade was safely across the Ohio. However, circumstances worsened as the 2nd Brigade embarked.

“July 8. The great Ohio River, the dividing line between the North and the South, is reached. The command is crossing. Here I met Capt. Heady. The enemy are pressing us in the rear, and their gunboats keep up a steady fire on the two stern boats, in which Morgan’s command is crossing. Thoughts, hopes and anxieties chase each other in wild succession through my mind, but my Regiment is again guarding the rear and vigilance is the price of liberty. At 12 o’clock tonight, it being moonrise, the enemy pressed upon us and drove our pickets in, but again fell back.’

~ Lt. Col. James B. McCreary, 11th Kentucky Cavalry CSA[x]

Hobson had reached Garrettsville but, for unknown reasons, selected to order his men to make camp rather than pressing onward into Brandenburg.

“Wednesday, July 8
Start toward Elizabethtown. Change direction. Go through Garrettsville. Camp one mile beyond town. Rebs reported to be crossing Ohio river into Indiana. Lot of citizen prisoners taken at Garrettsville.”

~Charles W. Durling, Company G, 45th Ohio Infantry[xi]

In a laborious process lasting seventeen hours, Morgan’s 2, 500 men, their horses, equipment, wagons, and artillery were ferried across the Ohio River. To secure their crossing, Morgan ordered one cannon to be placed on East Hill and a second on West Hill above the river in Brandenburg.

“I took a canteen and walked a short distance to town for water, then went down where our artillery was planted. It was planted by the side of the Courthouse, a square brick building and pointed up steam toward a Yankee gunboat which was standing still just around a be[n[d in full view but out of close range. The Courthouse was on very high ground next to the river making a beautiful position for artillery. The artillerymen were sitting around their steel pieces waiting for the gunboat to come closer. The gunboat looked to me like a steamboat boxed up and painted black with portholes. All this time the captured steamboats Alice Dean and Ben McCombs in our hands, were busy ferrying the command across to the Indiana shore. I then returned to the regiment. One of the boys was telling about the home guards that morning planting a steel piece on the Indiana side of the river and trying to recapture the steamboats and prevent our crossing, which caused the firing that first stirred us up. The home guard Colonel mounted a stump and cried out, ‘I demand you to surrender and bring those boats over here in the name of the United States and the State of Indiana!’ Some of our boys on the wharf answered, ‘Oh hell old man come over and take a drink.’ The home guards then let loose with their muskets and fired their steel piece at one of the boats, but the shell struck the water short of their mark, but our artillery then drove them away from their piece before they could fire more than twice. Then two boat loads of our troops crossed and drove them clear off. A couple of our brass pieces was sent up the river on the Kentucky side to watch for Yankee transports. As fast as the regiments got across they went up the river on their side also to look out for transports. When my regiment’s turn came to cross we moved down into town and halted. I tried to get a new pair of boots at a store but failed. We moved down to the boats to go aboard when the gunboat suddenly dropped down stream and commenced shelling us. Our boats dropped down stream out of range and our regiment left town again. The stragglers nearly causing a stampede as they crowded past us. We formed in the woods behind the town out of sight.”

~Curtis R. Burke, 14th Kentucky Calvary, Co. B[xii]

After more than half of Morgan’s command had completed the crossing process, U. S. S. Springfield, took action.

“Suddenly checking her way, she tossed her snub nose defiantly like an angry beauty of the coal pits, sidled a little toward the town, and commenced to scold. A bluish-white, funnel-shaped cloud spouted from her left hand bow and a shot flew at the town, and then changing front forward, she snapped a shell at the men on the other side.”

~ Brigadier-General Basil Duke[xiii]

The gunboats Elk and Grey Eagle also joined the battle for a short period then withdrew toward Louisville as the Captain of the Elk felt his certain that Morgan’s Parrot guns were about to sink his ship.[xiv]

“A short artillery duel occurred, however, when the Indiana Home Guard appeared on the north side of the river and opened fire with a 6-pounder artillery piece. This drew an immediate response from Byrne's Battery on the Kentucky side of the river, which cleared the piece from the opposite shore. When a gunboat, the "U.S.S. Elk", appeared and began shelling Morgan’s men on both sides of the river, it drew another response from Byrne's Battery, which was posted on the bluff overlooking the river. However, the gunboat suddenly and unexpectedly withdrew from combat, allowing the entire command to cross safely to the Indiana shore.”[xv]

The opportunity to halt Morgan’s advance across the Ohio River had been missed.

“Our artillery soon drove the gunboat out of sight around the bend, then we returned to the wharf again. The boats came up and we were crowded on the two boats besides part of the artillery. I expected every minute that the gunboat would come around the bend and shell us again before we could get across, but we landed safely and a barrel of crackers was issued to us. I was put on detail to help pull the artillery up the bank. We pulled the pieces and casons up about twenty-five yards with rope. I saw the home guard steel six pond parrot gun that we captured. It was just like our two steel pieces. It had no cason the ammunition had been brought there in a chest on a wheelbarrow. A house stood near. I was very thirsty and went in to get a drink. I was surprised to find the people gone and everything in complete disorder [as] if a set of men had been paid by the day to scatter bedding cloths, dishes, etc. over the house and yard. They could not have made it much worse. I went to the cistern. The top had been torn off and the cistern dipped dry. It was getting dark and the cannon pulling detail was dismissed. We found our regiment in a wheat field and got our horses. Then the regiment moved to a [corn] crib near by and fed. I learned that when the gunboat run us out of Brandenburg it was done to draw our attention and let two of their transports loaded with infantry have a chance to land a few miles above on the Kentucky shore and get in our rear to attack us, but our brass pieces and men we had hid on the shore kept them from landing and drove them off. I took a short nap on top of the plank fence. Then we were ordered to mount. We went six miles on the Corydon road passing through several of our regiments camped and we camped in a deep grass lot. Col. Dick Morgan camped out with us. Bushwhackers were reported ahead. I made my bed down in the grass and slept very well. The dew fell heavy during the night.”

~Curtis R. Burke, 14th Kentucky Calvary, Co. B[xvi]

Bushwhacking was a commonly acceptable form of guerilla warfare. Civilian men in rural areas would lie in wait amoung the bushes and take aim at passing enemy troops.

“Cincinnati, July 8, 1863.

General Boyle:
The following has just been received from New Albany:
Morgan’s force, from 3,000 to 5,000 strong, have crossed the river at Brandenburg. They captured one gun, 50 Home Guards, and killed 4. A Boat has just come up for re-enforcements. This is reliable.

Thos. W. Fry,
Surgeon, U. S. Army.

I have sent one gunboat and a battery this afternoon. At what point on the river is Hobson? Has he the means of crossing? I can scarcely believe that Morgan has crossed the river with his whole force. Hobsonshould not be deceived. The following has just been received from Cairo:

I have six gunboats on the Ohio, above and below the captured boats, closing in on them. I hope they are taken before this. Will keep a bright lookout.

A. M. Pennock,
Fleet Captain, and Commanding Station.

A. E. Burnside,
Major-General”[xvii]

“Garnettsville, July 8, 1863 – 5 p.m.
(Via Bardstown Junction, 9:10 p. m.)

Capt. A. C. Semple, Assistant Adjutatnt-General:
Captain: We are at this place with cavalry force. John Morgan has crossed the greater portion of his command into Indiana. Learn from reliable authority that he has captured 2 pickets at Brandenburg. His object may be to use them in that vicinity, after he gets through with the people of Indiana. We have pursued with all haste; have lost no time; and it is evident that he has failed in doing as much damage in Kentucky as he expected. Cannonading at the river. We will advance in a few minutes.

E. H. Hobson,
Brigadier-General”[xviii]


“The Union forces, under General Hobson, were now massing in the rear of Morgan. Morgan arrived in Brandenburg, and secured two steamboats to transport his men across to Indiana .Once Morgan had crossed, he burned the Alice Dean, and let the McComb go. It took General Hobson’s force twenty hours to cross the river into Indiana, because it took that long to obtain transports for his men. Once Hobson crossed the river, he resumed the chase.”[xix]
“Indianapolis, July 8, 1863

General Boyle:
Dr. Fry telegraphs General Noble that Morgan is at Brandenburg, with 4,000 men and artillery, which the gunboats cannot disperse; and that 400 have crossed into Indiana, making for Corydon. This is probably exaggerated, but demands our prompt attention. Have you troops to send up New Albany and Salem road?

O. B. Willcox,
Brigadier-General

Cincinnati, July 8, 1863

General Wilcox, Indianapolis:
You will see that all the Home Guards are armed at once, and other preparations made to repel any attack which Morgan may attempt. Communicate with me frequently during the night, and keep me fully informed of any news you may hear.

A. E. Burnside,
Major-General”[xx]

The Raiders set fire to the Alice Dean and it sank at the mouth of Buck Creek near the Indiana shore. Why the J. T. McCombs was not burned remains a matter of much speculation. While some historians claim that Colonel Basil Duke knew the captain of the mailboat and thus worked out a deal to save it, others claim that Shackleford “sent her up to Louisville for transports.”[xxi]

“The race is not to them that’s got
The longest legs to run,
Nor the battle to that people
That shoots the biggest gun.”

~ A Texan version of a passage of Scripture. George Dallas Mosgrove reported that Johnson’s Brigade sang it to Hobson’s pursuing cavalry.

Arriving on the opposite shore, the Raiders proceeded to loot the town of Mauckport, which was about two miles down the river from the point of their crossing.

“As we started, a gun boat up the river fired on us which made us think we were not very safe, before we landed. River about 3/4 of mile wide and there was a regiment several hundred strong on the Indiana shore who fired on us as we crossed, we returned the fire all that were in a position to shoot. They fired at us with a cannon, made it hail against the boat, as this boat landed we jumped ashore and forward in line in about 5 minutes and charged them, they ran into the bushes back from the river and got away. We captured a former prisoner. The 2nd Ky reg. was with us. We captured their cannon. Our Parrott gun had by this time or soon after silenced the gun boat and it had steamed toward Louisville. We formed in line of battle 1/2 mile from river on Indiana shore in about 2 hours our horses were with us. The two regiments remained on guard until near night then we all went into camp 3 or 4 miles on the road to Corydon, Indiana said town being about 15 miles from Brandenburg. This was first nights sleep we had had for sometime. We had plenty of feed for our horses and ourselves. The command all got across the river by a little while after dark.”

~John Weatherred, 9th Tennessee Cavalry[xxii]

“Elizabethtown, July 8, 1863

Brigadier-General Boyle:

I arrived here half an hour ago, only twenty hours behind Morgan, notwithstanding my detention at Green River. My force is 1,200 cavalry, including some little attached artillery. My horses are about broken down. I am replacing the worst from the citizens, but it is slow work, and delays me. I have not a pound of rations, but will continue the pursuit if you will send me at once by a special train subsistence and supplies for six days for 1,200 men and four 8-mule teams. Please reply if it can be done, and when I may expect the train. Can you inform me where Hobson and Shackelford are, and inform them, if possible, of my intention to follow Morgan? Please send this also to General Hartsuff. I have directed my infantry and artillery to be shifted from points east of railroad to Cave City and Bowling Green, fearing Morgan’s return in that direction. Manson will remain at Munfordville, if still there.

H. M. Judah,
Brigadier-General”[xxiii]

Morgan’s column stopped for the night. A good portion of his men spent the night encamped at Frakes Mill, about seven miles north of the Ohio River.

“Thursday, July 9
Resume march. Feed and get breakfast. Get to Brandenburg 11 A.M. Last of rebs only ten minutes ahead of our advance guard. Ferry guarded by six gun boats. Get over a little after dark. Camp.”

~ Charles W. Durling, Company G, 45th Ohio Infantry[xxiv]

“Following his trail, we reached Brandenburg just in time to see Morgan’s rear guard disappear over the river bank, going north into Indiana. His rear guard stopped long enough to wave their hats to us and bid us good-bye. The steamboats they had used in crossing were at that moment bursting into flames, and burned to the water’s edge, tied fast to the Indiana shore.”

~ Captain Theodore F. Allen, Seventh Ohio Cavalry [xxv]

Governor Oliver P. Morton, receiving word of the Raiders arrival, ordered all able-bodied male citizens in the counties south of the National Road to form into companies and arm themselves with such arms as best they could to repel the invasion.[xxvi] Across the verdant country side, nearly every man, whether young or old, responded to the call. Colonel Lewis Jordan of the Sixth Regiment, Indiana Legion found himself in command of the 450 inadequately trained civilians brandishing an astonishingly dissimilar assortment of arms and proudly bearing the title of the Harrison County Home Guard. Still, Jordan hoped to delay Morgan until Union reinforcements could arrive.

"It was not expected at the start that so small a force could whip Morgan, but it was expected we could punish him some and impede his progress so that somebody else more nearly equal his strength could catch him and do him justice."

~ Simeon K. Wolfe, Harrison County, Indiana [xxvii]

Adding an eerie, almost surreal glow to these bizarre scenes were several plumes of flame shooting thirty to fifty into the air. Men had been drilling for oil on bottom land near Brandenburg but found instead a great supply of natural gas which they then set aflame.[xxviii]

“July 9. This morning I am left with half of the Regiment one mile from the river as a rear guard, and at daylight the Yankees moved down upon me. It was a critical and trying moment. By the interposition of Divine Providence, a heavy fog suddenly, and whilst hot skirmishing was going on, enveloped friends and foes, and the Yankees halted.

Under this fog, I crossed my command over the river. As I moved up the hills of Indiana, the enemy moved down the hills of Kentucky. We are now fairly into Yankee Land. What the result will be God only knows.”

~ Lt. Col. James B. McCreary, 11th Kentucky Cavalry CSA[xxix]

ENDNOTES

[i] Letter from William S. Craig to his wife. William was born in Nicholas Co., KY but moved to Illinois at age 15.
[ii] Starr, Stephen “Colonel Grenfell’s War” 1971, p. 44.
[iii] Horwitz, Lester V. “The Longest Raid of the Civil War,” Chap. 9, p.43.
[iv] Brandenburg Methodist Church, “The Brandenburg Story,” 1963, p. 18.
[v] Mosgrove, George Dallas. Southern Historical Society Papers. Vol. XXXV, Richmond, Va., January-December. 1907.
[vi] Ford, Mark. “The Brandenburg Story” July 13, 1963, p. 13.
[vii] Taylor, David L. “ Bowie Knives & Pistols” 1993, p. 38.
[viii] Ryan, Corp. W. B. Account, Corydon Republican, July 15, 1909.
[ix] Journal of Curtis R. Burke.
[x] Diary of James B. McCreary.
[xi] Diary of Charles W. Durling.
[xii] Journal of Curtis R. Burke.
[xiii] Duke, Basil W. “History of Morgan’s Cavalry,” 1867, pages 432 -433.
[xiv] Funk, Arville L. “Morgan Raid in Indiana and Ohio” 1971, p. 5.
[xv] Lexington Rifles, “1863: crossing the ohio river: Brandenburg, Kentucky – Mauckport, Indiana, July 8, 1863” http://www.lexingtonrifles.com/1863.htm.
[xvi] Journal of Curtis R. Burke.
[xvii] “Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,” Part I –Reports, p. 705.
[xviii] “Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,” Part I –Reports, p. 707.
[xix] Bush, Bryan S. “The Civil War Battles of the Western Theatre”, 2000, p. 172.
[xx] “Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,” Part I –Reports, p. 708.
[xxi] Dunn, Jacob Piatt “ Indiana and Indianans” 1919 p.620.
[xxii] The Wartime Diary of John Weatherred.
[xxiii] “Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,” Part I –Reports, pages 708-709.
[xxiv] Diary of Charles W. Durling.
[xxv] Allen, Theodore F. “In Pursuit of John Morgan,” Sketches of War History 1861-1865, Papers prepared for the Commandery of the Sate of Ohio, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States 1896 -1903, pages 227-228.
[xxvi] The American Civil War: The Battle of Corydon, http://historic.shcsc.k12.in.us/civilwar/battle.htm
[xxvii] Wolfe, Simeon K. and Porter, Attia. "The Battle of Corydon," Indiana Magazine of History 54, no. 2 ,June 1958 p. 138.
[xxviii] Conway, W. Fred. “Corydon – The Forgotten Battle Of The Civil War,” 1991, p. 151.
[xxix] Diary of James B. McCreary.

Aspirations of Greatness: John Hunt Morgan plots his path to glory

A clever man, John Hunt Morgan realized that by wearing civilian clothing without any symbols of rank, he could pose as a businessman or Union officer and slip away unnoticed when caught in thorny situations.

By the spring of 1863, John Hunt Morgan had public acclaim, a stunning new wife, and had recently been promoted. Yet, Morgan was not content. He aspired to a position in history far grater than that of Brigadier General in the Army of Tennessee.

Indisposed to remaining a subordinate officer, Morgan was plotting a path to greater glory. He began by exploiting the fact that his senior officer, General Pegram, was incompetent and generally disliked.

While Pegram had difficulties relating to volunteers who lacked formal military training, Morgan had the common touch. His men’s adulation bordered on hero worship.

“Morgan was in the zenith of his fame. I was inoculated with the idea that his judgment was unerring and that the ‘King could do no wrong.’ In the mortal apprehension I never once thought of trusting in God for safety, but wholly relied upon the wisdom and skill of John Morgan."

~ Bromfield L. Ridley

In late April 1863, Morgan dispatched scouts north to the Ohio River to seek spots in which it would be possible to ford the river. Morgan was putting the first steps of his Machiavellian grab for eternal acclaim into action. Morgan planned to take the war to Northern soil.

May 1, 1863

Morgan relished public acclaim. On May 1, 1863, the Confederate Congress issued the following statement regarding Morgan’s Men:

“entitled to the love and gratitude of their countrymen for the magnificent feat preserving Middle Tennessee for the Government.” [i]

It was considered the pinnacle of tribute to be mentioned in dispatches and receive Congressional commendation. Yet, even this public praise was not enough to satiate Morgan’s thirst for prominence.

May 10, 1863

The price a warrior pays for renown is constantly placing his life in danger.

On May 10, 1863, “Stonewall” Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men. Ironically, Jackson said,

“My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time of my death."

When Jackson realized he was going to die, he calmly stated,

“I always wanted to die on a Sunday.”[ii]

What effect did Jackson’s death had a profound effect on the Confederacy and became the subject of popular poems and ballads. Was the memorializing of “Stonewall” motivational to Morgan’s schemes?

Why did John Hunt Morgan plan the Great Raid? What were his objectives? There are several theories as to his motivations:

1. James Ramage makes a powerful case suggesting that Morgan’s raids filled his need to impress his new wife Mattie and dispel rumors that marriage had caused him to lose his edge. [iii]
   
2. Ramage also advocates that Morgan desired cross over into Pennsylvania and join forces with Lee and toyed with the notion of moving into Illinois[iv] If Morgan sought to create a place for himself in the annuals of history, equal to that of Jackson’s or Lee’s, this notion of joining forces with Lee would have be a very great motivation indeed.
   
3. The Official Records state that Morgan’s mission was to “divert the attention of the Union Army.”[v]
   
4. Basil Duke implies that Morgan’s plan was to invade above the Ohio River, drawing forces from the East to help Lee on his invasion into Pennsylvania. This action would also cover General Bragg's retreat.[vi]
   
5. General Bragg sent Morgan off on a diversionary raid to Kentucky ordering him to destroy the railroad lines important to Union General Rosecrans in Nashville. [vii]
   
6. Some researchers suggest that Morgan was determined to enlist new recruits to the Southern cause by drawing from members of Copperheads and Knights of the Golden Circle while in the North. On early June of 1863, Morgan requested Thomas Hines to lead party of 25 men into Indiana and pose as a Union patrol searching for men who had gone AWOL. Their secret mission would be to determine if Southern sympathizers would support or join the impending raid. After visiting Copperhead leader Dr. William A. Bowles on French Lick, Hines learned that no formal support would be forthcoming.[viii] Hines rejoined Morgan at Brandenburg, in time to forewarn Morgan of lack of support. Thus, it would seem highly unlikely that recruitment was one of Morgan’s primary objectives.
   

Did Morgan’s superior officers know of his plan to cross the Ohio River? As even the men in Morgan's command didn't always know their destination until after they arrived, it is entirely possible that the only person Morgan entrusted with the full details of his plan was his brother-in-law Basil Duke. General Wheeler, Morgan's immediate superior, twice gave his permission for Morgan to raid as far north as Louisville. He did not seem aware of Morgan’s plan cross the Ohio River and continue northward.[ix] General Bragg however seemed far more aware of Morgan’s intent.

“Go ahead and raid Kentucky. Capture Louisville if you can. But do not, I repeat do not cross the river. Stay in Kentucky. Go anywhere you want in your home state, but I command you to stay south of the river.”

~ From General Braxton Bragg’s communication to Morgan [x]


Lester Horwitz puts forward yet another theory of what motivated Morgan to cross the Ohio River.

"But Morgan went against orders and crossed the Ohio. The reason was that earlier, a Union cavalry officer had gone behind Confederate lines in a raid. Morgan said he would show them.

It was his ego that drove him to cross the river to show he was as good or better. Morgan rode more than 1,000 miles to prove it." [xi]

May 15, 1863

One clear motivation was Morgan’s covetous of command.

"I can only wish that you were permanently in command of my cavalry; and should I have the good fortune to have you assigned to command, I will so arrange it. In the mean time, I am informed that General Pegram, at present in command of the cavalry of this department, is your senior…With your consent, I will endeavor, at the proper time, to obtain your transfer to my department."

~letter from Major General Simon Bolivar Buckner to John Hunt Morgan, May 15, 1863 [xii]

Possessing a very high opinion of his capabilities, Morgan was quite difficult to command. Consequently, Pegram and Morgan did not have an amiable working relationship.

“…General Morgan is your junior... You are aware of the feeling which exists in some irregular organizations in reference to being commanded by regular officers. In your relations with the troops, even more than with General Morgan, you should endeavor to conciliate that feeling. I have written to General Morgan, informing him that I have a right to expect from him a hearty co-operation with you as his senior. I feel assured that you will receive from General Morgan his able and hearty support, if you show toward him and his command the proper consideration and a spirit of great conciliation.”

~ A letter from Major General Simon Bolivar Buckner to Pegram on May 15, 1863


Such reconciliation was not to be! Morgan’s desires were far too great to be appeased by mere platitudes.


ENDNOTES

[i] Holland, Cecil Fletcher. “Morgan and his Raiders,” 1943 p. 162.
[ii] Scott, Jeffery Warren and Jeffreys, Mary Ann. “Fighters of Faith” http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/memorial/features/33h034.html
[iii] Ramage, James A. “Rebel Raider,” Chap. 12, pages 146-147.
[iv] Ramage, James A. “Rebel Raider,” Chap. 14 p. 159
[v] U.S. War Department, “The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,” 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. Vol. 21, Part I pages 818.
[vi] Duke, Basil Wilson, “A History of Morgan's Cavalry,” Cincinnati, Ohio: Miami Printing and Pub. Co., 1867. page 460.
[vii] U.S. War Department, “The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,” 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. p. 817
[viii] Horan, James D. “Confederate Agent: A Discovery in History,” 1954, pp. 24-28.
[ix] U.S. War Department, “The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies”, 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. p. 817 -818.
[x] Stephen Starr, “Colonel Grenfell’s War” 1971, p. 44
[xi] McNutt, Randy .“Volunteers hope to save memory of Morgan's Raid,” The Cincinnati Enquirer, Monday, October 28, 2002. McNutt was quoting Lester Horwitz.
[xii] U.S. War Department, “The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies”, 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901. Vol. 21, Part I, p. 316

The Dutton Hill Battle

The Hickman Covered Bridge was constructed in 1838. It was the only bridge across the Kentucky River in the area of central Kentucky during the Civil War.

As Pegram and his subordinate officers wasted their energies sniping away at each other, James Edward Evans, my 2nd great-grandfather, was among the cavalrymen whose fate it was to follow the beleaguered Pegram on the ill-fated Kentucky raid.

“Mercury 27 degrees above zero. Clear and heavy frost. The Peach bloom are putting forth. The Louisville Journal of March 26th has some startling news in it concerning the invasion of the Rebels again into Ky. ‘It is stated upon good authority that John Breckinridge has command of the invading forces. -- Since his arrival in the State it is known that he has issued a proclamation to the people of Ky. copies of which had been received at Danville on Tuesday. The arch Traitor sets forth his proclamation that he has been authorized by Hawes the provisional Governor of the State, to possess and hold Kentucky as a member of the Confederate States, declaring among other things his intention of enforcing the conscription. We have learned from other sources, also that the provisions of that act are being rigidly enforced, in those regions thro' which the rebel army is passing; and that numbers of loyal men have thus been already pressed in to the rebel service.’ The same paper states that the residents of the state Capital were in a state of high excitement this morning in anticipation of an immediate advance of the enemy. It also states that the Confederate force under Wheeler, Forest and Wharton crossed the Cumberland River at Harpeth Shoals, this morning six miles above Franklin, and it further states there is no doubt that the Eastern portion of Ky. has been occupied by rebel troops. Also we have a pretty well authenticated report that Danville has been occupied by the enemy.”
~ Eldress Nancy of the community of Shakers lived at South Union near Bowling Green [i]

While foraging for cattle, Pegram’s cavalry encountered and skirmished with Yankees on March 28th at Hickman’s Bridge. Then, narrowly evading the closely following 44th and 45th Regiments Ohio Infantry, they continued to rustle cattle until they had rounded up about 750 head. Bragg was relying on beef to keep the Army of Tennessee supplied with nourishing food.[ii] Pegram’s cavalry had herded 537 of the cattle across the Cumberland River when their luck ran out.

March 30, 1863

About 1 1/2 miles from Somerset in Pulaski County, Kentucky, the Battle of Dutton Hill took place.[iii] Pegram’s cavalry was overtaken by a Union force of 1,250 men under the command of Brigadier General Quincy A. Gillmore. Pegram, displaying his usual lack of ability to plan or lead while on the battlefield, was sounded defeated.

The following account is reprinted with the permission of Kentucky artist Dan Dutton whose family owned the land the battle was fought upon.

“My dad did an interview with a local paper back in the 70s – telling the story of Pete Dutton and the Battle of Dutton Hill. This text is most of what I have to work with at present concerning Pete.

What I’ve included here begins at the entrance of the first human characters in my project, Pete and Charles arriving at Dutton Hill on horseback with my great-grandfather, Daniel (1). To set up this scene I intend to describe the formation of the limestone outcropping of the hill itself, and the water-table that supplies the spring, however many millions of years that took, and the life-span of the 400-some year old white oak that stood near the Dutton home-place.

(Here begins the excerpt from the newspaper story:)

Daniel would return to Missouri once, to get the two black farm hands that his father-in-law had given him - Pete and Charles. The three rode back to Kentucky on the back of a horse. Pete was eight. Charles was six. Charles eventually left the Dutton’s, but Pete stayed on. ‘Pete stayed here until he got so old he couldn’t work,’ Joe remembers, ‘even after he was freed.’ Pete Dutton – he took on his master’s last name – was a large measure of a man, standing about 6’4” and weighing 250 pounds. ‘He was big, powerful,’ Joe Dutton said. ‘His hands would almost make two of mine. He finally went to live with his kids in Danville,’ Joe said, ‘and he made a trip here every year, when I was just a boy, and it was interesting to hear him talk. One thing about him was that we’d get ready for a meal and say ‘C’mon Pete’ and he’d say ‘No s’um, I’ll eat after you folks.’ He wouldn’t eat at the same table with us. I guess it was drilled in his mind so heavy that he wouldn’t.’

It was Pete, perhaps the only witness who was not a participant, who relayed the story of the Battle of Dutton Hill at family gatherings when Joe was just a child. A few days prior to the battle, Pete heard that Confederate troops were retreating south toward the Cumberland River from a defeat around Danville, stealing horses and food along the way. ‘We (the Duttons) had four good horses and Pete haltered them up and took to those knobs back there with them,’ Joe said, pointing toward the East. Pete tied the horses under a big cliff and stayed with them. My grandmother (Lucy) told him, ‘Pete, if they come and find you with them horses, give them the horses.’ Pete said, ‘They’ll get them horses after Pete’s dead.’

Pete came back to Dutton Hill for food in about three or four days, leaving the horses up in the hills. He was in the house eating when he saw them. ‘He happened to look up, Joe remembers him saying, ‘and there was a Rebel in the yard for every blade of grass.’ Pete went out in the yard and was confronted by the soldiers. ‘They addressed him as a nigger,’ Joe said Pete told him, ‘They said, ‘Nigger, we want feed for 500 horses, And Pete said, ‘Sir, we haven’t got that much feed’ and the soldier said, ‘I’ll take what you’ve got.’ It was about that time that Pete first heard gunfire. It was coming from the North side of Dutton Hill on the road to Crab Orchard, now Highway 39. ‘They (the Rebels) rode as hard as they could go back to the hill,’ Joe said. ‘I never knew where my grandfather was. He was out logging or sawing somewhere, I guess. My grandmother (Lucy) said, ‘Pete, we’d better get out of here. We’d better leave here.’ Pete carrying Joe’s father, who was two years old at the time, helped Lucy Jane get everyone to David Dutton’s House in the Caney Fork area, then returned to the battle site. He positioned himself on a hill from which he could watch. ‘There was a big cedar snag,’ Joe said, ‘and he got up on it. He said that when he got back the northern soldiers were busy stacking up rails of an old rail fence along that hill and rolling rocks and working hard at it. Pete saw the Confederate soldiers advancing up the other side of the hill with three cannons. As they reached the top, they began to fire, but their shots went over the heads of the Union soldiers because of the steep incline of the hill. ‘Pete said they were doing a lot of shooting, but they were missing.’ Joe remembered. ‘Before long, they (the Union) were on top of the hill. It was all over then, the way he put it.’ The battle lasted about half a day, Pete told Joe. When the family returned home, it found that the Rebels had cleaned out the house and the barn before their retreat. ‘They busted up what they didn’t take.’ Joe said. The Union Soldiers buried 19 of the Confederate dead at the top of the hill, 10 in one row, nine in the other, head to head and wrapped in blankets. A monument now stands near the battle site.

Joe Dutton said that the Confederates retreated south toward Somerset and the Cumberland River. The Battle of Dutton Hill was an attempt to delay the Union Army so that the Confederates could get their horses across the river at Burnside. Before the Rebels showed up at the Dutton home, Pete told Joe that a large number of horses had gone on through, headed south.

Accounts in the history books confirm the story told by Pete Dutton, as Joe Dutton remembered it, right down to the tearing down of fences and the number of cannons. The battle involved 1,100 Union troops commandeered by Brigadier General Q.A. Gilmore, including about 400 from the First Kentucky Calvary under Col. Frank Wolford, and 2,600 Confederate Calvary under General Pegram.
A detailed account of the battle appears in ‘The Wild riders of the First Kentucky Calvary.’(an excerpt):

In front of the First Kentucky was a small field on a hillside, which had been in corn the year before, and on the crest of this hill were two or three pieces of artillary which opened fire upon our lines.

… Wolford’s men, not being in a situation to see the movements of the enemy, were now in hopes that the bloody work was over, but were mistaken, for just at this time, Scott’s dashing Louisiana Calvary was seen flanking our position on the extreme right.

…Wolford moved up cautiously until Scott’s men were located, then halted his men on the borders of heavy timbered land, with a small stubble field between them. Here our men received their fire at several hundred yards distance. There was a rail fence between our men and the enemy, which Col. Wolford ordered to be torn down.

…Wolford was again charging at the head of his command. It may truly be said that the Federals met foe-men worthy of their steel. Many of these men fought us hand to hand, when every hope of escape was cut off… The fighting at this point was desperate, but of short duration. There were more men killed here than in any other part of the field.’

The history books give varied accounts of the number of men lost by both sides, but all say that the battle lasted for three to five hours and that the Union chased the Confederates south to the Cumberland River, where the pursuit ended. ‘As it was, they were allowed to escape with an immense herd of cattle, and loads of plunder gathered mainly from the rich counties, called the Blue Grass Region.’ one book says.

After the war, Pete stayed on and helped raise the Dutton children, living in a small house near the battlefield. Both Pete’s house and the Dutton house are gone now. Pete often told stories about how he and the children played, Joe said. The last time Joe Dutton saw Pete was in 1931, at his funeral. He was 95 years old. ‘We buried him on a hot day in July.’ Joe remembers. ‘The ground was hard as brick. An old colored fellow came to our door and said Pete had died and wanted to be buried here. He came to dig the grave. He looked like he was almost ready for the grave himself. I was about 15 or 16, and Dad sent me out to help. At about two o’clock, we were still digging when the family came with Pete’s body. They stood and waited while we got it deep enough.’ Pete and his wife Jennie now rest in the Dutton cemetery, just a stone’s throw from the battle site and the place where a small house once stood near ‘Pete’s Spring.’ Just inside the gate to the cemetery is a neatly kept grave with a clean, new stone that reads ‘Pete Dutton, Born 1836 in Mo. Died 1931 in KY and Wife, Jennie. Born in Slavery-died free’.”

~ Dan Dutton [iv]

Pete Dutton’s gravestone. Photo courtesy of Dan Dutton [v]

200 CSA and 30 US soldiers were killed, missing, or wounded after the battle.[vi] One of the fallen was Felix G. Stailey, a private in Co C, 1st KY Cavalry USA. [vii]

“Here off duty until the last reveille, lie the Southern soldiers, in numbers who were slain in this county during the war of the secession. They fell among strangers, unknown and unfriended. Yet not unhonored; for stranger’s hands have gathered their ashes here, and placed this shaft above them, that constancy and valor, though displayed in a fruitless enterprise, may not be unremembered.”

~Inscription on the Dutton Hill Monument

The base of the monument at Dutton Hill. Photo courtesy of Dan Dutton.[viii]

Only a small obelisk stands atop a knoll on Old Crab Orchard Road, about 1 mile north of the Junction of KY 39 and KY 80 in Somerset, Kentucky, to mark the site of the actual battle and the resting place of those who fell. According to State Marker number 712 located in Pulaski County, Kentucky, on KY 39 two miles north of Somerset, Union forces under General Q. A. Gillmore overtook the Confederate cavalry on March 30, 1863. A five-hour battle resulted during which the Confederates were driven from one position to another and finally tried to escape by crossing the Cumberland River as night fell.

"Father, I came very nearly being killed in that fight"
~ John Barker Company D, 5th KY Mounted Infantry

James Edward Evans was among the men captured by Union forces on March 30, 1863 in Somerset, Kentucky, during the Dutton's Hill Battle.[ix] As a prisoner of war, James was taken to Louisville and held at the military prison. On April 13, 1863 he was processed to be sent to City Point, Virginia by way of Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland. This travel was made by railroad, usually in unheated cars. James was paroled at Fort Monroe, Virginia on April 21, 1863 and exchanged under the terms of the Dix-Hill Cartel with in a group of 527 Confederate Prisoners of War and one surgeon on April 22, 1863 at City Point, Virginia. The surgeon’s name was J. H. Thompson.[x]


James Edward Evans was man number 36 on the April 10, 1863 Roll of Prisoners of War at the Military Prison in Louisville, KY. Click the image to enlarge the roll.

“…prisoners went to City Point, Virginia, east of Richmond. The route ran through Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington to Fort Monroe.” [xi]

The battle sparked the powered keg of personal animosity between Pegram and Scott. Each blamed the other for the Confederate defeat. Pegram lost several hundred men as prisoners as well as most of the cattle he had gathered to feed Bragg’s army. He also lost any last respect his men held for him. In the face of open criticism from his subordinate officers, Pegram requested reassignment back to the Eastern Theatre. The request was granted. Once back in his native state, Pegram seemed to have far fewer problems working with others. Perhaps his condesening manner was more acceptable amoung Virginians.

"…The 112th is taken from the 3rd Brig & is stationed here alone. We shall probably stay here a number of days. The Brig has been on the move night & day ever since we left Lexington. Many are sick. The Cavalry caught up with the Rebels near Somersett & have a grand fight - Whipped them good - took 300 prisoners. Killed & wounded about 100 - our loss was very small - The 112 was about 8 hours behind the fight. I have to come back to the Regt when we left the Brigade. All the detailed men have got to come back…I returned to the Regt on the 30th of March. I was sorry to come back…The 112 I suppose will stay here until they get their Horses & Equipments. They are going to be Mounted. It will be nearly the same as Cavalry. It will be much harder than Infantry for we shall be kept here in Ky in the Mountains & in the Edge of Tenn. The Regt is getting quite small - about 50 are Paroled Prisoners & a large number sick…It is the coldest weather I ever saw at this time of the year - freezes hard here every night…"

~ John C. Rockwell of the 112th Illinois Infantry, Company I. Datelined "Lincoln County / Milledgeville Ky / April 6th /63 Monday Morn"


ENDNOTES

[i] Neal, Mary Julia. “ The Journal of Eldress Nancy” 1963
[ii] O. R., vol. 23, part 2, p. 760.
[iii] O. R., vol. 23, part 1, p. 171-6
[iv] Dutton, Dan. “ You’ll Always Come Back,” dandyland muse, Friday, October 3, 2008, original interview appeared in the Pulaski Week, 1990 - the interviewer was the editor, John Nelson, Joseph Dutton was 76 years old. http://dandylandmuse.blogspot.com/2008/10/youll-always-come-back-source-text.html
[v] Photo courtesy of Dan Dutton whose family owned the land the battle took place on.
[vi] Porter, Melba and Hay, Dianne. “Roadside History: A Guide to Kentucky Highway Markers” University Press of Kentucky
[vii] Wolford, Col. Frank. “The Wild Riders of the Firse Kentucky Cavalary: A history of the regiments, in the great war of the rebellion, 1861-1865: Pathetic scenes, amusing incidents, and thrilling episodes, a regimental roster, prison life, adventures and escapes"1894.
[viii] Photo courtesy of Dan Dutton whose family owned the land the battle took place on.
[ix] Compiled Military Service Record of James Edward Evans 1862 – 1865
[x] Compiled Military Service Record of James Edward Evans 1862 – 1865
[xi] Levy, George. “To Die in Chicago, Confederate Prisoners at Camp Douglas 1862-65,” 1999, Chap. 8, p. 131

Bully for Bragg

Retreat demoralized the Army of Tennessee. They were left with little more than each other. Yet, somehow the brotherhood which forms within a fighting unit pulled them through the winter. They faced adversity with high spirits and a remarkable amount of good humor.

Sam R. Watkins delightfully captured the good natured attitude of an average Confederate private:

“One of those amusing episodes that frequently occur in the army, happened at this place. A big strapping fellow by the name of Tennessee Thompson, always carried bigger burdens than any other five men in the army. For example, he carried two quilts, three blankets, one gum oil cloth, one overcoat, one axe, one hatchet, one camp-kettle, one oven and lid, one coffee pot, besides his knapsack, haversack, canteen, gun, cartridge-box, and three days' rations. He was a rare bird, anyhow. Tennessee usually had his hair cut short on one side and left long on the other, so that he could give his head a bow and a toss and throw the long hairs over on the other side, and it would naturally part itself without a comb. Tennessee was the wit and good nature of the company; always in a good humor, and ever ready to do any duty when called upon. In fact, I would sometimes get out of heart and low spirited, and would hunt up Tennessee to have a little fun. His bye-word was "Bully for Bragg; he's hell on retreat, and will whip the Yankees yet." He was a good and brave soldier, and followed the fortunes of Company H from the beginning to the end.

Well, one day he and Billy Webster bet twenty-five dollars, put up in Bill Martin's hands, as to which could run the faster. John Tucker, Joe Lee, Alf. Horsley and myself were appointed judges. The distance was two hundred yards. The ground was measured off, and the judges stationed. Tennessee undressed himself, even down to his stocking feet, tied a red handkerchief around his head, and another one around his waist, and walked deliberately down the track, eyeing every little rock and stick and removing them off the track. Comes back to the starting point and then goes down the track in half canter; returns again, his eyes flashing, his nostrils dilated, looking the impersonation of the champion courser of the world; makes two or three apparently false starts; turns a somersault by placing his head on the ground and flopping over on his back; gets up and whickers like a horse; goes half-hammered, hop, step, and jump--he says, to loosen up his joints--scratches up the ground with his hands and feet, flops his arms and crows like a rooster, and says,"Bully for Bragg; he's hell on a retreat," and announces his readiness. The drum is tapped, and off they start. Well, Billy Webster beat him one hundred yards in the two hundred, and Tennessee came back and said, "Well, boys, I'm beat; Billy Martin, hand over the stakes to Billy Webster. I'm beat, but hang me if I didn't outrun the whole Yankee army coming outof Kentucky; got away from Lieutenant Lansdown and the whole detail at Chattanooga with half a hog, a fifty pound sack of flour, a jug of Meneesee commissary whisky, and a camp-kettle full of brown sugar. I'm beat. Billy Martin, hand over the stakes. Bully for Bragg; he'shell on a retreat." Tennessee was trying bluff. He couldn't run worth a cent; but there was no braver or truer man ever drew a ramrod or tore a cartridge than Tennessee.” [i]

ENDNOTES

[i] Watkins, Sam R. “Co. Aytch” 1962

Exiled

And we’ll march, march, march to the music of the drum,
We were driven forth in exile from our Old Kentucky Home,
We were driven forth in exile from our Old Kentucky Home.

~Kentucky Battle Song

Bragg and the Army of Tennessee continued to struggle through the miserable winter.

“…the weather, which was usually cold in middle Tennessee from January to March. Ice formed on the river and streams, and snow and rain frequently turned to sleet and freezing rain. Bragg’s infantry huddled in their tents and cabins, and Morgan’s men shivered in lean-tos made of fence rails and oil cloths, open to the fire in front. They went for days without taking off their boots and gusts of wind drove the rain in their faces as they slept; when they rolled over the ice on their blankets would rattle in their beds. Often they were aroused by the bugle call “boots and saddles,” and they would stumble out in the bleak winter chill. Hungry and faint, they would untie their horse from the side of the lean-to and ride for miles to check a Federal scouting party.”[i]

Their beloved Kentucky homeland continued to suffer under the occupation of Union soldiers.

The following letter was written within miles of the Evans’ family home. While difficult to follow, its halting style illustrates the difficulties of trying to write to a loved one while on the march, feeling ill, and trying to attend to one's duties.

“January 14, 1862 from Marion County, KY

Marion County KY

Jan 14 1862

Dear Margaret,

I take the present opportunity to drop you a line. We are again on the March. We left Camp Morton on the 11 and have been out three days. We are ordered to London in Laurel County near Cumberland Gap but the Col. is in town to night it is said that the order has been Countermanded or that there is sealed orders for this Reg. We are camped to night 5 miles from Lebanon on the road to Danville. We were ordered to London by way of Springfield, Lebanon, Danville. If we keep on I expect that we well be in Danville day after tomorrow. I expect that we will go through the Crab Orchard.

We have cold weather, the coldest that we have had since we left home. It rained Sunday,snowed last night. The snow was wet and soft at noon. It made very sloppy walking but it was better on us than the rain Sunday.

A man got shot Sunday, accidentally. He was a citizen. He was shot in the hand. One of the advance guards went in to a mill to get out of the rain. When he went to go out, the hammer of the his gun struck the door facing which discharged his gun. I was asked to see him. The regiment got a head of me. I never overtook the Reg. till night.

We marched three days. We have come a crooked road which you may see by reference to the Map. This was in order to keep on the pike. We have but one wagon to a company. When get of the pike I do not know how we will get a long. We will get out of a pike at Danville and [it will be] a very rough road. I expect that we will have to through away some of our plunder. The boy will have to pack their knap sacks. I have a number of the boys knapsacks hauled. Many are the silent tear that steels down my cheek to see the boys tired with their heavy loads on their backs. We have a lot of little boys that would be better off at home. They are a dear expense to the government & no profit. My Company is about the best company in the Regiment.

We staid last night a mile from Springfield at one of the stronger union men's [homes]. He was worth half Million dollars and he was ready to do any thing to make us comfortable. Washington county, the county at Springfield, has eight hundred soldiers in the field. We meet with many [a] warm reception. Some however, not so. The warmest reception that I expect to have is when you and I shall meet. When that will be I am not now able to conjecture. I had hoped that I would have seen you soon but that hope is blasted for the present. I hope that the time will not be longer. I hope and believe that the time is not far till this Rebellion will seace [cease] it must seaec [cease] it cannot continue at such a grand scale as it is now carried on.

I am in tolerable health. I have been sick. I had the flux. I was very weak when we started on the present march. I was reported sick on the day that we marched. I expected to have to go to the Hospital at Bardstown. When the boys started [without me] the boys looked like little children without a mother. I have got better every day since we started. Our boys are generally well. John & Tom Buskirk stand the march very well. I had John’s knapsack hauled to day.

I would like to be at home to see you and the children too. Time seems long since I saw you. I would like to see little Billy. I expect that he often talks of me. I know that he will never forget me [and that] the other children often think of me. I know that they love and respect me. I know that you have taught them such lessons.

Since I have been unwell Adjutant Quinn has not put me on duty. We [take turns] being officer of the day. I have not served since I have been complaining. Had Capt Quinn not been a good fellow and a particular friend I would have had to have gone to the hospital or [have had to take] my turn [at being officer of the day]. Major Thornton let me ride his Horse to day. The Major is as clever as he knows how to be. If you in future years ever see Quinn, I hope you will esteem him for the favors to one that is as near to you. Also if ever you should see a man [named, or] any of the family of Thomas Glessner of Bardstown. When he heard that I was sick, he sent me word to come to his house. I should have a room and he would take care of me with out any pay. When I came through Bardstown [on]Sunday he begged me to stay with him until I got well or to stay at his house till Tuesday morning and then to take the rail road to Lebanon. He was a good union man that I boarded with when I was attending the Hospital [Ritter studied medicine at the University of Louisville].

I must close. I have so many things to say to you that may paper never holds out.

J A Ritter”

~ Captain John A. Ritter, M.D. 49th Indiana Volunteers[ii]

ENDNOTES
[i] James A. Ramage, “Rebel Raider” chap. 13, p.149
[ii] Civil War letters of Captain John A. Ritter, M.D. 49th Indiana Volunteers

The Battle of Stones River/ The Battle of Murfreesboro

Stones River? Murfreesboro? Why are there two names for this battle? The answer is amazingly simple.

The North and South were at war. Communication between the two sides was strained as each side saw itself as the offended nation.

Each side set out to document the war from their own perspective. Thus, the same battle was given two different names. The Confederates named battles after physical locations such as towns. The Union named battles after bodies of water such as rivers. Therefore, the North named the battle in question after the near by Stones River and the South named the battle after the town of Murfreesborough. The spelling of Murfreesborough was changed after the battle when occupying Union telegraphers began to drop the ugh in an effort to send information more quickly.

“After Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi was defeated at the Battle of Perryville on October 8, he retreated to Harrisburg, Kentucky, where he was joined by Maj. Gen. Kirby Smith's army of 10,000 on October 10. Although Bragg now had a strong force of 38,000 veteran troops, he made no effort to regain the initiative. The Union victor at Perryville, Maj. Gen. Don C. Buell, was equally passive and refused to attack Bragg.

Bragg, frustrated, withdrew through the Cumberland Gap, passed through Knoxville and Chattanooga, turned northwest, and eventually stopped in Murfreesboro. His army, joined with Smith's Army of Kentucky and together renamed the Army of Tennessee …”[i]

October 23, 1862

Confederate leadership in Richmond demanded Braxton Bragg to appear before them and explain the failed Kentucky invasion. Bragg appeared but behaved in a very cowardly manner. Rather than accepting responsibility, Bragg foist all blame upon General Polk.[ii]

“ After his retreat from Perryville, Ky., Bragg ordered a concentration at Murfreesboro, Tenn. Both the North and the South were dissatisfied with the performance of their top commanders at Perryville, and both sides made changes in organization. The Federal Dept. (and Army) of the Cumberland was created under Rosecrans. The Confederate Army of Tennessee was created under Bragg. J. E. Johnston was sent to command all Confederate armies in the West (Division of the West).”[iii]

The Army of Tennessee established its winter quarters at Murfreesboro, in the exact geographic center of the state. Murfreesboro was an important strategic location between Nashville and Chattanooga. It was bounded by rivers, a railroad and verdant farmlands.

November 11, 1862

Major General William S. Rosecrans replaced William Buell. Leadership in Washington had been greatly displeased when Buell failed to pursue the Confederates after the battle of Perrysville.

November 26, 1862

On November 26th the reorganization was completed and Bragg’s army officially christened the Army of Tennessee.

The rank and file were unimpressed.

Hunger and restlessness enveloped the inactive Confederate troops camped in the pasture lands surrounding Murfreesboro. Bragg’s competency had been questioned and even the lowliest private knew it. Braxton Bragg had lost his men’s respect.

“It is a bad thing for an army to remain too long at one place. The men soon become discontented and unhappy, and we had no diversion or pastime except playing poker and chuck-a-luck. All the money of the regiment had long ago been spent, but grains of corn represented dollars, and with these we would play as earnestly and as zealously as if they were so much money, sure enough.”

~Pvt. Sam Watkins of the 1st Tennessee Infantry

The grains of parched corn they gambled with were the only rations they had received since the retreat from Perryville. Night after night dissatisfied men quietly slipped away to return home or visit sweethearts.

Bragg could not find respect among his commanding officers either. Petty bickering and open hostilities were the order of the day.

Key officers began to fall away. Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan left to raid Kentucky. General Edmund Kirby Smith received release from Bragg's command and left for Eastern Tennessee. Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest launched a raid into West Tennessee. General C. L. Stevenson and his division were ordered to move to Mississippi.

Those who remained could barely contain their disgust. General John C. Breckinridge, the former vice president of the United States, loathed Bragg for attempting to conscript Kentuckians. General Leonidas Polk, still reeling from the discovery that Bragg had blamed him for the failure of the Kentucky invasion, was called to Richmond and given a promotion. Even with this act of placation, Polk was not pleased to continue serving with Bragg. The friction between the two men was palpable.

Nevertheless; Bragg, ever the strict disciplinarian, positioned his remaining forces in a semicircle around Murfreesboro and demanded they keep watch for approaching Union troops.

Major General William S. Rosecrans, in pursuit of Bragg, moved the Union Army to Nashville. He was not moving fast enough however to please his superiors in Washington.

“If you remain one more week in Nashville, I cannot prevent your removal.”

~ Telegram from General-In-Chief Henry W. Halleck to Major General William S. Rosecrans

Vexed, Rosecrans replied:

"I need no other stimulus to make me do my duty than the knowledge of what it is. To threats of removal or the like I must be permitted to say that I am insensible."

December 26, 1862

“On the 26th of December 1862, General W. S. Rosecrans, who on the 20th of October had succeeded General Buell in the command of the Army of the Cumberland, set out from Nashville with that army with the purpose of attacking the Confederate forces under General Braxton Bragg, then concentrated in the neighborhood of Murfreesboro' on Stones River Tenn.”[iv]

The day after Christmas, “Old Rosy” and his troops left Nashville in three columns. General Crittenden marched his column up the Murfreesboro Pike. His route ran parallel to the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. General Thomas marched his men southward down the Franklin Pike to Brentwood. He then proceeded to the crossroads at Nolensville and up the Murfreesboro Pike. General McCook took the Nolensville Pike and then diverted his men to a dirt road that lead to Murfreesboro.

Unfortunately, a sudden freezing rain and muddy roads hampered their progress.

“We left our camp near Nashville on the second day of Christmas to drive the Rebels from Murfreesboro. We marched a long distance through rain and mud that reached almost to our knees. In the evening we met in combat and had a sharp set-to. We took a cannon and 5 Rebel prisoner.”

~Private Lars O. Dokken, Company H, 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry

Bragg's intelligence sources informed him of Rosecrans' movement. Hoping to halt Rosecrans’ advance, Bragg sent Wheeler’s cavalry to harass the Union columns with hit-and-run skirmishes. He further instructed Wheeler move to Rosecrans’ rear and disrupt the Union supply trains. Rosecrans, unperturbed by these pestering actions, continued towards Murfreesboro. However, Wheeler created a long enough delay to allow Bragg to move his forces into a line of battle outside Murfreesboro.

December 29, 1862

On December 29th, Rosecrans and his troops set up camp so close to Bragg’s forces the men could hear each other.

December 30, 1862

The Battle of Stones River was set to begin. Oddly enough, both Bragg and Rosecrans planned to attack the enemy’s right in the early morning hours.

Bragg waited. He was certain that the Union would attack at any minute. His wait lasted all day.

As evening fell, regimental bands taunted each other by playing songs such as “Dixie,” a “Yankee Doodle,” “Bonny Blue Flag,” and “Hail Columbia” until, in one sudden and poignant moment, the bands and soldiers joined as one in the strains of “Home Sweet Home.”

"Every soldier on that field knew when the sun went down on the 30th that on the following day he would be engaged in a struggle unto death, and the air was full of tokens that one of the most desperate of battles was to be fought."

~ Brigadier General Henry M. Cist, Army of the Cumberland

That night, Rosecrans ordered extra campfires to be built on his right in an effort to make his line seem longer. He was playing a game of “catch me if you can.” Fooled by the fires, Bragg realigned his troops and planned to launch a sunrise attack.

It would have been difficult to locate an individual soldier on that last evening before the battle.

While the Battle of Stones River included Col. Butler’s 3rd Kentucky Cavalry, the whereabouts of my second great grandfather, James Edward Evans, are undocumented.

Had James gone AWOL?

Bragg was all for executing deserters. He’d ordered the execution of Asa Lewis on December 26th to frighten the enlisted and conscripted men into staying put. However, with the number of men sneaking off to visit girlfriends and family increasing, General Leonidas Polk issued an order promising pardon to all soldiers absent without leave if they would return.[v]

Had James in his desperation for food and shelter sought out his brother, Surgeon John B. Evans, who was attached to Wheeler’s 1st? Doctors often had better assess to rations and blankets. Where would the 1st have stationed their surgeon? The Confederate picket lines were stretched out to within two miles of the Union line outside Nashville. Major General Joseph Wheeler’s cavalry patrolled the area between the pickets and the main line.

“A relative youngster, Wheeler was only 26 when placed in command of the Army of Tennessee's cavalry. Both Forrest and Morgan were his subordinates.

Wheeler led his cavalry completely around the Union army engaging two of Thomas's brigades, in the process.During the night of the Dec. 29, Wheeler, who had moved from the left to the right of Murfreesboro, advancing by the Lebanon and Jefferson Pikes, gained the rear of Rosecrans' army and attacked Starkweather's brigade at Jefferson, at daylight Dec. 30.

From Jefferson, Wheeler proceeded toward La Vergne, picking up stragglers and a small forage train, and arrived at La Vergne about noon that same day. There he captured the immense supply trains of McCook's corps. About 700 prisoners were taken and a million dollars worth of property seized or destroyed.”[vi]

December 31, 1862

At dawn on the 31st, Bragg's ordered an attack McCook’s forces on the Union right flank.

"Early on the morning of the 31st Colonel M. B. Walker's Union brigade (of Fry's division Thomas's corps), on its night march from Nolensville to Stewartsboro, arrived within two and a half miles of La Vergne, and advanced at once to the scene of devastation. The turnpike, as far as the eye could reach, was filled with burning wagons. The country was over spread with disarmed men, broken-down horses and mules. The streets were covered with empty valises and trunks, knapsacks, broken guns, and all the indescribable debris of a captured and rifled army train."

~ Lt. Col. G. C. Kniffin

Wheeler's cavalry also captured supply trains at Rock Springs and Nolensville. This action prevented many Union soldiers from receiving their rations and much needed ammunition.

“General Orders: Headquarters Department of the Cumberland

In front of Murfreesborough, Dec. 31, 1862

Soldiers, the eyes of the whole nation are upon you; the very faith of the nation may be said to hang on the issue of this day's battle. Be true, then, to yourselves, true to your own manly character and soldierly reputation, true to the love of your dear ones at home, whose prayers ascend to God this day for your success.

Be cool! I need not ask you to be brave. Keep ranks. Do not throw away your fire. Fire slowly, deliberately; above all, fire low, and be always sure of your aim. Close steadily in upon the enemy, and, when you get within charging distance, rush on him with the bayonet. Do this, and the victory will certainly be yours. Recollect that there are hardly any troops in the world that will stand a bayonet charge, and that those who make it, therefore, are sure to win.

By command of Maj. Gen. W. S. Rosecrans:

J.P. Garesché,
Assistant Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff.”

The Confederates drove the Union line back to the Nashville Pike by 10:00 am. There the Union managed to hold firm in the area of the Round Forest. Reinforcements arrived from Rosecrans's left in the late afternoon.

"I knew it was hell in there before I got in. But I was convinced of it when I saw Phil Sheridan with hat in one hand and sword in the other, fighting as if he were the devil incarnate."

~ Maj. Gen. Lovell H. Rousseau

Wheeler continued to display his skill:

"At 2 o'clock on the morning of the 31st Wheeler came up bright and smiling upon the left flank of the Confederate army in front of Murfreesboro, having made the entire circuit of Rosecrans's army in 48 hours, leaving miles of road strewn with burning wagons and army supplies, remounting a portion of his cavalry, and bringing back to camp a sufficient number of minie-rifles and accouterments to arm a brigade."

~ Lt. Col. G. C. Kniffin

Oblivious to reality Bragg believed the Union army to be in retreat. It’s possible his scouts mistook the long line of wagons removing the wounded for a full scale retreat. In a fit of euphoria, Bragg prematurely declared victory and telegraphed Richmond:

“The enemy has yielded his strong position and is falling back. We occupy the whole field and shall follow him .... God has granted us a happy New Year.”

The men of both armies lay down in exhaustion. Their pitiful beds were made of mud, rock, and rain soaked blankets.

“It was a gloomy night – gloomy long before midnight, when the gathering clouds stretched across the heavens and poured upon the contending army a deluge of rain, as if weeping over the slaughter.”

~ Provost Judge John Fitch of the Army of the Cumberland.

Temperatures dropped sharply on New Year’s Eve. Freezing rain pelted the defenseless wounded who were literally freezing to death.

“The frost, the dead and dying and the dark cedars among which we bivouacked were wild enough for a banquet of ghouls.”

~Brigadier General William Preston

January 1, 1863

Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. All slaves in Southern sates were now free by Federal law.

The battle field was quiet as both armies nursed their wounded and recovered their dead. As Union troops reinforced their positions near the Nashville Pike, Rosecrans called a Council of War in order to discuss whether it would be wisest to stay and fight or to retreat. The decision was succinctly stated by General George H Thomas:

“I know of no better place to die."

Wheeler’s cavalry plagued Rosecrans' communications line to Nashville. They attacked a wagon train near La Vergne, dispersed the guard, and destroyed about 30 wagons.[vii]

As Colonel Joseph B. Palmer’s troops moved back across Stones River, Rosecrans ordered General T. L. Crittenden to take the high ground overlooking McFadden’s Ford.

“How many poor men suffered through the chill nights in the thick woods ... calling in vain ... for help, and finally making their last solemn petition to God!”

~Colonel John Beatty

January 2, 1863

Bragg ordered General John C. Breckinridge, to drive the Union troops out of his way and back across the river. He wished Breckinridge to take high ground and establish area to position the Confederate artillery.

Breckinridge argued that this plan was a suicide mission. Crittenden’s troops were already in position on the higher ground and digging in. Trying to remove them would be impossible as Breckenridge’s men would be blown to bits by the Union cannons before they were in range to fire a single shot.

Bragg, unmoved, repeated his order. Polk stepped in to reason with Bragg. He calmly explained that sending Breckinridge to cross the river would accomplish nothing. Bragg would not relent.

Breckinridge was left with no alternative. At 4:00 as the rain turned to sleet, Breckinridge led 4,500 in an attack on General Horatio Van Cleve’s Division which occupied the hill overlooking McFadden’s Ford. The Confederates pushed forward into the face of 57 Union cannons. Confederate Brig. Gen. Benjamin Hardin Helm, one of the first in the line, was the brother in law of President Abraham Lincoln.

“Van Cleve’s Division of my command was retiring down the opposite slope, before overwhelming numbers of the enemy, when the guns … opened upon the swarming enemy. The very forest seemed to fall … and not a Confederate reached the river.”

~General T. L. Crittenden

More than 1,800 Confederates were killed or wounded in the ensuing forty-five minutes of concentrated fire.[viii]

January 3, 1863

Rosecrans held his defensive perimeter west of the river. Union spirits were buoyed by the arrival of a supply train and infantry reinforcements.

Wheeler's cavalry made a failed attempt to capture the Union ammunition train.

Confederate Major Generals Benjamin F. Cheatham and James Whiters wrote a letter suggesting retreat and sent it to General Leonidas Polk:

“This army should be promptly put into retreat…we do fear great disaster from the condition of things now existing, and think it should be averted if possible.”

Polk added his signature to the letter and dispatched a courier to Bragg. When the courier arrived in the wee hours of the morning, Bragg is said to have thundered:

“Say to General Polk that we shall hold our own at every hazard.”

Yet by sunrise, Bragg softened his position. With continuing rains swelling the river, Bragg feared that his line would be cut into two with no means for escape or reinforcement. He met with Generals Polk and Hardee and by noon Bragg issued orders to march south under the cover of darkness.

In total darkness, and freezing rain, the Confederates pulled out of Murfreesboro and fell back to Shelbyville and then on to Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Rosecrans did not pursue.

Overall, both sides lost more than 18,700 killed or wounded in the midwinter battle.[ix]

The Aftermath

Bragg took a beating in the press for retreating yet again.

“During the following weeks, when people read detailed accounts of Stones River listing 12,000 Confederate casualties and telling how Bragg had withdrawn thirty-five miles to Duck River, the success of Morgan’s raid stood out in contrast.” [x]

Murfreesboro was a shambles. The bodies of dead men and dead horses littered the ground. Every available home, barn, and shed had been turned into hospitals for the wounded. John Hunt Morgan’s new bride Mattie was quickly discovering that being the wife of a military leader is not a life of glamour.

“…following the Battle of Stones River and Bragg’s retreat from Middle Tennessee, Mattie, accompanied by her lovely sister Alice, was forced to take flight from home. The Ready house was used by Union Gen. Rosecrans for his headquarters in Murfreesboro.”[xi]

Murfreesboro remained under Union control for the rest of the war.

“By Sunday morning the town having the appearance of entire desertion. Scarcely a person seen in the streets. ... The Confederates all gone with the exception of a small force of Confederate cavalry remaining behind to watch the movements of Rosecrans’ army. The wounded had been gathered up ... the surgeons were quite busy dressing the wounds of soldiers brought in from the battlefield.”

~ John C. Spence

"...Murfreesboro is deserted of its inhabitants, every house being either a hospital or a soldiers' barracks. I have been in town several times since its occupation and have seen only one woman and child in it. This is a terrible reality to the southern people at least, and it is impossible to give you the faintest idea of the horrors it inflicts upon them...”

~ Union Surgeon Stephen O. Himoe

“I ride over the battlefield – in one place a caisson and five horses are lying, the latter killed in harness, and all fallen together. Nationals and Confederates, young, middle-aged, and old, are scattered over the woods and fields for miles. ... We find men with their legs shot off, one with brains scooped out with a cannon ball, another with half a face gone, another with entrails protruding, young Winnegard of the Third, has one foot off and both legs pierced by grape at the thighs, another boy lies with his hands clasped above his head, indicating that his last words were a prayer. Many Confederate sharpshooters lay behind stumps, rails, and logs, shot in the head. A young boy, dressed in the Confederate uniform, lies with his face turned to the sky and looks as if he might be sleeping. ... Many wounded horses are limping over the field.”

~ U.S. Brigade Commander Colonel J. Beatty

“Mrs. Payne, ... a frequent visitor at the hospital, ... had cared for several Confederate soldiers, one of whom was Capt. Bramlett, who had died at her house. She said that when he was about to die she concluded to remove the coarse blankets and replace them with neater ones; that he caught her hand and said, 'No, do not remove those blankets, for they saved my life at Stone's River. They were placed over me that cold night by the hand of an enemy, but a brother. You may come across him sometime, and if you should, tell him I died under the blankets he placed over me that night.' She sent them to his parents in Paris, Ky.”

~ Union Surgeon, Dr. Hickman

Dr. Hickman had lain the blankets over Captain Bramlett.

ENDNOTES

[i] “The Battle of Murfreesboro/Stones River,” The American Civil War http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/621231b.htm
[ii] West, Mike. “ The Battle of Stones River: Why here?” The Murfreesboro Post http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=418
[iii] Boatner, Mark M. III. “Civil War Dictionary"
[iv] Kniffin, G. C. Lieut. Colonel. “The Battle of Stones River” http://www.civilwarhome.com/kniffinstonesriver.htm
[v] West, Mike. “ Bully for Bragg. He’s hell or retreat,” The Murfreesboro Post http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=10765
[vi] West, Mike. “March to Murfreesboro began on Dec. 26” The Murfreesboro Post, http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=1459
[vii] Boatner, Mark M. III. “The Battle of Stones River” Civil War Dictionary.
[viii] “Breckenridge’s Charge” nps.gov http://www.nps.gov/stri/historyculture/breckinridge.htm
[ix] Cheeks. Robert. “Battle of Stones River,” America’s Civil War Magazine, September 1999
[x] Ramage, James A. “Rebel Raider” chap 12, p. 145.
[xi] Jones, Shirley Farris. “ Mattie Ready Morgan: The hardships of war,” The Murfreesboro Post, Part 2 of a series, http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=8359