The Twenty-Five Days of Morgan - July 13, 1863

Before dawn, Union brigadier general Edward Hobson’s Provisional Division, numbering about 2,500 cavalrymen with six pieces of artillery, breaks camp at Versailles, Indiana. Unfortunately, hundreds are unable to ride due to the physical exhaustion of the raid or the lack of serviceable horses. Those who can move follow the route that Brigadier General John H. Morgan’s Division of about 2,000 Confederate cavalrymen and five pieces of artillery had used the previous afternoon. Both General Hobson and his leader, Major General Ambrose Burnside, cannot predict where Morgan will head next. Morgan is defying the military doctrine of the era. Colonel August Kautz, one of Hobson’s brigade commanders, remarks:

Morgan’s movements and progress were so aimless, and seemed so hopeless, that it was impossible to settle on any acceptable theory as to his purpose, and mainly for the most probable reason that he had no object in view except to do an audacious thing, to show what might be done in the way of disturbing the security of the Northern homes. He was aiming at moral effect, and had no hope of doing any real harm to the North…. 4 o’clock [in the morning of July 14, 1863] found me in the column at the head of what we had left of my brigade, which was dwindling every hour.  – Brevet Major General August V. Kautz, “John Morgan’s Raid,” National Tribune (January 13, 1887)

About 5:00 am, General Morgan’s troopers depart their camp at the Ferris Schoolhouse Crossroads, just over two miles south of Sunman, Indiana. Little did these hardy cavalrymen know that it would be their last good sleep for the next thirty-five hours, and that a record-breaking trek lies in front of them. The advanced guard rides east and enters Weisburg, Indiana, at about 5:30 am. Weisburg is an important road crossing of the Indianapolis, Lawrenceburg & Cincinnati Railroad, and the Confederate column reaches it less than an hour after a trainload of 2,500 Indiana militiamen under Colonel James Gavin had passed by the same spot. Gavin and his raw troops had slept on the train while it had sat idle throughout the previous night on a rail siding in Sunman. Morgan purposefully lets the train pass unharmed to its destination at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, which harbors a large Union force (including volunteer cavalry from Colonel William P. Sanders’s brigade and infantry under Brigadier General Mahlon Manson). Morgan must avoid a prolonged fight, with his men being only a day’s ride from Cincinnati, and Hobson being too close to their rear. The real mystery is why Gavin does not disembark his troops along the railroad? It is yet another missed opportunity for Union forces to place the Rebels into a precarious situation.

Morgan’s troopers split into multiple, parallel columns to expand their foraging area, to protect their main column from surprise attack, and to neutralize enemy infrastructure. Today, the Indianapolis, Lawrenceburg & Cincinnati Railroad will lose several bridges and sections of track to the raiders’ destructive torch. This work will also prevent Union reinforcements from being shipped westward by train from Cincinnati, where, along with its neighboring city, Hamilton, Ohio, nearly 10,000 home guards and volunteer troops are gathering this day.

General Ambrose Burnside’s headquarters on Ninth Street in Cincinnati is buzzing with activity. The Department of the Ohio is in a frenzy, from Illinois to Pennsylvania, and from Kentucky to Michigan. Burnside has endured several sleepless nights since the time Morgan entered Indiana. Now, with the political pressure of Ohio governor David Tod adding to the already boiling anxiety of Indiana governor Oliver Morton, General Burnside feels his career stands on the brink of disaster. This commander of the Union’s most expansive military department among the Northern states is under scrutiny from powerful civilians in the Midwest, his colleague Major General William Rosecrans in Tennessee, as well as Burnside’s leaders in Washington, DC. In fact, Major General Henry Halleck and President Abraham Lincoln have asked Burnside repeatedly why he has not started his movement into East Tennessee, which should have begun at least two weeks ago. Burnside’s excuse – He’s waiting for two divisions of his Ninth Corps to return from Major General Ulysses Grant’s Jackson (Mississippi) Campaign. Both Halleck and Lincoln wire back to Burnside that he can operate against Cumberland Gap, the gateway to East Tennessee, without the Ninth Corps. Why isn’t he listening?

Burnside’s real reason for not moving on East Tennessee – The majority of his XXIII Corps cavalry is chasing General Morgan. Without its cavalry, the Army of the Ohio is blind and, therefore, cannot take the offensive. Burnside writes in his final report of the war on November 13, 1865, after all political pressures are gone and the Union is victorious, “Preparations were still continued [in late June 1863], in the hope of being able to spare sufficient force to go into East Tennessee, but they were disturbed by the approach of the rebel General John H. Morgan, with a large cavalry force, which he had crossed at and near Burkesville, on the Cumberland River, about the 1st of July, and was moving in the direction of Columbia…. General Hartsuff at once ordered all his available forces in pursuit.” It is embarrassing for Burnside to admit at the time of the Great Raid that 2,000 Confederate cavalrymen have stalled his army of 15,000 men. [This is the number of men in the XXIII Corps that Burnside will quote in his official report of November 13, 1865, that will capture Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, on September 9, 1863, without the IX Corps being present. The first troops from the IX Corps will not join the XXIII Corps until September 25, at Knoxville, Tennessee. By that date, the XXIII Corps – using primarily its cavalry – will have secured most of East Tennessee, from Blountville to Athens.]

The raiders’ main column rides through the villages of Hubbell’s Corner and New Alsace, Indiana. The latter town is home to a large Catholic German American community of six hundred civilians. New Alsace hosts two dance halls, two breweries, and fourteen saloons. The Confederates confiscate all the liquor stocks from the saloons, for medicinal purposes, of course. Soldiers use alcohol to dull the pain of riding in a saddle for twenty-one hours a day. Meanwhile, General Morgan takes a catnap in an upstairs room above Jacob Gephart’s Saloon while his men trot through town, raid the civilians’ stores, and take the locals’ horses. Father Roman Weinzapfel loses his team of horses to the troopers as he conducts mass at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. Before leaving the community, the Rebels commandeer a beer wagon from the Peter Weltner Brewery and use its contents to quench the thirsts of the hot, dusty riders. Hobson’s troopers will not have this luxury when they arrive there later in the day.

Continuing eastward through Dover and Logan’s Crossroads, General Morgan sets his sights on Harrison, Ohio, which sits on the border with Indiana about eighteen miles from the Ferris Schoolhouse. At Logan’s Crossroads, Colonel Leroy S. Cluke, 8th Kentucky Cavalry, reports to Morgan that his rear guard has spotted a large cloud of dust on the western horizon. It’s Hobson’s men. They are at least five hours behind the Rebels, but it is the first time since Brandenburg that Morgan can see Hobson’s dreaded cavalry force.

Morgan’s advance guard gallops across the covered bridge spanning the Whitewater River and the Whitewater Canal and enters nearby West Harrison, Indiana, just before noon. The Confederates cross the Ohio-Indiana border at this point and fan into the streets of the adjacent city of Harrison, Ohio, the first Buckeye community to receive the unwanted welcome of Morgan’s Division. Looting of stores and businesses begins immediately. After all, Ohio is the home of arguably the western Confederacy’s most prevalent enemy from any state, and Morgan’s troopers feel the need for payback.

Using his stolen greenbacks, General Morgan books a room on the third floor of the American House Hotel in Harrison. There, he rests, reviews Cincinnati newspapers for military intelligence, and calls a meeting with Colonel Duke and Colonel Johnson. Ahead of them is the third of four barriers that Morgan had identified while planning the raid: to successfully circumnavigate Cincinnati. In the meeting, the Rebel leaders discuss alternative routes, including attacking Cincinnati, the Queen City of the West.

The Queen City is the most populous in the Northern states west of the Appalachian Mountains. It is also the third largest manufacturing city in the United States, with only New York City and Philadelphia producing more goods. Damages to Cincinnati – even if only minimal – would be a major blow to the Northern war effort. However, Morgan knows better not to attack such a large and vital enemy metropolis with only 2,000 exhausted cavalrymen. Hobson’s troopers are not far to his rear, and they could potentially pin Morgan’s troops against the Ohio River, which is heavily patrolled by U.S. Navy gunboats. Another issue is that the raiders could easily lose themselves among Cincinnati’s myriad of streets and alleys. They recall Duke’s disaster at Augusta, Kentucky, in September 1862, in which any building could serve as an enemy fortress. Finally, it is General Burnside’s top priority to protect the city that produces most of the supplies, men, and weapons for the Union armies and navies of the Western Theater. Burnside has thousands of soldiers at his disposal in Cincinnati and Camp Dennison to throw in front of Morgan’s line of march. With the latter fact in mind, Morgan determines to use Cincinnati and Hamilton (also an important war manufacturing city) as bait, much like he had done with Louisville, Kentucky. He concludes from the meeting that the Confederates will conduct a night ride around the northern portion of Hamilton County, in which Cincinnati resides, and stay south of Hamilton, Ohio. In other words, his men will pass between the two Union strongholds.

While his men round up horses from Harrison’s citizens, they also gather food and equipment from the local homes and businesses. Leather goods, such as shoes, boots, harness, and saddles, are in high demand, because they wear out quickly on the long rides. Frederick Fischer’s leather goods store loses most of its stock. Vincent’s Confectionary shop gives up all its cakes, cookies, candy, and other portable baked goods. The American House Hotel’s saloon cooks several hundred meals for Morgan and his officers. By the time the division departs Harrison around 2:00pm, nearly all the good horses in town are gone. Half-dead, unusable horses aimlessly roam the streets.

Morgan orders a detachment of five hundred troopers to feint southeast toward Miamitown, Ohio, which lies on the turnpike connecting Harrison and Cincinnati. This movement is meant to trick Burnside and his officers, including District of Ohio commander Brigadier General Jacob D. Cox, into thinking Morgan will attack the Queen City. Colonel Adam Johnson sends Captain Sam Taylor and Lieutenant John McLean, 10th Kentucky Cavalry, who had performed so well in capturing the steamboats at Brandenburg a week earlier, dressed as farmers to spy on the Union forces being formed in downtown Cincinnati. The two officers will report back to the suburbs with information later that evening.

About 5:00 pm, the Confederate rear guard burns the covered bridge over the Whitewater River at West Harrison, Indiana, just as Colonel Lawrence Schuler’s 103rd Indiana Militia regiment, which had been mounted by Major General Lew Wallace at Vernon, Indiana, two days earlier, gallops down the hill to the burning bridge. It’s too late. The bridge has already fallen into the river, and the militiamen can see Morgan’s long column trotting away toward the east. General Hobson had sent Schuler ahead to catch up to the raiders because his 103rd regiment has fresher horses than those in the Provisional Division. Unfortunately, they are not fleet enough to get to Harrison in time for the Hoosiers to save the river bridge. Hobson uses the rest of the evening to ford his men and artillery over the Whitewater River and its adjacent canal. After arriving on the opposite side of the waterways, the exhausted bluecoats lie down in the streets of Harrison, while Hobson and his officers spend the night at the American House Hotel where their counterparts had rested only hours before. The hotel’s saloon is forced to prepare hundreds more meals that evening for the Federal lodgers.

Meanwhile, General Morgan and the main column rides through New Haven and New Baltimore in Ohio. At New Haven, Morgan sends a large contingent northeast toward New London (Shandon) and Venice (Ross) in Butler County, Ohio. Again, this is designed as a feint to convince the Union leader, Major F. M. Keith, in Hamilton, Ohio, that Morgan intends to threaten that city and its six hundred defenders.

At Miamitown, the large Rebel detachment meets unexpected resistance from twenty-three volunteer soldiers and home guards who defend the covered bridge over the Great Miami River. It’s the first skirmish of the Civil War in the state of Ohio. The clash is swiftly concluded in favor of the Confederates, but they suffer several killed, wounded, and captured in the fight. Not knowing how many more volunteer units are nearby, the Rebel contingent decides not to waste time burning the bridge, and most ride north along the river to rejoin Morgan’s column at New Baltimore, while a few continue east toward the rendezvous point at Bevis, Ohio. On the other hand, the group that passes through Venice encounters little resistance, but it fails to burn the town’s bridge over the Great Miami. These raiders successfully reach Bevis at nightfall.

Colonel Basil Duke’s First Brigade has been assigned to the rear guard, and after the Confederates complete their crossing of the Great Miami River, Duke’s men burn the fine covered bridge at New Baltimore. It’s about 7:30 pm, and the flames from the bridge light up the clouds in the gathering dusk. General Burnside can see the fire-red clouds from his headquarters in Cincinnati, and he becomes nervous. Is Morgan heading for the Queen City?

Union intelligence cannot predict the answer. Civilians give conflicting reports of Morgan riding near Hamilton or near Miamitown. Burnside also receives inaccurate telegraph messages from Harrison’s post office, where Morgan’s chief telegrapher, George “Lightning” Ellsworth, uses electronic warfare to deceive the Union Department of the Ohio as to the location and size of Morgan’s Division. Burnside decides to defend Cincinnati and Hamilton until he gets confirmation about Morgan’s true whereabouts and intended direction.

Meanwhile, the night ride of Morgan’s men is in full swing. They enter Bevis around nightfall. Captain Taylor and Lieutenant McLean meet the column at Bevis and report to Johnson and Morgan that confusion reigns in Cincinnati; no Federal offensive from there would occur any time soon. Unfortunately, they have not discovered that Union volunteer cavalry reinforcements are closing in. The two scouts had ridden out of Cincinnati before the steamboats carrying Colonel William P. Sanders’s Michigan brigade of cavalry and artillery anchor around 5:30 pm at the public landing. Sanders sends detachments to reconnoiter the region northeast of Cincinnati and to guard a bridge two miles from the city. His remaining men camp for the night in Cincinnati, waiting for instructions from General Burnside.

Morgan orders all flankers to return to the main column to prevent them from getting lost within northern Hamilton County’s web of dark, unlit roads. No torches are permitted except among the scouts, to protect the column from being seen from a distance in the blackness. Fatigue quickly takes its toll as the men rock methodically in their saddles. Several fall off their horses and remain sleeping after hitting the ground with a loud thud. Their comrades must shake them violently to wake them from their stupors.

Duke’s brigade’s advance guard loses contact with Johnson’s rear guard, and a dangerously wide gap opens in the column. While Morgan and Johnson have the advantage of the scouts leading them, Duke’s advance troopers must use ancient Roman scouting techniques to determine which of the many roads that Johnson’s brigade has taken. It’s a true nightmare for the raiders.

The head of the Rebel division, now strung out over many miles of roads, enters Springfield (Springdale), Ohio, just before midnight. General Morgan and his brother, Richard, arrive at the home of the town butcher, a Mr. Watson. Watson is roused from his deep sleep by a pounding at the door. General Morgan demands that Watson cook a meal for them, for which he will pay, but the butcher says he does not have a fire ready. Morgan warns him that it would be best if Watson makes the fire, because if his men start one, Watson may not be able to put it out. The butcher quickly obliges. After eating, Richard takes a nap in the butcher’s bed, while the general sits aloof in the parlor, waiting for news that the rear guard has come up from Bevis.

Sources:

Cahill, Lora Schmidt. The John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail in Indiana: A Tour Guide to the Indiana Portion of Morgan’s Great Raid, July 8–13, 1863. Attica, OH: K-Hill Publications, 1997, pp. 6-51.

___ and David L. Mowery. Morgan’s Raid Across Ohio: The Civil War Guidebook of the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail. Columbus, OH: Ohio Historical Society, 2014, p. 19-315.

Duke, Basil W. A History of Morgan's Cavalry. Cincinnati, OH: Miami Printing and Publishing Co., 1867, pp. 402-465.

Johnson, Adam R. The Partisan Rangers of the Confederate States Army. Louisville, KY: George G. Fetter Co., 1904, pp. 142-150, 438-467.

Mowery, David L. Morgan’s Great Raid: The Remarkable Expedition from Kentucky to Ohio. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2013, pp. 80-85.

___. Cincinnati in the Civil War: The Union’s Queen City. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2021.

U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Ser. 1, Vol. 23, Pt. 1. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1880–1901, pp. 11-15, 632-818.

Ibid, Ser. 1, Vol. 30, Pt. 2, pp. 548, 574-579.