The Twenty-Five Days of Morgan - July 10, 1863

By 2:00am, General Edward Hobson’s 2,500-man Provisional Division completes its crossing of the Ohio River at Morvin’s Landing, Indiana. He abandons his supply train. Hobson has already been given permission by General Burnside to forage off the land like Morgan’s Division is doing. The Union militia are gifted the same rights. This means that Union troops are allowed to steal horses, food, and equipment from civilians, but that they should give receipts to the affected owners so that later they can receive compensation for their losses from the state government. Hobson’s troopers will enact this approach to keep up with the Confederate cavalry’s incredible pace. Unfortunately, Indiana’s legislature will vote not to give compensation to its citizens for losses to either Confederate or Union soldiers. Interestingly, Union civilians will call Morgan’s troopers “horse thieves” and General Morgan the “King of Horse Thieves,” yet the civilians have no similar terms for their Union counterparts who are doing the same. The citizens consider it their patriotic duty to freely give up their property to Federal soldiers.

Morgan’s troopers break camp early in the morning and begin foraging from the richly provisioned Hoosier farms and village stores along their paths. The raiders move north in three columns by way of Palmyra, Greenville, and Paoli in Indiana. They will rendezvous at Salem. Riding by multiple columns in parallel, often several miles apart, gives Morgan’s cavalry the ability to move swiftly through enemy territory, while also increasing the number of civilian residences from which to forage. The US military will adopt this tactic later in the war, its most famous use being the March to the Sea when Major General William T. Sherman will apply the tactic to Union infantry movements. Despite incorrect claims to the contrary, Morgan’s men do not harm any civilian buildings along the way unless they are used for military purposes. For example, Morgan’s troops burned Peter Glenn’s house south of Corydon because its owner had used it as a fort. Morgan’s troopers killed Glenn and wounded his son during the bushwhacking incident. The burning of civilian property for no military reason was rare on the Great Raid.

Governor Morton’s call for the Indiana Legion and the home guards to defend their homes is well received. Tens of thousands of untrained civilian men have responded, and they gather in their local villages and cities, bringing whatever weapons they have at their homes. Most of these weapons are outdated or useless. Few have horses at their disposal; most arrive on foot. Many times, when these men catch sight of Morgan’s approaching veterans, the Union militiamen or home guards would run. That happens today at Palmyra, where its 350 defenders retreat to Salem without firing a shot!

Morgan’s flankers burn two depots and a bridge along the New Albany & Salem Railroad. They also cut the railway’s telegraph lines to stop communications between Louisville and Indianapolis.

At Salem, Indiana, one of the largest cities in the region, about two hundred home guards have prepared themselves to fight Morgan’s men. They have with them an old 18-inch swivel cannon they have used for firing salutes at Fourth of July celebrations. They have loaded the cannon with metal scraps, chain links, nails, and other bits of iron. The cannon barrel is loosely placed on a heap of firewood in front of the courthouse. However, when they see Morgan’s troopers charging toward them up the main street from the south, these civilian soldiers quickly lose their cool and disperse without firing a shot. Shaking uncontrollably, the Union cannoneer drops his lump of coal before lighting the makeshift cannon. This may have been a fortunate mishap, because the old, improperly mounted cannon could have killed more Unionists than Confederates! The Rebel cavalrymen capture one hundred of the fleeing home guards and imprison them in the courthouse. Morgan’s aide paroles them over the course of the next few hours.

Morgan sends in a white flag of truce to demand the unconditional surrender of Salem, and the city leaders accept the terms. The raiders loot the stores downtown and burn railroad cars and the city’s railroad depot. Railroad depots are often used for military purposes, to move enemy supplies and reinforcements. A. J. Parker, the local railroad agent, secrets the depot’s telegraph machine and the $4,000 from the depot’s strongbox and takes them to his home for safekeeping, all the while avoiding the Confederates who search the town. He hides some of the money in his coat.

A company of home guards from Washington County, unaware that Morgan’s troops have captured Salem, walk into a trap and are instantly captured without offering resistance. Meanwhile, General Morgan levies a $1,000 ransom on the millers of the region to save their mills from being burned. Mills are used to supply rations and uniforms to enemy soldiers. The millers comply, and Morgan pockets the money for future use on the raid.

Captain William Davis, whom Morgan had sent on a special feint around Louisville, Kentucky, four days earlier, is nowhere to be found around Salem, their planned rendezvous point. There are no hints from the local newspapers, either, about Davis’s whereabouts. However, the general still hopes he can rendezvous with Captain Davis tomorrow, because Morgan plans to encamp his troopers directly north of Louisville tonight. He does not realize that Captain Davis and his 129 men are still riding south of the Ohio River and do not know Morgan’s exact location.

Morgan sends several large detachments of his cavalry to conduct feints to confuse Union authorities as to where he is going. Two flanking groups head for Henryville and Memphis on the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroad to damage the rail line and to convince General Boyle to hold his Union troops in Louisville, Kentucky. Another rides toward Seymour, Indiana, on a feint to wreck bridges and telegraph wires along the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad and the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroad. This will trick General Burnside and General Willcox into thinking that Morgan intends to attack Indianapolis, thus delaying transportation of reinforcements from that city to southern Indiana. These detachments are quite successful in their missions and rejoin Morgan’s main column the next day at Lexington.

With temperatures soaring above ninety degrees, the hot, dusty Confederate cavalrymen depart Salem around 2:00pm and head east. They are resupplied with food and accoutrements from the stores and civilians of the city. They have taken carriages, buggies, and wagons, including a circus wagon that had been brought to town by a traveling circus troupe. These vehicles are used to transport ammunition, supplies, and sick and wounded soldiers. However, the raiders have also stolen unnecessary trinkets, such as a birdcage with canaries, ice skates, bolts of silk and calico, and women’s clothing. Several Rebels have attached sleigh bells to their horses which jingle incongruously within the scorching surroundings.

Most importantly, the Confederate soldiers have acquired horses from the townspeople and have left behind their Kentucky and Tennessee steeds which are too worn down to proceed any farther. It will take several days for these spent horses to recover. As the raiders trot out of Salem, they sing, “We’ll ride them ‘til their backs are sore, then turn them out and steal some more.” This practice of “horse trading” not only will supply Morgan’s cavalry with fresh horses needed to maintain their fast and long riding days, but also will deprive General Edward Hobson’s Provisional Division of acquiring fresh horses required to keep up.

The raiders march through Canton, Indiana, where they destroy sections of the railroad track and cut telegraph lines. They steal boots from a local shop, where the shoemaker’s wife “carries on like a lunatic,” to no avail. The Rebels also clean out the town’s dry goods store owned by John S. Harned, Sr., who reluctantly hands over to his unwelcome clients the key to his store’s locked door.

The raiders continue their journey through Finley’s Crossroads (modern Leota). Morgan’s men pass through Vienna, Indiana, which lies on the strategic Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroad (Jeffersonville is located across the river from Louisville). Union authorities could transport men and armaments along this railroad to block Morgan’s path, but they have not done so. The town is clear of enemy troops of any sort. The Rebel cavalrymen fall out to destroy anything of military value in Vienna. They burn the depot, water tank, and roundtable of the railroad facilities there, and they destroy a railroad bridge nearby. Before burning the depot, George “Lightning” Ellsworth listens to the telegrams being sent across the telegraph wire from generals Boyle, Willcox, and Burnside, as well as from Governor Morton. Morton has ordered residents to fell trees in front of the raiders to slow them down. It’s not working. Ellsworth learns that General Hobson is thirty miles to the rear, which is about a day’s ride. Before evacuating the station, Ellsworth sends his own false (but believable) messages to the Federal operators in Indianapolis and Jeffersonville to confuse them regarding Morgan’s whereabouts.

General Morgan and the Confederate advance guard reach Lexington, Indiana, eight miles to the east and stop for the night, while the rearguard camps at Vienna. Lexington’s old men and boys, lined up with an antiquated ceremonial cannon situated on the town’s cemetery hill, immediately flee upon sight of Morgan’s troopers. General Morgan sleeps at the Faris House Hotel at the courthouse square in Lexington. Meanwhile, Hobson and his men spend the evening in the saddle. They hope to make up for lost time and narrow the gap with Morgan’s rear.

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.

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. 73-80.

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.