General John Hunt Morgan
General John Hunt Morgan was born in Huntsville, Alabama on June
1, 1825. He lived in Huntsville until the age of six, when his
family moved to Kentucky to work and live with his maternal
grandparents. After a frustrating time at Transylvania University,
a duel ended his college career, and he soon enlisted in the army.
Morgan was promoted to first lieutenant and saw action during the
Mexican war. After the war, he settled down in Lexington, KY and
ran a hemp factory. Morgan still wished to be in the military, and
in the late 1850's he organized the Lexington Rifles, a pro-southern
milita.
In 1861, Kentucky remained neutral in the Civil War. Morgan, like
most Kentuckians was forced to choose sides. As a pro-southern business
owner, he flew a rebel flag over his factory, and as the commander of a
milita, he was clearly a threat to the Union. Morgan joined the
Confederacy in 1861 and was joined by his brother-in-law, Basil Duke.
Later, his brothers Tom, Cal, Charlton, Dick, and Key also decided
to join.
By early 1862, Morgan had earned a reputation for his daring raids
in both the North and the South. In February of 1862 Morgan moved his
In the summer of 1863, Morgan embarked on his most dangerous raid yet. This
raid would take Morgan and his raiders into Indiana and Ohio, farther than any
Southern force would advance throughout the course of the war. Morgan got permission
from Bragg to attack Louisville but knowing his plan to cross the Ohio River
would not be approved, he failed to mention it. Morgan's goal in crossing the
river was to divert federal troops in Union occupied Tennessee, enlist new recuits
in Kentucky, create mass confusion in Indiana and Ohio, and then to join forces
with Lee. Morgan's overconfidence kept him from using his scouts as he normaly
did and the summer rains had caused the river to rise. These two factors caused
great problems for Morgan and, to make matters worse, Lee was having problems
of his own in Gettysburg so he was of no help.
After a long stream of raids, Morgan and his men were captured and
sent to a maximum security prision in Columbus, Ohio. After several months of
prison life, he and several of his officers devised a plan to tunnel out
of the prison using the air shafts below the cell on the lower level. The
plan succeeded and on November 27, 1863, Morgan and six of his men escaped,
and with the exception of two who were caught, all made it back to the South.
Once he was safely back behind Confederate lines, Morgan tried to
reassemble an army to replace the one he lost, but things had changed.
Confederate command gave him a chilly welcome, mainly because of his failure
to inform them of the raid, and although he trided desperately he was never
able to achieve the success of his previous raids.
In the summer of 1864 Morgan was trying to clear his name from accusations
that he had been involved in the robbery of a civilian bank in Mt. Sterling,
Kentucky. Some of his men had been involved in the crime, but to this day there
is no evidence that Morgan knew about it beforehand. On September 3, 1864, Morgan
was still trying to clear his name and hold off an impending court martial while
staying at the home of a friend in Greenebille, Tennessee.
headquaters to Murfreesboro, Tennessee and became friends with Charles
Ready.
Ready was a prominent lawyer who had also served as a U.S.
congressmen for six years. Morgan fell in love with one of Ready's daughters,
Martha, who was also known as Mattie. Morgan and Mattie were engaged in
March and married the following December. The day before the wedding, Morgan
was promoted to brigadier general.
On the morning of September 4, a supprise attack was mounted by the Federals
through the streets of Greeneville. Morgan, remembering his promise to never
be captured again, tried in vain to escape and was shot in the back by Andrew
J. Campbell, a Confederate-turned-Yankee private. Morgan died a few minutes
later on the Greeneville street.
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