by Basil W. Duke, Brigadier-General, C. S. A.
General John H. Morgan escaped from the prison at
Columbus, Ohio, November 27th, 1863,
1 and reached the
Confederate lines early in December.
He was not ordered upon active service during that winter, but in April was virtually placed in command of the Department of
South-
western Virginia, which embraced also a portion of
east Tennessee.
The forces at his
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423]
disposal for the defense of the department, exclusive of the militia or “reserves” of that territory, numbered about three thousand.
Of these nearly one thousand were men of his former division, who had either been left in
Tennessee when their comrades set out upon the
Ohio raid, or had escaped capture in that expedition.
Five or six hundred of these troops were mounted, and were organized into two battalions, commanded respectively by
Captains Cassell and
Kirkpatrick.
Some four hundred were dismounted and were temporarily employed as infantry.
Two brigades of
Kentucky cavalry, under
H. L. Giltner and
George B. Cosby, of excellent material, although numerically depleted by hard and constant service, had been stationed in that region for two years previously, and the thorough acquaintance of their officers and men with the country rendered them especially valuable.
On the 8th of May intelligence came of the simultaneous advance of two strong Federal columns.
General Averell, with a body of cavalry, threatened the salt-works, and
General Crook, with infantry and cavalry, was approaching Dublin Depot, near New River Bridge.
It was of vital importance to repulse both.
The Confederacy was largely dependent upon the works at
Saltville for its salt supply, and the lead-works at
Wytheville, not far distant, were nearly as valuable.
If
Crook should be successful he would be able to damage the railroad.
in that; vicinity to such an extent that communication with
Richmond might be permanently destroyed and the transmission of supplies from all that region prevented.
It was necessary, therefore, at once to confront and cripple, if not completely defeat, both columns.
General A. G. Jenkins, with his cavalry brigade, detached from the Army of Northern Virginia, put himself in front of
Crook, but was not strong enough to cope with him.
Morgan hastened the four hundred dismounted men of his command to the assistance of
General Jenkins.
Colonel D. H. Smith, commanding them, reached
Dublin on the morning of the 10th and found
General Jenkins there, hard pressed by the enemy, and that gallant officer severely wounded.
Smith at once reported to
Colonel John.
McCausland, who had taken command, and the timely reinforcement restored the battle, which had been sorely against the
Confederates.
Holding the enemy in check until sunset, the
Confederates retreated to New River Bridge and encamped in a position to protect that structure.
[See map, p. 478.]
In the meantime
General Morgan, with
Giltner's brigade and the two battalions of
Cassell and
Kirkpatrick, sought
Averell.
He was convinced on the 9th, by the reports of his scouts, that
Averell's first blow would not be delivered at
Saltville, but that he was striking at
Wytheville.
Pressing rapidly on past
Saltville he fell on
Averell's track and followed it to the junction of the roads leading respectively to
Crab Orchard and
Wytheville.
Averell had taken the road to
Crab Orchard, and doubtless wished and expected to be closely pursued by that route.
In that event, by a judicious employment of a part of his command, he could have held his opponent at bay in that very rugged country long enough to have thrown a detachment into
Wytheville (which was garrisoned only by a small provost guard), and could have destroyed the military stores there and the neighboring lead-mines, besides rendering the railroad useless for many weeks.
Morgan, believing this to be his skillful adversary's plan, marched directly to
Wytheville by the shorter road through
Burke's Garden, arriving there on the afternoon of the 11th.
Colonel George B. Crittenden, taking command of a small detachment of
W. E. Jones's cavalry brigade, which had reached
Wytheville the day before, was instructed to occupy a small pass or gap in the mountain, through which alone the enemy's approach to the town, from the road on which he was marching, was practicable.
Crittenden was attacked soon after he reached the position assigned him, but
Morgan marching to his assistance with all of the troops,
Averell fell back to a commanding ridge, about eight hundred yards from the gap. He was immediately attacked and, after a sharp combat, dislodged.
The fighting continued, however, until after nightfall, in a succession of attacks on the one side and retreats on the other.
At length
Averell withdrew from the field, which he had very gallantly and obstinately contested.
Morgan lost in killed and wounded fifty or sixty.
Averell's loss was somewhat more, besides nearly one hundred prisoners.
Notwithstanding these successes, the department; was by no means out of danger; for neither
Crook nor
Averell was materially weakened, and both continued to menace it. It soon became apparent that when supported by a movement already in progress from
Kentucky they would return to the attack with greater determination.
Burbridge and
Hobson were reported en route for south-
western Virginia, with all of the
Federal forces in
Kentucky available for active service.
General Morgan had no hope of successfully resisting a combined onset of these various forces; but he was confident that he could avert the invasion of his own territory by himself assuming the offensive.
His plan can be best explained in his own words.
On the 31st of May, after commencing his march, he wrote
General Samuel Cooper (
Adjutant-General) :
While General Buckner was in command of this department he instructed me to strike a blow at the
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enemy in Kentucky.
As I was on the eve of executing this order, the rapid movement of the enemy from the Kanawha valley, in the direction of the Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, made it necessary that I should remain to cooperate with the other forces for the defense of this section. . . . I have just received information that General Hobson left Mount Sterling on the 23d inst. with six regiments of cavalry (about 3000 strong), for Louisa, on the Sandy.
This force he has collected from all the garrisons in middle and south-eastern Kentucky.
At Louisa there is another force of about 2500 cavalry, under a colonel of a Michigan regiment recently sent to that vicinity.
It is the reported design of General Hobson to unite with this latter force and cooperate with Generals Averell and Crook in another movement upon the salt-works and lead-mines of southwestern Virginia.
This information has determined me to move at once into Kentucky, and thus distract the plans of the enemy by initiating a movement within his lines.
My force will be about 2000 men.
Morgan accordingly entered
Kentucky with
Giltner's brigade, the mounted men of the old
Morgan division, and 800 dismounted men from the various cavalry commands stationed in the department.
It was impossible to carry artillery over the roads by which he expected to march.
The column reached
Pound Gap on the 2d of June, dislodged a small Federal garrison occupying it, and pushed through.
More than 150 miles of the most rugged regions of the
Kentucky mountains were then traversed in seven days. The dismounted men, whose numbers were constantly augmented as horses broke down from fatigue and lack of forage, kept pace with their comrades in the saddle.
Giltner's brigade lost more than 200 horses.
On the 7th of June detachments were sent forward to destroy the bridges on the
Louisville and
Lexington and
Kentucky Central railroads, to prevent troops from being sent from
Indiana and
Ohio to the defense of
central Kentucky.
Night fell on the 8th while the column was still struggling in the gloomy and difficult wilderness through which wound the “rebel trace” ; but on the morning of the 9th they had reached the confines of the beautiful blue-grass country, and were not far from
Mount Sterling.
That day the town was attacked and captured, and 380 prisoners were taken.
Leaving
Giltner to destroy the captured stores and property, and provide for mounting the foot-men,
Morgan promptly moved upon
Lexington with the greater part of the mounted troops.
That night the first disaster of the expedition befell him, and it was visited on the brave men who had made the long and painful march on foot.
The Federal movement from
Kentucky was made as
Morgan had anticipated.
Burbridge, with the Fifth Division of the Twenty-third Corps, had proceeded some distance east of
Louisa when
Morgan passed through
Pound Gap.
The respective columns were distant from each other, but it was impossible to conceal all evidence of the
Confederate advance, and
Colonel John Mason Brown, commanding the Second Brigade of the Fifth Federal Division, became convinced of its character and urged
Burbridge to return, and, if possible, intercept
Morgan at
Mount Sterling.
His advice was taken and the
Federal troops countermarched with extraordinary celerity.
They reached
Mount Sterling at midnight of the 9th, and at 3 P. M. of the 10th attacked the camp of the dismounted men, which was very inefficiently picketed.
Colonel Brown's brigade, supported by
Hanson's, rode over the picket detail and into the encampment.
A desperate fight at close quarters ensued.
Giltner was not near enough to render prompt assistance, and
Colonel R. M. Martin, commanding the body assaulted, with great difficulty extricated it and effected a junction with
Giltner after three or four hours of combat.
Martin's loss was 14 officers and between two and three hundred men; he was twice wounded.
The Federal loss was about two hundred.
On the same morning, the 10th,
General Morgan captured
Lexington, and found in the
Government stables there a sufficient number of horses to mount the survivors of the dismounted brigade, who, with
Giltner's brigade, rejoined him that night.
He immediately marched on
Cynthiana, taking that place, after a brisk skirmish with the garrison, on the 11th.
That afternoon,
General Hobson, coming to the relief of the town, approached with 1500 cavalry.
He was immediately attacked in front by
Giltner, while
Morgan, assailing him in the rear with
Cassell's battalion, compelled his surrender.
On the 12th
Morgan was attacked at
Cynthiana by
Burbridge at the head of 5200 men.
Morgan's effective strength was now reduced, by losses in battle and details to guard prisoners and destroy railroad track and bridges, to less than 1300, and his ammunition was nearly exhausted.
After some hours of hard fighting he was defeated and forced to retreat, with a loss of fully one half of his remaining command in killed, wounded, and prisoners.
He destroyed all of his captured stores and paroled the prisoners he had taken, and marching instantly back to
Virginia, via Flemings-burg and
West Liberty, and thence through the mountains, reached
Abingdon, Va., June 20th.
Disastrous as this raid was, in some respects, it accomplished its purpose, and delayed the apprehended incursion into south-
western Virginia for several months, and until measures were concerted to frustrate it.
2
From this period until the date of his death, September 4th, 1864,
General Morgan was engaged in no military operation of consequence.
He was killed at
Greenville while advancing to attack
Gillem at
Bull's Gap in
Tennessee, with the intention, if successful, of marching into
middle Tennessee.
He was succeeded in the command of the department by
General John C. Breckinridge.
