John H. Morgan

From Ohio History Central

Jump to: navigation, search

John Hunt Morgan was a prominent Confederate cavalry officer in the American Civil War.

John Hunt Morgan was born on June 1, 1825, in Huntsville, Alabama. His parents were wealthy slaveholders. In 1830, the family moved to Lexington, Kentucky. Morgan attended Transylvania University in Lexington for two years before he was expelled for dueling. He fought in the Mexican-American War and reached the rank of first lieutenant in a cavalry regiment. Following the war, he returned to civilian life.

With the beginning of the American Civil War, Morgan enlisted in the Confederate army. He began his new career as a captain of Kentucky volunteers. He first served under General Simon Buckner and led the Lexington Rifles into battle. Morgan quickly proved to be an able cavalry leader and served under General Braxton Bragg's command during late 1862 and early 1863. Bragg sent Morgan and his command on raids against the Union army's supply depots and transportation lines. Morgan's men destroyed millions of dollars worth of supplies throughout Kentucky and Tennessee. At Hartsville, Tennessee, in December 1862, Morgan succeeded in capturing an entire garrison of Union soldiers. The Confederate government promoted Morgan to brigadier-general after this victory.

Morgan's most famous wartime exploit was his raid into Indiana and Ohio during July 1863. On July 8, 1863, Morgan led approximately two thousand soldiers across the Ohio River into southern Indiana. Morgan's superiors had dispatched the cavalry leader into northern Kentucky to cause disorder among the Union forces in the area. Morgan exceeded these orders by crossing north of the Ohio River, but he did create turmoil for the United States army.





The Union soldiers took Morgan and most of his captured men to Columbus. The enlisted men were confined in the Camp Chase Confederate prison camp. Morgan and several of his officers were held at the Ohio Penitentiary. Morgan arrived there on October 1. He and several of his men immediately made plans to escape. They tunneled out of a cell into an air-shaft on November 13, 1863. They remained in their cells until November 27, when Morgan and six of his soldiers used the air-shaft to reach the prison yard. They then fashioned a rope from their prison uniforms and scaled the wall. Utilizing some of the one thousand dollars that his sister had smuggled into the prison inside a Bible, Morgan purchased a train ticket to Cincinnati. He then made his escape across the Ohio River into Kentucky.

Morgan's Raid netted few positive results for the Confederate military. It did provide some hope to Confederate civilians that their military could still succeed following the Northern victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in early July 1863. It also caused fear among Indiana and Ohio residents and cost several of these people some personal property that the raiders had seized. Almost 4,400 Ohioans filed claims for compensation with the federal government for items that they lost to the Confederates during the raid. The claims amounted to 678,915 dollars, with the government authorizing compensation in the amount of 576,225 dollars. While the Confederates succeeded in instilling fear in the civilian population, the raid inspired many of these people to fight even harder to defeat the Confederacy. In addition, the Confederate military lost an entire division of veteran cavalrymen. Morgan also failed to destroy any railroad tracks, bridges, or supply depots. The raid caused no significant harm to the transportation and communication infrastructure of the Union. The raid had as many negative effects as positive ones for the Confederacy.

After his escape, Morgan returned to the Confederate army. He led cavalry forces in Tennessee and Kentucky. On September 4, 1864, Union soldiers surrounded a farmhouse near Greenville, Tennessee, where Morgan was staying. The Confederate general attempted to escape from the house, but was shot by the Union soldiers. Morgan died from his wounds.

General John Hunt Morgan is buried in Lexington, Kentucky.

See Also

