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John Hunt
Morgan's L&N
Raid,
Christmas 1862
L&N
Magazine - 1932
Christmas
night, 1862, a chilly, penetrating wind swept across the hills
of old Kentucky; an occasional flurry of snow gave promise of
more severe weather yet to follow. The inhabitants of the little
village of Upton, Hardin County, Kentucky, some 60 miles south
of Louisville on the L&N Railroad, had brought in water and
food for the night, put out the cats, and retired as usual. Only
the guard of Union troopers down near the railroad tracks remained
awake; they were thinking of other Christmas nights far away
to the north on the banks of the Wabash, for most of them were
Indiana men. Little did anyone in Upton know of the strange scene
which was taking place in the densely wooded hills about five
miles to the southeast.
There, sheltered by dense timber and hills from the chilly December
blasts, General John H. Morgan, that fearless, hard-riding raider
of the Confederacy, and his men were celebrating Christmas. Three
days prior to this time, they had left Alexandria, Tennessee,
their object being the destruction of the L&N Railroad, which
was the chief means of supply between Union Headquarters in Louisville
and General Rosecrans' forces in northern Tennessee.
Morgan's was a picked force. No braver men ever straddled horses.
Most of them were young men ranging from 18 to 35 years of age.
Morgan himself, although a brigadier general, was only 37 years
of age and an experienced veteran of the Mexican War. Upon the
outbreak of hostilities, he had given up prosperous business
in Lexington to raise a troop of cavalry which he proffered to
the Southern cause. In an incredibly short time, his daring exploits
caused him to become known as one of the leading cavalry men
of the age. Moreover, there was a certain romance attached to
service in his legion.
Before daylight, long brisk, swinging trots through the rosy
hours of daybreak, scarcely halting to breathe their animals
and adjust equipment, the miles fell behind. Then at night, far
from the morning's starting point, the dusty, yelling troopers
would fall upon the unsuspecting Union forces. Although in the
majority of cases outnumbered, Morgan counted upon this element
of surprise and fury of attack to equalize the discrepancy in
numbers. Yelling, shouting, and shooting like wild men, they
would swirl through bivouacs and camps. Then, while calls for
reinforcements were being broadcast from the Union lines, Morgan
and his men would gather in prisoners, supplies, and equipment
sorely needed by the Confederates and silently vanish into the
night. Daybreak of the next morning would find them miles away
and safe from pursuit.
Tireless and fearless himself, a daring horseman and a splendid
shot, Morgan demanded the same qualifications in all his recruits.
His men were all well-mounted, and at home on horseback. Days
and nights in the saddle without food or sleep and the ever-present
chance of combat soon developed a seasoned and hardened corps
of veterans equal to any task with which they might be confronted.
Morgan had confidence in his men; they worshipped him and placed
absolute and implicit trust in his leadership and judgment. Such
a combination was invincible.
With 3,900 men, 400 of whom were unarmed to start with, and with
two light batteries of field artillery, Morgan left Alexandria
on December 22, 1862. With the exception of the artillery, he
had nothing on wheels. Each man started with three days cooked
rations, and thereafter depended upon the country traversed for
sustenance. The 400 unarmed men were to do duty as horse holders
until arms could be captured from the Union forces for them.
(Such implicit faith!) The balance of the men were nondescriptly
armed. A few had cavalry carbines, some carried double-barreled
shotguns, but the majority had long-barreled Enfield, Austrian,
or Belgian rifles. Most of the men carried one or two Colt's
army pistols, the majority of them bore the markings of the U.
S. Government, because they had been captured from the Union
forces. Outside of the officers, very few men carried the saber.
Each man carried his own ammunition, two extra horseshoes, 12
nails, one blanket in addition to his saddle blanket, and some
men were fortunate enough to possess oilskins or overcoats, but
the majority depended upon garments improvised from carpets and
similar material. They were a motley crew insofar as uniformed
appearance was concerned but incomparable as concerned discipline,
morale, and esprit.
Morgan's advance guard entered Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky,
at dusk on Christmas Eve. Several troops of the Second Michigan
Cavalry which had been out on a foraging expedition rode into
the public square just as Morgan's men entered from the south.
Without a moment's hesitation and with a whoop and a yell, Morgan's
men charged. In the brisk fight which followed, the Federal troops
were defeated leaving behind one dead and two wounded. Twenty
prisoners were captured, and incidentally numerous Christmas
turkeys, which the foragers carried tied to their saddles.
Continuing north from Glasgow on Christmas Day, the advance guard
encountered the Union troops drawn up for battle about ten miles
north of Glasgow. The commander of the advance guard dismounted
his men to fight on foot and attacked. However, the Federals
had concealed a company of infantry in ambush, and no sooner
had the attack begun than the Confederates were met with a murderous
fire from the flank. The lead horses and holders stampeded, leaving
the attacking force alone in the presence of a vastly superior
number. Dismayed and temporarily disorganized by this surprise
attack, the Confederates retired across the field to the protection
of an oak thicket 100 or 200 yards away. The timely arrival of
the main body and a prompt charge by them routed the Federals.
The march was resumed.
Later in the day, Morgan fell upon and captured a large and richly
laden sutler's train. Indeed Santa Claus was good to these men
so far from home and traveling on Christmas Day. The march was
continued across the Green River and through Hammondville. At
dusk a halt was ordered between Hammondville and Upton. Here,
protected from surprise by far flung sentry squads, unfriendly
elements, and spying eyes by dense woods and hills, Morgan's
men celebrated Christmas. A myriad of carefully screened fires
were lighted, the luxuries from the hapless sutler's store were
distributed. Turkeys captured from the Second Michigan the day
before were broiled and augmented the usual scanty fare from
saddlebags. Tired as they were from a hard day's riding and fighting,
some of the men attempted to sing a few of the old Christmas
songs. Gradually, it spread from fire to fire and threatened
to become a mighty chorus when the officer of the day put a stop
to it for fear the bivouac would be betrayed to the Federals
who would surely be scouring the country now in search of the
illusive "will-o-the-wisp," Morgan. The little town
of Upton and its guards only five miles away remained in blissful
ignorance and oblivion to the impending threat at its doors.
The sentries over that strategical railroad maintained their
watch, while cats excluded from the warmth of homes for the night
sought shelter in friendly haylofts.
Bright and early the next morning (the 26th) a swirling avalanche
of horsemen descended upon the unsuspecting town of Upton. Its
garrison was taken completely by surprise and captured, for rumor
had it that Morgan was heading for Bardstown to the north and
east. Here, General Morgan had his little joke at the expense
of the Union commander at Louisville, General Boyle. Attached
to his headquarters was a quick-witted, young telegraph operator
named Ellsworth, admiringly known to his comrades as "Lightning."
Taking possession of the telegraph office, "Lightning"
took over the key, listened to dispatches from Louisville to
Nashville awhile; then, copying the sending style of its erstwhile
operator (who stood by under guard), Lightning transmitted several
messages dictated by General Morgan to General Boyle in Louisville,
messages making inquiries concerning the disposition of the Federal
forces in the vicinity (signing himself of course as one of the
Federal commanders along the line). Numerous messages were likewise
sent to other commanders, and some very misleading information
as to the whereabouts and strength of Morgan's command was disseminated.
General Boyle's office was thrown into turmoil as a result. That
Morgan's presence along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
was absolutely unknown to the authorities in Louisville was evinced
by the fact that while General Morgan and "Lightning"
were amusing themselves at the telegraph office, a train laden
with artillery and other supplies came into sight from the north.
The engineer, however, saw the danger in time to reverse his
engine and escape.
Moving on, the stockade and garrison at the bridge over Bacon
Creek were attacked and captured. Later in the afternoon, the
stockade and garrison at Nolin suffered the same fate. These
stockades were a part of the general scheme for the protection
of the L&N Railroad. Supplies for the depot at Nashville
were mainly received by rail from Louisville (185 miles away).
"The success of the Southern campaigns depended entirely
upon holding this line with such tenacity that no serious break
could be made in it by cavalry raids, or by the disaffected population
of the district through which it passed. The destruction of a
single important bridge would have made matters in front look
very serious. The destruction of a number of bridges would have
compelled the army to retrace its steps." (Col. W. E. Merrill's
Report of Engineering Activities, Army of the Cumberland). Stockades
built of heavy logs and banked with earth were therefore erected
at each and every railroad bridge. Some of the stockades were
built with towers or second stories to afford an elevated point
of observation from which to observe the approach of raiders.
Such were the stockades at Bacon Creek and Nolin. Both fell before
the determined assault of Morgan's men that day.
The night of December 26th, Morgan bivouacked a few miles south
of Elizabethtown. Elizabethtown was strongly garrisoned by a
regiment of Illinois troops, 652 men strong. A number of brick
warehouses in the vicinity of the railroad station had been loopholed
and strengthened for defense. In the early hours of the morning,
Morgan threw a cordon of men about the town. His artillery was
placed upon a commanding height and opened fire early in the
morning. Seeing the futility of defense, the entire garrison
surrendered leaving Morgan free to march onto Muldraugh's Hill,
where he burned the two long trestles of the Louisville and Nashville
line. To effect this bit of destruction, it was first necessary
to reduce two strong stockades determinedly defended by 700 Indiana
troops.
After burning the trestles on the 28th, Morgan moved to the Rolling
Fork River. The greater portion of his command crossed that night
and moved on towards Bardstown. Five hundred men and some artillery,
under command of Col. Basil Duke, were dispatched to destroy
the stockade and bridge over the Rolling Fork. In the midst of
the engagement, a force of over 3,000 Federals under command
of Colonel Harlan (later a Judge of the Supreme Court) arrived
upon the scene and forced the withdrawal of Duke and his men.
A spirited engagement took place at the crossing of the Rolling
Fork in which Colonel Duke was wounded and escaped capture only
through the heroic action of Captain Quirk of Quirk's Scouts
who placed the wounded colonel across the pommel of his saddle
and then holding him with one arm, guided his horse into the
stream. The horse carried them both safely across the stream.
Next to Morgan and Mosby, Duke was one of the most eagerly sought
after of the Confederate raiders, his capture would have been
a feather in the cap of the pursuing Federals and would have
done much to alleviate the stinging consternation and humiliation
caused by Morgan's march around the Federal armies.
Bardstown was reached on the 29th and fell prey to Morgan's men.
The pillaging of one of the largest general stores in town is
graphically described by a Dr. J. A. Wyeth who accompanied General
Morgan on this raid. Dr. Wyeth says in part, "I witnessed
one of the frequent incidents in all warfare, the pillaging of
the largest general store in this town. The men who had crowded
through the doors, which they had battered down, found difficulty
in getting out with their plunder through the surging crowd,
which was pressing to get in before everything was gone. One
trooper induced the others to let him out by holding an ax in
front of him, cutting edge forward. His arm clasped a bundle
of a dozen pairs of shoes and other plunder, while on his head
was a pyramid of eight or ten soft hats, telescoped one into
the other just as they had come out of the packing box."
By this time, the whole state was aroused. Troops from Louisville
and other garrisoned cities had been sent out to head off the
elusive Morgan. His whereabouts no longer a secret, it was essential
that he should turn southward and beat a hasty retreat from the
state if he wished to evade capture or destruction. He accordingly
left Bardstown on the 30th. A cold, chilling rain had set in,
and his march to Springfield was one of misery and hardship.
He reached Springfield about dusk on the 30th. There he rested
his men an hour, and then resumed the march towards Lebanon,
nine miles distant. Detouring around Lebanon with his main body,
he caused the rear guard to drive in the pickets on the north
side of town and to light a myriad of campfires to give the impression
that he was halting in force before the town and only waiting
daylight to launch his attack. He was successful in his ruse,
for several Federal columns were deflected from a course which
would have thrown them across his line of retreat and marched
to the aid of Lebanon. When they arrived in the morning, Morgan
and his men were miles to the south.
All through the bitter cold night, he continued his march. At
times, the half-frozen troopers dismounted and led their horses
to restore the circulation to their benumbed limbs. Horses and
men were covered with sheets of ice, but on and on they went.
There was no stopping for rest until noon of the 31st when a
fleeting hour was snatched for man and beast. Reports had come
to Morgan that columns had been dispatched from Munfordville
and Glasgow to intercept him at Columbia or Burksville before
he could cross the Cumberland. He was taking no chances with
the irate Federal commanders. He continued the march.
The night of the 31st found him at Campbellsville. He and his
men had been continuously in the saddle, with the exception of
two brief rests, for over 30 hours. Now that he had safely outdistanced
his pursuers for the time being, he ordered a halt and went into
bivouac for the night. On the morning of New Year's Day, after
eight hours rest, he again took up the march. On through Columbia,
ahead of the oncoming enemy, he went on without stopping to Burksville
where he arrived on the morning of January 2nd. Several miles
away was the Cumberland and safety. There was not a sign of an
intercepting force. He had again successfully out marched his
adversaries. In a few hours, he was safe beyond the river.
What a glorious Christmas week it had been. He had thrown consternation
into the enemy camp, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was
a wreck from Upton to Shepherdsville, he had captured or destroyed
vast amounts of enemy property, captured 1,900 prisoners, and
his command was returning better mounted and armed than when
it had started. It was six months before the hardworking Federal
engineers were able to repair the damage he had done to their
main line of supply, and in those days, time counted.
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