Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1866-12-28
GENERAL MORGAN'S CAVALRY
Extract from the Narrative of Gen
eral Basil Duke.

the forthcoming history, by General
Basil Duke, of General Morgan's cav
airy:
In the vicinity of this place we saw,
in the brief time that we remained, more
active and business-like bushwhacking
than ever before in our entire service.
The hills along the road seemed alive
with them, and from behind every fourth
or fifth tree, apparently, they were blazing
away at US. Every Southern reader will
understand at once what sort Of an indi-
vidual is meant by bushwhacker -
that he is a gentleman of leisure, who
lives in wild and, generally, mountain
Gus country, does not join the army, but
shoots, from the tops of hills or from be-
hind trees and rocks, at those who are so
unfortunate as to differ with him in poll
tics. 1t is his way Of expressing his
opinions,
His style of fighting is very similar to
that of the outlying scouts Of partisan
cavalry, except that he esteems it weak
ness and an unnecessary inconvenience
to take prisoners, and generally kills his
captives. Sometimes, and especially tc-
ward the latter part of the war, these
fellows would band together in consider
able numbers, make certain portions of
the country impossible, except to strong
detachments, and even undertake expe-
tlitions into neighboring sections.
There were "Union bushwhackers !"
and Southern bushwhackers. In
Kentucky the former were most hume
rous. " 1t is gratifying reflection" to
use the language of one of Col. Clarence
Prentice's official reports, +" that many
of them will whack no more" In the
Northern mind bushwhackers and guer'
rilas are confounded togethcr-an eggre-
gious error in classification. 1t is prob
able that the bushwhacker of this coun-
try would answer exactly to the guerrilla
of European warfare; but the guerrilla
of North America is, or rather was (for
happily he is almost if not quite entirely
extinct, an animal entirely distinct from
either
Formerly the Northern press styled all
the Southern cavalry guerrillas because
they Travelled about the country freely
and gave their enemies some trouble.
This, however, was when the Federal
cavalry used to still ride with pillows on
their saddles, were put to bed carefully
every night by the general commanding,
and encamped on the march in the midst
of infantry regiments, who were in
structed TO see that their horses did not
hurt them, etc. When the hard, dsshing
regiments of the latter part of the war
after, indeed, the first eigbtecn months
began TO do real service, the Northern
writers found that they would be called
on to record as cavalry operations the
very kind of affairs which they had bsen
accustomed to chronicle as guerrilla ir-
regularities.
A guerrilla was, properly speaking,
man who had belonged to some army,
and had deserted and gone to making
war on his private account de was
necessarily a maraudsr, sometimes
spared his former friend, and was much
admired by weak young women who were
afflicted with tendency toward shoddy
romance.
On this march through Casey county,
the bushwhackers we're unusually 9th
cious. The advance guard, which for
some reason had gone on some distance
in froat, reached Liberty about two hours
before the column, and during that time
were fairly beseiged in the place. Col
Morgan himself made a narrow escape.
One fellow, more daring than the
o,hess had coined own from the hills, and
had approached within seventy yards of
the road. lie fred at Morgan, missing
him, but wounded little sesrH boy, his
servant, who was riding by his s.ds.
receiving some order The man who
Cred at once ran back to the hill, followed
by ons or two of our fellows from the
head of the colsnp, BE was killed by
private, afterward Captain Thos Franks,
who made an excellent shot, hitting tia
bushwhacker in the head while he was
running at top speed, and Franks him
self sss going at a rapid gallop.