The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-04-04
DEATH OF GEN. !. III. MORGAN.


An Authentic Account by an Eye-wlt-
neas-He fs she's Twenty Minutes after
he had Surrendered 90 the Federal
Troops.
Happening to be present at the death of General
j. H. Morgan, say a writer In the Columbus Crisis,
have concluded to send you memoranda Of that
and Its accompanying events; accompanied tho
expedition into Tennessee, made 1Or the purpose OF
driving back General Silems Dngaae o. tedeIal
evening of the 30 September, 1854. Greenville is
distant from Bulls Gap tGeneral Gillem's positon),
nineteen mics. 1he General established his head
quarters at the house OF Mrs. Williams. in the
town OF Greenville
HIS own brigade was sent on the road leading 10
RodgersVllle, TO point three miles from Greenwich,
for the purpose OF getting FORAGE, and detachment
Of Tennessee cavalry six hundred strong, was
ordered under ColOne Bradford, TO encamD the
road leading to Bulls Gap, and 10 picket the road
leading toward the enemy This torce was not IN
creased because larger number of horses could not
be foraPed in that direction. The country between
Greenvllle and the Gap ls htlY and wild ana very
poor. General 6illem stated atterward that he re-
ceived information of the status OF AFFAIRS about
GreenvIlle, at halfpast nine OF that night lie i'm.
mediatoly moved his command IN the direction OF
halted and sent q detachment through the woods,
and succeeded in getting on the flank of Bradford's
command; he drove him (Bradiord) back from the
road, leaving It open to Greenville.
A detachment oil four companies OF the Thirteenth
Tennes ,ee Cavalry then sent forward to charge
the town. They met with no resistance The
square on which Mrs. WIS house is situated (the
house and grounds occupy the square) was sur
rounded Immediately; officers OF the staff being
aroused by the couriers of whom there were three
or iour at the front gate rushed out and were
tured one by one General Morgan attempted to
escape through the garden; finding exit in that
direction cut of, he concealed himself among some
BoSers having ono oS he nistoIs Mr. Johnson A
A. G.'s clerk the other. While the officers OF his
staff and courier were together under guard
within twenty yards OF his place OF concealment ne
necessarily heard the questions asked them and the
threats made against them.
The questions were as to his whereabouts-the
threats to make them tell his place of OOncealment.
Seeing that there was no hope OF successful conceal
ment, he came out and surrendered to Captain VII.
cox, Company g, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry. He
had already both of General MS pistols his pos
session. This captain sat on his horse (he aud fifteen
twenty others had ridden into the garden, having
broken down the plank fence to get I'M, and con-
versed with the General and us for some timeabout
ten twenty minutes; he then rode oil. In lew
minutes after he lett man rode up and presented
his gun al ttneneral Morgan, the General id:-"Eor
Code sake eOn't shoot mel am q prisoner" The
gun was d, Nd and the General telI Tue muzze OF
the gun ta fops army rlfle was within two feet OF
Morgans Eeast when it was discharged; his cloth
ing and b body were blackened with powder. This
man then 3lsmouDted and threw the Generals body
across hf horse in front of the saddle, and rode
about t0h shouting, "Heres your horse thief"
Whe9 General Gillem gave us permission to go
and atteoh TO General Morgan's body, we found it
lying in the road about one mile from the place
where il had Deen shot 1t was so covered with
mud that we could scarcely recognize It, The bail
struck the centre of the breast about three four
inches below its junction with the neck, and came
out behind the left hip bone. He met his death as
he met his foes thousand times before; there was
no E0f0klDR-nOU QulFer OF q nerVe-tn0ugl he
saw murder in that brawny felOr's eye. Kentucky
will yet be proud of John Morgan-of his gallant,
dashing life and fearless death. And in the Gland
of sun and howers long will his death be the theme
of song and story. The man who shot him was
named Campbell, of Company G 18th Tennessee
. Cavalry. He was promoted to lieutenancy for his
bravery on this occasion.
At Knoxville the staff officers were locked up in
iron cages, in jail, whose windows had neither
ing, overcoats blankets. These had all been
taken from them. They were permitted to go into
the PRISON Yard in the day time, and they had dead
line there.
We found at Knoxville several officers and men OF
Morgan's command who had been taken two weeks
before us. They told that the soldiers who cap.
tured them said that they had orders not TO take
General Morgan alive.
After this it was rumored that the soldiers OF
General Morgan's command refused to take as pri
sOners OF war men belonging to the 18th Tennessee
Cavalry. General Glem sent communication
under flag of truce to General Breckinridge on
this subject, complaining that some members of the
18th had been killed, and stating that he supposed
it done in retaliation for the reported murder oil
had been killed IN far fight, and inclosed copy ot
note from Captain Rogers, of General Morgan's
staff in answer to one from him inquiring into the
circumstances of General Morgan's death. (Rogers
was then prisoner IN General Gillem's hands
AT the bottom OF this note was written, ga true
copy. A. Z. Glllem, Br1gadieT-General." When
General Breckenridge aterward attacked and routed
General Gillem we captured his headquarters, desk
and private papers, among which was the original
note of Captain Rogers, altered and amended to
4 read as the copy OF General Gillem sent General
BrecknridGe, and very different from the said copy
These papers are still In existence.