Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-10-15
GEN. JOHN MORGAN,
The Controversy Over His Capture
and Death.
The story of gIrs. Thompson, WHO
Carried the News to GilIe:n and
Caused the Destruction OF
the Great Raider.

Washington Letter in New York Tribune.
The controversy over the question how the
rebel cavalry leader, John Morgan, died,
continues to rage in the Kentucky news
papers. In a recent contribution 10 The
Louisville Courier Journal, Capt. John j.
McAfee, formerly of Morgans command,
tells how Morgan, painfully wounded as lie
was, breathing and suffering with the erin
son stream trickling from his wounds, wc.s
thrown across horse and borne through tne
streets Of GTeenville, with his biancs-cd
face turned to the light, running his
fingers through his hair, while his
eyes were lifted in their speechlcss agony to
heaven" Capt. McAfee does not assert that
he witnessed this scene, for lie made his first
appearance the next forenoon, bearing C. Tag
OF truce to obtain Nor ans remains, which
were delivered to hizn. M o.!2or accounts
agree that Morgan was shot dead II his
tracks.
Capt. McAfee falls into another error, how
ever, i'll which be has the company Of oil who
have written on the Confederate side He
tells the old story that it was young Mrs.
Williams who betrayed" Morgan. In a
quiet street of Washington and in very
modest house lives Mrs. Sarah E. Thompson,
formerly Of Greenvilie, Tenn. To a Tribune
correspondent this evening Mrs. Thompson
told The following story:
81 am the woman who sent to the Union
forces under Gen. Gillem the intelligence that
Morgan and his command were in GreenVille.
I was a widow then, my husband, who was
a Union soldier, having been murdered by
Morgan's men sometime before, while he was
a prisoner in their hands / was living then
at Main and Railroad streets, in Greenville
G111a 7 EaI- Horhf
and making tomato butter, when John Nor
gan and his men rode into town. He dis
mounted at my door, came TO the porch, sat
down and made himself at home. He tilted
back his chair and sat there an hour OF more,
smoking his pipe and talking to me in his
boaStful way.
MAKING SPORT OF a WOMAN.
Gle knew l was Union woman and he
tantalized me by telling me what great things
he was going to do and advising me to hunt
up a husband ON the rebel side. Among
other things he said he was going to take
Knoxville and hold it. l told him he would
strike snag before he ever got to Knoxville.
After while he went over to Mrs. Williams
house, which stood ON a cross street, heryard,
in which were many grape vines, adjoining
urine. AS soon as he had gone walked over
by some colOred people and which overlooked
the premises of Mrs. Williams A colored
woman lived there who had done some work
for me. said to her: EMilly, if you will
watch Morgan until come back VIII give
You this, and handed her a five-doIlar note.
She promised, and 1 went back home and
got my bonnet and started out Main street.
I had not gone far before met q man whom
Fjod irDOyr71 from childhood an1 + ocEod
him to pass me through the pickets so could
go and find my COW. He went to the picket
post with me end ordered the guard to pass
me out and bacZ and then he pointed to some
cattle on hill and asked if mine was not
among them. told him my COW was red
mully COW and walked on. When got near
the top of the hill I threw stick at the COW,
and she started down the other side
and I followed. As soon as I got out
of sight of the guard, 1 went into Davis
cornfield and through it to his house. I told
Mrs. Davis wanted horse, and she let me
have one. rode off through the fields in the
direction of Bulls gap, where the Union
forces lay. After riding some miles found
boy, Wilcox by name, and sent him on
with the news to Gen Gillem. / was told
afterward that he would not believe the boy,
but some of his officers declared that they
were going after Morgan, anyhow; so the
general concluded to try it | came back to
Greenvlle with our troops The advance
dashed into town and searched Mrs. Williaus's
house without finding Morgan. When we
came up they were mad, and declared that
they had been fooled again; but as soon as
MilIy saw me she cried out that Morgan was
In the yard, hiding among thevineS. told
the men that il they would tear down the
fence and charge would insure them Nor
CAMS body.
KILLED WHILE FIRING HIS PISTOL.
F'Just then he was discovered He had q
revolver and fred on our men, and they fired
on him. Then he was killed and his body
taken by man on horseback and carried off.
By that time Morgan's men were throwing
cannon balls down at us from the artillery
they had on the college green. Our men re-
treated out of the town, and / went back to
nv own house. The rebels came down there
and made me prisoner in my own house and
set two men to guard me. They told me
they would hang me the next day from the
same limb from which Fry, one of our men,
had been hanged. They did not have much
time to thre9ten me, however, for our men
charged back into the town and held it, One
of my guards was shot through the feet and
both were captured.
IDENTIFYING MoRGAN's BODY.
CATER awhile an ambulance came along
with Morgan's body. Gen. Gillem stopped
the ambulance, rode up to my door and asked
me if l knew Morgan. told him that did;
that my husband and had played cards
with him at Glasgow, KY, five years before
and euchred him. And now,' added, 4
have helped to euchre him again 1 identi-
fed the body, and it was then taken to Mrs.
Williams house and prepared for burial I
went with our troops to Bulls gap when they
returned that afternoon
Mrs Thompson is now employed in the
treasury department and has in her posses
sion letters from Andrew johnson md 9th
ers, testifying to the service vl.ich she
rendered to the Union cause during the war.
For and Against the sparrow.
New York Herald.
In tyrentv wears the SDarrnyy in America