The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-12-01
GEN. MORGAN'S DEATH.
Gen. Basil w. Duke Tells a Comrade villa
He Knows About the Matter.

He Knows About the Matter.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
r SENT the account of Gen. John IL. Nor
gan's death at Grecneville, Tenn, Sept.
Z 4, 1864, contained in the issue of your
paper of date Oct. 90, to Gen. Basil w.
Duke, now prominent lawyer at Louisville.
Ky. have just received the following letter
and statement from Duke. which | respectfully
request you to publish, as Of interest to your
readers and especially so to Hon. S. NJ Arneil.
w. NJ. BusHFIELD. 18th Ohio, Cambridge, O.
LOUISVILLE KY, Nov. q, 1892.
MY DEAR SIR: | am in receipt OF your
letter of the 29th uitimo. inclosing an account
by Hon. s. NJ. Arnell. of Gen. Morgans death at
Greeneyilie. Tenn. sept. 4, 1864. am exceed
ingiy Obliged TO you for this attention. and for
your courteous offer 10 have published any re-
spou5e TO this statement may choose to make
i should regret however, to revive a con-
troversy which has already been too frequently
renewed, and which will, know, serve to keep
aive-at least III the minds Of those who are
still warmly attached to Gen. Morgan's mem-
ory--feelngs which l would much prefer not
to see resuscitated.
Il am not much concerned regarding the
Hon. S. NJ. Arnells charges that my narrative
of the killing of Gen. Morgan, and the crcnm-
stances attending it, is not true. Any who
will take the trouble to read my account of the
matter in the History of Morgan's Cavalry"
from which Mr. Arnell quotes, will perceive at
once that refrain, with some care, from charg-
ing that Gen. Morgan was killed after he sur
rendered. That is the very and only point in
issue-there has never been any controversy
regarding any other fact connected with his
death. i do indeed state that his friends
have always believed that he was killed after
his surrender / cannot doubt that ] am
much better informed about what they think
than Mr. Arnell can possibly be-
.snno bo raaconc I nj a for heIiaf ic ba
'rufianly character of the men who actually
killed him-who fred the shots. 1t is hardly
to be conceived that Gen. Morgan's friends
could hold those parties in the same estimation
which Mr.. ArDeH entertains OF them. 1t is
possible we may be mistaken. The man Camp
bell may not have been deserter from the
Confederate army, as have always understood.
may have unjustly characterized these parties
as rufiianly,' (misled by sentiment: but there
is broad distinction between the positive
statement OF a fact and the expression OF an
opinion.
my statement that His slayer broke down
the ralng around the garden. dragged him
through, and, while he was tossing his arms in
his dying agonios, threw him across a mule,
and paTaded his body about the town in savage
exIltatiou,' was not made or claimed TO be
made upon my personal knowledge of such in
cidents. but Was obtained, as Dir. Arneli de-
clares that his information had been obtained,
from the lips of living witnesses
The declarations on which based my &C.
count, however, were made to me only few
days after the event. Mr.. Arneli's witnesses
now come into court for the first time it would
SEEM after Is years have elapsed, although
ample and frequent notice has been served
during all that period that such testimony was
wanted.
Very shortly after Gen. Morgan's death
was in Greeneville. and very naturally sought
to learn all that could be learned about it.
No one pretended to know inst how and in
what manner no was killed; but several per-
sous testified, in the painest and most en-
phatic form. that his body was treated as de-
scrjbed in the passage Mr.. Arneil quotes, and
that he was tossing his arms and writing, APP
parentiy in great suffering, when they saw him
brought out into the street. / was shown
broken place in the paling and was told that il
was the spot where he was brought out of the
garden. l state that his body was thrown
across mule Mr.. Arnell says soldier took
the body on the horse in front of him. Per-
haps it was horse, and not mule.
"Bnt. / repeat, | have no inclination to re-
Vive this discussion. but would much rather
forget it If l could. 1t is painful, and / think
Improbable
Permit me, however, to thank you sincerely
for forwarding me this paper in relation to
matter in which you have reason to believe
will feel interest. and i shall kindly remember
it. Very truly, yours-BAsIL w DUKE.