The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-06-14

Copyright. 1896, by s. s. Mcclure Coz
The most startling. high handed ami
mlschievous outlawry sver Carried ON
ov the irregular manipulation Of the
electric wires was recalled at chance
meeting of several veteran Soldiers and
" dr telegraphers at Louisville recently
ore OF the operators present had for
Mafdeu this characteristics dispatch
from the White House to The head
quarters OF the army at Corinfh:
Washington July Eth. 1862.
MaJor-tieneral Haleck. Corinth. Miss.
They are having stampede IN
Kentucky Please look to it,
A. LINCOLN"
Another one had passed along the fol-
lowing from The headquarters OF Cen
erai J t. Boyle. commanding the fed
erai forces IL Kentucky TO the war de-
partment an Washington:
headquarters. L S. A. Louisville, July
18th. 1862
Hon. E. NJ Stanton, Secretary of War.
The Confederates undoubtedly have
control Of telegraph all around us.
1here is great danger in Kentucky.
]. T. BOYLE,
Brigadier General.
This sudden uproar and alarm in
noTthern camps and councils was caus-
&C by Morgan. THE southern raider.
then out on bis first wild ride across
the border His errand seemed to be
none other than to bring about the
state of panic indicated in the dis
patches of President Lincoln and Cen
erai BOYLE. At the head of a small
mounted column the intrepid Kentuck-
ian rode at will for more than q week.
within the federal lines. and got away
without being forced into a single
battle, all through the manipulation
of the wires by a clever hand
When starting on this raid Morgan
summoned to his side as a scientific
ally, George A. Ellsworth, an expert
operator. and a joker and daredevil
al the same time. as will be seen from
his full story now printed for the first
time in the public press
On July 10th, 1862" says Ellsworth.
General Morgan with a body guard
of fifteen men and myself. arrived at
point near Glasgow. Kentucky. on the
Louisville & Nashville railroad. where
/ took down the telegraph line and
connected my pocket instrument for
the purpose Of taking of all dispatches
that passed through Louisville, i'm
mediajteiy called Nashville and I an
swered for Nashville. receiving bust
ness for two hours 1t could be plainly
seen by the tenor of the messages that
Morgan was known to be in the coun-
try and all orders to send money and
other valua bies by railroad were coun-
fernandez. Louisville also sent the
news of the da-, and thus we were
furnished with New York and Wash
ington dates of that day During the
whole Of the time it was raining heavy
and my situation was anything but
an agreeable one. sitting in the mud.
with my feet in the water UP to my
knees.
AT II p. m. the general. being salts
fed that 1 had drained Louisville of all
the news. concluded to close for the
night. and gave me this bogus message
to send:
Headquarters u. S. Provost-Marshal,
Nashville, Tenn, July 10th, 1862
Henry Dent. L. S. Provost-Marshal,
Louisville:
General Forrest attacked Murfrees-
boro, routing our forces and is now
moving on Nashville. Morgan is re-
ported to be between Scottsville and
Galiatin, in Tennessee, and will act in
concert with Forrest, it is believed.
STANLEY MATHEWS,
Provost Marshal
Forrest did attack Murfreesboro,
and rout the enemy, but Morgan was
many days ride from the scene. The
next day but one we reached Lebanon.
and l rode with the advance guard
into the town and took possession of
the Office, Immediately 1t was $3.50
in the morning. ] adjusted the instru-
ment and examined the circuit. No
other operator on the line appeared to