The Press., 1901-11-21
MORGAN'S RAIDERS.

"OAONH I14N NJ AO11 ADH1OkJs
THE FAMOUS ROUGH RIDING CAM
st13 sPAIGN oF~THE CIVIL WAR. ~ .
1t, Carried: Panic and Confusion Ivft b
Ohio and Indiana. but Resulted In
. No BENEFIT Whatever to the Confed-
Cavalry riding said the major. sis
exciting, but very exhausting business.
Long distance raids in an enemy's
country can be made only where there
are good many horses. John Morgan
could never have made his raid
through In"iana and Ohio in 1868 If
the counties raided had not been well
supplied with the best horses in the
west. When he started from the Cum
berland river. in east Tennessee, Nor
gan believed that he would sweep
everything before him and that, II
properly supported. he would capture
Cincinnati.
sMergan, with a we'll organized bri-
gade of cavalry 1000 strong. swept
northward from the Cumberland river
through Kentucky to the Ohio river at
Brandenberg. 40 miles below Louis
vile. There be captured two steam
boats, crossed the river, swept through
southern Indiana. galloped around Gin
cinnati, not more than ten miles from
the city, and then moved eastward,
expecting to cross the Ohio river DIT
Burlington: but was driven back. made
another attempt at Wellsville. but was
finally captured at New Lisbon. II
This was the most remarkable raid
of the war. 1t carried patio aAd>c6a-
fusion into Ohio and Indiana, but h
/. results it was of no benefit whatever
to the Confederate cause. Morgan be
lieved that there would be an uprising
in the Confederate interest In Ken.
lucky. There was not He believed
that the peace Democrats in Ohio
would give him at least secret support,
but when his men stole the horses OF
the peace Democrats the latter Joined
the ranks of Morgan's pursuers, and
before the raid was half over the
whole state was aroused. and men
who had taken no interest in the wal
previous to that time shouldered their
squirrel rifles to fight the raiders who
we're stealing their horses and carry.
ing the horrors of war to their very
doors. -: 80
"There was hard riding all the time
for Morgan's men. They left behind
them wreckage of broken down
horses. They kept ahead of their I'm
ion pursuers simply because they stole
horses right and left and remounted
the men, but they were finally captur
ed. and that fall Ohio gave the wal
party the largest majority in the his
tory, of the state up to that time. In
fact. the Morgan raid, by carrying, the
war into. the peaceful districts OF In
diana and Ohio, provoked a furious
feeling Of resentment. which inf1u
eneed people for 20 years.
."'rhe comedy Of the raid was fur
nished by the people Of the districts
wholly unused to war. wholly unpre
pared for it and with exaggerated
ideas of the ferocity of Morgan's men
For two weeks 1t was only necessary
for some mischievous boy to shout
Morgan is comfng!' in any village :
central or southern Ohio to create 8
panic. / know that many of the raiders
after Morgan got no rest night or day
slept in the saddle. and not a few OF
them fell off their horses in sleep A,
the end of the raid they were as ex
hausted as Morgan's men. but, witt
a more difficult task to perform they
never received half the praise giver
to the raiders. ~ .>s.-s e oss
81, remember continued the major
zone case in which woman stabbed
her carriage horses In the parlor fol
two days to keep them out Of Nor
gan's hands. saw Morgan's men ride
by that house and saw some of them
stop to listen at the unusual sound Of
horses feet on a carpeted floor. but the
parlor horses were not disturbed. Some
of our neighbors drove their horses
cattle and sheep 80 miles into the in
terror and were away from home 8
| week. Morgan's men looted right anl
left, and some of them had bolts oil
calico strapped to their saddles wher
they were captured.
Morgan. it must be remembered
made his whole raid with artillery,ant
a wagon train. but he was not In Ohit
to fight. and he demonstrated at ono,
the ease with which peaceful distric
may he invaded by mobile column
aud at the same time the peril involr
ed In such a venture In few day,
$4,000 militiamen were In the del,
against him. At first he played will
these green soldiers. but at last they
hung on his tanks. eager for fight a!
bulldogs In the last days Hobson'!
men. who had followed Morgan fo
hundreds Of miles through three states
closed in on their old enemies with 1
gleefulness that exceeded anything O
the kind ever saw In the army.4ant
Judah's men. closing IN on the othc
side. settled the fate of the raiders
''Morgan.s men knew by the maneu
vering and the firing when they wer'
faced by trained soldiers. and The frs
charge of the Onion cavalry had Iip
the impetus OF delayed vengeance Tb,
Unionists who rode Ia that charge hat
| old scores to settle. and Morgan's tiret
] veterans were overwhelmed. Afte