Evening journal., 1902-10-27
MORGAN s RAIDS
CAUSED PANIC
Rough Riding Campaign of
Civil War Did Not Help
Confeder ates

Long tlStaucc IuiOS III an enemyS
country can be made only where there
nre good many horses. John Morgan
could never have made his raid
through Indiana and Ohio in 1868 IL
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, If
properly supported, he would capture
! Cincinnati.
Morgan, with a well 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 he 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 at
Burlington, but was driven back, made
mother attempt at Wellsville, but was
finally captured at New Lisbon.
"This was the most remarkable raid
OF the war. 1t carried panic and con-
fusion into Ohio and Indiana, but In
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 AIorgan's pursuers. and
before the raid was half over the
/ whole state was aroused, and men
who had taken no interest In the war
previous to that time shouldered their
squirrel rifles to fight the raiders who
were stealing their horses and carry
ing the horrors of war to their very
doors.
"rhere was hard riding all the time
for Morgan's men. They left behind
them a 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 war
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 furious
feeling OF resentment. which inhu-
enced people for 20 years.
"The comedy Of the raid was fur
nlshed by the people Of the districts
wholly unused to war, wholly unpre-
pared For 1t 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 comingv in any village in
central or southern Ohio to create q
panic know that many of the raiders
after Morgan got no rest night or day,
slept in the saddle. and not n few Of
them fell off their horses in sleep. At
the end of the raid they were as ex-
hausted as Morgans men. but with
n more difficult task to perform they
never received Shalf the praise given
to the raiders.
Il remember" continued the major.
zone case in which a woman stabbed
her. carriage horses in the parlor for
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 n carpeted floor. but the
parlor horses We're not disturbed. Some
Of our neighbors drove their horses,
cattle and sheep 80 miles into the In
terror and were away from home a
week. Morgan's men looted right and
left, and some of them had bolts Of
calico strappedsto their saddles when
they were captured.
Morgan, 1t must be remembered,
made his whole raid with artillery and
wagon train. but ne was not in Ohio
to fight, and he demonstrated at once
the ease with which a peaceful district
may be invaded by a mobile column
and at the same time the peril involv-
ed in such n venture. In a few days
$4,000 militiamen were in the field
against him. At first he played with
these green soldiers, but at last they
hung on his fianks, eager for fight as
bulldogs In the last days Hobson's
men. who had followed Morgan fol
hundreds ofmiles through three states
closed in on their old enemies with q
gleefulness that exceeded anything Of
the kind / ever saw in the army, and
Judahs men, closing in on the Other
side. settled the fate OF the raiders.
"Morgan's men knew by the maneu
vering and the firing when they were
faced by trained soldiers. and the firsi
charge Of the Union cavalry had in 4
the impetus Of delayed vengeance. III,
F. Unionists who rode I'm that charge hat
old scores to settle, and Morgans tired
veterans were overwhelmed. Aftel
Morgan had escaped from the peniten
tiary at Columbus and had reorganizet
histcommand' and was again raidinl
Kentucky hundreds Of Union soldier
on their way home for discharge lef
their. trains, and Joined I'm the pursui
simply to get a crack at the old raider
and Morgan knew when their rifle
spokesthat he was up against the rea
thing"