The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-11-22
GENERAL JOHN H. MORGAN AND
HIS PARTISANS OF THE BLUEGRASS
BY COZ. D. A. DICKERT.


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the entrenched position sof the South
ern army. Both sides sat down to
routine army life, drilling, recruiting
and Strengthening their respective
positions. Grant was soon afterwards
sent to other fields, and Halleck be-
came conlmander-in-chief of the In
ion army and Bragg commanded the
Southern.
Morgan, tired of the monotony of
the camp and longed for more ac-
tive life and wished to take his men
back into Kentucky to harrass the
enemy around his home. He was at
tached to Gen. Breckenridge's infan-
try division, and did not see much
opportunity for any display of the
partisan genius, of which he felt that
he was endowed While education
and training kept him in his own per-
son, within the restraints of civilized
life, and his experience as a soldier
in the Mexican war taught him the
value of organization and discipline,
yet the life of a free lance in the
great army of the South appealed to
his adventurous instincts far more
directly than membership in regu-
Ill disciplined army. The guerrilla
or 2artisan, is often put to great
straits, forced to take desperate
chances, far more so than the COM
mon soldier or subaltern officers,
commanded by superiors, and their
lives are one continual grind, forever
swinging in the balance.
Morgan's escapades and daring while
up in Kentucky and Tennessee, watch
ing Johnston's fanks and rear,
brought him many recruits, soldiers
or fortune, from all over the South
who wished to share with him his
fame and his fortune. It will not be
out of place to mention here a few
of the minor exploits that brought
Morgan and his men to the notice of
the country, and especially the COM
manding general. While picketing
along Green river he, with only a
handful of his men, crossed the
stream at an unguarded ferry, rode
to the town of Lebanon, sixty miles
distant, captured several hundred
prisoners, burned hundreds of bales of
government cotton, disguised himself
and his men with his prisoners over
coats, then rode boldly through hun
dreds of home. guards, back to his
camp, without losing man.
While our army was retreating
southwark and he watching the enc
my few miles south Of Nashville, he
discovered they withdrew their pick
cts at night to place mile to the
rear. Leaving one half of his troop
ers in reserve, he took the other, and
making a long detour, gained the point
used by the enemy as might picket"
Here they lay in ambush awaiting the
coming of the pickets from Nashville.
Soon the enemy came up, halted, and
gave orders for a reconnoiter on eth
er side of the road. Just then Nor
gan gave the command to fire. A
volley rang out, killing the command
ing officer and a number Of his men,
putting the others to rout.
A short time before he was ordered
to leave his picket duty and rejoin the
army he determined to make visit
back to Nashville, the city at the
time being filed with Federal SOL
diers. Taking only fifteen of his most
trusted soldiers and avoiding the
main highways, he made his way
through woods and fields, and came
upon the pike a mile east of the city,
then rode unconcernedly down the
streets. 1t being night and no Con-
federate expected from that quarter,
little notice was taken of those des-I
perate and daredevil rangers. He
came suddenly face to face with. q
company of thirty or forty, making
the guard rounds Of the city. After
passing them he turned and rode
quietly behind them for while, then
dismounting and hiding the body Of
his men in a thicket took six with
him, leading their horses, made his
way towards the heart Of the city. Had
he or either of his men been caught
here no power could have saved them
from being hung as spies before day.
light On nearing the river he noticed
a government steamer anchored out
q little distance in the stream. This
he wished to capture, set on fire, and
let it drift down and among the many
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