Martyrs Monument in Midway The Martyrs Monument in Midway , located in Midway City Cemetery outside Midway , Kentucky , was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 17 , 1997 , as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission . It honors four Confederate martyrs who were killed in cold blood due to the standing order of Union General over Kentucky Stephen G . Burbridge , known as Order No . 59 , Order No . 59 which declared : " Whenever an unarmed Union citizen is murdered , four guerrillas will be selected from the prison and publicly shot to death at the most convenient place near the scene of the outrages . " . The Confederate martyrs , whose names were M . Jackson , J . Jackson , C . Rissinger , and N . Adams , were executed on November 5 , 1864 northeast of Midway , the precise location of which is unknown . This was due to the actions of Sue Mundy , a former trooper under John Hunt Morgan that terrorized Union forces in Kentucky during the later years of the American Civil War . They were buried in shallow graves originally , then buried in a Presbyterian cemetery , and finally in 1890 moved to their current location , with the dedication of the Martyrs Monument . History . Sue Mundy is said to have twice struck Midway in a span of two weeks , although some scholars believe that it may have just been men under Mundy , and not Mundy herself who participated ( note also that the very existence of Sue Mundy is in dispute ) . On October 22 , 1864 , six expensive thoroughbred horses were stolen , including one that was unbeaten in competition , named Asteroid . After a ransom was paid , Asteroid was returned to his owner , R . A . Alexander , ten days later . On November 1 , 1864 , on another raid to obtain horses for Confederate guerrillas , a shootout occurred , with Adam Harper Jr . being killed on his property . General Burbridge ordered four Confederates imprisoned in nearby Lexington , Kentucky shipped to Midway . On November 5 , Burbridge had a firing squad of forty execute the Confederates in what was then the town of Midway ' s " commons " , forcing local men to watch the event . The fallen prisoners were then buried in a shallow trench , but on the next day were reburied at the former Presbyterian Church gravesite , where they remained until the establishment of the monument in 1890 . There were two other events during the American Civil War at Midway . The first occurred on July 15 , 1862 , when John Hunt Morgan had his telegrapher George Ellsworth , aka " Lightning " Ellsworth , send a false telegraph message that Morgan was not in Midway , but instead was going to attack Frankfort , and then threaten Louisville , Kentucky , with a force more than twice what Morgan actually had at his command . The other was on February 2 , 1865 , when a few of Quantrill ' s Raiders burned the depot , robbed Midway citizens , and stole fifteen horses . Monument . The monument is a obelisk made of granite . Other monuments to victims of Burbridge ' s Order No . 59 , four in total , are the Confederate Soldiers Martyrs Monument in Eminence , the Confederate Martyrs Monument in Jeffersontown , and the Thompson and Powell Martyrs Monument . Inscription . Rest < br > soldiers < br > rest < br > the < br > warfare < br > Oe ' r < br > _ _ _ _ _ < br > M . Jackson < br > J . Jackson < br > C . Rigsner < br > N . Adams < br > _ _ _ _ _ < br > Shot by order of < br > Genl . Burbridge < br > Nov . 5 1864 < br > In Retaliation < br > _ _ _ _ _ < br > Our Confederate Dead .