The
Longest Raid of the Civil War:
Little-Known & Untold Stories of Morgan's Raid into
Kentucky, Indiana & Ohio
by Lester V. Horwitz
456 pages, published 1999
ISBN: 0967026725 (hardcover), price $34.95
ISBN: 0967026717 (softcover), price $29.99
Revised editions are also available
For a .pdf of this article, click here.
For more on the Longest Raid of the Civil War, click
here.
THE STORY
Chased
by thousands of Union blue after Corydon, like outlaws on
the run from an angry posse, the list of country hamlets
that Morgan’s men had trundled through was too long
to think about now that they were on their way to Union
prison camps. Decades later there would be time to consider
The Longest Raid of the
Civil War.
The
two questions that persist for those not involved
are: “What did Morgan mean to accomplish, and, what
did he actually accomplish?” The need to ask these
questions may indicate how little came of it. But to those
involved in the chase, and to those touched by the dusty
herd of strangers in a strange land, it was the event
itself that would persist (and grow) for generations.
Once
firmly on northern soil, Morgan’s soldiers engaged
Hoosier citizens in the only important battlefield conflict
to take place on Indiana soil—The Battle of Corydon
on July 9, 1863. The 450 hastily assembled Home Guardsmen
put up a staunch defense against General Morgan’s
vastly superior cavalry, and the Indianans briefly halted
the invaders with the help of the Henry repeating rifle.
Eventually, however, the Corydon men were overpowered and
word went out across the Midwest, “Morgan is
coming!”
Although
Morgan had been north of the Ohio River for only one day,
the Corydon battle would be the last serious offensive
action for Morgan’s rebel cavalry. After Corydon,
Morgan started a long trek eastward with the eventual
intent of crossing the Ohio River south into Kentucky or
West Virginia. Like the fingers of a great grey hand,
Morgan’s men split into groups along the
raiders’ route, entering each tiny town to raise the
curtain on a recurring one-act play. Detachments of various
sizes rumbled onto unsuspecting Indiana and Ohio farms,
exchanged spent Confederate mounts for fresh farm horses,
rousted the owners for food and water, and then passed on
to the next well-provisioned rural settlement. Day after
day, the need for fresh transport and sustenance churned a
repetitive scene. To spice the picture, Morgan occasionally
burned a bridge to slow his pursuers, held a mill ransom,
or took a townsman as a temporary prisoner to serve as a
guide through unfamiliar territory. At one town bolts of
fabric were stolen by the rebels and used as streamers; at
another town ice skates were taken. When the world of the
Southern horseman collided with the environs of the
Northern farmer, the result was an endless array of random
acts.
Two
steps behind in the hunt was an endless list of Union
commanders: Hobson, Judah, Wolford, Shackelford, and
others. One pursuer after another spent a few days on the
trail only to hand the baton off to another in a relentless
and aggravating chase. The erstwhile bandits of
Morgan’s tribe visited dozens of Indiana and Ohio
towns, while more and more Union pursuers were fed into the
grueling race. Rarely did Morgan have more than a few hours
at any one locale before a dust cloud in the distance
signaled the oncoming blue hoard.
After
scaring Cincinnati by skirting north of the city, on July
19 Morgan proceeded to Buffington Island, Ohio, and ordered
his men to start construction on makeshift flatboats. Laden
with booty from Northern farms and with ammunition running
low, Morgan’s 1,900 tired riders sensed that one more
trial awaited them before the passage to redemption. Eight
thousand Union troops converged on Buffington as Morgan
prepared to cross the Ohio River. It was here at Buffington
that Morgan met the Union’s secret weapon—U.S.
Captain Leroy Fitch on the Ohio River gunboat
Moose. Not only did the Moose render
deadly fire from the river during the Buffington battle,
but also the testy captain kept his guns trained on anyone
attempting to cross the river. Of the hundreds of rebels
who could have swum or boated to safety at Buffington, only
a handful of men made it across alive.
The
Union victory at Buffington Island bagged half of
Morgan’s command. However, despite being boxed in on
all sides, Morgan himself once again slipped the noose.
Morgan, brigade commander Stovepipe Johnson, and almost
1,000 Confederate raiders found an escape route and made
their way fourteen miles upstream to Reedsville, Ohio. At
Reedsville, Morgan once more tried to cross the Ohio River.
More than 300 rebels of the 1,000 present were safely
across when once again the Federal flag of Captain Fitch on
the Union gunboat Moose arrived to spoil the
party. Faced with escape or leadership of those stranded on
Ohio soil, Morgan chose to stay with the rebels who could
not cross because of the Moose’s timely gun
work.
The
600-man rump of Morgan’s original command spent six
more days wandering the back roads of southern Ohio,
eluding Federal clutches. But with countless pursuers
around each bend, the question was not if but
when would the end come. Technically, Morgan
surrendered at least three times in Columbiana County as a
line of ever higher-ranking officers showed up at the final
act to claim their elusive prize. For the trail-bitten
rebels, it hardly mattered. Although Federal penitentiaries
and Union prison camps were no match for Kentucky
hospitality, captivity meant regular meals and welcome
rest. For the moment, that was enough.
THE BOOK
Although
several good books cover the life and Civil War exploits of
CSA General John Hunt Morgan (Rebel Raider by Howard
Swiggett, 1934; John Hunt
Morgan and his Raiders by Edison H. Thomas,
1975; and Rebel Raider:
The Life of General John Hunt Morgan by Dr.
James A. Ramage, 1986), Lester Horwitz has narrowed his
focus to what is known as Morgan’s “Great
Raid.” Initially, it would seem impossible to produce
a book of nearly 500 pages primarily on the events of just
one month—July 1863—but Horwitz has succeeded
in opening up a whole new world. In short, Horwitz has
undertaken the staggering and unprecedented task of
recounting the raid’s every step in mind-boggling
detail. Each country road, each two-horse town, each creek,
bridge, and breakfast visited by Morgan’s men has a
long buried story brought to life in The Longest Raid of the Civil
War. It is a job well done.
Horwitz
writes in the style of a manic diarist with plenty of time
(and ink) on his hands. As the hours tick by on each day in
July 1863, the parade of events begins anew. Up to this
point, many historians have recounted the raid as if they
were sitting on Morgan’s shoulder, experiencing
everything through the eyes and ears of the famous
cavalryman. Here Horwitz completes the puzzle by filling
his book with seemingly endless quirky encounters as told
from the side of Morgan’s victims in Kentucky,
Indiana, and Ohio. For example, there's the wonderful story
of the woman in New Alsace, Indiana, who unwittingly served
her own brother—then a soldier with
Morgan—breakfast on July 13, 1863, without realizing
it until after the war; and the man who was busily setting
up a commissary for local Indiana militia units in Corydon
only to be surprised by Morgan’s hungry men who made
good use of the commissary’s handiwork; and the
funeral procession that was waylaid in Bashan, Ohio, where
Morgan stole the hearse (after unloading the deceased) and
all the fresh horses in the cavalcade. These events and
dozens more are what make The Longest Raid not just
a history of Morgan’s Great Raid, but also a detailed
source document for future generations of historians and
genealogists on both sides of the Ohio River.
Mr.
Horwitz is strictly a meat and potatoes writer. His
imagery, style, and word usage are mostly unadorned and,
occasionally, a missing punctuation mark is noted. No
matter, the story has a good pace on its own, and every
page that seems relatively plain is immediately followed by
another page that you can’t forget. Yes, Morgan rides
endlessly into town after town, but each town reacts to the
intrusion with its own personality. It is the careful
presentation of these varied personalities that makes Mr.
Horwitz’s book a first among many forerunners.
The
Longest Raid is chock-full of informative maps
and dozens of photos, all used to good effect. The
bibliography is helpful and informative, and the font is
plenty big enough for those with middle-aged eyes (a pet
peeve of mine). These items are the clinchers for anyone
balanced on the fence about spending the $34.95 for the
hardcover. In fact, compared to most new Civil War
releases, the book is an outright bargain in terms of new
information presented per dollar spent. The softcover
version has a list price of $29.95, making it seem
senseless not to go with hardcover.
Following
is a short e-interview conducted on October 12, 2006, with
the author of The
Longest Raid of the Civil War:
The Interview
RM: Books
like The Longest Raid of
the Civil War sometime have the effect of
drawing forth long buried, previously unknown facts about
the raid after publication and release of the book
to the public. Has this happened? If so, could you share
with us a few new things about Morgan's Great Raid that you
have learned since the release of your book?
Mr.
Horwitz: Yes, more information surfaced after the
book was published. Doesn’t it always? After 15 years
of research and five years of writing (1979-1999), my wife,
Florence said, “When are you going to stop collecting
stories and finally publish your book?” So, in early
1999, I had completed 99 chapters. One of my editors, Dr.
James Ramage, Regent Professor of History at Northern
Kentucky University, said, “Lester, you have two
books in your manuscript. I would end your first book with
chapter 68 and save the other 31 chapters for another
book.” So, The
Longest Raid of the Civil War was published
with 528 pages.
My
follow-up book, After the
Raid, will include those 31 chapters plus many
more stories uncovered since The Longest Raid was
published. It may fill 400-500 more pages. Since 1999, I
have collected hundreds of new stories that will tell what
happened to the people mentioned in the first book after
the raid and after the war. It will also include stories of
their descendants up to today’s date, provided this
information would have great interest beyond the family
circle.
For
example, on page 91 of The
Longest Raid is a story about a Quaker farmer.
It tells about the rebels coming into his farmhouse seeking
food. Being a pacifist, the Confederates were pleased with
the farmer’s hospitality, even inviting him to visit
them in the South “when this cruel war is
over.” In After the
Raid, it will tell that this incident was made
into the movie “Friendly Persuasion” in 1956.
The Quaker farmer was played by Gary Cooper. The movie won
many Academy Awards. The follow-up story will also reveal
that the farmer had a great-grandson who achieved the
highest office in our nation. The farmer’s name was
Joshua Vickers Milhous. Yes, his great-grandson was Richard
Milhous Nixon. There’s even more to this story, but
I’ll save it so you can read it when the book is
published.
Missing
from the movie and not discovered until very recently, I
learned that several Indian tribes in Michigan made up Co.
K, 1st Michigan Sharpshooters. Hundreds of Native American
Indians fought Morgan’s men in the skirmish at
Vernon, Indiana, the same battle in which the Quaker
farmer’s son participated. After this conflict, the
Indians were recalled to Detroit and then assigned to Camp
Douglas where they arrived in time to become prison guards
as Morgan’s men were dispatched to the POW camp.
First they fought them. Then they guarded them.
Lt.
Col. James Bennett McCreary, 11th KY CSA, was captured in
the raid at Cheshire, Ohio. After the war, he was twice
elected governor of Kentucky.
Morgan
delayed his Great Raid to go to the assistance of Gen.
Simon Bolivar Buckner, who it was thought was being
threatened in Knoxville (page 14). Buckner’s son,
Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., was killed in action at Okinawa
in WWII.
Col.
A.R. Johnson returned to his home in Texas after the war.
Blinded by friendly-fire during the war, his wife became
his eyes until his death. When he learned that the state of
Texas was planning to build a new statehouse in Austin, he
generously donated the pink marble found on his property.
The state built a railroad to his ranch to haul the marble
to Austin. Today, the beautiful pink marble facade of the
Texas Statehouse was the gift of one of Morgan’s men.
The
stories go on and on. I am still seeking new information
from the public if they can tell me what happened to those
associated with or affected by Morgan’s Raid and/or
their descendants ... after the raid and after the war. I
can be contacted at Horwitz@aol.com.
RM:
As you may know, my book, Thunder From a Clear Sky,
is about Stovepipe Johnson's 1862 raid on Newburgh,
Indiana. Naturally, in my research, I read Johnson's
autobiography, Partisan
Rangers of the Confederate States Army, many
times, and it is an important source of information for
your book also. On page 140 and again on pages 144-145 of
Partisan
Rangers, Johnson indicates that he had cut a
deal with Morgan to be detached once at the Ohio River
crossing in order to attack Union towns in Western Kentucky
and Southern Indiana by steamer. Morgan reneged on this
deal and burned the steamer behind Johnson's back,
essentially tricking Johnson into participating in the
Great Raid into Indiana and Ohio. You don't mention this
incident in your book. What do you make of this event?
Mr.
Horwitz: I think Morgan led Johnson on. I
can’t believe that Morgan seriously entertained the
idea that once they were north of the Mason-Dixon Line, he
would allow Johnson to depart in another direction with
half of his limited force. Morgan had two brigades. One
commanded by Col. Duke, the other by Johnson. To allow
Johnson to go his separate way and allow himself to be so
weakened would be suicide. Johnson must have convinced
himself that Morgan would let him go his separate way, but
I think Morgan didn’t want to make it an issue until
they crossed the Ohio River. The reason Morgan ordered the
two boats burned was to prevent them from falling into
Union hands to be used by the Federal cavalry pursuing him.
That act delayed the Union cavalry for almost a day and
allowed Morgan to widen the gap between himself and his
pursuers.
Johnson
remained with Morgan until he recrossed the Ohio River at
Reedsville, Ohio, following the Battle of Buffington
Island. Morgan could have gotten away as well, but he chose
to return to the Ohio side when he saw that six hundred of
his men were still trapped in the North. Union gunboats
interfered with the crossing, stopping two-thirds of
Morgan’s force from escaping back into the South.
Johnson, with 350 of Morgan’s men, returned to
Richmond where he formed a new force. He named it after
Morgan, declining to name it after himself. When Morgan
escaped from the Ohio Penitentiary in November 1863, he
found Johnson and those who had escaped were happy to see
their commander free once again.
RM:
The Longest Raid of the
Civil War must have been quite a personal
journey as well as a huge labor of historical research. Can
you tell us a little about how this book has changed your
life and what your hopes are for the legacy of your work?
Mr.
Horwitz: This book made a significant change in the
direction of my life. Until it was published, I had owned
and operated an advertising agency for over 40 years. I was
hoping to retire from my marketing company, but I
wasn’t sure how I could accomplish that without
disappointing my loyal clients and staff of a dozen skilled
and talented employees. One day, soon after the book was
published, I received a phone call from the president of
another advertising agency. I had competed against him
several times when soliciting new clients. Never met him
but knew of him. He asked, “Did you write a book
about the Civil War?”
“Yes,”
I replied.
“Well,
I bought your book, and I would like to get your
autograph.”
We
met for lunch, and I signed his copy. He asked, “Are
you planning to write more books?”
Again
I replied, “Yes.”
“I
am in the same business as you, but I don’t have time
to write a big book like you did. When are you going to
have time to write these books?”
“Some
day I’ll sell my agency, and then I’ll have
time to write all those books,” I informed him. He
said, “When you sell your agency, I’ll buy it.
How much do you want for your business?” He looked me
straight in the eyes to sense my reaction.
Six
months later, we completed our negotiations and in July
2000, I no longer had the ownership or responsibility of
operating an advertising agency. He merged our two
agencies, our clients, and our staffs. He named it DHA:
Dektas Horwitz Advertising, but now I was an employee and
remained with his agency through a transition period. After
that, I was free to devote full time to writing,
publishing, traveling, lecturing, playwriting, and all the
other new opportunities that lay before me.
Other
unexpected but happy events occurred. I received a letter
from Columbia University saying that The Longest Raid had been
nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for History. They directed
me to send review copies to those who were judging that
category. I didn’t win the Pulitzer, but it was an
honor to be nominated.
In
mid-September 1999, I opened The Cincinnati
Enquirer to see that The Longest Raid was
listed as the #1 Best-Selling book of nonfiction in the
Greater Cincinnati area. It was even outselling
Dr. Atkin’s
Diet and Tuesdays With Morrie. For
the next three months (Oct-Dec), it remained on the list of
top ten best-selling books.
It
is now in its seventh printing. Because of its success, a
half-dozen other authors have called me to ask what they
can do to stimulate the sales of their books. This led me
to write a how-to book revealing the secrets of my success
with The Longest
Raid. In fact, 25 other authors have
contributed their personal stories of what they have done
to write, publish, and market their books. I am hopeful of
publishing this book early next year.
Because
of The Longest
Raid, I have had the pleasure of speaking to
more than 200 organizations across our nation from the Los
Angeles CWRT to the Blue and Gray Educational Society in
Virginia. C-SPAN filmed one of my presentations and
broadcast it nationwide. PBS TV and radio stations have had
me on their shows as a guest. Traveling around with my wife
Florence, primarily in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West
Virginia, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, we have met some
great people and participated in events only authors are
privileged to experience.
The
mayor of Glendale, Ohio, invited me to adapt my book for
the stage. He and the Glendale community theatre wanted to
stage an outdoor play about Morgan’s Raid as the key
event in the town’s Sesquicentennial celebration in
2005. For this occasion, I wrote The Rebels Are
Coming! It’s Morgan’s Raid in music. The
musical play has 18 songs, 11 of which are original
compositions that my composer Dennis Duvall and I wrote.
Now several more communities in Ohio, Kentucky, and
Tennessee have contacted me about performing the play. The
success I’ve had with this play has encouraged me to
write other plays.
My
life is completely different from what I had known before
2000. I have some great projects in the works. Every day is
different. I look forward to many new accomplishments in
the coming years. The legacy will take care of itself.
For
anyone interested in the book The Longest Raid and the
play The Rebels Are Coming!, they can visit
www.LongestRaid.com.
My
thanks to Mr. Lester V. Horwitz. If you are looking to buy
a copy of The Longest
Raid, go
here
