Morgan's Raid.
"Morgan is coming! Morgan is coming!" This was the cry that startled the midnight air, in southern Perry, as a galloping horseman, like Paul Revere, rode over our hills to arouse the "country folk to be up and to arm." "Then there was hurrying to and fro" for the iron hoof of war was approaching. The silver spoons and the silver watch and the gold ear-rings, that were heirlooms in the family, were hidden behind the soap jar, in the dingiest corner of the smoke- house. And, Frank, the family horse, was suddenly aroused from his slumbers in the stall by the bridle136
bit slipping into his mouth. He no doubt thought that now he would have to make a hurried run to New Lexington, Maxville or Oakfield for the doctor. But instead he was unceremoniously hustled down be- hind the barn, across ditches, through brier patches, to a remote ravine in the farthest corner of the farm, and tied to a sapling in a thicket, where he spent the remainder of the night in cogitation. Morgan was indeed coming. What route he would take no one knew. He was headed our way. Many stories were afloat as to his methods. The report generally was that he was robbing and burning every- thing in his pathway. A part of this was true. But when John Morgan, the Confederate cavalry leader, went through Perry county, he was not bent so much on devastation as he was to get out of the country. Fresh horses and food were the most that he wanted. He was in the enemy's country and his reception was a little warmer than he had anticipated. He had thought that there were only a few old men and boys left here. While it was true that the most of our able bodied men were in the service of their country, there was still a sufficient number here, to make it exceed- ingly interesting for him, even if the National Guard that was sent to Marietta, to intercept him were armed only with tin-cups. Morgan's original inten- tion was to carry "grim-visaged war" into Ohio, but by the time he had been chased across the state and had zigzagged and criss-crossed his path several times, he had changed his mind to a considerable extent. Morgan had come into Ohio from Indiana, crossing the boundary at Harrison just north of Cincinnati. He was being closely pursued by General Hobson's cavalry. Hurridly crossing the state through the137
southern tier of counties, he attempted to cross the river at Buffington Island in Meigs county. Gun- boats had been sent up the river to intercept his cross- ing. Here on Sunday, July 18, 1863, was fought the- only battle of the Civil War on Ohio soil. The Con- federates numbered about two thousand men. Mor- gan, with eight hundred succeeded in crossing the river. Seeing that he could not get all of his army across, he, himself came back to the Ohio side and started toward the west. His intention was to get the gunboats to go down the river, when he would suddenly turn and cross before they would have time to come back again. At Harrisonville he turned south and reached the river at Cheshire in Gallia county. Still he could not effect a crossing. Turning to the west again for a dozen miles he suddenly veered toward the north-east. His object now was to outrun the pursuing cavalry, and reach the Ohio river in the neigh- borhood of Wheeling before the boats could arrive. It was on this race between him and General Shackle- ford, that he passed through our county. Morgan reached Nelsonville about ten o'clock in the morning. He burned some canal boats and rested his men till about two o'clock in the afternoon. He went only two miles more that day. He encamped for the night in a wheat field where a part of the village of Buchtel is now located. General Shackle- ford came into Nelsonville at four o'clock, six hours after the Raiders. His men and horses were dusty, tired and hungry. Morgan as he went along had taken the best horses and Shackleford was obliged to take what was left. Even with the Confederate force only two miles away, it was impossible to attempt their capture, after the four hours rest they had secured at138
Nelsonville. The next morning when Shackleford reached the top of the hill, from where he had seen on the evening before, the enemy in camp, he now saw that during the night the dashing Morgan had slipped away. He had gone up the tributary of Big Monday- creek, through where are now the towns of Orbiston and Murray, then crossing the Mondaycreek- Sunday- creek divide, struck our county in Section 35, Coal township, came down into the valley at Hemlock, followed the Sundaycreek Branch through Bucking- ham and reached Millerstown sometime in the after- noon. Here he rested his men till six o'clock in the evening. He took some horses in the neighborhood of Buckingham. Four were taken from Squire Mc- Donald, one each from Morgan Devore, Mr. Moore and Thomas Skenyon. Shackleford reached Millertown during the night and camped on the ground where Morgan had rested his men in the afternoon. It can be seen that the Union General was here losing ground. His men were so completely exhausted and their horses were in such a condition that the progress was very slow. Richard Nuzurn, ex-county commissioner of Perry county, went up to Millertown the next morning and found men sleeping all around. It was ten o'clock before the union forces left Millertown. Meanwhile Morgan had passed through where Corning now is, climbed the hill to the Chapel Hill Church, passed up to Porter- ville and then out of the county, camping for the night on Island Run in Morgan county. Morgan had pressed Henry Kuntz, a citizen of our county, into his service as his pilot. Several New Lexington men whose curiosity was greater than their prudence went out on the trail of the Confederates. Suddenly they139
rode into the camp on Island Run. Two of them were captured. They were taken along, but were allowed their freedom somewhere over in Guernsey county. Morgan crossed the Muskingum at Eagles- port. At this place a furnace-man from Logan, who had joined Shackleford at Nelsonville, was shot by a sharp-shooter, while he was reconnoitering on the high bluffs above the Muskingum. General Shackel- ford captured Morgan near New Lisbon in Colum- biana county. The Confederate leader, was impris- oned for several months in the Ohio Penitentiary from which he made his escape. One of Morgan's men fell behind in our county. He was captured and taken to New Lexington, where he attracted considerable attention. He was sent to Camp Chase, Columbus, where Confederate prison- ers were kept during the war. Morgan's Raiders took what they wanted, and if no objections were made to their wholesale appro- priations, no one was molested. In closing this account we quote from Colborn's History of Perry county. " A plucky woman of Monroe township, who was riding along the road gave the raiders a piece of her mind. They did not retaliate in words, but gently lifted the lady from her saddle and appropriated her horse. Dr. W. H. Holden of Millertown, then on a tour of visits to his patients, was promptly relieved of his horse, but was kindly permitted to retain his saddle-bags, which he carried the remainder of the way on his arm, as he trudged homeward on foot. A farmer was hauling a load of hay along the road. His team was halted, the harness stripped from the horses in a twinkling, and there the fanner sat upon his load of hay, a much astonished and bewildered individual.140
There was a wool-picking party at the house of a farmer; quite a number of ladies was there and sup- per was just announced. Morgan's men came in un- invited, appropriated all of the seats, and remarked that it was very impolite to take precedence of the ladies, but that they were in a great hurry and could not afford to wait. What they left in the way of eat- ables was hardly worth mentioning."141