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F,
Accession no.
Ucr-7) etc 14 e'cm. UNIT
W -PA L. C. PROJECT
Form -3
12664
Date received
/0//0 If
Consigninent no.
Shipped from
D _
A) a4.1.I.
Label
Amount
7-11)
Title f
Collection (or Type)
Place of origine11.6.44friavAvild• Date.LaJf
.v)
Project worker .Z...46.4.4etelaesrs.tc...../. 1
Project editor
Remarks
eawerence ecEenry
iiipley County
District f 5
44
tePietek,o(e
klorgan's Raid Throucal Ripley County.
-oeference---Mrs. M nnie Wycloff, Batesville, Indiana.
Morgan's Raid
44
Morgan and his raide s entered !iple from jennin6sCounty on Sun
de, july130 1b63.. Their frst stop was at Rexville in Shelb townehip,
where a general store was looted, From F_exville thea marched to Vcrsa:lles
where the were met at the new c Ai -thous() by a hurriedly summoned bend of
the mil tia and Ct zens. The raiders seize tee guns belonng to the
militia and broke them skainst the corner of the c()11rthouse, which at
that time was net coml ted. The Deputy County Tre.surer, B. F. Spencer
had buried the county f.ends for safet from t''e raidees. The treasure/1'a
office was looted and it is,eported. that several thouaard dollars was
taken by L'e rathr. krvrte cit zens having funds or valuable jewelry
ard silverware hid them in R sefe place. eany Ire!Isewives hung their
jewelry in tee een vines and other secret hid n6 Ilnaes. -orses were
hiddcn as well as possible
adVence of tle rades, s they constantly
seize. frese hors eorn out nags, eccasionally, ,ri their stead.
lo.tlaevives were ordered to “11,eare meals ffr the maraidin cavalry and
feed was eppropriated for thfi,r animals, all available slevlies were used
or cerred away. ...he detachment, to be known forever in raerican history
as Morean's leaide s, d d not march in C cempaat brd hit foLlwed a general
course in scattered units., e cnt.ral force of ntv:mt three thousand men,
centain n the le'dera--Jehn Morgan, and his two lieutenants. Many in-
teeestin sto lea ave been told of their behnvior while in eh'
s county.
One of these wan that -)rents am stop e0 at a farm house and wee
on the .porch. The well et he farm hous had been dipped dry for
the raiders and their horses. One of them asked a sm-11 bo et the farm
12664
Morgan's Raid Throuah FA.pley County
to dip him a drink of water for which he woald give the boy some marbles.
The Water was alven for which he receved a beaantifol suppla of marbles.
ano yeas later while he was in aouisvillie, Ky. on boainess he met the
same donor o• tha marbles and theta' ac uaintance was renewed only in a
different manner. Morgan and has army passed througa and had burned the
bridge over iauahry Creek and -aaeasa Run. This art of tha Morgan's raid
is taken from John Robert's clippings of the dalla newaaa or and is as
follows: --"Morn forced the father of John Roberts to help roll the cars
to the center of tha bridbe., after
the,had taken him prisoner. He said
that Colonel Basil Duke gave orders to burn all railroad property and
to take what aroperta from the citizens the neede or the army but not
to destroy private lopertya flesa.d to Mr. Eoberts, 'Old man ifaou could
only see our country, down south, how we 11 ve been driven from our homea
and our hous s burned you might feel yourself lucky to h-ve fallen into
more aeneroua haads tAar those f the /ankees.'
Mr. aoberts repliea, that 7I believe yoia are telling the truth, as
i have two boys in tl'a) Union army, and if thngs ar- damaged as badly in
the soati) as the, write homo it must be terrible.
The Colonel said,/We have not come hel'e to deatro rvate property
but to show -401) boas that aou are on the wrona aide. We are Aeae to give
you people a chance to help toward a good cause. We are very much in need
of aood horses. Our horses were good but are worn out with rapid marching."
Basal ..uke waote a detaAxd account of tha raid from his ata,sonal ax-
r•ences and ,he .4T.cia records of the expedttion, givina facts, oigures,
lists of offcers fa en and a contnuous narrat've of the rout and in-
cidents of tre famoos rp.d. t accomplished nothing
South. Morgan had expected the Knights of the Golden Circle in soatoarn
Lmportaoce for the
3
Morgan's Raid Through Ripley County.
Indiana to join him as C:onfederates and thus increase his force to a
strength that would aid 1.1.m in cartIlr.ng rldJ.anapolis. In this expectation
he was entire2y disapofttted. Put to the test the "Butternuts" or the
Copperheadn" failed ,o rally to ris supco t. Instead hi 3 man el -et scat-
tered, ca.ptured. ltst h various m.l.shaps every dry of the hurred
route of Ohe fL:eiL, raiders thrtu .ndieme and OW,o.
From Versaill ra_ders to i an and tierceville. tragtlers
spread ttrouhout the, rt,re county, looking fr horses, food and valuables.
One- group went to Papoleon via Usgod, from there to New Point in Decatur
County. Then back into A.pley County Into B tesville ricl on to '.unimaix,
where they pitched camp for the flight.
ateavillr, ev
tzens f 1663, still remnin
.n tb.e cormr.,n2
thE five or six dtsty and frayed looking Confederate soldiers who rode into
Eunt rville or the ewpoint road Rd ordered dinre. e tavern there.
Mule w
fir the mel to be re pared the observed anottler grow
of buildis fa,L-ther east long the
in this waa a larer tow known
dinner and rode Ln
C CO
as Batesvil.,
St. Railroad and le-rn-
cancelled their order for
tf g•tti bettet fare. "ethaps they were
rvt disap, Oifltcd. here wee f vs tall bIlildings among lower ones in
batesvilLe that ne was the newly built Boehringer a,11, three
st,:ries above a basement floor. 'at blue and whitf pigeons sat in flocks
on its roof. The unyy en in tattered gray unifor shot q number of
A -le birds and feasted a littic later at the expense of Mr.Boeh-A.n6cr and
J. Thomas, who ,e boarding hose stood near theambitious Boehringer
dalO a.ertent, office d boarding house combi,ed. General Lew Wallace
was encam.ed nenr ,unman, north and wet, in th. locraity of nntown. He
4
Morgan's Raid Through Ripley County
had been ordered to Sunman, just arailroad station and a few houses at
that time, to intereept Morgan's advance toward Indianapol AA.is, e
camped there for sev€ral day., arr-ving in Ripley County in adv-mce
of Morgan's radars. There must have been a few Knights of the Golds*
Circle who kept their vows of loyality to the southern Confederaey in
spite offailurs to enlist in the invading army, Else Gen, Wallace
should have been able to nave captured the fleeing Southern leader at his
brief nit camp three miles south of Sunman. Yive or fax miles sei,
&rated the sumps, but Morgan was away across in Dearborn County by jow
Alsace and Aarriaon into Ohio before the Union leader learned of his prox-
imity.
The pursuing Union troops under Lieut. Edward 4obson rods hard after
the raiders the following day July 13, 1863 but the first Morgan and his
equally dashing lieutenants Bail Puke andDick Morgan had all ready reach-
ed the Ohio river beyond Cincinnati.
The raiders threw away smoked hams, looted from a meat curing plant
at Dupont, a bird cage or two, bolts of cloth carried from the store, a
little country -general store at Rexville; tin w re* eoffes-grinders, all
kinds of kitchen untinsels, drygoAs and small groceries were strewn along
the route of the raiders as they "galloped and galloped on their way.
(t)Morgan, Morgan, the raider, and Morgan's terr ble men a haracterised
A
in the poem "2t,entucky Belle"; The autor of this poem overlooked the long
ride through 'Indiana before the raiders"swept into Alto's cornfields",
the deep green shoulder -high July cornfields." Yet the longer part of
this famous raid led across Crawford, Clark, Jennings, Jefferson, Ripley
mod De .rborn Counties in Indiana.
6
Mordants Raid Through Ripley Count,'
?sees ef incidentsof the brief ride of Mergan's men end their
brief rest in TUplee Count: could be told ned writ en frem the stories of
eye -witness and yerticipants among Ripley County citizens. few
Ripley County men wer taken 7.1one with te raiders es "guides" to the
next point desrable to react, tewerd Cincinnati, as the dash towesd Indi-
anapolis collepseddinte rii6ht. These men were accused by their neigh.
bore of be=ne members of tee "ButternuteCopperhead%organizations, whether
justle in ri case was never proven. he routed Romeguards and citizens
et Versailles end in other counties avoided bloodshed le thelr inability
to oppose the mersuders. The leaders of the raid were gallant soethern
Lentlemen -t heart and brothers acroes the river of the peope thr ugh
whose stet -3 thee led 'her line of m rch. Southern Indiann Was settled
by men from Kentucky andVirginia more largely than from en, other sources
Beak of Kentucky's settlement they °AMC from eennsylvania, M rylend and.
the Cerolinae Into th
-grass country of Taniel Boone. Blood Broe
th,rs of one race and one colintre ehey recognized eneh other when flee
to face.
At Versel les Col. Morgan Demanded the funds frot the safe of te
county treaeerer. The treasure was in charee of depute, B. F. Spencer,
who hnd afeJe berled the cunt., funds hours before Morgan errve4,
opened be safe and eave th rebel le -der the cash, 45OO. A number
of purses also ise In the safe.
Re
"What are those?" inceer d the raider.
"Thee are purses of money placed here by several widowed ladies for
sefe-keepine," t- gallant Spencer, of Kentucky blood, himself answered
the Confederate leader.
6
Morgan's Raid Through Ripley County
"Keep them safe* I never robbed a widow yet", was Horgan's farewell
word as he ordered '!..11.8 men to remount and to rlde, out of Versailles
to the north and east via Piorceville end. Old Milan to the halting -place
near tht Dearborn -Ripley county lines between Clinton and thy railroad
beyond which lay Gen. Wallace's can; of nion soldiers. They fed from
beet taken from Sunman farms and adjoining neighbors. A few hours of
0
6allopin a fe ho'urs of rt,st and sentries on the alevt and Morg.n bid
A
come and gone loroes Ripley County; across southeastern Indiana, into
Ohio, into the past, into history. A day's march only, lenving the
years on to piece toether the local accounts of his raid as nn addition
to Lieutenant Basil Duke's graphia and authentic record from the raider's
own viewpoint. 7,111. H. O'Brien hos writte,. a oamphet on Derborn County's
part in this story. The Historical ociliety has placed along thr7
commemorative markers. t Rexville Versailles, on the Milan road at
the Hassmer home, just north of Versailles; at Plerceville, Old Milan at
Governor Hardin, Home, and at it. ?aul's Church south of qunman, the Rip-
ley County markes show that "Colonel John Morgan passed here on July 12,
le6r, Other markers are neede, to tell the story of this incldent to
the poiteritys
Col. John Morgan's famous ra'd into southern Indians in July, 1865
was planned as a pr,zliel to Gen. Robert E. Lee's dash into rennsylvisia
7
Morgm ts pad Thr0n8h Ripley County
at the same period. One of the dates of world history, es well as civil
war history is the Gettysburg battle date, July 1, 2, andb, of 1863. Lin
00 n'5 GM'yysburg address,.given a few months later Rt th dedication of
the battl field aa nation cemeter, has immortalised the major offensive
of the Confederate armies in Rn effort to move the war by these invasions,
into northA-n territory. 1:organ's raid ie more famout in locql historical
records than in national ones as it was Gf little import74nce end vas con-
sidered 1% MRT1 a a mere akermish for the glory of te leaders. The six
thousand aen of Morgan a Cavalry command croseed the Ohio River into Ind.
lane netir Mauckport and circumscribed a curve ,-cross solltheastern Ind-
iana and southwestern Ohio the. was more of a route rather tar a raid.
Morg-n Was followed by Jnion Lieutenant Colonel Edward Robson with
a detachment of infantry, About atwenty.4our advenoe WPF held by the
confederates for most of tte route until the Tain .1)dy of th troops was
captred, a remnant only escaping back acros3 the Ohio River. The raiders
carried a few pieces of artillery which was never used. hey robbed farms,
stores and dwellings of food supliesfor men !Ind !ors, cash and in eome
cases anythin that could by serried aay. Rird-cagesp clocks, tin -ware,
bolts of cloth and such propert, entirely usely0• to tile raiders, was, in-
cluded in their loot and finally thrown away -long the line of march as th
raidra were hourly pus,d into a hurried disordered riot of escaie from
the ::ursuing nion soldier-. 01114 few civiliana were fired upon by the
raides.