The Escape of John Hunt Morgan

[dawna]

The Escape of John Hunt Morgan

After reaching the "high point" of the War in the West (Gettysburg in the East, and Corydon in the West being the only official battles fought on Northern soil), Morgan's command was doomed to defeat. Ridden into the ground by Hobson's cavalry, Morgan and just over 200 of his men surrendered near the Pennsylvania border in Ohio.

While the troopers of Morgan's command were taken to various prison camps, General Morgan and his officers were taken to Cinncinnati, Ohio's City Jail. From there, they were transferred July 30, 1863, to the Ohio State Penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio.

Less than four months later, Morgan, Hines, and five other officers were free again. Beginning November 4, 1863, the men spent the next twenty nights digging. Once through the cell floors, they were able to enter a passage which led them to within twenty feet of the outside wall of their prison. The final four nights were spent chipping through four feet of granite making up the outer wall. On the night of November 27, 1863, the seven men made their break.

Scattering to avoid being captured "en masse," Morgan and Hines bought tickets at the Little Miami Railroad station in Columbus, and boarded a train to Cincinnati. General Morgan sat beside a Union officer and made small talk during the trip, without the man suspecting anything. Morgan and Hines jumped from the train at the outskirts of Cincinnaiti, knowing word of the escape must surely be widespread. They were able to bribe a black man into rowing them over the Ohio in a small skiff. From that point, they worked steadily south, holding up in wooded areas and homes of sympathizers. Upon reaching Owen County, the men were escorted to a ferry, and corssed into Henry County.

After crossing the Kentucky River from Owen County, Morgan and Hines were left without a guide, his having turned back due to lack of knowledge of Henry County roads or people. Travelling through the dark, winter night, they eventually grew tired and cold about 2 a.m. December 1st. Morgan and Hines stopped at what is now known as the "Old Pollard Inn," just north of Highway 22 on Highway 421 outside New Castle. Even though they weren't sure of where his sympathies lay, the tired men knocked on the door at Mr. Pollard's.

The master of the house was quickly aroused, whereupon Hines explained their desire to be put up for the night. Mr. Pollard readily let them in, and showed them to the main room of the house. As soon as the lamp on the table there was turned up, Morgan and Hines were sure they were safe. On the table lay a newspaper of Confederate sympathy with the bold headlines proclaiming (incorrectly) that General Morgan, Hines, and seven others had escaped from an Ohio prison.

Their conversation at this point is best put in Captain Hines' own words: "Glancing at the paper, I looked up and remarked, "I see that General Morgan, Hines, and other offices have escaped from the penitent-iary." He responded, "Yes; and you are Captain Hines, are you not?" I replied, "Yes; and what is your name?" "Pollard, he answered." "Allow me, then, to introduce General Morgan." I found that I had not made a mistake." Shortly thereafter, Morgan and Hines were resting comfortably in total safety.

Morgan and Hines arose late the next day. After a hearty breakfast, plans to move further on were discussed. The house sat just feet from the main highway, and leaving at such an odd time of the morning was sure to draw unwanted attention of the black workers. Having discussed all the factors, it was decided to remain until after lunch. Mr. Pollard furnished Morgan and Hines with cattle whips, as it had been decided they would travel onward under the guise of cattle buyers. Shortly after lunch, the "cattle buyers" set out for the next planned stop on their journey.

The next house they visited was even more of a risk, as far as detection went. Sitting on the outskirts of New Castle itself, the house was the residence of prominent attorney William S. Pryor. Mr. Pryor was not yet "Judge W.S. Pryor," as Hines recalls him in his book; his time as Chief Justice of the State Court of Appeals was still years in the future. He was, however, a Confederate sympathizer, having been a member of the bar alongside Confederate General Humphrey Marshall and possibly a relative of Lt. Col. Moses Tandy Pryor of the 4th Ky. Cavalry (C.S.A.). Morgan and Hines enjoyed a quiet dinner with Mr. Pryor.

After dinner was over, Mr. Pryor had his horse saddled and rode with the General and his erstwhile companion for some distance, probably near the Shelby County line. There, with appropriate "farewells," Mr. Pryor turned them over to a trusted guide. The guide rode with them to the home of a Major Helm, near Shelbyville and there they were joined on December 2nd, 1863, by four of Morgan's men in civilian clothes. Passing through Taylorsville that night, it would be another twenty-five days and several adventures later, before the escaped Confederates would reach the relative safety of the battle lines near Dalton, Georgia.

"I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect." ~Oscar Wilde~

[8thvacav]

dawna, Here is where Morgan entered Indiana at Corydon.

[dawna]

Martin:

Thank you for adding these great pics to General Morgan's story...makes it that much more interesting!

Dawna

[unionblue]

Dawna,

Here, I must admit defeat on the facts on Morgan as you have laid them out. The primary reason the man and his companions escaped from the Ohio State Pen was because Union soldiers had been used to replace the regular civilian guards who would have been checking on any escape attempts, to include digging tunnels. The soldiers thought they had been assigned 'easy duty' and relaxed their guard, which let Morgan & Co. complete their tunnel and escape.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

[dawna]

After their capture, the enlisted men of Morgan’s command were transferred to military prisons as prisoners of war. The officers, however, were treated as civil criminals and imprisoned at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus. This brought about cries of outrage from Southerners but it really worked to the officers’ advantage. If they had been treated as prisoners of war, they would have been taken to the Confederate Officers’ Prison at Johnson’s Island, Ohio. This was an island in Lake Erie from which there was little chance of escape. The Ohio penitentiary was not escape-proof, however, and on 27 November 1863, seven men including John Morgan tunneled out of the prison and escaped south. (www.mahoningvalleycwrt.com/john_hunt_morgan_link.htm)

Morgan and his men didn't like being guests of the state of Ohio and decided to have a coming out party. They dug 23 feet (six of it through granite walls of the prison) and escaped in a rain storm on November 26, 1863.
(www.rootsweb.com/vahsswv/historicalsketches/1986-no20/morganjohn)

The Northern soldiers took Morgan and most of his captured men to the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus. Morgan arrived there on October 1. He and several of his men planned an escape. They tunneled out of their cell into an airshaft on November 13, 1863. They remained in their cell until November 27, when Morgan and six of his soldiers utilized the airshaft to reach the prison yard. They then fashioned a rope from their prison uniforms and scaled the wall. Utilizing one thousand dollars that his sister had smuggled into the prison inside of a Bible, Morgan purchased a train ticket to Cincinnati, where he snuck across the Ohio River into Kentucky.
(Ohio History Central: www.ohiohistorycentral.org/oho/h/os/peo/morganjh.shtml.)

[8thvacav]

This is related to the Morgan Story. Basil Duke's book is a good read.

Many in the Confederacy's high command became able historians of the conflict, but none more able than Duke. Born in Georgetown, Ky., May 28 1838, Duke studied law before the war and was practicing in St. Louis, Mo., when the crisis came. Associated briefly with partisan ranger M. Jeff Thompson, he soon returned to Kentucky, where he enlisted in the Lexington Rifles, commanded by his brother-in-law, Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan.
Duke rose rapidly, first to 2d lieutenant, then to lieutenant colonel of the 2d Kentucky Cavalry. He served with distinction throughout Morgan's campaigns, including the raid into Indiana and Ohio, in which both were captured. He did not take part in Morgan's celebrated escape from the Ohio State Penitentiary, 26 Nov. 1863, and was exchanged in 1864. Duke returned to the Kentucky cavalry that fall, serving in southwest Virginia, and on Morgan's death was promoted brigadier, taking over Morgan's cavalry.
Duke accompanied President Jefferson Davis and the fleeing Confederate government April - May 1865, his being the last organized command answering to the War Department.
Following the surrender, Duke returned to the law, moved to Louisville, and for the rest of his life took a prominent role in Kentucky affairs. A moderate, advocating reconciliation with the North, he devoted much of his time to preserving the history of the Confederacy. He edited Southern Bivouac, one of the best veterans' magazines of the 1880s, and wrote 2 first-rate books, A History of Morgan's Cavalry (1867) and Reminiscences of General Basil W Duke (1911). He died in New York City on September 16, 1916.
Source: "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War" Edited by Patricia L Faust

[pvt gauss]

My Gr.Gr. uncle John Barker rode with Morgan[Cluke`s Reg.] on his "great" raid and was captured at Buffington Island. Have a letter of his to his father describing the POW train ride to Camp Morton Ind. He speaks of all the people coming down to see Morgans "celebrated horse thieves". He was very worried of the treatment they would recieve as "there are a great many rascals in Morgans command that bring odium on us all". He was exchanged after a cold winter and out lived the war.