M.Warren
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2014
- Location
- Watauga Settlement
The Man Who Killed John Hunt Morgan
Andrew Campbell. 13th Tn Vol. Cav. US. Former Second Arkansas Infantry CSA.
Just after the fatal shot rang out and Gen. John Hunt Morgan's lifeblood ebbed into the soil of the Williams estate, the shooter cried out, "I've killed the damned horse thief."
There was never a question from either side as to who had fired the fatal shot which felled the Rebel Raider. It was Andrew Campbell of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry, a unit also known as "The Governors Guard."
Just who was Andrew Campbell?
He was born about 1823 and grew up in the inner city of Dublin, Ireland. He was known to be a bully or a thug and practiced his trade as a bouncer in the third-rate pubs.
During a brawl a shot was fired with a man killed, and Campbell was blamed. Before facing trial, he left, or, more likely, was allowed to leave the country, bound for the United States.
Campbell landed in New Orleans, where he quickly found employ in his old profession in the so-called "red light" district.
It was not long before Campbell was involved in another brawl. A man was knifed and fingers pointed to Campbell.
Campbell quickly found refuge on a boat headed north on the Mississippi River, and, using all the money he had on his person, he was able to sail only as far as Helena, Ark.
Helena was a river port town with its share of rowdies and bars. Campbell, however, found the bounty being offered to join the Second Arkansas Infantry CSA more appealing and signed up.
The Second was organized by Thomas Hindman, who had just resigned his seat in the U.S. Congress.
Campbell would also be attached to the Army of Tennessee under the command of another Helena resident who could not have been more different from Campbell, Patrick Cleburne.
The Arkansas troops would spend a good amount of time in Tennessee. On a cold Dec. 14, 1862, night he and the other soldiers were outside the Ready home in Murfreesboro when John Hunt Morgan and Mattie Ready were united in matrimony.
Afterward, Campbell and the other men stationed around the town were allowed to mill about inside the home and devour the leftover food from the reception.
Campbell would later claim he had never seen Morgan nor knew what he looked like. In another two weeks he would be cited for bravery in the Battle of Stones River near Murfreesboro.
While in Murfreesboro in September 1863, Campbell decided he had had enough of marching and deserted the Confederate Army.
By this time he was with the 27th Arkansas, and his muster card shows that he deserted.
Campbell made his way toward Nashville, where, a derelict, he was again enticed to accept another bounty, this one from the Union Army.
He enlisted on March 18, 1864, giving his age as 30, and his occupation as a clerk.
This time he was in a cavalry unit, what would come to be called the dreaded 13th Tennessee, the Governors Guard of Andrew Johnson.
On Sept. 3, 1864, Campbell was with the 13th and made the all-night, rain-drenched ride into Greeneville.
In an action filled with questions, no one ever doubted that Andrew Campbell had killed Morgan on the morning of Sept. 4.
One account written in 1959 says there was no proof Campbell fired the fatal shot as bullets were flying all around.
That writer, Dee Alexander Brown, says "his purpose (in claiming he killed Morgan) was to gain reward or promotion by presenting the dead body of Morgan as evidence of his prowess as a soldier."
His military record shows he was promoted from private to first sergeant of Co. E on Sept. 7, then second lieutenant Sept. 15, and then to first lieutenant on Sept. 23, all coming by the order of Military Governor Andrew Johnson for his killing of Morgan.
He was discharged in Knoxville on Sept. 5, 1865.
In a book written about the 13th Tennessee by its members at the turn of the century, Campbell is mentioned in glowing terms, but in reality Campbell was not well-liked by his fellow cavalrymen.
While not written about openly, Campbell's fellow veterans did not care for the fact that he was a deserter, even if from the enemy.
They felt his rapid rise through the ranks was unfair, too.
But the big rub was that Campbell had shot Morgan in the back. In a chivalrous society, you did not shoot a man in the back, no matter the circumstances.
Then the other question: Why was Campbell coming into Greeneville late, and why was he out of uniform?
Historians agree that when Morgan saw Campbell, who was dressed in brown jeans cloth, he thought he was a Confederate soldier riding into town to aid the besieged rebels.
Morgan apparently approached him to get his horse or ride out with him, and make good his escape.
Being out of uniform and wearing one in which the enemy would dress was a war crime of the day that resulted in hanging.
Did Campbell lag behind thinking things might not go too well in Greeneville that morning, and by not being in proper uniform, think that he could blend in with the Confederates?
After the war, Campbell moved to Indiana, where he tried to rejoin the Army to fight the Indians in the West. But since he had taken up heavy drinking, he was not welcomed back into the ranks.
He tried his hand at being a clerk and failed. He tried farming and failed. He tried his old trade of working the third-rate clubs, where he worked mostly for food and drink and was homeless.
He tried to join veterans groups but was shunned as soon as they learned he was the man who had shot Morgan in the back.
In 1879 Campbell gave an interview to an Indiana newspaper, where he said Morgan had given one of his pistols to a staff officer and hid the other one under a cabbage.
He unwittingly admitted to shooting an unarmed man in addition to shooting him in the back.
There is a picture of him wearing what appears to be a GAR reunion badge. There are no records of his being a GAR member.
One account says he joined a chapter in Indiana, but, upon learning his identity, they erased his name from their rolls.
He again ran from his past, this time to St. Louis, Mo.
Once more finding himself shunned by the veterans, he lived on the streets accepting handouts.
On June 11, 1894, Andrew Campbell died. He was buried in a pauper's grave in Gatewood Gardens Cemetery.
There was no ceremony, no flag, no veterans, and there is no veteran's marker today, or any marker at all. Just the green sod he quietly rests under.
He is only identified in cemetery records as Campbell, Andrew: Block B2P Lot No. 413.
http://www.greenevillesun.com/news/...cle_1da59d59-2707-5d09-9ef1-445bd7041cf4.html
Andrew Campbell. 13th Tn Vol. Cav. US. Former Second Arkansas Infantry CSA.
Just after the fatal shot rang out and Gen. John Hunt Morgan's lifeblood ebbed into the soil of the Williams estate, the shooter cried out, "I've killed the damned horse thief."
There was never a question from either side as to who had fired the fatal shot which felled the Rebel Raider. It was Andrew Campbell of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry, a unit also known as "The Governors Guard."
Just who was Andrew Campbell?
He was born about 1823 and grew up in the inner city of Dublin, Ireland. He was known to be a bully or a thug and practiced his trade as a bouncer in the third-rate pubs.
During a brawl a shot was fired with a man killed, and Campbell was blamed. Before facing trial, he left, or, more likely, was allowed to leave the country, bound for the United States.
Campbell landed in New Orleans, where he quickly found employ in his old profession in the so-called "red light" district.
It was not long before Campbell was involved in another brawl. A man was knifed and fingers pointed to Campbell.
Campbell quickly found refuge on a boat headed north on the Mississippi River, and, using all the money he had on his person, he was able to sail only as far as Helena, Ark.
Helena was a river port town with its share of rowdies and bars. Campbell, however, found the bounty being offered to join the Second Arkansas Infantry CSA more appealing and signed up.
The Second was organized by Thomas Hindman, who had just resigned his seat in the U.S. Congress.
Campbell would also be attached to the Army of Tennessee under the command of another Helena resident who could not have been more different from Campbell, Patrick Cleburne.
The Arkansas troops would spend a good amount of time in Tennessee. On a cold Dec. 14, 1862, night he and the other soldiers were outside the Ready home in Murfreesboro when John Hunt Morgan and Mattie Ready were united in matrimony.
Afterward, Campbell and the other men stationed around the town were allowed to mill about inside the home and devour the leftover food from the reception.
Campbell would later claim he had never seen Morgan nor knew what he looked like. In another two weeks he would be cited for bravery in the Battle of Stones River near Murfreesboro.
While in Murfreesboro in September 1863, Campbell decided he had had enough of marching and deserted the Confederate Army.
By this time he was with the 27th Arkansas, and his muster card shows that he deserted.
Campbell made his way toward Nashville, where, a derelict, he was again enticed to accept another bounty, this one from the Union Army.
He enlisted on March 18, 1864, giving his age as 30, and his occupation as a clerk.
This time he was in a cavalry unit, what would come to be called the dreaded 13th Tennessee, the Governors Guard of Andrew Johnson.
On Sept. 3, 1864, Campbell was with the 13th and made the all-night, rain-drenched ride into Greeneville.
In an action filled with questions, no one ever doubted that Andrew Campbell had killed Morgan on the morning of Sept. 4.
One account written in 1959 says there was no proof Campbell fired the fatal shot as bullets were flying all around.
That writer, Dee Alexander Brown, says "his purpose (in claiming he killed Morgan) was to gain reward or promotion by presenting the dead body of Morgan as evidence of his prowess as a soldier."
His military record shows he was promoted from private to first sergeant of Co. E on Sept. 7, then second lieutenant Sept. 15, and then to first lieutenant on Sept. 23, all coming by the order of Military Governor Andrew Johnson for his killing of Morgan.
He was discharged in Knoxville on Sept. 5, 1865.
In a book written about the 13th Tennessee by its members at the turn of the century, Campbell is mentioned in glowing terms, but in reality Campbell was not well-liked by his fellow cavalrymen.
While not written about openly, Campbell's fellow veterans did not care for the fact that he was a deserter, even if from the enemy.
They felt his rapid rise through the ranks was unfair, too.
But the big rub was that Campbell had shot Morgan in the back. In a chivalrous society, you did not shoot a man in the back, no matter the circumstances.
Then the other question: Why was Campbell coming into Greeneville late, and why was he out of uniform?
Historians agree that when Morgan saw Campbell, who was dressed in brown jeans cloth, he thought he was a Confederate soldier riding into town to aid the besieged rebels.
Morgan apparently approached him to get his horse or ride out with him, and make good his escape.
Being out of uniform and wearing one in which the enemy would dress was a war crime of the day that resulted in hanging.
Did Campbell lag behind thinking things might not go too well in Greeneville that morning, and by not being in proper uniform, think that he could blend in with the Confederates?
After the war, Campbell moved to Indiana, where he tried to rejoin the Army to fight the Indians in the West. But since he had taken up heavy drinking, he was not welcomed back into the ranks.
He tried his hand at being a clerk and failed. He tried farming and failed. He tried his old trade of working the third-rate clubs, where he worked mostly for food and drink and was homeless.
He tried to join veterans groups but was shunned as soon as they learned he was the man who had shot Morgan in the back.
In 1879 Campbell gave an interview to an Indiana newspaper, where he said Morgan had given one of his pistols to a staff officer and hid the other one under a cabbage.
He unwittingly admitted to shooting an unarmed man in addition to shooting him in the back.
There is a picture of him wearing what appears to be a GAR reunion badge. There are no records of his being a GAR member.
One account says he joined a chapter in Indiana, but, upon learning his identity, they erased his name from their rolls.
He again ran from his past, this time to St. Louis, Mo.
Once more finding himself shunned by the veterans, he lived on the streets accepting handouts.
On June 11, 1894, Andrew Campbell died. He was buried in a pauper's grave in Gatewood Gardens Cemetery.
There was no ceremony, no flag, no veterans, and there is no veteran's marker today, or any marker at all. Just the green sod he quietly rests under.
He is only identified in cemetery records as Campbell, Andrew: Block B2P Lot No. 413.
http://www.greenevillesun.com/news/...cle_1da59d59-2707-5d09-9ef1-445bd7041cf4.html
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