Basil Wilson Duke

[tmh10]

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

 

[donna]

Thanks for post. Both his books are excellent. Basil Duke is buried in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Ky. next to his beloved wife, Henrietta Morgan Duke, and his great friend and brother-in-law, John Hunt Morgan.

 

[donna]

Two other interesting facts in Basil Duke's life is that when he returned from the Civil War and went to Louisville, Ky., he became the chief counsel and lobbyist for the Louisville and Nashille Railroads. The irony in this is, that the L and N Railroad was one of the favorite victims of raids by John Hunt Morgan which Duke participated in.

DuKe with 9 others founded the esteemed Filson Club in 1884. It is now know as the Filson Historical Society. The club was founded to preserve the history of Kentucky and is still a very respected society. General Duke wrote many of the earliest papers for the Filson Club.

 

[diane]

Interesting and often overlooked cavalryman. It's a wonder Basil Duke survived to age 78 - he was struck in the head by a shell fragment and knocked off his horse during Morgan's famous Christmas Raid in 1862. With all the blood, his men thought he was dead and so did the surgeon who examined him. A piece of his skull, just behind the right ear, was gone! But Duke mumbled, "That was a pretty close call!" A few months later, he was wounded at Shiloh - a bullet entered his right shoulder and exited his left, somehow missing his spine. He and Morgan were at Fallen Timbers with Forrest, which is where this happened.

Here is the Ebook on the Gutenburg Project - Morgan's Cavalry by Basil Duke. He turned out to be one of the finest post-war historians and his writing is well worth the reading!

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/31232/31232-h/31232-h.htm

 

[donna]

An excellent book on Duke is 'Basil Wilson Duke, CSA: The Right Man In the Right Place" by Gary Matthews.

In my opinion, General Duke was an excellent cavalryman and one of the most overlooked officers of the Civil War.

 

[Robert Gray]

Basil W. Duke