Morgan's Raid

Over The Back Fence Magazine| Fall 2004

The year was 1863; the first military draft and the Emancipation Proclamation were enacted as the darkening storm of the Civil War rolled across a founding nation.   President Lincoln was stunned at the death toll as he dedicated a cemetery with his famous Gettysburg Address.   Little did Lincoln know that these were but just a few of the number of casualties that would exceed this nation's loss in all past and future wars.   It has been estimated that at least 618,000 Americans died in com­bat or from related injuries and disease as the Civil War forced nearly 3 million men (and some women) into battle.

Ohio did not escape this threat of war. Confederate Brigadier General, John Hunt Morgan disobeyed his commanding orders and led 2,500 Confederate cavalrymen on a dar­ing, three-week raid through Indiana and Ohio behind enemy lines.  Morgan's Raid was the longest cavalry raid during the Civil War. 500 miles in Ohio were looted and burned as the confederates went from town to town. The North had deemed Morgan "The King of Horse Thieves". He represented Robin Hood to the South and was hailed as the "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy".    Morgan had given the North a taste of what the South was living.

The North had become terrified that the war had crossed the Ohio River. Ohioans had known the devastations of the war for two years first hand with the returning dead of their sons and now it was at their front door. About 60% of Ohio's men, aged 18 to 45 were serving in the war.

This past year Morgan's infamous raid and Ohio's bicentennial celebra­tion of statehood brought history once again to life as Ohio held its largest Civil War reenactrnent.  Nearly 30,000 spectators gathered, witnessing the smoke of cannon fire and felt the rumble of the earth while clashing sabers gave a faint glimpse of what Ohio was like in 1863.

"It was such a great experience.  We had re-enactors from 26 states, as far away as New Mexico.   It was the lure of how authentic the event would be," stated Darrell Markijohn, a practicing attorney from Canton, Ohio, who portrayed the infamous General Morgan. "This was really a one time historic event.  It took four years to plan and with a $60,000 grant, our mission was to come up with ideas and themes that reflected Ohio's Bicentennial."

"It was exciting for all of us to be able to ride the actual country roads and camp at the very spots that Morgan's men had on this ride.   The event gave people of Vinton and Meigs counties a chance to step back in time and re­live what their ancestors experi­enced 140 years ago as the Calvary rode by their homes and battles gathered upon their farmlands."

The Civil War, for many, is a movie image of romanticism like Gone With The Wind — it was anything but that.

"If you read the real life accounts, this was truly a miserable experience for those boys.   Most of them at that time had never been 20 or 30 miles from their home, and here they were at Shiloh, or ending up in Andersonville prison where death awaited many," explains, John McClellan, Private, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, of Battery L out of Portsmouth, Ohio.

The re-enactment of Morgan's Raid brought a realistic reminder of the his­toric significance that small Ohio towns like Wilksville, Chester and Bashan played in the changing of a nation. The reality of battle during a time of few real roads is hard to imagine. Dennis Irvin of the 2nd Virginia Calvary explains,   "The reenactment was unique in that you were fighting and traveling to different locations every day.   It gives you respect for the past.   It's hard to imagine that your ancestors lived this for months and the war dragged on to years.  They were hard people."

The infamous John Morgan fought at Buffmgton Island, Ohio's only Civil War battleground where two future presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley fought against Morgan and his men.   Morgan had set out to distract the Union's ability to fight in the South as he destroyed 34 road bridges, disrupted the railroads at more than 60 places, and diverted tens of thousands of Union troops from other duties.  Morgan was forced to surrender his command near West Point, Ohio - barely 70 miles from Lake Erie.   He was placed in the old Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus (now demolished) from which he and his 30 men escaped and lived to command another raid within the South.

Darrell Markijohn, with the help of other re-enactors, is making plans for a future Morgan's Raid. "It was such a successful major event that we are striving to do this again in 2006, moving on to Buffmgton Island."

Visitors can travel to Ohio's only Civil War Battlefield at Portland's Buffmgton Island Park. There is a monument to the battle and prehistoric Indian mounds. The park is open year round from dawn to dusk.