Morgan, John Hunt (1825-1864), a Confederate general, led a famous group of soldiers called Morgan’s Raiders during the American Civil War (1861-1865). His troops, volunteer cavalrymen, raided public property, burned bridges, took horses, and captured railroad supplies. They also caused severe losses among Union troops. Morgan never commanded over 4,000 men, but it is said he captured as many as 15,000 soldiers.
In 1863, Morgan was ordered to invade Kentucky and draw General William S. Rosecrans’s Union army from Tennessee. Morgan went farther than he was ordered. He broke through the federal lines in Kentucky and crossed the Ohio River into Indiana. A flood caused the river to rise, and Morgan could not return to Confederate territory. He was captured in July 1863 and was imprisoned in Columbus, Ohio.
Morgan escaped the next November and continued his raids. He was defeated in Kentucky, in June 1864. He went to Greeneville, Tennessee, where he was surrounded and shot by Union troops in September 1864. Morgan was born on June 1, 1825, in Huntsville, Alabama. He fought in the Mexican War in 1846 and 1847. Morgan died on Sept. 4, 1864.
