"Well," exclaimed Calhoun, as he glanced at it, "I have often been toldthat Yankees have cheek, but this is the greatest exhibition of it I havemet. Who is H. S. Smith, anyway?"
"One of the numerous Smith family, I reckon," dryly responded one of hismen. "He should have signed it John Smith. This would have concealed hisidentity, and prevented us from knowing what a fool he is."
But the message was taken back to Morgan, and Calhoun never saw him laughmore heartily than when he read it.
"Go back and tell Mr. Smith," replied Morgan, trying to keep his facestraight, "that he has made a little mistake. It is he who is surrounded,and must surrender."
The message was taken back, but Mr. Smith answered pompously that it wasthe business of United States officer to fight, not to surrender.
"Very good," replied Calhoun, "get back and let us open the ball."
It took only a few shells from Morgan's battery to convince Mr. Smith hehad made a mistake, and that it was the business of at least one UnitedStates officer to surrender, and not to fight. Six hundred and fifty-twoprisoners fell into Morgan's hands, also a large quantity of militarystores. The stores were destroyed. At Elizabethtown Morgan was in strikingdistance of the object of his expedition, the great trestles at MuldraughHill. There were two trestles, known as the upper and lower, both defendedby stout stockades.
General Morgan divided his forces, Colonel Breckinridge with one brigadeattacking the lower stockade, while Morgan with Colonel Duke's brigadeattacked the upper. A couple of hours of severe shelling convinced thecommanders of these stockades also that it was the duty of a United Statesofficer to surrender, and not to fight. Seven hundred more prisoners andan immense store of military goods were added to Morgan's captures. Thegoods, as usual, were destroyed.
It was but a few minutes after the surrender of the block-houses when thetrestles were a mass of flames. They were immense structures, each nearlyfifteen hundred feet long, and from eighty to ninety feet high. Thus theobject of the expedition had been gained. Again the Louisville andNashville Railroad was rendered useless to Rosecrans's army.
But Morgan's danger had just commenced. Thus far he had had his own way.The enraged Federals were moving heaven and earth to compass his capture.A brigade was transported from Gallatin to Mumfordsville by rail, joinedto the force at that place, and ordered to move east and cut off hisretreat. The forces in Central Kentucky were ordered to concentrate atLebanon. Thus they hoped to cut off every line of retreat.
"Don't let Morgan escape," was the command flashed to every Federalofficer in Kentucky.
From Muldraugh Hill Morgan marched for Bardstown. This led him across theLebanon Railroad. Before all of his force had crossed the Rolling Fork ofSalt River, the pursuing force, under Colonel Harlan, came up and engagedthe rear. The rear guard under Colonel Duke gallantly resisted them untilall had crossed in safety, but during the action Colonel Duke was severelywounded by a piece of shell. General Boyle, the Federal commander atLouisville, gave out that he had died of his wounds and there was greatrejoicing. But the gallant Colonel lived, to the disappointment of hisenemies.
The Federals, in close pursuit, left Morgan little time to destroy therailroad leading to Lebanon, but he captured a stockade, and burned thebridge at Boston. Reaching Bardstown in safety, he pushed rapidly on toSpringfield. From that place he could threaten either Danville or Lebanon.His rapid movements puzzled the Federals, and prevented them fromconcentrating their forces, for they knew not which way he would go next.
From Springfield Morgan turned south, leaving Lebanon a few miles to hisleft, so as to avoid the large force at that place; he reached New Marketa few hours in advance of his pursuers. To avoid the troops which had beenconcentrating at Hodgensville, he now took the road to Campbellsville.
In going through the Muldraugh range of hills to the south of New Market,his rear guard was struck by the advance of the Federals under ColonelHoskins, and was only beaten back after a lively fight. There was now moreor less skirmishing for some miles.
There now happened to Calhoun one of the most thrilling adventures heexperienced during the whole war. As the post of danger was now in therear, he was there with his scouts doing valiant service in holding backthe Federals. There had been no skirmishing for some time, and nothing hadbeen seen or heard of their pursuers. Not thinking of danger, he and aCaptain Tribble halted their horses by the side of a bubbling spring anddismounted to get a drink, the rest of the guard passing on. They lingeredlonger than they thought, and had just remounted their horses when theywere suddenly surprised by three horsemen, who came galloping up, yellingto them to surrender. For Calhoun and Tribble to snatch their revolversand fire was the work of a moment. The Federals returned the fire. Apistol duel now took place, and both sides emptied their revolvers, butstrange to say, no one was hurt.
Throwing down their now useless weapons, all drew their swords andfuriously spurred their horses on to the combat. It was almost like amediaeval contest, where knight met knight with sword only. While one ofthe Federals engaged Captain Tribble, two rode straight for Calhoun, theforemost a fine-looking man in the uniform of a Federal colonel. Parryinghis blow, Calhoun, by a skilful turn of his horse, avoided the other. Theywheeled their horses, and came at Calhoun again. Again did Calhoun parrythe fierce blow aimed at him; at the same time he managed to prick thehorse of the other, so that for a moment it became unmanageable. This leftCalhoun free to engage the Colonel alone, who aimed at him a tremendousblow. This blow Calhoun avoided, and as it met with no resistance, itsforce threw the Colonel forward on his saddle. As quick as lightning, thepoint of Calhoun's sword reached his heart, and the combat was over.
THE FORCE OF THE BLOW THREW THE COLONEL FORWARD ON HIS SADDLE.]
During this time Tribble had vanquished his antagonist. The remainingFederal, seeing one of his comrades dead and the other a prisoner, threwdown his sword and surrendered. The dead officer proved to be Colonel D.J. Halisy of the Sixth Kentucky cavalry.
This conflict was long remembered as one of the most remarkable everengaged in by any of Morgan's men, and Calhoun was warmly congratulated bythe whole command on his prowess.
The death of Colonel Halisy seemed to dampen the enthusiasm of Morgan'spursuers. Although they followed him to Campbellsville, and fromCampbellsville to Columbia, the pursuit was a feeble one. In fact, sotimid was Colonel Hoskins that he ordered his advance not to engage Morganif they found him at Columbia, but to wait for the column fromHodgensville to come up. From Columbia all pursuit ceased, and Morgan wasleft to return to Tennessee at his leisure.
While at Columbia Morgan reports that his men heard distinctly the soundof distant cannonading away to the southwest. To their accustomed ears ittold of a battle raging. It was the thunder of Rosecrans's cannon at StoneRiver. Little did Morgan's men think at that time that that distantthunder meant that hundreds of their brave brothers were being slaughteredin that fatal charge of Breckinridge. Murfreesboro is, as the crow flies,a hundred and eighteen miles from Columbia. In no other battle during thewar is it reported that cannonading was heard so far.
From Columbia Morgan proceeded by easy stages to Smithville, Tennessee,which he reached January 5, just fourteen days after he had started on hisraid from Alexandria. During this time his command had travelled fully sixhundred miles. This raid was one of the most remarkable Morgan ever made,when we consider what he accomplished, and the number of troops that triedin vain to capture him. Riding within a few miles of thousands of men, heeasily eluded all his pursuers and escaped almost scot free.
General Morgan, in summing up the results of this raid, says: "It meantthe destruction of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad fromMumfordsville to Shephardsville within eighteen miles of Louisville,rendering it impassable for at least two months; the capture of eighteenhundred and seventy-seven prisoners, including sixty-two commissionedofficers; the destruction of over two million dollars' worth of UnitedStates property, and a large loss to the enemy in killed an
d wounded. Theloss of my entire command was: killed, 2; wounded, 24; missing, 64."
It seems impossible that so much could be accomplished with so slight aloss. The number of his killed and wounded shows that the Federals touchedhim very gingerly; that they did not force the fighting. In the capture ofthe stockades in which he took so many prisoners, Morgan suffered hardlyany loss, as he forced the surrender with his artillery. But the joy whichMorgan and his men felt over the success of the raid was clouded when theyreached Tennessee by the news of the result of the battle of Stone River.Murfreesboro no longer belonged to the South. Bragg had retreated to hisnew line along Duck River.
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