Raiding with Morgan

by Byron A. Dunn

  CHAPTER I.

  AFTER SHILOH.

  The great battle of Shiloh had been fought, and victory had been snatchedfrom the hands of the Confederates by the opportune arrival of Buell'sarmy.

  The Southerners had lost their beloved commander, slain; a third of theirnumber had fallen. Although defeated they had not been conquered. They hadset forth from Corinth in the highest hopes, fully expecting to driveGrant's army into the Tennessee River. This hope was almost realized, whenit suddenly perished: twenty thousand fresh troops had arrived upon thefield, and the Confederates were forced to retreat. But they had fallenback unmolested, for the Federal army had been too severely punished tothink of pursuing. Both armies were willing to rest and have theirdecimated ranks filled with fresh troops.

  Of all the Southern troops engaged at Shiloh none felt their defeat morekeenly than the Kentucky brigade under the command of Colonel Trabue. Theyhad fought as only brave men can fight; they left one-third of theirnumber on the field, killed and wounded. Defeat could not demoralize them,and it fell to their lot to cover the retreat of Beauregard. They hadstood like a wall of adamant between their fleeing army and the victoriousFederals. No charge could pierce that line of heroes. With faces to thefoe, they slowly fell back, contesting every inch of ground.

  Fondly had they hoped that Grant would first be crushed, then Buellannihilated, and their march to Nashville would be unopposed. FromNashville it would be an easy matter to redeem their beloved Kentucky fromthe ruthless Northern invaders.

  It was but a few days after the battle that there was a social gatheringof Kentucky officers at the headquarters of General John C. Breckinridge.Conspicuous in that group of notable men was one whose insignia of officeshowed him to be only a captain. But he was already a marked man. He hadgreatly distinguished himself in Kentucky and Tennessee as a daring raiderand scout, and at the battle of Shiloh he had rendered invaluable serviceat the head of a squadron of independent cavalry.

  It was but natural that in such a gathering the situation would be freelydiscussed. "It looks to me," said Breckinridge, with a sigh, "that if weare forced to give up Corinth, our cause in the West will be lost. I am infavor of holding Corinth to the last man."

  "What is your opinion, Morgan?" asked one of the officers, turning to thecaptain of whom we have spoken.

  Thus addressed, John H. Morgan modestly answered: "The General will pardonme if I differ with him somewhat in his opinion. Corinth should be held,as long as that can be done with safety to the army. But Corinth itself isof little value to us, now that the railroad between here and Chattanoogais in the hands of the enemy. It is not worth the sacrifice of a hundredmen."

  "What! would you give up Corinth without a struggle?" asked the officer,in surprise.

  "Not if a battle offered a reasonable hope of victory," replied Morgan."What I mean is, that the place should not be held so long as to endangerthe safety of the army. Corinth is nothing; the army is everything."

  "Then you believe, Captain, that Corinth could be lost, and our cause notgreatly suffer?"

  "Certainly. The further the enemy advances into the South, the morevulnerable he becomes. Even now, give me a thousand men, and I can keepforty thousand of the enemy busy protecting their lines of communication."

  "Morgan, you are joking!" exclaimed several of the officers.

  "No joke about it. I expect to see old Kentucky before many days; and if Ido, there will be consternation in the ranks of the Yankees."

  "Do you think you can reach Kentucky with a thousand men?" askedBreckinridge, in a tone which showed his doubt.

  "I shall make the attempt with less than half of that number," repliedMorgan, coolly.

  A murmur of surprise arose, and then Trabue asked: "Will Beauregard letyou make the hazardous attempt?"

  "Yes, with my own squadron, but he will risk no more men in the venture."

  "Well, good-bye, John, if you try it," said one of the officers, laughing.

  "Why good-bye, Colonel?"

  "Because the Yankees will get you sure."

  "Perhaps!" answered Morgan, dryly, as he arose to go.

  "The whole South will ring with the praises of that man one of thesedays," remarked Breckinridge, after Morgan had made his exit.

  "A perfect dare-devil. I am proud he is a Kentuckian," remarked Trabue.

  Not knowing the flattering words spoken of him, Morgan wended his way tohis headquarters, where he was informed by the orderly who took his horsethat a young Confederate officer had been waiting for some time to seehim.

  "He said he must see you," continued the orderly, "and if necessary hewould wait all night."

  "All right, I will see what he wants," replied Morgan, as he turned andentered his headquarters. There he was greeted by a young man, not muchmore than a boy, who wore the uniform of a Confederate lieutenant.

  Morgan gave him a swift glance, and then exclaimed: "Bless my heart! ifthis isn't Calhoun Pennington, son of my old friend Judge Pennington! I ammore than glad to see you. I have heard of some of your exploits, andoften wondered why you did not seek to take service with me. Let's see!You were on the staff of the late lamented Governor Johnson, were younot?"

  "Yes," replied Calhoun; and his voice trembled, and tears came into hiseyes in spite of himself, as he thought of the death of his beloved chief.

  "A grand man, a brave man," said Morgan, gently. "Now that he has gone,what do you propose doing?"

  "That is what I have come to see you about. General Beauregard has offeredme a position on his staff, but I wanted to see you before I accepted."

  "What! a position on the staff of General Beauregard! That is a rare honorfor one so young as you are. Of course you are going to accept?"

  "I do not know yet; I am to give him an answer in the morning, as I said Iwanted to see you first. Great as the honor is which has been offered me,I feel it is a service which would not be agreeable to me. I much preferthe freer life of a scout and ranger. Perhaps you may know, I have donemuch of this kind of work. I have even performed more dangerous tasks thanthat of scouting, and I confess I rather like it."

  Morgan mused for a moment, and then suddenly asked: "Are you not a cousinof Frederic Shackelford, son of the late Colonel Richard Shackelford ofour army?"

  Calhoun's brow clouded. "Yes," he answered; "but why do you say the lateColonel Shackelford? Uncle Dick is not dead."

  "Is that so? I am rejoiced to hear it. It was reported he was among theslain."

  "He was desperately wounded," answered Calhoun, "but he did not die, andhe is now a prisoner in the hands of the Yankees. Uncle Dick is a hero;but as for that traitor cousin of mine, I hate him!" and again Calhoun'sbrow grew dark.

  "I have no reason to love him," laughed Morgan, "but I cannot helpadmiring him. He it was who discovered our well-laid plans, and forced meto flee from Lexington, as a thief in the night."

  "Aye!" answered Calhoun, "but for him and that brute Nelson, Kentuckywould now have been out of the Union. But that is not all. Had it not beenfor the same two traitors there would have been a different story to tellof Shiloh. Grant's army would now have been prisoners, Buell's in fullflight, and our own pressing northward to redeem Kentucky. Had there beenno Nelson, Buell's army would not have reached Grant in time to save himfrom destruction. If there had been no Fred Shackelford I should haveborne the news to General Johnston that Buell would join Grant by thefifth, and Johnston would have made his attack a couple of days earlier. Iwas bearing the news to Johnston that Nelson would reach Savannah by thefifth when I was captured."

  "Captured?" echoed Morgan, in surprise.

  "Yes, captured, and by no less a personage than my cousin FredShackelford. But for this I would have reached Johnston by the second; asit was, I did not reach Shiloh until the morning of the last day of thebattle."

  "Then you escaped?" queried Morgan.

  "No; my cousin let me go, after he had held me until he knew myinf
ormation would be of no value. I was dressed in citizen's clothes. Hecould have had me hanged as a spy. I suppose I ought to be thankful tohim, but I am not." And Calhoun shuddered when he thought how near he hadbeen to death.(1)

  "That was kind of him," said Morgan; "and you ought to be thankful to him,whether you are or not. To tell the truth, I took a great fancy to youngShackelford, and tried hard to get him to cast his lot with me. But as Ifailed to get him, I believe you would make a splendid substitute. Youstill think you had rather go with me than be on Beauregard's staff?"

  "A thousand times, yes. I had rather go with you as a private than be alieutenant on the General's staff," answered Calhoun, with vehemence.

  Morgan's eyes sparkled. "That is the finest compliment I ever had paidme," he said, "but I cannot allow the son of my old friend JudgePennington to serve in the ranks as a private soldier. Yet my companiesare fully officered now. Let's see! How would you like to go back toKentucky?"

  "Go back to Kentucky?" asked Calhoun in surprise.

  "Yes, to recruit for my command. Do you think you could dodge theYankees?"

  "I believe I could. I could at least try," answered Calhoun, his faceaglow with the idea.

  "The case is this," said Morgan: "I am going to make a raid in a few days,and am going to try to reach Kentucky. My present force is small--not muchover four hundred. I do not look for much help from the ConfederateGovernment. Those in authority do not regard with much favor independentorganizations. To augment my force, I must in a great measure rely on myown efforts. I know there are hundreds of the flower of Kentucky youthseager to join me if they had the opportunity. You are just the person tosend back to organize them. When can you start?"

  "In the morning," answered Calhoun.

  Morgan smiled. "Good!" he said. "You are made of the right material. Wewill make full arrangements to-morrow. Good night, now, for it is gettinglate."

  Thus dismissed Calhoun went away with a light heart. He was to be one ofMorgan's men. It was all he wished.

  The next morning Calhoun informed General Beauregard that while sensibleof the great honor which he would bestow on him by appointing him a memberof his staff, yet he believed he could be of more service to the South bycasting his fortune with Morgan, and he had concluded to do so.

  "While I greatly regret to lose you," replied the General, "I believe youhave chosen well. To one of your temperament service with Morgan will bemuch more congenial than the duties of a staff officer. In fact,"continued the General, with a smile, "I think you resemble Morgan in beingrestive under orders, and prefer to have your own way and go where youplease. A command or two of partisan rangers may do, but too many would befatal to the discipline of an army. Morgan may do the enemy a great dealof mischief, but after all, the fate of the South must be decided by hergreat armies."

  "True, General," replied Calhoun, "but if Morgan can keep thousands of theenemy in the rear guarding their communications, the great armies of theNorth will be depleted by that number."

  "That is true also," answered Beauregard; "and for that reason Morgan willbe given more or less of a free rein. I have recommended him for acolonelcy. Convey to him my regards, and tell him I heartily congratulatehim upon his last recruit."

  General Beauregard's kind words touched Calhoun deeply. "Thank you,General," he replied, with feeling. "I trust I shall never prove myselfunworthy of your good opinion. May God bless you, and crown your effortswith victory!"

  After parting with Beauregard, Calhoun lost no time in reporting toMorgan. He found his chief in command of about four hundred men, rough,daring fellows who would follow their leader wherever he went. A moresuperb body of rough-riders was never formed.

  Calhoun was introduced to the officers of the squadron, and when it becameknown that he was going back to Kentucky to recruit for thecommand--although many of the officers wondered why their chief hadselected one so young--they gave him a hearty welcome. But when it becameknown that he was the son of Judge Pennington, of Danville, that he hadalready won renown as a daring scout, and had been offered a position onthe staff of General Beauregard, their welcome was doubly enthusiastic.

  To this welcome there was one exception. One of Morgan's officers, CaptainP. C. Conway, had applied to Morgan for permission to go back to Kentuckyon this same duty, and had been refused. He was a short, thickset,red-faced man with a very pompous air. His weakness was liquor; yet he wasa brave, efficient officer. What he considered an affront was neverforgiven, for he was of a revengeful disposition. It was consistent withhis character that he should become a mortal enemy of Calhoun.

  When he was introduced to Calhoun he merely bowed, and did not offer togive his hand.

  "I believe I have heard of Captain Conway," said Calhoun, with a smile. "Ihave heard a cousin of mine speak of him."

  "Why, yes," spoke up Morgan, with a twinkle in his eye, "Captain,Lieutenant Pennington is a cousin of your particular friend, Captain FredShackelford, of the Yankee army."

  Conway fairly turned purple with rage. "Lieutenant Pennington has noreason to be proud of his relationship to that sneak and spy," he snorted.

  "I have no more reason to love my cousin than you," replied Calhoun, withsome warmth. "He may have played the spy; so have I; but sneak he is not,and I would thank you not to use the term again, traitor though he is tothe South and his native state."

  Conway glared at him for a moment, but there was something in Calhoun'seye which told him that if he repeated the term it might cause trouble, sohe snapped: "Well, spy and traitor, if those terms suit you better; but itmay be of interest to you to know that I have sworn to see that preciouscousin of yours hanged, and"--with a fearful oath--"I will see that he is."

  With these words he turned on his heel and stalked away.

  "Shackelford's name has the same effect on Conway that a red rag has on amad bull," laughed Morgan. "He can never forget that trick your cousinplayed on him."

  "Ah! I remember," said Calhoun; "Fred told me all about it. Conway maytake a dislike to me simply because I am Fred's cousin. I noticed that hegreeted me rather coldly."

  "I reckon he will not carry his hatred so far as that," replied Morgan,"yet it may be best not to mention Shackelford's name to him."

  But Morgan might have changed his mind if he had heard Conway talking to abrother officer.

  "Just to think," he fumed, "that the Captain picked on that young upstartto go back to Kentucky to recruit instead of one of us. I volunteered togo yesterday, and he put me down. To my mind, Pennington is no better thanthat sneak of a cousin of his, and Morgan will find it out some day."

  "Better keep a still tongue in your head, Conway," dryly replied theofficer, a Captain Matthews, to whom Conway was complaining. "Morgan willgive you hell if he finds you are trying to create dissatisfaction."

  "I am not afraid of Morgan," muttered Conway, but he said no more.

  In the mean time Calhoun was hurriedly making preparations for hisjourney. Many of the officers and men were engaged in writing letters tosend back by him to the dear ones in Kentucky. Morgan intrusted to himseveral important communications to prominent Southern sympathizers.

  Just as Calhoun was ready to start, Morgan gave him his secretinstructions.

  "What I now tell you," he said, "is too important to commit to writing.You may be captured. For hundreds of miles you must ride through a countryswarming with Yankees. You will need discretion, as much or more than youwill need courage. Much depends on your success. I intend to make a raidnorth about the first week in May. If possible (and I think it is), Ishall try to reach Kentucky. My force when I start will not reach fivehundred. If I could be joined by a thousand when I reach Kentucky, Ibelieve I could sweep clear to the Ohio River. But with the short time atyour disposal that will be impossible. But join me at Glasgow with all youcan. I expect to be in Glasgow by the tenth of May at the latest."

  "All right," replied Calhoun, "I will try to meet you there at that time,with at least one or two good companies.
"

  Little did Morgan think at the time how badly he would need thosecompanies.

  At last all was ready, and amid shouts of "Good-bye" and "Success to you,"Calhoun vaulted into the saddle and rode away eastward.