Morgan’s Raid July 9th , 1863 And A Story of Science

was the oldest of the 10 Morgan children raised mostly in Lexington, Kentucky. He gained military skills when fighting for the US in the Mexican / American war in 1846, but his allegiance eventually changed when Lincoln became president, and his thoughts turned to the Confederacy. He organized the “Lexington Rifles” and fought at Shiloh after which he and his regiment began to carry out raids through Kentucky hitting telegraph and railroad lines, railroad bridges, and generally causing havoc. Then, plans were hatched, against General Bragg’s orders, for he and 2200 men in Tennessee to travel north to Indiana. There, they would cross the Ohio river on two steamboats into Union territory in July of 1863. The attack on Corydon, the first early capital of Indiana, was the only pitched battle of the Civil War to occur in Indiana. The Indiana legion had built a defensive position south of town and were quickly overcome by Morgan’s forces. Morgan then went on to raid in Ohio and was caught and sent to the Ohio Pen from which he escaped and fled south. 

John Hunt Morgan’s 4 brothers rode with his regiment, as they traveled north, and in Lebanon, Kentucky, Tom was shot and killed and brother Calvin stayed with him. Eventually, in 1866, another brother Charlton had married and their son, who was named Tom after his killed uncle. It turns out that Thomas Hunt Morgan had a huge scientific inclination and was curious about inheritance. He was a professor at Cal Tech where my son went to school almost 100 years later. He received the Nobel prize in Medicine in 1933 for his work showing that genes located on chromosomes are the carriers of genetic information. His daughter Isabel did the first work on demonstrating the activity of a polio vaccine in monkeys which was an important prelude for Jonas Salk’s vaccine.  A very odd and yet important outcome of the Civil War. Thomas’s father and 4 uncles were Morgan’s raiders. 

is a small city park, In the park are several very large white oak witness trees, one of which is well over 250 years old. This tree is pictured here, with my sister Anna Gee, along with the pen made from its wood. Nephew Todd Gee and his Dad -JR, helped with the collection.   

was offered by General W. Scott, the portly Union General who was a hero of the Mexican war. Basically, his early war plan was for the Union to blockade all Confederate ports as well as take control of the Mississippi river and its tributaries. As part of the plan the Union, under Commander Renshaw took control of Galveston Harbor on Oct 4, 1862 and 5 days later took control of Galveston, while the Confederates, under General Herbert did not  resist.  

the Confederates came back in full force, under General J. B. Magruder, they recaptured Galveston using his recently converted steamships into “cotton clad” gunboats to spar with the Union . His men attacked Union forces in Galveston Bay capturing several hundred. The city of Galveston was now under Confederate control and remained so to the end of the war. The story nicely illustrates how guts, determination and innovation can out do a major force of guns, boats and men. 

 during  the battle of Galveston and the live oak tree shown here was there to witness the battle of Galveston both on land and sea. The tree is well over 200 years old and was struck and killed by a lightning strike in the  recent past. Wood from the tree to make the pen was supplied by Mr. Greg West and Mike Rooney of Dallas made  contacts and arrangements. 

to take Richmond in mid - 1861 (Bull Run), and again with the Peninsular Campaign of 1862 (McClellan) it was felt that a direct attack on Fredericksburg would be the most expedient way to take Richmond. General Burnside’s forces, whilst suffering huge losses, also failed in this goal in late 1862. Then, by 1863, with Lee’s army still holding the town, General  Hooker was put in charge of the Union Army and his plan was to cross the Rappahannock above the town and attack Lee from the north. General Lee split his force and marched north to meet Hooker leaving a minimal force at Fredericksburg.  

with General Jackson, he split his forces again sending Jackson on a 12 mile flanking maneuver that ultimately placed 30,000 Confederate forces on the north side of General O.O. Howard’s Union line that was facing south. Thus, as the  Federals were about to spend a quiet evening preparing their dinner on May 2, Jackson struck the unsuspecting men in  blue, causing panic all down the Orange turnpike where they were entrenched. Thus, Lee resoundingly won the battle of Chancellorsville, his greatest victory in the entire Civil War. And what happened during this battle is still studied today in war colleges across the world. This military event nicely illustrates the fact that to achieve excellence and overcome adversity one must think and act in a truly exceptional manner.  

were about to carry out their charge and totally surprise Howard’s men they road to the top of a slight hill on which still grows a large white oak tree  (dia. of 63”) that we now label as the flank attack white oak tree that is pictured here. A dead limb from this tree was collected and Mr. Dennis Gallahan (of Spotsylvania CH) helped with the writing of this section of the web site.   

is without question the Battle of Brandy Station, Va., on June 9, 1863. In May, Lee and the Confederacy had won its greatest battle- Chancellorsville. Now in early June, General Stuart held several reviews of the invincible southern cavalry in and around Brandy Station with bands playing and local ladies with their fine dresses looking on. Making note of these events was General Pleasanton and the Union Cavalry just on the other side of the Rappahannock River who also realized the threat of a Confederate raid around his right flank. On June 9th the Union cavalry charged the Confederates in what was to become the largest cavalry battle ever to occur in North America. The events of this bloody day involved over 20,000 men with 17,000 on horseback totaling 1300 causalities.

My lovely bride Suzan and I met Mr. Clark “Bud” Hall, a former FBI agent who had spent the last 30 years doing everything possible to protect and consolidate the lands that made up the Brandy Station Battlefield. In his late model Ford pickup truck we trundled thru the high grasses in what is the now Battlefield site. We came across Bufford’s knoll and the Cunningham homestead (Wiltshire) which witnessed the heat of the battle in the NE sector of the conflict. Growing near the home was a huge Canadian hemlock witness tree. The tree with me (left) and Bud Hall (right) is located just barely outside of its geographic range and is the only witness tree of its kind to ever be found.  

deserves all of the attention and dedication that can and should be given to its preservation and eventual status as a state or federally designated Civil War Battlefield given its unique cavalry battle status and eventual role in Lee’s Pennsylvania campaign. The pen, made from a dead limb of the tree, growing next to the Wiltshire home is one of the finest and prettiest pens in the entire collection.

when Lee’s confederate forces were entering Pennsylvania. This was his second invasion of the North. The earlier foray ended in a bloody stalemate at Antietam creek at Sharpsburg, Md. on Sept. 17th  1862. Lee’s goal was to completely surround Washington D.C. and scare and threaten the Federals enough to ultimately grant independence to the Confederacy. Many of his troops were hungry and ill- equipped . A group of Confederates entered Gettysburg seeking shoes and where they soon ran into the forward arm of the Union army led by General John Buford. 

or planned for a major battle to break out at Gettysburg but the inevitable happened. Confederate General Heth’s Division soon overwhelmed the Union troops as they fled through the streets of this small country town. What followed during the 3 days battle was the costliest of all battles in our history with 51,000 soldiers killed, wounded or captured. No one doubts that Gettysburg was a Union victory. 

located on Baltimore Pike (one  shown in the photo)  that witnessed all of the events of 3 days battle at Gettysburg  during the Civil War. Of course, this includes the witnessing of Abraham Lincoln as he passed down Baltimore Pike when he was there to dedicate the military cemetery on Nov 19, 1863. Wood from one of these trees was supplied to me by Wm Hewitt of Gettysburg,  Pa. 

lasted only a single campaign and that was at Fredericksburg, Va in late 1862. General Joe Hooker was the energetic replacement who Lincoln thought could get the job done. By late April of 1863 some of his army had crossed the Rappahannock above Fredericksburg with the idea of encircling Lee’ army. Lee then split his army into three units. General  Early to keep an eye on Fredericksburg and Lee to the northwest to face Hooker’s main thrust. Meanwhile, the plan was to have Stonewall Jackson’s corps to make an unheard of 12 mile march around to the backside of Hooker’s army which was mainly posted at a small crossroads village known as Chancellorsville. 

was an entanglement of brush, vines, scrub and thickets known as the wilderness. Stonewall attacked and surprised Gen Howard’s corps. Stonewall was killed, but the entire battle was a resounding success for Lee. It gave him the impetus needed for the eventual invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania  by mid- year. This area would again be the site of the Battle of the Wilderness as Grant faced Lee at the beginning of the Overland campaign in 1864. 

received many thousands rounds of ammunition during both battles there. It turns out that relic hunters target witness trees having lead encased in them since such items command a high price, but they are now hard to find. I acquired a piece of pine (Chancellorsville) from Cary  Delery of New Orleans who had obtained it from another dealer years  before. This is the second pen in the collection with an actual bullet in the wood. The bullet is a 58 cal round ball probably from a Union rifle. Interestingly, the bottom part of the pen is also made from a piece of yellow pine that served as a floor wedge in the Miller-Kite house at Conrad’s store, Va (in the Shenandoah Valley) where General Stonewall Jackson had his headquarters (during part of the Valley Campaign) and one morning was found asleep on the floor. Both top and bottom pieces of this pen are dedicated to General Stonewall Jackson. 

standing today are the original structures of the battlefield from 1863. The Trostle house was used as a hospital, The barn still bears a scar of the battle - a hole near the roof-line through which a cannonball passed on July 2nd, after Union Gen. Dan Sickles egregiously moved his 3rd Corps forward to form a salient at the Peach Orchard not far to the west.  

in front of the house stands a monument for the 9th Massachusetts  Battery. The battery stood its ground here, allowing other units to retreat safely back towards Seminary Ridge sustaining huge losses. 

was made from the swamp white oak under which Sickles had his headquarters. 

Union General W.S Rosecrans to take all of the Eastern Tennessee area from Confederate influence in  mid- 1863. Rosecrans finally moved and had a successful Tullahoma campaign and continued by forcing confederate Braxton Bragg out of Chattanooga. Bragg regrouped and was determined to retake Chattanooga. He was reinforced with Virginia divisions. Ultimately, a fatal mistake was made by Rosecrans, believing a gap existed  in his line, ordered General Thomas Wood’s division to fill the gap. Gen Wood followed orders knowing that it was a mistake. 

Longstreet’s men to crush  the Federal line. Union General Thomas’s men took command of Horseshoe Ridge and held out for an additional day, but ultimately the entire Union army retreated back to Chattanooga and the Confederates ended up surrounding it. Chickamauga was a Confederate victory, but one of the bloodiest battles in the entire war, in fact it is ranked number two in lives lost. Two months later, Grant would retake Chattanooga. 

the forest was harvested in the main battlefield site, thus no witness trees remained. But, presently on a golf course located on Cannon Drive adjacent to the Chickamauga National Park battlefield is a huge Shumard oak tree. The Confederate troops participating in the battle would have had to cross Chickamauga Creek near and around where this oak tree now stands. It is very likely that this is a witness tree and a pen made from a dead stem is part of the collection.