First Kentucky Raid

— July 9, 1862 —

At this site Confederate Colonel John Hunt Morgan began his famous "First Kentucky Raid." His objective was the destruction of the Union force in and around Tompkinsville. Riding through the night, Morgan and his raiders left Celina, Tennessee on July 8, 1862; crossing the Cumberland River and surprising Union forces in the early morning hours of July 9.

The thunderous sound of cannon fire awakened the small village of Tompkinsville. By many accounts the fall of the Union forces took only two hours. The Confederates captured the garrison, netting a quantity of logistical supplies. They also captured many Union soldiers, including the commander of the Union forces. Maj. Thomas J. Jordon, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Morgan later paroled Jordan and his command.

After the battle, Morgan's raiders marched northward through Kentucky. In twenty-four days, Morgan and his men traveled over one thousand miles, capturing seventeen towns, and destroying all of the government supplies and arms in them. They paroled nearly twelve hundred Union troops. Months later, Morgan returned to Tompkinsville as a brigadier general. This time he and his raiders only bivouacked in the village as they began their next Kentucky raid; the Christmas Raid of 1862-63.

Morgan, dismounted his men before attacking the Union garrison in Tompkinsville. Both Union and Confederate cavalry often fought dismounted during the Civil War, leaving their horses and attacking on foot. One of every four men stayed behind, holding his horse and those of three other men.

(Captions of Portraits to the Right):
Col. Morgan and his command barely escaped the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry at Celina, Tennessee. After crossing the Cumberland River, Morgan surprised the Union garrison in Tompkinsville.

Maj. Thomas Jefferson Jordon, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

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Morgan's First Raid
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