Scottsville in Allen County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Morgan in Scottsville

Confederate Invasion of Kentucky

— August, 1862 —

Morgan in Scottsville Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 9, 2013

1. Morgan in Scottsville Marker

Inscription.

Morgan in Scottsville. Confederate Invasion of Kentucky. , On August 29, 1862 at the beginning of the Confederate Invasion of Kentucky. Colonel John Hunt Morgan rode into Scottsville, leading a brigade of 1,100 cavalrymen. Morgan and his men were on their way to Lexington, where they planned to join with General Kirby Smith's forces. , At Morgan's side was his brother-in-law and second in command, Basil Duke. Riding with the command were Captain John Breckinridge Castleman, a member of a prominent Lexington family, and Colonel George St. Leger Grenfell, a former British army officer and French cavalryman. , Many citizens of Scottsville turned out to see Morgan, including eight year old Sallie Porter Edmonds and her family. Over 65 years later Miss Edmonds recalled Morgan , a tall, broad shouldered, handsome man with watchful eyes and a tender, kind expression. Morgan spoke to the assembled citizens from the steps of the Scottsville Hotel on the courthouse square. The Confederates had come to liberate Kentucky, he told them, and to permanently occupy the state. His men passed out handbills urging the men of the Commonwealth to enlist for the Confederate cause. , Isaac N. Hunt , One of those swayed by Morgan’s address in Scottsville was young Isaac Hunt, then not quite fifteen. Hunt enlisted as a private in Company C 3rd Kentucky Cavalry, CSA. He rode with Morgan until he was captured, along with Morgan, in Chester, Ohio in July 1863. Hunt was interred at Camp Chase near Columbus, Ohio, paroled at Camp Douglas in Springfield, Illinois, and eventually transferred to Point Lookout, Maryland for exchange March 2, 1865. After the war Hunt, then only 18, married. He and his wife, Elizabeth, returned to Hunt's boyhood home near Gainesville in Allen County. Hunt died November 16, 1916 and is buried with his wife in the Hunt family graveyard at Gainesville. , (photo captions) , . (top left) The Allen County Courthouse as it appeared during the Civil War. Built in 1819, this building served as the courthouse for Allen County until it was replaced in 1903. Photography courtesy of the Allen County Historical Society , . (bottom left) Following his first Kentucky Raid Morgan reported to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg that 30,000 Kentuckians were ready to join the Confederate army. Morgan’s report proved false, but may have helped sway Bragg to invade the state in the summer of 1862. , . (right side) Morgan’s men distributed this handbill from the courthouse steps in Scottsville in August 1862. Morgan was trying to recruit Kentuckians to the Confederate cause.

On August 29, 1862 at the beginning of the Confederate Invasion of Kentucky. Colonel John Hunt Morgan rode into Scottsville, leading a brigade of 1,100 cavalrymen. Morgan and his men were on their way to Lexington, where they planned to join with General Kirby Smith's forces.

At Morgan's side was his brother-in-law and second in command, Basil Duke. Riding with the command were Captain John Breckinridge Castleman, a member of a prominent Lexington family, and Colonel George St. Leger Grenfell, a former British army officer and French cavalryman.

Many citizens of Scottsville turned out to see Morgan, including eight year old Sallie Porter Edmonds and her family. Over 65 years later Miss Edmonds recalled Morgan — a tall, broad shouldered, handsome man with watchful eyes and a tender, kind expression. Morgan spoke to the assembled citizens from the steps of the Scottsville Hotel on the courthouse square. The Confederates had come to liberate Kentucky, he told them, and to permanently occupy the state. His men passed out handbills urging the men of the Commonwealth to enlist for the Confederate cause.

Isaac N. Hunt
One of those swayed by Morgan’s address in Scottsville was young Isaac Hunt, then not quite fifteen. Hunt enlisted as a private in Company C 3rd Kentucky Cavalry,

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CSA. He rode with Morgan until he was captured, along with Morgan, in Chester, Ohio in July 1863. Hunt was interred at Camp Chase near Columbus, Ohio, paroled at Camp Douglas in Springfield, Illinois, and eventually transferred to Point Lookout, Maryland for exchange March 2, 1865. After the war Hunt, then only 18, married. He and his wife, Elizabeth, returned to Hunt's boyhood home near Gainesville in Allen County. Hunt died November 16, 1916 and is buried with his wife in the Hunt family graveyard at Gainesville.

(photo captions)
• (top left) The Allen County Courthouse as it appeared during the Civil War. Built in 1819, this building served as the courthouse for Allen County until it was replaced in 1903. Photography courtesy of the Allen County Historical Society
• (bottom left) Following his first Kentucky Raid Morgan reported to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg that 30,000 Kentuckians were ready to join the Confederate army. Morgan’s report proved false, but may have helped sway Bragg to invade the state in the summer of 1862.
• (right side) Morgan’s men distributed this handbill from the courthouse steps in Scottsville in August 1862. Morgan was trying to recruit Kentuckians to the Confederate cause.

Erected by Kentucky Heartland Civil War Trails Commission.

Topics and series.

Marker detail: Issac N. Hunt image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Issac N. Hunt

This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail in Kentucky series list. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1862.

Location. 36° 45.185′ N, 86° 11.452′ W. Marker is in Scottsville, Kentucky, in Allen County. Marker is at the intersection of Smith Grove Road (South Court Street) and West Main Street (Kentucky Route 2152), on the left when traveling north on Smith Grove Road (South Court Street). Marker is located beside the sidewalk in the southwest corner of the Scottsville Public Square. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 102 West Public Square, Scottsville KY 42164, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Jacksonian Hotel (a few steps from this marker); Civil War Action (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); County Named, 1815 (about 300 feet away); Scottsville Public Spring (about 700 feet away); Scottsville, 1862 (approx. half a mile away); An Army Restored (approx. 0.6 miles away); An Army in Crisis (approx. 0.6 miles away); Lilly’s Artillery (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Scottsville.

Also see . . .
1. Morgan in Scottsdale. (Submitted on March 22, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Morgan in Scottsville Marker (<i>wide view; marker visible near sidewalk at bottom left</i>) image. Click for full size.

3. Morgan in Scottsville Marker (wide view; marker visible near sidewalk at bottom left)

2. John Hunt Morgan (Wikipedia). Morgan left Knoxville on July 4, 1862, with almost 900 men and in three weeks swept through Kentucky. He reported the capture of 1,200 Federal soldiers, whom he paroled, acquired several hundred horses, and destroyed massive quantities of supplies. The success of Morgan's raid was one of the key reasons that the Confederate Heartland Offensive of Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith was launched later that fall, assuming that tens of thousands of Kentuckians would enlist in the Confederate Army if they invaded the state. (Submitted on March 22, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 22, 2019. It was originally submitted on March 20, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 402 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 21, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3. submitted on March 22, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.