Preparing for Morgan's Cavalry

Preparing for Morgan's Cavalry. Confederate Invasion of Kentucky. In early October Morgan’s cavalry swept through the Trammel Community in search food and supplies. Some, such as John Howard Morgan and his mother, Isabella, who were relatives of John Hunt Morgan and were sympathetic to the southern cause, willingly parted with their goods. Others had food and supplies taken from them. When Major Younger Hyder Holland, a resident of nearby Allen Springs, heard about the raid on Trammel he began to prepare his farmstead for the Confederates arrival., Holland left two hogs in the pig pen and drove eight others deep into the woods. He took two oxen, a mare, and three of his five milk cows to a cave. After tying the animals to rocks he disguised the entrance to the cave with rocks and brush. While Holland took care of the livestock his son, Tandy, went to warn the neighbors. His daughter, Mary Lavender, hid the family’s best clothing, blankets and quilts in the attic, covering them with cornshucks and pieces of old carpet. The whole family gathered food and staples from the cellar, smoke house and kitchen. They concealed the goods in a pit under the floorboards of the saddle and tack room that had been dug just for this purpose., The Confederate raiders arrived just as the skies began to darken. They gathered what provisions they could find, which was not a great deal thanks to the family’s careful preparations. The raiders then tied a white blanket over Major Holland’s shoulders and put him on a white horse. Forcing Holland to ride in front of them as protection they began the journey south. On the road the band met the Allen County Home Guard, who fired on them. The Confederates abandoned Holland and raced for the Tennessee line, escaping capture., (captions) , Younger Holland was forced by the Confederate to act as a human shield. The white blanket they made him wear made him more visible. Holland, a Baptist minister, survived the experience and continued to serve the community for many years after the war., Major Younger Hyder Holland in a post-war photograph