One of Morgan's Men. John M. Porter
rested a day or so. By the time he reached Berry's Lick he had learned that there was no probability of having an engagement at Rochester, for the gallant defenders and protectors of the “Old Flag,” having deemed the north side of the Green River safer than the south side, had crossed over, and were on their way, “a la Gilpin,” towards a more advantageous position.6
After remaining at Berry's Lick for a short time enjoying the hospitality of some of the good citizens, General Buckner moved on to Rochester, crossed the Mud River, and, after partially destroying the lock and dam on the Green River at that place, proceeded with his army by way of Greenville to Hopkinsville. From there, in a week or two, he moved back to Bowling Green. Although no opportunity was offered to measure Buckner's strength with the enemy, the expedition was by no means unproductive of good. It dispelled the idea, which until then prevailed in the minds of many persons, that Southern soldiers were a set of murderers and cut throats. Furthermore, it was an opportune time for those who were desirous of joining the army to do so, and many did. It is proper to say that no evil demonstrations were made; no persons were arrested for trivial causes and thrown into prison, but protection was given to all so far as could be done. Forage and commissary stores were bought at a fair price and paid for punctually. Anything which citizens had to sell commanded a good price. Horses, cattle, hogs, wheat, corn and other goods were collected, and, in many cases, farmers received in exchange purses of gold. Such an army as this was not likely to make enemies even in an unfriendly country, but rather friends. A great contrast surely compared with some Federal commanders who ruled in Kentucky at a time subsequent to this.7
Federal troops of the Army of the Ohio on the north bank of the Green River in the fall of 1861. (From a woodcut in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, January 18, 1862, Martin F. Schmidt Collection of Kentucky Views, 2004.41, Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, Kentucky.)
About the second day of November 1861, I enlisted as a soldier of the Confederate States of America by taking an oath to bear true and faithful allegiance to the name. I was sworn into service by Captain James W. Johnson of First Kentucky Cavalry (C.S.A.), which was at the time camped in “Underwood Grove.”8
Captain Alonzo Ridley, afterwards colonel, having come from California to Richmond, Virginia, in company with General Albert Sidney Johnston, and who had followed the general to Bowling Green, was at this time recruiting a company whose duty it should be to act as guides and scouts for the army. He brought to his position much experience obtained from his mode of life in the far west. Added to this was a mind that was naturally strong, though self-educated; it fitted him well for the station. He was of fine form and handsome appearance, though rough in manners and in conversation. At the time he first recruited his company and for some time afterwards I had no particular regard for him. But afterwards, when I met him in 1863 in prison at Johnson's Island, Ohio, I learned his nature more perfectly than I had before known, and came to think well of him. He was a brave and gallant man, and of a strong, native mind.9
To the military discipline of such a man I submitted myself about November 2, 1861. His company, known as “Buckner's Guides,” was officered as follows: Alonzo Ridley, Captain; Thomas H. Hines, First Lieutenant; J. H. Burnam, Second Lieutenant; John A. Warfield, Third Lieutenant; John H. Hines, Orderly Sergeant; and, as Forage Master, W. P. Roberts, whose duty it was to provide forage for our horses. As the object of the organization was to furnish guides and scouts for the army, it received the name as above given, which it retained till it was disbanded. To attain as far as possible the object desired, one or more men from various counties were received into its ranks.
For the sake of preserving the company register as nearly accurate as may be, I insert here the names of all whom I now remember and also their respective counties. Warren County: Thomas Buckner, Thomas Robinson, R. N. Heard, W. Curtis May, William Adams, Richard Sublett, Thomas Biggs, Ward McDonald, George W. Logan, John Starks, Edward L. Hines, J. W. Rasdell and Henry C. Hines, Hiram V. Dulaney, and Tubal S. McDaniel; Butler County: Andy Kuykendall, Hezekiah I. Kuykendall, Reuben M. Johnson, Dempsey Burton Bailey and John M. Porter; Hardin County: Joseph S. Gray; Nelson County: George W. Gregg and James M. Cook; Bullitt County: Henry C. Magruder; Meade County: John Morrow; Lincoln County: Porter Crow and Thomas Shanks; Boyle County: Samuel McBride; and Ohio County: William Hines, and William Skinner from New Mexico or California, a Confederate who journeyed with Captain Ridley. There were a number of others whose names have passed from my memory. Many of the above names attained an enviable reputation for gallantry on more than a score of bloody fields throughout the South.10
General Albert Sidney Johnston, the first Confederate commander in the trans-Appalachian west, who died at Shiloh, April 6, 1862. (Library of Congress.)
Five persons from the above list were from Butler County and were privates in this company. Of course, when any important scout was necessary to be made westward from Bowling Green some or all of that number were required to go. That was a very important flank of the army and was watched very closely by the generals commanding the Confederate forces. Many and many a night was I roused from sleep in my tent with orders to repair at once to headquarters for instructions about the mission I should undertake. And, after having received the necessary orders with an injunction of caution, the countersign would be whispered in my ear, and the next moment the sentinel at the door would receive orders to pass me out. Then three or four of us, mounted upon fleet and spirited horses, would dash out into the darkness toward the Morgantown Road. A stern command of “Halt” would greet our ears a few miles out of town. After approaching and giving the pickets the countersign, we would ride on and be alone in the darkness and our own thoughts. How can I, or any one, describe the thoughts which would rush through the minds of such as are on duty at once so dangerous and so important? One moment our spirits were in keeping with the cause we were serving, but then a presentiment passed before our minds that perhaps it was our last ride over that road. We would, for a time, remain silent, each busy with his own reflections, but intent upon serving his country in any way in which he might perchance be ordered.
Our destination was often Morgantown, Woodbury and Rochester, and though it was attended with no very great open danger, it was by no means devoid of peril. Anyone familiar with the sentiment of that portion of the country at that time, must and will confess that there was enough danger in those expeditions to give a relish to those of an adventurous mind and daring spirit. Man is buoyed up and carried to the cannon's mouth by pride and excitement. In the heat of the action he may, perhaps, rather like the fray, or it may be that he does not care to think of his danger, but rather of his duty. Now and then, when out on these trips, we would call and see our friends at home, eat at a table and use a knife and fork, a towel, take off our hats and act like we had previously done.
The assistance rendered to the army and to the commanders by means of these scouts was very great. In every direction, from Bowling Green towards the enemy, these parties were continually away on the outposts and very frequently entirely within the lines of the enemy. Many sharp skirmishes, among the first fighting in the State, were brought on by assistance given the cavalry in piloting detachments to the enemy's positions. At times our company was called on to escort General Albert Sidney Johnston, or Major General William J. Hardee, or General Buckner to different positions in and around the Confederate lines. Several points on the Barren River were visited with a view of fortifying them against the enemy.11
2
YOU HAVE CROWNED
YOURSELVES WITH GLORY
General Grant moved elements of his Federal army—soon to be known as the “Army of the Tennessee”—on troop transports up the Tennessee River from Paducah, Kentucky, with Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote's armada of gunboats in early February 1862. On February 6, Foote's naval forces bombarded Fort Henry on the east bank of the Tennessee, forcing its surrender by Brigadier