Iron Shirt. John Collins

      Lexington, Kentucky

      John Hunt Morgan was well known in Lexington, Kentucky, coming from a prominent family. He raised the Confederate 2nd Kentucky Regiment, fought at Shiloh, and gained fame and promotion to general. He also raided the supply lines of Gen. William Rosecrans, stealing much-needed powder, shotguns, and ammo.

      In July 1863, he set out on a one-thousand-mile raid to Indiana and Ohio. But after most of his men had been intercepted by Union gunboats, Morgan surrendered at Salineville, Ohio, the farthest north ever reached by uniformed Confederates. The legendary Morgan’s Raid had been carried out against orders while the loss of his regiment proved to be a serious setback for the Southern army.

      Morgan escaped from the Union prison. Most thought he bribed the guards. But his credibility was shot, and he barely escaped court-martial. But his brother-in-law, Confederate general A. P. Hill, interceded on his behalf. He was restricted to minor operations in Kentucky.

      *****

      Will and Isaac sat around a small fire in a wooded area on the outskirts of Lexington. It was August. Will was not sure of the exact date. He told Isaac, “We will ride into town first thing in the morning.”

      The next day, shortly after sunrise, they rode down Main Street. Isaac was awestruck at how big the town was. In the downtown area, a crowd had gathered at the courthouse. Isaac saw a large man in a Confederate uniform with a large plume on his hat, speaking to the crowd. His voice boomed and echoed across the wide brick-lined street.

      Will asked one of the spectators who the man was.

      The man looked at Will in amazement and said, “You don’t know? Why, that’s Gen. John Hunt Morgan. He’s trying to raise troops for Morgan’s Raiders. His troops were killed or captured in Ohio. He took a bunch of high breeds up there and got them killed. Now he wants us, lowlifes, to join him.”

      Will and Isaac spent most of the day sightseeing and looking for horses around the town.

      Shortly after noon, a sergeant and two soldiers approach them and said, “That’s two good-looking horses you fellas have. The judge wants to see you two.”

      Isaac said, “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

      “Didn’t say you had, boy. Come with me.”

      Will started to protest, but the soldiers pulled their guns and said, “Move along.”

      At the Fayette County courthouse, they were taken into the courtroom of Judge Bill Smith. In the courtroom were twenty-two men. At the front seat was John Hunt Morgan. He said, “You, men, are being conscripted into the Confederate army.”

      One old man spoke up, “What’s that word mean?”

      Isaac was thinking the same thing but was afraid to speak up.

      The judge said, “You are joining the army.”

      The old man said, “Well, damned if I am.”

      “If not, you will spend the rest of the war in the Fayette county jail on the chain gang.”

      Gen. Morgan stood up and said, “Men, I am putting together a raiding force to attack the Union forces in Knoxville, Tennessee, next month. You, men, will now come up to the clerk and sign your enlistment papers.”

      Will looked at Isaac and said, “Son, we messed up. But it will work out in the long run.” Will and Isaac walked to the front. The clerk asked Will his name. He said, “William Collins.”

      After putting it on a form, he told Will, “Sign it.”

      Will told him he could not read and write.

      The clerk said, “Put your mark on it, and I will witness it.”

      The same was so for Isaac. Then the men returned to their seats.

      Gen. Morgan stood and told them that if any of them had a notion of deserting, they would be shot. “Now, Sergeant, moved them out.”

      The sergeant told them to get their horses and follow him, for they were in the cavalry now. At the end of the town was a large barn with tents spread out around a pasture area. They were told to stable their mounts and give them grain and hay then come over to the tent area for assignments. The sergeant took the recruits to the supply tent where they were supplied with uniforms. At another, they were issued weapons. Each man received a new Henry repeating .44 caliber rifle and two .44 caliber Colt pistols.

      Will asked how they could get guns that the regular army did not have. The supply officer told them that they had been captured from a Union-supplied training and that Gen. Morgan chose to keep the newer ones for his cavalry since they were a smaller unit. And needed more firepower, and the one repeater was worth ten men. “And if asked, you don’t know where they came from.”

      The sergeant then took the new recruits to the firing range. Empty airtight cans were set up at fifty yards. Each man was given five rounds for each gun. Then each man was called to the firing line. None were too successful.

      Isaac’s dad hit two cans with the rifle and none with the Colt pistol. Isaac loaded five cartridges in his rifle, snapped the gun to his shoulder, and fired as fast as the rifle would cycle. He hit all five cans.

      The sergeant said, Damn, son, you’re something else. Where did you learn to shoot like that?”

      Isaac told him he would kill squirrels riding from tree to tree, shooting them in the head with his .25 caliber rifle.

      “But, son, you never aimed.”

      “I never aim. I just shoot where my eyes are looking.” He was told to load his pistol. Isaac fired five rapid shots, hitting four out of five cans, and said, “I don’t know how I missed the fifth can.”

      Back at the camp, the old man who had spoken up at the courthouse came over and sat with Will and Isaac. He said his name was Bill Curry. He had been a trapper and hunter out West, in the Rocky Mountains, for years and had come home to visit his ailing mother and was going back West when he got shanghaied to this outfit.

      They spent several days around the camp when orders came to saddle their horses and pack their bedrolls and other gear.

      Bill told them he was packing everything he had and that he was not coming back. Will and Isaac did the same.

      *****

      That evening, they rode out, all 150 men, en route to Knoxville, Tennessee. Two days later, they camped outside Greenville, Tennessee. The next day, September 4, 1864, they rode into Greenville.

      Morgan’s troops were surprised by a Union patrol. He was shot in the back and died instantly. His men were shot badly and were scattering.

      Will, Isaac, and Bill made it into a small wooded area. After dismounting, Bill noticed that Will had been shot. Will called Isaac to his side and said, “Son I’ve been gutshot and don’t have long, so listen to me well. Take my money belt and add it to yours. Then get out of that uniform. There is nothing for you to go back to Kentucky but a hard life and sorrow. Take the horses, and go West, away from this damned war.”

      Isaac, with tears in his eyes, said, “Pa, I can’t leave you.”

      “Isaac, son, you have never disobeyed me. Now is not the time to start. Ask Bill to come to me. Bill, this is an awful thing to ask, but will you look after my boy? He’s a good boy, but he’s young. I know he will make a good man if someone will guide him.” Then Will slipped away into darkness and crossed over.

      Isaac sat, crying, when Bill told him, “We need to bury your pa and make some plans. First, we need to gather all the .44 ammo we can and what grub we can find. That patrol was in such a hurry to take Gen. Morgan’s body and the prisoners into town, but they will be back to police this area. So we have to act fast.”

      They gathered up all they could carry on Will’s horse and started West.

      That