Ninth Generation

377. Gen. John Hunt MORGAN³⁷ was born on 1 June 1825 in Huntsville, Madison Co., AL. He served in the military Brigadier General, CSA between 1857 and 1863 in Civil War. One of the leading Confederate raiders, John Hunt Morgan found it difficult to comply with the constraints placed upon his activities by his superiors. Born in Alabama, he had served in the Mexican War as a first lieutenant with the lst Kentucky. Unlike many volunteer officers he did see action in that conflict. A Lexington merchant between the wars, he raised the Lexington Rifles in 1857.
Even though his state never did secede, he did join the Confederacy and his assignments included: captain, Morgan's Kentucky Cavalry Squadron (186 1); colonel, 2nd Kentucky Cavalry (to rank from April 4, 1862); commanding cavalry brigade, Army of Tennessee (November 20, 1862-February 25, 1863); brigadier general, CSA (December 11, 1862); commanding brigade, Wheeler's Cavalry Division, Army of Tennessee (February 25-March 16, 1863); commanding division, Wheeler's Cavalry Corps, Army of Tennessee (March 16 - July 26, 1863); commanding cavalry brigade, Department of East Tennessee (early 1864 - May 2, 1864); commanding cavalry brigade, Department of Southwestern Virginia (May 2 - June 22, 1864); and commanding Departments of East Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia (June 22 - August 30, 1864).
He led his squadron in central Kentucky and at Shiloh and was then promoted to colonel. He led his regiment during the Corinth siege and then took two regiments on a raid through Kentucky from July 4, to August 1, 1862. This raid, together with that of Nathan Bedford Forrest, greatly hampered the advance of Don C. Buell on Chattanooga. In October 1862 shortly after the collapse of the Southern campaign in Kentucky, he led his brigade on another raid through his adopted state. During the Murfreesboro Campaign he led a mounted division into Kentucky, from December 21, 1862, through January 1, 1863, against Rosecrans' supply lines. Having been promoted to brigadier general, he also received the thanks of the Confederate Congress for his exploits.
Following the Tullahoma Campaign he again received permission to enter Kentucky. On this raid from July 2 to 26, 1863, he violated Bragg's instructions not to cross the Ohio River. Crossing over into Indiana, he moved into Ohio, skirting Cincinnati which went into a panic. Pursued by cavalry and militia, he was finally captured near New Lisbon, Ohio, on July 26th - after most of his command had been taken prisoner. Confined in the Ohio State Penitentiary, he escaped on November 26, 1863. Placed in command in East Tennessee and southwestern Virginia the next year, he was surprised and killed at Greeneville, Tennessee, on September 4, 1864. (Holland,Cecil Fletcher, Morgan and His Raiders, A Biography of the Confederate General; Noel, Lois, John Hunt Morgan; and Swiggett, Howard, Rebel Raider: A Life of John Hunt Morgan) He died in the Civil War on 26 November 1863 in Greeneville, Greene Co., TN. He was staying in the home of a friend in Greeneville, Tennessee with his men camped near by. On the morning of the fourth, a surprise attack was mounted by the Federals through the streets of Greeneville. Morgan, remembering his promise to Mattie, tried in vain to escape and was shot in the back by Andrew J. Campbell, a Confederate-turned-Yankee private. He died a few minutes later on the Greeneville street. He lived in Huntsville until the age of six, at which time his family moved to Kentucky to work and live with his maternal grandparents. After a frustrating stint at Transylvania University, a duel ended his college career, and he soon enlisted in the army. He was promoted to first lieutenant and saw action during the Mexican War. After the war, he settled down in Lexington, Kentucky, ran a hemp factory and eventually married his partner's sister, Becky. See military note for the Civil War.
Excerpts from the book "A Bicentennial History of Dekalb County, Tennessee" by Thomas Gray Webb

Gen. John Hunt MORGAN and Rebecca Gratz "Becky" DUKE were married. Rebecca Gratz "Becky" DUKE died in July 1861 in Lexington, Fayette Co., KY.

Gen. John Hunt MORGAN and Martha "Mattie" READY were married on 14 December 1862 in Alexandria, Dekalb Co., TN. By early 1862, Morgan had earned a reputation both in the North and South for his daring raids and was even being compared to the famous Revolutionary War guerrilla, Francis Marion. In February of that year, he moved his headquarters to Murfreesboro, Tennessee and became friendly with Charles Ready, a prominent lawyer who had served as a U.S. congressman from 1853 until 1859. After several dinners at the Ready home, Morgan became quite smitten with one of the Readys' daughters, Martha who was affectionately known as Mattie. The age difference didn't seem to matter...he was 37 and she was 21...the two became engaged in March, and were married the following December. The ceremony was a storybook wedding and was performed by Leonidas Polk, an Episcopal bishop who served as a Confederate general. It was, in fact, a double celebration; Morgan had been promoted to brigadier general the day before the wedding. Martha "Mattie" READY was born in 1841 in TN.