A Foraging Misadventure: A.J. Huddleston, 8th Ky. Cavalry

One of the several military units that recruited men from Campbell County was the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, a regiment mostly formed in the western region of the state but that included a company enlisted in Newport by Captain John Arthur.These men became the regiment’s company E.

 

One of those Campbell Countians was Andrew Jackson Huddleston, known as Jackson to his army colleagues.

 

Jackson was a native Hoosier, having been born in Indiana on August 19, 1839. By 1850 he lived with the Books family in Geneva in Jennings County of the Hoosier State. His brothers John and James were also in the house.

 

By 1860, with the nation on the brink of civil war, he had moved to Cold Spring, Campbell County, where he boarded with another family. He was now 21 years old.

 

When the war broke out, men throughout the nation reacted in a variety of manners – some joined the army right away, others waited before doing so, and still others never volunteered.

 

In Campbell County, one man was anxious to play his part. John Arthur quickly enlisted in the 2nd Ohio Infantry for a three-month term. After this service ended, he still wished to support the national government and formed a Home Guard company in Newport. This group saw fighting in the July 1862 Battle of Cynthiana, where it suffered a handful of killed and wounded men.

 

This Home Guard force disbanded after its brief time in service, but Captain Arthur still wished to do more and opened a recruiting office on York and Fourth Streets in Newport, where he was “recruiting a cavalry company…to be assigned to the twelve months service in Kentucky.”1

 

Jackson saw or heard about the advertisement for this company and decided to enlist in this unit on August 11, 1862, for a term of one-year. He was fortunate to get his spot, as the unit soon filled up and Arthur had to reject other men who tried to join.2

 

As the new recruits prepared to leave their homes to start for their military adventures, local women prepared them a “fine dinner” in a local firehouse. These 103 men left soon thereafter on the steamship Florence heading for Louisville, from where they would go to their camp.3

They reached that river city safely, then settled into camp nearby. Here they found out they would join the 1st Battalion of Colonel James Shackelford’s 8th Kentucky Cavalry as Company E.

Shackelford gained a reputation as a “prominent” guerrilla hunter in the Western Kentucky region and was later promoted to Brigadier General of United States Volunteers. He commanded a group of men who captured Confederate General John H. Morgan at the Battle of Salineville, Ohio in the summer of 1863.4

 

The 8th Kentucky Cavalry entered the war as a one-year unit, formed mostly in and around Russellville, Kentucky and mustered in on August 13, 1862. It remained in Kentucky and Tennessee for much of its service, combating local Confederate irregular soldiers, known as partisan rangers, or as guerrillas, as Union officials labeled them. The regiment also joined in the pursuit of Morgan and his Confederates during his “Great Raid” in July of 1863.

 

Jackson experienced his own personal adventures during his year in the army, leaving even military officials puzzled about his fate.

 

On October 1, 1862, he was foraging with a squad of fellow soldiers, searching for food near Henderson, Kentucky to bring food back to camp, but he did not return with them.

 

Records agree on that much, but exactly what happened next is unclear. One document claims he deserted the unit. That may have been initial confusion when he did not return immediately from the foraging expedition before authorities realized what had really happened.

 

Another page notes that he was “supposed captured and killed,” the second part of which definitely proved to be in error.

 

Others say he was simply captured. One shows that he was sent to Richmond, Virginia to await exchange and that he had lost his gun, horse, and other equipment, probably to Confederates looking to supplement their own war materiel.

 

Another form even alleges that he joined the Army of the Potomac, the Union’s main army in the east, though no other records claim or confirm this.

 

It is nearly certain that Confederates captured him and perhaps they did transport him to prison in Richmond until they could exchange him. Jackson did survive his ordeal and the war before returning to civilian life. Not all captives were so fortunate.

 

In 1880, he was living in Clermont County, Ohio with his wife Grace and their three children. He was working on a farm to support his family.

 

By 1900, he lived in Carthage, Hamilton County, Ohio, and worked as a watchman, i.e., a security guard. He lived with Lucy Grace, his wife since 1863, and they had one son and one boarder in their home.

 

Ten years later, the couple lived in Cincinnati, where Jackson claimed night watchman as his occupation.

 

Jackson and Grace eventually moved to Campbell County, across the Ohio River, south of Cincinnati.

 

Sadly, Grace passed away on March 7, 1920, and was laid to rest in Evergreen Cemetery. Jackson did not live long as a widower. He called Silver Grove home, but passed away in Ft. Thomas due to pleurisy, a painful lung issue, on April 24, 1921. He was also buried in Evergreen Cemetery.

Notes

1Cincinnati Daily Commercial, August 7, 1862

2Cincinnati Daily Commercial, August 19, 1862

3Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, August 19, 1862

4Lindow, Derrick. We Shall Conquer or Die: Partisan Warfare in 1862 Western Kentucky. Savas Beatie. 2024 p. x

Book Review: One of Morgan's Men

One Of Morgan's Men: Memoirs of Lietuenant John M. Porter of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry

Editor: Kent Masterson Brown

copyright 2011

University Press of Kentucky 

For students of John Hunt Morgan, Civil War cavalry and/or the western theater, this book, though only 204 pages of text (not including notes) is a very good resource that gives many details of what happened during various cavalry raids and scouting expeditions and how the men handled their jobs.

Written in the early 1870s, it of course raises questions about how the author remembered as many details as he did, even a few years after the war, and that question should remain in the reader's mind, but Brown did a masterful job of editing it. He even used many different sources such as census records to confirm the names Porter mentioned. Brown added additional information about these people and families in the very in-depth notes section - readers should be sure not to skip over this part of the book, which also includes modern references to the areas Porter traveled, including current road and town names. His research certainly adds to the credibility of the text.

This is an enjoyable, informative and well-written, well-edited book. Porter was a lieutenant, but this is not a memoir of an officer, but, rather, of a soldier following orders and doing his duty. Little is mentioned of grand strategies or even tactics - Porter sticks to telling what he and his comrades did, how they obeyed orders, the actions they undertook, and how they accomplished all they did, sometimes in challenging conditions or areas.

This is the story of night scouting expeditions, of travel through dark and rainy conditions, often in territory with Yankees around, of trying to find food and shelter for man and horse and of a man who clearly believed in his cause. Several times throughout the book, he emphasizes what he perceives as the correctness of the Confederate cause. He tries to avoid bragging about his own accomplishments, but is not afraid to describe the bravery and courage of his comrades and the units under Morgan's lead. He clearly believed that he and his fellow Confederates were fighting for the side of the right and that they were determined to give their all to achieve victory.

One of Morgan's Men also serves as a small sample of the story of Kentucky itself during the war. One fascinating aspect of the narrative is Porter's descriptions of how the scouts found so many friendly citizens to help, house and/or feed them throughout the Commonwealth, but especially the central and west-central parts of it. Though they had to be careful not to catch the attention of Union supporters or soldiers who were frequently in the same areas, they still found help when they needed it. This is another example of the split loyalties of what was still technically a Union state, even though that was not the intent of the writer or his book.

This work does include a nice selection of photographs and a few maps/drawings, which do add to to the quality of the work. The editing, with the information in the notes, and selection of the illustrations, deserves much praise for making this a better work, not just a word-for-word retype of Porter's manuscript.

Porter's writing (with some assistance from the editor) is easy to read, with a nice flow, and provides a fascinating perspective on the operations of Confederate cavalry, especially under Morgan's command. Most of the story takes place in southern Kentucky and Tennessee, but they did make their way to eastern and Central Kentucky too. Porter was captured prior to the Indiana and Ohio portions of Morgan's last great raid, but he provides many anecdotes and details of the raids and expeditions in which he took part.

This is a very good, interesting and valuable book. It gives gives a good look at the small, often forgotten or unrecorded aspects of war incidents that do not always make it to newspapers and major studies about the war. Those interested in the Civil War generally know of the reputation of Morgan and his men, but the details of their riding during the night and resting during the day, or of locating friendly civilians for rest or shelter are often missing from the official reports of such activity. This book provides some of those details.

John Hunt Morgan and his men caused a lot of chaos for Union soldiers, supporters and supply lines in the region during his reign, and John M. Porter's memoirs provide a very fascinating insight into the whats, wheres and hows of these various actions. This is a high-quality book that I highly recommend.

"Thunderbolt" by John Paul Strain

Book Review: Plenty of Blame to Go Around

Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg

by Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi

copyright 2006, 2011

Savas Beatie
StuartsRide.com 

When I first discovered the Civil War blogosphere a few years ago, among the first blogs I found was Eric Wittenberg's Rantings of a Civil War Historian. I probably discovered it through the Civil War Trust's website, but I soon started reading it and enjoyed his stories about Civil War Cavalry, unknown cavalrymen and commentary on Civil War related news. He also discusses his own writing projects, which include several books, and this led me to wanting to read his work and see how I liked it. 

Well now I finally have done so.  Plenty of Blame to Go Around, co-authored by Mr. Wittenberg and another well-known Civil War Cavalry expert J. David Petruzzi, (see Hoofbeats and Cold Steel) is an examination of both Jeb Stuart's famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) cavalry ride at the end of June of 1863 as the Gettysburg campaign was heating up, and the controversy that this ride created. 

Let me start by simply stating: this is a really good book. The writing has a good flow, making it readable and enjoyable, and it contains a lot of information and analysis. The authors clearly did a lot of research through many sources; this thoroughness comes across as they describe and analyze Stuart's ride and the decisions he made. 

The book starts by examining Stuart's rider and the many incidents that occurred during this adventure, including battles, skirmishes, delays and other events. I really like how the authors are willing not only to tell what happened, but to point out future consequences of certain actions. One such example occurred on pages 63 and 64 when they mention a detour Stuart took. They followed that up with the ominous words: "The seemingly insignificant change of plans had far-reaching consequences no one could foresee at the time." 

As a reader, I find that a sentence like that really grabs my attention and makes me anxious to keep reading to see what those consequences are. The authors make similar statements throughout their description of Stuart's ride, showing when questionable decisions were made or actions taken (or not taken), instead of waiting to tell the story and then go back to explain when mistakes occurred. It is similar to how a work of fiction may include the tool called foreshadowing, though this was not at all subtle warning of what was to come. I really appreciated how the authors used that technique in this book. It definitely added to the understanding of the situations in which Stuart found himself and led me to look ahead to what was to come.

After detailing Stuart's ride and the various happenings on his trip that eventually ended at Gettysburg, the authors spend three chapters describing the controversy around Stuart's actions - how it began, continued, and how it still rages to this day. They use excerpts from official reports (some of them are quite long, but add greatly to the text), personal writings, books and other sources. Wittenberg and Petruzzi show how many fellow soldiers at the time criticized Stuart for disobeying orders or seeking glory, but also demonstrate that others defended the cavalry chief, arguing that the cavalier used the discretion that Robert E. Lee had given him and how unplanned circumstances (such as Union Army movements) led him to make the decisions he did. 

I like how they show numerous examples from both sides of the dispute, from the time of the war, throughout the rest of the 19th century, into the 20th century and onto today. They do not rely on just one or two sentences for most of these examples either - they reprint enough of the originals to tell clearly how the original writer felt. The book demonstrates how much controversy Stuart's ride created, but that there was (and still is) no clear consensus on who was responsible for Stuart's absence from the side of Lee.

The authors finish the text with a chapter describing their conclusions. They again use numerous examples from various reports and publications over the years and decades to show the arguments being made and they then analyze these reports and their effectiveness. It comes across as a fair and balanced view, and their conclusion is effectively demonstrated by the book's title: Plenty of Blame to Go Around.

After this chapter, they add appendices  that include information about the units under Stuart's command during his ride, the orders of battle for the battles they fought on the ride and Stuart's entire official report of this time period, including the ride, the battle at Gettysburg and the retreat back to Virginia. They end the book with a driving tour of Stuart's ride. 

The book does include photographs and maps spread throughout the chapters, which is a fine touch and I enjoyed getting additional tidbits in the notes section as well.

This is a very good, informative, in-depth examination not only of Stuart's ride, but also of its aftermath and the controversy it stirred.  It is well-written, thoroughly researched, and shows why and how Jeb Stuart's ride in the days before the battle of  Gettysburg became so controversial that debate still continues over it even almost 150 years after it happened. I gladly recommend this book.