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1936-1940

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REMINISCENCES OF MORGAN'S AND HOBSON'S RAID IN
JEFFERSON COUNTY BY MRS. PIRENE VALLILE

My father Christopher Smart was called upon about two o'clock Saturday morning July 11, 1863. He was told that Morgan was crossing the Ohio River at Brooksburg, Ind. I wanted him to go and help to defend Madison. My father finally left our place to help in the defense of out county seat. Before he left, he gave my mother money to hire some one to take our horses to Greensburg, Indiana for safe keeping. We could not get any one to take our horses away.

About five o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. John Smith who had gone to Dupont to get his son stopped and told us that John Morgan was coming into Dupont. My mother sent me to grandfather's place to get my uncle, Samuel McGee to come and stay all night with us. After he came, he got my father's gun. We were out in the yard when three strange men passed. We did not think of them as belonging to Morgan's men. Mr. Kiser, that watched his horses. Some men came to the pasture and attempted to catch them but could not. He heard one of the men say, "Never mind the rest will get them." When Morgan's men were gone, Mr. Kiser took all of his horses and tied them in a deep hollow on his farm and saved all of them.

On Sunday morning, July 12, 1863 between six and seven o'clock we were eating breakfast. I heard a noise outside. Upon going out into the yard I saw two or three men going into the barn. From this time on soldiers were constantly passing. Some came in and ate all of the food left on the table. One old man picked up a crust of bread and offered to pay mother for it; but she refused. Another soldier came in and asked her to cook him some bread. Mother said, "It is Sunday and I don't cook much on the Sabbath. The soldier replied, "Well if you can't cook I can." However, she cooked the bread while he sat there and watched her. Another soldier came to the window and asked for a piece of bread. Mother broke off a piece and gave it to him. The soldier in the kitchen said, "Don't you give any more of that bread away, it is mine."

My father lost two fine horses. We had some large cherry trees in the yard as the men rode past they cut off the limbs and at the cherries as they rode along. Another rode into the yard and asked for whiskey. We told him, "We do not have any." Mr. Kerr and family had gone the night before to stay with his sister. When they were coming back the next morning they met two rebels with a two horse spring wagon. One of the Confederates asked mother if they could drive in our cornfield. She said, "Yes." He drove in a short distance unhitching one of his horses, followed Mr. Kerr across our barn lot and right above our garden I saw one of the men take Mr. Kerr's horse and leave him an old sore backed horse.

After most of the rebels had passed, three more stopped and wished mother to trade blankets with them. She refused to do so. They went on up the road and stopped at spring where they were captured by Captain John Meyers, George Baxter and Ike Gilbert.

The Confederates went on up Big Creek passed my grandfathers, took his buggy, horse and $12. in money. Mr. Thomas Stout of Dupont piloted them over to the old Michigan Road. He was forced to ride a horse without a saddle. When the Michigan Road was reached he was forced to walk back to Dupont.

After Morgan's men began leaving Dupont July 12, 1863 early in the morning, the Union men under Hobson began coming thru between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. My father had a corncrib between the house and barn. Hobson came to mother and said, "I must have your corn." Mother replied, "You must leave some of it." The Union soldiers came and each took an arm load went to his horse dropped the corn on the ground for the horses to eat. Each soldier sat down with the bridle rein over his arm. I soon went to sleep. Mother cooked all she could for the men, as they were passing thru. They followed the same trail that Morgan did to the old Michigan road. (A)

Grace Monroe
District #5
Jefferson Co. Ind. 1938/39
Reference: -A- A. M. Pender

Text from: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers' Project Collection