Gen. John Hunt Morgan
Morgan's
Men Association, Inc.
Founded
Lexington, Kentucky, April 17, 1868
Association of the Descendants of the men who rode with Gen.
John Hunt Morgan, C.S.A.
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Morgan's
Men Association History
The Morgan's Men Association was formed originally at Lexington, Kentucky,
at the reinternment of Gen. John Hunt Morgan,
on April 17, 1868. After serving as the funeral escort for their
leader, the surviving members of Morgan's command met at the Phoenix Hotel
and created the association.
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"The men
pledged fidelity and affection for each other for as long as they lived
and resolved that the memory of our illustrious and beloved leader shall
ever be as indelibly stamped upon the tablets of our hearts as his name
is written on the undying page of history."
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Morgan's Men met
annually at least through 1883 when the reunion was held in Woodland Park
in Lexington before a crowd of over 1,200 veterans and friends. Prominent
Morgan's Men who led the reunion included Kentucky Governor James McCreary
and Brig. Gen. Basil W. Duke. The guest of honor was Gen. Morgan's
only surviving child, Johnnie Hunt Morgan Caldwell. In 1898, the Association
met in Cincinnati, Ohio, as guests of their old foe, the 7th Ohio Cavalry.
Such was the pride associated with riding with Morgan and fighting against
him.
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Crowd of ten thousand at Gen. Morgan statue
dedication in Lexington, KY 1910 |
In 1903, at Parks Hill, in Nicholas
County, Kentucky, the group was reorganized with a membership of 260 veterans.
However, after that date the number of members slowly diminished as death
took its toll. At the 1916 reunion it was noted that only 167 of
the veterans who met in 1903 were still alive. In 1932, the Confederate
Veteran magazine reported that just nine of the members were able to
attend that year's meeting in Lexington and one of that number died just
three days afterward. Although no formal records remain, it is assumed
that the 1932 meeting was one of the last. Incredibly, it was not until
1953 that the last surviving member died.
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The officers of the Morgan's
Men Association included some of the South's most prominent men. Gen. Basil
W. Duke served as president from its formation until his death in 1916.
Others who served as leaders were Kentucky Governor James B. McCreary,
Kentucky Lt. Governor James E. Cantrill, Dr. John A. Lewis of Georgetown
College, Col. D. Howard Smith, and Kentucky State Auditor, M. C. Saufley.
Saufley noted that "I have never seen a man who belonged to Morgan's command
who was not proud of his service." Gen. Basil Duke proudly proclaimed
at the same reunion that "nothing but death can remove the pride I feel
in Morgan's Men". Col. W. C. P. Breckinridge, responding to a standing
ovation, asked the audience to remember him "simply as one of Morgan's
Men".
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"Black Bess" and Gen. Morgan |
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If one singled
out the common bond that cemented these men together, it was the overwhelming
pride they felt as Confederate soldiers who rode with the best, with Gen.
John Hunt Morgan. However, as these men died the pride was left to be perpetuated
in the dry pages of history books and on the cold lifeless marble of the
Confederate monuments.
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Morgan's Men as POWs
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Memories have faded and today many of the descendants of those "Rebel Raiders"
hardly know their grandfathers and great-grandfathers even served at all.
The re-establishment of the Morgan's Men Association is an attempt to change
that, to re-establish the pride, to again celebrate our heritage as "Morgan's
Men".
The Modern reorganization of the Morgan's Men Association is an association
of members of the Morgan family and the descendants, both direct and collateral,
of the Confederate soldiers who served with Gen. Morgan, and other interested
persons whose common goal is to preserve a positive and accurate image
of Morgan and his men, and to insure that the exploits of these brave men
shall always be revered by the people of Kentucky and the rest of the nation. |
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"Morgan's Men Association,
Inc., shall be strictly historical and benevolent, non-political and non-sectarian."
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Officers
Commander-in-Chief: Sam Flora
1st Lt. Commander:
John McGee
2nd Lt. Commander:Jim Murphy
Treasurer: Beverly
Ramnes
Secretary: Ralph Widowski
Historian: Jenny Widowski
Chaplain: Elizabeth Miller
Judge Advocate: R.
Burl McCoy
Board Member: W.L. Wilson
Board Member: Lucille
Haney
Board Member: Martin Sherrod
Board Member: Ken Hamilton
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Membership
Information
There are two types of memberships available. Regular Membership is open
to all members of the family of Luther Morgan, the grandfather of Gen.
John Hunt Morgan, and to all descendants, both direct and collateral, of
those who served honorably in the Confederate States
Army in the command of Gen. Morgan. Associate
Membership is extended to all other persons who are interested in maintaining
Gen. Morgan's honored place in our nation's history. A special invitation
is made to the descendants of the Union soldiers who
fought against Morgan's Men. Just as the Union opponents were proud
of their adversary role, so will be their descendants. Membership is available
to all applicants, regardless of age. Only the associate and regular members
aged 16 years or older have the right to vote on Association matters.
The Morgan's Men Association, Inc. hosts an annual meeting or "reunion"
of the membership. This reunion is held in late August or early Setember. These reunions are held in different historical locations associated with Morgan's Command.
As a member of Morgan's Men, you will receive a beautiful 11" X 14" membership
certificate, hand lettered with your name and the name, rank, and regimental
affiliation of your ancestor. Associate members also receive a certificate proclaiming membership in the association.
Join Us!
Become one of Morgan's
Men and rekindle the spirit of those young men who rode off to war with
the pride and excitement of riding with MORGAN!
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Contact
Information:
Questions or more membership information can be obtained by U.S. Mail by writing:
Morgan's Men Association c/o
Sam Flora
1691 Kilkenny Dr.
Lexington, KY 40505
or by email contact vakyrebel@aol.com
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"I want to be a cavalryman
And with John Hunt Morgan ride,
A colt revolver in my belt
A saber by my side.
I want a pair of epaulets
to match my suit of gray,
The uniform my mother made
And lettered 'CSA'. "
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Other
Resources
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Books
By Morgan's Men of Yesterday and Today:
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"The Bride and the Bandit", a biography of Martha Ready Morgan, wartime bride of General John Hunt Morgan. By MMA members, Dr. Robert O. Neff and Edith Elizabeth
Politz. Hard bound, 408 pages., including photographs and extensive notes.
Strictly limited to 500 copies. Price $35.00 per copy plus $3.00 shipping.
Check or money order only. Please include correct mailing address information
with your order. Edith Elizabeth politz, 3703 Anthony Dr., Tallhassee, FL,
32308.
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"Confederate Pensioners of Kentucky" A compilation of Pension Applications of the Veterans & Widows 1912 - 1946
by MMA member, Steve D. Lynn, can now be ordered.
Visit
Steve's website for details and order form.
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"The
Longest Raid of the Civil War" by MMA member, Lester V. Horwitz, can now be purchased
in hard cover or paper back. Call toll-free 1-513-295-0464 to order a copy.
Contains over 500 pages, 180 photos, and 39 county maps tracing Morgan's
1,000 mile raid. Visit "The
Longest Raid" Website for more information.
- A History of
Morgan's Cavalry, by Basil W. Duke and Reminiscenes of General
W. Duke have
now been reprinted. No MMA member should be without a copy of these first
person accounts. The books are retailing for $39.95 each. In Lexington,
contact Michael Courtney at Black Swan Books, 505 East Maxwell St. at (606)
252-7255. MMA members will receive a discount. Outside Lexington, check
your local bookstore. (Also available from "The General's Book's"
Blue and Gray Magazine)
- Confederate
Wizards of the Saddle, (1914) by Bennett H. Young
is now back in print.
Bennett Young was one of Morgan's best officers, who later led the raid from Canada
on St. Albans, Vermont. Available from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble
(bn.com)
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The Partisan Rangers
of the Confederate States Army : Memoirs of General Adam R. Johnson, by
Adam Rankin Johnson, reprint of the original. (available from Amazon Books)
- Morgan's Daring
Raid: The Battle of Hartsville, by MMA member, John Timothy Heath, is the most complete
account ever of the raid which was one of the most successful raids of
the war. The book is available in softcover for $25.00 or $37.50
hardcover. To order, write Battle of Hartsville Preservation, 121 McMurry
Rd., Hartsville, TN 37074. Include $4.00 for shipping.
Other
Good Books On General Morgan or Morgan's men:
To Die in Chicago: Confederate Prisoners at Camp Douglas 1862-65. By George Levy, Evanston Publishing,
copyright 1999.
Morgan's Raiders,
by Dee Alexander Brown, copy right 1959 (available from Amazon Books)
The Last Night and Last
Day of John Hunt Morgan's Raid: Eyewitness Accounts of Morgan's Ohio Raid
of 1863, Edited by Jere. H. Simms (originally published 1913)
Reprinted by Genesis Publishing Co., 1997. (Available from "The General's
Books", Blue and Gray Magazine)
Rebel Raider: The Life
of General John Hunt Morgan, by James A. Ramage; The University Press
of Kentucky; copyright 1986. (Available at the Hunt-Morgan House,
Lexington, Ky
or Barnes and Noble)
John Hunt Morgan and
His Raiders, by Edison H. Thomas, University Press of Kentucky, copyright
1985 (Available from Amazon Books)
Corydon--The
Forgotten Battle of the Civil War, By W. Fred Conway, FBH Publishers,
copyright 1994. (available at the Hunt-Morgan House, Lexington, KY)
The Most Incredible
Prison Escape of the Civil War, by W. Fred Conway, FBH Publishers,
copyright 1994.(available at the Hunt-Morgan House, Lexington, KY)
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Association
News
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The Vidette
Official Newsletter of the Morgan’s Men Association
Published Semi-Occasionally
February, 2008
2007 Reunion In Bardstown A Great Success
Our annual reunion for 2007 was held on August 24-25, 2007 in Bardstown, Kentucky. Our headquarters hotel was the General Nelson Best Western Hotel but for that weekend it became the General John Hunt Morgan Best Western as MMA members from as far as Texas came to share the weekend together.
On Friday we visited local War Between the States sites in Bardstown including the nationally known Civil War Museum of the West and the Women’s Civil War Museum. The museums had great exhibits and artifacts including a number connected with Morgan’s men such as a flag of the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry. That evening at the hotel we enjoyed our usual night of refreshments and fellowship with plenty of exhibits from members. Our thanks go to the Ohio Division of the Children of the Confederacy for helping us with the refreshments.
On Saturday our charter buses left in the morning to take us to Springfield and Lebanon where we saw sites connected with Morgan’s 1862 Christmas Raid and 1863 Ohio-Indiana Raid including the house where young Tom Morgan was brought and buried. Continuing south we toured the Tebb’s Bend Battlefield. Getting an old fashioned hayride to part of the battlefield inaccessible to the buses was an extra treat. Here we “charged” Union reenactors portraying the Michigan defenders of the fort. For this tour we were fortunate to have as our guide historian and Civil War author Betty Gorin. Betty is the author of Morgan is Coming!. We consider her the authority on War Between the States history in the Tebb’s Bend Battlefield area where she has been the guiding light in preserving and interpreting the battlefield. A box lunch was enjoyed at the battlefield museum where we were able to see the new exhibit of Morgan’s Men images which our Association had contributed $1,800.00 to the Tebb’s Bend Battlefield Association.
On Saturday evening we had our traditional banquet buffet at our hotel. Our speaker was local historian Dixie Hibbs. She is the author of Nelson County: A Portrait of the Civil War. Dixie gave us a nice overview of the war in Bardstown.
Our thanks go to all who worked so hard to make the reunion a success.
2008 Reunion Will Be Held In Lexington
Our annual reunion for 2008 will be held August 22-23 in Lexington, Kentucky with our hotel in nearby Georgetown. The Hilton Garden Inn at 110 Grandstand Dr., located near exit 126 off Interstate 75 just north of Lexington will be our headquarters hotel. They have set aside a block of rooms for us at the rate $99.00. Members must make their own reservations with the hotel and the cut-off date for reservations is August 1, 2008. They are holding 10 kings and 25 double queen size beds. Be sure to tell them you are with the Morgan’s Men Association. Call them toll free at 1-877-782-9444.
As always, we will have our Friday evening get together with refreshments and fellowship at the hotel. Table space for exhibits or vendors will be limited. Contact Bev Ramnes at bevramnes@insightbb.com or 859-277-0871 to reserve table space. For those arriving early on Friday afternoon Sam Flora has offered to conduct a War Between the States tour of the historic and beautiful Lexington Cemetery.
On Saturday we will tour sites by charter bus in Lexington including the Ashland Battlefield monument, the beautifully restored antebellum home Waveland, the Lexington History Museum, the statue of Gen. Morgan and of course the Hunt-Morgan House. On Saturday evening we will have our traditional banquet and speaker. Complete details on the agenda and reservations will be in our next newsletter out in June. Mark your calendars and make your hotel reservations now to join us in August.
Membership Dues
First time membership dues are $25.00. Renewal dues are $20.00 annually. 2008 renewal dues become past due on Sept. 4, 2008. Members who joined last year after Sept. 4, 2007 do not owe 2008 renewal dues. Life Memberships are available for $200.00. Please make all checks payable to Morgan’s Men Association and send them to: Bev Ramnes, Treasurer, 2221 Jasmine Dr., Lexington, KY 40504. Please include your present address and membership number (located on your membership certificate).
Visit Our Website
If you have not visited our website at http://members.tripod.com/~Morgans_Men/
(or type in Morgan’s Men Association on your search engine) you should check it out. Many of our members join through our web site. Recommend it to your interested friends.
Campbell House Bans All C. S. A. Flags
With the closing of the Springs Inn, a number of heritage groups have had a rude shock as they scheduled meetings at the Campbell House nearby the Springs. First to find out was the Civil war Round Table. At their first meeting at the Campbell House last month they were forced to take down their Battle Flag, despite the fact it flies together with the US flag and the obvious historical nature of the CWRT. CWRT members were outraged, and many have made a call for their meetings to be held elsewhere.
Next up was the Morgan’s Men Association, which had been planning to headquarter its 2008 meeting at the Campbell House. After the CWRT incident, the MMA contacted the Campbell House and found that not even Gen. Morgan’s First National “Kentucky” flag would be allowed by the bigoted management at the Campbell House.
The Campbell House had been an institution in Lexington for generations, a part of the fabric of our community and history, but now as a property of the Crown Plaza chain, it has become a corporate instrument of bigotry and historical ignorance. We can only advise Southerners and folks of good will to avoid patronizing the establishment.
(Reprinted from “The Orphan Brigade”)
Website Updated 07-11-07
Visit our updated Morgan’s men association website at http://morgans_men.tripod.com.
Our webmaster is fellow member Bill Nordan.
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Page
Credits
Thanks to the following
individuals for help with this page:
Chris
Tramel for his graphical expertice and assistance.
Richard
Davis for his photograph of Gen. Morgan's grave.
Dean
Fowlerfor his excellant work on the Midi sound files and
unique service at ReWEP
Associates.
Our Newest Site Award:
1861~1865 Outstanding Site Award
To see all our site award,
visit our Award Page !
This website created by Scott K. Williams.
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