The Battle of Lebanon occurred July 5, 1863, in

Lebanon, Kentucky Lebanon is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Marion County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 6,274 at the 2020 census, up from 5,539 in 2010. Lebanon is located in central Kentucky, southeast of Louisville. A na ...

, during

Morgan's Raid Morgan's Raid (also the Calico Raid or Great Raid of 1863) was a diversionary incursion by Confederate States Army, Confederate cavalry into the Union (American Civil War), Union states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia during the A ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

troops under Brig. Gen.

John Hunt Morgan John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825September 4, 1864) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. In April 1862, he raised the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment, fought at Shiloh, and then launched a costly raid in Kentucky, which encouraged Br ...

fought for six hours to overcome the small

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

garrison before moving northward, eventually riding through

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and much of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

before surrendering. Morgan and his 2,460 Confederate cavalrymen rode west from

Sparta, Tennessee Sparta is a city in and the county seat of White County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,001 in 2020.U.S. Census ...

on June 11, 1863, intending to divert the attention of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

Army of the Ohio The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union Army, Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863. History 1st Army of the Ohio General Orders No. 97 appointed ...

from Confederate forces occupying the state. On June 23, the U.S.

Army of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creatio ...

began its operations against Gen.

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army Officer (armed forces), officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate General officers in the Confederate States Army, general in th ...

's Confederate Army of Tennessee in what became known as the Tullahoma Campaign, and Morgan decided to move northward. Morgan crossed the rain-swollen

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

by July 2 at

Burkesville, Kentucky Burkesville is a home rule-class city in Cumberland County, Kentucky, in the United States. Nestled among the rolling foothills of Appalachia and bordered by the Cumberland River to the south and east, it is the seat of its county. The populati ...

. After being defeated by

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

troops along the Green River at the

Battle of Tebbs Bend The Battle of Tebbs Bend (or Tebb's Bend or Green River Bridge) was fought on July 4, 1863, near the Green River in Taylor County, Kentucky during Morgan's Raid in the American Civil War. Despite being badly outnumbered, elements of the Union ...

on July 4, Morgan withdrew and circled to the west, hoping to reach

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, then lightly defended. Morgan surprised and captured the U.S. Army garrison at

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. With minimal time to prepare, U.S. Lt. Col. Charles S. Hanson (a brother of Confederate general Roger Hanson) quickly deployed his 350 - 400 men from the 20th Kentucky Infantry behind overturned wagons, hastily erected barricades, fences, and other cover. Arriving at the town, Morgan formally requested that Hanson surrender, an offer that was refused. With a vast numerical advantage, Morgan quickly pushed Hanson's advance pickets back through the town's streets. He trapped many U.S. soldiers in the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...

depot, but the well-fortified brick building provided considerable protection. Morgan ordered nearby buildings set on fire, hoping to force Hanson to surrender. In a sharp six-hour fight, U.S. soldiers killed Morgan's 19-year-old brother, Lt. Thomas Morgan, during the final charge. Morgan finally captured and paroled the enemy soldiers. His men burned the offices of the circuit and county clerks and 20 other buildings.

Notes

References

* Duke, Basil Wilson, ''A History of Morgan's Cavalry.'' Cincinnati, Ohio: Miami Printing and Pub. Co., 1867
On-line version
* Horwitz, Lester V., ''The Longest Raid of the Civil War.'' Cincinnati, Ohio: Farmcourt Publishing, Inc., 1999. . * Mowery, David L., ''Morgan's Great Raid: The Remarkable Expedition from Kentucky to Ohio''. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2013. .

External links

Trails-R-Us: The Death of Tom Morgan
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Lebanon, Kentucky

1863 in Kentucky

July 1863

See also

Notes

References

External links