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H O R S E P E O P L E

Re-enacting the Civil War,

Morgan’s Raid II was

as real as it gets.

By Holly Clanahan

Photos by Carl Staub

WAR

Peace

The Union cavalry on the move. Each sidecounted about 80 horses, and that madefor impressive columns. We could onlywonder about what Gen. Morgan’sforces, whichnumbered2,400, looked like.

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was time to feed and water the horses. (Food and water wastrucked in for horses and humans, alike, so we didn’t have toactually “raid” the countryside as Morgan’s men did.)After a quick breakfast in the dark for the riders, the

buglers played “boots and saddles,” which meant that you’dbetter hustle your saddle on and mount up.Though the mornings were rushed, there was time for less

hurried conversation on the road and later, sitting aroundfires in camp.“Some of us have been doing this close to 25 years,” said

Michael “Iceman” Bailey of Avenue, Maryland, pointing outthat the backgrounds of today’s soldiers are just as varied asthose of the Civil War soldiers they’re portraying. The ranksinclude carpenters, masons, farmers, construction workers,railroad workers, lawyers, small-businessmen and retiredmilitary men.“I love horses. I love history. My family fought in this

war,” Michael said softly. “The people that died … the horsesthat died … to make sure it’s not forgotten, that’s theimportant thing.“We do it ’cause we love it,” he summarized.Not a week after returning from Morgan’s Raid II, the 6th

Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, of which Darrell is a member, wasalready planning to attend another re-enactment in Virginiain October.“We do events so we have things to talk about at the

campfire,” Darrell joked. But it’s not entirely untrue.“This is what builds campfire stories,” said Louisianan

Frank Crooks, “and memories.”Paul “Mad Dog” Rice Jr., the artillery commander who

masterminded the cannon ambush, said one of his fellowsoldiers told him on a particularly hard-driving day that“it was the best mental vacation he’d ever had in his life.He just got away from reality. We were only concentratingon getting from Point A to Point B, and when you get toconcentrating like that, you lose where you’re at in life. …“When you’re re-enacting, that’s the point you want to be.

You want to be somewhere else, so you can forget aboutwhatever problems you have in life.”Experiences like that are what Darrell calls “Civil War

heavily scripted battles, he said. “This is an ongoing thing,with one group chasing another one and covering so muchground. … You get a feeling of what it was like.”That’s what appealed to David Hauser, commander of the

2nd Virginia Cavalry, Co. C.“I call it an interaction of professionals,” he said. “We’re

not putting on a show. We’re out here to be good soldiers.”So tactics were on the cavalrymen’s minds, but so, too, were

the horses. After all, in the Civil War, that was the only thingstanding between them and the much-derided infantry.Today, a sense of horsemanship prevails, and the horses arenever far from their riders’ minds – literally.“It really is a celebration of the

horse,” said Darrell, who’s fromCanton, Ohio. “It was good to see somany people who work so hard totake care of their animals.”Picket lines were strung up

between trees at each night’s camp-site, and troopers made their beds notfar away. We slept on the ground, onbedrolls cushioned by flakes of hay,and it was pleasant staring up at thecrisp stars above and listening to thesounds of horses softly snorting andsifting through their hay.Whatever sweet dreams the troopers

might have been having, however,were interrupted by the first buglecall at 5:20 a.m. each morning. Itwas followed by another 10 minuteslater, and troopers barely had time toget their bedrolls rolled away andpacked on their saddles before the“stable call” came, alerting us that it

A in early September. It was one of those invitations I couldn’tpossibly refuse. We were to retrace the steps of Confederate Gen. John

Hunt Morgan – portrayed by Darrell – as he invadedsouthern Ohio in 1863, stealing horses and provisions inan attempt to draw federal troops away from Tennessee.His plan worked, as Union forces took up the chase, followingMorgan and his 2,400 men eastward across the state toPortland, Ohio. There, Morgan intended to ford the OhioRiver, taking him into the friendlier territory of WestVirginia and on further south. As history goes, the Confederates did a decent-enough

job of fending off their pursuers (hence the successfulcannon ploy) until Morgan made a fateful decision to resthis men and horses. The Union cavalry soldiers caught upwith him near Portland, as did a unit of Union infantryand local militia. And the Ohio River had risen enoughfor Union gunboats to traverse it, so naval forces alsoplayed a part in what’s known as the Battle of BuffingtonIsland, the only Civil War battle fought on Ohio soil.Morgan was defeated and many of his men captured. More than 140 years later, 170 re-enactors and their horses

were split into opposing sides to play out a realistic versionof those events. “There wasn’t much scripting at all,” Darrell said, which

made Morgan’s Raid II different from typical re-enactmentsthat are more like public performances, recreating a specificbattle. “This was more of a 24-7 kind of event. You essentiallyfought the ground as you saw it, which resulted in the militarycommanders making decisions and tactical choices like ourpredecessors actually did.” Tim Short of Weybridge, Vermont, riding San Peppy

Rowdy Roe, served as a scout, riding ahead of the main federalcolumn and searching for Confederates laying in wait.“This is different from your average re-enactment” with

AROUND THE BEND OF A TREE-LINED COUNTRY LANE, CERTAINdeath awaited. The Union cavalrymen, anxious for a fight with the

Confederates who had been running from them all day, werechasing a few stragglers who galloped across a bridge, arounda corner and out of sight. When the boys in blue rounded the bend, they found

themselves facing the Confederate Army in formation andready for a standoff. Then the ranks parted to reveal anadded surprise: a horse-drawn cannon packed with a pow-erful load of ammunition that promised to send them totheir maker.“They killed the whole unit of us right there,” said Craig

Croft of Lake City, Florida, remembering the sneak attackearlier in the day. “It was a massacre.“We were tired of trail riding, and we were ready to stop

and fight a little. We were just too overanxious,” Craig said,by way of explanation. The Civil War re-enactment the men were on, Morgan’s

Raid II, did pass at times for an idyllic fall trail ride, but thenthe pop of gunfire interrupted, and horses were spurredtoward the action. Small talk along the way was abruptlyreplaced with quick tactical instructions, and a conversationwith saddlemaker Doug Kidd of Border States Leatherworksended with a polite tip of the hat and the drawled expla-nation: “I have a wa-ar to attend to!” For me, it was my first war. Portraying a Civil War

journalist, I rode with the troops just as my 19th centurycounterparts did. Dressed in period men’s clothing andusing a horse and tack borrowed from event coordinatorand AQHA member Darrell Markijohn, I tried to blendin with veterans of 20-plus years.I had done a story on the hobby in the March-April 2006

issue of America’s Horse, and Darrell invited me to ride alongon the four-day, 60-mile ride back in time, in southern Ohio Darrell Markijohn, at left, portrayed Gen. John Hunt Morgan. His dependable mount was LL Doc A Duedle Dues.

Early morning fog put a haze over reality, making it easy to believeyou had been transported back among 19th century cavalry troopers.

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a defining point where I could step back into the 19th cen-tury and experience what this ride was all about.”Other moments, vignettes from the black-powder and

saber fighting, are also etched on Darrell’s memory. “Those moments are all fixed in time,” he said. “I won’t

soon forget those.”His fellow event coordinator, Bob Vance of Johnstown,

Ohio, was portraying the commander of the Union cavalry,Gen. Edward Hobson, and he had his own recollections oftactical triumphs. Friday morning, he took part of his troops on a shortcut

that would land them on top of a hill, in front of theConfederate soldiers who were marching toward the OhioRiver. Another company of Union cavalrymen took a paththat allowed them to come up behind the Confederates. Although the timing was a little tricky, the plan worked,

and Bob said “we would have wiped (Morgan) out right thereif it had been an actual battle. Of course, nobody dies in ourre-enactments. They all live to fight another day.”No doubt, every soldier left reinvigorated with a special

memory or two, a daguerreotype of adventurous days. Besides that, there’s the camaraderie among the soldiers,

which echoes the kinship felt by real soldiers. There’s thegraciousness of the citizens of Vinton and Meigs counties,who welcomed the re-enactors much like the 19th centurysympathizers who offered provisions to the soldiers. Andthere’s the bond felt with the horses, who were the real troopers. “Now do you see why we do this?” asked Roy Prillaman,

who rides the “wheel” horse on the six-horse artillery team. Yes, sir. I do.

To learn more about re-enacting and about Morgan’s Raid II,visit the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry’s Web site at www.6th-ohio-cavalry.org.

moments.” Others call the teleport moments “seeing theelephant.”“It’s a moment during an event where you really feel like

you’re back there,” Darrell said. He experienced one the firstnight, before the soldiers even embarked on the raid.With the horses and riders settled into camp and his

administrative duties largely over, he looked over a foggyfield, lit by a spectral full moon behind the picket line.No modern intrusions, just soldiers and their horses restingfor the start of an arduous journey. “You see horses silhouetted in the fog and the rays of

moonlight shining down. That was a good moment. It was

Riding on the RaidRIDERS HAD BEEN STRONGLY ADMONISHED TO PREPARE

their horses for the grueling ride, which required nearly20 miles the first day. Horses had to be shod and hadto pass a vet check before being admitted into camp thefirst day. Vets and farriers were among the ranks totend to problems that cropped up, and chase vehiclesensured that injured horses and riders weren’t left tofend for themselves. Thankfully, no horses sustained serious injuries, but

even minor mishaps sparked discussion about how CivilWar soldiers handled emergencies without our luxuries.Theirs was a much harsher existence. “They either had to do what they could to take care of

them or they had to leave them behind,” event coordi-nator Bob Vance said of the Civil War mounts. “Thereweren’t too many choices.”Horses who fell out of the ranks because of injury or

exhaustion were referred to as “jaded,” and as DarrellMarkijohn, who coordinated the event along with Bob,said, “That’s why (Morgan’s men) were out there robbingcivilian horses.”In this century, Frank Crooks of Ville Platte, Louisiana,

was one of those who heeded the warnings about preparinghis horse, Wild Turkey Pudden, or “Willie.” “I’ve been preparing him for three and a half months,”

he said. “I got the time and distance down, then graduallystarted adding the equipment.” The cavalry horses, who have to lug weapons, ammu-

nition and bedrolls, in addition to their riders, should beconditioned to carry up to 250 pounds, Frank said. Frank, who is company commander of the 1st Louisiana

Cavalry, Co. E, was one of the soldiers who was watchingout for the horses’ welfare. He offered friendly remindersto less-attentive soldiers whose tin cups were hangingfrom their cantles. “If it bangs on the horse’s back, it will sore it,” he said.

“And it’s important to balance your load (with equalweight on both sides). You’ve got to be attentive to whatyou’re doing.”Despite his precautions, by the third day, the depend-

able 7-year-old Willie was getting tired. “He’ll get avacation,” Frank promised. Willie’s dam was also a cavalryhorse for Frank, as was her half-sister. “I’ve had Quarter Horses since the mid ’80s,” he said.

“Everybody swears that their breed is the best, but I’mjust sold on Quarter Horses all around.”So are many of the re-enactors, and several of them had

to brag just a little about their mounts. Brian DuBois of Wentworth, New Hampshire, bought

Sonnys Lonsum Zippo before the first re-enactment ofMorgan’s Raid in 2003 and said, “He really took to it. …He’s got such a good, sensible mind. He’s an awesomehorse. He’s my best buddy.”Brian, who describes himself as a fairly new rider,

loves the fact that his Quarter Horses have always takencare of him. “Anything you ask of them, they give their whole

heart and soul to it,” he said. “And this is a lot to ask ofan animal.”Cavalry horses must learn to tolerate small-arms fire

off their back, the booming of cannon fire nearby and thehand-to-hand saber fights that send them charging atone another. I saw some of what Brian was talking about firsthand

when, on the third day, I was mounted on a differenthorse, 3-year-old Rap Up A Clue, who was at only hersecond re-enactment. When skirmishes broke out and soldiers near us were

firing their pistols, “Sandy,” who is owned by DarrellMarkijohn, tossed her head but stayed calm. By thefourth day, the head flipping had disappeared, and she waswell on her way to becoming a cavalry veteran.

The Bohemian BrigadeCivil War journalists – which I was for the duration ofMorgan’s Raid II — were nothing if not colorful.Here’s how author and fellow member of the fourth

estate James M. Perry put it in his book “A BohemianBrigade: Mostly Rough, Sometimes Ready”: “They wererowdy and boisterous. They competed hard to be firstwith the news and got it wrong more often than theyshould have. They were frequently arrogant andpompous. They lied; they cheated; they spied on oneanother and on the generals they wrote about. They madeup battles they had never seen.”They also did an important service, providing civilians

back home with the only news there was forthcoming fromthe front. They endured many of the same hardships thesoldiers did, and they faced the loathing of most generals.(Thankfully, that wasn’t the case for me!) In fact, UnionGeneral William Tecumseh Sherman called them “buzzardsof the press.” My 19th-century counterparts also didn’t have the

liberty to ride with both sides, as I was fortunateenough to do. Perry’s book, however, recounted one Northern jour-

nalist who – fortified by Catawba wine – ventured intoa nearby Confederate camp. As he took his leave, theUnion general told him, “You’re a damned fool anyhowand will be hanged, as you deserve to be.” Fortunately for the journalist, however, the Southern

general’s aide recognized his name from an even-handedreport of a previous battle, and he was allowed to goabout his business, Perry wrote.

Horses and riders alike feel the heat of battlein saber fights. Other authentic weaponsused are black-powder pistols and carbines.

Buglers relayed messages to thetroops: everything from when toeat to which direction to turn.

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