Rebel Raider: The Life of General John Hunt Morgan

by James A. Ramage

The first full biography of the famous Confederate cavalry leader from Kentucky. It provides fresh, unpublished information on all aspects of Morgan's life and furnishes a new perspective on the Civil War. In a highly original interpretation, Ramage portrays Morgan as a revolutionary guerrilla chief. Using the tactics of guerrilla war and making his own rules, Morgan terrorized federal provost marshals in an independent campaign to protect Confederate sympathizers in Kentucky. He killed pickets and used the enemy uniform as a disguise, frequently masquerading as a Union officer. Employing civilians in the fighting, he set off a cycle of escalating violence which culminated in an unauthorized policy of retaliation by his command on the property of Union civilians.

To many southerners, Morgan became the prime model of a popular movement for guerrilla warfare that led to the Partisan Ranger Act. For Confederates he was the ideal romantic cavalier, the "Francis Marion of the War," and they make him a folk hero who was especially adored by women.

Discerning fact from folklore, Ramage describes Morgan's strengths and weaknesses and suggests that excessive dependence on his war bride contributed to his declining success. The author throws new light on the Indiana-Ohio Raid and the suspenseful escape from the Ohio Penitentiary and unravels the mysteries around Morgan's death in Greeneville, Tennessee. Rebel Raider also shows how in the popular mind John Hunt Morgan was deified as a symbol of the Lost Cause.

Genres: Civil War, Biography, History, American Civil War

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1986

Reviews

[Hugh Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ramage has a true gift at humanizing the romanticized figures of our folklore. Moran is a legend of Kentucky's history, but his portrayal by Ramage enables the reader to see his flaws as well as his virtues. The drama of the soldier, John Hunt Morgan, who raided deep into enemy territory and staged a daring prison escape in the middle of the War, fits neatly within the larger context of the War. A reader might suppose that Ramage pays excessive attention to Morgan's flaws, but a man who would allow himself to be surprised in Lebanon and in the raid that took his life certainly deserves a degree of criticism.

[Delicate Bellwether · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book by Dr. Ramage zeroes in on Morgan, bringing the past to life. The detail with which it's written pulsates with Morgan's feelings that were often suppressed, though just below the surface. Uncanny actions are retold. The subject himself, John Hunt Morgan, was such a multi-faceted character that one couldn't ask for more versatility in a human for providing fascinating material. You must read the book to the end, though I'll not disclose my sentiment on it, lest I give anything away.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Carl Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novelists need to know home-grown terrorists.