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Corydon: the Forgotten Battle of the Civil War
Corydon the Forgotten Battle of the Civil War in Indiana
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 3, 2025
In the summer of 1863, Confederate general John Hunt Morgan led his force of 2500 cavalry into the North on a great raid that spanned 5 states. The book covers the crossing from Kentucky into Indiana at Brandenburg, Kentucky and Mauckport, Indiana, which was followed a day later by a battle 14 miles north, just outside Corydon, Indiana.
In the Battle of Corydon, which lasted about an hour, Morgan’s force of approximately 1800 flanked and defeated an Indiana Home Guard force of approximately 450. Casualties were relatively light, with 15 killed and 50 or so wounded.
I learned about the Battle of Corydon while visiting a family member. The house that was Morgan’s headquarters in Brandenburg is literally next door to that family member’s residence. This is the only known book on the battle in print, as far as I know. While the writing is average, the author provides background on the entire raid and firsthand accounts of the battle. I recommend this for those wanting to learn about the raid in general and the battle in particular.
In the Battle of Corydon, which lasted about an hour, Morgan’s force of approximately 1800 flanked and defeated an Indiana Home Guard force of approximately 450. Casualties were relatively light, with 15 killed and 50 or so wounded.
I learned about the Battle of Corydon while visiting a family member. The house that was Morgan’s headquarters in Brandenburg is literally next door to that family member’s residence. This is the only known book on the battle in print, as far as I know. While the writing is average, the author provides background on the entire raid and firsthand accounts of the battle. I recommend this for those wanting to learn about the raid in general and the battle in particular.
October 17, 2022
Published in 1991 by FBH Publishers.
If you have ever traveled across Southern Indiana visiting historical sites like the Falls of the Ohio (a great fossil bed and a Lewis and Clark site), the Lincoln boyhood site and New Harmony then you have certainly seen a history written by W. Fred Conway.
I know that the top-rated, best-selling history authors depend a lot on writers like W. Fred Conway in order to get the more popular, wider-audience histories written. Why? Because Conway is a fan of Indiana history and he has done a lot of research that big name historians would never have time to do simply out of a love for his local area. This is one of the many books he has written about Indiana, Kentucky and/or Ohio and life along the Ohio River. Conway knows his stuff.
Unfortunately, there's not much of a story in the story of the Battle of Corydon. It was part of John Hunt Morgan's July 1863 into Union territory. The raid started June 11 in Tennessee and after more than 1,000 miles ended July 26 in Ohio along the Ohio River near West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Along the way, Morgan fought one real battle, although he had lots of little skirmishes. On July 9 a little less than 400 members local home guard militia set up a battle line and fought more than 2,000 Confederate cavalry in the Battle of Corydon. They were quickly outflanked on both sides and captured. This was one of two Civil War battles fought on Union soil - the other one was Gettysburg a week earlier.
To their credit, the militia gave better than they got. The militia killed 11 Confederate soldiers and wounded 40 and suffered 4 dead and 10-12 wounded. The captured militia was paroled (released on the promise that they would no longer fight in the war in any way) and Morgan's men moved on after some looting and taking more than $25,000 in Union money from local businessmen in exchange for not burning down their businesses.
That's the basics of the battle. It didn't take very long and was tiny in comparison to the two massive battles that took place in July of 1863: Vicksburg, Mississippi and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was interesting to note that Morgan learned about the results of those other two battles while he was in Corydon.
The book goes on to tell a "lite" version of the rest of the raid, including Morgan's capture and subsequent escape. However, there's still not a lot to this book. There are dozens of photos and drawings (always appreciated - but there were so many that it felt like filler). There is also an appendix about "Corydon Today" - a historical document in it's own right, considering it was printed 31 years ago. All of the pictures and the appendices made me wonder of the publisher had a minimum page requirement.
I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.
https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2022...
If you have ever traveled across Southern Indiana visiting historical sites like the Falls of the Ohio (a great fossil bed and a Lewis and Clark site), the Lincoln boyhood site and New Harmony then you have certainly seen a history written by W. Fred Conway.
I know that the top-rated, best-selling history authors depend a lot on writers like W. Fred Conway in order to get the more popular, wider-audience histories written. Why? Because Conway is a fan of Indiana history and he has done a lot of research that big name historians would never have time to do simply out of a love for his local area. This is one of the many books he has written about Indiana, Kentucky and/or Ohio and life along the Ohio River. Conway knows his stuff.
Unfortunately, there's not much of a story in the story of the Battle of Corydon. It was part of John Hunt Morgan's July 1863 into Union territory. The raid started June 11 in Tennessee and after more than 1,000 miles ended July 26 in Ohio along the Ohio River near West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Along the way, Morgan fought one real battle, although he had lots of little skirmishes. On July 9 a little less than 400 members local home guard militia set up a battle line and fought more than 2,000 Confederate cavalry in the Battle of Corydon. They were quickly outflanked on both sides and captured. This was one of two Civil War battles fought on Union soil - the other one was Gettysburg a week earlier.
To their credit, the militia gave better than they got. The militia killed 11 Confederate soldiers and wounded 40 and suffered 4 dead and 10-12 wounded. The captured militia was paroled (released on the promise that they would no longer fight in the war in any way) and Morgan's men moved on after some looting and taking more than $25,000 in Union money from local businessmen in exchange for not burning down their businesses.
That's the basics of the battle. It didn't take very long and was tiny in comparison to the two massive battles that took place in July of 1863: Vicksburg, Mississippi and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was interesting to note that Morgan learned about the results of those other two battles while he was in Corydon.
The book goes on to tell a "lite" version of the rest of the raid, including Morgan's capture and subsequent escape. However, there's still not a lot to this book. There are dozens of photos and drawings (always appreciated - but there were so many that it felt like filler). There is also an appendix about "Corydon Today" - a historical document in it's own right, considering it was printed 31 years ago. All of the pictures and the appendices made me wonder of the publisher had a minimum page requirement.
I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.
https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2022...
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