The Second Battle of Cynthiana included three separate engagements during the American Civil War that were fought on June 11 and 12, 1864, in Harrison County, Kentucky, in and near the town of Cynthiana. This was part of ConfederateBrigadier GeneralJohn H. Morgan's 1864 Raid into Kentucky. The battle ultimately resulted in a victory by Union forces over the raiders and ended Morgan's Last Kentucky Raid in defeat. Morgan's command had previously captured the town in the First Battle of Cynthiana, July 17, 1862.
At dawn on June 11, 1864, Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan approached Cynthiana with 1,200 cavalrymen. The town was defended by a small Union force under Colonel Conrad Garis, commanding five companies of the 168th Ohio Infantry and some home guard troops, about 300 men all together. Morgan divided his troops into two columns which approached the town from the south and east, and launched an attack at the covered bridge, driving Garis' forces back towards the Kentucky Central Railroad depot and north along the railroad towards the Rankin House, which Federal troops used as a fortified position. Having no artillery in which to drive the Federals from their positions, the Confederates set fire to the town, destroying thirty-seven buildings and killing some of the Union troops.
As the fighting flared in Cynthiana, another Union force, about 500 men of the 171st Ohio Infantry (along with 30 men from the 47th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry and 70 men from the 52nd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry) under the overall command of Brigadier General Edward Hobson, arrived by train about a mile north of the Cynthiana at Keller's Bridge, the bridge having been burned by a detachment of Morgan's command a few days prior. This force fought portions of Morgan's force for about six hours. Eventually Morgan trapped this new Union force in a meander of the Licking River. All together, Morgan had about 1,300 Union prisoners of war camping with him overnight in line of battle. The 171st Ohio Infantry was paroled the next day. This engagement, Morgan's last victory, was known as the Battle of Keller's Bridge [bridge named for Abraham Keller, not spelled "Kellar"].[1]
With little ammunition, Morgan recklessly decided to stay and fight an expected larger Union force. Brigadier General Stephen G. Burbridge with 2,400 men, a combined force of Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan mounted infantry and cavalry, along with a section of artillery, attacked Morgan at dawn on June 12, this action taking place on the hills east of town. The Union forces drove the Rebels back, causing them to flee into Cynthiana, where many were captured or killed. General Morgan and many of his officers escaped. Combined casualties in the separate Union forces were 1,092 men, while Morgan is estimated to have lost about 1,000 men, although no firm records exist.
Cynthiana demonstrated that Union numbers and mobility were starting to take their toll; Confederate cavalry and partisans could no longer raid with impunity.
^Penn, William A. (2016). Kentucky Rebel Town. Lexington: U. Press of Kentucky. pp. 105–137, 175–242. ISBN9780813167718.
CWSAC Report Update - Kentucky
William A. Penn, Rattling Spurs and Broad-Brimmed Hats: The Civil War in Cynthiana and Harrison County, Kentucky,(1995) 105, 114, 124
William A. Penn, Kentucky Rebel Town: Civil War Battles of Cynthiana and Harrison County, (Lexington: U. Press of Kentucky, 2016), chapters five, eight, nine and ten.
Further readingedit
Penn, William A. (1995). Rattling Spurs and Broad-Brimmed Hats: The Civil War in Cynthiana and Harrison County, Kentucky. Midway, Kentucky: Battle Grove Press. ISBN0-9646989-1-9.
"Kentucky's Civil War Heritage Trail" ed. Bruce Brooks, published by Kentucky Department of Travel, kentuckytourism.com
Penn, William A., Kentucky Rebel Town: Civil War Battles of Cynthiana and Harrison County, (Lexington: U. Press of Kentucky, 2016)
Onlineedit
Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation Facebook
Walking With History (offers tours of Cynthiana and other sites)
battle, cynthiana, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Battle of Cynthiana news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Second Battle of CynthianaPart of the American Civil WarInterpretive panel in CynthianaDateJune 11 12 1864LocationCynthiana Kentucky38 24 25 N 84 18 20 W 38 4070 N 84 3056 W 38 4070 84 3056ResultUnion victoryBelligerentsUnited States Union CSA Confederacy Commanders and leadersConrad GarisEdward H HobsonStephen Gano BurbridgeJohn H MorganH L GiltnerD Howard SmithRobert M MartinUnits involved168th Ohio Infantry171st Ohio InfantryHarrison County Home Guards7th Ohio Cavalry12th Ohio Cavalry9th Michigan Cavalry11th Michigan Cavalry16th Kentucky Cavalry30th Kentucky Infantry39th Kentucky Infantry37th Kentucky Infantry40th Kentucky Infantry47th Kentucky Infantry52nd Kentucky InfantryBattery C Kentucky Light Artillery1st Kentucky Special Cavalry Battalion2nd Kentucky Special Cavalry Battalion3rd Kentucky Special Cavalry Battalion4th Kentucky Cavalry10th Kentucky Cavalry Battalion1st Kentucky Mounted Rifles Battalion2nd Kentucky Mounted Rifles Battalion10th Kentucky Mounted Rifles Battalion6th Confederate BattalionStrength24001 200Casualties and losses1 0921 000 The Second Battle of Cynthiana included three separate engagements during the American Civil War that were fought on June 11 and 12 1864 in Harrison County Kentucky in and near the town of Cynthiana This was part of Confederate Brigadier General John H Morgan s 1864 Raid into Kentucky The battle ultimately resulted in a victory by Union forces over the raiders and ended Morgan s Last Kentucky Raid in defeat Morgan s command had previously captured the town in the First Battle of Cynthiana July 17 1862 At dawn on June 11 1864 Brig Gen John H Morgan approached Cynthiana with 1 200 cavalrymen The town was defended by a small Union force under Colonel Conrad Garis commanding five companies of the 168th Ohio Infantry and some home guard troops about 300 men all together Morgan divided his troops into two columns which approached the town from the south and east and launched an attack at the covered bridge driving Garis forces back towards the Kentucky Central Railroad depot and north along the railroad towards the Rankin House which Federal troops used as a fortified position Having no artillery in which to drive the Federals from their positions the Confederates set fire to the town destroying thirty seven buildings and killing some of the Union troops As the fighting flared in Cynthiana another Union force about 500 men of the 171st Ohio Infantry along with 30 men from the 47th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry and 70 men from the 52nd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry under the overall command of Brigadier General Edward Hobson arrived by train about a mile north of the Cynthiana at Keller s Bridge the bridge having been burned by a detachment of Morgan s command a few days prior This force fought portions of Morgan s force for about six hours Eventually Morgan trapped this new Union force in a meander of the Licking River All together Morgan had about 1 300 Union prisoners of war camping with him overnight in line of battle The 171st Ohio Infantry was paroled the next day This engagement Morgan s last victory was known as the Battle of Keller s Bridge bridge named for Abraham Keller not spelled Kellar 1 With little ammunition Morgan recklessly decided to stay and fight an expected larger Union force Brigadier General Stephen G Burbridge with 2 400 men a combined force of Ohio Kentucky and Michigan mounted infantry and cavalry along with a section of artillery attacked Morgan at dawn on June 12 this action taking place on the hills east of town The Union forces drove the Rebels back causing them to flee into Cynthiana where many were captured or killed General Morgan and many of his officers escaped Combined casualties in the separate Union forces were 1 092 men while Morgan is estimated to have lost about 1 000 men although no firm records exist Cynthiana demonstrated that Union numbers and mobility were starting to take their toll Confederate cavalry and partisans could no longer raid with impunity Contents 1 See also 2 References 3 Further reading 4 OnlineSee also editList of battles fought in KentuckyReferences edit Penn William A 2016 Kentucky Rebel Town Lexington U Press of Kentucky pp 105 137 175 242 ISBN 9780813167718 National Park Service battle description CWSAC Report Update Kentucky William A Penn Rattling Spurs and Broad Brimmed Hats The Civil War in Cynthiana and Harrison County Kentucky 1995 105 114 124 William A Penn Kentucky Rebel Town Civil War Battles of Cynthiana and Harrison County Lexington U Press of Kentucky 2016 chapters five eight nine and ten Further reading editPenn William A 1995 Rattling Spurs and Broad Brimmed Hats The Civil War in Cynthiana and Harrison County Kentucky Midway Kentucky Battle Grove Press ISBN 0 9646989 1 9 Kentucky s Civil War Heritage Trail ed Bruce Brooks published by Kentucky Department of Travel kentuckytourism com Penn William A Kentucky Rebel Town Civil War Battles of Cynthiana and Harrison County Lexington U Press of Kentucky 2016 Online editCynthiana Battlefields Foundation Facebook Civil War Album Walking With History offers tours of Cynthiana and other sites Division Brigade Regiments and OthersFifth Division XXIII Corps Army of the Ohio Brigadier General Stephen G Burbridge 1st Cavalry Brigade Colonel Israel Garrard 9th Michigan Cavalry Colonel George S Acker 7th Ohio Cavalry Lieutenant Colonel George G Miner 16th Kentucky Cavalry First Battalion Captain Charles Bachman2nd Cavalry Brigade Colonel David A Mims 39th Kentucky Infantry Colonel David A Mims 11th Michigan Cavalry Colonel Simeon B Brown3rd Cavalry Brigade Colonel Charles S Hanson 12th Ohio Cavalry Lieutenant Colonel R H Bentley 40th Kentucky Mounted Infantry 37th Kentucky Mounted Infantry detachment Major John B Tyler 52nd Kentucky Mounted Infantry detachment Major John B Tyler 1st Kentucky Artillery Battery C 2 mountain howitzers Lieutenant McReynolds4th Cavalry Brigade Colonel John Mason Brown 45th Kentucky Mounted Infantry Lieutenant Colonel R H Bentley Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Cynthiana amp oldid 1182664208, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
