The Object of the Raid.-Little progress had been made in the organization of the State militia, when in July, 1863, there came another sudden and pressing demand for it.

In July, 1863, Rosecrans at Stone River was menacing Bragg at Tullahoma. Burnside at Cincinnati was organizing a force for service against Buckner in East Tennessee. The communications of Burnside and Rosecrans extended through Kentucky, covered by some ten thousand troops under Gen. Judah. Bragg felt that if these communications were threatened by a division, the advance of Rosecrans or Burnside would be delayed, and these officers kept from reinforcing each other. Gen. John Morgan was the man selected for this service. He had orders to go where he chose in Kentucky, to attempt the capture of Louisville, but was forbidden to cross the Ohio river.

Morgan's Plan -Morgan at once set about preparing for his raid, but in defiance of orders to the contrary he determined to cross the Ohio river somewhere near Louisville, make a rapid detour through southern Indiana and Ohio, and recross the river back into Kentucky at Buffington Island, about forty miles below Marietta. In pursuance of this plan men were sent into Ohio to gather information and examine the fords of the upper Ohio.

His plan was daring and brilliant, as was also its execution, and but for the unexpected and unprecedented high water for the time of year, which enabled gunboats to pass up the river with troops to cut off his escape, he would have brought his daring raiders through in safety.

Morgan Crosses Kentucky.--On the 2d of July he crossed the Cumberland with twenty-four hundred and sixty men, and after a skirmish with Judah's cavalry, was half way to Columbia before Judah (who had trusted to the swollen condition of the stream to prevent the crossing) could get his forces together. The next day he had a severe fight at the crossing of the Green river with a Michigan regiment under Col. Moore; they made a determined resistance, and Morgan, having no time to spare, was obliged to withdraw, found another crossing and hurried on through Campbellstown to Lebanon. Here were stationed three regiments, but two of them being some distance from the town he overwhelmed the one in the town before the other two could get up and hastened on to Springfield, eight miles north, where he paroled his prisoners and turned northwestward, marching direct for Brandenburg, on the Ohio river, sixty miles below Louisville. Having tapped the telegraph wires, he learned that the forces at Louisville were too strong for him and gave

up all designs against that city, but captured a train from Nashville when within thirty miles of Louisville.

Two companies were sent ahead to secure means of transportation across the Ohio river, which the main force reached on the morning of the 8th, having crossed the State of Kentucky in five days. Here he found the two companies sent forward had captured two packet boats, the "J. J. McCombs and Alice Dean," and he prepared for crossing, when some Indiana militia on the other side opened fire upon them with musketry and an old cannon mounted on wagon wheels; Morgan sent two of his regiments across, and bringing up his Parrott rifles the militia were forced to retreat, the two rebel regiments pursuing. The main force was about to follow, when a little tin-clad, the "Springfield," came steaming down the river.Suddenly checking her way," writes Basil W. Duke, Morgan's second in command, "she tossed her snub nose defiantly, like an angry beauty of the coal pits, sidled a little toward the town, and commenced to scold. A bluish-white funnel-shaped cloud spouted out from her left-hand bow, and a shot flew at the town; then changing front forward she snapped a shell at the men on the other side. I wish I were sufficiently master of nautical phraseology to do justice to this little vixen's style of fighting; but she was so unlike a horse, or even a piece of light artillery, that I cannot venture to attempt it."

Morgan Crosses the Ohio into Indiana.— It was a critical moment for the raiders, as every hour of delay brought Hobson nearer in pursuit; but when Morgan's Parrotts were turned upon her she was compelled to retire, owing to the inequality in the range of guns; the raiders then crossed the river, burned their boats, and had marched six miles before night.

Up to this point the movements of Morgan had created but little alarm in the North: they had been used to panics from threatened invasions of Ohio and Indiana. Heretofore such invasions had amounted to little more than raids through Kentucky for horses, the Ohio river being looked upon as the extreme northern limit of these expeditions; but when it was learned that Morgan had crossed the river, consternation spread throughout Indiana and Ohio, all sorts of rumors and conjectures were circulated as to his intentions; at first Indianapolis and its State Treasury were said to be his objectives, then Cincinnati and its banks, then Columbus and its Treasury, and the alarm extended to the lake shore. Morgan had anticipated this alarm, desired it and did all he could to circulate delusive and exaggerated reports of

his strength and intentions and, by means of expert telegraphers, tapped the wires and kept informed of the movements against him. It was a part of his plan to avoid large towns and large bodies of militia, to cause by false alarms the concentration of forces in the larger towns for defence, and then by rapid marching pass around the defended points, cross Indiana and Ohio and into Kentucky before his purpose could be divined or any adequate force be brought against him.

Reaches the Ohio Line.-He rapidly crossed Indiana, burning bridges, looting small towns, overwhelming any small force that offered any opposition, and releasing the prisoners on parole, until on Monday, July 13th, he reached Harrison, on the State line between Indiana and Ohio.

"Here," writes Duke, “Gen. Morgan began to manoeuvre for the benefit of the commanding officer at Cincinnati. He took it for granted that there was a strong force of regular troops in Cincinnati. Burnside had them not far off, and Gen. Morgan supposed that they would of course be brought there. If we could get past Cincinnati safely, the danger of the expedition, he thought, would be more than half over. Here he expected to be confronted by the concentrated forces of Judah and Burnside, and he anticipated great difficulty in eluding or cutting his way through them. Once safely through this peril, his escape would be certain, unless the river remained so high that the transports could carry troops to intercept him at the upper crossings. Thinking that the great effort to capture him would be made as he crossed the Hamilton and Dayton railroad, his object was to deceive the enemy as to the exact point where he would cross it, and denude that point as much as possible of troops. He sent detachments in various directions, seeking, however, to create the impression that he was marching to Hamilton."

When Morgan entered Ohio his force amounted to less than 2,000 men, the others having been killed or captured in skirmishes, or, unable to keep up with the rapid marching of his flying column, had fallen behind exhausted, to be picked up by the citizensoldiery, who hovered round his line of march.

Passes Around Cincinnati.—While Cincinnati was filled with apprehension and alarm at Morgan's advance, he, on the other hand, was equally apprehensive of danger from that city, and by the greatest march he ever made slipped around it in the night. Duke says of this march: "It was a terrible, trying march. Strong men fell out of their saddles, and at every halt the officers were compelled to move continually about in their respective companies and pull and haul the men, who would drop asleep in the road. It was the only way to keep them awake. Quite a number crept off into the fields, and slept until they were awakened by the enemy. At length day appeared just as we reached the last point where we had to anticipate danger.

We had passed through Glendale and all of the principal suburban roads, and were near the Little Miami railroad.

".... We crossed the railroad without opposition, and halted to feed the horses in sight of Camp Dennison. After a short rest here and a picket skirmish we resumed our march, burning in this neighborhood a park of government wagons. That evening at four o'clock we were at Williamsburg, twentyeight miles east of Cincinnati, having marched since leaving Summansville, in Indiana, in a period of thirty-five hours, more than ninety miles the greatest march that even Morgan had ever made. Feeling comparatively safe here, he permitted the division to go into camp and remain during the night.

While Morgan was swinging his exhausted men around Cincinnati the following despatches were sent to Gen. Burnside in that city:

11.30 P. M. A courier arrived last evening at Gen. Burnside's headquarters, having left Cheviot at half-past eight P. M., with information for the general. Cheviot is only seven miles from the city. He states that about 500 of Morgan's men had crossed the river at Miamitown, and attacked our pickets, killing or capturing one of them. Morgan's main force, said to be 3,000 strong, was then crossing the river. A portion of the rebel force had been up to New Haven, and another had gone to New Baltimore, and partially destroyed both of those places. The light of the burning towns was seen by our men. When the courier left Morgan was moving up, it was reported, to attack our advance."

'1 A. M. A courier has just arrived at headquarters from Colerain. He reports that the enemy, supposed to be 2,500 strong, with six pieces of artillery, crossed the Colerain pike at dark, at Bevis, going toward New Burlington, or to Cincinnati and Hamilton pike, in direction of Springdale."

"1.30 A. M. A despatch from Jones' Station states that the enemy are now encamped between Venice and New Balti