Battle of Corydon
The Battle of Corydon was the only pitched battle of the Civil War that occurred in Indiana. It occurred during Morgan’s Raid in the American Civil War as a force of 2,500 cavalry invaded the North in support of the Tullahoma Campaign. It was the last Civil War battle to take place in the state before the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.
About Battle of Corydon in brief
The Battle of Corydon was the only pitched battle of the Civil War that occurred in Indiana. It occurred during Morgan’s Raid in the American Civil War as a force of 2,500 cavalry invaded the North in support of the Tullahoma Campaign. Governor Oliver P. Morton called out the state’s militia force, the Indiana Legion, to defend against the threat. Four companies of the Legion attempted to prevent the Confederates from crossing the Ohio River into Indiana, but were overcome by superior artillery fire. Confederates then seized the Legion’s commissary supplies on the edge of town, and fired two warning shots into the downtown from their artillery. Although the short battle cost the cavalry twice as many casualties as the outnumbered militia units, the battle resulted in a Confederate victory, which enabled Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan to secure supplies and money before continuing his raid through Indiana and into Ohio. The delay, however, proved critical in helping the pursuing Union army overtake and later capture Morgan and his forces. In the afternoon of July 7, 1863, an advance force of Confederates entered Brandenburg, Kentucky, where they captured several elements of the 6th and 8th Regiment of Indiana and captured several others before they escaped back into Kentucky. Since then, no battle has occurred within Indiana since the battle of July 9, 1863. It was the last Civil War battle to take place in the state before the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The battle was won by the Union Army of the Cumberland, which was led by Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee.
The Union Army had ordered Morgan to attack any settlements of his choosing in Kentucky, but not to cross the Ohio river into Union territory. Morgan was already planning to disregard the orders and had sent scouts beyond the river before leaving Tennessee. After the battle, the federal government had put a regiment of regular cavalry troops in south central Indiana for defensive purposes. After patrolling the border for several months, no new raids materialized, and they were withdrawn in March 1863, leaving only the local militia for defense. The federal government put a regular cavalry regiment in southcentral Indiana for defense in April 1863, but it was withdrawn again in March 1864, leaving the state in the hands of local militia. The last time a regular regiment was deployed into Indiana was in April 1864. The state’s last regular cavalry unit was withdrawn in May 1864 after the Newburgh Raid, which took place the same month as Morgan’s raid into Kentucky, and was replaced by a local militia regiment. The Indiana Legion was formed to defend the Indiana border, which had been the original capital of Indiana until 1825. The Legion was commanded by Col. Lewis Jordan, who was captured by Morgan. Morgan had his men tap the Unionlegraph lines and send conflicting reports about his strength and destination. Most Union officials believed his target was Kentucky, so Morgan did not take any chances, taking any chances. Morgan’s column advanced to the Green River where it was deflected by a Union regiment at Tebbs Bend on July 4.
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This page is based on the article Battle of Corydon published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
