They Were Wearing Union Blue

The Union XIV Army Corp’s 39th Brigade was guarding a river crossing on the Cumberland at Hartsville, Tennessee to keep Confederate cavalry from raiding across. The 39th was made up of the 106th, and 108th Ohio, 104th Illinois and 2nd Indiana Cavalry. In the early morning hours of December 7th 1862 Confederate General John Hunt Morgan crossed the river. Morgan had about fourteen hundred men mostly from Kentucky. According to the commander of the Union Brigade; Colonel Absalom B Moore, Morgan’s advanced men got past the pickets by wearing Union uniforms.

Fighting started about 6:45 am and continued until around 8:30 am. One of the Union units ran during the battle causing disorder among the other troops. In the end the Confederates surrounded the 39th Brigade and talked them into surrendering. The Confederate sustained 149 casualties only inflicting 58 among the Union soldiers, however Morgan captured a wagon train of supplies and 1,844 Union prisoners. This raid was a lead up to the Confederate Cavalry raids conducted by Nathan Bedford Forrest and Morgan through out the winter of 1862 - 1863. It also got Morgan a promotion to Brigadier General.