The Raider
Morgan and his Raiders
The arrival of Federal troops into Lexington, Kentucky in fall 1861 prompted Lexington native John Hunt Morgan to assemble a band of 17 armed men on horseback to support the Southern cause. The "Lexington Rifle" then rode into south central Kentucky to join Brigadier General Simon Bolivar Buckner's command picking up 200 more recruits along the way. Morgan and his raw cavalry went into training camp here at Woodsonville, learning drill and tactics. He made headquarters on this site in the old Green River Baptist Church, and on the steps of the church was sworn into the Confederate army in October by Major William P. Johnston, son of General Albert Sidney Johnston.
In December, Morgan and a picked company of 100 men rode north to Bacon Creek (now Bonnieville) and burned the L&N Railroad trestle. This first act against the railroad brought him to the attention of the press, and in the raids that followed his name began to take on the status of legend.
Marker is on Charlie Downing Road north of Bragg Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
