Newburgh Raid
Encyclopedia
The Newburgh Raid was an incident that occurred during the American Civil War
. In it, Confederate
colonel Adam Rankin Johnson
captured the town of Newburgh, Indiana
on July 18, 1862, using a force of only 35 men, mostly partisans
he had recruited from nearby Henderson, Kentucky
.
Prior to the raid, Johnson served as a scout for Nathan Bedford Forrest
, just missing the Battle of Shiloh
in April 1862, in south-central Tennessee, rejoining Forrest at the Confederate base of operations in Corinth, Mississippi
. Johnson was ordered by Forrest to go to Henderson, Kentucky, to give a secret message to Mr. D. R. Burbank, a former employer of Johnson's.
Just before launching the raid, Johnson's partisans camped at the Soaper Farm in Henderson. With 35 men by Johnson's later count (other counts say 32), formed by combining three-man guards for John C. Breckinridge
with recruits from Kentucky, to form a group of partisan rangers that would engage in guerrilla warfare
.
on July 18, with Johnson and two subordinates, Felix Akin and Frank A. Owen, sharing one boat and the rest of the force crossing via a flatboat
. Prior to crossing, Johnson strategically placed two "Quaker Gun
s", actually made of stovepipes, charred logs, and the axles and wheels from a broken wagon, on hills that had a view of Newburgh, and vice versa. Johnson was unable to find enough firearms for all of his force, but was able to acquire enough horses for each man to receive a mount. Johnson allowed each of his men to decline to join him on the raid, but to a man they all wanted to accompany him.
The only defenders available for Newburgh were eighty soldiers convalescing at a makeshift hospital that was the Exchange Hotel, under the care and command of a Colonel Bethel, a Union medical officer. This hospital was itself a tempting prize for Johnson, as it had medical supplies, commissary items, and arms for 200 soldiers that were meant for two future companies of the Indiana Legion; all of which Johnson's forces needed. Fifteen miles away, five companies of the Indiana Legion were being raised, but would not be available to defend Newburgh until after the Confederates withdrew.
Johnson had crossed the Ohio River in a direct manner. The first stop for his men was the Bethel warehouse, a tobacco
warehouse that also held 75 loose sabers and 130 pistol/holster sets. Now armed, his men went to the Exchange Hotel. When Johnson opened the door, he was immediately aimed at by Union rifles, but quickly informed the Union soldiers that they were surrounded and had no hope for success. The Union major in charge of the convalescing troops had told them not to resist, allowing Johnson a swift victory. Meanwhile, some of Johnson's men had captured Colonel Bethel. Johnson lent Bethel a spyglass to view the "cannons". John said to Bethel he would "shell this town to the ground" if resistance was made. This caused Bethel to tell his men to offer no resistance. After securing the items he desired, Johnson paroled the captured Union officers and soldiers, and returned to the Kentucky soil. Newburgh had become the first town in a Northern state to be captured.
, four others left the town for good, and another went free after two hung juries.
Historian and former Union officer Edmund L. Starling said of the raid: "[Adam] Johnson performed perhaps the most reckless, and yet most successful, military masterstroke achieve by any commander of high or low authority, in either army during the war."
After the raid, Braxton Bragg
had Johnson promoted to colonel. Johnson would forever be nicknamed "Stovepipe" for his success in this raid.
Every year, the event is commemorated by the reenactors
Cobb's Key Battery at Henderson's Sunset Park.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. In it, Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
colonel Adam Rankin Johnson
Adam Johnson (colonel)
Adam Rankin "Stovepipe" Johnson was an antebellum Western frontiersman and later an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
captured the town of Newburgh, Indiana
Newburgh, Indiana
Newburgh is a town in Ohio Township, Warrick County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,325 at the 2010 census, which also recorded a population of 342,815 for the entire Evansville metropolitan area.-Geography:...
on July 18, 1862, using a force of only 35 men, mostly partisans
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
he had recruited from nearby Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The population was 27,952 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area often referred to as "Kentuckiana", although "Tri-State Area" or "Tri-State" are more...
.
Prior to the raid, Johnson served as a scout for Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
, just missing the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
in April 1862, in south-central Tennessee, rejoining Forrest at the Confederate base of operations in Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth is a city in Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,054 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Alcorn County. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835.- History :...
. Johnson was ordered by Forrest to go to Henderson, Kentucky, to give a secret message to Mr. D. R. Burbank, a former employer of Johnson's.
Just before launching the raid, Johnson's partisans camped at the Soaper Farm in Henderson. With 35 men by Johnson's later count (other counts say 32), formed by combining three-man guards for John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
with recruits from Kentucky, to form a group of partisan rangers that would engage in guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
.
The Raid
They crossed the Ohio RiverOhio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
on July 18, with Johnson and two subordinates, Felix Akin and Frank A. Owen, sharing one boat and the rest of the force crossing via a flatboat
Flatboat
Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with (mostlyNOTE: "(parenthesized)" wordings in the quote below are notes added to...
. Prior to crossing, Johnson strategically placed two "Quaker Gun
Quaker Gun
A Quaker Gun is a deception tactic that was commonly used in warfare during the 18th and 19th centuries. Although resembling an actual cannon, the Quaker Gun was simply a wooden log, usually painted black, used to deceive an enemy. Misleading the enemy as to the strength of an emplacement was an...
s", actually made of stovepipes, charred logs, and the axles and wheels from a broken wagon, on hills that had a view of Newburgh, and vice versa. Johnson was unable to find enough firearms for all of his force, but was able to acquire enough horses for each man to receive a mount. Johnson allowed each of his men to decline to join him on the raid, but to a man they all wanted to accompany him.
The only defenders available for Newburgh were eighty soldiers convalescing at a makeshift hospital that was the Exchange Hotel, under the care and command of a Colonel Bethel, a Union medical officer. This hospital was itself a tempting prize for Johnson, as it had medical supplies, commissary items, and arms for 200 soldiers that were meant for two future companies of the Indiana Legion; all of which Johnson's forces needed. Fifteen miles away, five companies of the Indiana Legion were being raised, but would not be available to defend Newburgh until after the Confederates withdrew.
Johnson had crossed the Ohio River in a direct manner. The first stop for his men was the Bethel warehouse, a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
warehouse that also held 75 loose sabers and 130 pistol/holster sets. Now armed, his men went to the Exchange Hotel. When Johnson opened the door, he was immediately aimed at by Union rifles, but quickly informed the Union soldiers that they were surrounded and had no hope for success. The Union major in charge of the convalescing troops had told them not to resist, allowing Johnson a swift victory. Meanwhile, some of Johnson's men had captured Colonel Bethel. Johnson lent Bethel a spyglass to view the "cannons". John said to Bethel he would "shell this town to the ground" if resistance was made. This caused Bethel to tell his men to offer no resistance. After securing the items he desired, Johnson paroled the captured Union officers and soldiers, and returned to the Kentucky soil. Newburgh had become the first town in a Northern state to be captured.
Consequences
As a result of this raid, the governor of Indiana, Oliver P. Morton, was able to receive additional firearms and soldiers to defend Indiana from further incursions. Two Newburgh residents that had openly helped the Confederates were killed by a mob, an additional six residents were imprisoned in IndianapolisIndianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, four others left the town for good, and another went free after two hung juries.
Historian and former Union officer Edmund L. Starling said of the raid: "[Adam] Johnson performed perhaps the most reckless, and yet most successful, military masterstroke achieve by any commander of high or low authority, in either army during the war."
After the raid, Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
had Johnson promoted to colonel. Johnson would forever be nicknamed "Stovepipe" for his success in this raid.
Every year, the event is commemorated by the reenactors
American Civil War reenactment
American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known as Civil War reenactors or Civil War recreationists...
Cobb's Key Battery at Henderson's Sunset Park.
See also
- Hines' RaidHines' RaidThe Hines' Raid was a Confederate exploratory mission led by Thomas Hines, on orders from John Hunt Morgan, into the state of Indiana in June 1863 during the American Civil War...
- Morgan's RaidMorgan's RaidMorgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
- List of battles fought in Indiana