What Does Lexington Cemetery and the Battle of Kingsport Have in Common-- Part 2

One of John Breckinridge's top commanders in East Tennessee and the man who originally commanded at Kingsport is buried near Breckenridge at Lexington Cemetery (Lexington, Ky.).

John Hunt Morgan led several raids into northern territory.  The biggest one was in 1863 when he  rode through Kentucky and across Indiana before he was finally captured in Ohio.  His raid was the farthest north any Confederate military units got into the North during the war.

He then staged a daring prison break, tunneling out from Ohio Penitentiary, and returned to Confederate lines in Tennessee.  Eventually he and his cavalry were placed under Breckenridge and stationed at Greenville.

If you visit Morgan's grave at Lexington Cemetery, take note of the date of his death:  September 4, 1864.  It was on that day that his command was surprised by the 13 Tennessee (U.S.) Cavalry at Greenville.

It was the same 13th Tennessee Cavalry that charged across the North Fork of the Holston River and attacked the Kentucky cavalry from the   front, while Kingsport's Col. Samuel N.K. Patton  and the 8th East Tennessee  Cavalry (U.S.) attacked  from behind after crossing the river farther north.

--Old Secesh