Battle of Cynthiana

Second Battle of Cynthiana
Part of the American Civil War
Historic marker in Cynthiana
Date June 11–12, 1864 Location Cynthiana, Kentucky Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Conrad Garis Edward H. Hobson Stephen Gano Burbridge	John Hunt Morgan
Units involved
168th Ohio Infantry 171st Ohio Infantry Kentucky Harrison County Home Guards 7th Ohio Cavalry 12th Ohio Cavalry 9th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment 11th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment 16th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry 39th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry 37th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry 40th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry 45th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry 52nd Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry Battery "C" Kentucky Light Artillery	1st Kentucky Special Cavalry Battalion 2nd Kentucky Special Cavalry Battalion 3rd Kentucky Special Cavalry Battalion 4th Kentucky Cavalry 10th Kentucky Cavalry Battalion 1st Kentucky Mounted Rifles Battalion 2nd Kentucky Mounted Rifles Battalion 10th Kentucky Mounted Rifles Battalion 6th Confederate Battalion
Strength
3,450	1,200
Casualties and losses
1,092	1,000

The Second Battle of Cynthiana included three separate engagements during the American Civil War that were fought on June 11 and 12, 1864, in Harrison County, Kentucky, in and near the town of Cynthiana. This was part of Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's 1864 Raid into Kentucky. The battle ultimately resulted in a victory by Union forces over the raiders and ended Morgan's Last Kentucky Raid in defeat. Morgan's Raiders had previously captured the town in the First Battle of Cynthiana, July 17, 1862.

At dawn on June 11, 1864, Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan approached Cynthiana with 1,200 cavalrymen. The town was defended by a small Union force under Col. Conrad Garis, commanding a detachment of the 168th Ohio Infantry and some home guard troops, about 300 men altogether. Morgan divided his troops into three columns, surrounded the town, and launched an attack at the covered bridge, driving Garis' forces back towards the depot and north along the railroad. The Confederates set fire to the town, destroying many buildings and killing some of the Union troops.

As the fighting flared in Cynthiana, another Union force, about 750 men of the 171st Ohio Infantry under the command of Brig. Gen. Edward Hobson, arrived by train about a mile north of the Cynthiana at Keller's Bridge. This regiment fought Morgan's force for about six hours. Eventually Morgan trapped this new Union force in a meander of the Licking River. Altogether, Morgan had about 1,300 Union prisoners of war camping with him overnight in line of battle. The 171st Ohio Infantry was paroled the next day. This engagement, Morgan's last victory, was known as the Battle of Keller's Bridge [bridge named for Abraham Keller, not spelled "Kellar"].

With little ammunition, Morgan recklessly decided to stay and fight an expected larger Union force. Brig. Gen. Stephen G. Burbridge with 2,400 men, a combined force of Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan mounted infantry and cavalry, attacked Morgan at dawn on June 12. The Union forces drove the Rebels back, causing them to flee into town, where many were captured or killed. General Morgan and many of his officers escaped. Combined casualties in the separate Union forces were 1,092 men, while Morgan is estimated to have lost about 1,000 men, although no firm records exist.

Cynthiana demonstrated that Union numbers and mobility were starting to take their toll; Confederate cavalry and partisans could no longer raid with impunity.

See also

• List of battles fought in Kentucky

References

• National Park Service battle description
• CWSAC Report Update - Kentucky
• William A. Penn, Rattling Spurs and Broad-Brimmed Hats: The Civil War in Cynthiana and Harrison County, Kentucky,(1995) 105, 114, 124
• William A. Penn, Kentucky Rebel Town: Civil War Battles of Cynthiana and Harrison County, (Lexington: U. Press of Kentucky, 2016), chapters five, eight,nine and ten.

Further reading

• Bush, Bryan S. (2008). Butcher Burbridge: Union General Stephen Burbridge and His Reign of Terror Over Kentucky. Morley, Missouri: Acclaim Press. ISBN 0-9798802-5-4.
• Penn, William A. (1995). Rattling Spurs and Broad-Brimmed Hats: The Civil War in Cynthiana and Harrison County, Kentucky. Midway, Kentucky: Battle Grove Press. ISBN 0-9646989-1-9.
• "Kentucky's Civil War Heritage Trail" ed. Bruce Brooks, published by Kentucky Department of Travel, kentuckytourism.com
• Penn, William A., Kentucky Rebel Town: Civil War Battles of Cynthiana and Harrison County, (Lexington: U. Press of Kentucky, 2016)

Online

• Cynthiana Battlefields Foundation