Kelion Franklin Peddicord of Quirk's Scouts, Morgan's Kentucky Cavalry, C. S. A

In Short

This volume combines family genealogy, a soldier’s war journal, wartime prison letters, and postwar tributes to record the life of Kelion Franklin Peddicord. Serving as orderly sergeant for Quirk’s Scouts under General John Hunt Morgan, Peddicord details the rapid cavalry operations, skirmishes, and intelligence work of Morgan’s Kentucky Cavalry, culminating in the bold 1863 raid into Indiana and Ohio. Following his capture at Buffington Island, his narrative shifts to prison life and the agony of defeat. The book survives as a vivid, eyewitness account of partisan cavalry tactics and the complex personal loyalties of the American Civil War.

The Story

The narrative begins with a ancestral record of the Peddicord family’s migrations from Maryland into Ohio, Missouri, and Virginia. Born in Ohio in 1833, Kelion Franklin Peddicord grows up working in his father's tobacco business and studying surveying before enlisting in the Confederate cavalry at Glasgow, Kentucky, in October 1861. His unit consolidates into Morgan’s Squadron, where Peddicord assumes the role of orderly sergeant for Quirk’s Scouts, an advance reconnaissance unit operating under General John Hunt Morgan.

Peddicord’s account moves rapidly through early skirmishes in Kentucky and Tennessee. After suffering a severe illness in Huntsville, Alabama, he is briefly paroled by Union forces, but soon rejoins Morgan’s command. He takes part in the high-stakes surprise attack at Hartsville, Tennessee, where Confederate forces cross the icy Cumberland River to capture a Union garrison. The narrative captures the high spirits of Morgan's men during their "Christmas Raid" of 1862, detailing the destruction of Union supply lines, railroad bridges, and stockades at Bacon Creek and Nolin, as well as lighthearted encounters with local civilians.

Throughout early 1863, Peddicord and his fellow scouts remain on constant outpost duty around Liberty and Auburn, frequently engaging Union cavalry and infantry. The conflict deepens in intensity during hard-fought battles at Milton and Monticello. In July 1863, Morgan launches his ambitious raid across the Ohio River into Indiana and Ohio. Peddicord describes the crossing under fire at Brandenburg, the burning of the transport Alice Dean, and the rapid advance through towns like Corydon and Salem, where the scouts seize supplies, tap telegraph lines, and skirmish with local militia.

The raid reaches its disastrous climax on July 19, 1863, at the Battle of Buffington Island. Trapped against the swollen Ohio River by overwhelming Union forces and ironclad gunboats, Morgan’s command is shattered. Refused permission to cut his way out, Peddicord is captured alongside hundreds of comrades.

The final chapters move from action to endurance. Transferred to Northern military prisons, including Fort Delaware, Peddicord writes letters home reflecting the bleak reality of captivity. As news arrives of the Confederacy’s ultimate collapse in May 1865, he describes the soul-crushing moment he and his fellow officers finally consent to take the oath of allegiance. The book concludes with brief biographical sketches and heartfelt post-war tributes from friends and family, reflecting on Peddicord’s long, quiet life as a civil engineer until his death in 1905.

How It Unfolds

Enlisting in the West Joining Lieutenant James W. Bowles’ company in Kentucky, Peddicord enters Confederate service and is quickly assigned to Morgan’s famous cavalry squadron, earning his post as orderly sergeant.

The Winter Raids Peddicord participates in the daring surprise attack at Hartsville, crossing frozen rivers at midnight to capture the garrison, followed by destructive raids against Union supply lines along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

Skirmishing on the Border Serving continuously on outpost duty throughout the spring of 1863, Quirk's Scouts lead the advance in severe clashes at Milton and Greasy Creek, repeatedly holding off advancing Northern columns to cover the main brigade.

Crossing the Ohio In July 1863, Morgan's division captures steamboats to cross the Ohio River under gunboat fire, launching a high-speed cavalry raid across Indiana and Ohio that disrupts Union infrastructure and spreads panic.

Capture at Buffington Island Trapped by gunboats and overwhelming Federal numbers near the Ohio River, the Confederate force is surrounded, forcing Peddicord and over fifteen hundred soldiers to surrender as prisoners of war.

Defeat and Reconciliation Imprisoned at Fort Delaware, Peddicord endures years of captivity until the final surrender of the Southern armies forces him to take the oath of allegiance, after which he resumes his civilian career as an engineer.

The People

• Kelion Franklin Peddicord: The central figure and narrator, a surveyor and orderly sergeant in Quirk’s Scouts who wants to fulfill his military duty honorably while protecting his men and comrades; he transforms from an eager young cavalryman into a weary, defeated prisoner of war who ultimately returns to peaceful civilian life.
• General John Hunt Morgan: The famous Confederate cavalry commander who seeks to disrupt Union supply lines and carry the war into Northern territory; his bold leadership inspires deep loyalty in Peddicord, though his ambitious Ohio raid ultimately ends in the destruction of his command.
• Mrs. India W. P. Logan: Peddicord’s sister and the book's editor, who collects her brother's journals, wartime letters, and family records to preserve his memory for future generations.
• Colonel Basil W. Duke: Morgan’s second-in-command, a skilled officer who frequently manages field tactics during difficult retreats and assumes command during the chaotic disaster at Buffington Island.

In Its Own Voice

"As soon as the Yankees were gone, Mrs. Nowell made her appearance, weeping and lamenting."

— Peddicord describes the sympathy of Southern civilians while recovering from illness under Union parole in Huntsville.

"The first gray streaks was the signal, too, for the brigade to move into position on the north bank of the river."

— Reflecting on the precise timing required during the night march and surprise attack on the Union garrison at Hartsville.

"The crisis is over, the last vestige of hope has disappeared and passed into oblivion, and we think of it as a word of no meaning."

— Writing from Fort Delaware in May 1865 upon learning of the Confederacy's final collapse and deciding to take the oath of allegiance.

What It's Really About

At its core, the work explores the chaotic reality of partisan cavalry warfare and the profound psychological shift from military enthusiasm to total defeat. Through Peddicord’s daily logs, the narrative demystifies cavalry operations, highlighting that success relied far more on exhausted night marches, broken bridges, and rapid intelligence gathering than on heroic charges. It also examines the acute conflict of border-state identity, where families were split across state lines and old neighbors met as enemies. Ultimately, the book is a study in survival—how soldiers maintain personal dignity through the humiliation of prison life and reconstruct their lives after their cause has vanished entirely.

Why Read It Today

This memoir offers readers a remarkably unpolished, first-hand look at the American Civil War from inside one of its most famous specialized units. Unlike sweeping high-command histories, Peddicord's writing carries the immediacy of a soldier writing in his saddle or by a campfire, providing granular detail on scout tactics, civilian encounters, and small-unit skirmishing. Readers who enjoy military history will appreciate the straightforward descriptions of cavalry maneuvers and telegraph-tapping operations, while general readers will find the prison correspondence deeply moving in its raw honesty.

The book does present challenges typical of early twentieth-century soldier memoirs. The opening section consists of dry genealogical lists that require patience to move through before reaching the narrative. Furthermore, readers must navigate nineteenth-century military terminology and period attitudes characteristic of Confederate soldiers. What stays with the reader, however, is the stark transition from the high-spirited momentum of the early raids to the quiet despair of Fort Delaware—a contrast that gives this personal account its lasting historical weight.