Tag: NoDestination

NoD: The Graves of Seven Who Fell in ‘The Masterful Retreat’

Rural Cemetery - Elliott County
Unmarked Grave – Elliott County, Ky.

Momma always instructed us not to “cut off the hand that feeds you.” This old maxim shouldn’t be forgotten in life or in battle.

The Cumberland Gap was a strategic link through the Appalachians during the Civil War and control of it was a constant struggle. After the battle of Ivy Mountain, Union troops became increasingly bold in southeastern Kentucky. By the middle of 1862, General George W. Morgan saw his opportunity to take the Cumberland Gap. To do so, however, he (and his men and their artillery) had to cross very rugged terrain. The end result was a loss of their supply line.

By June 17, 1862, General Morgan had taken control of the Cumberland Gap, but his men were relying on foraging for their rations. After taking the Gap, General Morgan wrote to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton: “The enemy evacuated this American Gibraltar this morning … and DeCourcy’s brigade took possession.” Gibraltar being, of course, a reference to the straight by which one enters the Mediterranean Sea.
Ultimately, however, the Confederate Army sought an invasion of Kentucky (ultimately leading to the Battle of Perryville) through Tennessee. With no supply line and the threat of being surrounded by rebel forces, General Morgan abandoned the Cumberland Gap on September 17, 1862 and began what would be known as “The Masterful Retreat” toward Grayson, Kentucky.

Along the way, the Union troops under Gen. George Morgan were under constant threat from the tactics of CSA Gen. John Hunt Morgan and his 1,200 cavalry riders. As USA Morgan’s 7th KY Division made its retreat to Grayson, a constant calibration of security tactics was necessary because of CSA Morgan’s guerrilla-like ambushes. The only “roadway” through Elliott County wide enough for the 7th KYwas the riverbed of the Little Sandy River, which flowed through many gorges and narrows perfect for ambush.

It was said the the rebels “fought vigorously with ax and torch, felling trees, barricading the road, destroying bridges, and making every barricade cost a skirmish and time.” At one such skirmish, seven men of the Union’s 7th Kentucky Division fell and are buried in this little cemetery located two miles south of Sandy Hook.

It is likely that this cemetery also served as a family cemetery for local residents as there are more than seven graves present. Today, as is the case with so many Civil War sites, this rural corner of Elliott County is being developed, but a roadside marker (“Skirmish Here“) records the spot in the annals of history.

The remainder of the 7th Division arrived in Grayson after a grueling 16 day march.

More pictures are available here.

Bibliography

NoD: Battle of Ivy Mountain

Battle of Ivy Mountain - Floyd County, Ky.
Ivy Mountain Memorial – Floyd County, Ky.

In the fall of 1861, General William Tecumseh Sherman, then the head of the Department of the Cumberland, heard rumors that a concentration of Confederate troops was amassing at Prestonsburg. In response, Sherman ordered Brig. Gen William O. “Bull” Nelson from his station at Maysville who was joined by Louisa-based Colonel Joshua Sill in driving Confederate forces south through Hazel Green and West Liberty.

Always short on supplies, Big Sandy Valley Confederates were also running short on ammunition in Prestonsburg. Under the direction of Capt. Andrew Jackson May, the men fell back on November 5, 1861, toward Piketon (n/k/a Pikeville). In Pikeville, the majority of the region’s Confederates were stationed under Col. John S. Williamson.

On November 8, 1861, May’s men took a stand to slow the southerly advance of Union forces. A volley temporarily halted Union troops, but reinforcements quickly overwhelmed May’s ragtag Rebels who retreated toward Virginia.

Confederate forces under Captain May left in their wake fallen trees and burned bridges, slowing the Union’s eventual taking of Piketon. Effectively, this was the end of the fight for the Big Sandy Valley as the mountains of eastern Kentucky were a Union stronghold for most of the Civil War.

Casualty counts from Ivy Mountains differ, but most reports indicate that Union forces suffered 30 casualties (6 killed; 24 wounded). Colonel Williams wrote of the Confederates’ loss: “10 killed, 15 wounded, and 40 missing. Some of the missing men have gone back to their homes, and others join us daily.” Most notable among Rebel losses was the state senator from Greenup County, Kentucky, Lt. Henry M. Rust “who fell gallantly in the discharge of his duty.”

“Bull” Nelson died in 1862; Jessamine County’s Camp Nelson was named in his honor, as is the adjacent national cemetery.

The monument to the Ivy Mountain battle sits adjacent to US 23 was dedicated in 2001 on the 140th anniversary of the conflict. In a few months, the sesquicentennial will be celebrated. The monument is a fifteen foot tall obelisk over an engraved base. As you can see from the picture, Ivy Mountain has been cut away to create and widen US 23. Without a thought, you know that the location is nothing like that seen by General “Bull” Nelson, Captain May, Senator Rust, and the others involved in the conflict. But, a rugged, narrow trail sweeps down toward the banks of the Big Sandy River. With the trees, the brush, and the passing waters of the Big Sandy, the past is much easier to imagine.

More photographs of the Ivy Mountain Memorial can be viewed on flickr.

Bibliography
Eastern Kentucky and the Civil War
Kentucky Encyclopedia
National Park Service

NoD: Prater’s Fort, Pioneer Village and a History Remembered in Salyersville

Prater's Fort - Salyersville, Ky.
Prater’s Fort – Salyersville, Ky.

Despite being one of America’s poorest counties, Magoffin County has not forgotten her rich history. The county’s historical society is incredibly active from its location in the old Salyersville post office on Church Street.

Adjacent to the historical society’s offices is a recreated pioneer village with fifteen authentic log buildings that have been collected from around the county and rebuilt at the site. Inside the structures, period furniture, post office cages, and other historic memoriabilia tell the tale of Magoffin County’s settlers.

Salyersville, Ky.The name Prater’s Fort is an early name for a settlement on the upper part of the Licking River – a site where Salyersville would eventually be incorporated. Logically, Prater’s Fort was, well, a fort established by Archibald Prater (1755-1831). Prater said of the area that “he looked unto these hills and found his hopes and dreams.”

A nearby pyramidal memorial to the “Early Founders of Magoffin County” celebrates Prater, as well as William “Uncle Billie” Adams (1802-1881) and state legislator Samuel Salyer (1812-1890). Adams was the namesake of Adamsville (the town that would become Salyersville); it is said that “he dreamed of a town that would never die.” Salyer served in the state legislature and worked to have Magoffin County created; it is for him that Salyersville was named when the county was formed in 1860.

More photos from Salyersville can be seen on flickr.

NoD: Pikeville’s Pauley Bridge

Pauley Bridge - Pikeville, Ky.
Pauley Bridge – Pikeville, Ky.

Walking across the wooden bridge, restored to its original 1930s beauty, evokes thoughts of simpler times. The bridge slightly sways, but the strong stone towers comfort those who cross. Beneath my feet, I spy flora growing and water flowing in the gaps on the bridge’s bed.

Spanning the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River just to the north of Pikeville is the Pauley Bridge. Named for the local community that was annexed by Pikeville in 1990, this suspension bridge has stood since 1936. When it was listed on the National Register in 1992, the Pauley Bridge was still open to vehicular traffic and was one of only four swinging suspension bridges open to vehicular traffic in eastern Kentucky (many others were open to pedestrians only, as Pauley Bridge is today).

Strong cables connect the towers to the banks on either side of the river, while vertical tension hangers connect the main cables to the bridge deck. This swinging suspension bridge design is one of the simplest, and most inexpensive, bridge designs which is why they have been such a popular design. In larger suspension bridges like the Roebling Bridge in Newport, a stiffening truss under the bridge deck strengthens and stabilizes the structure.

The design of this bridge is unique, however, because although the bridge itself is simple – the towers are not. The beautiful rough-cut sandstone towers are impressive. Of the 37 wire suspension bridges proposed by the WPA for construction in southeast Kentucky in the late 1930s, only the design of the Pauley Bridge included these sandstone towers.

Pauley Bridge - Pikeville, Ky.A WPA project begun in 1936, the bridge was completed and opened to traffic in 1940. In 2000, it was closed to vehicular traffic (2001, all traffic) and it quickly acquired the appearance of  an abandoned site. But in 2004, the City of Pikeville set aside funds to restore the historic bridge. In 2006, it was reopened as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge.

Above the keystones on either tower are engravings bearing the mark of the 1930s construction project: “WPA” and the year construction began “1936.” Thanks to the City of Pikeville, the Pauley Bridge has a new lease on life. More pictures of the Pauley Bridge can be viewed on flickr.

NoD: Abraham Lincoln Seated in Eastern Kentucky

Law Offices of Eric C. Conn - Stanville, Ky.
Lincoln Memorial – Stanville, Ky.

The National Park Service has temporarily closed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC following this week’s earthquake. But did you know that there is an exact replica of the seated 16th President in Stanville, Kentucky?

If you’ve driven to Pikeville, you have without a doubt seen billboards for attorney Eric C. Conn (aka “Mr. SSI”). The parking lot of his office, on U.S. 23 in Stanville, is the home of the world’s second largest seated Lincoln statue.

Installed on November 4, 2010 (the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s election), the 19 foot tall statue  weighs over a ton. It was constructed in Thailand after being commissioned by Conn in October 2009. This “Lincoln Memorial” was paid for entirely by Mr. Conn through what must be an enormous marketing budget.

Law Offices of Eric C. Conn - Stanville, Ky.Conn, a U.S. Army veteran who served a one-year tour of duty in Iraq during the Desert War, had some ten years ago commissioned a replica of the Statue of Liberty (pictured, left).

At the unveiling, Conn “welcomed home” Mr. Lincoln, who was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky in 1809. Illinois, however, has stolen claim to Lincoln, but Conn reminded those present in 2010 of Lincoln’s famous quote: “I, too, am a Kentuckian.”

Bibliography: Floyd County Times, Kentucky Law Blog, Wikipedia, WKYT

NoD: Versailles Presbyterian Church

Versailles Presbyterian Church - Versailles, Ky.
Interior of the Versailles (Ky.) Presbyterian Church

On Versailles’ Main Street, the red bricks of the Gothic revival-style Presbyterian Church surround beautiful stain glass windows. Its stately belltower lies on the north end of the church’s gabled roof.

Inside, the square sanctuary features a beautiful pipe organ and two-and-one-half aisles (the third being central to the church, but only extending midway from the rear).

Versailles Presbyterian Church - Versailles, Ky.
Versailles (Ky.) Presbyterian Church

The church’s origins are unclear, but the first Presbyterian pastor in the county was Reverend Adam Rankin who was called to the Glenn’s Creek Church, part of the Transylvania Presbytery, in 1786. In 1788, Woodford County was created from Virginia’s Fayette County. Fortunately, for this early church, Glenn’s Creek was not situated within Versailles as Virginia statute forbade a church from being situated within the limits of a county seat. These rules soon became moot, however, as Kentucky achieved statehood in 1792.

By 1794, not only was a Presbyterian Church operating in the county seat of Versailles — but it was holding services in the courthouse itself! Rev. John Poage Campbell, considered to be the first minister of Versailles Presbyterian Church, preached throughout the circuit and had certainly served in Versailles by the year 1811 when he also acted as chaplain of the state legislature.

The church, erected in 1854, preceded the existing structure on which ground was broken in 1877 with dedication Sunday following on July 28, 1878 by Reverend Gelon H. Rout. Once dedicated, the sanctuary was the largest room in the county and was utilized for a number of civic and community events.

The organ was from the Henry Pilcher & Sons Company of Louisville. Actually, the company originated in St. Louis in 1852, but located to Chicago during the Civil War. Surviving both the war and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the company returned south to Louisville in 1874. The organ, built in Louisville, was taken by train to Midway and from there to Versailles on horse cart. The walnut organ crates were even used in the construction of the church’s façade!

More pictures are available by clicking here.

Bibliography
“Henry Pilcher’s Sons Organ Company“
“Historical Sketches of Kentucky,” p. 135.
“John Poage Campbell“
Versailles Presbyterian Church, “Our History“

NoD: Lexington’s New Interchange


This morning, I navigated the new double-diamond interchange (DDI) at Harrodsburg Road and New Circle. For a few seconds, I was a British-subject driving on the left side of the road. The concept of this design, first engineered in 2003, became a reality on U.S. roads in 2009 at Springfield, Missouri. Lexington’s DDI is the sixth such interchange in North America.

The design is daunting on paper for a driver to understand, but introductory videos were quite helpful. Now, having driven the interchange, it immediately seems natural. This is a good design.
More information about DDIs is available from the Federal Highway Administration. More information about the US68/KY4 DDI is available from the KY Transportation Cabinet.

This post was republished on KYforward.com on August 17, 2011.

NoD: West Liberty’s Millstone Monument

West Liberty - Ky.
Millstone Monument – West Liberty, Ky.

On the Morgan County courthouse lawn in West Liberty rests a most peculiar, yet appropriate, monument. So many communities in Kentucky, across America and around the world began where a stream provided the power to turn the mechanisms of a gristmill – turning crops into flour.

The owner of the mill, a millwright, would convert a farmer’s crop to flour and would keep for himself some of the end product – a miller’s toll. Around these mills, other forms of commerce would develop creating many of the towns we know today. Of course, most of the mills are long gone. But Morgan County has preserved this token of history with a courthouse lawn monument to the millstone.

In 1816, Edmund Wells established his grist mill on the Licking River. This grist mill quickly grew in importance for the area’s farmers, and the “Wells Mill” community quickly grew as all roads in the area found Wells Mill as their focal point. To account for his travelers, Wells also owned and operated a tavern in Wells Mill. In 1822, the General Assembly created Morgan County from Floyd and Bath counties; on March 10, 1823 the justices of the newly formed Morgan County, including Wells, met at Wells’ tavern to make effective the establishment of Morgan County. The time and place of this meeting was set forth in the Act establishing the county.


West Liberty was established as the county seat upon 39 acres donated by Edmund Wells. He donated an additional two acres for the public square whereupon he was contracted to build the county’s first jail and courthouse.

The millstones used in this monument were not, however, from Wells’ mill. Instead, they were from the mill of Capt. John T. Williams who served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. After the war, Williams established his own mill on the Big Caney Creek in Morgan County. In 1869, however, Elliott County was formed and the Big Caney Creek is wholly within the bounds of Elliott County.

Capt. Williams’ links to Morgan County and to Edmund Wells, however, are strong. Williams’ father was squire John T. Williams who, like Edmund Wells, was appointed by Governor Adair in 1822 as one of the first justices of Morgan County. Capt. Williams’ father was present at Wells’ tavern on March 10, 1823, and it is his son’s millstones that forever memorialize the import of the mill in Morgan County’s history.

Bibliography
“Acts of the Kentucky General Assembly”, 1823, pages 145-147 [*]
Ancestors of Squire John T. Williams
Kentucky Encyclopedia, “Morgan County“
Plaque at the Millstone Monument

NoD: Judge John E. Cooper House

Judge John Cooper House - West Liberty, Ky.
Judge John E. Cooper House – West Liberty, Ky.

On Main Street, at the northern edge of Morgan County’s seat, stands the Judge John E. Cooper House – the oldest extant house in West Liberty. Built in 1872/73, this two-story frame structure assumes no formal architectural design, but is representative of much of eastern Kentucky’s mid-19th century architecture with one notable exception. The entire house was completed in one construction effort – this rapid build and the scale of the project would have made it a most-impressive structure for Morgan County in the 1870s. The National Register profile for the house makes careful note of this feat, pointing out that it would have been considered symbolic of Cooper’s power and prestige, without being showy.

Judge Cooper was a powerful figure in regional politics and law. In the Civil War, he and his fellow Morgan countians sympathized with the Confederacy and took up arms for her; he was wounded at the Battle of Ivy Monutain (Floyd County) in November 1861. He attended law school and graduated from the A&M College at Kentucky University before returning to Morgan County. There, he married and practiced law before becoming county attorney and, later, state senator. Col. John Thomas Hazelrigg spoke well of the senator during his centennial address in 1876, saying that Cooper was “full of hope and promise, now engaged in the practice of his profession as a lawyer, and is distinguished for his zeal and energy with which he represents the interests of his clients. Although young in years, he has taken a front rank in his profession and bids fair to enroll his name among the first jurists of the Commonwealth.”

Cooper did not disappoint Hazelrigg. In 1883, Cooper was nominated to fill a vacancy on the circuit court. He was repeatedly elected to the position and held the office for 22 years, “longer than any other man.” Of Judge Cooper, Judge Edward C. O’Rear (Ky. Ct. Appeals) wrote: “He was a vigorous executive and worked as hard on the bench for the whole term of his service as at any time whilst at the bar. He not only adjudged the law in his courts, he administered it. A rugged type, powerful physique, dignified bearing, he gave to each case before him the most painstaking investigation.” Judge O’Rear went on to note that Cooper never wore spectacles, “though he read every paper in every case submitted to him, and every authority cited, and prepared with his own pen the instructions to juries, his orders and judgments.”

It is believed that Cooper designed the house which he continued to own until 1896, though construction was completed by Thomas Jefferson Cassity and his son, Reuben. Cooper, however, was known to have done some architectural planning; the plan and specifications for the third Morgan County courthouse were drafted in 1870 by Morgan. Local legend, though improbable, suggests that Morgan modeled the courthouse after the colonial capitol at Williamsburg, Virginia.

Additional pictures of the Cooper House are available on flickr.

Bibliography
NRHP, “Judge John E. Cooper House“
NRHP, “Morgan County Courthouse” 

NoD: Keith Whitley Tribute in Sandy Hook

Cemetery - Sandy Hook, Ky.
Keith Whitley Tribute – Sandy Hook, Ky.

ESPN’s Pat Forde described Elliott County as having, despite all its problems, a “surplus of pride.” The same can be said for so many hamlets, burgs, and counties throughout the Commonwealth. Despite the pride, few historic references are visible to the Elliott County visitor. One source of pride, however, is country music star Keith Whitley.

Born in Ashland in 1954, Whitley’s Elliott County roots reached back to the 1840s. In 1969, Whitley became friends with Ricky Skaggs and the two were soon discovered Ralph Stanley and J.D. Crowe. By the 1980s, Whitley would release five consecutive #1 singles including When You Say Nothing at All and I’m No Stranger to the Rain.
But Whitley was also no stranger to the bottle. As a teen, he drank bootleg whiskey. Police reports indicate one accident involving his trying to take an Elliott County country curve at 120+ mph; in another wreck, he plunged his car down a 120 foot cliff into a frozen river. In 1989, however, Keith Whitley’s struggle with alcoholism would end. He collapsed on his bed at the age of 33 with a BAC of .477. 
Although Keith Whitley is buried in Nashville’s Spring Hill Cemetery, the Keith Whitley Memorial Association ensures that “his music lives on.” It commissioned Montana sculptor Bill Rains to recreate Keith Whitley complete with his guitar and rockin’ his awesome mullet; the sculpture has been displayed at the cemetery in Sandy Hook in a beautiful tribute to the country legend since 1999.

More pictures of the tribute can be found on my flickr account.