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BATTLE OF GANNELTON jOnly Fight Where Navy Protected Indiana Soil.Half a century ago this month occurred what is known as “the battle of Cannelton.” when the guns of a war vessel were discharged in defense of 1 Indiana soil. The only relic of the so-called battle known to exist is a handsome pair of stag antlers, which then adorned the pilothouse of the * United States gunboat Springfield, No. 22, of the Mississippi fleet, an iron- . clad, stern-wheel vessel, whicn lay in port at Cannelton throughout the summer of 1804, under command of Captain Edmond Morgan, U. S. N., who died three years ago at his home in Kokotno.Hawesville, Ky., opposite Cannelton i was a center of southern sympathizers and irregular guerrilla bands were , there frequently. However General John Morgan’s raid in 1803 was the only instance when organized Confederate troops crossed the Ohio river. A frequent threat among the Kentuckians ^ was: “YVeMl come across and burn your cotton mill for you,” referring 1 to the Indiana cotton mills. The threat led the government to station 1 an ironclad at Cannelton to defend the town. Monday July 25, 1864, Captain ’ Morgan ordered the bombardment of Hawesville, to drive out a force of horsemen who had slipped into that place on the previous night and lt;threatened to attack Cannelton. Twenty 1 shells were thrown with little damage to property, as Captain Morgan personally supervised the firing of each gun. He wished merely to terrify the i marauders by indicating his strength.His marines numbered about one j hundred and twenty-live. The three survivors are: Robert McMains, of ^ Cannelton, Charles C. Hoyt, of Hawesville, and Stere;t Smith, of Evansville. Captain Morgan was a man of many accomplishments, whose popularity won for him a Cannelton bride, Miss 1 Isabelle Beacon, now his widow, who is spending the summer in a cottage 1 on Lake Barbee. During his stay at Cannellon he was frequently a guest of . the Huekeby family at its old homestead, Virginia place, and on his departure he presented the antlers as a farewell gift to Mrs. Huekeby, a woman whose colonial and revolutionary lineage made her an intense patriot. Her grandchildren proudly cherish the antlers as the most notable memorial of Indiana!s only naval battle.
Newspaper Details
New Harmony Times
New Harmony, Indiana, US
Fri, Jul 10, 1914
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 20 Jan 2024
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