John Hunt Morgan of Kentucky was a Confederate cavalry raider and brigadier general. He married Mattie Ready in December 1862 and died in Greenville, Tenn., on 4 September 1864. The collection is chiefly military and personal correspondence of John Hunt Morgan, relating to his activities in connection with recruiting and organizing his men; his raids in Kentucky, Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia; his imprisonment at Columbus, Ohio, in the summer of 1863; his escape and return to the Confederacy in December 1863, and the reorganization of his brigade; and his operations out of Abingdon, Va., until his death. Included is correspondence of the Ready family of Murfreesboro, Tenn., and their Cheatham relatives. Many of the letters are from Morgan's mother, Henrietta, of Lexington, Ky., to her daughter-in-law, and from Morgan's brothers and sisters. The papers before the Civil War are scattered Ready family papers. The papers after Morgan's death are chiefly letters received by his widow. Other materials include three manuscript maps of Morgan's area of operations; broadsides relating to orders and proclamations by Morgan; a folder of clippings that includes a May 1862 issue of ; and an essay, 1890, by John M. Orr, refuting an allegation that Morgan was betrayed by the Williams family of Greenville, Tenn. The Union Volunteer
