Battle of Lebanon
Myrtledene will be long remembered
as the house Gen. Morgan imprinted

Although it’s now a bed and breakfast establishment, Myrtledene always will be remembered as the Lebanon house imprinted by John Hunt Morgan.

And, for many years, the stairs of the 1833 structure literally were imprinted, thanks to Morgan’s horseback ride up the staircase.

Myrtledene served as the brigadier general’s headquarters when the Confederate cavalry commander invaded the city July 5, 1863. Allegedly distraught by the death of his younger brother, Morgan rode his horse up several steps of the house’s front stairway. The hoofprints of the horse were imprinted and very visible on the steps and remained there until the 1950s when they were sanded away and carpeted.

Although still smarting from his defeat at Tebb’s Bend on July 4, Morgan diverted his some 3,500 men to Lebanon, a crucial location on the L&N Railroad. The Marion county seat also served as a recruiting and hospital center and headquarters for the Union Army.

Morgan, who was hoping to reach lightly defended Louisville, surprised and captured Lebanon’s Federal garrison.

With minimal time to prepare, Union Lt. Col. Charles S. Hanson (a brother of Confederate general Roger Hanson) quickly deployed his 350 - 400 men from the 20th Kentucky Infantry behind overturned wagons, hastily erected barricades, fences, and other cover. Morgan formally requested that Hanson surrender, an offer that was refused.

The battle began around 7 a.m. with the thickest of the fighting taking place at the train depot and Union commissary.

With a huge numerical advantage, Morgan quickly pushed Hanson's advance pickets back through the town's streets. He trapped many of the Union soldiers in the Louisville and Nashville Railroad depot, but the well-fortified brick building provided considerable protection.

Morgan ordered nearby buildings set on fire, hoping to force Hanson to surrender. In the sharp six-hour fight, Federal troops killed Morgan’s 19-year-old brother, Lt. Thomas Morgan, during the final charge. Tom was shot in the heart and died in the arms of his brother, Calvin.

With no hope of reinforcements and nearly devoid of ammunition, Hanson surrendered in the early afternoon. Three Union soldiers were killed during the battle and another 16 were wounded, one of whom later died from his injuries. Union prisoners were marched on the double-quick to Springfield.

Gen. Morgan paroled many of the enemy soldiers and burned the offices of the Circuit Clerk and County Clerk, in addition to 20 other buildings.

The Battle of Lebanon was part of Morgan’s Great Raid of 1863, which led from Kentucky and into Indiana and Ohio. The 24-day raid covered 1,000 miles, which made it the longest Confederate raid of the Civil War.