“Yes, I long to be with him,” answered Calhoun. “I feel as strong as ever now.”
“Do not be in a hurry to report,” said Johnston. “Wait until you hear from me.”
In a few days Calhoun received a message from General Johnston saying he would like to see him. Calhoun lost no time in obeying the summons. He was received most cordially.
“In the first place, Captain,” said the General, “allow me to present you this,” and he handed him his commission as captain in the Confederate army.
Calhoun choked, he could only stammer his thanks. But what came next astonished him still [pg 312]more. “I now offer you the position of Chief of the Secret Service of my army,” said the General. “After listening to your story, although you are young, I believe there is no officer in the army more capable of filling it.”
Calhoun knew not what to say; it was a place of the greatest honor, but he hated to leave Morgan. “Will you let me consult my uncle before I give an answer?” asked Calhoun.
“Most certainly,” replied the General.
“Accept it, by all means, Cal,” said General Shackelford when Calhoun appealed to him. “In the first place, it is your duty to serve your country in the place where you can do the most good. There is no question but that at the head of the Secret Service you can render the country vastly better service than you can riding with Morgan. In the next place, I fancy it will not be exactly with Morgan as it was before his unfortunate raid. His famous raiders are prisoners, or scattered. It will be impossible for him to gather another such force. They understood him, he understood them. This will not be the case with a new command. Then, this is for your ear alone, Calhoun, the authorities at Richmond are not satisfied with Morgan. In invading the North he disobeyed orders; and this, those high in authority cannot overlook.”
So, with many regrets, Calhoun decided to accept the offer of General Johnston; but for many days his heart was with his old chieftain. The [pg 313]time came when he saw the wisdom of his uncle’s remarks. General Morgan never regained his old prestige. It is true the Confederate government gave him the department of Western Virginia, but they so hampered him with orders that any great success was impossible.
In June, 1864, Morgan made his last raid into Kentucky. At first he was successful, sweeping everything before him. He had the pleasure of taking prisoner General Hobson, the man who had tracked him all through his Northern raid. But at Cynthiana he met with overwhelming defeat, his prisoners being recaptured, and he escaping with only a small remnant of his command.