“That community was never so thoroughly excited before. Many murders were committed on his line of march, and this one had lost his horses, that one had his house plundered; this town had been sacked, and in some instances burned, and so on.
“Gen. Anderson made his march as rapidly as he could with raw men and horses. He finally struck Morganson's rear and forced him to make a stand. Gen. Anderson dismounted his men and told every man to cover himself behind a tree where it could be done. The contest lasted for about an hour, when a small body of men who had been gathered together in advance of the raiders, struck him in the rear, as he was then facing, and caused a great stampede, and his force broke in various directions through the woods. Morganson turned upon this small force and drove it back, making his escape. Gen. Anderson followed him up closely, however, forcing him to change his course in the direction of the river. Gen. Broomfield had withdrawn a small force from Kentucky, which finally joined Gen. Anderson. Morganson was preparing to cross the river at a point near an island, the water being shallow there. Gen. Anderson with his raw recruits and about 100 of Broom-field's men at once assaulted him, broke his line, and killed and wounded many of his men as they were attempting to cross the river. After hard fighting for a few moments Morganson and those of his command that were still with him surrendered.
“This ended the raiders and their foolish exploits. The men who had volunteered to follow Gen. Anderson were of all ages and sizes—from the schoolboy to the grandfather. None of them had been in the army or at any time seen service, so that they were without any sort of discipline, with the exception of a few who were at home on furlough from their regiments, and some of Gen. Broomfield's command. But Gen. Anderson said that they fought like veterans, each one in his own way. Morganson and his command were taken to Camp Chase for safe keeping, and Gen. Anderson returned to Allentown to enjoy the leave of absence interrupted by the raiders.
“Joseph Dent came in the next morning after Gen. Anderson's return, and told us that when Morganson entered Indiana on his raid the Golden Circles were notified, and were getting ready to join him and make war all over the State, but that he appeared too soon for them; that on account of his (Dent's) illness he had not been able to advise us earlier.”
Dr. Adams inquired who this Gen. Morganson was.
Uncle Daniel said: “He was part of Forrester's command, that had raided around Rosenfelt so much during the previous Winter and Spring. He had crossed the Combination River to the east of Rosenfelt at Carthage, moving nearly due south by way of Greenberry, avoiding all points at which there were Union troops. He doubtless believed either that the members of the Golden Circle were ready to join him, armed and equipped, or that his raid would strike consternation into the hearts of the people, inasmuch as our armies were all far away from where he proposed to lay the scene of his audacious exploits. But he made a mistake when he began to take horses and other property from all alike, whether Union men or rebel sympathizers. This changed the sentiments of many people very rapidly.”
Said Maj. Clymer: “What has become of Gen. Morgan-son? I have not heard of him since the war.”
“He was killed somewhere in Tennessee soon after his escape from Camp Chase, so I have been informed.
“During Gen. Anderson's absence in pursuit of Morgan-son, Peter was traveling rapidly through Canada. He returned the day following Gen. Anderson's from his capture of the raiders.
“The people everywhere seemed to be greatly rejoiced at the General's success. He received a great ovation from the citizens of Allentown, and they cheered whenever he made his appearance. This caused him to keep very close to the house, as he was not fond of demonstration. The people, however, flocked to see him, and many of them could see great virtues in our family who, prior to that time, did not know us because we were not good enough for their society. So you see their own safety was the patriotic spark that burned brightly in their bosoms. But this is human nature. Selfishness seems to pervade nearly all, as is evidenced every day. Many of those who wanted the rebellion to succeed did so not because they were really rebels, but because they had said that we could not conquer them, and were willing to see our Government destroyed, merely to get a chance in the future to say to every one, 'I told you so.' These people now want the Government placed in the hands of its enemies for the same reason, so as to say, 'You cannot keep the control out of the hands of such able and brave men as these.' Thus, you see, it is in many merely a selfish pride of former expressed opinions.”