By July 18, 1863 Confederate General John Hunt Morgan was about to complete the first week of his abortive raid into the American North. Hunt and approximately 2500 cavalry left Kentucky on July 11, crossing the Ohio River into Indiana where his troopers plundered Corydon, the former capital.
Hunt’s 1000 mile raid spread great fear throughout the American North; martial law was declared in Cincinnati and other Northern cities. Yet Union forces successfully prevented Morgan from re-crossing the Ohio River, constantly forcing him toward the northeast.
By July 19 Morgan’s force, defeated in several skirmishes, numbered no more than 400 weary troops now actively pursued by the Northern army. Within another week at Salineville, Ohio in the far northeastern corner of the state Hunt would eventually surrender with his remaining raiders.