On July 11, 1863, General Morgan's main column arrived in Dupont, late in the evening. They traveled approximately 35 miles that day. Most of the Raiders camped at the bend of Camp Creek (#1), near the present day school. General Morgan spent the night at the Thomas Stout house (the site is northwest of the present-day bridge on West Front Street, #2) A local doctor's eight-year-old son, James Frank Lewis, was captured and held prisoner in the Mayfield Smokehouse. later, when he became homesick, he was released and returned to his home (a one story house with four columns, #3). Next door was the home of Sally Trousdale, who taunted the raiders by flying two American flags from her porch. (a two story house, #4). Some two thousand hams were taken from the Mayfield Smokehouse (the site is at the southeast corner of East Front and South Street, #5). The nearby Mayfield store was robbed of $1,600. Mayfield's daughter, Josephine, a fiery redhead screamed and yelled from her house at the Raiders for disturbing the peace. Henry Snook, one of the raiders, was attracted to Josephine and promised to return and marry her. Following the war, they were married and settled in Chicago. (Neither the Mayfield store nor house can be located with certainty, only the smokehouse).
The local women baked biscuits all night, willingly or unwillingly. Morgan
and his men departed early on July 12. Five hours later, members of the Union cavalry arrived. They too were hungry and the same Dupont residents cooked for the Union boys.
Comments 0 comments