Battle Of Corydon
July 9, 1863
Courtesy of CivilWarTalk.Com

The Battle of Corydon took place just south of the town of the same name in the state of Indiana on July 9, 1863 during Morgan's Raid. Morgan's raiders squared off against 400 or so state militia that made up the 6th Indiana Legion Regiment. The battle took place when the regiment threw up a hasty defense south of town in the face of the oncoming Confederate troops. The Union troops built a barricade was between four and five feet high that stretched 2,500 feet. The 6th Regiment of the Indiana Legion was commanded by Col. Lewis Jordan. Maj. McGrain, was given command of the west wing. Capt. George Lahue, was in command of the east wing. The western wing was heavily wooded and the slope of the ground prevented the defenders or the attackers from seeing each other until they were within close range. The eastern wing of the works was in a mostly open field and afforded little natural cover to the attackers, while the defenders were protected from gunfire behind the barricade. At 11:30 am the 3rd Regiment Kentucky Cavalry, the advance element of the Confederate forces under the command of Col. Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson, was sighted moving north along the Mauckport Road towards Corydon. Col. Johnson believed that the artillery could have quickly dispersed the four hundred farmers-turned-soldiers, but Morgan was worried about any delay because during the night Union forces had begun crossing the river in his rear. Morgan’s main body with the artillery was still en route, and he decided that the Legion should be engaged by the advance forces. By about noon, the Confederates had formed an attack line and were in position to advance on the works. Because of the forest on the west side of the Mauckport Road, a company of men dismounted and attacked the works head on and were repulsed three times. At the same time Morgan's forces also launched a flanking maneuver on the eastern wing of the defensive works. The initial flanking attempt was prevented because of the superior weapons held by the thirty Legion soldiers on that wing. Equipped with Henry rifles capable of firing fourteen rounds before reloading, they were able to keep the Confederates pinned down in the open field for about twenty minutes. Shortly after the third repulse of the Confederates on the western wing, the 2nd Kentucky and 9th Tennessee regiments arrived from the Mauckport Road and joined the battle, giving the attackers a numerical superiority. At about 12:40 p.m., Capt. Byrnes arrived with the Confederate artillery and used his two ten-pound Parrott rifles to pin down the defenders in the works. In the meantime, Morgan was leading his main body of troops far around the eastern edge of the defenses and up the Plank Road, threatening the town directly and bypassing the defenses entirely. As they moved onto the Corydon Pike, they shot and robbed a toll gate keeper who refused to throw down his gun. Using the cannons and one infantry battalion to prevent the defenders from maneuvering, Col. Richard Morgan, the general's brother, attempted to surround the Legion unit. With the artillery bearing down on the works, the 2nd Kentucky and 9th Tennessee began to flank the Union defense on the east and west sides respectively. Col. Lewis ordered a retreat to prevent his forces from being captured. With their superior numbers, the Confederates were able to move around both ends of the Legion's works and quickly turned the retreat into a rout. The battle lasted about one hour. As the Legion fled into the town, many threw their guns into a creek to prevent them from being captured by the enemy. About one hundred men attempted to escape by the Corydon Pike, unaware that the main Confederate force was advancing up it, and were captured. A large part of the Legion force, including Col. Jordon, retreated into the downtown. On the western edge of the town, a company of Confederates seized the Legion’s commissary. Morgan took command of the heights south of the town and fired two warning shells from his artillery into Corydon. Col. Jordan realizing that continued resistance was useless, promptly surrendered the town. The Legion's cavalry and the infantrymen who had mounts were able to escape into the countryside, but almost all of the remaining infantry was captured. Accounts vary as to the number of casualties, but the most reliable evidence suggests that Jordan lost four killed, ten to twelve wounded, and 355 captured—about 100 escaped. After the battle, Morgan counted eleven dead and forty wounded among the raiders, plus one killed while advancing on the town. Additionally, three civilians were killed. The Battle of Corydon still remains the last battle to be fought in the state of Indiana. Today the Battle of Corydon Park stands on a portion of what was the western end the original battlefield. The park includes various historic markers, a cannon, and memorials to both Union and Confederate KIAs. It also has a period log cabin on the 5 acres that make up the park.