One of Morgan's Men

Book excerpt: John Marion Porter (1839–1898) grew up working at his family's farm and dry goods store in Butler County, Kentucky. The oldest of Reverend Nathaniel Porter's nine children, he was studying to become a lawyer when the Civil War began. As the son of a family of slave owners, Porter identified with the Southern cause and wasted little time enlisting in the Confederate army. He and his lifelong friend Thomas Henry Hines served in the Ninth Kentucky Calvary under John Hunt Morgan, the "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy." When the war ended, Porter and Hines opened a law practice together, but Porter was concerned that the story of his service during the Civil War and his family's history would be lost with the collapse of the Confederacy. In 1872, Porter began writing detailed memoirs of his experiences during the war years, including tales of scouting behind enemy lines, sabotaging a Union train, being captured and held as a prisoner of war, and searching for an army to join after his release. Editor Kent Masterson Brown spent several years preparing Porter's memoir for publication, clarifying details and adding annotations to provide historical context. One of Morgan's Men: Memoirs of Lieutenant John M. Porter of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry is a fascinating firsthand account of the life of a remarkable Confederate soldier. In this unique volume, Porter's insights on Morgan and the Confederacy are available to readers for the first time.