Stop 01 - Puryears Ferry

The Battle of Hartsville, Tennessee

Colonel John Hunt Morgan and his troops arrived from Lebanon at Puryears Ferry in the dark of night at 10 pm on Saturday, December 6, 1862. With a plan to ford the Cumberland River in five hours, Morgan assembled his Artillery, Infantry, and a small part of the Cavalry on the south side of the river. He began the difficult task of moving horses, heavy cannon, and men across the icy Cumberland in two old leaking flat boats that had been arranged by his network of spies and supplied by a local sympathizer, 74-year-old Oliver Goldsmith “Ollie” Dickerson. The conditions were harsh, and the men being carried across by boat were forced to constantly bail water to keep from being swamped. The crossing took seven hours instead of the allotted five. Realizing early on the crossing was taking much longer than planned, Morgan directed Colonel Basil Duke and his Cavalry to continue on several miles further down-river to cross. The location was not ideal. A narrow bridle path provided the only access to the river. With each mount and man going down the slippery path, led by Col. John Dearing Bennet’s 9th Tennessee, the men plunged into the river from the four-foot ledge above the river. Most of the Confederate men became completely submerged in the freezing water. The first men across built fires to warm themselves, but 15 men were so badly frozen they had to be left behind. By 3:00 a.m. with fewer than half his men across the river, Duke realized he must hurry to meet Morgan at the rendezvous point. He was forced to leave the other half of his men on the south side of the river with orders to hurry on. (Go back the way you came and stay to the right until you reach Stop #2)