Civil War

In the weeks following the election of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th President of the United States, the division among the residents of Covington, Kentucky was already becoming evident. In May of 1861, just days after the firing on Fort Sumter at South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, the Covington Journal couldn’t hide its disdain for Lincoln and federal authority.

“Our government, at a single bound, has passed from the limits of a Constitutional Democracy into a military despotism,” the paper editorialized on the first page of its four-page newspaper. “The executive at Washington has no warrant in law or precedent for calling for volunteers to serve three years and no shadow of authority to increase the regular force of the Army and the Navy.”

In typical 19th century fashion, the weekly newspaper, which was published each Saturday morning, was packed with information, including letters between the governor of the state and the legislature about whether to secede from the Union. How all this was received in the Lawson household is unknown, but it’s entirely possible that Lawson, a devout Christian, read a piece in that same May issue republished from the Presbyterian Herald, where it attempted to rationalize neutrality in the war.

“We must either be loyal or traitors. It is a contest in which neutrality is an impossibility,” wrote the Presbyterian Herald, which compared the broken union to that of a broken marriage and that the only solution was to let the other one go its separate way.

For more than a year, it appears the Lawson family stayed neutral in a conflict that was dividing neighbor against neighbor, and then something appears to have happened that changes everything. It is easy to imagine the fervor of young men setting off to war — America was a hot bed of patriotism, both blue and gray. That may have been the case in the Lawson household, especially for eldest son Thomas, who was about 16 in the spring of 1862.

In Covington, along with other cities in Northern Kentucky and Southern Ohio, the exploits of Confederate Gen. John Morgan were widely publicized. Morgan’s raids were sensational and added to the continued aura of Confederate invincibility, especially when it came to its elite cavalry corps. Other news flowed into Covington, along with first-hand accounts from those heading to and from the battlefields of the Western Theater. Many sick and wounded traveled through here after the horrific fighting at Shiloh, the biggest battle to date in the West and by far the bloodiest.

At Covington, with its strategic location, young Thomas Lawson, the family’s eldest son, would have seen all of this, possibly swept up into the fervor of his friends, who may have been eager to join the fight and it may have seemed like a grand adventure to any young boy longing to be a man. While the Covington Journal was decidely pro-Southern, there were balanced reports from the field including the progress of Morgan’s Raiders and the city’s efforts to defend itself.

Ultimately, Kentucky remains with the Union and thousands of midwestern volunteers stream through the Covington en route to the battlefields of the West.

While we may never know his motivations, Thomas Lawson left home between March and August of 1862, traveling more than 90 miles south to Louisville, where he joined the U.S. 11th Kentucky Cavalry. Enlistment papers suggest that young Lawson signed up for a three-year term on March 25, before being assigned duty as the Company G bugler in August of 1862.

There is always this question: is this the right Thomas Lawson, the 16-year-old son of Sarah and Joseph? Again, the information here is circumstantial, but it is powerful. There are a numerous Thomas Lawsons who serve in the Civil War, both North and South, but only two serve in the 11th Kentucky Cavalry. The Journal reports other Kentucky regiments visiting Covington to find recruits, but the 11th is never mentioned.

Thomas Lawson was the right age to find himself in the service when boys as young as 12 were serving as drummers, aides and couriers. In the Lawson family history there is no oral tradition of a son going to war, but then the oral tradition of Captain Lawson’s exploits was limited at best. Yet in November of 1862, while the 11th is stationed outside of Nashville, Tennessee, in a town called Gallatin, the family link is strengthened when a bearded man of 42 arrives and enlists as an officer in Company G — it is Joseph Lawson.

There is little doubt that Joseph Edward Lawson, the Covington shopkeeper, enlists at this point in the Union Army. WIthin hours of his arrival he’s promoted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant, and just days after that he’s promoted to captain. He’s ultimately given command of the company.

In the days before Joseph Lawson’s enlistment, Morgan’s Raiders were making steady progress in engaging Union forces and militia units all over Kentucky. John Hunt Morgan had been raised in Kentucky, initially he had hoped for a resolution of the nation’s troubles without secession, but it became clear that he had to choose sides. As early as 1857, Morgan was involved in organizing militia units in southern Kentucky. After the death of his wife in 1861, Morgan devoted himself full time to the Confederacy, traveling south to Tennessee to join the cavalry.

In July of 1862, Morgan was ready for his first large-scale assault on federal troops and home guards throughout the state. The Covington Journal reported the movements of the Raiders.

“On Saturday last rumors reached this city that John Morgan, with a force, principally cavalry, estimated at 1,500 to 3,000 strong, had crossed the state line and was marching towards Lexington. At first the report was not generally credited. Later in the day, however, the report was confirmed, accompanied with the information that Morgan’s forces had reached Lebanon, and burned the town. The latter item we believe has not been confirmed.

Prompt measures were adopted by the military authorities of the state to arrest the raid. All available troops in Ohio were dispatched to Lexington. About 100 men of the regular police force of Cincinnati were sent up. A number of citizens of Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport, volunteered for the occasion.”

Whether Lawson was among these volunteers may never be known, but it is clear that Morgan’s presence was a major concern among the residents of Covington. Other Confederate cavalry units, most under Gen. Braxton Bragg,  would also make incursions near or around Covington, often sending the populace into panic.

It was this type of irregular warfare that gave rise to other Confederate cavalry units, which aimed to terrorize pro-Union areas throughout the war. Men like Frank and Jesse James gained experience fighting with these units.

By October of 1862, the 11th had already fought in at least one engagement, turning back a rebel cavalry force in southern Kentucky. During the next few days, the regiment made a grueling march south toward Tennessee.

After the 200-plus-mile journey to Gallatin, Lawson assumed command of Company G, where we believe his son, Thomas, served as the company bugler. But what qualified Joseph Lawson to command a company of cavalry? Was it his horsemanship? Was it the fact that he appeared to be a succesful businessman in the state? Was it previous military service?

In the Civil War, social status often put those into command situations, and in some cases the officers were elected by those in the regiment or company. However, the 11th appears to be made up of mostly men from counties to the south of Kenton and Campbell counties. So, Lawson was basically foreign to the men of the 11th, except for the bond of his son.

There is no evidence of previous military service, although the Lawsons do have a gap in children between 1846 and 1850 — during the time of the Mexican-American War.

The most likely scenario, is that Lawson felt compelled to act, as many men did during this time, saddled up his own horse, and forever left civilian life behind.

Regardless, Lawson was thrust into combat. Within days of joining the 11th, another company was attacked by Morgan’s troops. It was the beginning of many fights between the unheralded 11th and Morgan’s Raiders. In all the 11th would combat elements of Morgan’s Raiders more than a half-dozen times in 1863.

 Like most of Lawson’s early life, the history of the 11th Kentucky Cavalry regiment is spotty at best. The unit saw action continuously from 1863 until the war’s end in 1865. In a recent history, found on Roots Web, Kentucky genealogist Jerry A. Johnson has written extensively about the regiment — although much of it seems to be from the brief regimental history.

In early 1863, the regiment begins its journey north in pursuit of Morgan’s Raiders. Company G, however, remained in Gallatin before heading north behind the rest of the regiment in March. In those first days of Lawson’s service, the regiment was beset with disease and desertion, which depleted its effectiveness.

By July 1, the regiment was now in full-flung pursuit of the Confederates, who on July 10 crossed the Ohio River and into Indiana. In order the expedite the journey, the regiment boarded rail cars to Louisville and then boarded a steamer that took them to Cincinnati — familiar ground for Lawson.

By the middle of the month, the 11th had caught up to Morgan, along with several other federal units, and pressed the confederate brigadier general at place called Bluffington Island. It was the 11th, along with an Indiana regiment, that stopped Morgan’s battered Raiders. With support from federal gunboats on the Ohio River, Morgan’s cavalry was shot down but he was able to escape toward Salineville, Ohio. However, hundreds of his men were captured, killed or wounded.

In Johnson’s account there is no mention of specific companies engaged in the pursuit of Morgan after Bluffington Island, but it’s clear that elements of the 11th made the pursuit, along with other Kentucky cavalry regiments, and helped pin him down. Surrounded, Morgan surrendered.