During the weekend of August 25-26, Conner Prairie will change the time period of the 1836 Prairietown’s Golden Eagle Inn to depict 1863 in order to present the Civil War home front in a new program, Rally ‘Round the Flag. Guests will have the chance to experience the reaction and take part as word spreads of Morgan’s Raid, the only major military action to happen in Indiana.
Rally ‘Round the Flag will not feature a battle, but a select group of Civil War re-enactors will engage guests in response to the raid. “The initial reaction was one of fear and anger at being invaded by a confederate force,” said Dan Schoeneberg, Conner Prairie’s Experience Research Manager. “Many men offered their services to Indiana Governor Oliver Morton and the state to defend against Morgan's cavalry. Small towns such as Prairietown would have more than likely called up any militia force they may have had.”
Saturday guests will meet army recruiters and women and children who have moved north for safety. On Sunday, the event concentrates on the army preparations, with training, marching and food and equipment issues. Guests can fill out and take home reproductions of historic Civil War enlisting forms.
“Guests will have the opportunity to experience in a small way a very accurate picture of the Indiana home front during the Civil War,” said Schoeneberg. “They can see how the military and local militia was utilized in a small fashion within the state's borders during the uncertain year of 1863.”
In July of 1863, confederate general John Hunt Morgan led a raid through Kentucky and seven counties in southern Indiana.Gov. Morton put out a call for volunteers and 65,000 responded, forming regiments and militias. After six days crossing Indiana, Morgan and his men moved to Ohio, where he was caught in late July.
“Morgan's raid is regarded as the longest sustained cavalry raid of the Civil War. Against the direct orders of his superior officers, he attempted to draw the Union Army's attention away from operations in Tennessee by invading the north,” said Schoeneberg. “Morgan began his raid immediately after Robert E. Lee's forces were defeated at Gettysburg, and Vicksburg had surrendered. His raid had little impact on the war. While it was widely publicized at the time, it is viewed as a defeat for the Confederacy.”
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