” I could see there were indications of quite an army over the hill. Balls whizzed in both directions.“

On July 2, 1863, Confederate cavalryman John Hunt Morgan led roughly 2,500 men into Kentucky during what would become known as the, The Door Was Left Open! Great Raid. Facing a swollen Cumberland River, many of Morgan’s men chose to swim across naked, shedding soggy clothes so they would not be encumbered. The sight and sound of the rebel yell from nearly unclothed men caught Union scouts completely off guard, setting the stage for a dramatic confrontation.

Columbia, Kentucky, lay along a thin Union defense line stretching from London to Bowling Green. On July 3, 1863, only about 150 men from the 1st Kentucky Cavalry and portions of the 2nd and 45th Ohio Volunteer Infantry were stationed in town. They were outnumbered and unprepared for the fierce cavalry assault that awaited them.

A Columbia resident later described the chaos:

“I ran to the window, and looking out I saw a Union soldier going down the road at full speed, his head and body bent low on the side of his horse. A few feet behind him were four or five men in gray in hot pursuit, shooting as rapidly as they could with pistols… in less time than I have taken to tell it, they were over the hill in the direction of town and out of sight.”

The observer continued:

“Soon skirmish fire opened up from both sides. The Federals were evidently deceived as to the force with which they were contending. I could see there were indications of quite an army over the hill. Balls whizzed in both directions. Then I heard a yell—the like of which I had never heard—the Confederate war cry when advancing to battle, and I saw the line of soldiers as they dashed over the brow of the hill.”

Despite the shock and drama, casualties were relatively light: two Confederate soldiers were killed and two wounded, while the Union suffered the same number of losses.

Among those who witnessed the raid was Judge Hershel Clay Baker (1841–1934), who later recounted the events in his memoirs for the Adair County News in 1898. The Union defense had been compromised when Gen. Henry M. Judah ordered Gen. Edward H. Hobson’s main force out of Columbia to Marrowbone, opening a path for Morgan into Kentucky and beyond.

The audacity, speed, and sheer shock of Morgan’s nearly naked cavalrymen left an indelible mark on those who saw it a surreal yet decisive moment in the Civil War.