Basil W. Duke

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Basil W. Duke
May 28, 1838 – September 16, 1916

Basil W. Duke
Place of birth Georgetown, Kentucky
Place of death New York City, New York
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Years of service 1861–65 (CSA)
Rank Brigadier General, Confederate States Army, 15 Sept 1864
Unit 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, 9th Kentucky Cavalry
Commands held Morgan's Raiders
Battles/wars American Civil War
Other work Lawyer, lobbyist

Basil Wilson Duke (May 28, 1838 – September 16, 1916) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, perhaps most noted for his service as a brigade commander in the 1863 Morgan's Raid (Duke later wrote a popular account of the raid.) Duke also fought at the Battle of Shiloh. He was the brother-in-law of John Hunt Morgan, and took over Morgan's command after Morgan was shot by Union soldiers in 1864. Toward the end of the war, Duke was among Jefferson Davis's bodyguard after the Confederate president's flight from Richmond, eventually parting ways with him at Philomath, Georgia, after being at the last war council at the Burt-Stark Mansion.

Marker in Bardstown, Kentucky denoting Basil Duke's December 1862 injury
Marker in Bardstown, Kentucky denoting Basil Duke's December 1862 injury

In postbellum Louisville, he served as chief counsel for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad from 1882 to 1894. He died in New York City, and is buried at Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky.[1]

He was slightly-built, with a resonant voice. A relative described him as "essentially a man of the 17th century, that century in half armor, torn between chivalry and realism".[2]

Contents

[edit] Pre-War

Basil W. Duke was born in Scott County, Kentucky, on May 28, 1838, to Nathaniel W. Duke and his wife, the former Mary Pickett Currie. Both of his parents died in an early age. He attended both Georgetown College and Centre College, and went to Lexington, Kentucky's Transylvania University, where he studied law. After graduating, he went to St. Louis, Missouri in 1858 to practice law, as his older cousin, also named Basil Duke, was practicing law there, and there were already a multitude of lawyers in Lexington.[3][4]

[edit] War Years

When the American Civil War started in 1861, Basil W. Duke was still in Missouri, where he helped in the initial forays for Missouri's secession from the United States. (Missouri would have both Federal and Confederate governments during the War.) On January 7, 1861, after so many pro-Northern politicians were elected in St. Louis, he and four others created Minute Men, a pro-secession organization, with Duke quickly becoming the leader, despite being only 23 years old. He formed five companies, and sought to acquire the federal arsenal in St. Louis for the secessionist movement, securing artillery for secessionist forces. He made a habit of placing secessionist flags at prominent locations, looking to start fights with pro-Union forces. He would eventually be indicted for arson and treason.[5][6]

He moved back to Lexington, Kentucky, in April 1861 in order to marry Henrietta Hunt Morgan, sister of John Hunt Morgan. They were married on June 19, 1861. Duke would return to Missouri to help Confederate forces in Missouri, but would eventually return to Kentucky at General William J. Hardee's insistence. By October of 1861, he would enlist in his brother-in-law's (Morgan's) command as a private, but would be elected as a 2nd Lieutenant.[7] [8] [9]

He was twice wounded. At the Battle of Shiloh, he was swinging at a Union soldier when he was shot in the left shoulder by a Brown Bess musket, exiting his right should, barely missing his spine. After this, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. At Elizabethtown, Kentucky during Morgan's Christmas Raid of 1862, by this time a full colonel, he was hit by a shell fragment while leading the back guard as the rest of Morgan's men crossed a stream; his men thought he was surely dead.[10] [11][12]

Duke was the principal trainer for mounted combat for Morgan's Raiders. He participated in Morgan's Raid. During this raid his troops would dub him "The Little Whalebone". He was captured at the Battle of Buffington Island on July 19, 1863, leading troops which gave a chance for others to escape across the Ohio River with Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson, or further into the state of Ohio with Morgan.[13][14]

Basil W. Duke would remain in captivity until August 3, 1864, where he was exchanged. He could have escaped from the Ohio State Penitentiary with Morgan and Thomas Hines, but felt that to do so would hurt the chances of the escapees, as Morgan was easily replaced in his cell by his brother, but no similar replacement was there for Duke. After Morgan was shot in cold blood by Union troops, Duke assumed command of Morgan's forces on September 15, 1864, being promoted to brigadier general. He was with Jefferson Davis when Davis left Richmond, Virginia. Duke was in the final Confederate war council at Abbeville, South Carolina, that happened on May 2, 1865.[15] [16]

[edit] Post War

Basil W. Duke's Grave. John Hunt Morgan's grave is the white one behind Duke's
Basil W. Duke's Grave. John Hunt Morgan's grave is the white one behind Duke's

Basil W. Duke would move to Louisville, Kentucky, after the War, and would return to practicing law in 1868, with his primary client being the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, where he was their chief counsel and lobbyist. (Ironic, as the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a favorite victim of Morgan's raiders.) He would briefly serve in the Kentucky General Assembly from 1869 to 1870, when he resigned. (Naturally, being an ex-Confederate, he was a Democrat.) He would be the Fifth Judicial District's commonwealth attorney from 1875 to 1880.[17][18]

Duke would be greatly involved in writing the history of the War and related topics. He helped to found Louisville's Filson Club Historical Society 1884, writing many of their early papers. Duke would become the commissioner of Shiloh National Park, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt due to having been introduced to each other at the Filson Club. From 1885 to 1887 he edited the magazine Southern Bivouac. He also wrote three books: Reminiscences of General Basil W. Duke (an autobiography) (1911), History of Morgan's Cavalry, and History of the Bank of Kentucky, 1792-1895 (1895).[19]

Duke would die after having surgery in New York City on September 16, 1916. He is buried in Lexington Cemetery in the Hunt family section, in front of John Hunt Morgan.[20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Owen and Owen, Generals at Rest, p. 79.
  2. ^ Brown, Dee Alexander. The Bold Cavaliers. (1959) p.27, 28
  3. ^ Kleber, John E. Encyclopedia of Louisville. (University Press of Kentucky). pg.256, 257.
  4. ^ Matthews, Gary. Basil Wilson Duke, CSA: The Right Man in the Right Place (University Press of Kentucky, 2005) p.16
  5. ^ Heidler, David. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military (2002), p.625
  6. ^ Matthews 24, 25
  7. ^ Kleber 257
  8. ^ Matthews 34
  9. ^ Heidler 625
  10. ^ Kleber 257
  11. ^ Brown 50, 153
  12. ^ Heidler 625
  13. ^ Kleber 257
  14. ^ Heidler 625
  15. ^ Brown 242
  16. ^ Kleber 257
  17. ^ Kleber 257
  18. ^ Heidler 625
  19. ^ Kleber 257
  20. ^ Heidler 625
  • Richard Owen; James Owen (1997). Generals at Rest: The Grave Sites of the 425 Official Confederate Generals. Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Publishing Co.. ISBN 1-57249-045-4. 
  • Jon L. Wakelyn (1977). Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-8371-6124-X. 

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