Читать книгу One of Morgan's Men - John M. Porter - Страница 8

There are many individuals who helped make the publication of Lieutenant John M. Porter's war memoirs a reality. First and foremost, Steve Carson of Lexington, Kentucky, gave me the typescript of the war memoirs and the permission to publish it. Steve is a descendant of Thomas Carson of Prince Edward County, Virginia, who married Anna Porter, the sister of John Marion Porter's grandfather, Francis Porter. Thomas and Anna Carson settled near Sugar Grove in Butler County, Kentucky. Thank you, Steve, for your great interest in history and your warm friendship.

Colonel Robert Spiller and his dear wife, Cora Jane Spiller, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, provided magnificent archival material, including the Hines genealogies, Porter's own sketch of his family history, various manuscript materials relating to the Porter and Hines families, and Porter's wartime photograph. Cora Jane is the granddaughter of none other than John Marion Porter Hines, the fifth child of Lieutenant Edward Ludlow Hines, who rode with Porter in the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry and came back to Kentucky from Georgia with him in 1865. Edward Ludlow Hines was a cousin of Thomas Henry Hines. Cora's grandfather was named in honor of none other than Lieutenant John Marion Porter. The Spillers are terrific people who love history. I am very grateful for all they did to make the publication of Porter's war memoirs possible and for their great friendship.

My secretary, Sharon Howard of Georgetown, Kentucky, patiently typed draft after draft of the war reminiscences; she was always cheerful and interested in the story. David Hicks of Lexington, Kentucky, my law clerk, helped me prepare all the maps. He is computer savvy; I, of course, am not. The result of David's efforts are the wonderful maps that chronicle Porter's incredible odyssey. Thank you, Sharon and David.

My two good friends James Ramage, professor of history at Northern Kentucky University, and Edward McKenzie “Mac” Coffman, professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin, and now of Lexington, Kentucky, were most helpful. Jim read—and made critical comments about—the typescript of Porter's war reminiscences, giving me a road- map to edit it. Mac provided me with his master's thesis on the life of Thomas Henry Hines, and then helped me crystallize my thoughts about the project during our Sunday afternoon discussions after church and during our regular lunches. Jim and Mac are terrific historians; more than that, they are great people who dearly love history. I am very grateful to them.

Michael Courtney at Black Swan Bookstore in Lexington was very helpful, locating for me long out-of-print books that provided important narratives which helped bring Porter's story to life. Michael is a longtime friend; our friendship spans at least fifty years.

William Marshall, Jim Birchfield, and, especially genealogical specialist Phyllis V. Spiker, all at the University of Kentucky Special Collections, were more valuable than words can tell. Phyllis is a treasure; she patiently explored computer databases with me, finding, in the end, the identities of literally every person mentioned by Porter in his war reminiscences. That was quite a feat. I cannot say enough about Phyllis Spiker. For permission to use the photographs from the Hunt Morgan and Lafayette Studio Collections at the University of Kentucky Special Collections, I am most appreciative.

B. J. Gooch of the Transylvania University Library was very helpful. She opened up J. Winston Coleman Jr.'s photographic collection to me, and then patiently converted those photographs to digital form for me twice! I am very grateful. I must say, it was wonderful going through Coleman's collection. I remember viewing so much of it as a lad. Winston Coleman was a great friend. He would frequently call me up, and I would ride my bicycle to his house and spend the day with him looking at his vast collections and just “talking history.” It was such great fun. I am proud that some of his magnificent photographs adorn this book. I will never forget Winston Coleman.

I also want to thank the Filson Historical Society, the Kentucky Historical Society, the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Alabama Department of Archives and History for permission to use the wonderful illustrations from their collections.

My good friend and college classmate Dr. Dan Rush, of Kingsport, Tennessee—formerly from Fern Creek, Kentucky—traveled with me on tours of Morgan's great raids, along with his brother, Dr. Neil Rush of Cynthiana. Dan provided me with the transcript of The Vidette, a newspaper printed by Morgan's command in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on October 28, 1862, recounting the action at “Ashland.” Save for Basil W. Duke's recounting of the action in his History of Morgan's Cavalry, it is to my knowledge the only Confederate version of the brief encounter ever printed. Dan also provided me with valuable information about Major George Washington Morgan, who was mortally wounded at “Ashland.” My longtime friend Bill Penn of Cynthiana provided a wonderful stream of material on the Battle of Cynthiana. Even more remarkable than those materials, he located a copy of the Louisville Daily Journal of July 26, 1862, that included a memoir of Morgan's command entering Midway, Kentucky. It must be the only such memoir in existence. Thank you, Dan and Bill.

I also want to thank Laura Sutton and Stephen Wrinn at the University Press of Kentucky for their faith in this project and their tireless efforts in its realization. Their efforts made a critical difference.

Finally, my dear wife, Genevieve, proofread the manuscript time and time again, making needed suggestions. Moreover, her patience and the patience of my three little ones—Annie, Philip, and Thomas—was wonderful. All of you are my greatest blessings.