Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Bible |
Catalog Number |
2024.32.6 |
Maker |
J.P. Lippencott & Co. |
Date |
1860 |
Material(s) |
Leather/Paper |
Dimensions |
H-6.625 W-4.75 D-1.375 inches |
Description |
This is a leather bound bible, published by J.P. Lippencott & Co. in Philadelphia in 1860. The covers are ornately decorated with foil stamped gold and there is a deeply embossed scalloped pattern on the front cover. A gold foil stamped label pasted inside the front cover reads, "PRESENTED TO/COL. JOHN HUNT MORGAN/THE LADIES FRIEND/BY/THE LADIES OF MACON, GEO." The original book is missing everything after Psalm 89. Parts of a smaller Bible consisting of parts of the book of Luke through Revelations is tucked into the missing space. Written in pencil on the last page of this second book are two inscriptions. The first reads "Finished 19th night of December 1860--Murfreesboro." The second reads "Augusta July 14th/63. Tuesday night--I wonder where my dear husband is tonight and what doing. Augusta, Ga." |
Notes |
This 1860 bible was presented to Confederate soldier John Hunt Morgan by the "Ladies of Macon, Georgia." On the inner page is written verse from John 14:13, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Below the inscription in a different ink is the signature "Johnnie Morgan". John Hunt Morgan (1825-1864) was born June 1, 1825 in Huntsville, Alabama. Morgan moved with his family to Lexington as a boy. He attended Transylvania University, enlisted in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry at the outbreak of the Mexican-American War and served under Zachary Taylor. After the war, Morgan became a hemp manufacturer in Lexington. He and his family owned and sold enslaved people. He raised a militia company, the Lexington Rifles. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Morgan embraced the Confederate cause, and took his company to Bowling Green, where he was made colonel in April 1862. Morgan lead cavalry raids through Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois and was remembered as "the Thunderbolt of the Confederacy" for his bold attacks. He was captured in July 1863 and spent several months at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus before escaping in November 1863. He was shot and killed on September 3, 1864 during operations in Tennessee. Morgan's first wife, Rebecca Gratz Bruce, died in 1861. He married Martha "Mattie" Ready in December 1862. Mattie Morgan was the daughter of Congressman Charles Ready, who practiced law in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Their daughter Johnnie Hunt Caldwell (1865-1888) was born after Morgan's death, in Augusta, Georgia. The clues suggest the inscriptions in the second Bible were made by Mattie Morgan. |
Collection |
Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation Collection |
People |
Caldwell, Johnnie Hunt,1865-1888 Morgan, John Hunt, 1825-1864 Morgan, Martha Ready, 1840-1887 |
Subjects |
Military life Religious books Soldiers Soldiers' life |
Search Terms |
Confederate States of America Confederate veterans Confederates 1st Kentucky Cavalry Lexington Rifles Macon (Ga.) |