Cumberland Blood: Champ Ferguson's Civil War

5. “I ain’t killed but thirty-two men since this war commenced”

66 5 ) “I ain’t killed but thirty-two men since this war commenced” THROUGHOUT THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 1862, Ferguson continued his ruthless killing spree. He butchered his former neighbors, friends, and relatives for riding with the Home Guard or simply for siding with the Union. During this period, Ferguson also found a new ally, the Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan. Ferguson came to his aid at a critical time and Morgan never forgot the favor. On 2 May 1862, Ferguson settled an old score. While on a raid with some of Bledsoe’s men in Fentress County he joined in the capture of Alexander Huff. Huff was a close relative of Ferguson’s mother but had been with one of the groups that had attempted to arrest Ferguson before Christmas. Later, when an intoxicated Ferguson captured Alexander’s son, Preston, he had threatened to kill his father, and now he had the opportunity to do just that. The guerrillas captured Huff at his home then placed him under guard with some other prisoners on the front porch of a house. The 67 “I ain’t killed but thirty-two men” Rebels then sent out pickets as they searched the area. Soon they heard firing and the guards rode off to see what the problem was. Huff took the opportunity to make a run for it, but was quickly cut off by Ferguson. He begged for his life, pleading, “Don’t shoot me! Don’t shoot me!” One of the other prisoners, William B. Williams, bravely stood between Ferguson and Huff. Ferguson demanded that Williams get out of the way, and Huff made a break for the house. Ferguson chased him around the house while shouting for his men to “Shoot him! Shoot him! Damn Him! Shoot Him!” As the guerrillas chased Huff down, Williams took shelter in the house and heard several volleys of firing lasting almost half an hour as the raiders ran Huff to the ground.1 Another witness, Nancy Brooks, came up at the end of the firing. She found Huff leaning against a tree and begging for water. His arm and ankle were broken and he was riddled with holes. Ferguson and one of his men, “Coony John” Smith, were standing over Huff. Ferguson ordered Coony John to fire, and the bullet entered the back of Huff’s head, ending the encounter. Later, Williams found Huff’s corpse. As he looked after the body, he noticed that Huff’s coat had fifteen bullet holes in it.2 Ferguson had already had a hand in breaking the Monroe compromise , with the previous raid into Kentucky; this attack ended the truce in Fentress County as well. The raids continued. Later, Ferguson’s band captured a Unionist, Marion Johnson. Johnson was in one of the independent Union companies and had participated in writing the compromise. When he complained to Ferguson and the others about the violation, Ferguson causally mentioned that, yes, he had seen a notice about it posted back where they had killed Huff. Johnson took the hint and dropped the subject. The raiders released Johnson, but for all intents and purposes the compromise had failed.3 When asked later about Huff’s death,Ferguson gave two answers. To one reporter he stated that Huff was“a cousin to my mother and I always liked him. I protested against his being killed, and guarded him myself in the rear,until he broke and ran,when one of Bledsoe’s men shot and killed him.”To another reporter Ferguson confessed, “He was killed by myself and some of my men.”Huff’s offense was in siding with the Union and acting with others to stop Ferguson.4 68 “I ain’t killed but thirty-two men” After the Federals drove the Confederate army from eastern Kentucky at the conclusion of the Battle of Mill Springs, Ferguson and his gang had little opportunity to work with organized Rebel forces. This situation changed dramatically when Colonel John Hunt Morgan began his famous series of raids into Kentucky. Following the Confederate army’s defeat at the Battle of Shiloh, Morgan pressed for permission to conduct a raid into Tennessee and Kentucky. Morgan chafed for a chance to return to his adopted home state of Kentucky (Morgan was born in Alabama and later moved to Kentucky). He had seen action in the Mexican War as a lieutenant in...