Blue Ash - "You Can't Stop an Army"

The small squads of Confederates moved swiftly across the countryside, having been sent on multiple routes from Sharonville. In Blue Ash, a famer and his son watched as Confederate troops stole horses from their barn. The rebels would press almost every useful horse in a three mile radius. 

As his men moved out of Sharonville, Morgan sent small squads in multiple directions to mask the movements of the larger columns and to forage. Thomas Spooner, the Internal Revenue Collector for the First District of Ohio, witnessed the main column passing on Cooper Road. He stated that it took nearly two hours for the column to pass by his home, estimating the size to be near 2,000 men strong. He recounted that many of the men were not wearing standard uniforms and despite continuing to press on, appeared very fatigued. Spooner lost two horses to the raiders, later recovering one.

The raiders made their way to the home of John C. Hunt in Blue Ash. Ten year old Wilson Hunt watched with his father from an upstairs window of the family home as the Confederates took six horses from the barn. Unable to stop them, locals like the Hunt family had no choice but to watch as their animals were taken. Two of the six were later recovered and Mr. Hunt filed a claim of $495 for the other four. Eight hours later when US forces under General Hobson arrived in Blue Ash, they discovered to their dismay that almost every useful horse within three miles had already been stolen by the rebels. 

After the Civil War, the Hunt home remained in the family until the 21^st century when it was acquired by the city of Blue Ash. It was acquired from Betty Hunt Bell, granddaughter of Wilson Hunt. Today the John C. Hunt House serves as the Blue Ash Museum and meeting facility. The sixth interpretive sign of the tour is located in front of the Historic Hunt House. 

Caholl, Lora Schmidt. Mowery, David L.. The Civil War Guidebook of the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail. Ohio Historical Society, 2014.

Morgan's Raid, Ohio History Central. Accessed October 20th 2021. http://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Morgan%27s_Raid.

Morgan's Raid into Ohio, Carnegie Public Library. Accessed October 20th 2021. https://www.carnegie.lib.oh.us/morgan.

Remembering Morgan's Raid, Ohio History Connection. July 13th 2013. Accessed Ocobter 20th 2021. https://www.ohiohistory.org/learn/collections/history/history-blog/2013/july-2013/remembering-morgan-raid.

Hilton, Mark . Blue Ash "You Can't Stop an Army", The Historical Marker Database. September 13th 2017. Accessed October 21st 2021. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=108237.