orced if necessary), until the command
could be formed for attack or defense. Scouting parties were of course
thrown out on the front and flanks, as well as to the rear, but as these
parties were often miles away in search of information, a vigilant
advance guard was always necessary. During an engagement, the advance
was generally kept mounted and held in reserve.

Passing through Springfield without a halt, the column marched in the
direction of Harrodsburg. Late in the evening, some of the scouts had an
engagement at a little place called Macksville, with a Home-guard
organization, in which two or three were wounded and two captured.
During the night, finding that it would be impossible to ferret out the
captors, we negotiated an exchange of prisoners. On the next morning,
about nine o'clock we entered Harrodsburg, another stronghold of our
friends, and were warmly welcomed.

It was Sunday, and a large concourse of people were in town. We found
that the ladies, in anticipation of our coming, had prepared the most
inviting rations, and the men after attending to their horses and
supplying them with forage, a "superabundance of which," to use the old
forage-master's expression, was stacked close by, fell to themselves,
and most of them were eating, with short intervals employed in
sleeping, until the hour of departure. Harrodsburg is twenty-eight miles
from Lexington, the headquarters then of the Federal forces of the
region. Gano, with his squadron, was detached at Harrodsburg to go
around Lexington and burn the bridges on the Kentucky Central Railroad,
in order to prevent troops from being thrown into Lexington from
Cincinnati. Captain Allen was sent to destroy the bridges over Benson
and other small streams on the Louisville and Lexington road, to prevent
the transmission of troops by that road, and also to induce the
impression that the command was making for Louisville. About dark the
column moved from Harrodsburg on the Frankfort pike. It was Morgan's
wish to induce the belief that he intended to attack Frankfort, but to
suddenly turn to the right and make for Lexington, capture that place if
he could, and if he could not, at least enjoy the fine country in its
vicinity.

At one P.M. that night we encamped at Lawrenceburg, the county seat of
Anderson county, twenty miles from Harrodsburg and about fifteen from
Frankfort. A scouting party was sent immediately on in the direction of
Frankfort, with instructions