both leader and men.
It is true that nothing was done in all this period, which would at all
compare with the dashing, enterprising career of the previous year. But
a great deal of useful, if not brilliant service, was performed, and a
vast deal of hard work was cheerfully gone through with. The public had
become so accustomed to expect "raids" and "dashes" from Morgan, that
they thought his command idle and useless, when engaged in the
performance of regular routine duty. It should be remembered that, at
the very time when Morgan's division was thought to be so inactive, it
was constantly occupied with exactly the kind of service at which the
other cavalry, except Forrest's, were always engaged.

During the winter and spring of 1863, and until nearly the middle of
the summer, our command was guarding and picketing a long front, and
scouting thoroughly a great extent of country besides. For six months
the country about Liberty, Alexandria and Lebanon, and that about
Monticello and Albany, was in a great measure committed to Morgan's
care. This gave him a front of quite one hundred and fifty miles to
watch and guard, and at least half of the time he had to do it
single-handed. Then there was a great portion of Middle Tennessee, and
of Southern, Central and Eastern Kentucky, which his scouts constantly
traversed. It is fair to say that from January to July 1863, inclusive,
the period of the supposed inaction, during which time Morgan made no
"raid," nor achieved any very brilliant success, that in all that time,
our division was as constantly serving, fought and won as many
skirmishes, guarded and scouted as great an extent of country, captured
as many prisoners, and gave the Confederate Government as little trouble
on the subject of supplies, as any other cavalry division in the
Confederate army.

But, in this year, the glory and the _prestige_ began to pass away from
the Southern cavalry. It was not that their opponents became their
superiors in soldiership, any more than in individual prowess. Although
the Federal cavalry had greatly improved, had become formidable for its
enterprise and fighting capacity, it can yet be said that the
Confederate cavalry, when in proper condition, still asserted its
superiority upon every field where there was an equality of forces. But
it was daily becoming more and more difficult to keep the Confederate
cavalry in good condition. An impression prevailed, no doubt a correct
one, that