Harber’s History Lesson, Daily News Journal, December 6, 2014, Susan Harber
The marriage of Martha Ready and John Hunt Morgan shortly preceded the Battle of Stones River. (Photo: Submitted)
The social season of the century came alive in the midst of a brutal war in Rutherford County with the wedding of Mattie Ready and John Hunt Morgan.
Their 1862 military wedding was the highlight in a dismal and forlorn Murfreesboro. The small town of 4,000 would soon swell in size with the incoming 43,000 Federal soldiers poised for battle. Yet, for the moment, Forrest’s victorious raid of July 13, 1862 offered a freer way of living in Murfreesboro.
Morgan, 37, was very handsome at 6 feet tall with sandy hair and gray eyes, while Mattie, 21, was a raven-haired Southern beauty. Morgan’s first wife, Emily, tragically died on July 21, 1861 following a lengthy illness.
In February 1862, Mattie’s father, Charles Ready, a former congressman from the 5thDistrict, had noticed the dashing soldier in a Murfreesboro camp and mentioned his lovely daughter. A romance was sparked, and a wedding ensued.
President Jefferson Davis arrived to Murfreesboro by train from Chattanooga on Dec. 12, 1862 with a generous wedding present. A commission of brigadier general was presented to Morgan, who had a recent victory in Hartsville.
While in the city, Davis had intense meetings with Gen. Braxton Bragg. Davis resided at Lewis Maney’s Oaklands home where a grand gala was given the following day. On the morning of the wedding (Dec. 14), Davis departed Murfreesboro to travel by train back to Chattanooga to attend pressing business.
Charles and Martha Ready hosted the lavish wedding in their townhouse, a large two-story structure facing East Main Street. The home was decorated with holly and winter berries and was shining bright with lamps and candle lights.
The groomsmen included Mattie’s brother Horace, a Confederate officer, and Col. George St. Leger Grenfell. Mattie’s sister, Alice, was her bridesmaid. Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk, an elegant and highly-esteemed Episcopal bishop, performed the ceremony in a regal manner. In the midst of this magical affair, no one could have imagined Rev. Polk would die in two years (June 1864) in a Civil War battle on Pine Mountain, Georgia, with his body torn in two pieces by a cannon ball.
In attendance to the wedding were Gen. Braxton Bragg, William Hardee, Benjamin Cheatham, Roger Hanson and former U.S. Vice President John Breckinridge. After the bands serenaded the bridal party, a delectable dinner was served. Bonfires were lit, as several thousand troops cheered the newlyweds. Many of these soldiers would die within a couple of weeks.
A great ball was planned for the day after Christmas. However, Morgan was sent on a Kentucky raid on Dec. 21 destroying 18 miles of railroad track. He inflicted $21 million of damage and captured 1,887 men, while losing only two of his soldiers.
With Morgan’s absence from this party planned for Dec. 26, Rosecrans saw his moment to strike; and Yankees advanced down Franklin Road and from Brentwood and Nolensville converging directly onto Murfreesboro Pike.
Bragg was not miffed and sent word to scouts ‘let the Yankees come on’ not knowing the infliction of disaster drawing near. The Union identified this encounter as the “Battle of Stones River,” while the South referred to the conflict as the “Battle of Murfreesboro.” When Morgan returned to Murfreesboro on Jan. 5 after a successful raid, he saw nothing but unspeakable devastation.
As Federal troops took over Murfreesboro a few weeks after the wedding, Morgan and Mattie retreated to McMinnville for a delayed honeymoon. The reprieve would end in April 1863 when Union soldiers invaded McMinnville to attempt capture of Morgan.
By the summer of 1863, Morgan moved through 52 towns in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio capturing 6,000 prisoners and damaging $10 million of property. In this same year, Mattie gave birth to a stillborn child.
After 630 days of bliss and heartache in a magical courtship and wedding, Morgan died in Greenville, Tennessee, at the hands of a Union raiding party. His life ended on a Greenville street with a clear shot to his back. After his death, Mattie gave birth in 1864 to a daughter Johnnie, who was named for her father.
The most romantic chapter in the Civil War found closure in the grips of an unstoppable war.