CONFEDERATE MORGAN’S RAIDERS COLLAPSED THE BIG SOUTH TUNNEL!

Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his Morgan’s Raiders were notorious for their swift and effective attacks on Union targets but they also were successful in interrupting their supply lines. The Big South Tunnel which lies between Gallatin and Portland, Tennessee on the L&N Railroad was a location of extreme strategic importance for both the North and the South. As the Union Army moved down through Kentucky and into Tennessee, the L&N Railroad was the primary source for supplies and Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his Morgan’s Raiders wanted to disrupt the flow of supplies to the Union Army in Nashville. This rail line was completed on 31 October 1859, and it was such a big deal that they had a barbecue in Nashville to celebrate, and over 10,000 people attended. 

As you might expect, in those days, the railroad and the Cumberland River was really the only source to move goods and services in and out of Middle Tennessee. Think of it as their interstate highways of the day. With the new railroad it took nine hours to move passengers from Louisville to Nashville and it took 17 hours to move freight, which was a lot quicker than the old turnpikes and roads. As the Civil War began, Tennessee and Kentucky were quickly overrun by Union forces. The Confederate strategy was to starve the Union Army of its supplies and cause them to move back up into Kentucky so that they could reestablish Confederate lines up along the Ohio River. 

They were having some success, as General Braxton Bragg had moved his Confederate forces to within 26 Miles Louisville. At the same time, General John Hunt Morgan in his Morgan’s Raiders were wreaking havoc all over Kentucky and Middle Tennessee, trying to disrupt the flow of supplies into the area, burning railroads and cutting telegraph lines. 

This the Big South tunnel was ground zero for their operations, because they knew that if they could destroy this tunnel, they could cut the railroad and all the supplies to the 6,000 soldiers stationed in Nashville. The Big South tunnel is actually two tunnels, one is 600 feet long and the other is 300 feet long, with a small stretch of track in between. On 12 August 1862, General John Hunt Morgan and his Morgan’s Raiders, took two railroad cars, filled them full of railroad ties, pushed them into this tunnel and set them on fire. Then they crashed a locomotive into the flames causing massive destruction inside the tunnel. The fire burned the supporting timbers and caused the tunnel to collapse with up to 12 feet of dirt and rock laying on the tracks. Morgan had succeeded in their mission to cut the flow of supplies into Nashville.

The destruction of the tunnel almost caused the Union Army to evacuate back up into Kentucky. Needless to say, Union General Don Carlos Buell, was not happy. Buell was responsible for the Tennessee and Kentucky campaigns and he was said to have been embarrassed in his command by allowing this to happen on his watch. 

So, what did he do? He sent his entire Calvary, up into Kentucky to pursue and destroy Confederate General John Hunt Morgan. Some of those men were captured and taken to Camp Douglas in Illinois. One of those men is a relative of mine and I often wonder if he is in one of men in the many pictures that exist of the men imprisoned in Camp Douglass. 

The Big South Tunnel was completely shut down and the Union Army had to have a plan fast. They offloaded all the trains at Bowling Green, put the freight on wagons and brought it into Nashville. Some say that those wagon trains had 500 wagons in them stretching out for miles. The Union Army showed up quick to dig out this tunnel and believe it or not, in 90 days, they had it back open. To keep it from happening again. The Union armies put a fort up on top of the ridge and manned it 24 hours a day. 

The tunnel was attacked again by Confederate forces. A small force of Confederate soldiers, silently came upon five Union soldiers walking in the tunnel and they killed them. This action is the basis for some to say that the tunnel is haunted. The Confederates were never successful in destroying the tunnel again.

Later, General John Hunt Morgan was in Greenville, Tennessee and was surprised by a Union raid. While trying to flee he was shot in the back killed. He is buried today in his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky.

Today, The Big South Tunnel is still in operation but it hidden from the public and the history there forgotten by most. This small tunnel in the woods was once a location of major strategic importance. It was attacked twice and almost caused the Union Army to have to evacuate Nashville. Be sure to see the video from on location at the link below.

– Scott Denney, Historian for Family Tree Nuts