At the outbreak of the Civil War, J. Bertrand Norris, an 18-year-old youth who resided with his parents near Star Furnace, began to add war-related events to his diary. He recounted patriotic speeches, recruiting for the Union army and other activities in the vicinity. The war did not become reality however until he recorded on February 21, 1863 that his friend Henry Artis had “killed a rebel.” Norris Diary, 1863
At this stage of the conflict small parties of Confederate cavalry were operating just south of Carter and Boyd counties. Captain William S. “Rebel Bill” Smith roved the Boyd-Lawrence County line. At the same time detachments of Captain William Jason Fields’ Partisan Rangers and Captain Samuel W. Thompson were actively recruiting in present day Elliott County. These small bands frequently clashed with Union Home Guards in the vicinity and often seized arms and fresh mounts by preying on Union civilians. Norris briefly noted one such plundering raid in Carter County on March 10, 1863 and on the following day recorded that rebels on the road to Star Furnace had prevented mail delivery. Norris Diary, 1863
These events were the first sparks that ignited guerrilla warfare in the region that would endure until the end of the conflict. Captain Algernon Sidney “Sid” Cook organized a small band of Southern Home Guards in present day Elliott County that frequently rode with Fields and Thompson throughout the spring and summer. On April 10, 1863 James Karr was robbed and murdered in Boyd County. Subsequent newspaper reports claimed that Cook’s raiders had killed a man near the Tunnel, near present day Princess, that year which may have been a reference to the ill-fated Karr. Geiger Diary
On April 27, Cook, with a 35-man force that included some of Fields’ Rangers, dashed into Grayson and burned the jail. The next day they raided Star Furnace and plundered the company store. Robert W. Lampton, the furnace owner, was robbed of his watch at gunpoint. Cook’s command took two of Lampton’s horses and between $1,000 and $1,500 worth of goods. Lampton’s son, Andrew, later recalled the sight of the departing raiders, some of them with hoop skirt frames atop their heads which were no doubt spoils for their women folk. Cook’s band plundered Unionists and took horses all along the return march to present day Elliott County. Portsmouth Daily Times, May 11, 1863 also: Rist,Iron, p101-103
In the aftermath of the raid, Lampton, along with Colonel John L. Ziegler of Catlettsburg set out to recruit a regiment for regional defense. In a letter dated May 8, 1863 to “Friend Miller” in Manchester, Ohio, Lampton wrote, “I have concluded the only way we can get protection in our country will be to raise men for the Ky. Services under the (President’s) call of 20,000 men.” Lampton, who was appointed a recruiting officer on June 9 was instrumental in raising recruits for both the 40th and 45th Kentucky mounted infantry regiments. Lampton letter
On May 8, Fields, Thompson and Cook raided Grayson. United States vs. Thomas Martin This put the Star Furnace community on high alert. Young Norris recorded in his diary that he stood picket on the night of May 9th but the “rebs did not come.” Norris Diary, 1863
On the night of August 14, 1863 Cook raided Boyd County and robbed Charles L. Raison’s store near Cannonsburg. One of his men was a Boyd County youth named Wiley Hensley who had deserted the Union army. On the same night, Cook’s men robbed William Lewis “W. L.” Geiger’s store. Geiger may have been targeted because earlier that year he had hired John W. Gilkerson of Eastham’s Station, near the tunnel, to hunt Cook down. Geiger Diary
David Cook, Sid’s first lieutenant, was not related by blood, but he shared his captain’s bold, ruthless nature. Well before dawn on September 25, 1863, Lt. Cook and a dozen men rode through the darkened streets of Ashland, Kentucky. The heavily armed rebels robbed the Ashland Bank and returned to their base in Morgan County. On their way they robbed W. L. Geiger’s Store at Cannonsburg. David apparently needed the funds to leave the state for on October 21, he was arrested along with his wife and another woman as they attempted to board a steamboat at Greenup. Louisville Daily Journal, Oct. 17, 1863 also: Harriet Means letter Cook’s capture is reported by Captain Benjamin F. Cory to Col. E.A. Parrot, Nov. 4, 1863. Benjamin F. Cory report
Confined at Ironton, Ohio he took a guard hostage and escaped into Kentucky on the night of October 26. After stealing horses in Ashland, the duo rode through the night toward Star Furnace where Cook released his prisoner. The latter reported that Cook was attempting to break into the Furnace store when Union pursuers galloped up. Ironton Register, Oct. 29, 1863
Cook eluded his pursuers and rejoined Sid in Morgan County. Following a raid through Carter County in early November, Sid and David fell out over the spoils. Sid settled the argument by shooting David twice in the upper body and leaving him to die in a farmhouse at Crackers Neck, present day Newfoundland in Elliott County. Captured by Union forces, David died at the Lexington Military Prison on or about December 18, 1864 while awaiting trial by a Military Commission. Louisville Daily Journal, Dec. 12, 1863 also: D.R. Scalf, Ast. Mgr. Lexington Cemetery Company, to author, stated Cook was buried on Dec. 18, 1864
Rebel raiders struck the Star Furnace area again on the night of May 30, 1864. On June 2, the Ironton (OH.) Register reported, “Horse stealing seems to be a favorite occupation on the Kentucky side of the river from this place. On Monday night last, six horses were stolen from Star Furnace, two from John Black and two from a Union Colonel at Grayson.” The officer referred to was probably Colonel William Bowling of Grayson who commanded the Carter County militia. It was about this time that Sid Cook’s men also took a horse from Major George W. Prichard of Bowling’s regiment from his farm near present day Hitchins in Carter County. Ironton Register, June 2, 1864 also: Petition, Hiram Davis to Gov. Thomas E. Bramlette
After reporting to his battalion commander, Lt. Col. Prentice, in southwestern Virginia, Cook returned to eastern Kentucky, apparently without permission, in the summer of 1864. On July 16 he raided Paintsville, plundered the stores and returned to his old haunts in Morgan County. Preston, The Civil War in the Big Sandy Valley of Kentucky, p.209-210 On August 6, Major John Paul Jones of the 22nd (Boyd County) Militia reported to Kentucky Adjutant General Daniel W. Lindsey in Frankfort, “I understand that Sid Cook with 125 rebel Gurillas (sic) are about to visit us again. Can’t we get sufficient arms & ammunition for my Battalion to break up his clan?” Major John P. Jones report Jones’ warning proved prophetic as on August 23, Rev, Robert D. Callihan of Ashland reported to the Federal military authorities in Kentucky that Star Furnace had recently been robbed once again. Callihan Letter
Cook eventually returned to southwestern Virginia where he was charged with desertion. He was subsequently killed in an altercation with another Confederate officer on January 13, 1865 at Castlewoods, in Russell County, Virginia. Cook Family Bible also: Guerrant Diary Previously, in November of 1864, his entire company, led by Lt. Cornelius “Neal” McClanahan, deserted Prentice’s command in Virginia and returned to Morgan County. McClanahan’s band would terrorize the region during the final months of the war. Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 43, Part 2, p.921 (1893)
On the night of February 20, 1865, McClanahan dashed into Boyd County at the head of 25 or 30 men. They seized horses and plundered the homes of the pro-Union Prichard and Bolt families on Bolts Fork before riding on toward Cannonsburg and Williams Creek. Immediately after the war, Major George W. Prichard filed suit against one of the raiders, Big Andy Lewis of Morgan (now Elliott) County. One of the horses taken from the stable of his father, James Prichard, belonged to him. George W. Prichard and Alfred Bolt vs. Andrew Lewis, Case No. 4943
The case went to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and William Hall recalled in an affidavit that he saw Lewis on the morning of the 21st “on the head of Williams Creek, in Carter County, Ky. in company with about 40 or 45 Guerrillas, Rogues, Robbers & Murderers and well loaded with dry goods (that) was said to be stolen from the Tunnel store and or Star Furnace”. During the foray the raiders killed Private John C. Hylton or Helton of the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry near Cannonsburg. The Union trooper was home on leave at his mother’s Boyd County residence when he was shot down. George W. Prichard and Alfred Bolt vs. Andrew Lewis, Case No. 4943
As the band made their way back to their haunts in the heart of present-day Elliott County, they passed through Mount Savage and killed Braxton Stewart, a discharged Union soldier. Harrison Howard, who rode with McClanahan, was killed at Coalton during the war. It is likely he was a casualty of the February raid. William Mays, Confederate Pension File No. 3302
On February 24, 1865, C.M. Brammer and other residents of Eastham’s Station(Now Princess) near the tunnel petitioned Gov. Thomas E. Bramlette with a request to have two companies of troops stationed there for protection against guerrillas. If that wasn’t possible, they hoped that John Gilkison would be authorized to raise a company for local defense. Permission was granted for Gilkison to organize his command on March 14, but there is no record that his unit was ever mustered in. Adjutant-General D.W. Lindsey report
McClanahan continued to prowl the region until he was captured and killed by Union Home Guards on Devils Fork in Morgan (now Elliott) County in the spring of 1865. On April 27, 1865 Norris recorded that a party of drunken Union soldiers has passed through that day and boasted they had killed 5 rebels. The notorious McClanahan may have been one of their victims. The guerrilla war in the Williams Creek country had finally come to a bloody end. Johnson, Early Morgan County, p.96 also: Norris Diary, 1865
The Civil War in northeastern Kentucky was far removed from the great armies and major theaters of operation. In reality, the conflict in this region reflected what some historians have called a very localized “war within the war.” The small scale fighting largely took place between local partisans from both sides. Whether the regular cavalry of both sides, Union Home Guards or rebel guerrillas the fighting was marked by plundering raids, brisk skirmishes and isolated killings. While technically Confederate officers, Sid and David Cook eventually degenerated into marauders. Little wonder that northeastern Kentucky was plagued by vigilantism, lawlessness and violence long after the war came to an end.
Previous Article: House At Princess Furnace Site