CSA Bio: Brig. Gen. Basil W. Duke

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. Basil W. Duke (b. 1838, d. 1916) Had Basil Wilson Duke been born 100 years later, he might have been a standout in a much different arena. Prior to the Civil War, Duke was a member of the Cyclone club, one of the first baseball teams in St. Louis. There, his teammates included such future high-ranking officers as Joseph Fullerton, Frederick Benteen and Orville Matthews. Would Duke, the ballist, have been better than Duke, the general? This we do not know. Born in Scott County, Kentucky, May 28, 1838, Duke was educated at Centre College and the Transylvania University Law School. He settled in St. Louis, Missouri, joining the successful law practice of his cousin, also named Basil Duke. He became active in politics and favored the South. Accounts suggest he was a conditional Unionist, when he joined the Minute Men militia. When it became clear that the Federals intended use coercion against the seceded states, he became a Confederate supporter. On March 3, the Minute Men and Wide Awakes (a pro-Union organization) clashed in St. Louis. In April, Duke was appointed to the St. Louis police board. Commissioned by the governor, Duke was part of the mission to Alabama to secure artillery for the Missouri State Militia. These weapons later were captured when Federal forces moved on Camp Jackson. Wanted by the Federals and mistrusted by some Confederates, Duke first served in Missouri with Jeff Thompson to before returning to Kentucky, where he married Henrietta Morgan (another Morgan sister married A.P. Hill) and later joined the Second Kentucky Cavalry (July 1861), commanded by his brother-in-law, John Hunt Morgan. Duke quickly ascended the ranks from private to lieutenant. Duke was wounded in both shoulders at the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862). When he returned, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. When Maj. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith invaded Kentucky, he called for Morgan’s unit to join him. Duke’s detachment of 350 men captured Augusta, Kentucky, Sept. 27, 1862. On the way back to Tennessee, Morgan’s command caused much havoc in Kentucky, capturing over 1,200 prisoners. Morgan’s command won a stunning victory against a larger Federal garrison at Hartsville, Tennessee, Dec. 7, 1862. After that, Duke was promoted to colonel. During Morgan’s 1862 Christmas Raid, Duke was wounded again. Col. John Harlan wrote that Duke “is believed to be the life and soul of all the movements” of Morgan’s forces. During Morgan’s Ohio Raid (July 2-26, 1863), which covered 700 miles in 25 days, Morgan and Duke were among 70 officers captured at New Lisbon, Ohio, July 26, 1863. During that raid, Duke earned the nickname “The Little Whalebone” from his men. While Morgan escaped from the Ohio Penitentiary, Duke remained until being exchanged in the fall of 1864. After Morgan was killed Sept. 4, 1864, Duke was promoted to brigadier general to rank from Sept. 15, 1864. Duke’s command served in Eastern Kentucky and Western Virginia and joined Pres. Jefferson Davis when he fled the Confederate capital, escorting the remaining government officials until they surrendered near Irwinville, Georgia, May 8, 1865. After the war, Duke moved to Louisville. He resumed his law practice and was elected to Kentucky legislature. Politically, he was a moderate and urged reconciliation with the North. He lobbied for the L&N Railroad, which he often damaged during his military raids. He also became an author and historian, looking to preserve the history of the Confederacy. He edited “Southern Bivouac” veterans magazine in the 1880s. He penned two books, A History of Morgan’s Cavalry in 1867 and Reminiscences of General Basil W. Duke in 1911. The founder of the Filson Club, he was a commissioner of Shiloh National Military Park from 1895 until his death. Duke died Sept. 16, 1916, in New York City. He was buried in Lexington, Kentucky.

Could have gone a bit more in depth about certain aspects, but was very close to the limit on characters.

Duke has a historical marker in the Court House Square of Georgetown, Kentucky. More on Duke and his baseball links can be found at Jeff Kittel's site http://thisgameofgames.blogspot.com/sea ... sil%20Duke

[Gil R.]

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