Well, now ain’t that somethin’?

After having fun reenacting Morgan’s raid at the Battle of Corydon event I decided to dig out the old family genealogy.  I remembered that we had ancestors that fought in the Civil War but could not recall all the details. My Uncle, has managed to collect a wealth of information on my mother’s side of the family over the years. A quick message on facebook confirmed the ancestor in question was Theodore Hinton and he served the Union in the 7th Indiana Calvary.

That, combined with the power of the internet, led me to some remarkable discoveries. It seems Theodore lived near Madison, Indiana another town that Morgan’s raiders passed through, wreaking havoc, in July of 1863. Theodore was only 16 at the time. However in August he turned seventeen, immediately enlisted and was a private in the 7th Indiana by September. No doubt incited to join to defend his home and family from Morgan’s troops.

While I found that all fascinating, given that we were just there and all,  what I found even more intriguing is the fact that his first cousin, Benjamin T. Butler, was a rebel soldier in the 5th Kentucky Cavalry and was actually one of Morgan’s raiders! Do you suppose Benjamin knew he was raiding his kin’s hometown? Did Theodore know Benjamin was part of it?

Out of all the battles of the Civil War I find it interesting to know we were there, reliving one our ancestors were involved  in 148 years later.

So, one thing leading to another as internet searches often do, I came to realize that the same family tree that produced these two young men had been the early settlers of a certain rural part of Kentucky. The family had a mill and a post office named after them. While on vacation with Milah, this past March, we visited Sara and literally drove right past it. The road is even named Hinton Cemetery Road.

Now ain’t that somethin’? Coincidence or creepy?