Nelson Thomas Frazier Hall was born around Shelby County, Kentucky in 1840. His parents were Norman Franklin Hall and Naomi Hall. They were born in Virginia, but traveled to Kentucky at a young age. They were married June 27, 1834 in Shelby County, Kentucky. By 1843, they were living in Union County, Kentucky, eventually settling in the Grove Center area (then called Gum Grove). They had at least seven children together, of which, Thomas was the oldest known.
At the age of 22, Thomas enlisted in Company D, 10th Kentucky Cavalry (Johnson's Calvary) as a private, Sept 3, 1862. He was recruited by confederates in Union County and signed up for three years. Census records for his family do not indicate that they owned slaves. Perhaps his strong Virginia roots were his motivation for choosing sides. Recruitment in this regiment was helped greatly by Johnson's victories in capturing Newburg, Madisonville, Slaughters, etc, in the region during the summer of 1862.
Within a few months of enlisting, Thomas was promoted from private to 3rd corporal. Colonel Johnson, the commanding officer, originally intended the regiment to be a band of guerilla fighters in Western Kentucky. However, soon after formation, the regiment was called to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. There, they were attached to Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry division.
Morgan led 4000 confederates (90% ky natives) from Alexandria, TN, on December 22, 1862.
They quickly marched about 50 miles to Tompkinsville, Ky, by the next night. On a cold Christmas Eve, the men continued on to Glasgow and took the city from a small Federal garrison. They then continued and camped in Upton for a few days while small detachments took out bridges and telegraph lines. The rebels marched on to Elizabethtown on the 27th where 650 union troops were garrisoned. After a troop and artillery assault on the town, the confederates took the town. They were welcomed by the residents with whiskey and Christmas festivities.
Morgan moved his troops north toward Bardstown. It was only the next day that Union troops arrived in Elizabethtown in chase. Amazingly, the confederates were able to stay out of the federals grasp and snuck from Bardstown to Tennessee in a snow storm at the close of the year.
Morgan led an even bigger venture in the summer of 1863. Against the orders of his commanding officers, he led a raid from Tennessee and through Kentucky to Indiana and Ohio. He raided the garrison in Lebanon, KY and moved on through Bardstown. They eventually crossed the Ohio River at Brandenburg and moved on to Corydon, IN where a battle was fought with militia. He crossed toward Ohio, looting small towns along the way. They then proceeded to a ford over the Ohio River to West Virginia. The Union Army anticipated his attempt to escape south and were ready with militia, cavalry and gunboats. In the Battle of Buffington Island, Morgan attempted to make a crossing but 750 of his remaining 1150 men were captured in the attempt. A second attempt caused many men to drown. With only 300 men eventually escaping to West Virginia.
Morgan succeeded in terrorizing the region and damaging bridges and rail. He also captured and parolled 6000 Union troops. Most of the men that followed him on this raid were sent to Camp Douglas in Illinois.
Thomas' war records are spotty. He was with Johnson's cavalry for the November and December rolls in 1862. This confirms he was most likely a part of the Christmas Raid. However, I have no attendance information for him until he was captured Sep 9 1863. At that time he was still with the 10th Ky Cavalry. So, I assume he stayed with them the whole time. It is only a theory that he was a part of Morgan's largest raid. In any event, he was not one of the men captured crossing the Ohio River. He made his way to Cumberland Gap. A garrison of 2300 men collected there with self dug trenches. On Sep 7th, large Union forces arrived and began demanding surrender. The confederate commander surrendered facing poor odds and the very low moral of his troops after news of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. So, at 3pm on Sep 9th the rebel forces surrendered unconditionally.
On Sep 26, 1863, Thomas Hall arrived at Camp Douglas, the most notorious prison camp in the North. 1 in 6 prisoners died there. This was largely due to poor sanitation, overcrowding, and inadequate food and clothing. Stories abound of rations being withheld and blankets taken away from prisoners. Many died of disease or froze to death in the bitterly cold Chicago winters. Still, Thomas survived two winters there. He was part of a prisoner exchange between North and South. He was released at Point Lookout, Maryland on Feb 24, 1865.
Thomas returned to Union County. In 1866, he married Susan Livesay. They had three children Ollie, Laura, and Charles. He got started making Wagons and working as a Blacksmith. Eventually, he took up farming like his father. He died in 1922 of dysentery and was buried in Bethel Cemetery.
