Murder at Camp Nelson

US Army Headquarters Building at Camp Nelson during the Civil War.

National Archives and Records Administration

“Bloody Tragedies” – Daily National Republican, February 16, 1864

On a February 1864 morning, three mounted U.S. soldiers, one of whom was a captain, rode into Camp Nelson from Lexington. The party stopped at the headquarters building and then moved south along the Lexington and Danville Turnpike, where they approached a mounted lieutenant who was also on the road. After a brief exchange of words, the captain pulled his pistol out and shot the lieutenant twice, killing him in the middle of the massive supply depot.

What prompted this murderous altercation between comrades in the U.S. Army?

The Background

In the spring of 1863, the veteran Ninth Corps was transferred from Virginia to Kentucky. The two-division corps was spread throughout the state, where they guarded various bridgeheads, cities, and river crossings. One of the sectors under their control was the former Green River Bridge site at Tebbs Bend, just south of Campbellsville. The bridge was along the Columbia and Lebanon Turnpike, but traffic on the road had stopped since Confederate General John H. Morgan and his cavalry command had burned the bridge during his Christmas raid of 1862-1863.

Three Ninth Corps regiments were tasked with rebuilding the bridge and the burnt stockade, which sat on the bluffs looking over the river. The units were the 2^nd and 8^th Michigan and the 79^th New York Infantry. Crews from the three regiments worked tirelessly to help reconstruct both sites during the late spring and early summer of 1863. However, their work was cut short due to the Ninth Corps receiving orders to move out of the state and head further south, where they would participate in the Siege of Vicksburg. Though the units were leaving Kentucky, forty men from the 8^th Michigan and 79^th New York Infantry were detached to rebuild the bridge and stockade. Lieutenants Michael A. Hogan and Thomas Campbell of the 8^th Michigan Infantry, who had experience in engineering projects, were assigned to oversee the project.

Over the course of June and July, Hogan’s detachment faced a multitude of obstacles in the construction project. In June, the bridge, built in late April, was uplifted and thrown downriver during a brutal rainstorm. In early July, Hogan and his crew were forced to halt their efforts on rebuilding the bridge and stockade due to Confederate commander Morgan moving through the region again on another cavalry raid. During this period, Hogan showed his leadership skills by leading a daring patrol south of their position to Columbia, where they scared off the leading elements of Morgan’s cavalry. In another instance, Hogan and his detachment were forced to defend their position in the Battle of Tebbs Bend, fought on July 4, 1863, in which they defeated Morgan’s troopers with the aid of men from the 25^th Michigan Infantry.

Throughout the rest of the summer, Hogan’s detachment worked tirelessly to complete the stockade and bridge. By September, the project was completed. Hogan and his crew had constructed a covered bridge and a more substantial stockade with an artillery piece to defend it. By the winter of 1863, Hogan was transferred to Camp Nelson and joined the engineering staff at the military base. In February 1864, the 8^th Michigan, along with many other Ninth Corps regiments, were beginning the process of ending their service in the region and were being sent to Camp Nelson to receive new uniforms and equipment. Meanwhile, in a small community in Green County, Kentucky, Captain Samuel M. Crandell of the 13^th Kentucky Cavalry left his post and rode north toward Camp Nelson with murderous intent aimed at Hogan.

 

US Army message ordering the arrest of Captain Crandell for the murder of Lieutenant Hogan in early February 1864 at Camp Nelson.

National Archives and Records Administration

The Incident

On the evening of February 2, 1864, Crandell arrived at Camp Nelson, accompanied by two of his men. Not knowing where Hogan was, Crandell first went to the base’s headquarters. From there, he headed south along the Lexington and Danville Turnpike toward the encampment of the 26^th Kentucky Infantry. At the same time, Hogan, who was at Camp Nelson, rode north on the same road. Before Crandell’s arrival, Hogan was ordered to go to the encampment of the 8^th Michigan Infantry to sign various documents. During Crandell’s ride south, he met Hogan along the road. During their brief but explosive conversation, Crandell pulled out his pistol and shot Hogan twice, killing him. With the murder occurring in the heart of Camp Nelson, the shots were heard everywhere.

Crandell attempted to escape, but he was ultimately apprehended and placed in the Louisville military prison to await court martial. Word of Hogan's death reached Michigan, his wife, and four children within a few days. Almost immediately, newspapers in and around his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, picked up the story and were outraged at what they perceived as a horrible act. The Detroit Free Press wrote on February 8, 1864, “The circumstances under which he lost his life, are such as should brand the memory of this perpetrator of this treacherous act with infamy, and his life should be sacrificed, as part atonement.” At first, the murder was presumed to be a cold-blooded affair; Hogan’s unit, the 8^th Michigan, believed it to be an assassination. However, the true nature of the murder was soon revealed.

 

Newspaper article in the Daily National Republican (Washington, D.C.) on February 16, 1864, describing the murderous incident at Camp Nelson.

Chronicling America, Historic American Newspapers

The Motivation

Hogan had learned of his reassignment to Camp Nelson while he was staying in a boarding house in Lebanon. As he prepared to move to Camp Nelson, Hogan met Captain Crandell’s wife, Elizabeth F. Crandell, who was on her way to meet her husband, who was posted in Green County. With her arriving too late to board a stagecoach, Hogan volunteered to take her in his buggy. The two set off, but Hogan's friendly nature quickly changed. Hogan pulled the buggy over near an abandoned farmhouse. In the resulting events, Hogan sexually assaulted the defenseless Mrs. Crandell in the house, threatening her with death if she refused. During the night, she managed to escape from Hogan and reached her husband, telling him the horrific events that had transpired. Captain Crandell became enraged and planned to confront Hogan at Camp Nelson.

According to the Daily National Republican (Washington, D.C.), “Captain Crandall at first resolved to let the law have sway, but meeting Hogan, that person acknowledged his guilt, and made light of it in such a way that Crandall shot him dead.” After the incident’s true nature was revealed and receiving public support from the local area, Crandell was acquitted of wrongdoing and released back to his unit. Crandell would continue to serve with the 13^th Kentucky Cavalry until the regiment was mustered out of Federal service on January 10, 1865. Ironically, Crandell was discharged at Camp Nelson.