Corydon Battle Site

The Battle of Corydon was a minor engagement that took place July 9, 1863, just south of Corydon, which had been the original capital of Indiana until 1825, and was the county seat of Harrison County. The attack occurred during Morgan's Raid in the American Civil War as a force of 2,500 cavalry invaded the North in support of the Tullahoma Campaign. It was the only pitched battle of the Civil War that occurred in Indiana, and no battle has occurred within Indiana since. As news of an impending raid spread across the state, Governor Oliver P. Morton called out the state's militia force, the Indiana Legion, to defend against the threat. Unaware of the size of the invading army, four companies of the 6th and 8th Regiments of the Legion, totaling about one hundred men, attempted to prevent the Confederates from crossing the Ohio River into Indiana, but were overcome by superior artillery fire which killed two of the defenders. The units retreated northward where they met with the main body of the 6th Regiment under the command of Col. Lewis Jordan. Along with the townspeople, they constructed breastworks that formed a defensive line south of Corydon. Despite promises of reinforcements from regional Legion commanders in New Albany, only about 450 men (consisting almost entirely of locals) were defending the town. As the raiders approached from the south, the advance elements formed a battle line and launched a frontal attack and an unsuccessful flanking movement against the east side of the Legion's works. Reinforcements and artillery soon arrived with the main body of Confederate troops, giving the attackers a strong numerical superiority. With the support of the artillery, a pincer movement caused the Legion to abandon their position to avoid being surrounded. A large part of the Legion were captured as they attempted to escape from the town, while Col. Jordan and others regrouped downtown. Confederates then seized the Legion's commissary supplies on the edge of town, and fired two warning shots into the downtown from their artillery, convincing Jordan that continued resistance was futile and leading him to surrender his force and Corydon. Although the short battle cost the cavalry twice as many casualties as the outnumbered militia units, the battle resulted in a Confederate victory, which enabled Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan to secure supplies and money before continuing his raid through Indiana and into Ohio. The delay, however, proved critical in helping the pursuing Union army overtake and later capture Morgan and his forces.

Harrison County is located in the far southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Ohio River. The county was officially established in 1808. Its population was 39,654 as of the 2020 United States census. Its county seat is Corydon, the former capital of Indiana. Harrison County is part of the Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county has a diverse economy with no sector employing more than 13% of the local workforce. Caesars Southern Indiana is the largest employer, followed by Tyson Foods and the Harrison County Hospital. Tourism plays a significant role in the economy and is centered on the county's many historic sites. County government is divided among several bodies including the boards of the county's three school districts, three elected commissioners who exercise legislative and executive powers, an elected county council that controls the county budget, a circuit and superior court, and township trustees in the county's 12 townships. The county has 10 incorporated towns with a total population of over 5,000, as well as many small unincorporated towns. One Interstate highway and one U. S. Route run through the county, as do eight Indiana State Roads and two railroad lines. Migratory groups of Native Americans inhabited the area for thousands of years. The first European settlements in what would become Harrison County were created by American settlers in the years after the American Revolutionary War. The population grew rapidly during first decade of the 19th century. Corydon was platted in 1808 and became the capital of the Indiana Territory in 1813. Many of the state's early important historic events occurred in the county, including the writing of Indiana's first constitution. Corydon was the state capital until 1825, but in the years afterward remained an important hub for southern Indiana. In 1859 there was a major meteorite strike. In 1863 the Battle of Corydon was fought, the only battle of the American Civil War to occur in Indiana.

Corydon Central High School is a public high school located in Corydon, Indiana. The school is part of the South Harrison Community School System. The school serves high school age students of Harrison Township, Washington Township, Heth Township, and Webster Township. It is the largest school in Harrison County. In the 2007–2008 school year the school has a 79.2% graduation rate, and is attended by 786 students. The school is staffed by 45 certified teachers, two administrators, and 4 non certified teachers with an average salary of $44,706 during the 2007–2008 school year. The school has performed slightly below the statewide academic average for the last five years while meeting or surpassing statewide averages during the two years prior to that. Corydon Central serves as the central high school for the consolidated South Harrison Community School System. Students from Corydon Elementary School, Heth-Washington Elementary School and New Middletown Elementary School are bused to Corydon Central for the high school education. On December 5, 2008, around 200 students protested the removal of their principal. The protest attracted many local media outlets in the Southern Indiana area. The Class of 2009 recently received approximately $1.3 million in scholarship money, an all-time high for a graduating class.

The Kintner House Hotel is a historic bed & breakfast, in the Corydon Historic District in Corydon, Indiana. The present building was built in 1873, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, Italianate style brick building. The original Kintner House, two blocks away, was where John Hunt Morgan learned that Robert E. Lee lost at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Kintner House remained a hotel until 1920 and was used as offices until 1986. It was extensively restored and opened as a bed and breakfast in 1987. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Corydon is a town in Harrison Township and the county seat of Harrison County, Indiana, located north of the Ohio River in the extreme southern part of the state. Corydon was founded in 1808 and served as the capital of the Indiana Territory from 1813 to 1816. It was the site of Indiana's first constitutional convention, which was held June 10–29, 1816. Forty-three delegates convened to consider statehood for Indiana and drafted its first state constitution. Under Article XI, Section 11, of the Indiana 1816 constitution, Corydon was designated as the capital of the state, which it remained until 1825, when the seat of state government was moved to Indianapolis. In 1863, during the American Civil War, Corydon was the site of the Battle of Corydon, the only official pitched battle waged in Indiana during the war. More recently, the town's numerous historic sites have helped it become a tourist destination. A portion of its downtown area is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Corydon Historic District. As of the 2010 census, Corydon had a population of 3,122.

The Corydon Historic District is a national historic district located in Corydon, Indiana, United States. The town of Corydon is also known as Indiana's First State Capital and as Historic Corydon. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, but the listing was amended in 1988 to expand the district's geographical boundaries and include additional sites. The district includes numerous historical structures, most notably the Old Capitol (Indiana's first state capitol building), the Old Treasury Building (Indiana's first state office building), Governor Hendricks' Headquarters, the Constitution Elm Memorial, the Posey House, the Kintner-McGrain House (Cedar Glade), and The Kintner House Inn, as well as other residential and commercial sites.

The Hayswood Nature Preserve is a county park in the United States, owned by the Harrison County, Indiana Park and Recreation Board.

The Kintner-Mcgrain House, also known as Cedar Glade, is on the National Register of Historic Places, located north of downtown Corydon, Indiana. It attained the "Cedar Glade" name due to the giant red cedars Jacob Kintner, the builder, planted in front of the house. It was built in 1808 by Jacob Kintner and his wife Agnes Crist, the same year Corydon became a town. Cedar Glade had Corydon's first water works, with Mr. Kintner laying pipe from springs behind the home to supply ever-flowing clear and cool spring water to the house, barns and his tan yard across the road. Few homes anywhere in those early days would have had such a system. It has been owned by three different families: Kintners (1808), McGrains(1849), and Bennetts (1998). It is the second-oldest building in Harrison County, Indiana. It was built in 1808, and is a Late Federal/Early Republic Style, L-shaped, brick dwelling. One of Jacob Kintner's sons, Peter Shipley Kintner, often traveled abroad. After Jacob Kintner's death, Peter S. Kintner "the world traveler" traded Cedar Glade in 1849 to Thomas McGrain Sr. for a business building on Main Street in Louisville. McGrain moved from Louisville to Corydon and young Peter Kintner moved to Paris, France. When Peter died, his remains were shipped back to Corydon and he was buried in the family plot on Cedar Hill. Of course, this was before the age of refrigeration and embalming, and Peter's body was shipped across the Atlantic in alcohol. During John Hunt Morgan's raid in 1863, noncombatants took refuge in the house. Ironically, several cannonballs landed in the front yard, none hit the house. Until 1946 it was a working farm. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Indiana Caverns is part of the Binkley Cave system near Corydon, Indiana.

Harrison Township is one of twelve townships in Harrison County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 13,469 and it contained 5,603 housing units. Corydon, the county seat of Harrison County, is in Harrison Township.