Edward Henry Hobson was born in Greensburg on July 11, 1825. He was educated in the common schools of Greensburg and Danville, Kentucky. He worked for his father who was a successful merchant in Greensburg. In 1846, Hobson enlisted for service in the war with Mexico (1846-47), serving as Co. A of the 2nd Kentucky Infantry, and during the war was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, for bravery. Following the war, he returned home going into banking in the 1850s.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Hobson enlisted in the Union army and began recruiting a regiment of soldiers in the Green River area. This regiment became the 13th Kentucky Infantry and Hobson its Colonel. The 13th moved south with Gen. Don Carlos Buell and fought at the Battle of Shiloh. In November 1862, Abraham Lincoln made Hobson a brigadier general. After service in Mississippi and Tennessee, he returned to Kentucky.
Only July 6, 1863, Hobson was ordered to leave Munfordville, where he had been training troops, to find Gen. John Hunt Morgan, the "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy." After a skirmish at Marrowbone, he pursued Morgan through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. On July 26, Hobson's forces defeated Morgan at Buffington Island, Ohio ending Morgan's Great Raid into the North.
On June 11, 1864, Hobson and Morgan met again at Cynthiana, Kentucky. After a spirited resistance, Hobson's outnumbered force of 900 was captured. It is said that when Morgan approached Hobson, he smiled and said, "General, we meet again!" as Hobson handed over his pistols. Though, Hobson was defeated, his defense allowed Union soldiers to catch up and defeat Morgan the following day.
Hobson was mustered out of service in September of 1865 and returned home to Greensburg to engage business. He died at a Grand Army of the Republic reunion in Cleveland and is buried at the family cemetery in Greensburg.
26b - Home of General E. H. Hobson
Home of Union General Edward Henry Hobson, the captor of General John Hunt Morgan at Buffington Island, Ohio. The Federal style house was originally built for Hobson's father, Capt. William Hobson in 1823. The house is a brick one and a half story structure with a central passage. Like many Federal style buildings in Kentucky, this house was updated to reflect the Greek Revival style of the antebellum period with the addition of the four columned portico and other details. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
This house was the home of Gen. Hobson before and after the Civil War. After the war, Hobson became a Republican. He was appointed collector of internal revenues for the fourth district by President Ulysses S. Grant and served as vice-president of the 1888 Republican National Convention. He was married to Katie Adair, a niece of Kentucky Governor John Adair.
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