From late in 1862 to mid-1863, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg fortified his defenses in Middle Tennessee while Union Gen. William S. Rosecrans reinforced his army. To disrupt extended Federal communication and supply lines, Bragg ordered Gen. John Hunt Morgan late in 1862 to attack the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. On this occasion, and again in 1863, Morgan began a cavalry raid into Kentucky from Alexandria, which offered well-watered areas near the fairgrounds sufficient to assemble thousands of mounted men, a road leading north to multiple Cumberland River crossings, and a supportive population. The raiders' presence was no secret, however, and some felt Morgan’s use of the area left residents open to Federal reprisal. On December 22, 1862, Morgan headed north from Alexandria with 3,100 cavalrymen and several artillery pieces on his Christmas Raid. Five days later, he reached Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where his men destroyed Louisville and Nashville Railroad trestles and bridges, temporarily rendering the line impassable. Pursuing Federal forces failed to block his return to Tennessee. Morgan’s most daring raid also began in Alexandria when, on June 11, 1863, he led 2,400 cavalrymen through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio in the deepest penetration of the North by Confederate troops. Federal gunboats patrolling the Ohio River prevented Morgan from returning south, and tireless pursuit by Federal forces eventually led to his capture and imprisonment.