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| Replica moonshine still at Gladie Creek, Red River Gorge |
The Eastern Kentucky hills and mountains are beautiful to look
upon, especially in fall and winter. The sheer cliffs of Southern Bath
County along the Menifee County boundary is a majestic view, but a
dangerous journey. These cliffs once hid another danger; moonshine
stills and those who wished to keep their clandestine activities guarded
from revenuers.
During the Prohibition Era between 1920 and 1933, it was illegal to possess, sell, or transport alcoholic beverages in the United States. People found ways to bypass laws by making their own alcohol in secret, and often heavily guarded, locations. The Bureau of Prohibition was organized in 1920 with the sole mission of thwarting the sale, possession and transport of the illicit spirits. Federal Agent U.G. McFarland had received word during a raid that Charley Ballard had a large distilling operation on his property along East Fork Creek near Means, Kentucky. Bath County resident and former Bath County Jailer Robert Duff was a Federal Agent with the bureau division, joining in October 1921. He was approaching fifty years old with a wife and seven children during the winter of 1922 and tasked to take on the Ballard family and shut down the illegal distillery. On December 9, 1922, Agent Duff, accompanied by Agent D.R. Carter and a group of other deputies, set out to execute a search warrant on the Ballard farm.
The group arrived at the home of Jeff Ballard and confronted him with the warrant to search for and seize any items related to the illegal distillery. Ballard denied having any moonshine stills on his property, but was detained by two other deputies while Duff, Carter and another agent, W.P. Treadway, began their search. The trio found a path behind the Ballard home that led to the base of a mountain along a creek bank. At the edge of the mountain side, they noticed what appeared to be a large brush pile; but at closer inspection, they could make out what looked to be a pathway into the brush.
Cautiously, the agents moved in to inspect their find and noticed it was a fortified structure dug into the side of the mountain. In the front were double logged walls with space between them filled with rock and dirt. Other logs were made into a lean-to type structure across the top, with a layer of tar paper to make a roof. The entire structure was covered in surrounding brush to camouflage it's true appearance. A door was to the right of the logged walls and a small shuttered window was in front, giving those inside a view of the outside. The elaborate structure was built to withstand even the most powerful bullet from a long rifle, and to conceal anyone who may be inside.
The
next day, Prohibition Bureau Director Sam Collins arrived in Lexington
and organized a posse to return to Means and bring the Ballards to
justice. Joining Collins was Lee Stewart, who had a reputation of being
one of the most feared and tenacious agents in Eastern Kentucky, and
eight other deputies. The group arrived in Mount Sterling and were
joined by five other deputies before trekking to East Fork. Once the
party arrived, they made their way to the site of the previous day's
bloody gunfight; Agent Duff's body had been removed by the undertaker as
agreed. The still house was unoccupied but housed an enormous
distillery operation; seventeen barrels and fermentors, forty gallons of
moonshine, 1,400 gallons of beer and a substantial assortment of
related manufacturing materials were seized and destroyed. A still and a
'worm' - a coil made of copper that is a vital part of a still - were
missing. Stewart exited the still house and began following a trail up
the mountain, attempting to locate the other components of the
operation.
At the same time, Deputies Eubanks and Phillips began searching for a missing firearm lost during the previous day's battle. A shot rang out from above and the two dashed for cover, not knowing where the shooter's position was. A group of eight or ten agents and deputies began to move around to the back of where they heard the shots, to close in on the shooter. At the crest of the mountain, another shot rang out even closer, but the party couldn't ascertain where the shot had originated. After regrouping from taking cover, the posse cautiously continued along the ridge crest. About fifty yards from where they had ducked for cover, David Treadway, one of the deputies, lifeless body lay along the path. Treadway was a twenty-four year old Montgomery County resident and had just joined the posse when they met in Mount Sterling earlier in the day. The group retrieved Treadway's body and headed off the mountain; a second bloody day in the hollows of Means, and the Ballard's were still on the run.
The bureau
agents convened in Lexington that night and decided to wait a few days
for tensions to ease before launching another raid. Kentucky Governor
Morrow offered a $500 reward for the capture of Bob and Charles Ballard
for their connection in the murders of the bureau agents. Twenty agents
and deputies moved out at 2:15 a.m. December 15, 1922 with the sole
mission of taking the Ballards into custody once and for all. A new
strategy would be deployed; the posse would park at the Means Post
Office and walk to the Ballard farm. It was a cold, drizzly night as
they made their way on foot. Along the way, agents detained anyone they
found along the way to insure the Ballards wouldn't be alerted. Around
daylight, the posse arrived at the home of Albert Ballard and arrested
him and a cousin, Willie Ferguson. Soon after, they arrived at the home
of Jeff Ballard and found no one was home. About a half mile away, the
group found a cabin behind Willie Ferguson's place and cautiously
surrounded it. Mat Sanders, a deputy in the posse, busted the door open
with the butt of his rifle, to be met with instant gunfire. Sanders
was struck and fell at the front door. While Agent Guy Cole attempted
to enter the back door, he was shot three times; twice in the torso and
once in the head.
The other members of the posse formed two lines and began openly firing into the cabin. Approximately 150 shots were fired into the cabin; the return fire ceased after a few minutes. Charley Ballard ran out of the rear door and fled into the woods, being struck twice before disappearing into the thick brush. Mat Sanders was injured, but Guy Cole succumbed to his injuries on site. As agents looked inside the cabin, they found Bob Ballard lying in the floor with a fatal wound to his head. The remaining agents pursued Charley Ballard's trail to the home of Henry Reffett, where they learned the injured assailant had been bandaged up and left via horseback toward Mill Creek in Bath County. They broke off the chase around dark and returned to the Ferguson cabin to find that Jeff Ballard had been apprehended.
The following day, agents returned to Means
to attempt to locate Charley Ballard. They were met by Menifee County
Sheriff Ben Wells who had a message from Ballard stating that he would
surrender to Wells only. Wells was reportedly a relative of the
Ballards and had knowledge of Charley's hiding spot near Preston's train
depot. The bureau agents agreed, on the condition that Ballard be
brought to Fayette County.
A total of five were arrested
and brought before the United States District Court in Lexington for
their roles in the moonshine operation; Jeff and Albert Ballard, Willie
Ferguson, Joe Clem and Henry Reffett were charged with violating the
National Prohibition Act. Charley Ballard was charged for the killing
of Agents Duff, Cole and Treadway in Menifee County, and charged
similarly by the US District Court. He was under hospital care during
the judicial process due to wounds he received in the final gunfight at
East Fork, and had to have surgery while in jail to avoid an amputation
of his foot.
The raid garnished national attention; numerous papers nationwide told the story of the raid and killings within the following days. Headlines across the country told of the spectacular raid and shootout in the hills of Eastern Kentucky and how the slain bureau agents were bravely performing their duties before they were cut down. A Lexington Herald Leader article states that the initial court appearances of the men accused was set for January 2, 1923 at the US District Court in Lexington; however, not many records relating to the trial, which started in 1924, are readily available. It is known that Charley Ballard was initially acquitted of his murder charges in Menifee County, but was later sentenced by the US District Court to six years in prison for his actions.
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| Agent Robert Duff's grave at Owingsville Cemetery |
Special thanks to Felicia Stalder for inspiring this story, and the pictures she sent!
For more information about this incident, go to http://www.kentuckystewarts.
and
https://books.google.com/
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