USA > Missouri > Shelby County > General history of Shelby County, Missouri > Part 12
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reinforced Donahue and then Stacy re- treated, saving his life by his fleetness and knowledge of woodcraft. The mili- tiamen beat up the woods and brush for some time, but failed to find any more of the guerrillas, and soon after gathered up the corpses of the men they killed, put them in the wagon, "pressed" for the occasion, and started for Shelbyville. Not a man among the Federals were in- jnred in the least. Indeed, the bush- whackers fired but two or three shots. Meanwhile a tragic scene was being enacted at Shelbyville. There was the most intense indignation in the town over the killing of Long, Herbst and Mr. Hale. Capt. John S. Ben- jamin was almost beside himself with rage and excitement. He had a room of Confederate prisoners in the sheriff's office upstairs in the court house. The most of these, if not all of them, had not been regularly enlisted and mustered into the Confederate ser- vice as regular soldiers, but were more partisan rangers. Benjamin declared he would shoot three of these men in- stanter in retaliation for the three Un- ionists killed that day. Among these prisoners was one Roland Harvy (alias "Jones" or "Maj." Jones), of Clark county. A few days before this he had been captured near Elliottsville, on Salt river, in Monroe county, by a sconting party of the Eleventh M. S. M., led by Benjamin himself. Harvy was a lieu- tenant of a band of Confederate parti- sans, of which Marion Marmaduke, of this county, was captain. Captain Ben- jamin selected Harvy as the first victim. He was an elderly man and, it is be- lieved, was a reputable citizen. But now he was given a hard fate and a short
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shrift. It is said that the guard opened the door of the prison room and pulled out Harvy as a fancier thrusts his hand into a coop and pulls out a chicken. He was hurried downstairs, taken out into the stockade, southeast corner of the yard, and tied to one of the palisades with a new rope before he realized what was being done. He seemed to think the proceedings were intended merely to frighten him. In two minutes a file of soldiers was before him and he was look- ing into the muzzles of six Austrian rifles. The command "Fire!" was given, there was a crash of the guns, and in an instant the unfortunate man was a corpse. He could not fall to the ground, for he was lashed to the palisade, but his limbs gave way and his head dropped on his breast, while his body hung limp and twisted. By Benjamin's order the body was taken down by some Confederate sympathizers and carried into an old log building in the rear of J. B. Mamma- duke's store, on the southwest corner of the square. Here it was prepared for burial and interred by the same class of citizens in the Shelbyville cemetery, where its ashes yet lie. Another pris- oner captured at the same time with Harvy was John Wesley Sigler, a young man of Shelbyville. He had a close call. Benjamin selected him for the next vic- tim from among the now terror-stricken prisoners huddled together in the sher- iff's office ; but now more rational minded men interposed and better councils pre- vailed. It was urged that it would be better to wait and see what the result of Donahue's and Holliday's scout would be -- maybe they would exterminate the band that had done the murderous work. Wait and see. This was done, and soon
came Donahue bearing in a wagon the corpses of Carnahan and Bradley, and these were tumbled into the room where Harvy lay, all ghastly and gory. Then Benjamin's wrath was mollified and no one else was shot.
STOCKADE BUILT AROUND COURT HOUSE.
Company C, under Captain Block, and Company F, commanded by Captain Call, parts of Glover's regiment, were stationed at Shelbyville during the win- ter of 1861 and '62. They were quar- tered in the court house. Around the court house was erected a strong stock- ade, by direction of Capt. John F. Ben- jamin. The stockade was built of heavy oak posts, set firmly in the ground, hav- ing the top ends sharpened. The posts were about fifteen feet high. Small holes were made for the use of the defenders, and under the conditions a small num- ber of men could have withstood the at- tack of several times their number. Many Union sympathizers enlisted during the winter.
Glover was now stationed at Edina. He vigorously enforced the Halleck- Schofield orders to extend no mercy to bushwhackers, and sent his troop fre- quently into Shelby and adjoining coun- ties.
"SPECIAL ORDER NO. 30."
A few days after Colonel Glover reached Edina he sent a message to Cap- tain Benjamin at Shelbyville which was headed "Special Order No. 30." The order read as follows: "In every case within your reach where the rebels take a dollar's worth of property of any kind from a Union man or family, do you take at least twice as much in value from rebels in the vicinity (from parties who
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took the goods if you can identify them) and hold it as security for the return of the property, and hold it until the rob- bery is made good. You will forthwith levy an assessment and eolleet it from the wealthy secessionists in the vicinity sufficient to comfortably support the families of the members of the M. S. M. who were killed by the rebels, and see that they are comfortably supported by this means until further orders."
After two days' time had elapsed after receiving the famous "Special Order No. 30," Captain Benjamin received a list of sixty-five names of men in different parts of the county and a letter that read as follows :
Edina, April 10, 1862.
Captain Benjamin :
Sir-I send you a list of names marked (A), who did the killing of mili- tia in this (Knox) county. The others are members of a bushwhacking com- pany in this and other counties. Give a list of the names to your commissioned officers with instructions to hold all such if arrested. Keep their names as secret as possible. I do not want them to know they are suspected, or we shall not be able to catch them. You have two of them, I am told (the Feltz). ITold them safely. We have five or six of them, and on yesterday we killed one of the mur- derers, William Musgrove. These men are scattered all over the country. You will be as active as possible and charge your men to be cautious. These men are frequently to be found in the vicinity of Magruder's, on Black creek. These fel- lows are in the habit of crossing Salt river, sontheast of your town, on a bridge on an unfrequented road. You will do well to give it some attention. My
instructions are not to bring in these fel- lows if they can be induced to run, and if the men are instructed they can make them run. Yours respectfully,
J. M. GLOVER.
SEVERAL CHANGES IN POSITIONS.
In June of 1862 there were several changes ordered among the Union forces in northeast Missouri. On the 4th of June Colonel Glover was sent to south Missouri and Col. John McNeil, Second Cavalry, M. S. M., was given charge of the northeast Missouri troops, with headquarters at Palmyra. Major John F. Benjamin was appointed commander at Palmyra and M. A. Stearnes was as- sistant adjutant-general. The changes were made in compliance with an order from General Schofield. Nearly all of MeNeil's men followed him to Palmyra. Captain Lipscomb was assigned to Ma- con City and the Third M. S. M. was sent to Rolla.
JOHN L. OWEN KILLED.
Major Owen lived near Monroe City. and had been a major in the Confederate Missouri State Guards under General Price. He had participated in the Mon- roe City battle, in which the Confeder- ates burned the depot and destroyed con- siderable property. He returned home from service in December, 1861, but found an indietment hanging over him for treason and consequently could not come in and surrender. He therefore continued to hide out.
On the Sth of June, 1862, a scouting party of the Eleventh M. S. M., under Captain Lair, found Major Owen carly in the morning hiding under some brush near his residence. Captain Collier and
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the Shelby county company took him be shot at the same time, but he made his prisoner, and after assuring his wife escape from the prison. His name was James Gentry, who lived for many years in Shelby after the bloody seenes of the war and who died in Shelbyville only a few years ago. they would conduct him safely to Pal- myra, they started off, and when only half a mile from his home they sat him upon a log against a rail fence and fired eight 54-caliber bullets through his body. The two captains (Collier and Lair) jus- tified themselves on the ground that they were enforeing General Schofield's "Or- der No. 18," which enjoined the utmost vigilance in hunting down and destroy- ing all marauders and bushwhackers, whom the order said "when caught in arms or engaged in unlawful warfare, were to be shot down on the spot." The action of Lair and Collier was approved by the Unionists generally, but was a fire
brand among the Southern sympathizers, and, in fact, many Union men denouneed the act as a murder. The Federal su- perior officers, however, approved the act. Some now say that Owen was un- armed and did not come within the pur- view of Schofield's order. Others say he was armed and that his blanket and re- volver were found close beside him. It is, however, too late in the day to argue the case, and after giving the faets as nearly correct as it is possible to gather them, we leave the matter to the readers for their own solution.
SHELBY COUNTY MEN EXECUTED.
Gen. Lewis Merrill, who was in charge of the Federal troops at Macon, on Sep- tember 26, 1862, executed ten prisoners at Maeon. These men had all been with Porter and were accused of violating paroles. Two of these men were Shelby county citizens. They were Frank E. Drake and Edward Riggs. Another Shelby county citizen was sentenced to
Capt. Tom Sidener, who lived in Mon- roe county a few miles south of Shel- bina, had been with General Porter, but after the Kirksville battle, in which Por- ter suffered severely, and the disband- ment of the Porter company, Sidener de- cided to quit the service and accordingly returned to his home in Monroe county. He feared, however, to remain there and decided, as did many others of the Por- ter men, to seek refuge in Illinois. He therefore disguised himself in ladies' ap- parel and, in company of a lady cousin and a sister and his brother, Jackson, set out in an open carriage to drive to Can- ton, where they intended to cross the Mississippi into Illinois. They passed through Shelbyville October 1, 1862, and one of Benjamin's men recognized the ladies and Jaek Sidener and informed Benjamin that they had passed through the town with a load of provisions, which were thought to be for supplies for Tom and the Confederates. Colonel Benja- min ordered pursuit and the carriage and its occupants were soon brought back to Shelbyville. Captain Sidener was careless in getting out of the car- riage and gave himself away by diselos- ing his boots that he wore instead of lady's shoes. Ile was stripped of his dress and bonnet and placed in the hands of the Benjamin forces. They kept him a few days at the hotel and then he was sent to Palmyra and was one of the ten men exeented at the famous "Pahnyra massaere," by General McNeil. The re-
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maining occupants of the spring wagon were held for a few days and then re- leased. The exeentions were, of course, the most blood-stirring events of the war; but next perhaps to these was the burning of dwelling houses. Of these latter depredations Shelby county had three of more than ordinary notice. One was the burning of the Robert Joiner house and barn in Tiger Fork township; the other, the home of Carter Baker and John Maupin's home in Jefferson town- ship. The Joiner home was fired by a detail under Lieut. W. J. Holliday, who was sent out to do the work by MeNeil and Merrill. They accused Joiner of "keeping a rendezvous for guerrillas and murderers." Lientenant Holliday executed the order at noon September 5th. Mr. Joiner was in prison at Shelby- ville. His three sons were in the Confed- erate army, as was also one son-in-law, Harry Latimer, who was later captured and executed. Mr. Cochrane, a son-in- law, was the only man on the place, and his wife was seriously ill and was carried out of the house on a cot, whereon she was lying. The family lived with their neighbors for awhile, but soon after Mr. Joiner returned to his home, having been released. His health had been im- paired and his spirits broken and he died the next spring.
The home of Carter Baker, who had been with Porter, was burned by Com- pany I, commanded by Capt. A. G. Priest, who was sent to Jefferson town- ship to burn, as the militia termed them, "bushwhackers' nests." Mr. Baker had been with Porter and was at home, wounded. He was in bed at the time of
the burning of his house and was carried out into the yard on a couch.
THE 1862 ELECTION.
During the war courts were held regu- larly from this time on, and elections held under the authority of the Gamble administration. No one was allowed to vote, however, who would not submit to the Gamble oath: "To support the United States goverment and the Gam- ble provisional government against all enemies, domestic and foreign." This, of course, disqualified many voters in the county. John B. Clark, Sr., had been ex- pelled from Congress for participating in the rebellion. The candidates to suc- ceed him were W. A. Hall, of Randolph county, and N. P. Green, of Marion. The permanent or, in fact, the only issue, was emancipation in Missouri.
Green represented the emancipation side and Hall the anti-emancipationists. The former carried the county by a vote of 598 to 279. For state senator A. L. Gilstrap, the emancipationists, carried the county over Fred Rowland by a vote of 523 to 199. W. R. Strachan was elected representative over J. M. Collier by 482 to 248. Samuel Huston elected county judge without opposition. He re- ceived 359 votes. C. K. Cotton, treas- urer over Benjamin Grogg by 363 to 242. The entire emancipation ticket was elected. Hall, while failing to carry Shelby county, was elected to Congress by a good majority in the district. W. R. Strachan was provost marshal of north- east Missouri, and attained notoriety in connection with the Palmyra massacre.
CHAPTER VIII.
MANY JOIN PORTER'S COMMAND-FEDERALS HOLD THE COUNTY-BILL ANDERSON VISITS SHELBY-FIFTY-ONE KILLED AT CENTRALIA, MISSOURI-THE 1864 ELECTION.
MANY JOIN PORTER'S COMMAND.
Col. Joseph C. Porter, whose home was in Lewis county, near Newark, was about the only Confederate leader now engaged in northeast Missouri. Porter had seen considerable service, having been a lieutenantcolonel of Green's Mis- souri State Guards, and had participated in the battles at Athens, Shelbina, Lex- ington, Pea Ridge and elsewhere. He was a brave soldier and man of courage, and did not deserve the term of guer- rilla as applied to him by many of the Federalists. In the spring of 1862 he was sent to northeast Missouri by Gen- eral Rice for recruits and succeeded in enlisting hundreds from Shelby county.
Capt. Tom Stacy joined Porter and accompanied him on his trip through northeast Missouri. He was mortally wounded in the battle of Pierce's Mill, near Memphis, on July 18th. He was shot through the bowels and died several days after the battle. His family lived in Shelby county at this time.
About this time, or perhaps a little later, a company of eighty men was raised in the western part of the county, near Hager's Grove, by Capt. J. Q. A. Clements, who started out to do actual service for the Confederacy. The com- pany was raised in less than twenty-four hours and set ont to join Porter. They
rendezvoused at Snowder's bridge, which was then known as Snowder's ford, and crossed the railroad bridge east of Clar- ence and joined Porter at Paris. A large number of Shelby countians also joined the Confederate troops by enlisting under Captain Head, a Monroe county man.
Porter once more touched Shelby county soil in crossing from Paris to New Market with a thousand men. He passed between Monroe City and Hunne- well, and was receiving reernits by the hundreds. Capt. J. Q. A. Clements was killed in battle at Newark, which took place July 31, 1862. He was shot through the brain and died instantly. After his death Capt. Samuel S. Patton took com- mand of the company from the western part of the county, which was now with Porter. Lient. Tom West, of the same company, also had his leg crushed by a minie ball in the same battle and died a few days later, after having had his leg amputated. In this same battle two Shelby county men were also killed who were with Captain Head's Monroe county company. The two killed were Anderson Tobin, who lived in the south- west part of the county and who was shot through the head, and a Mr. Kester- son, who lived near Walkersville. He was shot through the body.
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Leaving Porter now, we find that Colonel McNeil had left Palmyra and moved his men to Hunnewell in order that he might watch Porter and inter- cept him when he should attempt to cross the railroad at his old crossing near that town. After reaching this point, McNeil heard of Porter's moves in Monroe county and set out for Paris, having heard that Porter had occupied that town. On reaching Paris. however, he found his man had departed and, going north, had crossed the road which he had intended to guard. McNeil hastened back to Hunnewell. The colonel felt rather humiliated and set out to run Captain Porter down or kill his horses and men in the attempt. McNeil pur- sued northward, crossing Shelby county. At Bethel he was reinforced by Col. John F. Benjamin with a detachment of the 11th M. S. M., who left a small garri- son to defend the town. McNeil was also strengthened by the addition of Mayne's Company B of the 3d Iowa Cav- alry, Leonard's and Garth's companies of the 9th M. S. M. and Merrill's Horse and two brass pieces of artillery of Robb's 3d Indiana Battery, sent up from Jefferson City under Colonel Armington. Porter was pursued to Kirksville, where perhaps was fought the most memorable battle of north Missouri. Porter arrived in the city on August 6th with the Fed- erals close upon his heels. The result of this battle is known to all. Porter was completely routed. Among the Shelby county Confederates killed were Timothy Hayes and John Richardson, of Patton's company. The battle of Kirks- ville took place on Wednesday, and the day following a number of the Confed- erate prisoners were tried and convicted
of breaking their oath not to take up arms against the Union, and for viola- tions of their parols, and were sentenced to be shot. The order was executed and the following Shelby county Confederate prisoners were shot: James Christian, David Wood, Jesse Wood and Bennett Hayden. These four unfortunate Con- federates all lived in the southwest part of the county. Christian lived east of Clarence. David and Jesse Wood lived west of Shelbina, and Hayden lived near the present site of Lentner. All were married except David Wood. After the Kirksville battle Colonel McNeil moved over to Old Bloomington, Macon county, and from there to Shelbyville and then to his old stand at Hunnewell. Porter had also found his way back to Monroe county with some 150 men, who were again reported to MeNeil as occupying Paris. The Federal commander again resolved to march against him, and ac- cordingly set out for the Monroe county seat with all of his available force, some 800 men. On the day before, Majors Rogers and Dodson with three compa- nies of the 11th M. S. M. set out for Shelbyville to join McNeil. They re- inforced him on Wednesday, September 10th, and on the same day they set out from Hunnewell for Paris. Porter had, however, again gone north and was in Lewis and northern Marion county, and on Friday, September 12th, with only 400 men, captured Palmyra and held it for two hours. They carried away a Union citizen named Andrew Alsman, whom they killed and for whose life two of Porter's men later paid a forfeit, con- stituting what is known as the Palmyra massacre.
The night after the capture of Pal-
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myra, Company A of the 11th M. S. M., ville, in Wright county, they encountered stationed at Shelbyville, set out to inter- a considerable force of Federal troops, which they defeated. The Confederate loss, however, was heavy. Colonel Por- ter was mortally wounded in this battle, which took place January 11, 1863. Colonel Porter followed the army into Arkansas and died at Batesville, Feb- ruary 18th. cept Porter. They went to the eastern part of the county. It is said that the two companies eamped within a mile of each other, each being wholly uneon- seious of the presence of the other. After pursuing Porter's men for some days, Colonel McNeil with his company came to Bragg's school-house, in the north- During the year of 1863 Shelby county was securely in the possession of the Federal authorities. The M. S. M. held Shelbyville and Shelbina continuously and guarded the railroad bridge near Lakenan. They at intervals sent de- tachments to Clarence and Hunnewell. east part of the county, and Colonel Me- Neil spent Sunday at Judge S. I. Bragg's and left the next day for Pal- myra. Two Shelby county Confederates were captured near Bragg's school- house by MeNeil. They were John Holmes and Henry Latimer. They were taken into Bragg's meadow and shot. Kemp Glasscoek was also taken pris- oner while out hunting eows, but was released. John Lear, another of Por- ter's men, was shot near the Bragg resi- dence. The Federals lost two men. They were a man named Scanlon and Corporal Stephens. Both were from Knox county. Porter now decided to leave Shelby county on his way to the South. He captured and paroled Captain Bishop near Hunnewell. Colonel Porter was wounded at Hartville, Mo., but made his way into Arkansas. He died at Bates- ville, Ark., February 18, 1863.
FEDERALS HOLD THE COUNTY.
The Missouri State Militia held Shelby county during the year of 1863 and noth- ing of importance happened in the county during that year. Colonel Porter had gone south and was in Arkansas during the early part of the year. Porter and Gen. John S. Marmaduke united at Marshfield and after the Springfield bat- tle retreated into Arkansas. At Hart-
In the spring of the year, Companies I and L of the 2d M. S. M., composed of Shelby countians mostly, were sent to assist the Federals in southeast Mis- souri, where there was much more fight- ing than in their own counties. On April 26th they took part in the Cape Girar- dean battle and assisted in repulsing an attack on that city made by Gen. John S. Marmaduke.
At the close of the year of 1863 Shelby county had 504 men in the regular militia service of the United States. The rec- ords in the adjutant general's office show that of this number there was one Shelby county men in the 25th Infantry, one in the 26th, four in the 30th, forty-five in the 3d Cavalry, one in the 7th Cavalry, thirty-four in the 11th Cavalry, 182 in the 2d Cavalry, and 236 in the 11th Cav- alry before consideration. In regiments from other states there were thirty-six men from Shelby, and there were at least sixty men from Shelby who belonged to these regiments, whose names were un- reported, thus bringing the number of troops furnished the Union by Shelby
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county up to 600 at the close of the year 1863. There were hundreds also from Shelby county who joined the enrolled militia.
BILL ANDERSON VISITS SHELBY.
By far the most exciting period during the Civil war in Shelby county was in 1862, during Porter's and Staey's ac- tivities. Indeed, war matters became quite dull in the county during the year of 1863, except Federal forage and seont- ing parties, who helped themselves to corn, horses, and relieved chicken roosts and many a smoke-house of a deliciously enred piece of ham or side meat. In 1864, however, war affairs began to enliven the county again.
Along the latter part of July, 1864, Col. Bill Anderson, of Centralia fame, and one of the most desperate fighters and boldest men on the southern side, paid Shelby county a visit. Many thrilling ineidents took place during the year in Shelby, but none so rapidly and thrilling as the Anderson visit. The twenty-three men under Anderson (called by some the Confederate guerrilla) in July of 1864 crossed the Missouri river, coming north at Waverly, in Carroll county. They shot several Union soldiers here and pro- ceeded into Randolph county, the home of the chief of the company. At Hunts- ville over $30,000 was taken from the county treasury and the citizens of the town. After this haul they pressed east- ward through Moberly and entered Mon- roe, and, crossing this county, came to Shelbina. Anderson and his thirty-four trained riders and expert shots (he had added eleven men to his company) reached Shelbina on July 27th early in
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