USA > Missouri > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Missouri > Part 11
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David Waldo
1. John Reid
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James S. Oldham
Henry I. Chiles
John S. Webb
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W. W. Bliss, A. A. A. G.
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Crenshaw, John T. Chiles, Elijah J. Capell, John I. Capell, Britton
Ells, Nathan
Gilpin, William Franklin, John R. Flournoy, Matthew I. Forrest, Lorenzo D.
Gibson, John R.
Greenwood, Fontleroy D.
Hildebrand, Levi Haines, Michael D. Hamilton, Christopher C.
Jenks, Christopher Jones, David A.
Killbuck, Washington
Lucas, James A. Lucas, John T. Knighton, Perry
Lindsay, Alfred O. Latz, Benjamin
Lemmons, Benjamin Lillard, Morgan
Lemmons, Washington
Moody, Andrew J. Lewis, Richard
Meek, Robert G.
Maim, Christopher
Maim, Elson
McMurray, John H.
Clift, James H.
Cogswell, William
Copeland, Anthony N. Copeland, William L.
Cannon, William N. Carlton, Ezekial
Campbell, John E. Clayton, James R.
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
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Massie, Thomas H.
McElrath, James
Nichols, Daniel McKeller, John
Noland, Jesse
Overton, William R.
Owens, James W.
Pringle, George A. Patton, John W. H.
Palmer, Jonathan R.
Patterson, Andrew J. Phelps, Richard S. Parish, Sidney G.
Pollard, Samuel A. Powell, David L. Pool, James M. Patrick, Dudley
Ryan, Henry M.
Renick, Chatham E.
Riggs, Henry C.
Riggs, William S.
Smith, Hugh N.
Sharpe, George Sprague, Davis
Sharpe, Leonard B. Searsm, Peter A.
Speed, James
Tyler, Perry I. Triplett, Zela
White, Wafer S. Vigus, John K.
Wear, James A. Wear, John
Wear, Abraham W. Wear, Samuel C.
Watts, John S.
Wilson, John C.
Waller, Shelby Webb, George B.
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John T. Hughes lived in Clay County and at the outbreak of the Civil
of that book he uses the following language: He was killed at the battle of Independence, Aug. 11, 1861. In the preface
which history tells. And it was not only marvelous-it accomplished much, few campaigns having ever accomplished more. For one thing, it
saved Buena Vista and averted disaster to the American arms on the bloody field. For Colonel Doniphan not only had no help from Generals Taylor and Wool, but by dividing the Mexican forces he saved them from destruc-
tion. Had they done one-half as well at Buena Vista as did Colonel Doni-
Colonel Price was made a brigadier-general. This gross injustice to phan at Sacramento, Santa Anna's army would have been destroyed the that Colonel Doniphan got no promotion for his brilliant achievements ! Colonel Doniphan I believe it my duty to point out. The state of Kansas honored him by naming a county and town for him, and the state of Mis- first day, with plenty of time to spare. And what a strange thing it is
souri named the seat of Ripley County in his honor.
The battle of Sacramento was the most wonderful ever fought by American arms. Dewey's battle in Manila Bay may be set down as its only
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Douglas, Oliver T. Fugate, Francis
Mount, Thornton A.
Riggs, Green B.
Crabtree, Isaac
Johnson, Waldo P.
Foster, William
Lacy, L. E.
has issued a revised edition of Doniphan's expedition (a history that was prepared and published by John T. Hughes, a member of Company "C" of that regiment.)
Hon. W. C. Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas Historical Society,
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Walker, Collins
Woodland, John L.
Wallace, James W.
Young, William M.
Zeller, Henry
King, Walter
Cox, James
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War he joined the Confederate army and was commissioned a colonel.
"In many respects Doniphan's expedition was the most wonderful of
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
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rival. The only land battle at all approaching it was that of New Orleans, but in that battle the Americans fought at home, on their own soil, behind fortifications. The battle of Sacramento far outranks it. Colonel Doni- phan's men attacked a fortified position held by troops outnumbering them nearly five to one. They were in a strange land, thousands of miles from home. They were in rags, suffering from starvation. They were seem- ingly abandoned by their government and left to their fate. In case of defeat there was no hope of succor-nothing but inevitable destruction. But all these discouragements did not daunt the Missourians. They made their arrangements for battle as coolly as they would have planned the reaping of a field at home. They would not be hurried by the tactics of the enemy, but stood under fire a long time carrying out their preliminary movements to the minutest details; they even had their jokes. A shot from the enemy's cannon carried away part of the cap of a Missourian and he remarked with apparent unconcern, "I want to tell you they shoot mighty d-d close in this country," and went on with his preparations for the battle. And when the Americans were finally ready to begin to fight they charged with the force of the thunderbolt. They were irre- sistible. They never halted. They poured over the fortifications of the enemy and routed his forces from the trenches. They overwhelmed the Mexicans by their audacity and furious courage.
That charge was as gallant and heroic as any ever made in the world. It was as resistless as the avalanche, grim as death, inexorable as fate. It has never been equaled in all the annals of the world's warfare.
To those heroic Americans, Missourians by birth or adoption, we accord honor and fame and glory. They stand the peers of any soldiers that ever shouldered arms. Their achievement is worth more than a thousand battleships and ten thousand armies with banners. Their triumph declares that the American arms in a righteous cause can never be suc- cessfully resisted.
It is strange that so little is known of this great victory. Even Missourians, descendants of the men who won it, know little about it. They seem to have no proper conception of the fame won for them by their fathers. The victory of Sacramento, the success of Doniphan's expedition, is a heritage more valuable than kingdoms and powers and principalities. It ought to be the theme of the poets, the song of the daughters, the boast of the sons of old Missouri. It should become the pride and inspiration of the people of Missouri and some day it will.
In order that I might put into this work incidents connecting with the
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present time the events of the remarkable campaign, I have sought all sources of information. That this book might be a living narrative I have cast about for accounts of those things which light up the scenes of those times with human interest and individual action. I have endeavored to have these incidents picture the men as they marched footsore and weary over desert wastes, as they bivouacked shelterless on the frozen ground under the cold and silent stars, as they starved and their hair and beards ran riot and their clothing fell to pieces, as they appeared on the battle field fighting like demons for their country which neglected them, and as citizens of a great state returning to the pursuits of peace and pleasures of home. It is a picture worthy of a great painter who will one day spring from the soil of old Missouri.
An army is a community under arms. Human ambitions are there more active and persistent than in times of peace in the quiet country side. As these men marched there occurred humorous incidents and tragedies as dark as midnight. Some cursed and others prayed. Some carried in their hearts fidelity to home and wife, while others were captivated by fair women encountered by the way. And it requires mention of those things to round out the record and make a picture upon which shall stand the proper lights and shades. I have done my best to secure and write them down."
In all the hardships, privations, battles and victories these men did their whole duty and are deserving of their full share of praise and honor for their achievement. The old soldiers used to love to tell of the only order issued by Captain Waldo at the battle of Sacramento, which was "Shoot low! Shoot low, boys! If you break one man's leg, it will take two men to carry him off."
When the war was declared against Mexico, Samuel C. Owens was keeping a general store at the southwest corner of the square in Inde- pendence, where the Chrisman-Sawyer Banking Company's building now stands, and was also engaged in freighting goods to Santa Fe. There were also other freighters and traders likewise engaged.
Col. Doniphan organized the teamsters of all the traders, aggregating about 200 men, and joined them into two companies and mustered them into the United States service. They were told to elect their own officers, which was done. Henry Skilman was elected Captain of one company ; Edward J. Glasgow captain of the other and Owens was elected major. At the battle of Sacramento, these men all did service and in the charge upon the Mexican redoubts, Owens and his horse were killed. He was the
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only man killed instantlly in the whole American forces. There were 11 men wounded, three of whom died from their injuries. According to the official report, the forces of the United States totaled 924 men and six pieces of artillery. The Mexican forces had 4,224 men, 10 pieces of artillery. They lost 320 killed, 560 wounded and 72 prisoners, together with a vast quantity of provisions, $6,000.00 in specie, 50,000 head of sheep, 1,500 head of cattle, 100 mules, 20 wagons and 25,000 pounds of ammunition. The battle was fought on Sunday, Feb. 28, 1847. On the third day of March the funeral services of Major Owens were performed in the Catholic church in Chihuahua with great show and pomp. The Mexican priest officiated on the occasion. His body was taken to the cemetery and buried with Masonic and martial honors.
Mr. Owens was one of the most prominent men in Jackson County. He was born in Green County, Kentucky, and came to this county before it was organized or the town laid out. He was the second clerk of the county court; Lillian W. Boggs, afterward governor of Missouri, was the first. Mr. Boggs did not serve long as clerk-the record does not show just how long. Mr. Boggs resigned and Mr. Owens was appointed clerk and served as such until 1842.
At the first sale of town lots in Independence, Mr. Owens bought the lot at the southeast corner of Osage and Lexington streets, the lot on which the Battery block is now situated. He built a large roomy, log house for his residence, and it was the center of gay gatherings for young and old. He had a daughter named Fannie, who was considered very beautiful. She being the only daughter, was the pet of the household and was badly spoiled as might be expected. When she was about 16 years of age, a young lawyer from Georgia came to Independence and opened a law office, and was said to be a bright fellow without character. He paid court to Fannie Owens. His attentions were discouraged by Mr. and Mrs. Owens. Believing herself imposed upon by her mother in a certain matter, she went to the office of Harper and said she was ready to get married. He took her in a buggy, intending to go to the office of James Bean, justice of the peace, at or near Blue Springs. They met Bean on the way and were married in the road, without alighting from the buggy, no license being necessary at that time. The Owens family were deeply chagrined and humiliated and efforts were made to have the rash act undone, but they came to nothing.
Mr. Owens took her to New York and tried to put her in a boarding school, thinking that a change of surroundings and acquaintances might
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change her feelings toward Harper. When Mr. Owens attempted to enroll her in the school, she announced to the principal that she was a married woman and would not stay there. All efforts of her father to persuade her to stay were futile. When he found all of his efforts were in vain he returned home with her. When he decided to take her away, Harper pro- tested vigorously. He told Mr. Owens, if he took Fannie away from him he would commit suicide and suiting the action to the words, drew a small pocket pistol, placed the muzzle to his head and drew the trigger. It snapped; Mr. Owens coolly walked to his desk and pulled out a pair of Colts dragoon revolvers and handed them to Harper, remarking, "Try one of these, I have killed buffalo with them on the plains, and have never known either one of them to snap yet. I think which one of either you take, will answer your purpose." Needless to say, Mr. Harper did not accept the offer. When Mr. Owen got back home, he sent for Harper and told him, "Here, take her, if you can do anything with her, it is a great deal more than I can, and you are perfectly welcome to her."
The following spring a young man named Meredith came from Balti- more to make a trip across the plains with Col. Owens for the benefit of his health, he being a sufferer from consumption. The journey could not begin until the grass was grown enough to furnish subsistence for the teams and in the meantime Meredith was an inmate of the Owens' home. A flirtation arose between him and Mrs. Harper. Harper became very jealous and determined to kill Meredith and laid plans to that end. He placed cards on the table in his office, which was on the second floor of a building fronting on the public square. He provided himself with two pistols and waited for Meredith to pass along the street. As he came by, Harper invited him into his office. A shot was heard immediately after he went into the room and men rushed up to see what was the trouble. They found the cards in disorder on the table, Meredith lying dead on the floor and a pistol by his side, and Harper standing over him with a smok- ing pistol in his hand. He said that he and Meredith had been playing a game of cards, over which they disagreed; that one word brought on another until a fierce quarrel resulted; that Meredith drew his pistol and he, Harper, shot him dead. Harper's story was not believed. There was no time for a quarrel between the time that Meredith entered the room and the report of this pistol. Harper was arrested for murder and cast into jail. His wife stuck to him and aided him to escape; some say she furnished him saws and files, but Meredith T. Moore says she secured admittance to the jail and there changed clothes with him. He went down
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
into New Mexico and was gone a year or two, but finally was apprehended and brought back. In those days the law allowed a criminal more than one change of venue. Harper secured a change to Henry County and from . thence to Platte County, where he was tried.
The trial was in November, 1847, Harpers attorneys were Colonel Doniphan, John Wilson and Silas H. Woodson, all great lawyers. They . believed that it would be necessary to show criminal intimacy between Meredith and Mrs. Harper, the theory of self defense having been pretty well abandoned. In this matter the judge made a strange ruling. He held that the prosecution might show this criminal intimacy but that the defense could not show it as a justification for the murder. All of the attorneys were surprised at the ruling, and Colonel Doniphan is reported to have said that if this ruling was to stand he feared that it meant that Harper would hang.
When all the witnesses for the defense but one had been examined, the attorneys requested that court adjourn until the following day, as they desired to consult upon certain matters. It was then about four in the afternoon, but had the judge known that but one witness remained to be examined for the defense he would have insisted that the case go on ; however, he adjourned.
In those days, lawyers made the rounds of the circuit, and it was cus- tomary for them to visit about at night with the local attorneys. When court adjourned, Woodson said to Wilson, that it would be necessary for him to make a night of it with the leading attorney for the prosecution. This Wilson did, and neither closed an eye in sleep; both appeared in court the following morning just about worn out. The defense put on the re- maining witness, the only one by whom it was expected to show the mat- ter of criminal intimacy. This was the only thing expected to be proven and under the ruling of the court it was impossible for them to show that -a desperate situation. Woodson conducted the examination ; he ques- tioned the witness at great length, leading up to the point he wished to make. When right at the point, and where the next question would have been the one and only one he really desired an answer to, he said to the prosecution "take the witness."
The court and audience had hung breathless on the examination and there was disappointment that it ended in nothing. When the sleepy at- torney took the witness, his first question was the very one the defense desired to ask but could not. But he saw his mistake instantly and said excitedly, "do not answer that question." Then there was a scene. The
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
defense insisted that the witness be allowed to answer the question, while the prosecution insisted that while no answer had been given, it had the right to say none should be given. The jury was removed and the re- mainder of the day was consumed in arguments pro and con. The defense took the ground that by the ruling of the court, it could not ask the ques- tion, but that the prosecution could ask it and the prosecution having done so, it was the right of the defense that the question be answered. That the ruling of the court gave them that right. The court held that the ques- tion must be answered, which was done and the criminal relations shown. The jury brought in a verdict of "not guilty."
It was this family trouble that his friends decided was the cause of his reckless actions and cause of his death at the battle of Sacramento.
We have hitherto considered in what manner the troops under Col. Doniphan were conducted over the great solitudes to Santa Fe; how they invaded the snow-capped mountains in pursuit of the fearless Navajos; how General Kearney with a small force crossed the continent and held California in quiet possession ; how Col. Price succeeded to the command of the troops in New Mexico; how Col. Doniphan invaded and conquered the state of Chihuaha and Durango; thence traversing extensive deserts, treeless, barren and waterless, oftentimes subsisting his army on half rations and less; and how, after indefinite suffering and toil, he arrived at the Gulf and sailed for New Orleans.
The Missourians were now permitted to turn over to the ordinance master, at New Orleans, the arms they had used on the expedition, and with which they had achieved signal victories. They were forthwith mus- tered for discharge and payment by Col. Churchill, which process was completed between the 22d and the 28th of June. Having received pay- ment and an honorable discharge from the service, they departed to their respective homes in detached parties, each one now traveling according to his own convenience and being no longer subject to command. They generally arrived in Missouri about the 1st of July, having been absent thirteen months.
Anticipating the arrival of the returning volunteers, the generous citizens of St. Louis had made ample preparations to give them a hearty welcome, cordial reception and testify to them the esteem in which their services were held by their fellow citizens. But as the volunteer soldiers, who were to become citizens, returned in detached parties and were very anxious to visit their families and friends from whom they had so long been separated, they could not all be induced to remain and partake of the
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY
proffered hospitality. However, the company under Capt. Hudson, having in charge the captured Mexican cannon, and near three hundred officers and privates of different companies, being in the city on the 2nd of July it was agreed that the formalities of the reception should be gone through with. Accordingly, the various military and fire companies of the city were paraded in full uniform; the people collected in great crowds, the Mexican cannon, the trophies of victory, were dragged along the streets, crowned with garlands ; and an immense procession was formed, conducted by T. Grimsley, chief marshal, which, after a brief response from Lieu- tenant-colonel Mitchell, proceeded to Camp Lucas, where the Hon. T. H. Benton delivered to the returned volunteers and a concourse of more than seven thousand people, a most thrilling and eloquent address, recounting with astonishing accuracy and extraordinary minuteness the events of the great campaign.
When the honorable Senator concluded, Col. Doniphan was loudly and enthusiastically called to the stand, whereupon he rose and responded to a very chaste and modest, yet graphic address, in which he ascribed the great success and good fortune which continually attended him on his expedition rather to the bravery and conduct of his soldiers, than to his own gen- eralship.
For months succeeding the return to the State of Missouri, volunteers, sumptuous dinners, banquets and balls, tables loaded with delicate viands and the richest wines were everywhere spread to do them honor as if thereby to compensate in some measure for past hardships and the im- mensity of toil and peril, which they had experienced in climbing over rugged, snow capped mountains; in contending with the overwhelming forces of the enemy; in enduring bitter cold, pinching hunger, burning thirst, incredible fatigue, and sleepless nights of watching and the biv- ouacking upon the waterless arid desert of Mexico. But their past dan- gers, both from the foe and the elements, were now soon forgotten amidst the kind caresses of friends and the cordial reception with which their fellow citizens continually greeted them. The maxim which has descended from former ages and which has met the sanction of all nations, that Republics are ungrateful, has not in this instance proved true; for there was now a campaign of feasting and honors.
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