USA > Missouri > Lafayette County > History of Lafayette county, Mo. , carefully written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, cities, towns, and villages > Part 38
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At a covered bridge across the Garrison fork of Tabo creek, five miles from Lexington, a force of the Federals was encountered. This force consisted of four companies of home guards, a portion of Peabody's regi- ment, and two companies of Illinois cavalry, and had fallen back from Warrensburg on the approach of Price's forces. The Federals were driven back and another skirmish ensued at another bridge nearer town. One of these bridges was set on fire. At last the Federals were forced back into their intrenchments and Prece's forces occupied the southern and eastern part of Lexington. The artillery was brought up and the college hill vigorously cannonaded for a few minutes. Bledsoe's battery took up a position near the residence of Judge Tutt, and Guibor's guns were stationed in different portions of the town in range of the college. A portion of Rains' division also got within range of the Federals and skirmished with them. Darkness closed the scene, and both parties rested for the time and prepared for future and greater action. A strong picket force was kept up by each side. The loss of the Federals in killed during the skirmishes of the evening is given by the Chicago Post's cor- respondent, who was in the fight, as 8 killed and 15 wounded. Loss of the State troops unknown, but estimated at 25 killed and wounded. The forces in the skirmishes on the Federal side were commanded by Major Van Horn .* The forces of Gen. Price were a portion of the Lafayette county regiment and other troops of Rains' division.
After nightfall councils of war were held in the camps of both armies. Mulligan sent for his officers and a consultation was had in the college building. There were present Cols. Mulligan, Marshall, *White, Pea- body, +Grover, and +Day, Majors Van Horn and Becker, and Captains Neet, Graham, and Duncan, the latter from Johnson county and who had followed Peabody from Warrensburg. The subordinate officers all expressed it as their opinion that the best thing to do under the circum-
* Col. [Maj ] Van Horn has been for many years editor-in-chief of the Kansas City Journal; and was the member from that district in the 39thi 40th, 41st, and 47th Congress. + White, Grover, and Day were lieutenant colonels.
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
stances was to evacuate the works and the place. White wished to cross the river on the two steamboats lying under the works; Peabody and Marshall wished to go to Sedalia, Peabody promising to go with his regiment in the advance and clear the way. When every other officer had given his views, Mulligan spoke: "Gentlemen," said he, " I have heard what you have to say, but, begad, we'll fight 'em! That's what we enlisted for, and that's what we'll do."
Preparations were instantly begun in accordance with the directions of the plucky commander. The whole force, in details of 500 men was put at work on the intrenchments and worked night and day until they were completed. Mulligan expected re-enforcements every day. Gen. Lane, on the frontier of Kansas, had 2,000 men, and these with a part of Pope's command under Gen. Sturgis, and a large portion of Jeff. C. Davis' at Jefferson City, were disposable for the relief of Lexington, toward which point they were directed and expected to move as rapidly as possible. On the 13th 'two regiments were ordered from Jefferson City to Lexington, and word of this reached Mulligan. He accordingly enlarged his works to accommodate the expected re-enforcements. He refused to have any wells or cisterns dug at first, saying that the college cisterns would afford sufficient water for the men, and the Missouri river, which his works commanded, would furnish enough for Marshall's cavalry horses. * Major Moore and Captain McNulty, civil engineers, of Mulligan's regi- ment laid out the works.
The same night a conference was held between Gen. Price, Gov. Jack- son, and their subordinate commands. One or two of the officers voted for an immediate assault, but the majority, including Gen. Price, decided that there should be no useless shedding of blood; that the federals need only be surrounded and watched; that their capture was already assured, being now a mere question of time; that Harris' and Green's men from north of the river, as well as Boyd's and Patton's, were on the way and ought to be waited for, and that under no circumstances, except for defense or to prevent the escape of the federals, ought offensive or vigorous ope- rations to be conducted. " We've got 'em, dead sure," said " Old Pap" to his officers. " All we have to do is to watch 'em."
The next morning a smart skirmish was had in the vicinity of the fort. The state troops were repulsed. Only about 300 were engaged on either side. This fighting was done on the side of the state troops by the Lafay- ette regiment and volunteers from elsewhere. Conspicuous among the latter for gallantry, and reckless in his exposure of himself, was Col. John
*Maj. Neet, of Lexington, says a well was afterwards dug ninety-seven feet deep, one or two hundred feet north of the college building, without finding water, and the hole was filled with dead horses, then covered with dirt again. In Col. Mulligan's speech at Detroit, Mich., Nov. 29th, he said: "The night of the 19th two wells were ordered to be dug. We took a ravine, and expected to reach water in about thirty hours."
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
W. Reid, formerly of Lexington, then of Jackson county, and a member of the federal congress. At the close of the fight, the federals sent a detail which burned the residence of Thos. B. Wallace, Esq., a union man. The house had been occupied by some sharp-shooters, who were picking off the federals constantly. After this the state troops retired to the fair grounds and the federals to their works, to improve which they instantly began.
From this on for five days the situation at Lexington was a singular one. Both the federal and state forces were occupants of the town at the same time. Price's army was encamped at the fair grounds, where Routt had been; Mulligan and his men were on college hill, where Becker had been. Detachments from each side would go into the town, meet and exchange shots and then retire. Col. Elliott and the Lafayette county regiment were active in service. On one occasion the colonel himself, at long range, shot a federal soldier.
From the 13th to the 18th of September there was constant preparation going on and daily rencontres. Gen. Price was waiting for his re-inforce- ments from the north side of the river and also for the arrival of all of his ammunition wagons and munitions of war from Springfield, and closing around the federals. In the meanwhile Mulligan was fortifying and pre- paring to receive his visitors rather warmly when they should come. In addition to his fortifications he constructed pits to throw into confusion the enemy's forces .if they should attempt to charge, and also constructed mines, stripping the college building and the boarding house of their water pipes in which to lay his fuses, having none of the regular sorts provided. And Mulligan, too, was confidently expecting re-enforcements. Day after day his officers looked anxiously across the river into the wide bottom lands opposite, in hope to see Sturges' column approaching to their relief, or listened for sounds of combat from the southeast, announc- ing the approach of Jeff. C. Davis, from that direction. At last a small column was observed with a good field-glass some four or five miles across the river. This was Gen. Sturgis, with eleven hundred men of the 27th and 39th Ohio volunteers, referred to in Gen. Pope's dispatch to Fremont. But Gen. Parsons lay between him and the river with 3,000 confederate troops, and Sturgis therefore retreated to Richmond. See article headed " Gen. Sturgis' March for Lexington."
Re-inforcements had been ordered from Lexington by Gen. Fremont from Gen. Pope. The latter had telegraphed Fremont from Palmyra on the 16th :
The troops I sent to Lexington will be there .the day after to-morrow
*Lieut. McNulty, an old foundryman, and an officer in Col. Marshall's cavalry regiment took possession of Morrison's foundry and cast cannon balls until Price got possession of the city. He succeeded in making 150 six pound balls before being driven into the fort.
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HISTORY OF LAYFAETTE COUNTY.
(the 18th), and consist of two full regiments of infantry, four pieces of artillery, and 150 irregular horse. These, with the two Ohio regiments which will reach there on Thursday, will make a re-enforcement of nearly 4,000 men and four pieces of artillery.
But no part of these re-enforcements ever reached Mulligan, nor did any come from any quarter.
On the morning of the 13th of September, the reports of the company commanders of Mulligan's troops showed that there were present for duty 2,780 officers and men, with 24 sick and wounded in the hospital. The strength of Gen. Price's forces can only be approximated. Rations were issued to twenty thousand men, as reported by Col. Ben. Elliott to the writer hereof. The commissary general of the Missouri army, then (and now) in Lexington, refuses to furnish any information. No sooner, how- ever, did the news get abroad that the "Yankees were surrounded " at Lexington, and the news traveled fast, than recruits flocked in from every quarter, and it is probable that 23,000 men took a part more or less con- spicuous in the conflict on the side of the state.
THE BLUE MILLS RENCONTRE.
On the 17th a brilliant little victory was won at Blue Mills landing, on the Clay county side of the river, by the forces of Colonels Boyd and Pat- ton, principally from northwest Missouri and on their way to join Gen. Price. The state guard troops who were crossing at Blue Mills consisted of 4,400 men. Gen. D. R. Atchison's report to Gen. Price, says they were, one regiment of infantry under Col. Saunders, and one under Col. Jeff. Patton; one regiment of cavalry under Col. Wilfley, and one battalion under Col. Childs; a battalion of infantry and artillery under Col. Boyd, embracing Capt. Kelly's battery of four guns; and a small force under Col. Cundiff.
Gen. Pope, under orders from Fremont, had telegraphed Lieut. Col. Scott, at Cameron, on the Hannibal & St. Joe railroad in Clinton county, and to Col. Giles F. Smith, at St. Joseph, to march to Liberty, in Clay county, and there join their forces and intercept the rebel troops that had left St. Joseph, September 12th, to join Price at Lexington. A later order was sent to Col. Smith, that if they failed to intercept the rebel troops, then to march on to Lexington; but Col. Smith had already gone when this order came, and it never reached him. Lieut. Col. Scott left Cameron with 570 men and one cannon, the 3d Iowa regiment and a few home guards and German artillerists composing the force. Col. Smith's forces consisted of his own regiment, the 16th Illinois, two companies of the 39th Ohio, and four pieces of artillery. (These were the reinforcements which Gen. Pope assured Fremont would reach Lexington September 18th, consisting of "two full regiments of infantry, four pieces of artillery, and 150 irregular horse.") The 3d Iowa, Lieut. Col. Scott's command
346
HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
reached Liberty, and not finding the Illinois men there, and learning that the "rebels " were nearly at the river, where they were prepared to cross, set out after them, Gen. D. R. Atchison had been sent by Gen. Price to hurry forward the reinforcements. He arrived at the landing, and learn- ing that the federals were following Boyd's and Patton's men, he ordered an ambush to be laid, into which the Iowans rushed and were promptly and thoroughly defeated, losing forty or fifty men, while the Missourians lost not more than a dozen. Boyd's and Patton's men (among whom it is said were a battalion of Harris' division) crossed the river and all arrived at Lexington the next day. Capt. Kelly's battery of four guns was with the command.
On the same day of the Blue Mills fight, Gen. Price had completed the investment of the federal fortifications except the side next the river. Rains' division occupied the ground east and northeast of the works, the line stretching as far south as Main street. Parsons' division lay the full length of Main street, [marked North street on city map]. Slack's 4th division joined the left of Parsons' and extended to the river; a portion of this division was in reserve. The next day Harris' division occupied the line along the river front to a junction with Rains' division. Bledsoe's battery, commanded at first by Emmett McDonald, of St. Louis, and on the last day by Bledsoe himself, was east and northeast of the fort .* Guibor's battery was at work from different positions in the town, usually at street crossings. Congreve Jackson's force, of Clark's division, and Gen. Steen's division were considered reserves, but were actively engaged at times. Gen. McBride's division also supported and acted with Harris'. Kelley's battery was on the left of the line, along the river, and on the last day was in position northeast of the Anderson house. Kneisley's battery accompanied Harris' division in its different movements.
A demand was made upon Mulligan for surrender, but he returned the reply: " If you want us, you must take us." Thereupon operations be- gan in earnest. A heavy and almost continuous fire was opened on Mulligan's position, from the artillery and from every description of smaller firearms. Old long-barreled squirrel and hunting rifles were em- ployed by the newly recruited state-rights men who did good execution with them as sharpshooters. They crawled up the gullies and ravines to within a few dozen yards of the Federal intrenchments and, following the . fashion at Donnybrook fair, wherever they saw a head they hit it-if it were the head of a Federal. Old shot-guns were also employed by some; others used revolvers when they could, and still others muskets. Parsons' division lay along the sidewalks on Main street. The houses thereon had
*Bledsoe's battery was planted at west front of Judge Tutt's residence, part of the time; and Mrs. Tutt informs us that three fruit trees in their yard were shot off by the federal cannon; one ball smashed through her kitchen and into the main house; and one man was killed at her north doorway.
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
been for the most part vacated by the residents. The soldiers ascended to the upper stories and fired from the windows, often sitting down in easy chairs in the intervals between firing, and taking things easy and luxuri- ously. Not always, however, did these men have such comfortable rifle- pits as they had at Lexington.
And now the people came in from all parts of this portion of the State. Old men and boys gathered from the surrounding counties with arms in their hands and crept up and took a pop or two at the " Yankees " in the breastworks. Indeed, men of all ages, citizens, not soldiers, did the same. Many men brought their wives with them to see the "sport " of a battle! Some of the visitors rode in carriages, and the occasion seemed to be re- garded as a sort of a pic-nic, or holiday affair.
On the 18th, about noon, Col. Rives moved down the river and cap- tured the steamboat and the ferry-boat. He had assistance from Mc- Brides', Slack's and Stein's divisions. Major Becker, who commanded two companies of Federals that were in a lunette breastwork guarding the boats, beat a hasty retreat to the main fortifications, and Harris' men were soon half way up the bluff and popping away at the now completely cooped up Federals. The capture of the boats and the river front was an important one and greeted with enthusiastic cheers by men of all divisions of the State troops.
THE HOSPITAL EPISODE.
The Federals had occupied as a hospital the then magnificent residence of Oliver Anderson, Esq., a two-and-a-half story brick building, down the slope about twenty rods west from the outer line of their intrenchments [See diagram,] and several hundred rods from the " Masonic College." On top of this building there was a yellow flag displayed, marking it as a hos- pital, and in it were 24 sick and 96 wounded, according to Mulligan's re- port. The hospital was in charge of Dr. Cooley (now of Kansas City) as Surgeon and Rev. Father Butler, a Catholic priest, who was the Chap- lain of Mulligan's regiment. On Wednesday, September 18th, this hos- pital building was captured by the State troops, the reasons for which are given by Brigadier General Thomas A. Harris in his official report made to Gen. Price immediately after the close of the siege. At the time of the Lexington battle there was no newspaper being published in the city; the Lexington Express had been suspended, but its printing material was in the custody of Ethan Allen, Esq., now business manager of the Lexing- ton Intelligencer printing establishment. And immediately after the bat- tle Mr. Allen printed two sheets or circulars, headed " Official Bultetin- Extra," containing the official reports Generals Price, Parsons, McBride, Harris, Rains, Stein; Colonels Rives, Jackson, Hughes; Lieut. Col. Boyd and Major Winston. And from this document we copy what Gen. Harris, in his report to Gen. Price, says about the hospital matter, as follows:
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
GEN. HARRIS' OFFICIAL REPORT.
At 11:15 o'clock I received the order from yourself in person to move my command along the bank of the river to the support of General McBride's command, and Gen. Slack's division under command of Col. Rives. At the same time you gave me instructions to capture the brick house, outside the enemy's lines of defense, known as the Anderson house, or hospital, provided, that if upon my arrival there I was of opinion that I could carry it without too great a loss. * *. Upon my reaching the point known as the hospital, I dismounted and ascended the hill on foot. On my arri- val I found Col. Rives' command supported by a portion of Lt. Col. Hull's and Major Milton's (cavalry) command of my division. From a personal inspection of the position occupied by the hospital, I became sat- isfied that it was invaluable to me as a point of annoyance and masque for approach to the enemy. [See diagram.] I at the same time received your communication as to the result of your reconnoisance through your glass. I, therefore, immediately ordered an assault upon the position, in which I was promptly and gallantly seconded by Col. Rives and his command, together with Lt. Col. Hull and Major Milton, and their commands of my own divison. The hospital was promptly carried and occupied by our troops; but during the evening the enemy retook it and were after- ward driven out again by our men with some loss. [The state troops first captured the hospital about noon, or between 12 and 1 o'clock. About 2 or 3 o'clock it was retaken by Mulligan's men; and about 4 or 5 o'clock was charged upon and captured a second time by the state troops, and thereafter held by them.]
Thus it will be seen that Gen. Price and Gen. Harris planned and ordered the capture of the Anderson house or hospital, because as Gen. Harris says, "it was invaluable to me as a point of annoyance and masque for approach of the enemy," a fact which will be seen at a glance by con- sulting the diagram of the position printed on page 350. [The map of the battle of Lexington, given in Greeley's American Conflict, Vol. I, p. 586, is so ridiculously inaccurate that it is a perfect burlesque.]
This hospital matter has been much animadvered upon by partisan writers on both sides. Col. Mulligan assumed that the confederates were guilty of a breach of civilized warfare in firing on a hospital; and, conse- quently when his men retook the building, having this belief firmly fixed in their minds, they gave no quarter, but killed every armed man caught in the building. Some of the minor confederate officers seemed to labor under the same impression, and claimed as an excuse or justification for the capture, that the federals had fired upon them from inside the build- ing; but this was positively denied at the time by the surgeon, Dr. Cooley, and the priest, Father Butler, who were in the hospital, and by Major Meet, Mr. H. Boothman, and others, still living in Lexington, who were at the time in that part of the entrenchment nearest the hospital. But, aside from this, the official report of Gen. Harris, made at the time, shows that there was no such reason for the capture; but that it was deliberately planned and ordered as a rightful military movement. The federals had
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
no military right to expect that a strategic position so important to their opponents as the Anderson house and premises manifestly was, would or should be left in their quiet possession merely because they had seen fit to use some part of it for hospital purposes. Nevertheless, that first false scent has been followed and barked after for twenty years-the federals erroneously claiming an unjustifiable attack on the hospital, and the con- federates erroneously claiming that they were first fired on by federals from inside the building, and that for that reason the attack was made.
Here is what Pollard's southern history, page, 165, says about it:
As a detachment of the Missouri troops, under command of Col. Rives, ยท were passing down the bank of the river to capture a steamboat lying under the enemy's guns, a fire was opened upon him from a building known as Anderson's house, standing on the summit of the bluff, and des- ignated as a hospital by the white flag over it. There were in the build- ing at the time, twenty-four, sick; but it contained also a large body of armed soldiers. Indignant at the perfidy which directed this attack, sev- eral companies from Gen. Harris, and the fourth division, rushed up the bank, leaped over every barrier and speedily overpowered the garrison.
Compare this with Gen. Harris' report, and see how widely they differ. Gen. Harris was the man who planned and ordered the movement, and he certainly ought to know best about it.
The truth of history in this matter, without any partisan coloring, is simply this: When the first capture of the hospital occurred, which was between 12 and 1 o'clock, the federals did not have an armed man in the building; and on the other hand, it was not at all necessary to say they did, in order to justify Gen. Harris' tactics. He did not assault the hospital, but its capture was a necessary incident of any success he might have in assaulting that part of the federal line. There were confederate sharpshoot- ers lying under the edge of the banks of a dug-down carriage-way within eighty feet of the hospital building (see diagram, at E); and as soon as it became known that a charge was going to be made on the hospital front of the federal works, and even before the assaulting column got in motion, some of these sharpshooters, probably not belonging to any command, had ran across that eighty feet space and up into the building, and commenced firing down on the federals from the upper windows. Three eye witnesses of this movement have informed us that it was not over thirty seconds from the moment they started on the run till they were in the building and firing from the windows .* It was this firing which was seen by some of the confederate troops as they rushed forward in the regular assaulting column; but not knowing anything about that bit of independent and suc- cessful strategy which the sharpshooters had played on their own hook,
* "The confederates obtained possession of Col. Anderson's house and instantly filled it with their sharp-shooters. * * * This was only some thirty or forty yards from the [Federal] outer line of entrenchments."-St. Louis Republican report.
J
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
these troops in line very naturally supposed that the firing from the win- dows was by federals, and so reported. This state of things shows plainly enough how it happened that such contrary assertions were positively made in regard to this matter; and both sides can now afford to accept the truth of it-that the federals did not perfidiously use a hospital building as a garrison, as Pollard asserts; and the confederates did not wantonly assault a hospital, as Col. Mulligan and the federal writers claimed.
The following diagram is given to make the matter more intelligible:
DIAGRAM OF THE HOSPITAL POSITION.
D
c
1
8
B
1
8
Hospital
A
O
.
Spring
8
.
E
8
8
EXPLANATION .- "A" is the Anderson house, or hospital. "B" is a smaller brick house back of it. "C" was an outlying, low earthwork, projecting down nearly into the ravine represented by the dot line, while the enclosed earthwork was built up around the head of the ravine, as shown by the plain line. "D" was the sally-port in the earthworks, and was about 100 yards from the hospital. "E" was a canal- like carriage-way leading up to the house, and in which the sharpshooters lay secure. only about 80 feet from the front door of the hospital, "A." These marks represent federal picket guard stations with a little dirt thrown up for protection from bullets. The dotted line, s s s, shows a deep gorge or ravine which was full of confederate sharpshooters; they found good shelter under its steep banks, as marked 8 8 8.
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