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 40
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Thus it will be seen that Col. Singleton's claim seems to be best authen- ticated, while Col. Wingo's, according to the dates given, was the first hemp-bale suggestion, in point of time, but does not appear to have ever reached Gen. Price at all. And the foregoing citations serve well to show how very difficult it is to obtain authentic and reliable information. A good historian has to be sheriff, prosecuting attorney, defendant's counsel, judge and jury, all within himself, before he can thoroughly gather and properly analyze the testimony and the facts, and sift out the bottom truth of the whole matter. And that is what we have done with regard to disputed points concerning the battle of Lexington.
In Gen. Harris' official report to Gen. Price, after the battle, he says:
"I directed Capt. Geo. A. Turner, of my staff, to request of you 132 bales of hemp, which you promptly accorded. * * I directed the bales to be wet in the river to protect them against the casualties of fire of our troops and of the enemy. But it was soon found that the wetting so materially increased the weight as to prevent our men in their exhausted condition from rolling it to the crest of the hill; I then adopted the idea of wetting the hemp after it had been transported to its position. In the arduous and extremely trying duty of transporting the hemp, I cannot
·
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neglect to recognize the action and cordial co-operation of the commands of Colonels Rives and Hughs, Majors Winston and Thornton, Captains Mitchell, Grooms and Spratt, and Adjutant Fleury, of Gen'l Stein's divi- sion, Major Peaches, of Gen. Clark's division, and Major Welton, and officers and men of Gen. McBride's division. * At 8 o'clock A. M., * on the 20th inst., I ordered up additional hemp bales to extend the defences at the position occupied by Col. Green and Lieut. Cols. Hull and Brace. I directed them to be used as portable breastworks, to be pushed forward towards the enemy's lines in parallel approaches. The disclosure of the hemp defences or approaches as they might be called, elicited the obsti- nate resentment of the enemy, who was profuse in his bestowals of round and grape shot, and was not at all economical of his minnie balls. But our men, gallantly led by their officers, continued to approach the enemy, pouring in upon him a most destructive fire until about 2 o'clock, P. M., when he surrendered."
Col. Hughes in his official report says:
" On the morning of the 19th, we rose from our 'bivouac' upon the hills to renew the attack. This day we continued the fighting vigorously all day, holding possession of the hospital buildings, and throwing large wings from both sides of the house, built up of bales of hemp saturated with water, to keep them from taking fire. These portable hemp bales were extended, like the wings of a partridge net, so as to cover and pro- tect several hundred men at a time, and a most terrible and galling and deadly fire was kept up from them upon the works of the enemy by my men. I divided my forces into reliefs and kept some 300 of them pour- ing in a heavy fire incessantly upon the enemy, supplying the places of the weary with fresh troops. On the night of the 19th we enlarged and advanced our defensive works very near to- the enemy's entrenchments, and at day break opened upon their line with most fatal effect. During the night we captured several of the enemy who were seeking for water, outside the fortifications. Some thirty of the enemy were killed by the men under my command, in their effort to procure water at the hospital well and spring near by."
THE LEXINGTON BANK'S WAR MONEY.
Upon the capture of Mulligan the coin and currency taken from the Lexington bank were anxiously inquired after. As before stated, the money had been buried under Col. Mulligan's tent in the fort. [See article headed "Federal Seizure of the Lexington Bank."] It was resur- rected and every dollar of the gold delivered up to Gen. Price. Upon tak- ing up the currency, which had been placed in tin boxes or cases and sealed, one of the boxes designated as "No. 3," was found to have been cut open, "as if a sword, or bowie-knife, or hatchet had been used," the
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report says, and $15,000 in notes of the bank was missing. A memo- randum was made of the fact, now on file in the bank of Wentworth & Morrison. Upon representations of all the facts in the ease to Gov. Jack- son and Gen. Price they ordered all the money, gold and paper, to be returned to the bank, but in a few days made a demand upon the bank for a portion of the gold themselves.
In the previous March the legislature of Missouri had passed an act for the relief of certain banks of the State, which was in effect to allow of their suspension, conditioned upon their loaning to the State on its bonds a certain portion of their funds. These bonds were to be issued by the treasurer and signed by the secretary of State and the governor. At the time of the capture of Lexington the State convention of Missouri had met at Jefferson City, deposed Gov .Jackson, Lieut. Gov. Reynolds, and secretary Massey, and installed in their places, Hamilton R. Gamble, Wil- lard P. Hall, and Mordecai Oliver.
September 30, ten days after Mulligan's surrender, Gov. Jackson addressed the following communication to the officers of the bank:
LEXINGTON, Mo., Sept. 30, 1861.
To the President and Directors of the Farmers' Bank at Lexington:
GENTLEMEN :- From the inability of the treasurer of State (caused by his arrest by the troops of the Federal army . in this State) to make the proper demand of your bank for the money due by the bank to the State, I, Claiborne F. Jackson, governor of the State of Missouri, do hereby demand of your bank the amount of money due by the bank to the State, for and on account of the State, and, if not granted, I am prepared to enforce the demand.
[Signed.]
C. F. JACKSON.
As the money so demanded was in gold amounting to $37,377, and as it seemed probable that none of it would ever be restored, the bank made the following protest :
* * * "To which said demand, and the compliance of this board there- with, this board do here protest-as well against the compliance there- with as against the right of the said C. F. Jackson to demand the same; but, being satisfied that said demand will be enforced by military power, it is deemed advisable to comply with said demand. Thereupon it is ordered by the board that the cashier pay to said C. F. Jackson the sum of $37,377.20, the amount which the back is required to loan the State of Missouri, and that he take said Jackson's receipt therefor together with his agreement to furnish this bank the bonds of the State of Missouri therefor.
And so the sum named, $37, 377.20, in good gold dollars, passed from the bank into Gov. Jackson's State treasury, and, of course, not one dol- lar of it ever was returned. The bank charged the amount up to profit and loss (or to patriotism!) and so the account stands to this day.
Afterward the Gamble or Union State government made demand for the like sum, which was paid and bonds of the State issued therefor, pur-
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suant to the act of March 18, 1861, and these bonds were redeemed at their face when due.
A report gained much credence that the money stolen by Mulligan's men was in gold coin amounting to many thousands of dollars, and that it was buried in a certain portion of the fortifications, and not a dollar ever returned. This led to many secret searches for the hidden treasure by divers covetous and credulous persons, whose search and efforts were, it is needless to say, fruitless. Long after the war a man came all the way from Kentucky to dig for the buried "gold," which he had been informed had been buried so many feet from a certain hackberry tree.
GEN. STURGIS' MARCH FOR LEXINGTON.
Gen. Fremont ordered Gen. Pope to re-inforce Mulligan at Lexington, and Pope telegraphed him from Palmyra on the 16th, that he had sent two full regiments of infantry, four pieces of artillery and 150 cavalry, which would reach Lexington Sept. 18th. (See article headed “ The Blue Mills Rencontre.") Also that he had sent forward two Ohio regiments which would reach there on the 19th; this latter was Gen. Sturgis' com- mand.
Sturgis was stationed at Macon City, on the Hannibal and St Joe rail- road, where he received Gen. Pope's order on Monday, Sept. 16th, to take two regiments and march to the relief of Lexington. On Tuesday he arrived by rail at Utica, in Livingston county, about forty-five miles by wagon road from Lexington. He had nine companies of the 27th Ohio volunteer infantry, under Col. Fuller, and five companies of the 39th Ohio -about eleven hundred men in all, but no artillery or cavalry. He had considerable difficulty in getting horses and wagons to carry their camp equippage, ammunition and rations, but succeeded in getting under way and camping ten miles south of Utica that night, while he sent a messen- ger forward with a note for Mulligan sewed inside of his coat lining. This messenger was captured Wednesday by bushwhackers, as a suspicious character, and sent that night to Gen. Price, at Lexington, where he was rigidly searched, and the note to Mulligan being found, he was lodged in the jail. Thursday morning Gen. Price issued orders to meet the case, which are explained by Gen. Parsons' official report, wherein he says:
On the next morning, Thursday, Sept. 19th, I received your order to march with my whole division to the river. On arriving at the bank I ascertained that it was your desire that I should cross the river with a force of 3,000 men to repel the reinforcements of the enemy advancing from that quarter. After crossing over I ascertained that the enemy had heard of my approach and retired in confusion, leaving two hundred of their tents upon the road."
Col. Congreve Jackson's official report shows that his command, the 3d
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division, also crossed the river that morning, Sept. 19th, to "resist the advance of reinforcements for the enemy under command of Gen. Stur- gis."
Let us now return to Gen. Sturgis. Wednesday morning he pushed on, and during the day frequently heard the cannonading .at Lexington. His men were all new recruits, had never heard the whiz of a hostile bul- let, and this was their first march; the day was extremely warm, and many of them fagged out, so that when night came they had only marched twenty miles, being now within fifteen miles of Lexington, where they could plainly hear the roar of cannon; and at the very moment when Stur- gis was fondly dreaming that his messenger had reached Mulligan and given good cheer to the beseiged, Gen. Price was ripping open that mes- senger's coat and finding the tell-tale missive intended for his federal oppo- nent. Thursday morning Sturgis' men were roused up at 1 o'clock to snatch their coffee and hard-tack, and prepare to march. He ordered the tents and all dispensible baggage to be left at a house on the roadside and the wagons thus released to be used for carrying those who could not march and carry their heavy musket and knapsacks, so that the whole command might push on as rapidly as possible toward Lexington. When he had got into Ray county and within about five miles of Lexington, he learned for the first time how matters stood there-that Mulligan was sur- rounded, his water supply cut off, his boats all captured, and 3000 troops thrown across the river to intercept and capture these 1,100 raw reinforce- ments. As soon as Sturgis could satisfy himself that he was correctly informed, at least as to the main facts, he immediately retreated by way of Richmond to Liberty Landing, thence by steamboat to Fort Leaven- worth. Meanwhile Gen. Parsons re-crossed the river with his command in time to take part in the continuous fighting kept up that afternoon.
BATTLE ITEMS.
A careful reckoning of the killed and wounded mentioned in the official reports of nine different Confederate officers gives a total of 38 killed and 150 wounded .* This is supposed to have included only those who were enrolled as soldiers, and whose absences were thus accounted for at roll- call. The number of killed and wounded among the thousands who took part in this battle but were not enlisted soldiers, can never be ascertained: but there is no reason to doubt that the killed and wounded among this class were quite as many as among the enrolled men.
On the Federal side, of course they were broken up and scattered so that they never had a chance to made out any roll-call reports. Their loss is given in the histories at 40 killed, and 120 wounded, which is prob-
* Gen. Price's official report said 25 killed and 75 wounded ; but additional reports of his officers came in after his report was written-and Mr. Allen printed them all at the old Lexington Express office.
1
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ably not far from correct, as they knew just how many they had under Mulligan's command, and the Confederates kept a reckoning of the num- ber of prisoners paroled. The Federal dead were buried within their earthworks; but the bodies were afterward dug up and removed to the National cemetery at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
The number of cannon employed on each side has been'a question of dispute. As nearly as we can make out from the various official reports, the Confederates had
Bledsoe's battery . 4 guns
Clark's 2
.
Guibor's . 4
Kelly's
. 4 66
Kneisby's
.2
This gives a total of 16 guns, and is believed to be all they had, although some of the Federal reports put the number at twenty.
On the Federal side there were-
Waldschmidt's battery, with two brass six-pounders, from St. Joseph.
Adams' battery, with three iron six-pounders; this battery came with Mulligan from Jefferson City.
Pirner's battery,* with two iron six-pounders; one of these had been brought here from the U. S. arsenal at Liberty, by H. M. Bledsoe and Curtis Wallace. (See article headed " The First Troops Raised.") The other was one of the two six-pounders which had been cast at Morrison's foundry, its companion piece being at this time with Bledsoe's battery on the Confederate side. (See article headed " Lafayette Men's First Battle.") Pirner who also had two brass mortars, for throwing 6-inch spherical shells. For these he had forty shells, which were soon disposed of, and then the mortars were " played out."
All the cannon balls they had were what Lieut. McNulty, an iron moulder who was in Marshall's cavalry regiment, had made at Morri- son's foundry. The supply was short, and the men took pains every day to collect all the Confederate cannon balls which lodged anywhere within the earthworks, and the cannoneers would shoot them back again, for they had plenty of powder. Twenty-eight Confederate balls were thus collected and shot back during one day. The artillerymen made their own cartridges by hand at night.
E. Winsor, Esq., now has in his office a large, heavy iron safe which stood in the back part (north) of a business house on Main street during the battle; and a cannon ball from the Federal fort plunged through two walls of the safe, although its iron platings were & of an inch thick, inter-
*C. M. Pirner, then and still a resident of Lexington-druggist, and coal mine operator. * In his speech at Detroit, Nov. 29, Col. Mulligan said: "The men made cartridges in the cellar of the college building, and cast 150 rounds of shot for the guns at the foundries of Lexington ."
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
bedded with asbestos. And Mr. Winsor's residence was struck with a cannon ball, which passed through the back door and through the base- ment floor into the ground.
One of Mulligan's men wrote to a Chicago paper: "Of the ladies of Lexington it is to be said in their praise that they did everything in their power to relieve the sufferings of our wounded, many of whom, who were unabled to be moved, they received into their houses." He also writes that Gov. Jackson made a speech to the prisoners: "He said we had no business in Missouri; that he would take care of that state, without our assistance, and that we had better go home and mind our own business." He says Gen. Price said to them, "you were the hardest troops to cap- ture I have ever seen." Indeed, the Federal soldiers came to have a great admiration for "old Pap " Price, and his men did also for Mulligan. (See under Events of 1864-" Ladies Union Aid Society.")
During the siege some of the Confederates went into the great beer vault known as " Baehr's Cave," on Franklin street, tapped some of the gigantic casks or tanks of beer stored away there in the cool darkness under ground to "ripen; " they drank all they wanted and then went out, leaving the beer still running. But one fellow, who hadn't got enough yet, lingered behind, and probably got obliviously drunk and laid down, for he was afterwards found lying in the bottom of the vault with beer a foot deep over him-drowned in the flood of beer.
POETRY ON THE LEXINGTON BATTLE.
A few weeks after the battle of Lexington the New York Evening Post, edited by our great American poet, Wm. Cullen Bryant, contained a literary effusion which we here quote:
" The following lines were written by a lady of Stockbridge, Conn., and commemorate an incident very touching and beautiful, which rests upon the best authority, and which ought to be known. Col. Mulligan refused his parole at Lexington, and his wife resolved to share his captivity. Accordingly she left her infant, fourteen months old, in the care of one of the strongest secessionist women in the town. That woman assumed the charge of the little child, and dressed it in the captured American flag. (?)
The fight had ceased! The cannon's roar Was silent on Missouri's shore; The leader and his band so brave Had turned from walls they could not save.
When voice was heard of sore lament, A mother o'er her baby bent, And fast the bitter tears were shed That fell upon his little head:
K
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
"Thy father yields his post and sword, But rebels shall not have his 'word'; In prison rather ling'ring lie, Than yield the right to fight and die.
" And faithful love shall follow there, His hard captivity to share; But thee, my boy! such fate for thee! Like fettered cherub thus to be!
" To pine in loathesome, poisoned air, To dwell in dungeon damp and bare, Oh! better far for thee, my blest, Beneath the daisy turf to rest."
The words her lips are scarcely past When round her, arms are kindly cast; A foeman's wife with pitying face, The mother and the child embrace.
With glowing cheek, with brimming eyes, " Give me thy son!" she earnest cries,
" And haste thee! for the moments press- They spare thee but a brief caress!"
She's gone, and other care shall shield The all-unconcious, happy child; Who laughs when glittering foemen come, And shouts at roll of hostile drum.
But still his friend with instinct true Has robed him in his red and blue! And-mantle fit !- has o'er him thrown The flag 'neath which the boy was born!
-N. Y. Evening Post.
It seems a pity to spoil so much poetry and fine sentiment; but the fact is, that "fettered cherub, " " thee, my boy, " etc., wasn't a boy at all, but a nice little girl baby all the time; and she is now Miss Marion Mulligan, of Chicago, one of the staff writers for the Chicago Times. Mrs. Dr. Boulware says that " dressing it in the captured American flag " was not true; but Mrs. Hunter did trim the child's dress so as to show red, white and blue colors. The little girl was then about two years old.
Col. Mulligan, after his release, reorganized his regiment and was sent east, where he took part in several battles or skirmishes in western and northern Virginia. July 24th, 1864, he was wounded at the battle of Kernstown, near Winchester, and died of his wounds two days there -. after. Mulligan was born in Utica, N. Y., June 26th, 1830. His wife's brother, Lieut. James H. Nugent, was killed while carrying him off the
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HISTORY OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY.
field. Mrs. Mulligan was presented with a $5,000 house and $2,500 in money by her husband's admirers in Chicago.
The following is a part of a camp-fire song which was composed and sung by the Federal soldiers to the tune of "Happy Land of Canaan."
Col. Mulligan's brigade They were never yet afraid, Fought at Lexington five days without complaining; Fed the rebels shell and shot, Till they out of water got,
Then surrendered up their happy land of Canaan.
There's the " Dutch Company, " Who are fighting for the free,
When in battle every nerve they are straining; When it comes to run away, They will tell you, " nix furstay !" They're an honor to our happy land of Canaan.
We did not find any other. poetic effusions on this battle. RECAPTURE OF LEXINGTON .- 1861 AND 1864.
When Gen. Price marched south with his army after the battle of Lex- ington he left a small force to hold the place and guard the prisoners. On the morning of October 16, (1861), a force of 220 union cavalry called, "First squadron prairie scouts," under command of Maj. Frank J. White, dashed into Lexington, and held possession of it thirty-six hours. They released Col. White, Col. Grover, and twelve other wounded union pris- oners, and sent them on the steamboat "Sioux City" to St. Louis. [Another account says it was the steam boat "Florence" ( ?. )] Maj. White's official report says: "We made from sixty to seventy prisoners; took sixty stand of arms, twenty-five horses, two steam ferry boats, a quantity of flour and provisions, a large rebel flag, and other articles of less value. After administering the oath of allegiance to our prisoners we released them."
Some historical items of capture were, Gen. Price's ambulance, Col. Mulligan's saddle, and the old national flag which belonged to the state house at Jefferson City, but had been taken to Lexington by Gov. Jack- son. These troops then left the place and went to Warrensburg, and the confederates again took possession of Lexington.
GEN. PRICE'S RAID IN 1864.
Here we copy from Edwards history, page 419:
Before Gen. Price's arrival in the vicinity, [Oct. 1864] Lexington had been occupied by Capt. Geo. S. Rathbern, leading a large party of officers, sent by Gen. Shelby, from Sulphur Rock, Arkansas, on recruiting service. Capt. Rathbern took quiet possession, issued proclamation assuring to the citizens, protection, and during his administration of affairs used every exer-
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tion to quiet the people, and was earnest and strenuous in his efforts to preserve life and property. The advance of Lane's forces [federal] obliged him to retreat, and he rejoined his regiment to render as import- ant services in the field as he had rendered to his fellow citizens of Lafay- ette county. Lexington held out many fair hands and offered many faces rarer than others are, inviting the army to linger about its hospitable man- sions and its garnered delicacies; but a stronger power than love of pleas- ure urged Gen. Price forward-it was not physical but moral fear.
Again, page 423; "So close were the federals to the rear of Gen. Price's army after it left Lexington, about 12 o'clock the day following the night of its capture, that when some of Shelby's soldiers crossed there from the opposite side (absent on recruiting service) they were picked up by the advance of the enemy holding the city. Capt. W. Moorman, Tyler Floyd, and Ed. Stafford fell into their hands here. With Capt. Moorman's party were taken six other confederates who were dressed in blue clothing. Rosecrans' general order required their death, and they were taken out and instantly killed."
Edwards says on page 418, previous to the above: "Gen. Lane com- ing down from Leavenworth, had occupied Lexington in force, with every indication of giving battle." Gen. Pleasanton had organized a large force of federal cavalry to pursue Price, and in his official report- Pleasanton says: "I assumed the command of this army, and by forced marches (from Jefferson City), came to Lexington on the 21st of October, out of which place Price had driven Gen. Curtis' troops, under Gen. Blunt, that morning. I pushed on the next day to the Little Blue, engaged Price's troops, captured two pieces of cannon and drove them back to the Big Blue, through Independence."
CONFEDERATE BATTERIES AND OTHER TROOPS.
BLEDSOE'S BATTERY.
This was originally a Lafayette county organization, and therefore a sketch of its history properly belongs in this history of Lafayette county, The battery was organized at Lexington, about the middle of June, 1861. in response to Gov. C. F. Jackson's proclamation calling out 50,000 state militia. The officers then were: Hiram M. Bledsoe, captain; Curtis O. Wallace, 1st lieutenant; Charles Higgins, 2d lieutenant; Frank S. Trigg, 3d lieutenant. The names of other members of the battery at this time, we have not been able to ascertain.
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