USA > Missouri > Saline County > History of Saline County, Missouri > Part 31
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FIRST ORGANIZATION OF MILITARY COMPANIES.
On the same day of this meeting, May 13, the organization of the "Saline Jackson Guards" was completed at Marshall, and there was a parade of the company and an election of officers. John S. Marmaduke, formerly of the Federal army, was chosen captain; L. J. Gaines first lieu- tenant; Jas. H. Eakin second lieutenant, and P. D. Craddock third lieu- tenant. The company numbered 110 men, who were mostly from all parts of the county. This company was organized, pursuant to orders of Gov. Jackson, for state service, and was ordered to Jefferson City for purposes of drill and other work. It was mustered in the preceding day by Col. Clark, the district inspector.
The ladies of Marshall presented, through Miss Sue Isaacs, a large and
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beautiful flag to this company, on the day previous to its departure for Jefferson City (Wednesday, May 15). This flag was designed by and con- structed under the direction of Mrs. John S. Davis, wife of the editor of the Democrat. Its design was the state coat of arms, in blue, on a white field, bound with blue, and finished with blue cord and tassels. It floated over the headquarters of the state troops during their stay at Jefferson City, and the design was afterward adopted by the authorities as the state flag of Missouri. The names of the ladies who made the flag were embroidered in the corners.
Miss Isaacs, on presenting the flag to Capt. Marmaduke, said:
Gentlemen of the Saline Jackson Guards: I have the honor of pre- senting you, in behalf of the ladies of Marshall, with this banner, the emblem of your state, hoping you will receive it as a slight token of the high regard which is entertained by them toward you, for the valor and patriotism you have displayed in the ready willingness to go where your country calls; and while we feel confident that its honor will ever by you be gallantly protected and sustained, we hope that it may be to you in the hour of trial and of battle, an evidence of the interest that will ever be manifested by the ladies of your county in the glorious cause you have so nobly espoused, and which we hope, by the assistance of a Divine Provi- dence (which we invoke), you may be ever as able, as we know you are willing, to maintain.
Captain Marmaduke gracefully received the flag, and made an appro- priate acceptance speech, in true soldier style. Turning to the volunteers, he asked them if they were willing to stand by it, and the loud response was, " We will ! we will!" The Captain then delivered it over to its bearer, Sergeant R. Gaines, who made a very pretty speech, in which, among many other things, he said: "We are called to repel the invasion of our territory and of our liberties as a state, and until that be effected this banner shall float over our contending hosts. It is for you that we fight. The weakness of woman is no defense against the violence of fanaticism. It is to avenge the slaughter of women and children that we take our arms, and our grasps shall not be relaxed, nor our energy abated until the barbarian emissaries of a ruthless tyrant shall be driven beyond our borders. I am proud that to my keeping is committed this banner, and, though it may be shattered and torn in the conflict, you have my pledge that it shall never trail in disgrace; but, as the combat deepens, we will rally in very desperation of energy and proudly bear it aloft in the hour of victory, or compose it about us in the hour of death. It shall ever be found above us or around us!"
The next day the company went in wagons to Sedalia, and from thence to Jefferson City over the Pacific railroad. Upon its arrival at the cap- ital, Capt. Marmaduke was made colonel, and Lieut. Gaines became cap- tain of the company. It was well armed and drilled, and attracted the admiration of all who saw it. It and three other companies from this
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county were present at the first fight at Booneville, June 17, famous as the first fight of any consequence after Ft. Sumter, between Federal and Secession troops-and also famous for the fast time made by some of the state troops (a few of the Saline boys included) in retreating. Indeed, this fight is yet often called from this circumstance, not the Booneville fight, but the "Booneville races."
At the time of the departure of the Jackson Guards for Jefferson City, there were other companies either wholly or partially organized, awaiting marching orders. Some of these were cavalry companies; one was com- manded by Capt. Wm. B. Brown, and was raised in the eastern and north- eastern portion of the county. Another was called the "Saline Mounted Rifles," and was formed chiefly of men from Miami township. T. W. B. Crews was captain, and John C. Barclay, Frank S. Robertson, and O. T. Sims were respectively first, second and third lieutenants. Another was raised near Fairville (then called Fairview), and was commanded by Cap- tain Edward J. Brown. J. H. Irvine, R. T. Hutchinson, and John H. McDaniel were the lieutenants.
To Capt. Wm. B. Brown's company was presented a beautiful flag the next day after the presentation to the Jackson Guards. Miss Ethel Lewis made the presentation speech on the occasion, a very beautiful effort. Capt. Brown, Sergeant Robinson, and Mr. Tompkins responded. The design of this flag was fifteen stars on a blue field in a corner, the remain- der of the banner being white. The ceremonies took place in front of the court house at Marshall.
C. M. Sutherlin, Joseph Elliot, and Richard Durrett were the lieuten- ants of this company, which, it is claimed, was the first cavalry company organized in Saline county.
Capt. Crews himself states that his company was neatly uniformed in gray, and was the first and only uniformed company of Confederates to leave the county.
THE UNION MEN OF SALINE.
Meantime, what were the Union men of Saline county-those who sympathized with "the North," as the Federal government was called- what were they doing? Nothing. Only waiting, watching and hoping. A few only wished to fight against their old neighbors and friends. The rest were waiting to see what time would tell, watching the movements of the Secessionists, and hoping for the best. Some of them, living in the northern part of the county, crossed the river later in the season, and making their way into northern Missouri, joined the Union organizations, known as Home Guards. Others went to Georgetown and joined a company making up in Pettis county, and possibly a few went to Boon- ville and joined Eppstein's battalion, of German Unionists.
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Not until the spring of 1862 was there a full company of Federals organized in the county, Capt. Benj. H. Wilson's company F, 7th cavalry, Missouri state militia, being the first organized at Marshall.
" CAMP MARSHALL."
In July, 1861, a camp of state troops was organized at Robion Springs, a short distance east of Marshall. Here were gathered at one time about 3,000 troops. The camp was under the command of Col. Ed. Price, son of General Sterling Price; and Col. Congreve Jackson, who hadbeen Lieut. Colonel of Doniphan's regiment, on the famous expedition to Mex- ico. Re-enforcements from all parts of the state poured into this camp daily-by squads, by companies, by battalions. From north Missouri, especially, there came quite a number of volunteers, who, for the most part, crossed the river near Brunswick .*
" Camp Marshall," as it was called, was well arranged and quite well equipped with tents and other accommodations for its occupants. Pro- visions and blankets had, for the most part, been furnished by the soldiers themselves, but what was lacking in this particular, was provided by the people of the county, large numbers of whom visited the camp from time to time. The men were mostly mounted, and required not only food for themselves, but forage for their horses.
The camp was under a very rigorous discipline. The organizations were mostly temporary and imperfect, and the men were without any previous military experience. No camp guard was established and the volunteers went where and when they pleased. On one occasion, a squad of men refused to go on a scout down towards Booneville, because it " looked like rain!" Privates fought at fisticuff with their officers, when- ever the latter undertook to enforce obnoxious rules or orders, or attempted to " put on airs."
At Camp Marshall the news of the battle at Wilson creek and the victory won by Price and Mccullough greatly elated the volunteers, who though armed with only such weapons as they could easily obtain, were now more than ever "eager for the fray," and impatient at the delays which kept them in camp away from the enemy. But the bad news was mingled with the good. Col. Geo. W. Allen, a Saline county man, and an aid of Gen. Price, had been killed on the field while bearing an order from his general.
At last the "army " broke up camp and marched away to join Gen. Price's army, which was reached, after an easy march, at Nevada, on September 2d. Thereafter the history of the men who were at Camp Marshall becomes the province of the historian who writes of the civil war in general.
*Bevier's First and Second Missouri Brigades, p. 302.
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HISTORY OF SALINE COUNTY.
FIRST BATTLE OF BOONEVILLE.
This battle (if battle it could fairly be called) was not only the first in which citizens of Saline county were actively engaged, but was also the very first engagement on land between Federal and state troops-the actual beginning of that long and bloody war.
In the spring of 1861, Lieut. John S. Marmaduke of Saline, resigned his commission, and proceeded to raise a company in his native county. Under Gov. Jackson's call for 50,000 state troops on the 13th of June, 1861, this company was immediately received and mustered in. Soon after reaching headquarters, Capt. Marmaduke was elected colonel of a regi- ment composed of his own and other companies. At this time, when the Federal forces under Gen. Lyon were known to be approaching, Gen. Price was sick in bed at his home in Chariton county, the brigadier gen- erals were all in different parts of the state, organizing their commands under the call of the governor, and the state troops at Booneville were commanded by Col. Marmaduke (under Gov. Jackson). They did not number, all told, over eighteen hundred men; and hardly one-third (not over six hundred), of these had any arms at all, and these were mostly armed with shot-guns and no artillery. In the council of war at Booneville both Gov. Jackson and Col. Marmaduke were strongly opposed to giving battle at all, to the well appointed and well disciplined army of from 1,500 to 2,000 men, moving against them under Gen. Lyon. But the raw volunteers, though without discipline, and almost without arms, were full of enthusiasm and fight, and would hear to no counsels of prudence. Col. Marmaduke did all in his power, by arguments that were absolutely unanswerable, to prevent a battle, and to carry his advice, of immediately removing the governor and the troops under his command, to a fixed point in the southwest part of the state, as headquarters and rendezvous. But Gov. Jackson, though convinced that he was right, was overpowered by the zeal and enthusiasm of the raw captains and men, and issued peremp- tory orders to Col. Marmaduke to meet Gen. Lyon and deliver battle.
Marmaduke marched his six hundred half armed troops down six miles below Booneville, and strongly posted them on the bluffs, just where the state road rises from the river bottom and ascends to the bluffs. Here they were encountered by Gen. Lyon with an admirably appointed little army, consisting of regulars, and German volunteer regiments, and a full battery of artillery. The state troops received the first onset of the Fed- erals with a courage and steadiness that proved their metal, and redeemed somewhat the rashness of their former counsels, and none more so than the Saline men, led by Capt. Brown, who had been foremost in the unwise counsels of the previous day. The explosion of nine pound shells from the battery of the enemy was soon, however, too much for them, and they
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fell back into a wheat field on the crest of the bluffs. Here, for half an hour, they stood so steadily and received the Federals with a fire so gall- ing and well sustained, that, what before was a mere skirmish actually assumed the appearance of a battle. But the odds were too great, and the battle was speedily over.
Finding, as he expected, that the Federals were too numerous, too well armed, and too well drilled to be successfully resisted by raw recruits, Col. Marmaduke gave the order to retreat. The state troops had now become fully satisfied that Marmaduke was right in his previous counsels, and the order to retreat was obeyed with a lively vim that has caused this battle to be often designated by the Missourians . themselves, "the Boonville races." It is said that it only took some of the Saline men, who made Marshall their objective point, three hours to reach it, though forty-two miles from the scene of action. The number of killed and wounded was, of course, greatly exaggerated on both sides, at the time. Two men were killed on the Federal side, and nine wounded, none seriously-three also were killed on the side of the state troops and the number of wounded never reported. The Federal forces under Gen. Lyon marched on to Booneville and took quiet possession, the state troops, those of them who had not dispersed for their homes under the impetus of the " races " retired to Syracuse, where they met Gen. Parsons with several pieces of artil- lery, from whence they retreated to the southwest.
Quite a number of the Saline county men who participated in this fight received a great deal of chaffing and teasing on their hasty retreat, as they deserved, but the most, if not all, of them afterward redeemed themselves, on other fields and amid other scenes.
THE "KELLY POWDER."
ยท In the summer and early fall of 1861, a circumstance occurred which was of some importance to Gov. Jackson's troops, and interested many of the citizens of Saline county.
Before the battle of Booneville, and just previous to the abandonment of Jefferson City by Gov. Jackson with the state troops and government, 12,000 kegs of gunpowder were sent off from the capital to Booneville by boat, and from there scattered in wagons through the counties of Cooper, Saline, etc., and there secreted by a detachment under Capt. Kelly of the State Guards. This powder belonged to the state, and about one-half of it was secreted on different farms in Saline, where it remained concealed until it was gradually collected by the Missouri soldiers, nearly all of it passing finally into the service of the Confederacy. It was con- cealed on the farms in every imaginable way, and in curious and unique places, for it was necessary to baffle not only the search of Federal sol- diers, but also the keen and indefatigable curiosity of the negro slaves,
.
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then on every farm, and who were continually on the watch, and prompt to report every suspicious movement of their masters. The hiding had to be accomplished in the "wee sma' hours," when even the negroes were generally asleep. As an instance-ex-Senator Parsons, of Miami, suc- cessfully concealed about thirty kegs, of this powder in his hog-pen, in a corner of it where he had prepared a sort of bed for the hogs, and under this hog-bed of straw and fodder the thirty kegs of powder were buried. It would be impossible to give the names of all those who received and concealed this powder, and it would require volumes to describe the dif- ferent methods by which they all effected its concealment. In a few rare cases it was discovered by the negroes and reported, but these cases were very few.
At the battle of Lexington much of this powder was used in compell- ing the surrender of the gallant Col. Mulligan and his men. Indeed, it proved very serviceable and "handy to have around" on many occasions.
THE FIRST FEDERAL TROOPS IN THE COUNTY.
Shortly after the battle of Lexington, and the retreat of Gen. Price to the southwest, the Second Missouri Cavalry Volunteers, sometimes called Merrill's Horse, from the colonel, Lewis Merrill, made its appear- ance in Saline, being the first Federal troops to invade the county. The regiment crossed the Blackwater at the Napton bridge, passed around by Arrow Rock, across the northern part of the county, to Waverly; from thence to Marshall, and back to Sedalia, from which point it had started on its scout, or raid. At Marshall the regiment stopped a few hours, slaughtered a beef for dinner, and made the acquaintance of a number of the citizens. There was no disorder or lawlessness on the part of the soldiers. Col. Merrill had been an officer in the regular army, and was a strict disciplinarian, who kept his men under complete control.
The appearance of Col. Merrill's men in the county was regarded with much interest by the citizens, many of whom beheld Federal soldiers for the first time. They were well armed, mounted, and clothed, and in these particulars made a much better appearance than had the southern troops that had been in the county, although they were not capable of doing any braver fighting.
CAPTURE OF ROBINSON'S REGIMENT.
About the middle of December, 1861, a regiment of southerners, nearly all of whom were citizens of Saline county, and destined for Gen. Price's army, rendezvoused at the Grand Pass church, and there elected their officers, and effected a temporary organization. Col. Frank Robinson was elected colonel, and Col. Alexander, lieutenant-colonel. The regi- ment was about 600 strong. Captains Ruxton and Garrett were among the number of Saline county men elected captains on that occasion. On
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the 16th of December, 1861, this regiment commenced its march south, and on that same night reached Blackwater creek, in Johnson county, and encamped in a horse-shoe bend of the creek. Worn out with their long day's march of near 40 miles, the whole regiment slept, sentinels, pickets, and all, and two prisoners whom they had captured, escaped, and, it is supposed, carried the news of their whereabouts to Gen. Jeff. C. Davis, who, with two or three thousand Federal troops, was cruising about to intercept just such gatherings of men as this.
At any rate, early the next morning the regiment found themselves sur- rounded in the bend of the creek by a portion of Gen. Davis' command. The Federals had approached very close before they were observed. The regiment was immediately drawn up in line, and delivered one fire, which the Federals returned, killing one man, and then retired about 400 yards. Gen. Davis then sent, under a white flag, a communication stating his force and position and demanding an unconditional surrender. * Compar- atively unarmed, and wholly undisciplined as they were, to fight with any hope of success, was out of the question, and the whole regiment surren- dered-except a few, who by scattering, each man for himself, escaped and returned home, and fewer still, who in the same manner, succeeded in reaching Col. Clarkson's command, sent up by Gen. Price to convey through a body of men who had crossed the river at Lexington. Many of the very best and most substantial citizens of Saline county were in this Blackwater capture. The prisoners, in all nearly 600, were marched to Sedalia, and there put upon a train and sent to St. Louis, where they were incarcerated in the old McDowell college. Here, and afterwards at Alton, Illinois, they were held until they all gradually took the prescribed oath and were released, except about 100 of them, who were regularly exchanged in the summer or fall of 1862, and entered the Confederate army.
Upon the authority of a certain Federal officer who was engaged in the capture of Robinson's command, it may be stated that the Federals had information of the raising of the regiment and its designs long before it left Saline county.
OTHER EVENTS OF THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR.
The summer of 1861 wore on apace, and the pall of war hung heavier and heavier over Saline, as well as over the whole country. In June, 1861, the Saline County Herald, edited by Col. Allen, and the Democrat, edited by John S. Davis-the Herald the earnest advocate of Bell and Everett, and the Democrat either of Douglas or Breckenridge-were con- solidated into the Marshall Democrat, and finally suspended July 31, 1861, and no further effort was made to establish a newspaper in Saline county during the war, or until the Progress was established in Marshall, in 1866.
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About the first of July the mails stopped in Marshall, and were sus- pended until the county was reorganized under the Gamble provisional government in the spring of 1862. Money became exceedingly scarce, necessaries were very difficult to obtain, and the merchants were compelled to adopt the cash system. Sugar and coffee soon became an unknown quantity, and many shifts were made to supply their places.
When Governor Gamble, then provisional governor of the state, issued his call for 42,000 state militia, to defend Missouri against the public enemy, i. e. the Confederate states, very few individuals, even, had, up to this time, enlisted or volunteered in the Federal army. Under the stimulus of Gov. Gamble's call, however, Union men volunteered, and several different companies were organized in the county, besides the individuals who joined other military organizations. At the battle of Lexington, September 12, 1861, in which, after an obstinate defense of eight days, Col. Mulligan, finally surrendered, many citizens left their homes in Saline, and repaired to Lexington, to witness the siege or battle. Both Unionists and Secessionists were there as mere spectators, and some of the latter were there, with their squirrel rifles and shot-guns, to aid, on their " own hook," without joining the army.
In the latter part of November, Gen. Price issued his second call, a most earnest and eloquent one, for 50,000 men. Stimulated by it, large numbers of citizens prepared to join his standard.
On the 13th of September, 1861, Colonel William Brown of Saline, at the head of a raw, undisciplined and half-armed regiment, recruited from Saline and neighboring counties, numbering about 600 men, instead of proceeding immediately to the southern army, determined to attack the troops (home guards), stationed at Booneville, and thus was fought the
SECOND BATTLE OF BOONEVILLE.
Col. Brown, a native of Kentucky, was not only one of the bravest, but also one of the rashest of men. The Federals were strongly intrenched in the Booneville fair grounds, and their position was absolutely impregna- ble without artillery. Col. Brown was earnestlyadvised before and after he reached Booneville, to abandon the enterprise. But the same headstrong rashness that characterized him at the first battle of Booneville, pos- sessed him here, and led him on to his death.
The fortifications were attacked simultaneously and impetuously at three points. On the southeast, Col. Brown led the attack in person, and made two determined charges up to the breastworks, but each time was compelled to fall back. In the second charge Col. Brown fell mortally wounded within a few feet of the breastworks, and his brother, Capt. Mason Brown, in command of a Saline county company, fell dead close by him. The same result attended the attacks at both the other points; and, after the death of Col. Brown, the command devolving on Maj.
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Poindexter, a cessation of hostilities ensued. Under a flag of truce, an arrangement was entered into by the two commanders for an armistice of six days, dnring which Maj. Poindexter withdrew his forces from the city, returned to Glasgow, and from thence marched to Price's army, then on the way to the southwest.
In August, 1861, the convention, having declared the offices of gov- ernor, lieutenant-governor and secretary of state vacant, and appointed H. R. Gamble, of St. Louis, provisional governor; W. P. Hall, of Buchanan, lieutenant-governor, and Mordecai Oliver, of Greene, secre- tary of state, proceeded to vacate the offices of all the other state and county officials who should fail to take the prescribed oath of allegiance, and file the same. The county court of Saline consisted of Robt. Dysart, presiding judge; Joseph Field and E. P. Garnett, judges, and Jesse Davis, clerk, and D. W. Marmaduke, sheriff. The last court under the old regime met December 3d, 1861. The court met with Dysart and Field present, Davis, clerk, and J. H. McAllister, sheriff, and adjourned to meet on the first Monday of February, 1862. But before that time their offices were declared vacant, and the February session never took place. The governor (by the grace of the convention), had appointed three other county judges, and had called the court to meet April 21, 1862. On that day the court did meet, and the record begins with the following entries:
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