USA > Missouri > Saline County > History of Saline County, Missouri > Part 35
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In this last fighting that was done in Missouri, there were many Saline county soldiers upon both sides, and all bore themselves bravely and well. The last stand was made by Shelby, at Newtonia, and the demoralized expedition was enabled to get far into Arkansas, and safe; and Shelby with his Saline and Lafayette soldiers had saved what was left of the expedition, but at the cost of many lives.
When Gen. Price entered this county many of his men left him and went for a brief furlough to their homes near by. While the army was at the camp on the Salt Fork near Kiser's, nearly every soldier had a holi- day. The troops scattered in every direction, and went almost where they pleased. The Carroll county men went home, the Lafayette county men went home, the Saline county men went home, the Ray county men went home. What a grand opportunity was here presented to Pleasonton and Rosecrans to capture or destroy Price's entire army! But, as was quite often the case, the Federal commanders failed to understand and to take advantage of the situation, and the Confederates rested themselves and their horses and had a good time generally while awaiting the arrival of Shelby and Clark and some recruits from the north side of the river.
General Price daily held levees and receptions at his headquarters. Hundreds of people from the county visited him: the old men to shake his hand, the middle-aged men to take advice and counsel from him, the
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matrons to bless him, and the maidens to kiss him! Dozens of the beauti- ful little "rebels" came miles to see the old warrior and press their rosy lips to his fat, ruddy cheek, and be saluted by him in return. All this for the sake of the Confederacy, and that Missouri might be redeemed from the rule of the despised Federals!
But while General Price was being petted and coddled and kissed by the pretty girls of Saline, and fed on "chicken dinners" by their mammas, and on "taffy" by their papas, the Federals were gathering under Pleas- onton in his rear-moving along the north side of the river to get in his front, coming down and out from Kansas, and swarming and preparing everywhere for the events that afterward followed at the Blue, at Inde- pendence, at the Little Osage.
During their stay in Saline county, the Federal sympathizer felt the displeasure of the Confederates, in many instances very severely. Many a meal was eaten, many a horse taken, many a dollar's worth of other property lost at their expense, while there were other things done of a sadder, more tragic and serious nature.
Price's men passed through the county, not on one road, or two; but on every road that ran from east to west. In Lafayette, before reaching Lexington, the army was compactly organized. Shelby's division was divided; many went with their leader to Glasgow; a large portion assisted in the capture of Sedalia, the latter rejoining the army at Waverly, and many had furloughs; Marmaduke passed through Marshall and the cen- tral part of the county, while Fagan's Arkansans went pretty much every- where. The army was in this county about ten days, coming into the county on the 12th of October, and leaving it on the 20th.
In the presidential election of 1864, the first votes ever cast for a republican candidate for president in Saline county were given. The vote was small, even to insignificance, owing to the scarcity of men allowed to vote. The democratic candidates were Gen. George B. McClellan, a Federal soldier, and Hon. George H. Pendleton, of Ohio. The republicans presented Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. The republicans carried the county by the following vote:
Lincoln and Johnson. 170 McClellan and Pendleton 9S
Republican majority 72
What a wonderful change had taken place in the county in four years! In 1860, it would have been extremely perilous to vote for Lincoln; in 1864, it was dangerous to vote against him.
The following alarming entry appears on the county court record for August term, 1864 as the old court house was burnt by guerrilla bands soon after this, the court had some reason for this entry.
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HISTORY OF SALINE COUNTY.
WHEREAS, It appears to the county court of Saline county, that the public records and other property of Saline county, at Marshall, is in great danger of being destroyed by guerrilla bands. It is therefore ordered by the county court of Saline county, that a military guard, to consist of not more than eighty men, to be composed of cavalry or infantry, be employed by Saline county to protect said property, and that said guard be paid for said services out of the public money of Saline county not otherwise appropriated, the same wages per month that are paid to soldiers of the United States for the same class of service; and that said guard be employed for two months from the 16th day of August, 1864, and no longer, unless by further order from this court.
About this time a company of militia stationed at Marshall, hearing of the approach of a considerable body of Confederates, became alarmed and made a precipitate retreat. Before they left they threw into the well in the court house yard, several muskets and other munitions of war, where they are to this day. If in the far future, some archaeologist shall find these guns, or the remains thereof, let him not think that he has discovered evidences of a knowledge of fire-arms on the part of some pre-historic race that inhabited this country. Let him know from these chronicles how they came there.
As an evidence that the customs and laws of slavery were still observed by the Union authorities, and as a record of the olden time, and of a cus- tom that has forever passed away, the following entries may be seen in the proceedings of the county court, June term, 1862, and as late as 1864:
It is ordered by the court, that Vincent Marmaduke, Capt. James Boyer, Robert Nowlin, W. B. Sappington, John Durrett, James Neff, Willis Piper, D. W. Marmaduke and Wm. Durrett be, and are hereby appointed a patrol for Arrow Rock township, to serve for one year from this date, who will patrol not less than forty-eight hours in each month at the rate of one cent per hour.
It is ordered by the court, that the following persons be, and are hereby allowed the following amounts for services as patrols, viz .: D. R. Stal- lard, $16.25; James Evans, $16.25; A. C. Lewis, $16.25, and Lewis Crut- singer, $16.25.
The days of patrol have passed, never more to return!
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HISTORY OF SALINE COUNTY.
CLOSE OF THE WAR.
Although the militia kept up their scouting parties, and there was an occasional arrest or killing of some one, the war was virtually over as far as Saline county was concerned after the disastrous termination of Price's raid. News that the Confederate army, upon which so many had rested their hope and expectation, had been defeated, soon reached the county, and the hearts of the sympathizers with the Confederacy sank within them. It was now clearly evident that a bad investment had been made when stock had been taken in the Confederacy. It was apparent that defeat, utter and complete, would sooner or later befall those who followed the stars and bars, and the Confederate people of the county pre- pared to become resigned to the inevitable, and wait for the end.
And the end came. On the 9th of April, 1865, four years, lacking three days, from the capture of Fort Sumter by the Confederates, Lee's army of Virginia surrendered to Gen. Grant. Gen. Johnston's army, a few days thereafter, surrendered to Gen. Sherman. May 13, Kirby Smith's trans-Mississippi army gave up to Canby. Very soon thereafter the county began to fill up with returned Confederates, glad to get home under almost any circumstances. Sometimes they were arrested by the militia, but oftener not. Col. Jackson's command laid down their arms and surrendered to Col. Denny, at Glasgow, May 19. The colonel was paroled and allowed to retain his arms by the military, but was soon after arrested by the civil authorities. Other men among the Confederates were confined, accused of being guerrillas, and others were killed by the militia, in this part of Missouri. Occasionally rencounters of a personal nature took place between the militia and the returned Confederates, but nothing very serious occurred. Citizens who had remained at home had their grievances against the militia, and now that they believed they had backing among the returned ex-Confederates, they sought redress. On the other hand, the militia claimed to recognize among some of the returned men of Shelby's and other commands, bushwhackers, who had done something to them, or to some friends of theirs during the war. The bad blood engendered during the war had not yet become purified.
There was not a perfect condition of safety for life or property for some months. Quite frequently there were cases of robbery. Bands of men, dressed in blue clothing, often paid nocturnal visits to citizens reputed to have money, and obtained their store of cash by threats of instant death, in case of refusal to disgorge. The militia claimed that these robbers were returned Confederates, in blue clothing; the Confederates charged that the depredators were the militia themselves. Sometimes this sort of land piracy was carried on by men in citizens' apparel. Many detailed
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incidents of these robberies have been stricken out of this history, to make room for more important matters.
MINOR FIGHTS AND SKIRMISHES DURING THE WAR.
From the spring of 1862 to the close of the civil war there was more or less fighting, scouting, raiding, killing and all of the incidental horrors accompanying a war between fellow-citizens. The Federals sought to maintain their authority in the county, and generally succeeded. In addi- tion to the Missouri state militia (the "M. S. M,") armed and equipped by and under the pay of the United States, there were the enrolled Missouri militia (the " E. M. M."), and the provisional militia, ready to be and often called out and put in service. Of these latter the companies of Captains G. S. and A. Burnsides, Corum, Bingham, and Elsea did the most service of any of the troops from this county. Companies of these were almost always in the county. To give a detail of all of the affrays that occurred would require a volume quite the size of this. Only the leading incidents can be given.
The guerrilla organizations of Quantrell, Todd, Blunt, Yager, Ander- son, Poole, and others entered and passed through different parts of the county at times, occasionally " getting in their work," as they expressed it. There were also the companies of partisan rangers commanded by offi- cers regularly commissioned by the Confederate authorities who were scattered about the country, in this county, in Cooper, in Howard, in Lafay- ette. Some of these latter were guerrillas in practice, but the Federals considered all of them so, both in theory and practice. Some, by no means all, of the encounters between these bands and the Federal militia are here noted.
FIGHT WITH GUERRILLAS, AND KILLING OF GROVE AND GILLIAM.
On the 30th day of July, 1863, a fight occurred in the western part of the county, between Capt. Cannon, with a company of the 4th regiment, M. S. M .- a detachment of which under Major Kelly was then stationed in Marshall-and a band of guerrillas, supposed by the Federals to be Quantrell's band, but generally believed to have been Capt. Blunt's com- pany. Capt. Cannon lost two men, killed in this fight, and was repulsed, and the guerrillas moved on rapidly to the west. The guerrillas halted at noon on a farm on the south road, and after they had started in the afternoon, they suddenly, in the prairie, came upon Major Smith (pay- master) with an escort of the 1st regiment Missouri cavalry from Lexing- ton. The escort were feeding their horses when the guerrillas came upon them, and fled incontinently on foot to the brush not far off, on the first
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fire from the guerrillas, leaving Smith and his clerk. As soon as the guer- rillas fired, the clerk, (name not known), jumped into the ambulance and threw the small iron safe into the high grass and weeds bordering the road. The safe contained $250,000 in greenbacks. The guerrillas rode all around and over the place, but, somehow, failed to find the little safe hidden away in the high grass. Major Smith sat in the house near by, undisturbed. The guerrillas took the clerk's watch and pocketbook, and then rode off west. Major Smith then sent a courier to Major Kelly in Marshall, who sent out a company and brought him in, greenbacks, clerk and all, safe.
Soon after this affair, two young men, Grove, a nephew of Colonel Wm. A. Wilson, and Gilliam, a son of A. W. Gilliam, Sr., of the north- eastern part of the county, were captured on the Miami road by a scout- ing party of Federal soldiers from Marshall. Major Kelly, then in com- mand of the post, says they were taken straggling in the rear of a band of Quantrell's guerrillas, whom they had recently joined. The relatives of these unfortunate men contend that they had not joined any guer- rilla band, and did not intend to, but were making their way to the Con- federate army. On the night of the 29th of July, about midnight, a party of soldiers in Marshall, without the knowledge of their officers, took Grove and Gilliam from the guard, with or without the connivance of the guard. dragged them into the woods north of town, and there hung them. The bodies of these two ill-fated men were found the next morning, quite dead, and buried by the citizens.
FIGHT AT ARROW ROCK.
About the 19th of July, 1864, Lieutenant D. P. Woodruff, with twenty- five men of the First Cavalry, M. S. M., while stationed at Arrow Rock, was attacked by a force of guerrillas about one hundred strong, com- manded by Captain Yager, of Quantrell's men. The Federals took position in a brick building, which they had occupied as quarters. The guerrillas, after making a bold and dashing attempt to dislodge them without success, set fire to some buildings in the block of which the stronghold of the Federals was a part. A retreat was therefore the only alternative of the Federals, and this they accomplished, under the cover of darkness, without the loss of a man, but they were forced to leave behind them their horses. The attack was made at nightfall. The guerrillas had some of their men wounded, including Captain Yager. Yager was taken to a bushwhachers camp near Mr. Gilliam's, in Cam- bridge township, where he was cared for by a Miss Flannery living near. The young lady visited the wounded guerrilla daily and ministered to his wants as best she could. Afterwards the owner of the cornfield, Mr. Gilliam himself, was arrested by the Federals for having cared for Yager, and it was about to go hard with him, when Miss Flannery, learning the
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situation, herself rode into Marshall, admitted to the Federal commandant that she, and only she, was the one that had nur sed the outlaw, and thus obtained the release and doubtless saved the life of her neighbor, Mr. Gilliam. She was kept a prisoner by the Federals for some weeks, but finally released. The militia had only one man slightly wounded.
FIGHT ON THE BLACKWATER.
On the evening of the 25th of September, 1864, Maj. Mullins, with 125 men of the 1st cavalry M. S. M., attacked Col. W. S. Jackson's partisan rangers and Woodson's guerrillas on the Blackwater, numbering probably 75 men. The Federals gained an easy victory, for the Confederates were taken by surprise, and they were very imperfectly armed. The latter fled and "scattered," all getting together in a few days. A few were slightly wounded on each side; none were killed.
FIGHT AT N. J. SMITH'S.
In November, 1864, sixteen bushwhackers called at the residence of Mr. N. J. Smith, near Fairville, and took possession of his blacksmith shop for the purpose of shoeing their horses. While all of them were in the shop, and busy at work, a detail of Federal cavalry came in the lot on one side, and a company of infantry was to come in on the other side of the shop, all belonging to Gen. A. J. Smith's army returning from the pursuit of Price. It was raining, and the infantry were too slow for the cavalry, or the cavalry were too fast for the infantry, and by a rush, shooting as they went, the bushwhackers escaped without losing a man, or having a man wounded. The Federals, in their rage at the escape of the guerrillas, wanted to burn Smith's residence, and would have done so had it not been for the man who piloted them over to where the guerrillas were, who told them that he knew Mr. Smith to be a Union man.
THE GUERRILLAS AT B. THOMAS'.
In the early spring of 1865, four guerrillas, Harris, Potter, and the Wilhite brothers, hitched their horses in the timber, near the house of Baltimore Thomas, on the Marshall and Lexington state road, and near the Saline and Lafayette county lines, and proceeded to Mr. Thomas' for something to eat, or for some other purpose. While in the house they were charged on by a Federal company. In attempting to escape over the garden picket fence, three of them were wounded, but all succeeded in making their escape. One of these, Harris, was killed by the falling of a house in which he was concealed. Shortly after, Potter was captured at the same house, and taken to Marshall and shot, while almost dead from his wounds. The other two, though one was badly wounded, succeeded in getting safe away.
" Nin " Wilhite swore that before he ever surrendered he would kill
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the two negroes who reported on himself and comrades, and came so near having them all captured. He went to the house of Baltimore Thomas, after the war was over, and killed an old and harmless negro, known as "Uncle Ben," and wounded another, named Harry, who still survives, lamed for life. But the negroes who actually reported on them went away with the Federal troops. After shooting the negroes, Wilhite went direct to Lexington and surrendered.
KILLINGS, MURDERS, AND MILITARY EXECUTIONS OF THE CIVIL WAR.
A few instances, the more important cases, and those best known, of the homicides perpetrated in this county during the civil war (outside of those occurring in regular engagements), are here narrated. It is sin- cerely hoped that their publication will not arouse passions or prejudices long since buried, but will serve to teach generations, present and to come, to what civil war leads.
It is true that for every act of murder perpetrated by either side, there are apologists; it is also true, that for every one of such acts there was absolutely no excuse at the time, and no reason for attempting their defense now. The guerrilla, or the bushwhacker, as well as the militiaman, who took advantage of a fellow man to slay him in a cowardly manner, and in cold blood, was a villain in war times, and is a villain still, and as such should forever receive the execration of all good citizens and brave men. The men who murdered and killed without cause during the war did not do so because they were Federals, or because they were Confederates, but because they were black-hearted scoundrels by nature and inclination. They are alike despised by the good soldiers who fought bravely and honorably on both sides, and by the good citizens who suffered so much at their hands.
A few of these wretches still live in the county. They may complain of this portion of the history; but they must remember that they made it in the first place-they or their associates, and let him upon whose skirts no innocent blood is, be not troubled. It was at first contemplated to omit this chapter entirely, but the best citizens are of the opinion that a good purpose will be served by its publication in part.
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HISTORY OF SALINE COUNTY.
KILLING OF JUDGE SMART BY THE FEDERALS, AND OF RICEHOUSE AND WALKER BY THE CONFEDERATES.
During the summer of 1862, the killing of Judge Robt. G. Smart occurred near Miami, which is memorable not only because of the high position of the gentleman himself, but as being the first of those terrible murders of individual citizens, which afterward became so fearfully frequent and so sadly familiar. Judge Smart was a citizen of Jackson county, when the war broke out. and being southern born, he naturally sympathized with the southern people; but he was always very conservative in his conver- sation, and had committed no overt act. In 1861, he resigned his office (judge of the circuit court), rather than take the oath, which he consid- ered he had already taken; and lived a quiet, peaceable life in Jackson county, until the winter of 1861-2, when affairs became so disturbed in that county, from the frequent raiding of Kansas jayhawkers, that he removed to Saline county and settled near Miami, with his family. Here he remained quiet and inoffensive, associating with the citizens of the town and vicinity, and also with the Federal soldiers, and was respected by them all. In 1861, before Judge Smart removed to Saline, Messrs. Walker and Ricehouse, two citizens of Miami, joined the Confederates, and remained in the army about four months, when they returned home and announced a change of heart and sentiment. In order to prove their loyalty, they went over to Booneville and reported to a company of Fed- eral soldiers, that Judge Smart was harboring " bushwhackers." This
was wholly false; but the Federals did not know it, and the company came that same night, arriving about sunrise, July 20, 1862. As Judge Smart saw them coming in his front gate, he ran out of the back way. The Federals immediately started in pursuit, when seeing he could not escape, he threw up his hands three times, calling out, "I surrender!" He was answered by a volley from the pursuers; three balls entered his body, killing him almost instantly. He was buried by the citizens who sorrowed much for his untimely end. No one else was disturbed by the soldiers, who were strangers in the state. They stopped for breakfast about two miles from town, at a farmer's house, where they told of the report by Walker and Ricehouse. They were soon convinced that the report was untrue, and expressed great regret that the mistake had been made, and that they had come at all.
About the same that Judge Smart came to Miami, John Dickey, of Jackson county, also came, and located within a few miles of the Judge. He spent most of his time fox-hunting, sometimes with the citizens, some- times with the militia, and sometimes with both. He and Judge Smart were warm personal friends, though, while here, 'they held but little intercourse with each other. In March, 1863, Dickey suddenly disap- peared; but in a short time was again on hands, and with him Capt.
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Blunt's company of guerrillas, of which company Dickey was lieutenant. They entered Miami in the forenoon, went straight for Walker and Rice- house, arrested them, and carried them away as prisoners. About twelve miles east of Miami they ate dinner, captured and captors, both appar- ently in the highest good humor. The farmer at whose house they dined, says he had no suspicion that any of them were prisoners, and thought that he was feeding Federal soldiers, as Walker and Ricehouse were along. On the way they arrested a farmer, to guide them through the timber. Going about two miles northwest, to Edmondson creek, they halted in the timber, tied ropes around the necks of Walker and Rice- house, and to limbs of trees above them, as they sat upon their horses, and then drove the horses from under them. They then made the dangling bodies targets for revolver practice, shooting them full of holes. The first intimation of the fate before them was the tying of the ropes around their necks, and all their prayers and supplications were utterly unheeded. After shooting them until they were certainly dead, the guerrillas told their guide he could go, as they had nothing special against him, and he went! The guerrillas then took down the bodies of Walker and Rice- house, and buried them. Since the war their skeletons were found, con- veyed to Miami, and buried by the citizens. Dickey was killed a few months afterward, near the Saline and Lafayette county lines, he killing and badly wounding four men before he fell dead.
KILLING OF CAPT. ED. BROWN.
Early in the spring of 1862, Capt. Ed. Brown, who raised the first Saline county company that participated in the battle of Wilson's creek, was killed by a portion of the Saline militia from Marshall. Capt. Brown's company had surrendered in the previous December at the Blackwater capture. He had never joined the regular Confederate army-but had joined Robinson's command, which were all captured at Blackwater. He returned home and had been concealing himself, to avoid taking the pre- scribed oath-which however, he had at last done, and then staid quietly at home thinking himself safe. He lived one mile and a quarter from Fairville, and was a brother of Robert L. Brown, of Fairville. The kill- ing was effected by two militia-men to whom it had been reported that Brown had been harboring and aiding guerrillas. They rode up to Brown's residence and asked him to show them a road which ran through some fields. He went with them, and when he had reached the bottom of a large hollow a short distance north of his house, they shot him as he was in the act of opening a gate for them. Then they returned by a cir- cuitous route to their company at Marshall.
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