USA > Missouri > Buchanan County > St Joseph > The Daily news' history of Buchanan County and St. Joseph, Mo. From the time of the Platte purchase to the end of the year 1898. Preceded by a short history of Missouri. Supplemented by biographical sketches of noted citizens, living and dead > Part 20
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The border was overrun with outlaws of all sorts-bushwhack- ers, Southern recruiting officers, thieves and robbers, without regard
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to politics. In addition to local troubles of that sort, great excite- ment prevailed in Kansas on account of the Lawrence massacre, and an invasion of Missouri was threatened by Jim Lane and Jennison's 'Red-Legs." The militia service hereabouts was in a very demoral- ized condition, and the protection of life and property was a serious problem. Feuds that had been engendered between the border resi- dents of Kansas and Missouri in 1854-57, were reopened or made pre- texts by marauders and freebooters. A number of citizens of the county had returned from Price's army and were, of course, classed as disloyal. They were, however, fully as anxious to protect life and property from the marauders as were the loyal men. It was proposed by Gen. Willard P. Hall that all of these be organized into militia companies, and President Lincoln, who sanctioned the proposition, saw in it the possibility of keeping many from re-enlistment in the Confederate service. A knowledge of the conditions that existed at that time can be gathered from the testimony of Col. John F. Williams, who was in command of the district, with headquarters at St. Joseph, before a committee appointed by the legislature to investi- gate the militia. Colonel Williams testified as follows :
"When I took command (in July of 1863) I found portions of the district in a lawless condition; mobs and riots were common in a number of counties in my district ; I found also that a number of the troops then in service in the district were disobedient, and rather mutinous ; were under no discipline or control. I urged upon the of- ficers to subject their men to the observance of the rules and articles of war; some succeeded, others failed. The condition of the troops was improving until Quantrell made his rail on Lawrence; that cre- ated great excitement in the country, both among the troops and citizens ; numbers of them openly declared they would not resist an invasion by General Lane, or anybody else, made in retaliation from Kansas.
"Both before and after the Lawrence raid, raids from Leaven- worth city and other portions of the Kansas border were daily and nightly made into Missouri, the troops stationed at Weston failing or refusing to prevent them. Those raids were made by armed negroes, assisted by white outlaws, called 'Red-Legs;' they were not in the military service, with the exception, perhaps, of some negroes. Just after Lane's speech at Leavenworth city, immediately after the Law- rence massacre, an expedition was gotten up at Leavenworth city, of some magnitude, to invade Platte County, composed of 'Red-Legs,' outlaws, runaway negroes, etc. They took the ferryboat to start across. General Ewing telegraphed to the commander of the post at Fort Leavenworth to take the boat and prevent the raid, which he did.
"When I took command in St. Joseph and the district there, there were refugees in the city from several counties in the district, having been ordered to leave the State, by a band calling themselves 'Mid-
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night Rangers.' Their mode of operations was about this : They would leave a written notice, three or four matches enclosed in it, at a party's house, notifying him that if he did not leave in five days, with his whole family, he would be hanged and his house burned. Then some other members of the gang, who were on friendly terms with the victim, would call and condole with him, and advise him to stay. But the victim had already made up his mind to go, which they knew, and they would take advantage of his fear and buy his prop- erty at nominal figures. Thus a system of wholesale robbery was car- ried on. The reorganization of the militia, or the arming of the Paw- Paws, has entirely stopped this species of lawlessness.
"When I first took command at St. Joseph countrymen who came in to trade were pulled off their horses, sometimes by soldiers and sometimes by citizens, and threatened with death if they ever came back. An old man from the country was knocked down by a soldier. The fact was reported to me and I had the soldier placed under arrest. The next day the old man came to me and begged that I do not compel him to testify against the soldier before the provost marshal, as he was afraid of being killed by the companions of the soldier. There were hundreds of such instances. * * * Most of the troops in the district are now concentrated on the border along the river to prevent raids into Missouri from the thieves and outlaws of Kansas, assisted by their friends in Missouri. * * * I sent a squad of ten men over the river at St. Joseph to recover two mules stolen from a citizen of Buchanan County, having learned that they were secreted in a cornfield just back of Elwood. The squad recover- ed the mules, but were fired upon by citizens of Kansas on their re- turn to the river. At another time I ordered Major Garth of the Ninth Cavalry with forty-two men across the river to recapture some horses, guns and money that were stolen from Judge Woodson and another citizen of Buchanan County. The military and civil authori- ties of Kansas drew up their forces-some hundred and fifty strong, composed of negroes and whites together-in line of battle, and re- sisted the crossing of my men. I then sent the major across with one man; he had a conference with the commander of the post at Elwood, who promised to recapture the property, but who failed to do so. These raids were frequent."
The Eighty-first Regiment was organized by Col. John Scott and there were many remonstrances to the arming of men who were known or suspected to have been at one time in sympathy with the South. Col. William R. Penick, who was an intense and uncom- promising Unionist, in his statement to the legislative committee, said of a portion of the Paw-Paws :
"The two companies I saw were notoriously disloyal. They were in our city last election to guard the polls. I placed myself in a position to look every man in the face as they marched up the street. These were the first Secessionists I ever saw carrying arms under the authority of the government, and I gave them a close in-
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spection. I am almost confident that there was not a loyal man in either company. I saw men who had belonged to Price's army- some were there in the rebel ranks at Lexington and Blue Mills who never joined the army. Some who have assisted in raising rebel flags. Some who had often cheered for Jeff Davis. Some who had acted as recruiting officers for Price's army, but who were too old to go themselves. Nearly all of them are notoriously disloyal and are enrolled as sympathizers on the provost marshal's book."
This, of course, was an extreme view, particularly so in the light of what the late Judge Henry M. Vories said to the committee, among other things being the following :
"Those called Paw-Paws, in my part of the State, have behaved themselves very well; in fact, exceedingly well-as far as I either know or have been informed, and the county has been more quiet and seemed to be more secure since about the time of their organization. But I do not attribute this change for the better so much to the change of the militia organization as to the fact that an election took place about the same time as their organization. My judgment is that a great deal of the trouble we had in our county last summer was caused by the excitement produced by politicians who were running for office, who were haranguing the soldiers and others, by which they were kept in a constant state of excitement, and that of these ex- citements quarrels arose, and that persons were embittered against each other so as to induce them to commit lawless acts. I think that after the election these acts of violence would, in a great measure, have ceased without any change of the militia. Yet I think that the late militia called the Paw-Paws have exerted themselves to keep the peace of the county. I think they have been anxious to make a good character, knowing that they were charged with disloyalty ; at least, they have done well, and we have during this winter had more peace and quiet than we have had since the rebellion."
It is not the purpose of this history to sit in judgment upon the merits or demerits of the militia system, but as there is little known of the "Paw-Paws" it is thought proper to present the matter as gath- ered from official sources. The organization of the Eighty-first was as follows : John Scott, colonel; Charles West, adjutant. Company A, George J. Lucas, captain ; D. L. Irvine, first lieutenant ; Thomas L. Crumpacker, second lieutenant. B, F. J. Stratton, captain ; W. L. Hyatt, first lieutenant ; T. J. Bracken, second lieutenant. C, Jacob B. Cox, captain ; Cornelius Day, first lieutenant ; Robert B. Thomas, second lieutenant ; D, Milton M. Clagget, captain ; Jacob T. Child, first lieutenant ; Thomas C. Roberts, second lieutenant. E, Harrison W. Davis, captain ; James Dye, first lieutenant ; Joseph H. Dicken. second lieutenant. F, John A. Dolman, captain ; Robert S. Gunn, first lieutenant ; Henry T. Gore, second lieutenant. G, Anthony Gra- ble, captain ; Daniel A. Meadows, first lieutenant; John T. Ferrill,
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second lieutenant. H, John W. Smith, captain; William A. Corne- . lius, first lieutenant ; Thomas L. Blakely, second lieutenant. I, Miller Woodson, captain; Urial Griffen, first lieutenant; Jacob Schultz, sec- ond lieutenant. K, James H. Davis, captain ; Wililam S. Tyler, first lieutenant ; H. B. Goss, second lieutenant. L, James Noland, cap- tain ; B. F. Catlett, first lieutenant ; D. C. Hart, second lieutenant. M, Milton R. Singleton, captain ; John L. Stanton, first lieutenant ; Isaac Hays, second lieutenant.
The Forty-third Infantry, Missouri Volunteers, was organized in St. Joseph in June of 1864, with Chester Harding as colonel, John Pinger as lieutenant-colonel, B. K. Davis as major, Joseph Thomp- son as adjutant, Francis Rodman as quartermaster and J. Q. Eggle- ston and E. W. Dill as surgeons. The regiment was on duty in this State during its term of service. Six companies participated in the battle of Glasgow, October 15, 1864. In the spring of 1865 the whole regiment was assigned to the district of Central Missouri and was actively engaged keeping down bushwhackers, so long as its services were needed. The regiment was mustered out June 30, 1865, at Ben- ton Barracks. The companies were organized as follows: A, Cap- tain, Andrew Dusold ; lieutenants, Augustus Saltzman and Horace Sayre. B, captain, John B. Edwards; lieutenants, Henderson Ed- wards and John P. Herren. C, George M. Brown, captain; A. M. Chesmore and A. J. Culberson, lieutenants. D, Henry W. Ogle, cap- tain ; Walter C. Gantt, Richard Buis and Charles S. Pickett, lieuten- ants. E, Simeon Sutton, captain; William Caneday and Daniel Boyce, lieutenants. F, William F. Flint, captain ; John W. Johnson and Thomas Flint, lieutenants. G, Oscar Kirkham, captain; Eben- ezer Wickham and Griffith Davidson, lieutenants. H, Marcus Mor- ton, captain ; W. J. Porter and Elijah Brunck, lieutenants. I, George Walser, first captain; Robert B. Stockton, second captain; John S. Morgan and Austin F. Tiffany, lieutenants. K, Perry A. Wright, captain ; Andrew J. Wray and Martin V. Baker, lieutenants.
In July, of 1864, the Eighty-seventh Regiment of Enrolled Mis- souri Militia was organized in St. Joseph. This was a home guard regiment and was mustered out in March of 1865. Thomas Harbine had been elected colonel, but declined. Robert C. Bradshaw was then elected and served until October. James W. Strong was pro- moted from lieutenant-colonel and O. G. McDonald was made lieu- tenant-colonel. The following were staff officers during the life of the regiment : William Drumhiller and Robert F. Maxwell, majors ;
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Joseph Thompson and W. W. Bernard, adjutants; Joseph Schmitz and John B. Harder, quartermasters ; Dr. John T. Berghoff, surgeon. Company A was Captain Kellogg's railroad guards, reorganized un- der Capt. Joseph Truex. Company B had been Captain Landry's detached company, now under Capt. John A. Dolman, and when Captain Dolman was commissioned as aide-de-camp to General Hall he was succeeded by Robert S. Gunn, who had been first lieu- tenant. Other lieutenants were H. R. W. Hartwig, Henry T. Gore and H. H. Goodheart. C was captained at first by Hamilton S. Wil- son, who was killed by bushwhackers and succeeded by Irvin Fish. These were lieutenants at various times: Francis Goodby, Irvin Fish, Amos K. Jones and Oscar Kirkham. D was captained by James C. Karnes, with Washington Bennett, E. Shootner and John S. Smith as lieutenants. E was led by Capt. John Snyder, with Joseph Mathew and Thomas D. Ridge as lieutenants. F was under Capt. Louis Hax, with John Kieffer, Christian Mast, Ulrich Schneider and Louis Fuel- ling as lieutenants at various times. G was first captained by James W. Strong, then by Robert Maxwell, both of whom were sent to the head of the regiment, and last by David Pinger, whose lieutenants were Anson Whitney and Elisha Foote. H was officered by Peter A. Jones, captain, and Henry F. Goss and Wiley H. Chapman as lieu- tenants. This company was consolidated with C in October, 1864. I was organized by Capt. O. G. McDonald, who was afterwards lieuten- ant-colonel. The next captain was William H. Lifers, whose lieuten- ants were Charles C. Vance, George W. Howard and A. J. Culber- son. K. was organized by Capt. George M. Brown, who was shortly afterwards transferred to the Forty-third Infantry. He was suc- ceeded by Edward L. Titcomb, whose lieutenant was George Schuck- man.
The Forty-fourth Infantry Missouri Volunteers, was recruited in St. Joseph by Col. Robert C. Bradshaw and Lieut .- Col. A. J. Barr, in the month of August, 1864, and shipped on cars to Rolla. In No- vember it arrived at Paducah, Ky., and was placed on active duty, though yet in a very raw condition. In the battle of Franklin Colonel Bradshaw was pierced by seven bullets, but not killed. Lieutenants Dunlap, Warren and Kirgan and thirty-five privates were killed in the first charge of the enemy, but the regiment held its position. The regiment fought continuously for three days and nights from Novem- ber 29th, and during the last two days lost 300 men and officers. On the 15th of December, 1864, says Lieutenant-Colonel Barr, in his re- port, "we were ordered to take a position on the right of Charlotte Pike and engaged the enemy, participated in the battle on the 15th,
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16th and 17th insts., and then followed in the pursuit of Hood's de- moralized army. On the 27th we reached Columbia, where we first met the enemy. On the 28th we reached Pulaski, with two-thirds of the command barefooted. In this condition the reginient was com- pelled to march on the ice and snow to Clifton, sixty miles, where we arrived on the 23d of January, 1865-men worn out and feet terribly mangled." The regiment also participated in the siege of Spanishi Fort, Alabama, and went from there to Vicksburg and thence to St. Louis, where it was mustered out on August 15th, 1865, after having traveled 5,703 miles, of which 743 was on foot, and after having been for one-third of its term of service under fire and in the midst of the carnage of battle.
The regiment was organized as follows: Robert C. Bradshaw, colonel; A. J. Barr, lieutenant-colonel; Roger A. De Bolt, major : Wm. Drumhiller, adjutant ; J. M. Hoskinson, quartermaster ; Henry Schoenich, Levi A. Wilson and Isaac Schatz, surgeons. Hanson W. Ware succeeded Captain Drumhiller as adjutant.
The various companies were officered as follows during the life of the regiment : "A," John C. Reid, captain ; James A. Trussell, Wm. D. Schooler, Francis Audsley, lieutenants. "B," Wm. Drumhiller, captain; John McKissock and Miles Bristow, lieutenants. "C," Frank G. Hopkins, captain ; Wm. M. Goodson and Thomas J. Twi- dell, lieutenants. "D," Wm. B. Rogers, captain; Robert Pixler, Aaron McIntosh and George H. Combs, lieutenants, "E." Ephraim Webb, captain ; James S. Dunlap and J. C. Webb, lieutenants. "F," Isaac M. Henry, captain ; James M. Steele, W. C. Halstead, Benjamin Kirgan, lieutenants. "G," A. L. Bowen, captain; John Desha and Washington Bennett, lieutenants. "H," Wm. D. Fortune, captain ; J. D. McBride, John H. Williams and J. D. Snyder, lieutenants. "J." A. Muck, captain; A. F. Higgins, Dennis Adams and D. W. Mc- Donald, lieutenants. "K," N. A. Winters, captain; James Overman and Samuel Worner, lieutenants.
Under Governor Fletcher three regiments of milita were organ- ized in October of 1865-the Second, Third and Fourth Regiments of Missouri Militia. Col. Wm. R. Penick commanded the Second regiment. He was appointed brigadier-general and placed in com- mand of this district. Robert Gunn was lieutenant-colonel; H. R. W. Hartwig, major; Dr. Wm. Bertram, Dr. John S. Logan and Dr. Harvey Bradley, surgeons. W. W. Bernard was captain of Com- pany "A" and Henry Gore of Company "B." David Pinger was cap- tain of Company "C," with A. V. Whiting and Elisha Foote, Jr., as lieutenants. Company "D" was commanded by Captain Greenfield
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H. Davis, who had Isaac Wilkins and Thomas Early for his lieuten- ants. Company "E" was commanded by Joseph Andriano and Com- pany "F" by Wm. L. Chadwick, with L. L. Landon and George Hil- debrand as lieutenants. Company "G" was under Captain Joseph S. Browne, with George Buell and Wm. B. French as lieutenants. Company "H" was under Captain Phillip Arnholdt, with Theodore Kroll and A. Burgmeister as lieutenants. Company "J" was com- manded by M. Gordon Ruby, with Wm. M. Clark and John Stuppy as lieutenants.
Colonel Cyrus J. Missemer commanded the Third regiment. Wm. Randall was lieutenant-colonel, James M. Witt adjutant and James F. Bruner and G. M. Loomis surgeons. Company "A" was commanded by Irvin Fish; Company "B," by James G. Karnes, with Elvin A. Guinn as lieutenant; Company "C," by C. E. Cum- mings ; Company "D," by C. F. Schoeneck, with Benjamin F. Boyer and Wm. H. Boyer as lieutenants ; Company "F," by N. R. Wake- field, with Henry Myers and L. J. Smith as lieutenants; Company "G," by W. H. Slaybaugh, with J. S. Blankenship and B. F. Misse- mer as lieutenants.
The Fourth regiment had but five companies. It was com- manded by Major Joseph Thompson. Company "A" was com- manded by R. J. S. Wise, with Thos. H. Ritchie and Fred Amerine as lieutenants. Company "B" was commanded by Simeon Bell. Company "C" was under Captain Augustus Salzman, with Theodore F. Gross and Charles Frederick as lieutenants. Company "D" was commanded by Wm. Drumhiller, with D. M. Stillians as lieutenant, and B. F. Larkin was captain of Company "E," with William Arthur as lieutenant.
These regiments did service in enforcing order at the polls during the turbulent political times that followed the war. The test oath was particularly obnoxious, even to many who had been loyal, and politicians were not slow to grasp the advantages it afforded. The oath was as follows :
"I. do on oath declare that I have not during the present rebel- lion wilfully taken up arms or levied war against the United States nor against the provisional government of the state of Missouri, nor have wilfully adhered to the enemies of either, domestic or foreign, by giving them aid and comfort, but have always in good faith op- posed the same; and, further, that I will support, protect and defend the constitution of the United States and of the state of Missouri against all enemies and opposers, whether foreign or domestic, any ordinance, order or resolution of any state convention or legislature,
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or of any order or organization, secret or otherwise, to the contrary notwithstanding, and that I do this with an honest purpose, pledge and determination faithfully to perform the same without any mental reservation or evasion whatsoever, so help me God."
This oath was proscriptive to many, and there was much bitter- ness. There were those who had been in the service of the South, but who had surrendered and become loyal, those who had honestly sympathized with the lost cause, and those who had taken advantage of General Order No. 24 to escape service in the militia. Under this order any one who declared that he sympathized with the South was exempt from military duty. When it came to voting after the war this declaration was held against them.
The supreme court of the United States set aside that part of the test oath which disfranchised so many men. However, the ruling politicians in Missouri did not give up so easily and the legislature, in 1868, passed a very stringent registration law. The governor was given power to appoint three registrars in each county and a superin- tendent for each senatorial district. These four officers were au- thorized to make a list of all the loyal voters in the county. They were forbidden to enroll any person who would not take the oath of loyalty, and besides were given the power to refuse to enroll any others than those they chose. No one was allowed to vote whose name was not enrolled by these registrars. This law, perhaps, dis- franchised more voters than the original test oath. It opened anew the sore places that had begun to heal, and there are many instances where men have not forgiven each other yet, politically speaking, for the trespasses committeed under the license of this law. There was more or less turbulence until the constitution was amended in 1870 and these objectionable features eliminated.
Following the dissolution of the Missouri Militia, interest in mili- tary matters waned until 1880. Meanwhile, however, there had ex- isted during the Centennial year a company organized by Capt. Aug. Saltzman, called "Continental Rifles." They were dressed as Conti- nental soldiers, in knee-breeches, etc., and wore wigs. In 1880 two battalions, one commanded by Major Joseph A. Hansen and the other by Major Condon. In 1882 the Fourth regiment, National Guard of Missouri, was organized, with Joseph Hansen as colonel, Joseph A. Corby as lieutenant-colonel, Augustus Saltzman as major, Capt. Charles F. Ernst as adjutant, Capt. John Wilson as quarter- master, Dr. Thos. H. Doyle as surgeon and Dr. J. A. French as
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assistant surgeon. Company A was commanded by Capt. Wm. Os- born, Company B by Capt. John Donovan, Company C by Capt. Dowe, Company D by Capt. Wm. Muehleisen and Company E by Capt. Hazlet. Companies F and G were located at Brookfield. Companies A, B and C were known as "Saxton Rifles" and Capt. Muehleisen's company as "Turner Rifles," being made up mostly of members of the Turnverein. These companies were uniformed ac- cording to taste, the state providing arms only. After an existence of several years the companies disbanded.
Subsequently there was little interest in militia matters until Oc- tober, 1890, when Capt. Max Manheim organized the St. Joseph Light Guards. April 2, 1891, the Fourth regiment was reorganized, with Col. Arbuthnot of Brookfield as commanding officer and Capt. Man- heim as lieutenant-colonel. A brigade encampment was held in Au- gust of that year at Lake Contrary. Subsequently Capt. Clay C. MacDonald organized Company "K," known as the "Wickham Rifles." The name was afterwards changed to "MacDonald Rifles." Company "F" existed until 1895 under various captains and was dis- banded.
Captain Manheim organized Company "C" in December, 1897. When President Mckinley called for volunteers to fight Spain ,in April, 1898, the Fourth regiment, of which Joseph A. Corby was now colonel, responded promptly, and two additional companies were at once formed in St. Joseph-"J," by Capt. Charles F. Keller and "G," by Capt. Jacob S. Casey. These companies left for Jefferson Bar- racks May 9th and 10th, 1898, and were mustered into the United States volunteer service. From Jefferson Barracks the Fourth regi- ment went to Falls Church, Va., into Camp Alger; from there into Camp Meade, at Middletown, Pa., and from there to Greenville, S. C., the present quarters. The regiment did not see service during the war. Each company left St. Joseph with eighty-four enlisted men. Under the second call for volunteers the companies were recruited up to their full strength of 106 enlisted men. Captain MacDonald was advanced to major and Lieut. Niel T. Sommer was promoted to the command of Company "K."
St. Joseph was represented in the Fourth regiment as follows : Colonel, Joseph A. Corby ; majors, Wm. E. Stringfellow, Wilson S. Hendricks and Clay C. MacDonald; adjutant, George L. Rollins ; assistant surgeon, Wm. L. Whittington. Company "K" was organ- ized as follows : Niel T. Sommer, captain; Charles E. Foster, first lieutenant; John E. O'Donnell, second lieutenant. Company "C"
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