USA > Missouri > Grundy County > The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 24
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winding sheet; and his gallant spirit mounted aloft from a death-bed of fame, as the free mountain bird soars to its eyrie. He has gone, but gone in glory. With us remains the dirge -- with him has ascended the pæan of triumph. He fell in the vigor of life, in the noon of his fame just as he saw the star of his destiny dawning brightly from the sky of fate. His last words that were heard ringing along the burning lines of battle, were words cheering on his men to the conflict, He fell as a patriot and a hero would desire to fall-at the head of his regiment, with the mighty hosts of free- dom battling around him, and the wild thunders of battle ringing upon his dying ear.
" The remains of the lamented Tindall have been removed to his home near Trenton, in Grundy county, Missouri, and there he reposes amid the scenes of his early labors and triumphs. He sleeps in the quiet village churchyard, away from the busy hum of life-far away from the thunder of conflict, and no clarion note will ever more disturb his slumbers or call him forth to battle. Let us hope that, "after life's fitful fever, he sleeps well." No proud mausoleum marks his resting place, and he needs none. His noblest monument has already been erected in the hearts of his fellow citi- zens. His lonely grave will long be treasured in their memories, and will be a sacred shrine to which votaries will often wander. Peace to his ashes. May the undying laurel of glory grow green over his grave.
" When I remember, sir, all the gallant dead that have fallen in this war, I feel that this government should be preserved in justice to their sacrifices if from no other motive. We cannot abandon this struggle-we cannot sub- mit to a division of the Union without a wrong, a deep and burning wrong, to the noble men who have sacrificed their lives to preserve the integrity of this government. Shall they fall in vain? No, sir: it must not be! Let us swear by our gallant dead that we will preserve this temple of liberty as our fathers made it; or, if all is vain, that we will clasp its crumbling col- umns and perish amid the wreck.
" Mr. President, the traveler through the Grand River Valley is struck with its desolate appearance. The country looks dreary and deserted. The farm-houses are often empty; the villages are destitute of their teeming population, and that once beautiful and populous region is almost as lonely as the grave. Where, sir, have the gallant men of that region gone? Go to your armies of the Union and you will find them there. When Tindall raised his regiment, the gallant men of Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Sullivan, Putnam, Mercer, Daviess and Livingston, rallied at once to his standard. They flocked to the banner of their country, abandoning their farms in secession neighborhoods, and leaving their property at the mercy of jay- hawkers. When the Eighteenth and Twenty-fifth regiments were raised, the same counties poured out their loyal hundreds and soon filled them to the maximum. When the State militia were called for, the young men of
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
these counties were almost all in the field, but true to their patriotic im- pulses, the old men turned out and at once filled the First and Third regi- ments of Missouri cavalry.
"Sir, the gallant men of this section need no eulogy from me. The bones of their heroic dead are bleaching upon every battle-field of the West. Till- dall, one of their colonels, sleeps in the village churchyard in Grundy county, Missouri. Peabody, the colonel of the Twenty-fifth regiment, reposes amid the green hills of his New England home. The colonel of the Eighteenth regiment, and Mccullough, the gallant major of the Twenty- third, together with many of their brave officers and men, are now incar- cerated in Sonthern prisons, because too fearless to turn their backs upon the foe when deserted by other regiments who should have stood with them in the hour of danger. But many, very many of these gallant men have left their bones to bleach upon the plains of Shiloh. While other States have recorded the valor of their slain, these noble men have gone down to the grave without an epitaph. No marble monuments are over them-no trump of fame breathed its elegiac tones over their graves, but they sleep amid the wild scenery of Tennessee, far from their loved ones, and in a foe- man's land, with no kindly hand to scatter the flowers of affection upon their tombs, and with only the whistling winds and the chirping wild birds to chant their mournful requiem. But let them sleep on. They could find no nobler bed than the field of their fame, for it will [be hallowed by a nation's gratitude and a nation's tears."
COMPANY B.
. Company B, from Grundy county was badly cut up-quite a number were killed and a larger number wounded. Below are the names of the gallant men who composed company B, and who shed such luster not only upon Grundy county, but to the noble regiment in which they served:
THIE ROLL AT SIIILONI.
R. A. DeBolt, captain.
Samuel Rooks, first lieutenant.
Ed. Gray.
J. W. Babb.
Wm. Rooks.
Rich. Smith, orderly sergeant.
Benj. C. Eddy.
F. W. Lowen.
Martin Eagan.
Jos. Moore. Sidney Moore.
Benj. House.
Clay McCord.
Thomas 'Torpey.
T. L. Baulser.
R. A. Collier.
W. T. Wisdom.
A. Reynolds.
Stephen Peery, second lieuten- ant.
Jos. Rooks. Silas Parres.
B. F. Harding. Orvile Moberly.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
John Phillips.
McCamman.
Harvey Brazier. W. B. Scott.
- McCamman.
Harvey Braiser.
Bose Nichols.
Geo. Leslie.
Benj. Nichols.
Benj. Leslie.
Labor Rickets.
Chas. Brown. Jonathan Knightly. John Channie.
Seth Hathaway.
W. C. Kirk.
Michael Crisman.
Thos. Kirk.
Hans Crisman.
Press Kirk.
Win. Long.
Samuel Kirk.
Thos. Long.
Francis Kirk.
Solomon Johnson.
Rich. Fleshman.
Daniel Lomax.
Wm. Parr.
Jno. W. Lomax.
Owen Smith.
Ed. Henderson.
Marion Sprout.
Alfred Gardener.
W. T. Sprout.
James Scott.
Marion Jones.
Hiram Johnson.
Henry Jones.
Hiram Morris.
Jos. Jones.
Samuel Crisman.
A. F. Slocum.
Edgar Funk.
Sol. Skagg.
Carl Leach.
W. C. Vorris.
Rich. T. Blew.
George Blew.
Marvin Scott.
Hiram Scott.
H. H. Shelton.
Benj. Scott.
Columbus Thompson.
Chas. Cash.
Thos. Farrell.
Calvin Bridges.
Allen Smith.
James Petree.
Samuel Smith. Levi Rinker.
James Davis.
Frank Rook.
John Davis.
Ped McThaney.
Calvin Slover.
John Fleshman.
Jas. Wheeler.
Samuel Fleshman. David Bravenstot.
Win. Flesher.
The first man wounded in the company was W. I. Sprout, and the first killed was Owen Smith.
The history of the Twenty-third regiment on its reorganization is con- nected with that of the Fourteenth army corps. It participates in the battle of Murfreesboro, Tenn., in the Atlanta campaigns and was with Sherman in his march to the sea.
Jas. Tobbert.
Wm. Petree.
John Pratt.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
CONFEDERATES.
There were no companies formed in this county for the Confederate service and no record kept of those who joined the South. Capt. Coleman recruited a few men here in 1861, and with the best information, after the most searching inquiry, there seems to have been about two hundred men from this county to join the Confederate cause. They were not recruited, except those who joined Capt. Coleman's company, but generally left in small squads, from five to twenty, and made their way to the South.
Capt. Jacob Bain, of Lincoln township, raised a company in Mercer county and came down to Lincoln, his old home, and recruited others from among his old acquaintances until his company numbered 183 men. They camped awhile at Edinburgh and then went to Chillicothe, where they were mustered in Col. Clark's regiment.
GRUNDY COUNTY BATTALION.
The above battalion were six months' militia, and were mustered into ser- vice in October, 1861. They remained at their several camps, with an occa- sional drill, until November, 1861, when they were organized and found service in breaking up sundry secession encampments, and acting as scouts and skirmishers for the various regiments encamped in the neighborhood. They were sent to Chillicothe, where they remained until they were mus- tered out. They numbered 269 men, rank and file. There were in all five companies, and officered as follows:
Walter King, lieutenant-colonel; -, major; James Cooper, surgeon; W. W. Hubbell, adjutant; Jewett Morris, quartermaster.
The companies were not lettered but had the following officers. There was no roll of the men:
First company-Captain, Jas. H. Creighton; first lieutenant, Franklin Froman; second lieutenant, Perry Froman.
Second company-Captain, Sam'l M. Haycroft; first lieutenant, Henry V. Stutt; second lieutenant, Wm. Dunlap.
Third company-Captain, E. L. Winters; first lieutenant, Wmn. Rucker; second lieutenant, Sam'l J. Warner.
Fourth company-Captain, Martin B. Garvin; first lieutenant, P. H. Yakey; second lieutenant, W. W. Hubbell.
Fifth company-Captain, E. A. Morton; first lieutenant, George Long- head; second lieutenant, James Martin.
The Forty-fourth regiment of State militia was organized and enrolled for service in October, 1862, and W. B. Rogers was commanding colonel of the same November 5th, his commission dating from October 24, 1862. The regiment numbered 516 men, 46 officers, and was in service 25 days.
It was not until August, 1862, that the members of the Twenty-third Mis- souri regiment were gotten together for reorganization. Those who were
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
prisoners, and others that came back, in all about 250, were again placed in rank and the regiment recruited up to a fair number and went at once into active service. There were but a few Grundy county men in the new organization outside of company B. The regiment was a fighting regiment from its first organization. Wm. and R. A. Collier, Moberly, Torpey, in fact all of the original company not killed or wounded were in the regiment, except- ing those who resigned. The regiment did duty in different parts of the State as provost-guard until July 3d, when it was ordered to Vicksburg, but as that post fell July 4th they did not go, but went to Rolla to guard and ent out timber for a fort. In November they were ordered to report to General Rosseau and became a part of his brigade in the fight around Nash- ville, and from there took part in the siege of Atlanta, where the regiment was badly ent up. Previous to the Atlanta siege the regiment had been trans- ferred to General Turchin's command, a part of the Fourteenth army corps. They were in North Alabama a while at Galeville, and marched from thence to Rome, Ga., on to Kingston, some fifty odd miles north of west of Atlanta. They remained there until Sherman was ready to start on hi memorable march to the sea and became a part of that army. The regi- ment was mustered out at Washington, D. C., June 10, 1865. Besides this regiment there were quite a number of Grundy county men connected with the Eighteenth and the Thirty-fifth regiments of volunteer infantry, and also the Seventh Missouri State militia.
FORTY-FOURTH REGIMENT.
The Forty-fourth regiment was organized in August, 1864, and it was the expectation they were to remain in Missouri and become a sort of home- guard to protect the State from the raids of jayhawkers and organized bands of thieves, but they counted badly, for they were immediately ordered to the front. Even before fully recruited they were ordered to Rolla. In November the regiment was ordered to Paducah, Kentucky, where they arrived on the 16th, with nearly one-third of its members sick and unfit for duty. Those who were able were sent out to meet rebel cavalry. From Paducah they went to Columbia, Tenn., and were placed under General Scho- field in the Twenty-third army corps. They took part in the battle at Franklin, where they suffered heavy loss and fell back on Nashville, at which place they arrived Dec. 1st, 1864. They were joined to General A. J. Smith's corps from Sept. 3d until mustered out at St. Louis, August 15th, 1865. They had been in several engagements in Mississippi and Alabama, and had been down the river to New Orleans and from there to Mont- gomery, Alabama. From Tuskegee they were ordered to St. Louis. There is no roll of the Grundy county men who composed a part of this regiment. Two of Trenton's prominent citizens were in it, Rezin A. DeBolt as major; W. B. Rogers, then of Princeton, Mercer county, captain of company D.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
and M. A. Winters, captain company K; Jas. Overman, first lieutenant, and Sam'l Warner, who was killed at the battle near Columbia, Tenn., November 29, 1864.
There was an enrollment of all able-bodied men subject to military duty in Jannary, 1865, and the following named persons were appointed as en- rolling officers. The number found was not reported, or if so the record has not been kept. They started on their duty Jannary 4th:
" W. Dillon, T. J. Clawson and W. B. Dillon, Marion township; E. L. Winters, John Rolls and Win. Tolle, Liberty township; C. H. Cornwell, Win. Wyatt and W. V. Denslow, Franklin township; C. Burgess, G. A. Spickard and John McHarque, Washington township; W. B. Grubb, W. W. Metcalf and A. R. Tate, Madison township; Joseph Lucas, W. H. Tur- ner and L. Chenowith, Jefferson township; A. Y. Shanklin, J. S. Estes and J. B. Thomas, Trenton township."
Such is the record of Grundy county in the late civil war, and is a con- cise history of all that can be found in reference thereto, and is carefully confined to the facts. Many personal incidents might be recorded, but would not be of general interest and are therefore left out. The record al- together is one to be proud of and Grundy county upon the battle-field for the preservation of the Union acted a noble part.
PEACE.
The war cloud had passed, but it had left a trail red with the blood of the sons of freedom ; yet had peace come, and the land so lately rended by strife and raging hosts of armed men, now lay quiet, bathing in the soft sunlight of a spring day, and hope, the white winged messenger of despairing hearts, came in silent gladness to the people once more. The Blue and the Gray had met in mortal strife; they now meet as brothers. The country.has snf- fered and passed through a trying ordeal, but liberty remains unscathed. Let us hope that the future of our country may never again be in the throes of a fratricidal strife, and that peace and brotherly love may be upon the banner of those who shall now and in all future time guide the destin- ies of this great republic. Strong, solid and as enduring as the rock of ages, its principles founded upon the rights of the people for self-govern- ment, holding out its hands in welcome to the oppressed of all nations, the " Blue and Gray" unite once more in bonds of fraternal union, and standing side by side will ever guard the portals of liberty from all foes. And thus standing side by side as brothers, there is nothing more appropriate to close the record of the past than the beautiful tribute of Francis Miles Finch, at Arlington :
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY.
By the flow of the inland river, Whence the fleets of iron had fled, Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, Asleep are the ranks of the dead; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the one, the Blue; Under the other, the Gray.
Those in the robing of glory, Those in the gloom of defeat, All with the battle blood gory, .In the dusk of eternity meet; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the laurel, the Blue; Under the willow, the Gray.
From the silence of sorrowful hours, The desolate mourners go, Lovingly laden with flowers, Alike for the friend and the foe; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the rose, the Blue; Under the lilies, the Gray.
So with an equal splendor, The morning sun-rays fall; With a touch impatiently tender, On the blossoms bloming for all; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Broidered with gold, the Blue; Mellowed with gold, the Gray.
So when the Summer calleth, On forest and field of grain, With an equal murmur falleth, The cooling drip of the rain; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Wet.with rain, the Blue, Wet with rain, the Gray.
Sadly, but not with upbraiding, The generous deed was done ; In the storm of years now fading, No braver battle was won; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Under the blossoms, the Blue; Under the garlands, the Gray.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
No more shall the war-cry sever, Or the winding river be red; They banish our anger forever, When they laurel the graves of our dead. Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day; Love and tears for the Blue; Tears and love for the Gray.
FROM 1862 TO 1865-THE DARK DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR.
During the dark days of the civil strife which shook the pillars of freedom to their foundation, there was, outside of the army, much of history which has not and never will be recorded. The records of local affairs, not men- tioned in army history, and much of the fierceness of that strife and its re- taliating spirit, is found in the home or local surroundings. Of this local history we give a chapter below from the graceful pen of Dr. Thos. Kimlin, who depicts, as with a practiced hand, the home events of Grundy county, while the struggling combatants, in serried columns, fought for supremacy upon the battle-fields of the South. The following is from the Doctor's graphic pen :
"GRUNDY AT HOME.
"In the month of June, 1862, the writer of this sketch, then a young man of twenty-four, walked from Chillicothe, in Livingston county, to Trenton, in Grundy. He had come from New York, and on arriving at Chillicothe found his means exhausted, consequently was obliged to resort to natural locomotion to reach his destination. The Harry House was the only hotel in Chillicothe, and as the tired traveler rested there for one night, thinking of his walk on the morrow, he was anything but delighted to hear that the bushwhackers were seen on the Trenton and Chillicothe road the day before, and were raiding around Springfield.
" The next morning dawned bright and beautiful, and as our traveler struck north he thought he never saw a more lovely country. The prairie was of a gentle, undulating character, covered with a fine growth of grass and in- terspersed with belts of timber-hickory, oak, ash, elm, cottonwood and black walnut. Numerous streams crossed the country, along the banks of which the wild plum and crab-apple grew in the greatest luxuriance. The soil was a fine, deep, dark loam. The woods and streams abounded in game. The chattering squirrel ran across the road or, perched on a stump, scolded like a fish-woman; the shy rabbit loped along under the shade of the bushes; coveys of quails from time to time rose whirring in the air; and on passing the creeks and water pools many a wild duck flew away on clam- orous wing. Only the road was deserted. In the entire distance he met not a single individual. No farmers were at work in the fields; no loaded teams wended their way to town; no market wagons filled with noisy lads,
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
rosy lasses, or aged parents, went elattering home with recently acquired stores of dry goods and groceries. Even the few houses along the road looked deserted-in one or two the doors and windows were jealously closed, and in a few others the widely open door and broken windows revealed empty desolation within.
"About half way between Trenton and Chillicothe stood two farm-houses a short distance from the road which were some months afterward the scene of a terrible tragedy that to-day invests the neighborhood with a strange horror. Again a few blackened beams, a pile of crumbling brick or stone, showed where a house had been. What had happened here? What had become of the inhabitants? Happily for the traveler's peace of mind he did not know then, nor until long afterward, for those who knew of these occurrences were very reluctant to speak about them.
"Our traveler, however, arrived safely in Trenton, which he found to be a town of perhaps seventy or eighty houses, clustered irregularly around a square brick building, the county house. The appearance of the place was not such as to impress a stranger very favorably. Instead of being located on one of the fine prairies with which Grundy county abounds, the town was built on and between a number of scraggy bluffs adjacent to Grand River. These bluffs had been washed out of all shape by rains, and cut into gullies so deep that some of the streets were impassable. The streets were overgrown with a prodigous growth of "jimson " and dog- fennel, which, when in bloom, filled the atmosphere with an odor that was more striking than pleasant. The population was rather heterogeneous. The war had swept off the best part of the people-the young men to join the Union armies; the feeble and weak-kneed in body and loyalty to the more bracing climate of Montana and Oregon.
" In politics Trenton had been Democratic, so much so that in the election of 1860 but two or three votes were cast for Lincoln. Now it was all the other way. Trenton got so loyal it leaned backward; or, rather, when the really patriotic men had joined the army, many rough characters came to the suface who, otherwise, would have remained hidden in their native obscurity, and these ruffians, assuming the garb of loyal men and Republi- cans, were a disgrace, alike to the cause of the one and the name of the other.
In no State in the Union did men, both Democrats and Republicans, turn ont in defense of their country more enthusiastically than in north Mis- souri; and no county in north Missouri exceeded " loyal old Grundy."
" Rampant ruffianism made it almost as dangerous for a man to say he was a Democrat, as to say he was a rebel. Even the families of Democrats, whose sons perhaps were in the Union army, were not altogether safe.
" The Rev. Mr. Starr, an infirm Methodist preacher whose only son was in the Union army, and who was on Grierson's staff in his famous raid to
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
New Orleans, was subjected to numerous petty persecutions. One was the nailing of a Union flag over his front door, not as a sign of loyalty, but as a mark of disgrace-pretty much of the same character as the red flag nailed to honses suspected of containing small-pox.
"Street fights were common, and it was a poor day that did not afford two or three fights, perhaps coming off at one and the same time.
" The business of the town had suffered a severe shock by the war. Some of the best firms had succumbed: probably the largest amount of trading was done at . Moberly's Corner.' and carried on chiefly by Win. C. Benson, who was at that time treasurer of the county.
" The people were frank and hospitable in their manners, and their tastes were simple. They had few amusements. Among the ladies, good looks were then. as well as now, the rule, especially among the girls up to the age of twenty. and plain looks the exception. The writer don't remember of seeing a really ugly woman except once, and she hailed from an adjoining county. To join in their social recreations, one might easily fancy himself in some primitive acadia, where the shepherds piped to their lassies on wheaten straws: indeed, one favorite game was called 'Weevily wheat." from an artless song of that name. This song was sung by the entire com- pany while marching two and two around a circle. The refrain was:
I won't have none of your weevily wheat. I won't have none of your barley, For I must have the best of wheat To bake a cake for Charley-
" The song went on to tell who Charley was and what were his qualifiea- tions. thus:
For Charley he is a nice young man, And Charley he's a dandy ; And Charley loves to kiss the girls -- As sweet as sugar candy.
"But for the matter of that. each young lady mentally fitted the name to her own particular admirer.
" There was one piano in town. perhaps two, but for good downright ear- piercing music the fife bore off the palm. We may be mistaken, but we be- lieve that the fifer's stock of music consisted of two pieces, the one he was always playing, at least when we could hear him-and that was daily-the other tune was never heard.
". Pitching dollars into a hole in the ground was a favorite out-door game. It was generally carried on in front of a groggery, and the players were sure to be surrounded by a circle of highly interested spectators, their interest being partly accounted for by the fact that. with western generosity, many of the games were played for . drinks for the crowd."
"Correspondence with the outer world was carried on by means of a hack
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
which made a tri-weekly trip to Chillicothe. The arrival of the hack was always the signal for a crowd to gather around the post-office, and listen while the address on each letter and paper was called out by the worthy postmistress, Mrs. Collier. When the papers were distributed, they ad- journed to some convenient fence corner to hear the news about the war. This was generally read aloud by Mr. A. K. Sykes, who has done more gratuitous work of this kind for the people, than any other man in the county.
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