USA > Missouri > Pettis County > Sedalia > The History of Pettis County, Missouri, History of Sedalia > Part 48
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After Dick Bard and his company had gone out near the cemetery, and come back with a squad of Confederate cavalry after them, another squad of Confederate cavalry ranged around in the valley north of town, and came upon the German company under the command of Theo. Bloess, near Moni- teau street, and a long distance west of the breastworks and the old school house, near Jefferson street. When the Rebel cavalry ran on to the German company and their breastworks the latter fired on them at long range. This Rebel band, from fifty to seventy-five, retreated east- ward, and protected themselves by getting on the east side of the old school house before mentioned. This band was now not more than sev- enty-five yards from McCabe and his men, and between the school house and the breastworks. They did not know that there was any one in the breastworks. Frank McCabe said: "By God, boys, hold your fire until they get up close; I've got a long-range gun ; let me fire first and then
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all of you pepper them." They poured a volley into the Confederates and were so close that the Union soldiers could see the cavalrymen who were hit, wince, though none fell off their horses. The Confederate cavalry scattered and galloped off until they could see who and what they were fighting. In a few moments another squad came galloping up in front of the breastworks, and before they knew they were in range, they got a terrible volley from behind the breastworks, that is believed to have wounded quite a number, as several were seen to reel in their saddles, though none fell. Some of them ran over to the battery on the hill, and the gunner began to aim at the breastworks. While firing at this breast- work, a piece of shell went into the house of a man named Mack, and killed one of his children. Captain F. L. Parker's house, and that of W. P. Jackson were in a line with this breastwork and the one on East Main street.
They saw two women just south of them and of the railroad deep cut, with a sheet on a pole. They, the women, were in full view of the bat- tery over by the cemetery, and were evidently waiving the cloth as a flag of truce to get the firing stopped.
The men in the breastwork had their blood up and wanted to fight, and suggested, in their excitement, that the women holding the flag be shot down. McCabe and Jackson told them to hold on. Jackson went out, crossed the railroad, and found his wife holding the flag of truce, which she and Mrs. F. L. Parker had fixed up when they saw the East Main street fort deserted and the six pound balls coming into their yards.
Jackson took the flag, rolled it up, told the ladies to go back home, and was about to recross the railroad cut and go to the breastwork, when a squad of rebel cavalry, with Col. Elliott at their head, dashed out from behind the east Main Street Fort, surrounded him and took him prisoner. The next incident of the fight was the most interesting of all. Some one went down to the depot and told the officer there that there were "a lot of dare devil fools " up in a breastwork, meaning McCabe and his men, who had not surrendered. It is supposed that Gen. Thompson's orderly sergeant, Helm, a splendid fellow, who was a brave soldier, and a valuable man, was ordered to ride up to the fort and call on McCabe and his men to surrender; at any rate, in a few moments the men behind the breast- works saw this sergeant riding towards them, and the old school house. Behind him were a few other men, at a distance.
He rode up near the fort and called out for them to surrender. Some one yelled back: " You go to hell." Then the gleaming ends of the weapons began to appear between the top line of ties. He saw he was going to be fired on, threw himself from his horse and began to make for the protection of the old school house. Frank McCabe drew a bead on him with a rifle and sent a ball clear through him, just beneath the arm
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pit. Several others fired also. There was another trooper near him. It can not be told exactly who killed his horse. At any rate a ball was sent sidewise through the horse's head, and he had both his eyes shot out. The animal fell over on the trooper and pinioned him to the earth. It was all open prairie in front of and around the breastwork. The killing of the orderly sergeant, and the fall of the horse and the trooper, were plainly visible to the men at the battery over near the cemetery. The man lying beneath his horse was able to signal, and a trooper from the battery came to his relief. This was as good as certain death. The soldier galloped up, jumped off his horse, gave a few vigorous pulls at his comrade and got him out from under the animal. Before he could rise from his stooping position the men behind the breastworks riddled him with balls, and he fell dead. The man whom he had rescued fled on the wings of the wind and escaped, though a volley was fired after him.
By this time the two companies of Confederate cavalry which had gone to the east and the west of the town, had come in from the south, and . those who had come directly from the main force, near the cemetery, had united at the depot, or were scattered throughout the town. The little band at the earthworks, where the sergeant was killed, now, for the first time, learned the superior numbers that they were fighting against. They scattered and every man took care of himself. None of them left town because they knew that they could not be distinguished from the other soldiers. Scouts were sent out through the town commanding every citizen and soldier to assemble at the depot, or take the consequence. The possible consequences of staying away or of trying to get out of town were not known, nor were they pleasant to contemplate. Therefore, all assembled at the depot and gave up their arms.
By three o'clock in the afternoon the Confederates had full possession of the town. One of the first things they wanted to do was to burn the old Virginia House, afterwards the Marvin House, which was located on the present site of C. C. Clay's marble yard, at the north end of Ohio street. Fortunately among the troopers were some Central Missourians. The hotel was then kept by Capt. Henry. He had several handsome and spirited daughters who knew personally a number of these men. The house was actually set on fire, but at the earnest solicitation of the young women, the soldiers they knew extinguished the flames and influenced their comrades not to set the flames going again. Some of the Union men who saw Thompson's men, say that many of them were as brave and cool soldiers as they ever saw. On the northeast corner of Main and Kentucky there was a storeroom filled with government stores. These were all cleaned out or destroyed. Then the troopers scattered out among the business houses and pillaged to their hearts content. They took
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whatever they wanted. Among those who suffered were Rod. Gallie, James Parks, Cloney, Crawford & Co., and a number of others whose names are not remembered. There were not many stores here then.
Whenever they came across any arms that they could not use they mashed them over the corners of the houses, the horse-racks and the counters.
W. B. Riley and a man named Rudolf, who now resides in Windsor, Mo., were among the last to leave the city. Upon the present site of the corner of Fourth and Kentucky streets they came in range of a squad of raiders who fired at them at long range as they were making for Flat Creek. Several of the troopers followed them a long distance, but as they had the best horses and no arms they kept out of range of the minnie balls that were sent after them.
Some few stores were not touched. It is quite evident, but no one knows exactly the details, that some one then in or around Sedalia had sufficient influence among the men and with the Confederate general to save the · property of men on both sides.
All the afternoon the rebels were in the city. Late in the afternoon Gen. Thompson himself came over from Georgetown. He was a tall, slim, melancholy looking man, who wore a broad-brimmed gray hat and looked like a very devout Quaker who had turned soldier. His soldiers had, up to this time, pillaged to their heart's content. This was war and this is customary, but Gen. Thompson either was, or pretended to be, very angry about it. He commanded it to stop. at once. He rode up and down Main street, where all the business houses were. David Phillips had a store on the north side of Main, near Osage, on the present site of the Sedalia Savings Bank. Gen. Thompson saw a trooper, who was riding a mule, take a lot of articles, which, in the excitement caused by "the cannon's opening roar," had been left out in front of the store. Among the goods was a bolt of muslin, which had become unwrapped. About fifteen feet of it was dragging on the ground as the fellow rode down the street.
The rebel general happened to see the man. He called on him to halt. The fellow tried hard to get away. Just as he was about to turn the cor- ner of Main and Kentucky, Gen. Thompson drew his big revolver and fired on the man. The bullet went through the fleshy part of the fellow's leg and killed the mule dead in its tracks. The man extricated himself from the dead animal, left his plunder and limped off as fast as his wound would permit.
It was impossible to learn the exact number who were killed. In the miscellaneous skirmishes about town the rebels lost five killed and thirteen were wounded.
There is another incident connected with this raid which has a special local interest, because a number of parties who now live in Sedalia, were
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the actors in the scenes; and because it shows that the Union force was in no way fitted to cope with veteran wild riders and raiders like Jeff. Thompson's men.
About three or four days before Thompson's soldiers came into Seda- lia, Sergeant Steve S. Homans, late deputy sheriff, who was orderly in the company of Captain Bacon Montgomery, was at home, in Sedalia and Georgetown, on furlough. He carried some dispatches from Georgetown to Syracuse to Col. John F. Philips. As he was returning from Syracuse to Sedalia he was stopped by the Union pickets who were then stationed at McVey's branch, about one mile east of Sedalia. He knew that the country was full of scouting parties from the force of Gen. Price. He told the men that they ought to be very watchful, as they might be shot or captured any minute by scouting parties from Price's army, which he knew to be under the command of old Pettis County men, who knew every farm, lane and public road in the county. It was not long before the men who did picket duty east and southeast of Sedalia had cause to remember his warning.
Maj. Jas. C. Wood, who was raised in this section and knew the whole county, was scouting around in Pettis County, in advance of Thompson, and he had a band of as bold, experienced, hardy and reliable men as ever drew a sabre or cocked a revolver. They were just the men for a raid. Two or three nights before Jeff. Thompson appeared in Sedalia, Maj. Wood and his sixty picked men reached the eastern suburbs. He stationed all his men on the open prairie, about a half mile west of Abso- lom McVey's farm house. He and ten men rode towards Sedalia until they saw the three pickets at McVey's branch. Five men were left with the horses. Maj. Wood and the other five crawled with the utmost caution, on their hands and knees, through the tall prairie grass, until they had completely surrounded the three men. These men had just been put on duty at dusk, and it was the corporal's guard, coming to change sentinels, that put Wood on to the knowledge of the location of the men. Maj. Wood and his five men lay still until the relief was gone. Suddenly they arose to their feet, leveled their weapons on the men, and so com- pletely surprised them that resistance was useless and they surrendered. Maj. Wood, being familiar with the country, had been sent out by Gen. Thompson, who was then near Marshall, Mo., to burn the Otterville bridge and for the express purpose of finding out the condition of Sedalia and the force necessary to take it. The capture of this picket guard was a big point in his favor. The three men were taken back to the spot where the main body was bivouacked. Here they were given one or two good drinks of whisky to console them for their unfortunate capture, and they were treated with the frankness and freedom peculiar to soldiers in time of actual war. By a little judicious management. the men were
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made to talk freely. Maj. Wood learned that there was another picket guard in the hollow, just south of the present location of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas car shops. This was where the public road struck off for Versailles. Maj. Wood at once got his ten trusty men together and road off into the darkness. It was not over a mile and a half or two miles to the spot. As they approached the place they saw a twinkling light in the distance. It seemed not larger than a fire fly. When they had gotten within a safe distance of the guard they dismounted as before. Five men were left with the eleven horses, and the other six crept softly through the grass in the direction of the smail light. When the creeping troopers were almost within shooting distance of the unsuspecting pickets they heard the clear notes of a violin, pouring forth on the still air of the boundless prairie, the notes of an old and popular tune. Finally the Confederate raiders got near enough to the small
fire to see the men around it. It was a picture for Rembrandt. On an old nail keg sat a militiaman, faintly revealed by the small fire that burned at his feet. Across his knees lay his musket, while in his hands he held a violin, from which he was drawing rude but genuine music. The second guard had laid his musket down on the grass and was dancing a solo or jig with all his might. The third picket stood leaning on his gun, not suspecting any danger, and watched the other two. Their horses were tethered near. Suddenly six dark forms sprang from the grass, the startled troopers saw the gleam of six weapons, all leveled at them, and they heard a stern command from the darkness: "Drop your arms and hold up your hands or you are dead men!" They knew very well what that meant and surrendered very dis- creetly. These three men were also taken to the main party. These were outside pickets-the picket guards were thick between there and the garrison. This party of men were also skillfully managed and a good deal of valuable information gathered from them. This was about 11 o'clock at night. By half past twelve o'clock that night Maj. Wood was in Georgetown, his old home, and had all the information about Sedalia he wanted. Here he went to the old hotel kept by Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, where he had for several years boarded. Mrs. G. gave him something to eat and a quart bottle of good old Bourbon whisky, which was more esteemed by the crowd of fasting and thirsty raiders than any feast they could furnish. The party got some fresh horses here and left before day- light in the morning. They then struck out for Thompson's command and met him at Jonesboro, a small cross-roads village in Saline County. From that point they guided him to Sedalia.
An officer, who was one of Thompson's staff, tells a very amusing inci- dent of the attack on Sedalia. He was with the advance squad which first dashed into the town. At the corner of Main and Osage the Con-
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federate officer saw a Union man, mounted upon a splendid horse, just turning that corner as he came round the corner of Ohio and Main. He put spurs to his own fagged and foot-sore horse, determined, if possi- ble, to halt the trooper and make an "exchange" of horses. When the Confederate officer got on Osage St. the Union man was flying over the prairie grass fifty yards ahead of him. He called on him to halt, but the militiaman went faster. The Confederate officer had a long range shooting iron and sent two or three shots in most unpleasantly close prox- imity to the back of the flying trooper. Finally the latter drew rein, threw his musket on the ground and came to a halt. When the Con- federate cavalryman rode to him he was surprised to see the pallid face of Dr. Swope, now of Lamonte, Pettis county, a man along side of whom he had lived for twenty-five years and an old and esteemed friend. When the Confederate cavalryman recognized his friend he said: " Hello, Dock! go on, I don't want to kill you and I will not take your horse, but why in hell didn't you stop when I called on you to halt?" The answer came back: "That's all right, but I'd like to know how in the devil a man was going to stop while you was popping at him every jump with a big long range revolver." They parted pleasantly and each went his way. Hun- dreds of episodes of a similar character could be narrated.
One six pound ball from the rebel field piece went clear through the roof of one of the houses in the extreme northern part of the town. As every man began to look out for himself as soon as the Confederate cav- alry dashed into the town, there is a great variety of stories as to what happened in the city at that time. Each man and each party of men had their individual experiences. The action of the home soldiers in this fight has been commented on in sarcastic terms. They did well under the circumstances, and it would have been simple folly and madness for two hundred and fifty citizens and militia, without cannon,; or suitable fortifications, to attempt to cope with at least 1,000, some say 1,500, vet- eran troops, on a prairie. The citizens, up to the morning of the raid, had no more idea that the organized force would visit the city than they had that they would receive a visit from a cohort of angels. Adam Ittel, Elias Bixby and W. E. Bard went to the earthwork on east Main street, which they had left at 12:00 o'clock to get dinner. When they went inside the little earthwork it was deserted. They took their muskets and hid them in a hay stack near and then went down to the hotel, Captain Henry, proprietor, where Jeff. Thompson had his temporary headquarters. The Confederates loaded a number of their wagons from the large store house of Cloney, Crawford & Co., which was then located on the north- west corner of Main and Osage streets. The commander kindly left a receipt with the proprietors for the goods, and it is probably very valuable
16
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to-day-as an autograph-but cannot be considered strictly " negotiable paper."
The stragglers from the Confederate force did a little private business for themselves, when they got from under the eyes of their officers. If they captured a militiaman or a citizen on some quiet corner, and all the corners were pretty quiet then, and the militiaman or citizen had any article of apparel on that the Confederate raider fancied, or anything about his person that the raider wanted, he made him take it off or hand it out. Some men lost their boots, some their money and quite a number their coats and hats.
This dash on Sedalia and the railroad, at that late date, was one of the boldest and most successful raids of the war. Had the Confederates desired to do so they could have burned the town and destroyed a mile of railroad track before they left. The force remained in town until about . 9 o'clock that night and then left to rejoin the main force under General Sterling Price.
Before leaving this subject it will be of interest to note a few stray inci- dents of the attack on the town.
Nine or ten of the negroes who were assisting in digging fresh trenches for breastworks were shot by the Confederates, ¿and all of them but one were shot in the head and apparently at very close. quarters. One, an old humped-back negro, was shot in the back, apparently when running. Mr. Beatty, an old farmer who lived north of the present town of Hughes- ville, happened to be in town that day. He was not under arms, but when the attack began, he started to run towards Georgetown, and was shot and killed by a Confederate cavalryman under the supposition that he was an escaping militiaman.
In the evening, after the excitement of the day had quieted down, the body of Gen. Thompson's dead sergeant and that of the soldier who was killed near him, were brought down to the old Marvin House and laid out on Frank McCabe's billiard table. Early in the evening, before the citi- zens and soldiers were assembled at the depot, where Gen. Thompson made them a speech, a small Irishman, a Confederate soldier, made his appearance at the Marvin House. He was just drunk enough to be very quarrelsome and dangerous. He had his coat pockets full of greenbacks and had four big revolvers in his belt; he swaggered around the bar-room and boasted. This enraged Frank McCabe, Geo. C. Taylor and Charles Lyon. Frank proposed that one of them should throw his arms around the fellow's neck; that the second should get hold of his hands; and the third should take his revolvers away from him. They then pro- posed to knife him or knock him senseless with the butt of one of the revol- vers and throw him in a cellar, at the rear of the house, which was full of water. There were few people around the hotel at the time, and but for
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RESIDENCE OF J. R. BARRETT, SEDALIA, MO.
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the fact that the fellow left before they got a good chance, this desperate scheme would have been carried out. He had exasperated the three men to such an extent that they were ready to do any thing.
Wm. P. Jackson was standing on the platform of the Marvin House at the time the citizens and soldiers began to assemble before the com- mander-in-chief. He wore an unusually handsome pair of new boots, which had cost him eighteen dollars.
A Confederate cavalryman of about his own size and build saw the handsome boots and yearned to possess them. He said to Jackson: " My friend, that is a mighty fine pair of boots you are wearing, could not you and 1 scare up a trade; pull them off and let me try them on."
Jackson gazed reluctantly at his handsome boots, drew a long sigh of resignation, and then drew off the boots. The Confederate flung away a pair of old, red, untanned leather brogans, and pulled on the handsome top boots. They fitted him as if they bad been made for him. He said to Jackson: " Well, I reckon we'll call it a trade; I'll give you big odds; here's two pairs of shoes for your one pair of boots;" and he threw at Jackson's feet two pair of red plow shoes or brogans, worth about seventy- five cents a pair.
Just before the Confederate force left in the evening, the water tank of the railroad was set on fire and consumed. A number of huts and shanties belonging to negroes, on the present site of Lincolnville, were also burned. An attempt was also made to fire the depot, but the young ladies of Capt. Henry's family, who kept the Marvin House, prevented it. In the evening all the citizens and soldiers who had been captured, or had surrendered, were assembled at the depot and ranged in a long line up and down the long platform. Gen. Thompson made them a speech, and called on the soldiers to step out of the ranks and be paroled. Each one was sworn, and then discharged. Among the things he said was, "that there were some very good fighters among them, and he called on all who wanted to join him to do so, and go with his force."
Lieut. Frank McCabe stepped out, and thanked the general for his compliments to the Union soldiers; he said he was the lieutenant of a squad which had done a little fighting, and he hoped that none of his men would join the Confederate force.
Gen. Thompson also said, that he was very sorry for the loss of his gallant orderly sergeant, and that he would rather have lost a hundred men than that one. He told the men to stay in the houses after he and his force left the city, as he had some bad men in his command, on whom he could not always have an eye; and he could not be responsible for what they might do after the regular force had left the city behind them. He told them that they had full liberty to kill any man or men whom they found committing depredations in the town after he had departed.
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At this point Geo. C. Taylor spoke up and said: " General, I'd like to know how you expect us to kill anybody, or protect ourselves, when your men have all our arms, and have broken up all that they could not carry off. Do you expect us to fight with clubs ?"
The general seemed pleased with his boldness, and responded: " Yes, kill them with clubs, or anything else you can lay your hands cn."
That portion of the night which elapsed from the time that the Con- federate force took its departure toward Georgetown, until the advance of the Union cavalry appeared in the town about midnight, coming from the east, was a period of intense anxiety for those who were in the city. The citizens and soldiers did not know, but that the reckless men in Gen. Thompson's command might loiter in the rear, and under the cover of darkness burn the town and slay whomsoever they chose.
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