USA > Missouri > Pettis County > The History of Pettis County, Missouri, including an authentic history of Sedalia, other towns and townships, together with biographical sketches > Part 47
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118
Sec. 3. The public records and moveable property shall be removed. to the new county seat as soon as practicable, after the passage of this act, and all courts hereafter to be held for said county shall be held at the new county seat; provided, however, that the county court shall not be required to hold their sessions at the new county seat until suitable buildings are perfected for their reception.
After various other provisions to provide for the payment of money expended for lots, and the appointment of three commissioners to select a site for county buildings, comes the ninth section which says:
Sec. 9. Joseph C. Higgins, J. J. Monahan and John M. Sneed are hereby appointed commissioners to locate the site of the county buildings under the provisions of this act; provided, however, that the citizens of Sedalia and vicinity shall furnish the means for the erection of a court house, and the tax payers of Pettis County shall not be taxed for the pur- 15
430
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
pose of paying for the building of said court house, nor shall the commis- sioners herein appointed enter upon the discharge of the duties imposed until a sufficient amount of money has been raised for the completion of said court house.
Some time in the fall of 1864 or the spring of 1865 the commissioners before mentioned had erected a large frame court house, which was near Ohio street and the alley between Second and Main streets. Here the first terms of the circuit court were held in the spring and summer of 1865. The character of some of the proceedings then had have been mentioned elsewhere in this chapter together with the names of the offi- cers of the court.
In view of the fact that the town was to be made the county seat awak- ened the citizens to the importance of having a city charter. In the early part of December, 1863, the party of citizens, who are mentioned hereafter as the first officers and aldermen, met in the parlor of the old Sedalia House, north of the railroad, and discussed the matter of drafting a char- ter. Theodore Moses, brother of R. H. Moses, at present county collec- tor, was chosen to act as secretary. The members present discussed each point, and then one of them dictated to Moses and he wrote the matter down, section by section. At the time of the third meeting there was small-pox in the town, and there had been ten deaths. James G. Tesch, who was a member of the meeting, came in on this occasion looking very pale, and said he had been unwell for several days. He sat down close to the stove. While the members were busy discussing the points of the charter, Major William Beck looked up suddenly and saw that Tesch's face was as red as a boiled lobster, whereas, a few mements before it had been as white as a sheet. Beck said to him: "Tesch, what in the name of God is the matter with your face?" Before he could answer, General Smith arose from his chair, strode up to Tesch, took a good look at his face, and then burst out in stentorian tones, and in his usually decisive and boisterous manner, said: "By the eternal, the man has got the small- pox!" He did have the small-pox. Four soldiers were called; Tesch was rolled up in army blankets, a stretcher was brought, and the soldiers carried him to his home. He was confined to his bed for some time with a pretty severe case of the disease. After this interruption the meeting went on with its work. When the work was completed it was presented to the Legislature, which met in January, 1864. Upon this draft was pre- pared the present charter of the city of Sedalia. The bill granting it was passed February 15, 1864. By the provisions of the charter the citi- zens who had prepared the original draft were appointed the first officers and aldermen. Their names, and the positions they held are as follows: George R. Smith, mayor; James G. Tesch, marshal; C. P. Townsley, assessor; aldermen, Frank L. Parker, William Beck, Ira C. Pierce, R.
431
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
CLUTE & CO
J. M. CLUTE, DRY GOODS, SEDALIA, MO.
JAY GOULD HOTEL
JAY GOULD HOTEL, SEDALIA, MO.
432
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
Waltenspeil, Richard Hulland, Eli Laupheimer, Francis McCabe. The latter was the commander of a company during Jeff. Thompson's raid on Sedalia. Of these, Smith, Parker, Waltenspeil, Hulland and McCabe are now dead.
These constituted the officers, a mayor, marshal, assessor, and seven aldermen.
The charter provided for the appointment of a registrar by the mayor. This set of officers held their position until the first Monday in April, 1864, when the first city election was held. At this election the following officers were elected: James G. Tesch, mayor, and the old board of aldermen mentioned above.
The first meeting of the city council under the charter was held in a little frame building near the present site of the German House, East Main street.
The earliest records of the council meetings seem to have been destroyed, and the writer was unable to find them.
The charter which was then granted to Sedalia gave pretty full powers. Section twelve gives in a compact form the powers granted the mayor and board of aldermen, and is as follows: "The mayor and board of aldermen shall have power by ordinance to levy and collect taxes upon real and personal property within the city, such taxes as shall from time to time be necessary for the purposes of the corporation, on all persons and property made taxable by the laws for state purposes, and shall have power by ordinance to make regulations to prevent the introduction of contagious diseases; to make regulations to secure the general health of the inhabitants; to prevent and remove nuisances; to establish night watches and patrols; erect lamps in the street and light the same; to pro- vide for licensing, taxing and regulating auctioneers, retailers, ordinaries and taverns, billiard tables, hackney coaches, wagons, carts, drays, pawn- brokers, venders of lottery tickets, money changers, hawkers and peddlers, theatrical and other shows of amusement; to restrain and prohibit tippling houses, gaming and gaming houses, bawdy houses and other disorderly houses; to establish and repair bridges; to establish and regulate markets; to open and keep in repair streets, avenues, lanes, alleys, drains and sew- ers, and keep the same clean; to provide the city with water, to provide for safe keeping standard weights and measures; for the regulation of weights and measures to be used in said city; to regulate the cleaning of chimneys and fix the fees thereof; to provide for the prevention and extinguishment of fires; to regulate the size of brick to be made and used within the city; to provide for the inspection of lumber and other building materials to be sold and used therein; to regulate and order partition and parapet walls, hearth boxes, and partition fences; to regulate the inspec- tion of butter, lard, wool and the weight and quantity of bread, the stor-
433
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
age of gunpowder, tar, pitch, rosin, hemp, cotton and other combustible materials; to erect pumps in the streets for the convenience of the inhabi- tants; to regulate the election of city officers and fix their compensation, and from time to time to pass such ordinances to carry into effect the objects of this act and the powers hereby granted, as the good of the inhabitants may require; and to impose the appropriate fines and forfeit- ures for the breach of any ordinance, and provide for the collection thereof; provided that no tax shall be laid upon the wearing apparel, or necessary tools and implements of any person carrying on a trade, nor shall the same be subject to distress or sale for tax."
This clause is of interest because it gives "in a nut shell" the powers granted to the city; and it gives an insight into the social condition of the city by showing what things were wanted and not wanted, under the law at that time.
Numerous amendments have been made to the charter, which will also show the progress of the city and the increase of its demands. The mayor first appointed the city registrar, and afterwards the city attorney. Now all officers are elected. There is now no necessity for regulating sellers of lottery tickets, for that traffic is forbidden by State law. A board of health is now established to look after the health of the citizens, and contagious diseases. There is now an ordinance for the taxing and kill- ing of dogs, and for restraining hogs and cattle from running at large; to protect birds and bird's nests; to kill pigeons; to erect poor, work and pest houses; to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons; to regulate the price and quality of gas; to borrow money and issue bonds; to pre- scribe fire limits; for the keeping of a record of births and deaths; to restrain and regulate hotel runners; to prevent the encroachment of signs on sidewalks; to prevent any amusement that may annoy people on the highways or frighten animals; to provide for the paving, altering and opening of streets, etc., etc. These very amendments to the city charter show the history of the town indirectly, because the provisions of the original charter were suitable for a young village; and the amendments are such as are required by the demands of an established city.
Just after the city had become a corporation, and the first set of elected officers and aldermen had gotten the city government to working well, the town was invaded by a regular and large force of veteran Confeder- ates.
The election came off in April, 1864, and the town was captured in October following.
434
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
CHAPTER III .- CAPTURE OF SEDALIA.
This history of the assault upon and capture of the city is one of the most interesting and important incidents of the war, not only in Sedalia, but in Missouri, because it was made at a most unexpected time and when the war was almost over; and because there are many of the present residents of Sedalia who witnessed the event and still recollect it as the most thrilling episode in their whole lives.
Gen. Sterling Price, with a large and well organized force, had begun his famous march through Missouri, and had reached the central part of the State.
On September 23, about twenty days before the attack on this city, Col. John D. Crawford, a tried and trusted Union soldier, who had been born and raised in the near vicinity of Sedalia, and had done good ser- vice for his county and country, from the very beginning of the war, received a formal order from Gen. Rosecrans, the then commander of the department in which Sedalia was located, to organize a force to defend Sedalia. It was supposed that the approach of Price's army would embolden all the straggling bands of bushwhackers and other irregulars, to commit new deeds of violence and plunder, and as all the regular forces had been withdrawn from the town and the post abandoned, it was in great danger from such predatory bands as might swoop down upon it. Col. Crawford went to work at once, assisted by a few other men who had seen service, and reliable and courageous Union citizens of the town, and organized a small force, composed of veteran militiamen and Union citizens, and a few men of southern sympathies who were willing or forced to unite with them in the defense of their town, homes and property. Forces were organized not only in Sedalia, but in Clinton, Warrensburg and other surrounding towns, and the officers in command at these other points reported daily, or as often as possible, to Col. Craw- ford.
On October 14, Gen. Sanborn and a force of Federal cavalry passed through Georgetown on their way west. The general met Col. Craw- ford and commended his promptness and efficiency in organizing his forces, and successful defense of the town and country. Sometime between October 10 and October 13 the wires between Jefferson City and Sedalia were cut, and news reached Sedalia that the Otterville railroad bridge would be burned, thus cutting Sedalia off from all communication with headquarters and from all aid. This was a desperate condition to be left in. About the same time a telegram was received from Gen. Brown, District Commander at Jefferson City, ordering Col. Crawford to take his horses and arms and leave Sedalia to its own fate, as he would be com-
435
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
pletely at the mercy of the enemy. A council was held and the word went out, "We will stay till driven out."
The morning after this news was received Col. Crawford took a force of twenty-five picked men on a flat car with an engine and went to Otter- ville, eighteen miles east of Sedalia, to reconnoiter. When he arrived there he found the bridge burning and the dense forest and rough country around it filled with Confederates. After the burning of the bridge he returned to Sedalia and urged his miscellaneous force to be especially watchful and discreet. The next day he took a small force of his cavalry and went to Otterville to make a second reconnoiter. Near the mill and blacksmith shop in the eastern suburbs, to which the enemy were driven, he came upon a squad of Confederates, and each party fired a volley. One Confederate fell from his horse wounded through the shoulders, and the others fled. As the Union militiamen approached the fallen Confederate, one of them, a very reckless and cruel man, fired his gun at the fallen soldier. His commander ordered him to desist and told him " not to shoot at a dead man, but to save his shots for the living as he would probably find more of them ere long, than he would be pleased to see." On hearing an officer speak, the wounded Confederate, who was only pretending to be dead to save himself from further injury, raised upon his elbow and begged Col. Crawford not to let his men kill him, as he was no bushwhacker but a regular Confederate soldier. A number of militia- men were directed to pick up the wounded man, and he was carried to the residence of Dr. Sanders, one of the oldest physicians in the sectoin, where his wounds were dressed, and he received every proper attention. The Federal force drove the Confederates out of town, but met with no further adventures. They returned to Sedalia the same night. Light earthworks had been thrown up all around the town. The next day, October 15, a woman came over from the "Pin Hook Mills" neighborhood, a Mrs. Cummings, and informed Col. Crawford that there was a large Confed- erate force on their way across the country to attack Sedalia. Reports of this character had been so frequent since the appearance of Price's force in Central Missouri, that little attention was paid to it at first. However, a squad was sent out to reconnoiter, and soon returned with a couple of rebel stragglers, which they captured in the woods about four miles due north of town. There was now no doubt about a rebel force being near the town. All the available forces in Sedalia, about 250 or 300 men, were ordered to go into the trenches or saddles.
The different companies and squads were at this time under the imme- diate command of Capt. Donnohue, Capt. Frank McCabe, Capt. F. L. Parker, Capt. Wm. Bloss, Lieut. Ben Lyon and Lieut. Dick Bard. They and their forces had been scouting through the country, digging trenches
436
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
at various points around the town, laying on their arms at night in the open air, and, in fact, enduring all the hardships and rigors of soldier life. Chan. P. Townsley was adjutant, and Lieut. B. F. Yankee was with his company.
The strongest earthwork was on the site of A. L. Goodwin's livery stable, on East Main street. Ben Lyon and Adam Ittel were in com- mand here. Near town there was a company of cavalry belonging to some regiment with Gen Sanborn, and just out of town was a squad of men from Hickory County, who were without arms, and had come to Sedalia to get them. They all left at once when the attack began. The headquarters of the Union force were in the basement of the old Sedalia House, near the present site of the Garrison House. The small miscella- neous force got under arms at once and went to their various posts around town. Lieut. Lyon was at the old Bouldin House, northwest of town, getting his dinner, when he heard the first firing. There was a tall flag- staff in front of the headquarters, from which the Union flag was flying. Capt. Donnohue had been sent out north of town with a small cavalry force. This squad met the Confederate advance guard in the vicinity of the present city cemetery, and exchanged several volleys. Then, seeing they were overwhelmingly outnumbered, returned to town. The rebel force was large and furnished with several field pieces, and it would have been folly to have attempted to fight them without artillery. About the same time a telegraph operator from Otterville or Syracuse came to town and delivered a dispatch to Col. Crawford from Gen. A. J. Smith, who was in command of the Federal infantry force somewhere down on the line of the railroad, where the telegraph lines had been repaired. The message said in substance: "Hold the town if you can, until I arrive with my troops; but if the rebel force is too large, leave the place and save your men, arms and horses."
By this time the Confederates had planted their three pieces of artillery near the cemetery, and were firing shot and shell at two points in the town; two columns of Confederate cavalry were approaching the town, one from the west and another from the east, and very soon skirmishing began at different points and the capture of the whole force became imminent.
It was not long before several squads of the citizen soldiers were cap- tured or had surrendered. The Union forces fell back south of the rail- road. Col. Crawford rode down town to his headquarters, just north of the present site of the Garrison House, to get some valuables from his office. He had his large overcoat buttoned up over his uniform. At Capt. F. L. Parker's livery stable, near the headquarters, he found Capt. Parker disputing and talking with five or six Confederate soldiers. Craw- ford rode up to Parker and said:
.
437
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
"What are you doing here?"
These men seemed to be stragglers who had recently joined the Con- federates; they did not seem to be well acquainted with the members of their own forces, and evidently mistook Crawford for a Confederate officer. They walked away on his approach, at any rate, and left him to talk to Parker. The latter had been captured by the Confederates and deprived of his horse and all his arms. While Parker and Crawford were talking Bill Baker, orderly for Crawford, came up. He was riding a small pony and had also lost his arms and cavalry horse. Baker told Crawford he would be captured if he remained there long. Crawford told him to keep quiet. Parker was urged to mount a horse that was in the livery stable, and all three men rode slowly west on North Main as far as to Kentucky street. Col. C. told Baker and Parker "to stay with him, keep their lips closed, and he would take them safely out of the town." Just as the party got to the Kentucky street railroad crossing they saw a squad of Confederates coming from the west. Some of them passed east on Main street, and some entered stores. A cavalier galloped up towards them and leveled his gun at them. Baker's pony got close up to the Con- federate before he could stop his horse, and as he was unarmed, of course the man did not fear him. The Confederate turned his gun towards Crawford and said: "Are you a Confederate or a Federal?" Crawford drew his big holster revolver, and as he got it leveled on the trooper said: "I am a Federal, give up that gun!" Before the Confeder- ate could fire, Baker, who was by his side, took hold of his gun, and had the man at his mercy. The fellow was made to give up his gun and his revolvers, and charged to make no noise. Then the four men, Crawford, Parker, Baker and the prisoner rode slowly south on Kentucky street until they reached about the locality of Seventh street. Here was assem- bled the calvary force under Adjutant Chan. P. Townsley, who were beginning to dispute their way with the Confederate calvary from the west, and as the Federals passed out the Confederates closed around and took complete possession of the town. As the forces were scattered throughout the town that day, and as different persons were in different parts of the town, and at different times in the day, their personal experi- ences were all different, and each witnessed something that probably another did not. The narratives of different parties who were in the town, combined, give a very graphic picture of the sights, scenes, escapes and dangers of the day.
When he first heard the cannon booming, Lieut. Ben. Lyon mounted his horse and rode to the fort on East Main street at once. When he got there all his men were gone. He went in to look round when a ball from a Con- federate field piece took the top off the fort, and a number of carbine balls struck a pile of timber near it. He saw it was too warm to stay there by him-
438
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
self, and got out and galloped off, having no one to aid him had he felt dis- posed to make a stand. Just after Capt. Donnohue's scouting party came back from the vicinity of the cemetery, and about the time the militia force began their retreat southward, the Confederates sent a company out to approach the town from the east and from the west.
It was at that time two hundred or two hundred and fifty Confederate cav- alry, under the command of Gen. Thompson's orderly sergeant, made a charge across the prairie in the northeast part of town, that the most of the fighting was done. It was a short fight, but ended disastrously to the Confederates. The scene of the actual fighting was near the corner of what is now Jefferson street and Washington avenue, and about seventy- five yards due north of the deep cut of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. From the fort on East Main street, a line of ditches and earthworks, with a tier of railroad ties on top of them, extended in a semi-circle northward, and then northwest, and enclosed all the ground now occupied by the Catholic Church, and ran clear around to the present Moniteau street and stopped about a square north of Main street. These earthworks had a ditch in front of them, were about six feet above the level of the prairie, and had two tiers of railroad ties on top of them, with an opening between the first and second tiers to fire through; some where near the present site of John B. Gallie's lumber yard, where the German company of home guards were stationed.
After the news came that the Confederates were approaching the town, a number of scouting parties from Sedalia were riding around in the broad open prairie north of the town. At the same time W. P. Jackson and a gang of negroes were digging more earthworks, between the first line of earthworks mentioned and the present cemetery northeast of the city. When the Confederate gunners had planted their guns near the cemetery, all the straggling parties hastened into town because cannon balls began to fly fast. Just before the main body of the forces left the town a small party of men, not exceeding twenty in number, put their horses in Cap- tain Parker's livery stable and went to the earthworks, near the corner of Jefferson street and Washington avenue. Every one was very much excited at this time, and it is difficult to give a connected, full and accurate account of what happened. The account of what happened in and around the little fort near Jefferson street and Washington avenue, is of the most importance, the best authenticated and of most interest, for it was at this point that the sharpest fighting took place.
The story told by all who were in and around this spot agrees in all important particulars. The little company which made a stand here was composed of cool, recklessly brave men. They seemed to have thought of nothing else than to make a stand and fight. They forgot that their
439
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
resistance to a force of which they knew nothing, might result in every one of them getting shot or bayoneted.
Frank McCabe was in the breastwork. He was one of the first aldermen in the city, and a perfect dare-devil. He was armed with a small, long-range and deadly rifle. Charles Lyon was barely twenty years old; he had a shot gun, loaded with slugs, and some revolvers. William P. Jackson had a splendid carbine, two revolvers and a big horse pistol. Robert G. Barnhart was either in the breastwork or near it. He was an old hunter and trapper, a good shot, and a man who would stand fire. The last three men are still residents of this city, and remember the inci- dents of the fight with perfect distinctness. Frank Wear, now a resident of Clinton, Mo., was there. George C. Taylor, one of the boldest and most courageous of men, a brother of Mr. Charles G. Taylor, of this city, was in and out of the breastwork. While the fight was still going on, Taylor went out of the breastwork, saw a Confederate straggler trying to rob an old man named Chambers or Chalmers, near the present site of George Scheer's new wagon shop, and shot the soldier off his horse. Theo. Shel- ton, son-in-law of Major Gentry, now a wealthy St Louis merchant, then a mere boy, was there with Jacob Nussberger, and Fred Heep, who afterwards committed suicide. There were others in and out and around, but no one can remember their names. About seventy-five yards north- west of this breastwork, near the present site of the Catholic Church, or just east of it, was the first school house in the city, built before the town was laid out. While this little band above mentioned were behind this breastwork, the six pound balls were flying at the flag-staff on East Main street, and over their heads, at the staff near the Sedalia House, which was in a direct line with them. Bob Barnhart had nailed the flag to the staff of the East Main street fort, and the only way to get it down was to chop down the pole. This was done afterwards, or else it was shot down.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.