Springfield-Greene
County LibraryChapter 12
History of the County in 1863—Battle of Springfield
Part 2
Morning — The Fight Over — The Confederate Retreat — The Town Safe — Details of the Part Taken by the 72d E.M.M. in the Battle — List of Killed and Wounded in the 72d — Aggregate, Losses of Both Sides — Incidents of the Fight — Subsequent Movements of the Confederates — Battle of Hartville — Burial of the Federal Dead at Springfield — Congratulations — Arrival of Re-inforcements — Death of Judge Littleberry Hendrick — The January Term of the Circuit Court — Judgment by Default Against Certain Confederate Non-Residents — Up to the Spring of 1868 — Hard Times — The Refugees — Organization of the 6th Provisional Regiment E.M.M. — Killing of Will Wright Fulbright — The November Election — Gen. Schofield's Order — No Troops at the Polls — Official Canvass of the Vote in Greene County.
MORNING—THE FIGHT OVER—THE TOWN SAFE.
At daylight all was quiet. From the top of the, court-house the Confederates could be seen in motion to the southeast and at Phelps' farm, but whether they were preparing for another attack or for retreat was not certainly known. Gradually they moved away, and the Federal line, which had been prepared for either attack or defense, moved forward, and it was found that the battle was over, that the victory was with the "boys in blue," and that the town was safe. By and by the Union prisoners came in, and a message from Marmaduke was received asking care for the wounded, and a soldier's sepulture for the Confederate dead. The prisoners had been released on parole. Among them was Judge J. H. Show, who, with others, had been captured when the advance was made east of town.
There was a great deal of satisfaction at the result among the Federal officers and soldiers, to be sure. The usual cheering and congratulations were indulged in, mingled with sympathies and regrets for those who had fallen. Maj. Graves, of the militia, had been mortally wounded; Lieut. McCrosky, of the 72d, had been killed, and Maj. Hornbeak, of the same regiment, wounded. Gen. Brown was badly hurt, and it was touch and go whether he would lose his arm or not. The hospitals were well filled with the Federal wounded, while the Confederates were piled as thick as they could lie in the house of Mrs. Owen, in the south part of town. [446]
The citizens began to return from Fort No. 1, and to come up out of the cellars, and order once more reigned in Warsaw. Col. Crabb decided to let well enough alone, and not attempt to follow Marmaduke and Shelby, who were moving out on the wire road toward Marshfield. A renewal of the attack was feared by some, as the prisoners had learned and reported the presence of Porter's column, somewhere to the eastward. The cavalry was ready to advance if the order should be given, but no orders came and only a reconnaissance a mile or so eastward and south was made.
THE 72d E. M. M. IN THE FIGHT.
Space forbids a detailed mention of the part borne by all of the commands in the battle of Springfield. It is proper, however, to describe the part taken by the 72d regiment of Enrolled Missouri Militia, since it was called the Greene county regiment and was largely officered and composed of Greene county men. Its colonel, Henry Sheppard, and its lieutenant-colonel, Fidelio S. Jones, both of Springfield, led the regiment in person, and to them much of the efficient service it rendered is due.
From the personal statements of many of the members of this regiment yet living, and from a private letter written by Col. Sheppard himself a few days after the fight and kindly furnished by his son, Frank H. Sheppard, Esq., as well as from Col. S.'s report, this account has been derived.
Col. Sheppard states that his regiment numbered in the fight, all told, officers and privates, 253 men, represented in Companies A, B, D, E, F, G, H and I, Company C, Capt. Stone, and Company K, Capt. Moore, being absent. At daylight the regiment was formed on the public square. At about 11 it was on East St. Louis Street to repel the expected attack from that quarter. Afterward it double-quicked out on the Fayetteville road. Between 2 and 3 o'clock, and when the grand charge of Shelby's brigade was made, it lay along State street, to the right and south of the palisaded college building.
The men were "double-quicked" about over town until they were almost exhausted before they fired a shot. Gen. Brown had but comparatively few troops, and these he showed everywhere. When the main fight came off the 72d was on the right and a little in front of the Federal line, unsupported by artillery or reserves, with 200 cavalry to the right and rear, north of the Fayetteville road. The Confederate advance was in two lines, dismounted. It was composed of some of the best fighting men of either army. Shelby's brigade won and deserved an excellent name for its dash, bravery and gallantry in action.
Col. Sheppard states that the Confederates came on in a line of convex shape, the point nearly opposite Fort No. 4, and the wings well out. When near State street the line rapidly concentrated and contracted, advancing with a rush through Dutchtown and the brushwood and gardens westwardly, cheering and shouting, and pouring a hot fire upon the 72d, which the colonel had formed alone, the Fayetteville road, or State street, and behind fences, near the then residence of Mr. Worley. The men were lying down, but their curiosity to see what was coming caused every head to bob up and become a fair target. The men now began to fire and a hot fight was soon in progress. In the midst of the rattle of musketry and the pattering of' revolvers and all of the noise of battle, a poor unfortunate calf attempted to run the gauntlet of flying bullets, and when it was struck by a shot set up a loud bawling. One of the 72d sprang to his feet and roared out to the advancing Confederates: "You had better take care of your calf!" A shout of laughter rose audibly over all the din.
But Shelby's men came dashing on, now using their revolvers with serious effect. The fire was too hot for the 200 militia, and they sought to move back from it! There was soon considerable disorder. The men lost their numbers and began to mix up. Col. Sheppard and Lieut. Col. Jones reformed and renumbered them under fire, and got them down and to work again. By this time the regiment had lost seriously. Major Hornbeak was wounded, Lieut. McCroskey was killed, Lieut. Lane's leg was shot nearly off, and the halt and maimed were already thick, and growing, thicker every minute.
Very soon the regiment was again in disorder, and this time it gave way. The men trotted-back in search of safer positions. Col. Sheppard shouted at them and tried to stop them until his voice was gone; Lieut. Col. Jones had lost his horse and was well nigh exhausted, but by voice and example struggled desperately to rally them; Major Hornbeak, wounded as he was, worked vigorously; the commander of the militia and his staff came up and the officers exhorted and threatened, and commanded, but "backward, still backward," went the militiamen until they got under the cover of the hill that slopes down to Wilson creek, and stopped along College street, reformed, and began to load their muskets. One squad, however, led by a commissioned officer, retreated to Fort No. 1, reporting that they were ordered to do so. Major A. C. Graves was mortally wounded while trying to rally the 72d at this time. [448]
As soon as the regiment reformed and the men turned their faces again to the south, Col. Sheppard and Lieut. Col. Jones again ordered them forward. The men set up a shout and moved forward as readily as they had moved backward a few minutes before. Some of Shelby's more venturesome men were along Walnut street, and following somewhat the fashion at Donnybrook fair, whenever they saw a head fired at it. The 72d drove these men away, and pushed on up the hill to near Mt. Vernon street, where the men threw themselves into and behind the houses, behind fences, and into all sorts of shelters and so the fight went on until dark. The Confederates held the college and the line of houses and fences west of it, with Collins' battery in the rear, near Mr. Worley's place. The college building, which the Federals had blunderingly left unguarded, and which the Confederates quickly seized, was a strong position, being of brick and surrounded on the east, south and west sides with strong palisades of stout logs, driven deep in the ground, and well pierced with port holes.
"When the night came on," says Col. Sheppard, "my men were placed in the line of buildings right west of the Baptist church, in the brick Hornbeak house, at the M. E. church South (then the arsenal), in Fort No. 4, to the command of which I was assigned. In the night I had the howitzer in the fort, a 12-pounder, pepper, the rascals in the palisade college building, 250 yards away. The moon shone beautifully and the Dutch lieutenant (Lieut. Hoffman) made splendid practice. The secesh vacated it and at 1 a.m. I put a company in it. All night my boys, in squads, under careful officers, were crawling over the ground to the front, spying out the land, but daybreak showed only dead and wounded rebels before us. An hour later, with Gen. Brown's field-glass, I sat in a bastion and saw the long lines of the enemy working their way eastward from 'the goose-pond,' where they had withdrawn during the night. To only one idea did it seem reasonable to attribute this movement—that the attack was to be renewed from the east and north." [449]
Quoting further from Col. Sheppard the following extract from the private letter before referred to will be found of interest:
* * * My regiment was only 238, [privates] strong in the fight. We lost 53 killed and wounded. The advance of the enemy from Ozark was so rapid that the members of the regiment living in the country were cut off from town and were unable to join us. We have buried 51 of the enemy. About 80 of their wounded are here; they carried away a good many of their wounded in wagons, and of course numbers of their slightly wounded rode off their own horses. Nine prisoners, armed with Enfield rifles, were taken in one house by a squad of the 72d.
Bill Frazier was with them, and badly shot; he is now in the hospital. Lingow was also with them, and so exhausted that he lay down in one of the little houses in Dutchtown, and did not wake until morning. Then, supposing the rebels had possession of the college, he went in and was kindly received by Capt. Small, who sent the gentleman over to me. He is a lieutenant of artillery.
My men are by all looked upon as the men who saved the town, protected the immense accumulations of government stores for the Army of the Frontier, and preserved the communications of that army and the quiet of the whole Southwest. I doubt not that my gallant boys rendered triple more actual valuable service to the U. S. government than Gen. Fremont's entire army and magnificent Body Guard. We lack letter-writers, however, and he had them in abundance.
LOSS OF THE 72d E. M. M.
The total loss of the 72d E. M. M. in the battle of Springfield was 53, of which number 7 were killed or mortally wounded, 45 severely and slightly wounded, and one man reported missing. The following are the names, by companies:
Field and Staff.—Maj. A. C. Graves, brigade commissary, mortally wounded; Maj. John Hornbeak, 72d E. M. M., slightly wounded.
Company A, Capt. Jackson Ball commanding.—Killed, 2d Lieut. David J. McCroskey; Private John N. Cox. Wounded, Corporal Eliisha L. Elam and Privates Stephen Sink, John Davis, Nimrod P. Ginger, Aaron T. Bacon, and D. M. Wallace.
Company B, Capt. R. K. Hart commanding.—Wounded, Sergt. John H. Williams, in thigh; Privates Levi E. Grimmitt, in the ankle, and Jackson O. Hale, in leg.
Company D, Lieut. Geo. S. Patterson commanding.—Wounded, Sergt. John L. Rainey, in arm, mortally; Corporal J. W. Boren, in head, slightly; Privates Silas Dugger severely, W. J. McDaniel in hip, S. M. Gresham in shoulder, Thos. Wilson in foot, Elisha Painter in foot, W. R. Russell in face, H. C. McKee in hip, N. J. Dyer in hip, F. M. Chiping. [450]
Company E, Capt. Geo. A. Dillard commanding.—Wounded, 1st Lieut. W. F. Lane, leg broken (died); Corporals Hiram Vaughn in shoulder and John Hissey in arm; Privates Charles Crane in leg, severely, George W. Townlin in head, Clay Leslie in head, Robert P. Ellison in head, Josiah M. Cunningham in arm.
Company F, Capt. Geo. T. Beal commanding.—Wounded, Sergts. W. R. M. Campbell in head (died); P. G. Perkins in leg; Privates, W. H. O'Neal mortally, W. Braswell severely, Louis Payne in knee, J. M. O'Neal in hand and leg, W. W. Ward, J. A. Hampton, W. R. Norman, Baker Russell and W. C. MoCroskey, all slightly.
Company G, Lieut. Irwin W. Jenkins commanding.—Wounded, Privates W. T. Noblett mortally, and Russell Stokes slightly.
Company H, Capt. Vincent Cummings commanding.—Wounded, Private Absalom Wheeler and Henry Goodnight slightly.
Company I, Capt. J. B. Perkins commanding.—Killed, Sergt. S. Burling; wounded, Privates James Adams, John Watson, Joseph Hursh, John Mills; missing, D. M. Bedell.
NUMBER OF TROOPS AND LOSS ON EACH SIDE.
According to the official reports (cited by Col. Sheppard and others) the Federals had 1,566 men, all told, in the battle. This included convalescents and the men from the hospitals. The Confederate strength was not far from 2,000.
The Federal loss was 18 killed outright some 12 mortally wounded, who within two months, died from wounds and disease combined. The wounded numbered about 100. The total killed and wounded on the Union side, including convalescents, and all was about 125.
The Confederate loss was much greater—how much cannot now be definitely ascertained. The Missouian newspaper, published January 17th, after the fight, said that 32 dead Confederates were picked up on the battlefield, "and those of their wounded who have since died will raise their loss in killed to over 40." Dr. Melcher says that altogether he knows 80 Confederates were buried from first to last. The doctor further says that there were left in charge of four of Marmaduke's surgeons Confederate wounded to the number of 60, of whom only 28 were alive on January 31, showing that only the more dangerously wounded were left behind. Ex-Confederates say that all of their wounded that could ride away did so. Ten days after the battle Col. Sheppard says: "We have buried 51 of the enemy." [451]
The official records show that on the Federal side the 2d battalion of the 14th M. S. M. lost two men killed—E. C. Vanbibber, regimental commissary, and Private S. H. Hyde, Company D—ten wounded, and one missing. The 3d M. S. M. lost one man killed, Simon McKissick, private Company B. James T. Harris, of Co. D, was wounded, and James Pennington and H. S. Rickets were taken prisoners. The 4th M. S. M. had two men killed—Michael Schmidt, private of Company C, and Reuben H. Parker, private of Company K. The 18th Iowa had six men killed outright, five mortally wounded and 42 severely and slightly wounded. Capt. Wm. R. Blue, of Company C, of the 18th, died on the 12th, and Capt. Joseph Van Meter, of Co. H, died on the 14th. Capt. John A. Landis, of Co. D, and 2d Lieut. A. B. Conaway, of Co. C, were severely wounded.
The Confederate officers killed were Major John Bowman, of Jeans' regiment; Captain Titsworth and Lieut. John Buffington, of Gordon's (Shelby's) regiment; Lieuts. McCoy and Steigall of Jeans' regime. (Col. Jeans was not in the fight, the regiment being led by Lieut. Col. Gilkey.)
INCIDENTS OF THE FIGHT.
Will Ridgely, a young lad of 16, had his gun and accounterments taken from him by Col. Sheppard, and was ordered out of the fight, but he mounted the colonel's horse, which he had been ordered to lead to the rear, and galloped off and served all day as orderly to the commander of the militia.
It is impossible to describe the part taken by Col. Marcus Boyd's 74th, for want of information on the subject. It is believed, however, that only three companies of the regiment participated in the fight—Capt. Redferan's Capt. Phillips' and Capt. Small's. Phillips company was in Fort No. 4, and Small's occupied the college building at 1 o'clock on the morning of the 9th, after the Confederates had evacuated. Col. Boyd himself was present and assisted in directing the movements of the troops, etc.
During the fight Col. Sheppard saw a Confederate officer riding a fine black horse. Calling to Will Gott, who had a Springfield rifle musket, Col. S. bade him try his hand as a sharpshooter. At the crack of the gun the horse fell.
It was reported that 27 dead Confederates were buried on Phelps farm; 14 in the graveyard, and that 12 more died from their wounds in ten days after the fight.
It is said that Gen. Marmaduke came near being taken prisoner. He lingered in the rear on the morning of the 9th, and when, at about 9, he left Phelps' house, where he had slept, his command had nearly, all ridden away and left him, and a company of King's 3d M. S. M. was "fooling around" unpleasantly near. [452]
Some of the Confederate sympathizers in Springfield were greatly elated at the prospect of the capture of the town, until Col. Sheppard, told them that turpentine and gunpowder had been distributed in such quantities that if the town were captured it would soon be a miniature Moscow. "I intend to fire my own store with my own hands," said the colonel.
Seven resident printers belonging to the enrolled miilitia, took part in the fight. Maj. Graves, of the Journal, was mortally wounded, and Corporal Boren, of the same paper, was slightly hurt. Capt. W. P. Davis, the veteran publisher, took an active part in the engagement. Four printers from the Missourian office participated.
The next day after the battle Col. Jas. W. Johnson, with the 26th E. M. M., from Polk county, came into town, and his arrival made the forces already in town feel more secure. The colonel was unable to get in on the 8th, not having time to get his men together.
When Captains Blue and Van Meter were shot down in the fight over the cannon, Surgeon Whitney was promptly with them. Capt. Blue, realizing that he had his death wound, and that his end was near, asked the surgeon to stay with him while he lived. Surgeon Whitney, seeing Post Chaplain Fred H. Wines near, excused himself to perform other duties, saying, "Here is the chaplain; he will stay with you;" but Wines, who was a very active man, and much interested in the battle, breathed but a short prayer for the dying officer, and then said: "Now, captain, put your trust in Jesus; He will stay with you always; I can't." And away went the chaplain into the fight.
Surgeon Whitney and Chaplain Wines were both very industriously engaged. When it was the hottest at Fort No. 4, at one angle stood Whitney, shouting, "Give them hell, boys! Give them hell!" At another angle stood Wines, solemnly but encouraging exclaiming, "Put your trust in Jesus, boys, and aim low!" At the same time the fighting parson was blazing away with his dragoon revolver, and doubtless aiming "low."
One gallant Confederate evidently considered himself sufficiently armoed and fortified to capture Fort No. 4 by himself. He charged bravely up alone, till within about fifty yards of the fortification, when he suddenly turned and ran toward the rear. A bullet struck him and he fell in a singular heap. After the fight it was found that he had a large skillet or frying pan under his clothes in front. When he turned to run he seem to forget that his rear was unprotected. The fatal bullet went clear through his body and lodged in the frying-pan.
It is said that one Federal soldier, nominally a member of the 1st Iowa cavalry, was out, on the picket line with Sergt. Garrison, of the 72d, deserted and went over to the Confederates, who greeted him with a great cheer. Apparently the information he gave caused the Confederates to move away from Fort No. 4 to the west.
CONFEDERATE MOVEMENTS AFTER THE FIGHT.
At 10 o'clock on the morning of the 9th, Marmaduke's command was well out on the wire road leading to Rolla, seeking to join forces with Col. Porter. At Sand Springs the advance of Porter was met and a halt was made. Here the prisoners were all paroled and sent back, and the united command began to retreat eastward by way of Marshfield and Hartville. At the latter place a strong Federal force, under Col. Fitz Henry Warren, of the 1st Iowa cavalry, was encountered, and a hard fight ensued on the 11th. Here Emmett McDonald and Col. John M. Wymer, of St. Louis, both were killed and Col. Joe Porter mortally wounded, dying afterward, a week or so, near Little Rock; Maj. George Kirtley, Capt. Chas. Turpin, Capt. Garrett, Capt. Duprey and Lieut. Royster, all Confederates, were either killed or mortally wounded. After this fight Marmaduke retreated rapidly into Arkansas.
The death of the brave and chivalrous Emmett McDonald was learned with regret in the Federal lines as well as in Confederate camps. A desperate fighter when fighting was to be done, he was as kind as a brother and as gentle as a woman when it was over. His kind offices for Federal wounded and prisoners, and his generous conduct regarding the body of Gen. Lyon, a fellow-hero, though an enemy, had won for him great respect among the Union troops, and the people of Greene county and Springfield, Union and Confederate, still admired him for his many heroic, generous qualities. [454]
BURIAL OF THE FEDERAL DEAD.
On Sunday, January 11th, the bodies of the Federal dead were buried, pursuant to the following order from Gen. Brown:
Headquarters S. W. District of Missouri, II. Col. Walter King is hereby appointed field marshal of the day, and will make the necessary arrangements for the funeral. III. Two companies of infantry will be detailed as an escort, and will report to Col. King for orders. IV. The procession will form at four at Fort No. 4, and move through the square and out North street in the following order: 1. Band. 2. Escort. 3. The bodies of the dead. 4. The horses ridden by the slain. 5. Chaplains. 6. Infantry. 7. Cavalry. 8. Mounted Officers. 9. Citizens on horseback. 10. Citizens in carriages. 11. Citizens on foot. Officers and soldiers not detailed on special duty, will join the procession; they will carry their arms. |
Besides the honors thus shown the Federal Soldiers who fell at Springfield, the fine monument, costing $5,000, now standing in the National Cemetery, was erected in their memory by Dr. T. J. Bailey, the well known old citizen of Springfield, whose name so frequently appears in these pages.
DEATH OF JUDGE HENDRICK.
On the 10th, two days after the battle, Hon. Littleberry Hendrick died at his residence in Springfield. He had been sick with a fever for some days, and it was thought that the excitement of the battle hastened his death. Such frequent mention has been made of Judge Hendrick in this volume that it is only necessary to state in summary that he was one of the oldest settlers of Springfield, one of the oldest and best lawyers of this section of the State, a prominent politician and public man, and a gentleman of unblemished moral character. At the time of his death be was circuit judge for this circuit.
CONGRATULATIONS.
Upon receipt of the news of the battle of Springfield, Gen. Curtis, then in command of Missouri, sent the following dispatch to Gen. Brown: [455]
Headquarters, etc., St. Louis, 4 p.m. Jan. 12, 1863. |
ARRIVAL OF REINFORCEMENTS.
The news of the Springfield fight spread rapidly, and soon the Federal commanders woke up to the importance of protecting their base of supplies. Gen. Herron himself came up in a few days and saw that all was safe and snug against future attacks. News of the battle reached the troops down in Arkansas on the 10th. The 2d brigade, 1st division of the Army of the Frontier, was at once set in motion for Springfield. This brigade was commanded by Col. Win. F. Cloud,1 of the 2d Kansas Cavalry, and was composed of that regiment, the 10th and 13th Kansas, and Rabb's 2d Indiana Battery. The brigade Started from near Elm Springs on the 10th and by a hard forced march reach Springfield on the 13th. The march from Cassville was made without stopping to feed the horses but once. The 7th cavalry, M. S. M., Col. John F. Philips commanding, joined Col. Cloud at Cassville and came on with the advance.
THE JANUARY TERM OF THE CIRCUIT COURT.
No sooner had the smoke of battle and the roar of cannons died away at Springfield than the civil law came into dominion again so far as regarded the civil rights of the people. The circuit court for the 14th circuit convened at Springfield on the fourth Monday in January. Hon. John C. Price, judge of the circuit on the west (the 13th), presided in the room of Judge Hendrick, who had died on the 10th. M. J. Hubble was the clerk; John A. Mack was prosecuting attorney, and Capt. T. A. Reed was sheriff. Resolutions of respect for the memory of Judge Hendrick were adopted by the bar, J. S. Waddill presiding, and spread upon the records, and then the court proceeded to business. Geo. W. Randolph acted by appointment as circuit attorney.
At this term of court a number of cases growing out of the war were disposed of. During the Confederate occupancy of Greene county many of the Union citizens had their property taken by the Confederates, some of whom were also citizens of this county and owned property. Certain other Unionists were arrested by the Greene county Confederates who of course were only acting in obedience to the orders of their superior officers. When the Confederate army left, the Greene county members under Campbell, Lotspeich, and others, left with it, and after the Federal authority was restored suit was instituted against them by some of the Unionists living here whom they had arrested or whose property they had taken for military purposes. As personal service could not be had, notice of these suits was given by publication in the newspapers, which of course the defendants never saw, until long after judgment had been rendered by default and execution issued and served and their property levied on and sold.
Among other suits disposed of at this term of court were the cases of "Sidney Ingram v. John S. Blackman and Wm. Wallace Blackman," wherein the defendants were cleared with wrongfully and feloniously stealing, taking, and carrying away 35 head of hogs, by which the plaintiff says he is damaged in the sum of four hundred dollars;" the case of "John S. Colman v. L. A. Campbell and Geo. M. Jones," for the sum of $405, "caused by the taking and carrying away by the defendants of certain goods and merchandise, the property of plaintiff, without leave and against his will;" the case of Warham McElhany v. Wm. D. Hendrick, for "taking and carrying away nine hogs, of the value of $200." From time to time other judgments were rendered against Confederate soldiers "by default," and afterwards trouble arose.
The Confederates always claimed that these proceedings against then were unjust and unfair, inasmuch as they were carried on during their absence, when they were prevented from appearing in their own defense and that when executions were levied on their property it was sold ridiculously low, and without regard to propriety. But the plaintiffs replied that they were not bound to await the pleasure of the defendants to bring their suits; that they, the plaintiffs, had been wronged and were not bound to submit without redress; that the defendants had no right to be in the Confederate army, away from their homes, and still less right to go about taking the property of loyal men and harassing them by arrests and imprisonments. After the war all prosecutions growing out of the military acts of either army were dismissed and forever barred by a special act of the Legislature.
UP TO THE SPRING OF 1863.
About the middle of February, Col. Benj. Crabb, of the 19th Iowa Infantry, was relieved from the command of the post at Springfield, and was succeeded by Col. Thomas M. Bowen,2 of the 13th Kansas.
Col. Bowen's administration did not give general satisfaction. His men were too fond of foraging, and he seemed unable or unwilling to control them. [457]
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1 Republican candidate for Congress in this district in 1882.
2 At present one of the United States Senators from Colorado.
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A few cases of small-pox prevailed in the hospitals at Springfield during this winter, and in February a citizen, Wm. A. Peacher, died of this disease. Other citizens were attacked, but the contagion was not suffered to spread generally.
In February and March the Army of the Frontier was scattered over Southwest Missouri. Gen. Blunt's command of Kansas troops principally was stationed in Lawrence county. The wide distribution of troops was made necessary on account of the necessity for and great scarcity of forage. How the corn and hay and fodder of the farmers suffered! How the cattle and hogs, not to mention the turkeys and chickens, suffered and perished, too! Citizens from Christian county reported to the commander at Springfield that the Federal soldiers were exterminating the hogs in that county, killing them where they could find them, and carrying them off, contrary to orders. There was no excuse for this lawlessness. Uncle Sam fed his soldiers well in this quarter, and the people had no right to expect that they would be plundered by the troops sent to protect them.
By the 1st of March the 8th Missouri Cavalry Volunteers, largely composed of Greene county men, was stationed on Finley, about 30 miles from Springfield. The scarcity of forage and the continued hard scouting required of the men had reduced the number of horses in the regiment to an average of 25 to the company. There was great complaint of the want of discipline in the command. Col. Geiger was absent from the regiment, in command of the second brigade of Herron's division. Lieut. Col. Baldwin was under arrest for having some Confederate prisoners (who had violated their paroles) taken out and shot without a trial. Maj. Lisenby was at Springfield the greater portion of the time, and the regiment was commanded by Maj. Rich.
The commanders of the posts in this quarter of the State often sent long forage trains up northward as far sometimes as into Pettis county. The chief forage-master at Springfield was Joseph Gott, still a resident of Springfield. He made several trips and never lost a train. About the middle of February, however, a forage-train belonging to the 8th M. S. M., then stationed in Newton county was captured by a scouting party of Confederates (supposed to be under Standwaite and Jackman) and some of the guards killed. A force of cavalry was sent out from Springfield to assist in the capture of the Confederates, but returned without accomplishing anything. [458]
Some time in February, Alf. Bolen, a desperate guerilla and bushwhacker, was killed across in Boone county, Ark., by an officer of an Iowa regiment, who, disguised as a Confederate, had induced Bolen to come into a house to get his breakfast. While the guerilla was eating, the officer crushed in his skull with the colter of a plow. Bolen was a terror to the Union citizens of the southern part of Greene county, as well as those of all Christian, Stone and Taney. He had killed many a man, and the Confederates detested him almost as severely as the Unionists. Among his victims was an old man, 70 years of age, named Budd, whose ears he cut off before he finished him with a revolver. This murder was committed in the fall of 1861.
There were hard times among the people of this county, and indeed of all Southwest Missouri in these days. The Confederate sympathizers were preyed upon by those among the Federal soldiers that were vicious and unprincipled, and the lot of the Union families was but little better. Persons who had hitherto struggled bravely to help themselves now gave up in despair and desperation, and daily gangs of women and children concentrated in the little towns and at the military posts, looking for broad which they could find no longer in their own desolated homes. Many of the men had enlisted in the Federal army—in the 24th Missouri, in the 8th Mo. Cavalry, the 6th Mo., the 1st Arkansas, the 14th M. S. M., which regiments were chiefly recruited here, and hundreds were in the Enrolled Militia, and many of the families of these men were in absolute want, for the Federal government had not paid its soldiers in this quarter for months, and no money could be obtained from their natural protectors or earned honorably. The families of the poor Confederate soldiers were of course in wretched plight. The result may be imagined. Hundreds of female refugees swarmed about Springfield and other posts of importance and became abandoned and depraved. Vice and immorality of all sorts prevailed.
Homeless wanderers went strolling about begging for food and clothing, and shelter. If the weather had been severe there would have been the most intense suffering. But He who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb moderated the chilling blasts that ordinarily in winter sweep across the Ozarks to gentle breezes, and enabled many wretched people to pass the night in the open air without perishing. The winter of 1863 was exceptionally mild and pleasant. [459]
ORGANIZATION OF THE 6th PROVISIONAL REGIMENT, E.M.M.
In February, 1863, the organization of the provisional regiments of militia was begun in this State. It was believed that the crisis calling for the general arming of the people of the State had passed away, and it was decided by Governor Gamble to commence the organization in the various military districts of a picked force of men, to be detailed from the enrolled militia for permanent service, and to consist of those who could the most easily be spared from their ordinary avocations.
In this military district (the 4th) two regiments of provisional militia were formed, the 6th and 7th, each regiment consisting of twelve companies, and organized as a regiment of cavalry. The colonel, lieutenant colonel, three majors, the adjutant, and other officers of the 6th regiment were mainly from this county, as were three of the companies, as follows:
First Colonel, Henry Sheppard, formerly of the 72d E. M. M., commissioned April 1, 1863 ; resigned the following October. Second colonel, F. S. Jones, commissioned October 5, 1863, resigned January 22, 1864. Majors, John Hornbeak, John Small, R. K. Hart. Adjutant, J. W. D. L. F. Mack. Quartermaster, W. P. Davis. Assistant Surgeon Philip M. Slaughter.
Company A.—This company was detailed from the 74th E. M. M., Col. Marcus Boyd's regiment. Its officers were: 1st captain, John Small, promoted to major, Oct. 5, 1863; 2d captain, R. M. Hayter, commissioned Oct. 26, 1863. First, 1st Lieut., Isaac P. Julian; 2d, Lazarus J. Phillips; 3d, Samuel Harshbarger. 1st Second Lieut., Lazarus J. Phillips; 2d, Samuel Harshbarger; 3d, Preston Gilmore.
Company E.—This company was detailed from the 72d E. M. M. All the officers were commissioned April 15, 1863. Captain Saml. W. Headlee; 1st Lieut., Bryant Winfield; 2d Lieut., Saml. B. Rainey.
Company H.—This company was detailed from the 72d. Some of its members were from Christian county. Roswell K. Hart was the first captain; Wm. McCullah, second captain, Isaac W. Faught, 1st Lieut.; O. P. Cates, 1st Second Lieut.; John A. Gideon, 2d Second Lieut. [460]
KILLING OF WILL WRIGHT FULBRIGHT.
In the month of May of this year, a young man known as Will Wright Fulbright, a member of the well known family of Fulbrights, of this county, was killed in the southeast part of the county. Young Fulbright was a Confederate soldier, belonging to Marmaduke's army, then in northern Arkansas. He was about 21 years of age.
With the putting out of the leaves in the spring of this year, a favorite pastime of the Confederate boys was to make raids up into Missouri and visit their old homes. Sometimes these raids were bloodless; sometimes they were not. Young Fulbright called about him a dozen or so of his companions, three of whom are said to have been Will Merritt, " Buck" Abernathy and—Brashears, and induced them to accompany him on a raid into Greene county. What the object of this raid was has been variously stated. The party reached the county in safety and went into camp somewhere down on the James. A Union citizen discovered them and reported their presence to the enrolled militia of the neighborhood, a squad of whom was soon organized and in search of the raiders. Coming upon them suddenly the militia soon routed them, and in the melee Fulbright was shot and killed. The militia reported that he was shot while running away, and only after he had been repeatedly commanded to halt.
Some of Mr. Fulbright's relatives claim that at the time he was killed, Will Wright was on his way to Springfield, to procure medicine as he was then, or had been, sick. That his comrades were those who had volunteered to go with him to protect him, and that the party did not intend to make "a raid," as the term was commonly understood. They further allege that he was wantonly shot down in cold blood after he had surrendered. Both versions of the affair are represented as having been obtained from members of the militia who were present! The reader may believe whichever version he can.
NOVEMBER ELECTION, 1863.
At the general election for 1863, in Missouri, but two tickets were voted for, both claiming to be, "Union." One ticket, headed by Barton Bates, W. V. N. Bay, and J. D. S. Dryden, for supreme judges, was called the conservative ticket, the other headed by H. A. Clover, Arnold Krekel, and David Wagner was denominated the "radical" or "charcoal" ticket, The latter was supported by all of the immediate emancipationists in the State. [461]
There being large numbers of the military under arms in the State, apprehension was felt that in many quarters they would attempt to influence the election by the intimidation of voters, etc. To prevent any action of this kind being taken, the commander of the department in which Missouri was situated, Maj. Gen. Schofield, whose headquarters were then at St. Louis, promulgated the following order:
Headquarters Department of Missouri, No interference with these rights, either by violence, threats, intimidation, or otherwise will be tolerated. Any commissioned officer who shall incite or encourage any interference with any lawful assemblage of the people, or who shall fail to do his utmost to prevent such interference, shall be dismissed the service; and any officer, soldier or civilian, who shall, by violence, threats or otherwise actually interfere with any such lawful assemblage of the people, shall be punished by imprisonment or otherwise, at the discretion of a court martial or military commission. Any officer, soldier, civilian, who shall attempt to intimidate any qualified voter in the exercise of his right to vote, or who shall attempt to prevent any qualified voter, from going to the polls or voting, shall be punished by imprisonment or otherwise, at the discretion of a court martial or military commission. Special attention is called to the 5th article of war, which will be applied to commissioned officers of Missouri militia not in active service, as well as to officers and soldiers in actual service. |
In this county there were to be voted for a judge of the circuit court and of the court of probate and common pleas. For the former John S. Waddill (conservative), J. W. D. L. F. Mack (radical), and J. R. Cox were candidates, and for the latter John A. Mack (radical) and E. Headlee (conservative). The following is an abstract of the official vote of the county, including that of the Greene county men in Company E, 6th provisional regiment, and three companies of the 24th Mo. infantry. Returns from other military companies were rejected for irregularities, etc. [462]
ABSTRACT OF THE VOTE AT THE NOVEMBER ELECTION, 1863.
|
Supreme Judges |
Judge of Circuit Court |
Probate Judge |
||||||||
Townships or Military Companies |
Bates |
Bay |
Dryden |
Clover |
Krekel |
Wagner |
Waddill |
Mack |
Cox |
Mack |
Headlee |
Campbell Tp., 1st Precinct |
172 |
172 |
172 |
178 |
178 |
178 |
159 |
116 |
44 |
88 |
142 |
Campbell Tp., 2d Precinct |
70 |
70 |
70 |
119 |
119 |
119 |
62 |
92 |
21 |
74 |
45 |
Center |
16 |
14 |
16 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
16 |
12 |
0 |
3 |
17 |
Boone |
10 |
10 |
10 |
26 |
26 |
26 |
18 |
3 |
12 |
2 |
25 |
Pond Creek |
0 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
23 |
23 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
17 |
0 |
Cass |
13 |
13 |
13 |
49 |
49 |
49 |
16 |
5 |
44 |
40 |
15 |
Wilson |
3 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
3 |
11 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
Robberson |
5 |
5 |
0 |
42 |
42 |
42 |
9 |
39 |
0 |
35 |
15 |
Taylor |
1 |
0 |
1 |
34 |
34 |
34 |
1 |
34 |
0 |
34 |
0 |
Jackson |
48 |
48 |
48 |
48 |
48 |
48 |
57 |
42 |
1 |
38 |
46 |
Company E, 6th Prov., E.M.M. |
14 |
13 |
13 |
12 |
11 |
12 |
15 |
10 |
0 |
7 |
16 |
Company A, 24th Mo. Infantry |
0 |
0 |
0 |
55 |
55 |
55 |
0 |
43 |
0 |
52 |
0 |
Company I, 24th Mo. Infantry |
0 |
0 |
0 |
39 |
39 |
39 |
0 |
35 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Company D, 24th Mo. Infantry |
1 |
1 |
1 |
16 |
16 |
16 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
353 |
349 |
347 |
662 |
661 |
662 |
353 |
448 |
145 |
396 |
324 |
[463]
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