■./^^y,'^'' %.--.r.v:--/ V'^-'s-^'" >/-^?:V.- 0^ 0^ .LTnL'. <> V^ ^Ao< ^ .'^l^-. %.^* ••: e/Ji^ 0(. /^^1<_>?6(^ .^^»!®='^98^Ct3^3f^f.^8a^^^l WITH PORTER IN NORTH MISSOURI A Chapter in the History of the War ===Between the States== = JOSEPH A. MUDD THE NATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY WASHINGTON, D. C. 1909 COPYRIGHT. 1909 Bt JOSEPH A. MUDD CLA-^.' DEDICATION To the Alissouri Confederate this book is lovingly and grate- fully dedicated. He braved incredible difficulties and dangers for the opportunity to enlist in the struggle for liberty. He did his duty in camp, on the march, in battle. He repined not at hunger, thirst and nakedness. He hated oppression, cruelty and cowardice. He gloried in the traditions of his State and his people. He never forgot that Alissouri is the sweetest word ever uttered. He, in the rosy dawn of youth, threw in the balance life, friends, fortune, and everything that could make the future safe, comfortable and desirable ; in the sober evening of his life, in plenty or in want, in sympathy or in obloquy, every heartbeat registers a new approval of the self-consecration made in the hour when wild enthusiasm fired his mind. He has kept the faith. ERRATUM Page 277, 18th lin« from top for "endorsed" read "endured." CONTENTS Page The Preckding Ykars 9 Joins Missouri State Guard 24 Captain Penny's Company 27 The Plan Outlined 38 Capture of Memphis 53 The Murder of Aylward 65 The Paroling of Captain Dawson 76 The Battle of Vassar Hill 82 Edward D. Stillson Prisoner 102 That Furious Ride 113 Battle of Florida 119 "You Men Make Fun of Everything'' 135 The Prisoners Are Paroled 142 The Battle of Santa Fe 148 Battle of Moore's Mill 159 We Leave the Regiment 198 On to Richmond 215 Tom and Stephen 221 Where the Others Went 229 Captain S. B. Penny 237 From Newark to Kirksville 241 "May God Forgive You This Coli>Blooi)i:o Mlkdlk" . . . 268 Temporary Disbandment 283 The Capture of Palmyra and the Murder of Allsman . . 292 The Palmyra Massacre 299 Last Days in North Missouri 310 His Last Battle 318 Letters From Colonel Porter's Familv 327 Violation of Paroles 334 Was the Cause Bad? 344 Would It Have Been Better? 361 "We Done Our Best" 366 Appendix — A — The Missouri Senators 382 B — Lnhuman Warfare 383 C— The Election of 1860 390 D — Suppression of the State Journai 391 E3 — General Green's Method 391 CONTENTS Page F— Mt First Comtanv . 392 G — HoKSE Stealing 395 H — Two LiNti>i-N Cou.NTT Union MtN 396 I— A MrsTKR Roll 397 J— The Last Guns 400 K — The Blackkoot Ranokks 401 L — The Bvrninu ok Joiner's Homk . 402 M— Dr. W. W. Mackarlane . 403 N — CoLONEi> Gates, of Ai>abama . 405 O — A Rerel Letter Carrier 406 P — Too Bad Even kor Hlrlbirt 407 Q — A Misfit Officer 408 R — The Palmyra Coirier's Attoi nt of the Cai'TLRE of Palmyra 409 S — The Palmyra Massacre 415 T — Affair at Portland, Mo 430 U — Skirmish at California House. Mo 439 V — The BiRNiNd of Houses 441 W — A Look Back 442 X — The Immortal Six Hundred 444 Y — The Illi'strations 445 Z — Additional Names 447 A A — Acknowledgments 450 PREFACE I write this little narrative because it is a modest, and I believe a truthful, contribution to the history of my native State; because the results created by the energy and skill of the chief actor ought to be recorded ; because his character, embracing the highest ideals of honor and duty, deserves the tribute — and a greater one than I can render — and because no other on the fast diminishing list of those who followed him has accepted the task. I regret that the work w^as not undertaken when they were living who could give valuable information not now attainable and when my own facilities for its prosecution were better. My official and editorial duties have for years consumed at least twelve hours' time every day, and other matters have frequently encroached upon the two or three hours each evening allotted to this work. As far as I have been able to ascertain, Colonel Porter made but one official report, and that was of the engagement at Hartville, Southwest Missouri, where he received his death woimd. The official reports of the Federal officers were generally fairly accurate as to the movements of their ovn\ troops and the relation of events from tlieir own point of view. As a rule, the newspaper accounts of the operations in Missouri were prodigies of untruth. To get as near the truth as possible, to gather up the missing links in the chain of facts that dropped out of memory, to make sure of facts which I think 1 remember and to learn of occurrences beyond my range of vision, T addressed letters of inquiry to every known survivor. Confederate and Federal. The responses, ill tlnir iuiiuIht ;m«l iiitorost inniiif»stsiHn)por nnnu's, jind to n coiicilr coiiflirtinp sttttonwnt.s, mad*' nPoi'Hriary an extended and painstaking c«jrn'8ix>n done before the seriouB treatment of the work was taken up, and this involved at tinw-s ineonvenient delay. The most unsatisfactory featnn- oi the whole undertaking is the failure of my efforts to obtain the names of Porter's men. With almost c<>aseless marching and fighting it was impossible to make a muster roll, and I never heard that one was attempted. There are six sun'ivora of my company. Including the commander, Captain Penny, there wen* either twenty-on«> or twenty-two memlxTs, My memory is very clear about this, yet I could only ree^ill fourte<'n nam<'S. One of the survivors has added one ; another thn^e, one of which I rejected. All efforts through correspondence and adver- tisements in newspapers to find the missing four or five names have Ken un-successful. The same pro|K>rtion of suc- cess has been attained in a very few instances and in some of the companies the failure has been total. The name of every man who participat'd in Colonel Porter's remarkable campaign in North Missouri ought to be preaer\'ed. The inability to give them detracts fn>m the historical value of this narrative. The faults in arrangement and weakness of expression are due in some measure to haste in tlie preparation of the manuscript after tlie colUetion of the material. This was made (m the representation of many comrades and not a few former fot\s that if they were to n*ad of the «'vents they helpe»i:t 222. THE PRECEDING YEARS 11 of JSTew York, the founder of the Emancipator and the Jour- nal of Commerce, and the first president of the Antislavery Society, had entertained at his tabk^ some negro men and had permitted them to ride with his daughters in his car- riage. This incident raised so great a storm of indignation that the memorials never saw the light. The majority of the slaveholders of Missouri were opposed to slavery, but they contended that it was a matter for their own settle- ment and they deeply resented outside interference.^ They would settle it in their own way and at their o^vn time. Congress, influenced by antislavery sentiment, had treated Missouri unjustly at its admission as a State of the Union and, in consequence, William Clark, the Virginian, who for seven years had filled Avith eminent success the office of governor of the Territory, was defeated for governor of the State by Alexander McNair, the Pennsylvanian, by a majority of 4,000, in a total vote of 9,000, because the latter was a more outspoken advocate of slavery. In the settlement of the Territory of Kansas the develop- ment of its industries was secondary to the struggle to deter- mine its political future. The country was intensely in- terested in the progress of this movement, but Western Mis- souri was the storm center of excitement. To offset and check the steady growth of bona fide settlements by citizens of Missouri and other Southern States the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Society, incorporated by the legislature of that State with a capital limited to $5,000,000, as stated by Eli Thayer, the author of the bill to incorporate, sent men to Kansas instead of families.^ A prominent church in Brooklyn was turned by its pastor into a bazaar for raising 'Owing to the donunclatlons which the nbolltlonlsts of the North were heaping upon slavery and slnveholdors. the Southerners not only refused to take any measures for ridding themselves of what a large number of them regarded as an evil, l)Ut thev would not listen to arguments in favor of n policy with which, only' a few short years before, they had been In full sympathy.— Missouri, a Bone of Contention, by Luclen Carr, page 170, referring to events In 18.^6. ^Webb's Battles and Biographies of Mlssourians, page 31. 12 U777/ I'OnTKli IS \(fh'T/I MlSSOini money to buv Sharpe'a rifles to make Kansaa a free State. The plow marks the path to civilization, but the rifle is a more effective agent for the immediate settlement of issues. The first election in the Territory was held in 1854 and a pro-slaverv dolccate, J. W. Whitefiold, a native of Tennessee, was elected and served thri)Ugh the Thirty-fourth Congress witliout protest. Massachusetts men arrived one day and voted the next, but more Missourians arrived the same day and voted. The following March a large number of Mis- sourians went over, and finding they had three hundred men more than were needed to carry Lawrence, that number rode twelve miles farther and carried another precinct for mem- bers of the Territorial legislature. David R. Atchison, the president pro tempore of the United States Senate, said in urging Missourians to vote in Kansas, "If men a thousand miles off can send men to abolitionize Kansas, how much is it the duty of those who live within a day's journey of the Territory, and whose peace and property depend on the result, to meet and send young men over the border to vote." » The church-provided rifle won. The blood it spilled, guilty and innocent, stimulated the appetite of revenge for ten years. Kansan, murder, rapine, are words of the same length and, according to Missourians, the second and third were found in the tracks of the first. There is abundant free-state evidence that armed men who balked not at the crimes of assas.sination, arson and robbery were arrayed against thr majority and that the majority lost.'* When these operations were carried across the line into Southeast Missouri, Ciovemor Stewart, a native of New York, who had no love for the South, ordered General Daniel M. Frost, of the State militia, to drive out the in- 'W«.|ili-» Biitfloti Hiiil Hloijrni.hlo* of MI«Hourinun. p«|f«« 52. 'Con-tiilt Heiiil:.lH<-..n. .11 ..f Olwii. »>v I»r Coo W Hrown. ..Ufor of tho Kanii.is H«thIelieved that the elccv tion of FreuKmt meant civil war. They were sure that the election of Lincoln did. At the August election, 1860, for State officers, James B. Gardenhire, the Republican candi- date for governor, received pix thousand votes while his associate for lieutenant governor, James Lindsay, received two thousand more. That there were so many "enemies to the State" inside of the State was a matter of surprise and deep mortification to the people. The people of today have but little conception of the intensity of political sentiment of that day. The general resentment wa.s incrensed bv the fact that Edward Bates, a native of Virginia and long resident in St. Ix)uis, a man of high character, brother of the second governor of the State, was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President, and also that at the Presidential election in Xovember the Ropublican vote amoimted to seventeen thousand^ — more than double the number cast in the preceding August. While not unexpected, the hoisting of the National Republican ticket by the Missouri Demo- crat caused great indignation. An incident, illustrating the temper of the people of St. Louis. T give from memory, not having the opportunity to verify it. A day or two after the ticket appeared some employee in the mechanical depart- ment of the paper inserted the word "Black," so as to make the line read, "The National Black Republican Ticket." The whole edition was worked off before discoverv, to the 'Ctrr'ii Mliaouii, pnge 300. TEE PRECEDING YEARS 15 amusement of the Republican, the Douglas Democratic organ, and the Bulletin, the Breckinridge Democratic paper. The next day an offer of a reward for the discovery of the offender appeared in the editorial columns of the Democrat. An element in the North, respectable in numbers and character, opposed war upon sovereign States. Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, late candidate for Vice Presi- dent on the ticket with John Bell, of Tennessee, nominated on a platform of the "Constitution of the country, the union of the States and the enforcement of the laws," said in Faneuil Hall, Boston, February 2d: "To expect to hold fifteen States in the Union by force is preposterous. The idea of a civil war accompanied, as it would be, by a servile insurrection, is too monstrous to be entertained for a moment. If our sister States must leave us, in the name of Heaven let them go in peace." Similar sentiments were voiced by men of character and influence in New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, but Missourians knew current political history too well to misinterpret the pur- pose of the dominant party. They knew how little respect it had for the rights of States and for law. They knew that fourteen of the seventeen Northern States liad on their statute books laM's intended to nullify an act of Congress and which were in violation of the Constitution of the United States. They kncAv, too, that the most adroit leaders of the dominant party believed war was necessary for the perpetuation of power, and party was above law, above Constitution, above country, above everything. Governor Stewart, a Northern man, in his retiring message placed all the blame for the condition of affairs upon the North. If the Cotton States persisted in secession they should go in peace. Missouri should take "all proper measures to secure the just acknowledgment and protection of our rights, and in the final failure of this, a resort to the hist painful remedy of separation." Yet he stood for the n\ Willi rni:Ti:i: i\ Murrii missochi Union ami \vlu«n war camr ho fjavt- it his supjmrt and weh'onird its "greater sov<>rity." His courfte and that of (»ther Democrats whose party aHiliatiuns liad hoon with the Southern wing of the party, and whn in the crisis renounced their associations, manv of thoni with the new bom zeal of the convert, forgetting humanity in their exercise of military a\ithority, wa:< a potent agencv in the creation and maintenance of the hate that tired both sides. Claibonie F. Jackson possessed the full vigor of mature manhood when he delivered his inaugural address as gover- nor of Missouri. He was graceful in deportment, dignified and courteous among men, a born Democrat, strong in oratory, courageous in discussion and action, well read in political history, resourceful and strong in affairs. He loved the Union, but he loved more the South which gave him birth, and more than all, he loved Missouri, for forty years his home. Tlis address was a comprehensive and forceful analysis of the .situation. Like Governor Stewart, in his final message, he placed the whole responsibilitv for the im- pending dissolution upon the North: like him he hoped for the preserN'ation of the T'^^nion under proper guarantees, but unlike Stewart, wlio df eland thn^ in the separation Mis- f.ouri's place was in the T^nion, Jackson asserted that the duty and interest of Missouri pointed to the South. The two messages created a profound impression, as did the letter of Lieutenant Oovemor RcATiolds, given to the public the day the legislature convened. This was an able reWew of the situation and an appeal to the legislature for energetic measures to protect the constitutional rights of the State. Among other propositions he exposed the {«ophistry of those who, like President Buchanan, contended that while there was no power to coerce a .sovereign State, there was power to compel the citizen.-* of a seceded State to obey the laws of the United States. "In our system." he .^aid. "a State is its people, citizens compose that people, and to use THE PRECEDING YEARS 17 force against citizens acting by State authority is to coerce the State and to wage war against it. To levy tribute, molest commerce, or hold fortresses, are as much acts of war as to bombard a city."^ Thomas Caute RcAmolds was of Soutli Carolina birth and Virginia ancestry. In the campaign of slander, considered so necessary in that day, it was said that his accident of birth was his boast and chief claim for consideration. Nothing was farther from the truth. He was a man of great ability, a pleasing and forceful speaker, stronger in action than discussion, of uncommon good sense and pru- dence, of passionless judgment, indefatigable industry, stern integrity, conciliatory in disposition and manner, inflexible in principle and courageous in every thought and act. The most learned man in the State, Latin, Greek and three or four living languages were as familiar to him as his mother tongue. "Skillful in diplomacy through education and through experience gained abroad, there was none fitter to swell the tide of secession. In 1859 or 1860 Eugene Longuemare established the St. Louis Bulletin. It was a vigorous exponent of the Southern view of national politics. In the gubernatorial election of 1860, under the management of Thomas L. Snead, it op- posed Jackson and Reynolds because they supported Douglas and was the active agency in the nomination of Hancock Jackson and Mosby Monroe Parsons. When after their election, Jackson and Reynolds demonstrated their loyalty to the South, the Bulletin became their champion. In February of 1861 Moritz Niedner acquired its owner- ship, changed its name to the State Journal- ami placed J. W. Tucker, a South Carolinian, in editorial control. In the brightest and best periods of journalism in Missouri — Chambers and Paschall on the Republican an;! (irntz Brown »F!ght for Missouri, I)y Thomjis L. Snead. 'Sec Appendix I». (2t 18 Willi roiiTKi: IX soirrii Missorm on the DiMiHH'rat — nothinp ever fqiuilod the strength and literary style of its editorials, which nearly monopolized its pages every morning. It appealed to the extreme Southern sentiment in Missouri. Its pnrpo.se was to drive ont the reason of one element by the display of an ever- changing panorama of wrongs and tyranny, and of the other by till- vitrol of inveetive to tlieir deentieled person.^. Some of its strongest editorials were poems — gems of thought and masterpieces of diction. I remember one. Its inspiration was the reputed utterance of Mr. Lincoln that "It might be necessary to put the foot down firmly*' and it was a fearful and pathetic denunciation of tyranny and inhumanity. In the new alignment of parties there were Secessionists, Conditional Union men, tlie largest division, and the Un- conditional Union men, the smallest division. The last had cast its vote for Lincoln under the name of Republicans. As it numbered barely more than a tenth of the voters in the State and wa.s composed mainly of Germans in St. Louis, many of them ignorant of our laws and theory of govern- ment, and accustomed to autocratic rule, it was deemed politic to discard for the time the old name for the new. The scheme of the leaders was to use the mailed hand of war to build up ])arty power, by exerting sufficient force, from within and without the State, to overawe the Condi- tional Union men and by stimulating excesses to more surely bnak old party affiliations. Frank Blair cared little for party names. With him principle was everything. lie was ffir the Union and was opposed to slavery — in Missouri — for economic reasons. He was willing to cooperate with the extremists becau.^e the success of the Union cause in Mia souri demanded vigoroijs and relentless war, but he was not willing for it to be made the asset of any political party. "Ciive us a country first," he said, "we can see about the partv afterward." His word was law until the forces he THE PRECEDING YEARS 19 had created were strong enough to sweep him aside. Per- haps it is true to say that no man was more responsible for the reign of madness in Missouri than Frank Blair. Certain it is that when the armies disbanded he, almost alone, broke its domination at great sacrifice and at great personal risk. Fateful events followed quickly. Frank Blair and Cap- tain Lyon were drilling the German political campaign Wide- Awakes into Home Guards. Lyon was a native of Con- necticut, had gone from West Point into the army twenty years before the war and had served with credit in the Florida and Mexican wars. Politically he was an earnest Democrat until near the middle fifties, when he became saturated with anti-slavery fanaticism and from that time his hatred of Southern people was unbounded. In energy, grasp of the situation and bravery he was the equal of Blair. Blair respected law; Lyon respected the law that served his purpose. From the day he reached St. Louis with his company of regulars — about the first of February — until the clash of war came there was not an hour of calm in the city or State. Among the Irish of St. Louis there was a large proportion of educated, intelligent, enthusiastic young men — the best blood of that isle of romance and poetry — whose hatred of the Home Guards was intensified by the antipathy of race and religion. These filled the ranks of the Minute Men under the leadership of Duke, Greene, Quinlan, Champion and McCoy. The rising sun on the day of Lincoln's in- auguration revealed a rebel flag flving over the headquarters of the Minute Men. Angry crowds threatened, but there were men beneath it who hoped that blood would be spilled in the attempt to lower it. Had there been, the intention was to seize the arsenal, into which would havo poured »ost's brigade, nearly every Irishman in the city and hun- dreds of other enthusiastic young men. The disappoint- ment on one side and the derision heaped upon the other, 20 Willi roiri'Hi: ix yoirrii Missorni in ('ims(d preserved and perj)etuated. The coveted power was gained and its exercise was able, energetic and tyrannical. On the I7th of April (Jovernor Jackson responded de- fiantly to the demand of four regiments of infantry under the first call for troops by President Lincoln. "Not one man will the State of ^fissouri furnish to carr\' on such an unholy crusade." On the 10th of May Camp Jackson — the point of a week's instruction for the militia ordered under the law — was captured and the slaughter of prisoners and citizens was Missouri's bapfisin of blood in civil war. On the 11th of June there was an interview, at the Planters' House in St. I^ouis, l>etween Oeneral Lvon and Blair and Governor Jackson and Oeneral Price. The inter- view had been arranged and Governor Jackson courteously informed General Lyon of his presence at the hotel and invited him to the proposed meeting. Lyon replied that the meeting would take place at the arsenal; Jackson answered that if there were a meeting it would be held at the Planters'. The proposition submitted by the governor was: "That T would disl>and the State (tuard and break up its organization; that I would disarm all the companies which had been armed by the State; that I would pledge myself not to attempt to organize the militia under the Military Bill; that no anus or other munitions of war should be brought into the State; that T would protect all citizens etjually in all their rights, regardless of their political opinions; that T would suppress all in.'*urre<'tioiuirv move- ments within the State; that T would repel all attempts to THE PRECEDING YEARS 21 invade it from whatever quarter and bv whomsoever made; and that I would thus maintain a strict neutrality in the present unhappy contest, and preserve the peace of the State. And I further proposed that T would, if necessary, invoke the assistance of the United States troops to carry out these pledges. All this I proposed to do upon condition that the Federal Government would undertake to disarm the Home Guards, which it has illegally organized and armed throughout the State, and pledge itself not to occupy with its troops any locality not occupied by them at this time." In his proclamation the next day Governor Jackson stated that nothing but the most earnest desire to avert the hor- rors of civil war in the State could have tempted him to propose these humiliating terms. The interview lasted sev- eral hours and was terminated by Lyon — ^who had nearly monopolized the discussion — with the declaration : "Rather than concede to the State of Missouri for one single instant the right to dictate to my Government in any matter how- ever unimportant, I would see you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and every man, woman and child in the State, dead and buried. This means war." He strode out of the room "rattling his spurs and clanking his sabre." Referring to this interview, the capture of Camp Jackson and other notable events of that day, Professor Samuel B. Harding, University of Indiana, in his "Missouri Party Struggles in the Civil War Period," says, page 05, that while their effect upon opinion was no doubt great, politically they were a mistake. "At all events the policy of 'Thorough,' anticipating attacks and over-riding nice dis- tinctions of law and constitutionality, had for its effects the conversion to secession of men like Sterling Price — the president of the convention, and one of the best and most popular men in Missouri — and the complete surrender of the legislature to Governor Jackson's designs." Governor Jackson and his party reached Jefferson City 22 U77// I'oirri:!: i\ xoirrn Missoih'i at two n'ohx'k in the ninrnincr of .luric li', aiul l»y (laylircak his prnclamatioii callinj^ into active service the ^lilitia of the Statr to the nuinhcr of fifty thousand to repel invasion and to protect the lives, lil>ertiea and property of the citizens, was passinp; throup:h the press. War had begun. Anud all the preparation for the conflict the rabid press be;;an the cry for blood. All over the State cruelties and outrages upon Fnion people were manufactured and for- warded regularly. The publication of these letters pro- duced the same effect upon the sentiment in Missouri as the imaginary experiences of the mythical hordes of refugees from rebel fiends in the South did upon that of a more extended area, and -were the beginnings of a method of feeding popular frenzy which ended with the exploits of "visiting Statesmen" of a later date. The ignorant, who knew not that Washington was a rebel and that through rebellion this country gained its autonomy, were taught to believe that rebellion was the most odious and inexcusable of crimes and that every man who did not openly endorse inhuman methods of warfare was a rebel whose life and property were of right forfeited. But there were thousands of ^fissourinn.s, the elite of the State, the pillars of its social fabric, who knew wOiat rebellion meant, who knew that the blood of rebels coursed through their veins and who, loving the Union and desiring peace, stood ready, if peaceful measures failed, to declare themselves rebels as their for(>fathers had done, and to meet as their ancestors had met, the issue of that declaration with the last dollar, the last drop of blood. ''Kebellion !" said Judah P. B( njamin, in taking leave of tlie United States Senate when Louisiana seceded, "the vt rv word is a confession; an avowal of tyranny, outrage and oppression. It is taken from the despot's code, and has no terror for other than .•^lavish souls. When, sir. did m llions of people, as a single man, rise in organized, deliberate, unimpassioned rebellion THE PRECEDING YEARS 23 against justice, truth and honor ? Traitors ! Treason ! ay, sir, the people of the South imitate the glory in such treason as glowed in the soul of Hampden; just such treason as leaped in living flame from the impassioned lips of Henry; just such treason as encircles with a sacred halo the undying name of Washington."^ This foreword is not intended as a treatment of the situa- tion in Missouri during the period under consideration. No single event is mentioned that did not tend to substitute passion for reason. For four years and more there was a maelstrom of resentment and hate in the heart of every Missourian. This had been growing for ten years and there was nothing like it, before or since, in this country. Only among the mountaineers of East Tennessee was there a weak imitation of its intensity. A knowledge of the extent of this sentiment and its horrid ferocity is necessary for an appreciation of the difficulties encountered by Colonel Porter and of the endurance, courage and skill that enabled him to harass, for more than half a year in Northeast Mis- souri, a vigilant and active foe, twenty times superior in numbers and a hundred times superior in equipment and to draw from that territory five thousand Confederate soldiers whose record left no stain on the proud name of their State. •Memoirs of a Senate Page, by Christian F. Eckloff. CliAI'TK.U II JOINS MISSOURI STATE GUARD Had th( re been a spark of selfishne^is in the cliarartor of Joseph Chrisman Porter, lie would have turned a deaf ear to the call to anna. No man had more interest in the preserxation of peace. No man's future seemed brighter. On the dial of his life the hand stood at the two score mark. Vigor quickened everv impulse of brain and muscle. He was a tiller of the soil and it had responded generously to his industry. A beautiful home grew up and it was filled with the romping tumult of nine bright and happy children. A cultured and loyal woman was queen there. The flowers, the waving com, the trees, the birds, spoke of peace, of nature, of God; and everywhere were contentment and hap- piness. Troops of friends surrounded him, among them his aged father, who had carefully taught him the precepts of duty. But the demon of war came. The Hu^tory of Tx'wis (^ounty rendered scant justice to the Confederates who operated in Northeast Missouri, but it could only speak in prai^^e of Colonel Porter's military efficiency: "On the morning of the .')th of July, Judge Martin E. Cireen set out on horseback from his farm for Canton, carrying on his arm a basket of cherries for a friend in town. A mile or so from the place he was informed of the presence of Federal troops under Palmer and, turning about, he rode straight for the .secession camp at Horse Shoe Bend. A few days after his arrival he was elected colonel of the battalion or regiment. Captain Joe C. Por- ter was chosen lieutenant-colonel; both officers were not regularly commissioned until later. No better selections JOINS MISSOURI STATE GUARD 25 for commanding could liave boon made than those of Colonels (ireen and Porter. Although both were farmers and without actual military experience, neither having ever set a squadron in the field, yet they seemed from the first at home in their new vocation. The occasion brought them forth. These quiet farmers developed into military leaders, with real genius and strong ability and, had not both fallen by Federal bullets, would have come out of the war with the stars of major-generals. Green became a brigadier, reno-\vned for his strong good sense, deliberation and stead' fastness of purpose, as Avell as for his calm bravery and other manly qualities. The war brought to notice no braver, better soldier than Joe Porter. With an indomitable will and courage, he combined energy, sagacity and dash, the elements which make the true and successful soldier to an uncommon degree."^ Colonel Porter participated in all the battles and move- ments of the regiment in 'N'ortheast Missouri and North- western Arkansas. General Thomas A. Harris, command- ing the Second Division of the Missouri State Guard, in his report to General Price, referring to the field fortifica- tion at Lexington, says: "None contributed more to the zealous and efficient prosecution of the work than Lieu- tenant-Colonel Porter of Colonel Green's regiment, who, although severely wounded in the head by a ball, continued to afford the most untiring example to the men by his zeal and self-sacrificing services." And of his division in the siege and capture he mentions for gallant and distinguished services Colonel Green, Lieutenant-Colonels Brace,- Hull and Porter. Hull, of Lincoln County, like Porter, had been wounded in the head. After the bloody battle of Elkhorn Tavern, or Pea Ridge See Appeudlx E. "or Monroe County, and nftorwnrds ono of the supreme JudKcs of the State 2i] WITH poirrKii IS soinii missoi j:i as it is CdinmoTily eall»Hl, wlicn' ho succosafully conductod un important movement under orders from (Jeneral Cireen, Colonel Porter was selected l\v General Price, with a num- ber of other brave and skillful officers, for the work of re- cruiting men in North Missouri. It was not to his liking, but a thought of self never entered his mind and lu* never hesitated in obeying an order. lie reached his home in the early part of April and, after a few days, spent with his family, began preparations for the work entrusted to him. Witli the exception of his large circle of relatives his neighbors were Union men of a very pronounced type and the territory of his proposed operations was garrisoned with Federal troops. Secrecy, judgment, continued activity and skill were necessary to success, and Colonel Porter made the completest use of these instruments. His presence first be- came known outside of his friends and adherents on the ITth of June, when with forty-three men in the Western part of Marion County, he captured a detachment of Colonel Lipscomb's regiment of State militia taking the equipments and paroling the men not to re-enter the service until ex- changed. From then until his death wound there was no more rest. MRS. (). M. WlllIE The daughter of C"i)li)nel Porter, who bears a striking resemblance to her father CHAPTER III CAPTAIN PENNY'S COMPANY As previously stated., the proclamation of Governor Jackson calling out the Missouri State Guard for six months' service to repel Federal invasion, was issued Wed- nesday, June 12, 1861. I was in St. Louis at the time and well remember the great excitement it caused. I reached home early in the afternoon of Saturday and found Lieutenant John Q. Burbridge, of the Louisiana military company, and afterwards commanding a brigade in the Con- federate army, drilling a squad. He had come to Millwood for volunteers and I immediately enlisted and left next morning for the seat of active operations.^ At the expira- tion of the service I did not enlist, as many did, in the Con- federate army, but preferred, for physical reasons, to enjoy a respite of a month or so at home. Lincoln County, for the first year of the war, was toler- ably quiet. There were Union and Confederate meetings, great political enthusiasm and fierce discussions, but there was a spirit of tolerance which gave what it demanded — the right to hold and to express political opinions. The militia officers Avere my friends and the friends of my rela- tives who were, without exception, intensely Southern in sentiment. However, before the spring of 1862 had well set in, the signs of the times seemed to indicate that the safest place for me was in the Confederate army. The revelation was not altogether unpleasant, and I resolved to take the first opportunity to travel the path that led to duty. It was much longer in coming than I expected. 'See Appendix F. 28 117/7/ roirri:!: i.\ yoirrii Missoini I iMii(l(> many wild <;()ns(' chafes into W('st«'rn Tike and IJalls and ( ju^trrn MontgimH-ry and Audrain following re- ports that here or there niipht Ik? found the nucleus of a conipanv that could escape to the Confederate linea. Every man to whom 1 had been directed had the same answer: "There is nothing of the kind in this neighl)or- hood. Your informant must have referred to some other man of mv name." One aft«*rnoon, about the middle of .Tun<\ sitting with Jim lleeds in front of the store of Joseph S. Wells in Xineveh, now Olney, I told of my unsuccessful ofTorts. Reeds was a prosperous farmer who lived one and a half miles northeast of that village. "You might have been," he said, "on the right track. You might have Ix^en talking to the neighl>orhood guide whose duty it was to show you the camp. The trouble was you were unknown and you didn't have the credentials." "What kind of credentials are required ?" "The current password, the sign of recognition and such other signs as may be called for." "Where can tlu'se signs and tlie password be had ?" "I can give them to you. I am the guide for this end of TJncoln Pounty." "I/Ct me have them." He imparted them with minuteness and care, but I liave long forgotten them. At the end of the lesson he said: "I have given you the secret work Ix^cause I know it to be safe to do so, and it may be useful to you hen^aftor. You can at this time get into a camp without it. There is a recruiting camp within twrt miles of where we are sitting. If you come up Wednesday morning I can take you to it" "Wednesday — day after tomorrow — will be the 18th, just a year and three davs after T enlisted in the Mi'^s.niri State (luard. I sliall be on time." The camp was about one and a half miles west of Xineveh in a pnffv forest belonging to General John South, a fine CAPTAIN PENNY'S COMPANY 29 old gentloman past three score, whose name was a true in- dex to his political sentiment. When we reached the sentrv I was struck with his youthful appearance. I after- wards learned his name was Joseph N. Haley and his age sixteen. I should have guessed it two or three years less. He was a quiet, modest boy, always obliging, always in a good humor, and careful in the performance of every duty. Captain Sylvester B. Penny — Wes Penny as he was com- monly called — ^Avhose acquaintance I had made on the march to Price's army a year before, was in command. I had scarcely spoken to him before up came Green Berry Rector, who, extending his hand, said : "Aloysius, you didn't expect to find me here." "I did not, Green. In fact, you are the last person I expected to see in this company. How did you happen to be here ?" "Oh, I have been thinking about it a long time." "Why did you not tell me of your intention?" "My mind was only made up right lately about the war and what I ought to do and I preferred to work out the whole thing myself witliout any persuasion or influence, and if I have made a mistake nobody can be blamed but me." Green was bom in the house in which his great grand- father, Noah Rector, a soldier of the Revolution, died eight years later at the age of one hundred and two. It stands a mile west of south of where I was born — he the older by one year. We had never attended the same school and had never been playmates. Tlis associates were few. Except his blind old ancestor and his mother he had never known a near relative. His Avorld had been very small, but his modest, cheerful demeanor gave no sign of yearnings for a larger. His morals were above reproach. He was in- telligent and his education was better than his sphere and his opportunities. He had a rich vein of quiet humor and a quick appnx'iation of the grot(\sque. 11(> luul nevt-r talked :io 11//// roirn-i: l\ yoirni .\uss(fn:i of {\iv war ami 1 luvt-r knew how he regarded it. Two of his distant n-hitives of tlic saiiic name wore in the Federal militia ami all the others were of pronounced Union senti- ment. 1 assured him of my gratitication in seeing him a Confederate soldier and said 1 knew we should be good friends. There were ^lose Beck, of near Truxton, and Davis Whiteside, of above Auburn, whom i knew; Sam Minor, of near Prairieville; Hob South, of Trice's Branch, nephew of (leneral South and a connection of Captain Penny, and Ixii \'ansel, of Middletown, whom 1 did not know. 1 remained about an hour and made arrangements for joining the Company the following Tuesday, June 24, -when the camp would be, as C-aptain Penny informed me, nearly two miles farther west. Three or four days were spent at the latter camp; a few scouting expeditions at night, and several interviews with Jim Keeda and Jim Kicks, both very active local agents, the latter especially enthusiastic, filling in the time. 1 was surprised one afternoon to see Frank McAtee, of near Madisonville, Kails Ct)unty, ride into camp. His parents, like mine, were natives of Maryland, and had, some years before, with their two daughters and three sons lived a mile east of my father's. I kept up my acquaintance with them in Ralls County and knew them to be enthusi- astic in the cause of the South, It took Frank a day and a half to reach our camp. At ^ladisonville he ran into a detachni' nt of militii comiiiamleil by his former iiiu-ic teacher, Lieutenant Jeff Mayhall, of New Ix)ndon. Frank was a sleek talker and he easily convinced his inquisitors that ho was on the way to visit relatives in Pike County. Thomas M. Roboy, who had grown up to a little past the middle of his toons in my neighborhood, came into camp the next morning and that night wo left for a camp about six miles oast of Middletown, and not far fr<»m the present vil- lage of Marling. CAPTAIN PENNY'S COMPANY 31 Sunrise revealed the fact that the camp was most pleas- antly located. Presently the captain suggested a sliort walk. Out of hearing of the camp he said : "I ain going home and shall be gone four or five days. A few recruits I think I can get and some other matters will take that long and I wish to bid my parents and sisters fare- well, because I'm in for the war. Matters will be safe here for a week and maybe for a much longer time. I don't think I'll get away with enough men to justify two commis- sioned officers; so I want you to be first sergeant and I'd better appoint you now, so that you can have charge while I am absent." "Captain, I propose to work in harness, but I'd much rather not be an officer of any kind. The idea of command- ing men older than myself is exceedingly distasteful to me. Appoint Mose Beck; he is the oldest man in the company. At least, he and Vansel are the oldest men. Ben and I have struck up quite a liking for each other, but I think Mose I~>etter suited for the position. He is a man of good judgment, of imdoubted bravery and, yourself excepted, I'd rather follow his lead in battle or in the march than that of any man likely to be in the company." "If I appoint him will ycu agree to do the clerical work and all the duties except connnanding?" "Most willingly." "That will be the arrangement, then." Ben Vansel left for his home a few miles away shortly after the captain, to remain as long as the camp was here, but he returned for an hour or so each day. The good people of the neighborhood kept us plentifully supplied with everything good to eat, and further to show their good will, gave a dancing party at Mrs. Show's* in our honor. It was a very pleasant affair. Of all the ladies 'This name rhjnios with how, not with ho-,' 3l' wriii roirrEi: is xoirr/i Missni m present I only r(*inenil)cr <>nc and she a very pretty one — !Miss Lulu Wliitesido, now of Dcnison, Texa?, the wife of J. \V. Fike, a gallant Confederate s took us to about six miles west of Palmyra and at sunrise we went into camp in the edge of a pretty forest. At nine o'clock, after a refreshing sleep. Captain Penny directed Ben Vansel and me to go to the nearest house and get breakfast for the men; the guide had told him, he said, that the man's name was Young and that he was all right. The distance was only one-fourth of a mile, but Ave mounted our horses, as much for safety as for convenience. The house stood on open, level ground and for two miles or more the view was unobstructed. The road past the front gate was wide and showed sign of much travel. Hitching on either side of the gate we entered the (3) .Ti U777/ roirrin: r\ north missovui hou8«' and Mr. Young soon niadc his apponrnnct'. He ap- pcan'd altout sixty yonrs old — strong phypically and nion- tally. '•Mr. Young r' ••Y.s." "An* you rolatcd to John Young who vi>-it«'d the vicinity of Mill\vo(^(i (luring the winter ?" **lIo ift n»y son." "Whero is ho now/" "He's not at homo." "Mr. Young, there are twenty-two of us in th(> woods a short distance from liere on our way to the ronfederate army. I am directed hy our Captain to ask you for a break- fast to take to the camp." "Yoti can't get anything here. I have almast heen eat(^n out of hous4^ and home hy the Federal militia, and if it were kTio\>Ti that I fed bushwhackers they woiddn't leave me a horse, a hog or a chicken." "I enlisted in the nnny a year ago, and T have learned to olx»y orders no matter how disagnvable they are to me. I am onlered to jjet a brtnikfast for twenty-two men." "I am not responsible for yoiir orders. I have to l>e responsible for what T do. Your horse* are hitched in the main road that lead-* to Palmyra. The Federal militia pass here every day. If 1 were to furnish the breakfast it would take an hour or more to cook it. The Federals will very likely be along while you are liere, and if they do there will be trouble for me. My sentiments are known to them and I have been accused more than once of harboring bush- whackers." "Such an accident would give lus more trouble than it would give you, but we've got to risk it. We h:»vi n't had anything to eat since yesterday morning; and without that reaiion we'd have to take the risk. It's onlers. I don't wii«h to prolong this interview, Mr. Young. Y'ou an» an CAPTAfN PENNY'S COMPANY 35 old inan; T am a boy. Don't make mc say to yon what I have novor said to my snperior in age, and what I hope I shall never say." "I have no control of your language." "Mr. Young, I have told yon in respectful language what we came here for. Now you force me to tell you that you will have to furnish what we ask, and for your sake and for our sake, please let there be no unnecessary delay about it." "You have the power to enforce your demands and there is nothing for me to do but to submit." At this Mrs. Young and her two daughters, who had been interested li.steners, left the room and ])resently Mr. Young began a pleasant run of conversation. We suspected all along the sly old fellow had been fishing for some evidence of coercion. After much less delay than we expected the announcement came that the breakfast was ready. We found two large baskets filled almo.-^t to the handles — ample breakfast for fifty hungry men. Mrs. Young admonished us to return the baskets as some other hungry boys might come along. Miss Young said they had taken the liberty to put in some delicacies which they hoped the boys would enjoy. The ladies insisted on helping us with the baskets. In doing this the younger one whispered to me: "Don't mind papa; come back twice a day as long as you stay here." When we had passed out of hearing T asked Ben if he had received a parting message. "Yes, Miss Young told me she lioped this breakfast would nerve us to kill troops of Yankees." I remember the details of this incident clearly, but what I remember best about it is the number of men I gave as want- ing breakfast. My memory is not clear a.s to whethcM- the twenty-two included one or two guides. It is possible that the guide of the preceding night had gone out and returned wifli tlie guide of the coming night. If one guide, the ;jr. 11777/ roirri:i: i.\ xoirr/i }frssouRi meinlxTship of our company, inoludinir one ncniit rocoivod after joining Porter, was twenty-two; if two puitles, twenty-one. We broke eainp at nine o'eloek in tlie evening and with a guide who knew every inch of the way, every path, every tree, made an easy rnn of twenty-five miles to the camp of Colonel Joseph (\ Porter on the North Fabius, not many miles from Monticello, the county town of I^ewis County. The guide had so arranged that breakfast found us in heavy timU'r and that the camp was reaehe«l an liour after sunrise. It was Wednesdav. .luly 0, The contents of Mr. Young's baskets sufficed for two meals and a generous luncheon, which we now consumed. Wliile the boys were spreading blankets for a much needed sleep. Captain Penny, with me accompanying, re|X)rted to tlie colonel. Colonel Porter was about five feet, ten inches high and rather slender. His eyes were blue-gray; countenance most agreeable and voice low and musical. He received us courteously and pleasantly. His conversation never drifted away from the common- place. I scanned every feature, every tone, look and play of muscle. If our company should remain with him any great while I should like to know his capacity as a leader. The effort was nearly fruitless. There was repo.se that might indicate reserve power and there was an occasional gleam of the eye as if to read one's very thought. T re- membered reading of a rich woman with an idolatrous love for pearls, but whose short wearing rendered them dull and histerless. Then they would l>e passed to another woman whose wearing would restore their natural health and vigor. Was this a man whose association would dull or brighten the human pearl ? Something told me that he would brighten it and bring out all its energy and endurance. But we shotild .sec. Captain Penny explained that he wished to act with tlie regiment for a while and if in a reasonable time it could join the army in Arkansas, which was nuich CAPTAIN PENNY'S COMPANY 37 desired by our men, we would with what recruits we could gather constitute one of its companies. In the meantime he would ask for his squad what consideration the colonel could give it, on the field or on the scout, and he felt that he coiild personally guarantee the confidence would not be misplaced. I could see that Colonel Porter was impressed with the Captain's earnest, modest demeanor. We then terminated the interview, which had lasted about twenty minutes, and returned to our fellows. ( llAl'TKK IV THE PLAN OUTLINED Shortly before ijo<»n tlie next day Captain Pciinv told mo that Colonel Porter wi-ilwd us to take a riw walk. T paid but littl<^ attention to the froth of conversation which preceded the taking up of a serious subject. The words of the Colonel as we rode past the camp sentinel completely filled my thoughts. How could he know the situation in Palmyra an hour ago?- THE PLAN OUTLINED 39 three hours ago, if "an hour ago" was a convenionco of expression? What could be accomplished with one line of communication? and how was it possible to establish and maintain a sufficient number to be worth the while? When we reached the road where three could comfortably ride abreast Colonel Porter began to tell of his plans. "I want every one of my men to know what is expected of him. Mudd, when I asked you yesterday if you had seen service you told me you were on Bloody Hill at Wilson's Creek. Then you know what Missourians will do, and I am sure you, Captain, know equally as well. There are thou- sands and thousands of men in North Missouri whose an- cestors fought at Long Island, at Saratoga and King's Moun- tain; the sons and the grandsons of the men who fought with Jackson at l^evr Orleans, with Gentry in the Ever- glades; the men and the sons of the men who marched and fought with Doniphan and Price in New and Old Mexico. They are the material for the making of the finest soldiers in the Avorld. What the Missourians did at Bloody Hill they will do, whenever necessary, anywhere. The great majority of these are ready, when the opportunity comes, to join the Confederate army. I want every one of them, and if I am spared T am going to get every one of them. The magnitude of this work is appalling. I did not ask for this detail, nor did I say aught against it because — and I think I can say it without undue egotism — I felt that I could accomplish its purpose as well as any that were named and better than some. Tn truth, though, this de- tail was very distasteful to me. The intense vigilance and the fearful hardship of the life I do not mind, but there are two reasons why this business is extremely distasteful to me. As you know the cry of every TTnion newspaper in the State is for blood, and their readers join in it. Rebels and guerrillas are the mildest terms thev apply to us; they call us assassins, cut-thrttats, inccndinrics, robbers, horse- -10 wirii I'oini-i: is xoirrn }ffss()rnf thirvt»s and cvcrvthinp tlint is vilo aiid dospicnble. Thoy call upon tlio Federal troops and the militia to shoot us down on capttiri*. It is reported that my namesake, Judge Gil- christ PortiT, has given instructions to grand juries in his circuit to indict every Confederate soldier who impresses a horse in the day time as a highway robber and if the im- pressment is done at night the indictment must be that of a horse-thief.' Now, no soldier knows what the fortune of war has in store for him. If I am captured and shot like a dog, in the minds of my Union neighbors — most of my neigh- bors are I'nion men — and of the Tnion people in the State my name will be regarded as that of a criminal. It will take years, possibly, to remove that impression and those years will be years of .•sulTering and reproach for my family. Another reason is that I should hate to die in a little skirmish. I hope to live through tliis war. I have much to live for and life is sAveet to me. If I have to lay down my life I wish to do it in a great battle. It is a soldier's duty to obey orders, and I have never questioned one. ''When I came from the army last April I went to an old man in Knox County whom I had kno\\Ti well for many years. lie is a stay-at-home man, keeps his opinions to himself, but I knew him to be intensely devoted to the cause of the South. Moreover he is a man of the strictest integrity and I can rely upon him in anything he engages to do. I told what I expected to accomplish and what co- operation I must have to achieve success. When he prof- fered his assistance I explained the danger of the posi- tion I wished him to take and was much impressed with his answer. He said he considered it a sin, bordering on suicifle, for a man to go into danger unless it was necessary; if it was neci'ssary no man, understanding his dutv to God and his countrv', could reftise to g(» into dang(>r withmit. sin. '8ce Apprndix ti. THE PLAN OUTLINED 41 His ovra work he said would be measured only by his ability. He is one of the best of ray men. As mapped out between us he was to acquaint himself fully with the roads, paths, streams, woods, fields, and prairies, especially their appear- ance at night, of as much of his immediate neighborhood and beyond as he could cover; select, with my assistance or suggestion, other men to do likewise with adjoining terri- tories, preference being given to elderly men as less liable to suspicion. These men are known to me and to each other as guides. Then there are couriers whose duty it is to bring information. There are more of these, as wherever prac- ticable- they live not over five miles apart, so that the relays are short enough to allow rapid riding and in the event of meeting Federals or the militia to avert suspicion by being not very far from home. Some of the guides and some of the couriers are called organizers, but they are what might be termed recruiting agents. Each man's duties and his location are known to all the others. They have signs and passwords which are changed at stated periods." *'Mudd," said Captain Penny, "you remember Jim Reeds gave you the sign and password before he brought you into our camp ?" "Yes." "In this way," Colonel Porter resumed, "I have some- thing more than the eastern half of North Missouri, except- ing St. Charles County and nearly all of Lincoln and War- ren Counties, covered by trustworthy and efficient agents. I can travel from Clark to Chariton or from Putnam to Lincoln or Pike, by easy stages or by a furious march of day and night, and never be without a guide who knows every foot of the way, even when it is too dark to see your hand before you. If I have a bout with the Federals on the Iowa line, in three or four days our people on the Mis- souri river would have a correct account of it. This is necessary because the papers describe every battle as a Fed- 42 U777/ roirrER I\ SoiirU MfSSoiL'f eriil victon' mu\ thrir accounts of my movciiicnti^ arc calcii- latc«l to clisconrap;c our enlistments. "In every locality I can learn where needed supplies may l)e had. In a certain corn crih, so nuinv feet from the door, is a tjmintity of lead, powder and perciussion caps hroupht out from Ilannihal in tlu' bottom of a capacious pair of saddle-hags topjK'd over by a number of small packages, such ad tea, ric;*, <'andy, spool thread, and the like, by some decrepid old farmer whose honest face was proof against suspicion of