Clay County, Missouri - Chapter 9: During the Year 1863, 1885

Chapter 9: During the Year 1863

Miscellaneous War Items of the Early Spring - The Raid on Missouri City and Killing of Capt. Sessions - Other War Incidents - After the Lawrence Raid - Threatened Invasion from Kansas Prevented - The "Paw Paw Militia," and Certain Military Incidents in This County During 1862 and 1863 - Interesting Testimony of Col. J. H. Moss - November Election - Sons of Malta - Military Murders.

Early in the spring of this year, before the leaves of the trees put out, or even the buds began to swell, the Confederate guerrilla bauds in this part of Missouri were on the move. The first band in Clay county was led by Joe Hart, of Buchanan county, who had deserted the Confederate army to come back to Missouri and " bushwhack." About March 1, Capts. Garth and Tracy, of the enrolled militia, captured one of Hart's men and five jayhawkers near Missouri City. The bushwhacker was sent to St. Joe ; the jayhawkers to Kansas City. Hart and half a dozen of his band ranged through the country in the neighborhood of Centerville (Kearney) claiming to be in search of a militiaman named Harris, whom they wanted to kill, but at the same time they were robbing citizens. From one man they took $60 in money and two horses ; from everybody, arms.

April 29, Capt. Tracy and half a dozen militia were fired on, after dark, at a point 12 miles east of north of Liberty, by Hart's band. The bushwhackers retreated after the first fire, and Tracy captured two of their mules.

In adjoining counties, before spring had fairly arrived, the guerrillas and bushwhackers were at work. Coleman Younger, Dave Poole, Fernando Scott, and some others of Quantrell's band captured the steamer New Sam Gaty, at Sibley's landing, March 27, killing three of Penick's men after they had surrendered, rol)l)ing all the passengers, carrj'ing off 20 negroes, and throwing into the river 100 sacks of flour and a dozen wagonS.

The Raid On Missouri City

On the 19th of May occurred a guerrilla raid on Missouri City made by a band of 12 guerrillas, led bj^ Fernando Scott, who crossed the river at Sibley, and rendezvoused for the raid at the house of Moses (234)

McCoy, ill Fishing River township. It is said that Frank James, Fietch. Taylor and Joe Hart were members of Scott's band. The following account of the raid was given in the current number of the Liberty Tribune, and is pronounced fairly accurate : -

One of the residents of Missouri City came in and reported either to Capt. Darius Sessions of the enrolled militia, or Lieut. Gravenstein, of the Twenty-fifty Missouri Volunteers, that he noticed two or three suspicious characters lurking about a short distance below that place. The captain and lieutenant with not more than three or four men - all we supjiose they could muster at the time for duty - went out on a scout, and had not proceeded far before they were fired upon from the brush by a body of men at least three or four times their number. Finding their little force inadequate, they were compelled to beat a hasty retreat in a somewhat northerly direction. They were, however, hotly pursued by the bushwhackers. Capt. Sessions was shot dead, several bullets, it is said, entering his body. Lieut. Gravenstein, finding his pursuers fast gaining on him, and escape about hopeless, turned and offered to surrender but was killed on the spot without mercy. A private of the Twenty-fifth Missouri who was wounded in the arm, found by a citizen, and brought into Missouri City, was cruelly fired upon by several of these outlaws as they came rushing into town - neither his helpless condition nor the humane attentions of those around him dressing his wound, could save him. He was still alive when last heard from but his recovery is deemed hopeless. The ruffians broke into James Reed's store, forced open his safe, took therefrom some $170 or $180 in gold, destroyed all his valuable papers and other property. They also plnndei'ed and did considerable damage to Mr. B. \V. Nowlin's store, and after charging about for some time in a threatening manner, departed to the woods below the city.

These men, those of them who came into the city, were under the leadership of Scott, a saddler who lived in Lil)erty some years ago, but for the past four or five years has resided in Jackson county. He is a native of Ohio. George Todd it is also said was at hand with another squad. Their pickets were seen early Wednesday morning on the bluf¥ above the lower part of Missouri City. The number of guerrillas altogether was sixteen, although at first they were supposed to number a much larger force.

Capt. Garth, with what forces he could hastily gather up, immediately went in pursuit, but did not succeed in capturing any of them. In the absence of the militia the citizens of Liberty turned out en masxe to defend the town, and it was done with a willingness and a "vim" that plainly indicated that the bushwhackers had but few if any sympathizers in Liberty.

The bushwhackers were all from Jackson and other counties but three - Vandivere, Easton and James - all of whom were of Clay. Vandivere boasted in the streets of Missouri City that he killed

Capt. Sessions because he reported on him and wouldn't let him, stay at home. The rascals, when firing on the wounded man in town, declared that when any of their men were captured they were killed, and that they intended to do the same - that they neither asked nor gave quarter.

Mr. Benjamin Soper, residing some eight or ten miles north of Liberty, reported to headquarters on Thursday that fourteen of the above squad took possession of his farm, stationing out pickets, and notifying him and family that they were prisoners, and not to leav§ the place. That the}' remained all one da}', and on leaving took one of his Iiest horses, and warned him it would not be good for any of the family to be caught from home that night.

The body of Capt. Sessions was buried at Liberty with the honors of war. The remains of Lieut. Gravenstein were sent to his family at St. Joseph. This was the same Darius Sessions who, during the troubles in Kansas, was accused of Abolitionism, and came near being lynched in the streets of Liberty. He was saved by the intervention of prominent Pro-Slavery men, who vouched for his soundness, and a public meeting denounced the lawless proceedings against him. (See preceding pages of this volume.)

Other War Incidents

Along in the summer, after the raid on Missouri City - or Richfield, as that part of the town was then called - the county was badly infested with bushwhackei's, who roamed about in every township, stealing, robbing, and sometimes murdering. Of an exploit of three of these partisans the Ti-ibune, in August, contained the following : -

Three 8ouUiern Gentlemen in Search of Their - On the morning of the Gth of August, Franklin James, with two others of the same stripe, stopped David Mitchell on his road to Lexington, about six miles west of Lil)crty, and took from iiim $1.25, his pocket knife, and a ])ass he had from the Provost Marshal to cross the ))lains. This was one of the " rights" these men are fighting for. James sent his compliments to Maj. Green, and said he would like to see him.

Owing to the disturbed condition of affairs it was impossible to collect the public revenue in the usual way, and in July the county court made the following order : -

Clay County Court, July 8, 1863. Whkreas, it is painfully apparent, and for many months past has existed in our county, which renders it unsafe and almost impossible tor the collector and his deputies to collect in the usual manner and within the time prescribed !)}' law, the State and county revenue, and the taxes assessed for military purposes, without calling on the militia to escort and protect them from the roving bands of thieves and marauders which infect our county; and that were said officers to essay, alone and unprotected, to visit tax-payers at their place of residence in the county, a standing temptation too powerful for these bad men to resist, would be given to waylay and rob said officers ; and whereas, said collector is under heavy bonds to the State and county for the prompt collection and payment of said taxes - by far the greater part of which remains uncollected ; and, whereas, the court desires to see the civil law and authority upheld and respected without the aid and assistance of the military forces in our midst, and to witness the speedy restoration of tranquility, good order, and all the safeguards of society: -

It is therefore ordered by the court that the tax-payers of Clay county who have not yet paid their taxes be notitied and enjoined to repair as soon as practicable to the office of Col. F. R. Long, at the court-house, in the city of Liberty, and pay their taxes to said collector or his deputies ; and, unless they promptly respond to this order, the court will be compelled, as an act of justice to the State, the county, the brave militia faithfully serving the cause of law and loyalty, and said collector, either to call into requisition the services of said militia to enable said officers to collect said taxes, or to order said defaulting tax-payers to be returned as delinquents.

And be it further ordered that this order be published in the Liberty Tribune, as many weeks as may be necessary to give full publicity thereto, and also by printed hand-bills posted in the most prominent places for observation in the county.

On August 27, Capt. W. W. Garth, with a small squad of militia, came upon R. S. Osborn's bushwhackers near Chrisman's schoolhouse and exchanged shots with them. The bushwhackers retreated without loss. A night or so afterward they robbed A. J. Calhoun of $30 in cash and a valuable horse, James Johnson of a horse, J. T. Field, J. Lewis, Richard Morton, Samuel Jones and others of horses, money, clothing, etc., and from Mrs. Richard Price they carried off au old negro man, whom they inhumanly murdered in acorn field near by.

Sunday night, September 6, Maj. John R. Green, of the provisional militia, in command at Liberty, sent a squad of men on a scout out on the Missouri City road. The militia hid themselves, and soon three bushwhackers came along the road and were themselves bushwhacked, the militia firing on them and killing one of their number,

Park Donovan. He had on his person several articles belonging to citizens of the county, among which was a powder flask he had taken from Elder R. C. Morton.

After The Lawrence Raid

After the raid on Lawrence, Kas., by Quantreirsmen,a large public meeting was held at Liberty, T. C. Gordon presiding, to take the sense of the meeting on the affair. Resolutions were passed condemning the raid as " infamous and cruel in the exti'eme, rivaling the bloodiest deeds of the red men of the forest or the carnivals of Oceanica," and expressing the hope that the "last fiend engaged in this heartrending outrage will be overtaken with swift destruction." The meeting was attended by all parties, including many ex-Confederates. When Swing's " Order No. 11 " came out, requesting the citizens of Jackson and other counties to either I'epair to some designated military post or else leave their respective counties, Maj. Green, in command of Clay county, issued the following order: -

All persons who are leaving Gen. Ewing's district in compliance with his order (No. 11) are hereby prohi))ited from stopping in this county to reside. All those failing to comply with this order will be escorted beyond the lines of this county.

There was the greatest alarm and anxiety felt in this county and Platte for some time after the sacking of Lawrence. A number of Clay county men belonged to Quantrell's force, and the Kansas militia were threatening to invade Missouri and take dreadful retaliation for what the guerrillas had done. Gen. Thos. J. Ewing has declared that he issued " Order 11 " to prevent lawless bodies of Kansas troops from visiting the Missouri border and slaughtering indiscriminately the people and burning up the country, as they were threatening to do. However this may be, it is certain that Gen. Ewing notified Gen. Guitar, then in command of the district of Northwest Missouri, and also the Federal officers at Liberty to be on the lookout for Kansas raiders. August 27, he sent the following telegram to Gen. Guitar, who was then at Macon City : - or a raid into Missouri ; it is uncertain wliether they intend to cross the river or attempt the lower border. I have notified commanding officers at Liberty, and directed my provost marshal at Leavenworth to keep the commanding ofiicers at Weston advised. My troops at Fort Leavenworth can not be certainly relied on in the present state of feeling. I have doubts whether any expedition of consequence will really set out, as I have orders that it will be resisted ; but you had as well be ready.

Macon, Mo., August 27, 1863. To Brigadier- General Eiuing, Kansas City, Mo. - I have this moment received your dispatch of this date, for which I am under obligations. I deeply sympathize with the unfortunate people of Lawrence, and with yourself, in the responsible aud embarrassing position you occupy. By all means let speedy vengeance be visited upon the guilty ; but, in the name of heaven and humanity, let us protect the innocent and inoffending. I need no assurance that it will be done as far as you are able. I shall be upon the alert, and I admonish the people of Kansas not to cross the Missouri river for the purpose of marauding and destruction ; they will certainly be met if they do. I trust so dire a calamity will be averted. I am ready, if need be, to march every soldier in my command from North Missouri to the relief of Kansas, and to the Gulf if necessary. As I denounced and fought against the invasion of Kansas in 1856, as an outrage, so must I resist any invasion of Missouri for any illegal purposes. If they come to aid in maintaining the authority and laws of our glorious Government, 1 shall welcome them with fraternal hands.

To Col. John F. Williams, /St. Joseph, Mo. - I have this moment received a dispatch from Gen. Ewing, advising me he believed an expedition was being fitted out at Leavenworth, to make a raid across the river into Missouri - such a movement must be promptly met and resisted. You had better, perhaps, send Maj. Garth down opposite Leavenworth with "Co. B," to keep a watch upon their movements. You will notify Capt. Garth at Liberty, to move with his company to Wyandotte. You will also notify your troops above St. Joseph, near the river, to be on the alert, and take such steps as will ' checkmate any movement in that direction. If men cross into Missouri to repeat the outrages which Quantrell and his murderers have just consummated in Kansas, no matter under what pretext, I want them met with " bloody hands." Keep me promptly advised of every hostile indication or movement.

It was about this time that Gen. Guitar wrote his celebrated " helland-the-irou-works " letter to his brother-in-law, Maj. Reeves Leon-, ai'd. This letter was dated at Macon, September 9, and was severe onthe Abolition Federal officers, and declared that runaway negroes were not to be received in Fedei'al camps. The letter closed with this paragraph : -

I write in haste, as I expect to go to St. Louis this evening to look after the Kansas invasion ; so you see, I am placed between hell and the iron-works, but thank God I am a free man, amenable to no power save the laws of my country and my God, and under no constraint, except to do right as I see it. Keep the Rebs. and Rads. straight. If our Kansas friends come over I will endeavor to give them such a i-eception as becomes a brave and hospitable people.

In the fall of 1863 Col. J. H. Moss received orders from Gen. Schofield, at St. Louis, to reorganize the militia of Clay and Platte counties. This he at once proceeded to do by organizing what came to be known as the Eighty-second Regiment of Enrolled Missouri Militia. This regiment and the Eighty-first, Col. John Scott, constituted what was derisively called the "Paw-Paw" militia brigade. Many members of the regiment had been in the rebel or Confederate service, and it was said that some of them had the previous summer laid out in the paw-paw thickets of the Missouri bottoms to keep out of the way of the Federals, and when frost came lived mainly on the paw-paws I From these alleged circumstances the two regiments were called "Paw-Paws " or the " Paw-Paw Militia."

The Radicals greatly disliked the Paw-Paws and wished to have them mustered out of service. The Legislature in January, 1864, appointed a committee to investigate them, and this committee summoned before it several prominent Union men of this county to testify as to the character of the militia and to the general condition of affairs in Clay then and previously. Extracts from the sworn testimony of some of these persons l)eforc the committee might be inserted here, but the testimony of Col. Jas. H. Moss, given below, contains the mnin

Testimony Of Col. Jas. H. Moss

Qties. by Mr. Davis. What was your reason for organizing the citizen militia, commonly stj'led the " Paw-paws? " Had you a commission for it? Ans. I had an order to that effect, being in command of a sub-district, as colonel of the Forty-eighth E. M. M.

Q. What was the situation of the country at that time? A. The border was overrun with outlaws of all sorts ; busluvhackers, Southern recrniting officers, thieves and robbers, without any regard to politics. In addition to local troubles of that sort, great excitement prevailed in the State of Kansas on account of the raid on Lawrence, and an invasion of the State was threatened by Gen. Lane. Gen. Ewing had telegraphed to Gen. Guitar, commanding district of North Missouri, that armed organizations were formed in Kansas for the purpose of invading North Missouri, and e.xpressed a doubt whether he would be able to control them, on account of the excitement prevailing in consequence of the Lawrence raid. I found the militia in service in a very demoralized and insubordinate condition. I found one portion of the county of Clay occupied by bushwhackers, Southern recruiting officers and robbers, and the other side hy outlaws from the State of Kansas. I found, when I took command, that an order had been given by the district commander for one company to take position on the west side of the county, towards Kansas. The comi)any which had been ordered to do this was in such a demoralized condition, that the officer in command gave it as his excuse for not complying with the order ; the men had declared to unite with the outlaws of Kansas, in case of emergency. I found that the citizens, loyal and disloyal, were disarmed, and all the citizens were at the mercy of these outlaws, rebels as well as loyal men. I found it would be impossible to I'elieve the country from these troubles, without calling on all the citizens to participate in the work, and co-o]iera.te with the military. The companies of militia then on duty in the county, were, with the exception of one company, strangers to the people and to the localities, wholly inefficient so far as rebel bushwhackers and outlaws were concerned, and were unwilling to make warfare on robbers and outlaws from Kansas. For the purpose of defeating any attempted invasion from Kansas, such as was threatened by Gen. Lane and predicted by Gen. Ewing, and for the purpose of ridding the county of the l)ushwhackers, thieves and outlaws, I called together the entire male po[)ulation of the county, and proposed to have companies organized in different parts of the county to hold themselves in readiness to answer any call for the defense of the county which I might make on them.

I then proceeded at once to re-organize the E. M. M. of the county ; I organized two companies of the E. M. M. under the command of loyal officers, and armed them. I did not arm the companies of citi- zens, having had no occasion to call on them for repelling an invasion. In ten clays from the time of the organization, there were no outlaws left in the county. We caught a good many and turned them over to the civil authorities. On several occasions I made details from the companies of citizens, and placed them under the command of my officers, of the regularly enrolled companies of the E. ]\I. M.

Of these captured outlaws there are men claiming to lielong to all political parties, hut about four-fifths of them are Southern bushwhackers, thieves and outlaws. In addition to these captures, I have' banished from the State a number of citizens that had connection with these outrages and outlaws.

A further reason for reorganizing these companies of enrolled militia, now called "Paw-paws," was, that my old regiment, the Fortyeighth, was virtually broken up ; some of the companies reduced down to 25 or 30 men, and some without officers.

The citizens were not organized by me direct ; they formed their organizations in the different neighborhoods by my direction, and under my authority, so as to be read}' when I should have occasion to call on them. The whole object of calling on the citizens en masse was to prevent an armed invasion from Kansas, and co-operate with the companies in active service in ridding the county of rebel bushwhackers and outlaws. One of the most desperate outlaws in Missouri was caught by us and is now in jail.

Q. Did your men, the " Paw-paws," interfere with runaway slaves? A. Never. Orders were given to all the military in the State to have no connection with slaves, and this has been complied with.

Q. Has your force interfered with the enrollment of slaves? A. They have not ; but, on the contrary, I recommended the enrolling officer, Lieut. Holmes, to Col. Broadhead, and have furnished him all the assistance in my power, in the way of protection and transportation, purchased supplies and furnished him money out of my own purse to aid in recruiting.

On one occasion there was a controversy between a recruited negro (belonging to a man by the name of Keller) and a citizen by the name of Cravens. Mr. C. owns a negro boy of about 14 years of age, who had been induced to go up to the recruiting office by the negro already recruited. Cravens meeting this recruiting negro in the street, asked him why he was attempting to get that boy of his to enlist. The negro replied and denied that he had made the attempt ; Cravens replied : I saw you take him up into the recruiting office. The negro said: He ( Cravens) was a liar. Cravens knocked him down ; considerable excitement was occasioned, and the affair was immediately reported to my headquarters. I went down to the locality and ordered the recruited negroes to be taken to their quarters, and gave instructions that there should be no acts of violence committed upon the recruits, and any such cases should be reported* to me immediately.

The recruiting officer (Holmes) became alarmed, and without applying to me, ordered some of my soldiers to guard his door. I understand the men refused ; they were not subject to his orders, and had none from me. Some such language, it was repoi'ted, had been used by them. I saw the recruiting officer myself, and told him there should be no obstacles in his way ; and there has been no difficulty since. I believe he recruited some fifty negroes in one day, and sent them to the railroad.

Q. What were the antecedents of Holmes? A. He was a Secessionist at the outset, said to have acted as Quartermaster to Thompson ; but he has been an enthusiastic Union man for some years, and calls himself a Radical now.

Q. What were his antecedents? A. He is a Union man and has been for two years - and a Radical Union man now; there is no question as to his loyalty now ; he started out on the wrong side, was in a rebel company just before Price's retreat from Lexington ; we got him out of the company, and he has been an exemplary Union man ever since.

Q. Do you know Robert Fleming? A. Yes. He is a Union man, a Radical Union man, he calls himself. He has been a Union man for over two years. He was for a short time in a company of " State Guards," under Claib. F. Jackson.

Q. Do you know Capt. Garth? A. Yes. He started out a rebel, but is now a good Union man, and has performed his duties in the militia veiy efficiently.

Q. Who is Capt. Prixley? A. He was an officer in Price's army; I do not recollect when he came home. When I called on the citizens for assistance he offered his company of citizens to me, which I refused to accept, not wishing to have a man from Price's army commanding a company. The company has been disbanded and has never been in service.

Q. Has your force never interfered with runaway slaves? A. Two men from Jackson county had kidnaped a fugitive negro and brought him over to Clay county ; one of my officers, Capt. Thomason, received a line from Gen. Ewing stating the facts, whereupon my men arrested the kidnapers and the negro, and returned them to Kansas City.

Q. Whiit is the character of the men in the Paw-paw companies as to loyalty? A. I will state that they are now, and during the entire term of their service have been, loyal ; some, in the early part of the rebellion, were disloyal, and connected themselves with the rebel service. The men all willingly and cheerfully took the oath of allegiance. I made them take an additional oath, to war upon Southern recruiting officers and bushwhackers ; they took the oath cheerfully and have conducted themselves in a manner which satisfied me of their sincerity. They have not only hunted bushwhackers and Southern rebels who were in arms, but they have reported acts of disloj'alty and disloyal language of citizens, who (the citizens) have been pun-

Q. What proportion of the men in the two companies of Clay connty have been in the rebel service? A. Each companj' has 85 men ; my impression is that from 15 to 20 in each company are of that class.

Q. Have any brigands or armed bands from Kansas invaded the Missouri border for plunder? A. Yes. There has been a system o£ plundering going on since the war commenced ; outlaws from Kansas and Missouri have carried on a partnership work of plundering, murdering, arson, robbery, etc., which has ended in the desolation of the border counties, on the south side of the river, down to Arkansas, and the loss of life and property on the north side of the river. That system was in full operation when I took command in September last. The counties of Clay and Platte were being daily and nightly ravaged by armed men, white and black ; some of them in the garb of Federal soldiers. On one occasion after I took command, a squad of my men caught some of Gen. Ewiug's soldiers at night, committing depredations in my county, who were sent to the General's headquarters. Many other outrages and robberies were committed by soldiers ; one of the most extensive was by men under Capt. Ryan, of the Fourth M. S. M., on their way from Buchanan county; they stole horses, money and jewelry, from men and women they met on the road.

Q. Have murders and robberies been committed by the enrolled militia previous to their disbanding? A. Not in my county; the companies I found in service in Platte and Clay, when I took command, were favoring the system of plundering practiced by the Kansas outlaws, and refused to fight them. They openly refused to fight these outlaws, who came with impunity into these counties, night and day.

November Election 1863

At the general election in Missouri in November, 1863, but two tickets were voted for, both " Union," of course. One ticket, headed by Barton Bates, W. V. N. Bay and John D. S. Dryden, for Judges of the Supreme Court, was called the Conservative ticket, and was voted for generally by the Democrats ; the other, headed by H. H. A. Clover, Arnold Krekel and David Wagner, was denominated the Radical Republican or Charcoal ticket. This election is remarkable for being the first in Missouri at which, under a general law, the voting was by ballot and not vive voce.

In the fall of 1863 the extraordinary order of " Sons of Malta," or as it was here called, " Knights of Palermo," had an organization or "council" in Liberty, with many members. This alleged " order " was a most stupendous and at the same time a most ludicrous and laughable humbug. It pretended to have a ritual, signs, grips, etc., similar to Freemasonry, but really was no order at all. The initiation was all there was of it. The poor candidates, unsuspicious and confiding, were always blindfolded and tied and then put through a series of practical jokes - tossed in a blanket, deluged with dirty water, made to assume a variety of ridiculous postures, etc., and finally were fearfully and ponderously armored, panoplied and equipped, led in front of a mirror and the bandages on their eyes removed.

Murders Committed

Up to the 1st of January, 1864, there had been eighteen citizens of the county murdered by the military forces of both sides. Four Union men had been killed by the bushwhackers, and the Federals had killed fourteen men of Confederate proclivities. Of the latter Penick's men killed six, enrolled and provisional militia six, and the Twenty-fifth Missouri Infantry two.