Jackson County, Missouri - Chapter 14: Jackson County During the War, 1881

Chapter 14: Jackson County During the War

Sacking of the United States Arsenal, at Liberty - Confederate Camp on Rock Creek - Death of Capt. Halloway - Confederates enter Independence in 1861 - Burning of Property - Capt. Fuller takes Independence and Hangs a man on the Public Square - Quantrell comes into Independence - Campaign in 1862 - Battle of Lone Jack - Ft. Pennock - Order Number Eleven - Price's March through this Section - Organization of the Home Guards - The Iron- Clad Oath - Etc., etc.

The secession of several of the Southern States in the spring of 1861, precipitated the strife in Jackson county, and especially in and around Independence, and men began to express their opinions openly and boldly,_with the cause that had their sympathies, whether it gave offense or not to their neighbors. The first immediate attack it seems between the two sections - the North and South - in these parts had anything to do, was the sacking of the United States Arsenal in Clay county.

Men were in that action from the counties of Clay, Jackson, Platte and Lafayette. They supplied themselves with muskets,, holster pistols, sabers, ammunition, etc., and then quietly returned to their several counties and homes and awaited the course of events. It was not long afterward when a similar occurrence took place at Lexington, Missouri ; as these things had been done it was evident to any one that there were serious apprehensions of trouble. So, early in the summer of 1861, there was a camp formed of Confederates, on Rock Creek, a few miles west of Independence ; as ascertained, many of these were citizens of Independence. A short while after they had struck their camp, perhaps a day or two, there was a reconnoitering party sent out from Kansas City; the two companies met under truce - and it so turned out that the Captains were very nearly dressed alike, and were acquainted with each other, and each one advanced and both were talking upon the circumstance of their thus meeting, when the Confederates fired upon the Federal soldiers, which precipitated a fight, in which Captain HoUoway, of the Confederates, was killed. This created no little excitement in Independence ; the gravest and most unexcitable men of the town of both parties felt that a portentous crisis was just ahead.

A short time afterward Lowe & Jennison's cavalry from Kansas attacked Independence, placed several citizens under guard care at the grocery store of Porter & Eraser, and the hardware store . of Moss & Co. and carried away a great deal of property such as carriages, horses, harness, wagons and cattle. As they were returning, it seems, to Kansas City they burnt Pitcher's mill, as well as his and Reuben Johnson's residence. This was in the fall of 186 1 ; and during the winter Capt. Oliver was sent into the county with five companies of the seventh Missouri - the bloody seventh they called themselves. He and his command were charged by the people of Independence with many oppressive acts and needless cruelties.

In the spripg of 1862, Capt Fuller was sent from Kansas City to Independence, soon after the bridge over the Big Blue had been burned by Quantrell. In the neighborhood of the burned bridge he captured a man whom he had reason to believe was a member of Quantrell's band,andhe took him to Independence and hanged him publicly on the public square. This same Capt. Fuller also captured the town and gathered many of the citizens on the public square, where they were more or less questioned concerning their political predilections. Fuller did not re- main in Independence very long, before Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, in the spring of 1862, with a detachment of soldiers came down from Kansas City; there were then in town several companies of infantry and cavalry. About this time when the Federal soldiers were making, or beginning to make, Independence a kind of headquarters for these parts, Quantrell, with his desperate scouts, who had been causing the Federals some trouble for some time, was known to be hovering around the neighborhood. They made one of their intrepid dashes upon the town, and before the Federals had time to array themselves, the Confederates were on the public square. Imagine the confusion. Three or four dozen men in the center of perhaps a thousand well armed soldiers. From the actions of Quantrell, it appears that he did not intend to hazard an engagement at this time, that it was not his wish to measure strength with a thousand soldiers ; but rather to charge in, capture some important equipments, some five prisoners from whom to receive all the information that could be had, concerning the anticipated movements of the opposing side. Reports of persons who were living in the town at that time, say that there was one of Quantrell's men killed and two of the Federals, besides what were wounded on both sides.

Quantrell's men took a young man prisoner, unarmed him and were marching him off with them, as they were going out on the east side of the square, the young man was ordered to ride faster but he refused to do so, and he was shot, it is said on good authority, somewhere about the head. But the result of the shooting was not fatal The young man, either on foot or on horseback, broke and ran away, the Confederates after him. It appears, however, that he left his horse, and by dashing through alleys, over fences and through houses, he got away; perhaps, they were being too hotly pursued by the Federal soldiers and had to get out of town to save their hves.

As they were leaving Independence by way of the Spring Branch road, Quantrell's horse was either shot from under him, or stumbled and fell, and he had to take it afoot ; such might have been a little unusual to Quantrell at that early day of the war, but at a later date it was quite ordinary for him to have to escape in that and similar ways. This little retreat of Quantrell's was nothing more than he expected, if we receive the best and most authenticated accounts of that transaction. The Federals stationed in the town took a little more precaution and consequently increased their assurances of future safety - but they "should have taken heed least they fall."

In the summer of 1862, Colonel Buell was placed in command of the forces at Independence; though a good soldier and splendid commander, he did not thoroughly understand the kind of men he was expecting to meet. If he had and studied their modes of warfare, it probably would have saved him an inglorious defeat. About fifteen hundred men under Hughs and other commanders, atatcked Independence and after hard fight defeated Colonel Buell and took about 350 prisoners, all of whom they paroled. But the Federal soldiers came into town in such numbers that the Confederates could not hold the place. But as it seems from their general mode of warfare in these parts, they had done mostly what they had desired to do, namely, to show their power, to obtain arms and large stores of ammunition, all of which they got in abundance in that engagement. They also dislodged many offensive persons and restored as well as took off some considerable property. In no State of the Union was the horrors of the war more visible, or more severely felt than in Missouri; especially was Missouri more deeply and severely scourged with the evils and evil consequences of guerrilla warefare than any other. No county of Missouri suffered as much from that species of warfare as did the County of Jackson; and no township, perhaps, in the county had greater reason to complain of those evils than Van Buren. The Sni Hills in this and adjoining townships came to be considered but another name for bush-whacking exploits, and barbarities on one side, and

Federal retaliation and revenge on the other. Every southern State had its battlefields, gory with blood and ghastly with the dead ; some of them surpassing in ghastliness anything in modern times, but none of them surpassing in stubborn courage, determined resistance, and heroic valor that scene which was witnesssd in the little village christened for the lone tree of the township.

The citizens of that village had been accustomed to alarms and scenes of bloodshed and cruelty. Scarcely a week passed without some exciting occurrence, or some violent death. But it was reserved for the i6th of August, 1862, to witness the grim monsters, war and death, and carnage, in all their horrors. It is the battle then of Lone Jack that the historian of the township will have to record as the bloodiest of all the bloody scenes in the township during all of that long and crual war.

For months the guerrilla, Quantrell, and others had been carrying on their system of bush-whacking warfare from their hiding places in the Sni Hills and other parts of the county; while the Union soldiers held and garrisoned the principal towns, and sent out scouting parties to chastise the troublesome bushwhackers; and too often the chastisement fell upon the innocent in place of the guilty. During the first week in August, 1862, a strong effort was made to strengthen the Confederate force in the county, and recruiting officers were busy swelling their ranks. A very large majority of the citizens were in sympathy with the South, and many of them who were opposed to a guerrilla warfare, and had managed to stay at home, by hiding in the woods when ever a Federal scout was in the vicinity, were persuaded then to enter the regular Confederate service, as the surest means of safety; and Col. John T. Hughes, a regular Confederate officer, on recruiting service, was prepared to enlist and swear them into service, as honorable soldiers. While others, who were not at all averse to the bush-whacking mode of warfare, were at the same time swelling the ranks of Quantrell. Hughes, Quantrell and Hays having mustered and united their forces, on the loth of August made an attack on Independence; garrisoned by a Federal force under Col. Buell; which place and force they captured, with all its stores of arms and ammunition; which circumstance still further aided and stimulated the Confederates in the work of recruiting. Col. Hughes was killed at the taking of Independence, and his command devolved on Col. Gideon Thompson, of Clay county, and Col. Upton Hays. The Confederate officers, with their regiments, battalions and companies, were hurrying up from the South, recruiting and swel-- ling their ranks as they came ; and it was given out, that Lexington and other Federal posts would soon fall, as Independence had dope. In the forenoon of August 15th, those regiments, battaHons and companies began to arrive in Lone Jack, and continued to arrive during the day, under the command of Cols. Cockrell, Tracy, Hunter, Jackman and Lewis. Col. Totten, commanding the Federal post at Lexington, after the battle at Independence, having learned that Thompson and Hays were somewhere between Independence and Lone Jack, in compliance with orders from General Schofield, sent out Major Emory Foster, with eight hundred men to cut them off from the reinforcements coming from the south, before those reinforcements could arrive. At the same time Col. Fitz Henry Warren, 15th Iowa cavalry, was ordered from Clmton to co-operate with Major Foster, having left Lexington early in the morning of Friday, August 15th ; sent out two small flanking parties to make inquiries, and hunt up the enemy he was after; posted on with his main force, over seven hundred strong, and arrived at Lone Jack at 8 o'clock in the night. His force consisted mostly of Missouri militia, mustered into the United States, drawn from the 6th, the 7th and 8th, Catherwood's, Phillips' and McClurg's regiments, and Nugent's battalion. He also had some Illinois and Indiana soldiers and the 7th Missouri cavalry, with two field pieces of Babb's Indiana battery. Foster had been told before reaching town that Confederates to the number of four thousand were there ; but, as he said, having been lied to so often, he refused to credit the report, and pushed on thinking it was the force he was in search of. That force, however, was not there ; nor was there any immediately in the village. Thompson and Hays with five hundred men or more were encamped on the eastern banks of the Little Blue, some fifteen miles away; Quantrell, still further off, and of the reinforcements just from the South, Cockrell was northwest of the village three or four miles; Tracy and Coffee south of it about a mile, on the farm of David_ Arnold; Lewis still further south ; Jackman was also in the neighborhood. Passing through the village, Foster opened fire on Coffee's and Tracy's company; a skirmish ensued as the Confederates retreated west, in which a few of them were wounded, and two of Foster's men killed by their comrades, in the darkness and confusion.

After the retreat, Foster returned to the village, where he remained unmolested until morning. Foster and some of his officers occupied the large hotel of B. B. Cave; who, with a majority of the male citizens of the place, had left the town in the care of the woman and children. The horses were picketed in the town, and along a lane running south ; and the men lay down to sleep as best they could. In the mean time, the word was being carried to Cockrell, Hays, Quantrell and others, of the situation of things in the village. Thompson and Hays united their forces with Cockrell's, and at daylight arrived within one and a half miles of town ; there they first heard the Federal bugle, sounding the morning reveille, and then they dismounted and marched to the attack on foot.

The town was divided into new and old town. The hold, and Federal camp being in the new town, on the prairie ridge, where stood the lone tree, from which the town derived its name. The main street being half a mile in length, from the south side of the new town to the north of the old. On the east of the new town, was a hedge, and full of corn ; on the west was a field, uncultivated that year, and overgrown with rank and tall weeds. Through these weeds, the Confederates made their way, stooping and crouching, and arrived in shooting distance undiscovered ; and while the Union soldiers were busy in feeding their horses, and getting breakfast, a single gun, and then a volley, announced the battle begun.

The Federals were taken by surprise, but they soon rallied, each man to his post. The artillery drew up on the public square, and joined its roar to the roar of musketry already going on. The hotel, the hedge row, the fences, the shops and the houses, were converted into fortifications and breastworks. The Confederates advanced on and on ; and it was soon a hand to hand conflict. The artillery supports, the artillery horses, and the artillery men were shot down, and the guns were taken by the Confederates. In a short time they were re-taken by the Federals. Taken by the Confederates a second time ; and again re-taken. A large blacksmith shop, which stood near, was a blockhouse and fortification, for each party in turn. The hotel, was at the commencement a fortification for the Federal forces ; from the windows of which they fought and did great action : but the Confederates worked their way nearer and nearer, and at length set fire to it, and it was soon in flames ; and the occupants forced to retire ; and two or three dead bodies were consumed in the burning building. The hours passed, and the contest was kept up, it was Missourian against Missourian, and neighbor against neighbor. Boys who had played together, gone to school together, and grown up together ; were opposed to each other in a deadly strife. Four hours passed, and the conflict of arms was still going on. Both parties, however, were nearly exhausted ; faint with hunger, thirst, heat and fatigue : and shortly after ten o'clock, the Federals spiked the cannon, drew them off a short distance, collected their horses and retired, unmolested from the field, and made good their retreat to Lexington. This was a hard fought contest ; and for the numbers engaged, the hardest fought in the State - perhaps in any State - during the whole war ; and it is often asked who had the best of it ?

Many accounts have been given of it, more or less partial to one side or the other ; but as this is intended as a part of the history of the county, that will live when all the actors in that bloody drama shall have passed away ; and the hand that writes it will be cold in death ; and there will be none left to correct its errors, or false statements ; let it for once be impartial, and true ; and the impartial reader, whoever he may be, will say of a truth, neither party had much to boast of, in the way of victory. The Confederates could, with truth , and did claim the victory, as the field was left in their possession ; they buried their own dead, and cared for their wounded, and could show as trophies, the two abandoned field pieces, which they carried off with them the next day ; when they themselves had to retreat before superior numbers. On the other hand, the Unionists claim that when the fight ended, and the firing ceased, they were in possession of the ground, and that the Confederates had drawn off to the northern part of the village, and were there being re-inforced by fresh troops ; and thus it was only when they saw, or heard of the re-inforcements of Coffee, Tracy, and Quantrell, that the field was abandoned ; and that the artillery was left for the want of horses to draw it off. The Federal Commander, Major Foster, was left on the field severely wounded, and his brother mortally wounded ; the command devolving on Capt. M. H. Browner. In retreating to Lexington, the Federals made a detour southward, hoping to meet or fall in with Fitz Henry Warren, from Clinton ; but were disappointed, and following the Warrensburg road, to the cross-road from Holden to Lexington, they turned north and arrived at Lexington before night. The battle over the little town presented a ghastly spectacle. The wounded were gathered up, and almost every house became a hospital. The Confederate dead were gathered together and buried that evening; a few feet away from the lone tree, which though dead, was still standing at that time. Some, however, of the dead, on each side, were carried away by friends, and buried in the county cemeteries. Some prisoners, from twenty to fifty had been taken, and to them and a few citizens was assigned the task of burying the Federal dead. At the request of W. H. H. Cundiff, the Federal surgeon. Ambers Graham, and A. L. Snow two of the citizens, harnessed a team and gathered up and carried the killed to the place of burial, and the wounded to the hospital or seminary. On account of the scarcity of help, none of the Federal dead were buried that day. Next morning (Sunday), while engaged in burying the Union dead, and in hauling off the dead horses ; the advance of Warren's and Blunt's army came in sight ; marching up from the south ; and the Confederate forces retreated, making a detour to the east, a few miles, and then turning south, closely pursued for several days ; but finally making good their retreat into Arkansas. This retreat of the Confederate forces, left to the citizens of the county, with the surgeons and nurses that remained, the task of finishing the burial of the dead, and taking care of the many wounded ; and it was not till Wednesday, the 20th, that the dead horses, numbering about sixty, were all removed from the town. There have been many, and conflicting statements, as to the number of killed and wounded on each side ; also, as to the numbers engaged in the conflict, and perhaps the exact truth will never be kpown. As has already been said 800 Union soldiers were dispatched from Lexington : of these, two small flanking parties were not in action.

Of the Confederates, they claimed, the day before when they came in, to number over 4,000. A writer has since said that Cockrell, Tracy, Hays, Hunter, Jackraan and Quantrell had between them but 900 men, and that of these 200 were not in the action. It is well to make allowance for both of these statements. When we recollect that an object of this expedition north was for the purpose of recruiting their numbers, and when we recollect that recruiting officers generally picture things to the eye of the recruit in a color different from the reality, we may readily suppose that the number would be represented as larger than it really was, and when the young man was told by these recruiting agents that they had come to the county to stay, that a new leaf was now turned, and that Confederates would garrison the towns, these same agents would fain have had them believe that they had the force to carry out their promises. On the other hand, when it is recollected that one avowed object, and perhaps the real intention, was to make an attack on Lexington and capture that as they had Independence, Mo., no sane person will admit that 900 was the sum total of their forces, especially as the same writer, who places it at 900, has said only a few pages before, that Cockrell, Tracy, Hunter and Jackman had each a regiment, Quantrell a battalion, and Hays 300. Though these, and suck stories as these, have been repeatedly told and printed, they are not necessarily all true. But putting all the information together, that appears most reliable. It is thought the combined force of the Confederates in and near Lone Jack was over (3,000) three thousand, of which more than half were in the action, perhaps not all at one time, but at some time during the few hours conflict. A letter from one of Hays' captains, who can be relied on, and who furnished for this sketch, writes thus: " On the 15th of August, 1862, about 500 Confederates, mostly raw and undiscipHned troops, under Cols. Hays and Thompson, went into camp on the east bank of Little Blue, about twelve miles southeast of Independence and twelve northwest of Lone Jack. About 2 o'clock a. m. of the i6th the troops were awakened and ordered to mount and fall into line, and march in the direction of Lone Jack. The order was obeyed with quietness and alacrity. About daylight we arrived within one and a half miles of Lone Jack, midway between Noel's and Long's. Here we first heard the enemy's bugle. Here nearly all the cavalry were dismounted ; the troops marched to the battle ground on foot - a part of the way through tall and growing corn and high weeds.

" The Confederates, about one thousand strong, under Colonels Hays and Cockrell, approached the town from the west, consequently the enemy were attacked on their western side."

The battle then having been commenced by Hays and Cockrell with 1,000 men, and other detachments of other commands claiming to have been engaged, the impartial mind comes to the conclusion above stated. As to the number killed on the Confederate side, there is not much room for doubt, or for conflicting statements, and there never has been much. They were buried with more care than the Union soldiers, and head boards were placed at their graves, on which were written the names of the several soldiers. Two weeks after, these boards numbered fifty-nine, which, with an addition of perhaps a dozen carried away by friends, will approximate the number of the killed and the mortally wounded. Of the number killed on the Federal side there have been statements made differing widely. They were all buried in one long and narrow trench - laid in side by side, with no board or other mark to designate the name or number. The writer above alluded to says : one hundred and thirty-six were dead on the ground. Some others claim to have counted over one hundred, others eighty, etc., etc.

The Federal surgeon reports forty dead when the battle ended, and A. L. Snow, who assisted in carrying the dead to the place of burial, counted, when done late in the evening, forty-three. About twelve or thirteen of the wounded are said to have died that night, and a few others before they were removed on the 20th.

The grave, six feet in width, in which they were laid side by side as closely as men could be placed, will serve to indicate, or approximate, the number very nearly. It is eighty feet in length, and any person who has had any experience in burying men in that way, can arrive very nearly at the number that are reposing there now. That silent mound is an important and an impartial witness, the testimony of which cannot be doubted. From all the evidences obtainable, then.

It has been said that more than one half the number engaged in the fight on each side were killed and wounded. We think this an over estimate. The number of the wounded reported by the Federal officer was i6o, and the number of the Confederate wounded is thought not to have been much, if any, in excess of that number.

This battle, like all other hard fought battles, had its incidents, incidents which will never be forgotten by those who witnessed them ; and not only were the combatants there to witness them, but others, now combatants were unwilling spectators of the bloody scene. The citizens of the town were there ; at least the women and children were there; and the conflict was in their midst, and around and about them. In the streets, in the houses, in the yards, and in the f\elds, on either side. When the house of B. B. Cave was occupied by armed men, his mother, his wife and little children were there, and there they remained till the attack was made, remained while the storm of battle was raging in and around it, not daring to face the leaden tempest outside, but crouching in the safest rooms of the building, while their once peaceful home was converted into a blockhouse, filled with armed warriors, dealing death and meeting the same. There they remained, until to the roar of the battle was added the roaring of the flames above and around them, and when the aimed occupants were driven from it by the devouring element, they too had to leave and encounter the showers of leaden hail that fell and passed on every side. The mother was an aged lady, very fleshy, who on ordinary occasions could walk but slowl)', and with great difficulty; but there was no help for it now, she must get away ' somehow. Safely they passed out of the burning building, out of the Union line into the field on the west, through the Confederate line, and beyond it and lay down amongst the tall weeds which shut out the sight, but not the sound of the raging battle. After some time the infant child demanded the sustenance which nature requires, and the young mother partially raising herself to apply the breast to the lips of her suffering babe, was pierced with a ball, which passing through the lungs inflicted a fatal wound, of which in a few weeks she died; another victim of cruel war, and of that sanguinary contest.

Another house further north, the one now owned and occupied by Wm. Phillips was then occupied by Benjamin Pitcher. He too was about, having left when the soldiers came in on the night of the 15th. But his wife and two small children and a niece of sixteen were here. When the attack was made some of the Union soldiers were in the house cooking breakfast - a breakfast they were destined never to eat. As the fight waxed warmer and warmer the women and children crept into a wardrobe to escape the bullets that were piercing the house. In the course of the fight the confederates occupied the house and fought from it, firing from the windows above and below. This being noticed the artillery was turned upon the house, and ball after ball went crashing through it, one ball cutting off" the part of an old fashioned bedstead near the wardrobe. The soldiers in the house then assisted them out and told them to escape for life. They fled to the church 600 yards away and took refuge in the house of their God. That lady-left her house a fortification suffering a cannonade ; she returned some hours after to find it a hospital, filled as other houses in the town were, with the wounded and dying, the beds and bedding saturated with blood, or torn into strips to make bandages for the wounded. She met some days afterward, at the "house of the writer, the Federal sergeant who was cooking breakfast in the house when the action began. He had received a severe wound, a wound from which he never recovered, but rode with the retrea:ting column two and a half miles to the house of Jacob Bennett, when faint and unable to proceed further he stopped and was well cared for.

In an incredibly short time the result of the action was known for miles around, and citizens were coming in to give the needed assistance to the wounded or to carry oif and bury the friends who had fallen, for amongst the dead were some of Van Buren's own citizens; some who had but recently entered the Confederate service and fell in their first fight, amongst whom may be mentioned James Helms, D. C. Webb, John Temple, Walden and Tally. Those or nearly all of them were carried off by relatives and friends in Round Prairie.

In a few hours, too, friends were there from Pleasant Hill and beyond, and carried back with them the dead body of Drary Farmer, a Union soldier, and Capt. Wm. Allen Long, mortally, and Sergeant Luke Williams, severely wounded.

Women, too, when the men were absent, or too timid to venture, were soon seen coming in with baskets and boxes of provisions and other needed articles ; and this continued for several days, until the necessity ceased.

When General Blunt, on Sunday, the 17th, came into the town, and the Confederates retreated, he did not stop to take possession of the field, or the woundedj or leave any garrison, but pushed on with his whole force in pursuit ; and the town and the wounded prisoners were left in command of Colonel Gideon Thompson, who remained for some time. The Federal authorities at Lexington sent ambulances and carriages, and, on Wednesday, the 20th, removed nearly all the wounded to Lexington, from which place they were sent in boats to Jefferson City ; and in the National Cemetery, there may be seen more than one head stone, in memory of soldiers who died of wounds received at Lone Jack. Some few of the wounded, who had been quartered, or had found a resting place in the houses of citizens, and comfortably situated, preferred not to go, and were left to the hospitality of strangers ; and one poor unfortunate was left alone,- in a dying state, in the Seminary building, which had been used as the Federal hospital. He, too, was cared for while living, and buried when dead, by John W. Tate, Thos. Potter, and other.

With a few exceptions, the brave Union soldiers, who were wounded, and those taken prisoners, were treated with kindness and courtesy, by their equally brave captors, of the Confederacy, and by the citizen sympathizers with the Confederacy ; and nearly all who would accept it received a discharge on parol of honor. A few exceptions there may have been - a few exceptions there were - as there almost always is ; some were robbed of their money, their valuables, and some of their clothing ; and one. Lieutenant Levi Copeland, who had incurred the ill will of a portion of his captors, as was said by unnecessary acts of severity toward the friends and families of bush-whackers ; and, on that account, was particularly obnoxious to them, was given over to the Guerilla Quantrell, and was never seen by his friends again. There is no doubt as to what his fate was, (It is said there were two or three others, but this is not certain.) As has been said, in this fierce conflict, neighbor and friend fought against neighbor and friend ; members of the same Christian church, who had together knelt at the altar, and had partaken of the sacrament together, were here on opposite sides ; and many have, or might possibly have, taken each others lives. Major Foster, who commanded the Federal soldiers, and Colonel Vard Cockrell, who brought on the attack, were neighbors and acquaintances in Johnson county; Captain Allen Long, who led a company in Foster's command, and Colonel Warner Lewis, were friends and neighbors in Cass. Long, who was mortally wounded, also had many friends and acquaintances in the Confederate column, and among the Confederate sympathizers ; and by some of them he was carried to Pleasant Hill, where he died in a very few days.

These are but some of the incidents of this memorable struggle, which has made the little town of Lone Jack historic. Where the lone tree once stood now stands a marble shaft, which has been erected by voluntary contributions from

Who Fell In The Battle Of Lone Jack

Just west of this, and but a few paces from it, is the long and narrow mound in which the Union soldiers sleep, with no stone to mark their resting place.

Several years ago a society was formed, and an effort made, to raise the needed funds to erect a monument to their memory ; but the required amount was not obtained, and it was abandoned. Congress has appropriated money to place head stones at the grave of every Union soldier that can be identified ; but here are at least sixty brave rnen promiscuously laid together, and no one of them can be distinguished from another.

Year after year the citizens of Jackson and surrounding counties have met on the 1 6th of August, to commemorate the deeds <9i daring done on that memorable day in 1862. It is the big day of the year, for all the country round; and the i6th of August, brings together larger crowds to the little village of Lone Jack, than even the 4th of July does in some of our large cities ; and one pleasing circumstance, in relation to these gatherings is, that as time passes, at each succeeding anniversary, there is less of partisan feehng manifested. May it continue to be so until none of that sectional partisan bias and feeling will be perceptible.

Among the killed and wounded on the Federal side were Captain Wm. Plumb and Captain Jas. Dunden, of Catherwood's regiment, and Captain H. D. Moore and Lieut. Jno. R. Foster, of McChengo's regiment. Captains Brady and Bryant among the Confederates were killed.

The Dying Soldier At Lone Jack

The Federal troops in Jackson county in the fall of 1862 and spring of 1863, were commanded by such officers as Lieutenant-Colonel Thompson, Colonel Pennock and Major W. C. Ranson. Colonel Pennock's regiment remained in Independence until the spring of 1863. During the time he remained in town he burned several houses; the Confederates were also occasionally beating around the town trying to burn some houses, especially the house still known as Samson's store and the public school building, which was then a seminary owned and conducted by Prof. Lewis. The buildings, however, by the action of the citizens were put out. There was some fighting between these outlying Confederates around the town and the Federal soldiers within, but nothing that amounted to much. Some rather close shots were made at the assailants and they left. Then there was formed what was called the Home Guards who closely invested the town, took every precaution toward preventing the place from falling into the hands of the Confederates, but, from facts that will be related presently, they also failed in that. The court house and yard were packed full of the citizens of Independence, but that measure did not seem to bear much fruit or safety, either to the Federal or Confederate elements among the people of the town. In fact it would have been a great blessing to the adherents of both parties living in the city limits, or those adjacent, if either one or the other of the contesting armies had gotten possession of the place and secured it during the whole civil war. There certainly would have been more protection offered to inoffensive women and children than was, if such had been the case. We, at this time, have reasons to believe unless the soldiers had lost all their gallantry and bravery, that the weak and helpless would have been protected, though the husbands, brothers and fathers had been in the opposing army. But as it was, first one side and then the other was in control of the town, so there was cruelty and needless injuries inflicted upon the once noble and beautiful little city of Independence. During this same spring of 1863, or the summer following, Colonel Pennock built what was called Fort Pennock, near the public spring in the city of Independence. He was occupying this post when General Ewing's famous order No. n was issued.

This celebrated order was issued just one week after the memorable butchery at Lawrence, by the Guerrilla mob, led by Quantrell, and the object of it was to deprive Quantrell of a lodgment and rendezvous in the borders of Missouri, where he and his band had been protected and supported by sympathizing citizens for the preceding three years. '

General Order No. 10, which immediately preceded Order No. 11, should also be understood, for we are well aware that after nearly a score of years have passed, many of those who were here then have passed away, and others, who were young, have come into the active stations of life, but knew little or nothing about the particulars. Then, again, there are thousands who having come into Jackson county, never heard of these transactions that occurred during the progress of greater events in the great Civil War.

There were only three paragraphs of Order No. 10 that bore any particular relation to Order No. 11, and these were paragraphs i, 2, and 3. Order No. 10 provided (i)--For escort to all loyal persons desiring to remove to a military post in the district, and to all persons who had been slaves of persons in rebellion, and that the teams of those who had aided in rebellion, whenever needed, should be taken to assist in the removal, and then turned over to the ofificer commanding the military station.

(2) - All persons who willfully gave aid to the guerrillas, except women, who were heads of families, were to be arrested ; but careful discrimination was to be made between those who were compelled by threats to do so, and those who aided them from disloyal motives. Wives and children of known guerrillas, and women, heads of families, willfully engaged in aiding the guerrillas, were to be notified to remove out of the district forthwith, and be permitted to take unmolested their stock, provisions and household goods. If they did not so remove, they were to be sent to headquarters at Kansas City, for shipment south.

(3) - Persons who laid down their arms and surrendered themselves, to be banished with their families, were to be sent to such State or district outside the department as the commanding officer might direct. No. 3 was revoked, as will be seen by reference to Order No. 11. General Order No. 10 was issued August 18, 1863, just one week before Order No. 11, of which the following is a copy :

I. All persons living in Jackson, Cass and Bates counties, Missouri, and in that part of Vernon- included in this district, except those living within one mile of the limits of Independence, Hickman's Mills, Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville, and except those in that part of Kaw township, Jackson county, north of Brush Creek and west of the Big Blue, are hereby ordered to remove from their present places of residence within fifteen days from the date hereof.

Those who, within that time, establish their loyalty to the satisfaction of the commanding officer of the military station nearest their present places of residence, will receive from him certificates stating the fact of their loyalty and the names of the witnesses by whom it can be shown. All who receive such certificates will be permitted to remove to any military station in this district, or to any part of the State of Kansas, except the counties on the eastern border of the State. All others shall remove out of this district. Officers commanding companies and detachments serving in the counties named, will see that this paragraph is promptly obeyed.

II. All grain and hay in the field or under shelter, in the districts from which the inhabitants are required to remove, within reach of military stations, after the gth day of September next, will be taken to such stations, and turned over to the proper officers there ; and report of the amount so turned over made to District Head Quarters, specifying the names of all loyal owners, and the amount of such produce taken from them. All grain and hay found in such district after the 9th day of September next, not convenient to such stations, will be destroyed.

III. The provisions of General Orders No. 10 from these headquarters will be at once vigorously executed by officers commanding in the parts of the district, and at the stations, not subject to the operation of Paragraph i of this Order - and especially in the towns of Independence, Westport and Kansas City.

IV. Paragraph 3, General Order No. 10, is revoked as to all who have borne arms against the Government in this district since the 20th day of August, 1863.

Five months after the order was issued, Col. Theo. S. Case, Chief' Quartermaster of the Border under General Ewing, now postmaster at Kansas City, wrote a letter to the Missouri Democrat, of St. Louis, commenting on railroad matters in this part of the state, the anniversary of the emancipation proclamation and other things in which he referred to General Order No. ii, in the following language : "The experience of the. past three years has shown that the plan adopted in constructing the ' Division of the Border ' from the territory on both sides of the boundary line of Kansas and Missouri, is the only one which has succeeded in giving anything like peace to this vexed region. It must not be forgotten that less than six months ago this border was alive with bush-whackers and guerrillas on one side and with 'red legs' on the other, the first of whom exceed the atrocities of the savages in their horrible deeds of blood, while the latter excel in dexterity the horse steahng exploits of John A. Murrell's most experienced gangs. Now neither party is known on this border. Not a bush-whacker has been heard of in any part of the District of the Border for months and the term ' red leg ' is rapidly becoming obsolete. Stage coaches, solitary horsemen and footmen can and do travel ummolested from this city (Kansas City) to Lexington, Warrensburg, Harrisonville or Fort Scott, a statement which could not have been truthfully made at any previous time since May, 1861 ; while horses, mules and cattle roam about at large with almost the same immunity as of yore.

' ' All this has been brought about by the well-directed efforts of General Ewing who having control of both sides of the boundary line has been enabled to produce a result which no officer could have secured, whose jurisdiction ceased at the line on the other side. His measures have been harsh, it cannot be denied, but when we recall the history of the part in Jackson and Cass counties, the almost unanimous adherence to the rebel cause among their people, the harboring of bush-whackers, the persecution of Union men, as long as any remained to be persecuted, the impossibility of obtaining information in regard to the movements of the guerrillas amongst them, the certainty of the heralding to the enemy of any movement of the federal troops, the determined and repeated acts of duplicity and treachery by almost the whole population, men, women and children - when all these things are considered, and the result of Gen. Ewing's course ascertained, none but copperheads and traitors find any objection to it, while all loyal and true hearted men applaud it. It will be remembered that by order No. 11 these counties were depopulated. The entire population was ordered to remove. Such as would take the oath of allegiance and could prove that they had never harbored bush-whackers were permitted to remain at the various military stations in the district. All others were compelled to remove altogether. The forage thus abandoned has been collected and used by the government and paid for where the owner was loyal. Ample time was given for the removal of cattle and thus the guerrillas were deprived of all means of support and information. After several months General Order No. 20 was issued, permitting all loyal citizens to remove to their homes, the males to enroll themselves, form militia companies for home defense, receiving arms, clothing and subsistence from the government. Under this order about 250 men, mostly heads of families, have returned, enrolled themselves, and are now prepared to defend themselves against the bush-whackers should they attempt to return. Of course none are permitted to return whose loyalty is not abundantly attested. This course will gradually fill up the counties again with men who have been true to their country from the beginning, but who have been exiles from their homes since 1861. They know personally the bush-whackers and their harborers, and will not permit them to return. There are families now living almost destitute in this city, who have good farms, within from ten to twenty miles, but who have not dared to visit them for two years, through dread of the rifle or bowie knife of their former neighbors and friends. It is the latter class of people who are expelled by General Order No. ii. And the former class who are permitted to again enjoy the happiness and comfort of living upon their own farms by General Order No. 20.

" It is true that there is very little of the conservative element about this mode of dealing with the enemies of the country and their sympathizers, and it is equally true that little is needed.

" The first order relieved us entirely of the presence of the guerrillas for the first time during the war. The second order re-admitted a loyal people to Jackson and Cass counties for the same time during the same period. All loyal men thank General Ewing for both orders.

' ' This plan will succeed without doubt, but should any mistaken policy dictate the removal of the barriers thus set up by General Ewing, the same scenes of persecution, robbery, murder and wholesale butchery may be expected on the border during the coming season, that have marked the past three years. The first to rush in, should an indiscriminating permission be granted to all former residents, would be those who have been the sysmpathizers and harborers of the guerrillas, the spies upon the movements of the Federal troops, the persecutors of their Union neighbors in past days ; and close upon their heels the ruthless butcherers of Lawrence, Olathe and Shawneetown.

" Rely upon it, the only successful plan of filling up these depopulated counties is the straining or filtering process by which all noxious matters are excluded and only the pure and loyal allowed to pass through."

The American Cyclopaedia for the year 1863, published by D. Appleton & Co., has the following paragraph relating to Quantrell and General Order No. n :

"The most atrocious outrage of the war was the attack of Col. Quantrell and his band of Confederate guerrillas upon the thriving city of Lawrence on the 2ist of August, 1863. The attack was made, in the early morning and entirely without warning. Th-e citizens, unarmed, were unable to make any defense, and were many of them shot down in the streets in cold blood.

"The Eldridge House, the largest hotel in the city and all the stores on Massachusetts street, the principal business street, were plundered and burned, as were many dwellings and stores in other parts of the city. Two hundred and five men were killed and many others wounded. No women or children were killed or wounded, though one assailant snapped his pistol at Miss Lydia Stone, a heroic woman who had exposed her life for the preservation of others. Several of the churches were destroyed, and the projperty stolenand burned was estimated to exceed the value of $2,000,000.

" Quantrell, the leader of the gang, had been at one time a resident of Lawrence. Senator Lane (General James H. Lane) was in Lawrence at the time, but succeeded in avoiding the guerrillas, and as soon as they left the town raised such a force as could be gathered and started in pursuit. Some thirty or forty of the guerrillas were overtaken and slain, but the remainder got away safely with their plunder.

" Much indignation was felt by the citizens of Kansas at the alleged remissness of General Ewing, who was in command of the district of Kansas and Western Missouri, and of General Schofield, who commanded the department of Missouri. Two days after the attack. General Ewing issued the order known as General Order No. 11. Quantrell and his band of marauders still hovered around the Kansas border.

"There have been in Kansas and probably in Western Missouri, also, a considerable number of men, soldiers of fortune, who, while professing to belong on the side of the Union, have been ready to plunder and rob in the name of freedom, all against whom they could raise any suspicion of sympathy with the Confederates. These "Jayhawkers," as they were called, had really as little interest in the success of the Union cause as their counter-parts, the guerrillas, had in the Confederates; the controlling motive being in both instances the obtaining of plunder lor their own emolument."

The autumn of '64 will ever remain important in the history of our country. There were some little things of importance going on in the county about that time; but things took a definite and determined course when it was rumored throughout the county that Gen. Sterling Price was on a northern war march and would certainly come through the county. News reached St. Louis that General Price, with Generals Fagon, Joe Shelby and Marmaduke, crossed the Arkansas River at Dardanelles, a village in Pope county, Arkansas, on his way north. The size of Price's army when he crossed the river was not ascertained, though it is pretty certain that by the time he struck Lexington and Jackson county, .his army swelled to nearly 30,000 men.

Many were the reports and messages sent hither and thither throughout Missouri and adjoining states during Price's raid. The movements of General Price were closely noticed and anticipated by the Federal General Rosecrans, who was then stationed at St. Louis ; he kept his other officers well informed, concerning the marches and proposed attacks of the Confederate army.

So they rightly anticipated his course, and made heavy preparations. There were officers and men enough on the elert to have annihilated the whole invading army, if they had been properly disposed and had made the best assaults. The presumption is, that why Price was not driven back to his rebel retreats in Arkansas, our men were too much scattered, and had but little hopes of success when they did attack. General Curtis, who was stationed in West Kansas, was called to Jackson County, Missouri, while Generals Blunt, Sykes, Lowe, Ford, Pleasanton, Moonlight, A. J. Smith and a host of others from Kansas and the Indian Territory, were gathered along the line of march; there surely could not have been many less than 60, 000 soldiers and militia ready to strike the enemy. After General Price passed Jefferson City there were to be no doubts as to -his direction and his intention. Many preparations were made by the Union army to keep Lexington from falling into the hands of the Confederates. But Price, accompanied by Fagon, Shelby and Marmaduke, some of whom were acquainted with the country, was not to be defeated or turned from his line of march. They marched upon Lexington, which with but little resistance surrrended. The Federals then were very well satisfied that Price and his whole army would make for Kansas City and Westport by way of Independence.

In the meantime guerrillas did much skirmishing and much damage to the Federal army. The Union soldiers did noble fighting, and as it has been well said, contested almost every foot of ground between Lexington and Independence. While the engagements were going on at and around Lexington, Independence was occupied by Colonel James H. Ford; when it was known that Price was marching toward Independence, on the 20th of October, 1864, General Blunt with several other commanders reinforced Colonel Ford at Independence. Colonel Moonlight, Captains Green and Huntoon, with a strong force, were ordered to make a strong resistance at Little Blue River, a few miles east of Independence. In due time did Price's army make its appearance. On the morning of the 21st, General Joe Shelby drove the pickets in, and the battle known as the Little Blue began in good earnest. As the river was shallow, at that season of the year, an army could ford it at a number of places. The Confederates poured across the stream in almost countless numbers; the Union forces were compelled to give way and burnt the bridges as they retired. Major Nelson Smith, of 2d Colorado regiment, fell in this fight shot through the heart, and where also fell George Todd, the guerrilla. Price's entire army moved up to the scene of battle, the Federals could not do anything else but give way; though they fought nobly, they were driven from all their entrenchments. The Confederates arrived in time to extinguish the burning bridge, so that their artillery had no trouble in passing the river. This defeat, which from the circumstances could not have been otherwise, threw the whole county into the greatest confusion, for as soon as the results were known at Independence, the greatest hurry was made to evacuate the town. It is true a second stand was made by General Blunt about two miles from Independence, but it proved of little avail, as the position was soon swept away by the double columns of the advancing edemy. Independence, that had been for years the headquarters of the Federal forces, was taken without a struggle.

General Curtis and his corps of officers decided to take the next stand on the west bank of the Big Blue River, a few miles west of Independence ; and it was there that they did some of their best fighting. It was deemed exceedingly important that the Confederate army should not be allowed to penetrate further toward Kansas City and Kansas, and no place offered better advantages for successful resistance.

The fall of Independence had nothing about it of interest in the history of Price's raid, as it is generally called, however of importance it might be in the history of the town. The Confederate soldiers remained in the town only a day or two and then pressed on their march toward Kansas City. It was well known by all, that General Curtis had decided to measure strength with the enemy at Big Blue. After taking his stand at the bridge, he was immediately reinforced by General Deitzler of the Kansas division. Colonels Hogan and Blair, Weir and Montgomery, and Captains Dodge and Minor, the latter of whom was of the colored volunteers. As the river was rather large, deep, and of steep banks, it was reasonably thought that a successful stand could be made. Above the main crossing McLain's Colorado battery held a commanding position, at Simmon's Ford, two miles south. Colonel. Pennock was stationed with the loth Kansas regiment. Pennock was soon re-enforced by Colonel Moonlight, who had just come from the engagement at Little Blue east of Independence. Three miles from Simmon's Ford is another known as Byrom's Ford, which proved to be the objective point made to by Price's army. The roads from Raytown and Independence cross at the latter ford and then diverge to Kansas City and Westport. Colonel McLain was directed to proceed to Byrom's Ford and hold it for further orders, but was also instructed to thoroughly scout the eastern bank and vicinity, as well as to open communication with Russel's Ford if possible. Colonel McLain, with some difficulty, took his position on the 2 2d, and dispatched an escort of twenty men to Hickman Mills, all of whom were taken prisoners by the Confedrates except one who escaped by the fleetness of his horse. At 9 o'clock next morning Colonel Jennison with the ist Brigade also took a position at the same crossing. Still further above on the same stream, was another ford was, in the main, the order of the Federal forces when Price's army made its appearance on the opposite bank of the Big Blue, October 22d, 1864. From the skirmishers situated on Rock Creek, the Union soldiers soon. learned that the main body of Price's army was near at hand. The pickets from Rock Creek were driven in, and from a feint thrown out by General Shelby on the main road to Kansas City, the Federal army- soon discovered that Price was intending to cross the Blue at some ford above where Curtis was garrisoned. The following dispatch will show how accurate was the Federalists' information concerning Price's movements the day before the fight : out for your position. Send scouts on road to Pleasant Hill, and also toward Independence to see if Price is moving toward my flank. Send me reports every thirty minutes. S. R. CURTIS, Major-General.

When it was known that Byrom's Ford was the place of greatest importance, Colonel Jennison had trees felled, crossed and piled so as to make it almost impassable by these obstructions, and the concentration of Federal troops at the latter place. Shelby was retarded from about eleven o'clock in the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon, but finally he effected a passage. In the meantime. Colonel Jennison had placed his howitzers in the road commanding the east bank. Their pieces poured into the advancing columns many deadly volleys, but by the onward rush over logs, rocks, pit-falls and tree tops the Union forces were compelled to give way. During this deadly contest, messages were sent to Generals Curtis and Blunt for assistance, they heard the reports of the artillery and made efforts to render aid, but they were too late, Price's army had forced the crossing and were bearing everything before them ; along in the afternoon, however, Shelby was compelled to fall back to the river where he struck camp with the main body of Price's army. From a Confederate who was captured about this time it was learned that Price's army comprised something like thirty thousand men.

In completing the history of General Price's raid, as it is called, in Jackson county, we have reports and orders of only one side, and many of which are manifestly whitewashed and defective. In behalf of history only could we wish that the full materials and reports of the rebel army were in our hands. Thus, having but little that amounts to much on that side, we have to supply as best we can and go on.

Whether it was Price's intention to attack Kansas City, and then make for Fort Leavenworth and a circuitous route in eastern Kansas, is not known. We have no documents to prove either case coming from Confederate headquarters. So whether the Union forces turned him south from Westport, or whether he turned of his own accord, is a question unanswered. General Price and his army had certainly proved themselves irresistible on all the preceding occasions of that memorable campaign. However the foregoing might be, we are quite sure that at the battles of Westport and State Line he turned southward.

The Sabbath of October 23, 1864, will ever remain prominent in the history of Westport. The night before had been one of continual dread. Price's array lay in the neighborhood, and the next day would decide whether he would go into northern Kansas or not. It was a day such as seldom dawns upon a people. After the fight closed on the Saturday evening before, the Federals were busy directing and concentrating their different armies. The troops of General Curtis were on watch all night, and any movements made by the Confederates were soon reported to headquarters. The Union armies were well stationed along the roads that led to Kansas City, and the way to Westport was fortified with the greatest care. From the house-tops in Westport the commanding officers, with their field-glasses, could easily observe the movements of the advancing army, which, in the early morning, were seen moving in almost all directions. General Pleasanton was bringing up the rear of Price's army, not that he dared to attack the main army, but he retook Independence after Price had advanced on toward Westport and Kansas City. From many written accounts of this engagement, it appears that the general pressure upon Price's army from all quarters by the Federals compelled him to move in some direction. Though General Joe Shelby had some detachments out toward Westport, the main body moved from the beginning in a southwesterly direction, leaving Westport entirely to the right, being led by General Marmaduke. This movement on the part of Price's army was rightly construed that he was turning southward, and that he did not intend to come to an engagement with his whole army unless forced to it. There was more or less fighting on the outer skirts of the town between General Shelby's division and the Federal soldiers, though none such as characterized the deadly struggle at Big Blue the day before. On Sunday night Price's army camped about ten miles south of Westport. On Monday morning, October 24, 1864, they moved off with their immense train down the State Line. It seems from their trail that they marched in two columns, with their artillery in their midst.

Price's army left Jackson county some miles south of Westport and entered Linn county, Kansas. They marched to Mound City, county seat of Linn county, and halted for refreshments. They were warmly pursued by the Federals, but nothing of historical interest was transacted, as a matter of course, by being pursued, the receding army did not have so much time to deploy and send out soldiers to learn and to kill. In fact, such business was almost impossible anyway, for the country was not much more than a dry and desolate prairie.

In the spring of 1865 came the surrender, which, instead of being the announcement for peace and good will between citizens of all classes and political proclivities, it was the beginning of civil troubles in Independence and Tackson county to a great extent. There was organized what was called Home Guards, for self protection ; if they had stopped at that the movement would have been a good one, they certainly did much good as it was, but after there had been such a wear on the patience of good and law-abiding citizens so long, it would almost have taken perfect humanity to have done no wrong. Many people that had been identified with the Confederate cause were more than willing to accept the situation and return peaceably and quietly to their dilapidated homesteads to do the best they could for themselves and country; but the end was not yet. There had been too many injuries received from both sides of the war for everything to subside calmly and quietly ; people were mad and not satisfied. Consequenriy the guerrillas, themselves, and their families which in many cases had been roughly treated, were not disposed to lay down their arms. So for a year or two after the surrender in April, 1865, there was no little trouble and bloodshed.

And then the "iron-clad oath," as it has passed into history, had the tendency to revive many of the unpleasant transactions between friends and neighbors that have taken place during the war. This oath required all voting citizens to come to Independence and swear to eighty actual conditions ; the substance of which was, what they did do or what they did not do during the war. As a matter of course. Independence was the place where many acrimonious scenes took place. Neighbors would appear before the register's office and challenge his neighbor's oath. Some would come and swear that they were not in such and such offenses during the war, others would appear and swear that they were. So, for some years after the war, and perhaps now, there is much slumbering feeling toward one another, for actions done in those times.

But such is the case in all civil wars. In the fall and winter of 1865, things took a start to calm down in Independence, and a few years hence one would never know that Independence had passed through the times of fire and blood.