ACTIVITY OF THE REBELS--COLONEL MARTIN GREEN--WE
ARE ORDERED AGAINST HIM--DETAILS AND INCIDENTS OF
THE MARCH FROM MACON CITY TO KIRKSVILLE--CHARACTER
OF THE HOME GUARDS--CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY--OUR
SITUATION AT KIRKSVILLE--DETAILS OF OUR OCCUPATION OF
THAT PLACE--ARRIVAL OF REINFORCEMENTS UNDER GENERAL
HURLBUT--OUR COMPLAINTS AND EXPECTATIONS.
It could not be expected that an enemy as active as the one we were
attempting to suppress would allow us nothing to do. While we were
busily engaged disciplining, he was energetically organizing. Price
had been defeated at Booneville, and driven almost out of the State;
but the secessionists seemed everywhere to have confidence in him.
Some of them had followed him in New Mexico, and under him had one
of the greatest of leaders. He had now joined McCullough on the
borders of Arkansas, and, having greatly augmented his forces, was
undertaking no one knew how grand an object--perhaps the conquest
of Missouri. Already he had put our army in the southwest on the
defensive. Nay, the rebel sympathizers were at this time exulting
over the reported disaster at Springfield, which was a two fold
disaster, on account of the death of the gallant Lyon.
For some time, one Martin Green, a citizen of Canton, Missouri,
a brother of the well known ex-senator Green, acting under the
authority of General Price, had been organizing in northeast
Missouri, and principally north of the Hannibal and St. Joseph
railroad, a force of mounted men. Having been badly whipped near
Athens, Missouri, by Colonel Moore, then commanding a regiment of
home guards, but since the gallant Colonel of the Twenty-first
Missouri, he had adopted the wise policy of shunning his enemies and
employing his time in recruiting his force and collecting supplies.
He was now said to be near Kirksville, about forty miles north of
the railroad, and General Hurlbut projected an expedition against
him. For this purpose he ordered Colonel Williams to detach from our
regiment a force of five hundred men under Lt. Col. Scott.
On the 15th of August, at 1 P. M., orders were issued to us to
prepare immediately for a march. The whole regiment, with the
exception of the sick and convalescent, were assembled in line, and,
after detailing from the several companies a guard of fifty men to
be left behind with the camp, the force was reduced to the requisite
number. Forty rounds of ammunition were issued to us. This we
considered an omen of something to do; for we had heretofore carried
but ten rounds. We took three days rations in our haversacks. For
want of knapsacks we twisted or rolled our blankets, tied the ends
together and slung them over our shoulders. This mode of carrying a
blanket on light marches, where no additional clothing is necessary,
is preferable to carrying a knapsack. Colonel Williams remained at
Brookfield in command of the camp.
At 5 P. M. we got aboard a train of cars, and dark found us in Macon
City. General Hurlbut appearing on horseback as we got off the cars,
led us to believe he was going to command the expedition in person.
In this we were disappointed. We marched to the camp of a detachment
of the Sixteenth Illinois which was stationed at this place, and
having eaten a supper of pilot bread and raw meat, lay down on our
arms and went to sleep. While we were sleeping, a train of cars
arrived, having on board Capt. Madison's artillery company, with two
guns and a good supply of ammunition. This force was increased by the
addition of Fishbeem and squad with his unfailing six pounder. We
were also joined by some mounted men.
At midnight we were aroused and ordered to fall in. The column was
soon in motion. The night was dark, and we stumbled along in a most
disagreeable manner over the roots of trees that crossed the road in
all directions.
It was amusing to listen to the various conjectures as to our
destination. Most of them, however, as is seldom the case, were in
the main correct. The principal error consisted in supposing the
enemy's force greater than it really was.
Colonel Scott rode or walked along, sometimes giving his horse to a
lame soldier, or perhaps taking his gun, and talking all the while
in that genial, unaffected manner which made him so great a favorite
among the men. We were not sorry that the command of the expedition
had been given to him.
About sunrise we arrived at the little village of Atlanta, where
we halted in a shady grove to rest. About 2 P. M. the march was
resumed. The day was warm and the roads very dusty. There was plenty
of water in the wells along the route, but all the men could not
procure it without much straggling, and we suffered considerably from
thirst. An advanced guard commanded by Lieutenant Call preceded the
column half a mile, with a few mounted Home Guards as far in advance
of them.
While marching through the little village of Laplata, an incident
occurred which excited a good deal of merriment. Lieut. Call had
been informed by a citizen who had joined us, that, at a certain
house, a hotel in that place, they kept, and frequently displayed,
a rebel flag. This the lieutenant resolved to have. He drew up his
guard before the house, and went in, followed by his two sergeants,
and demanded it. The landlord, a wretched looking creature, avowed
his secession sympathies openly, saying, at the same time, that it
was honorable to do so, which the lieutenant could not deny. But the
lady (here was the rub--easier to capture the colors of a regiment)
said the flag had been given to her to make into dresses for the
children, that it was private property, and we could not have it.
But the lieutenant insisted that a treasonable emblem was contraband
of war, and that he _must_ have it. Still she refused; whereupon the
lieutenant pointed to the man and said, "Sergeants, take him out."
The sergeants clapped their hands on his back, and said, "Come with
us, sir!" The children began to shriek, and the old lady cried, "You
may have the flag! You may have the flag!" The lieutenant attached it
to a lance and presented it to the battalion as it marched up, amid
a most furious intermingling of cheers, yells and groans. Thus did
the redoubtable advanced guard carry the enemy's town and capture a
stand of colors before the arrival of the main force.
In the afternoon, a joke occurred, and it is doubtful whether it
rested harder upon Lieutenant Call or the Home Guards in advance.
While the lieutenant was marching leisurely along with his guard, a
party of the former came riding back, frantic with excitement, and
reported having seen the enemy's camp fires not far beyond in the
edge of a wood. He put his men on the double quick, and sure enough
they soon came in sight of a smoke. It was no humbug, thought they.
The Home Guards had seen the enemy. When they had arrived within a
convenient distance, the guard was halted, and the lieutenant rode
forward at the head of the home guards to reconnoiter. We watched
them, breathless with expectation. They rode full on to the enemy's
entire force. It consisted of two women washing! Major Stone had just
rode up, and when the lieutenant reported his discovery, he indulged
in some remarks at his expense, which sounded more appropriate than
they would now.
We halted for the night about three miles north of Laplata, near
the residence of a Union man, who had an excellent well of water,
sufficient to supply the whole force. Mounted pickets were posted
on the approaches to our position. We could only account for this
unusual precaution on the ground that the man who now had command
possessed some common sense. Having refreshed ourselves on such a
supper as our haversacks afforded, we spread down our blankets and
slept.
At seven o'clock in the morning we again moved. All along the route,
home guards continued to join us in squads, large and small, mounted
on such horses as they had, and armed with squirrel rifles and
shot guns. These men, though patriotic and brave, were without any
experience in the business of war, and, for the most part, without
organization. On this account we were not supposed to put great
reliance on them. They were under the obligation of an oath, and
could go and come at pleasure. But they had incentives to action to
which we were strangers. They had seen the treason with which we were
at war, and dwelt among it. It had assailed our country only; it had
not only assailed their country, but their firesides. They had seen
its monstrous representatives, robbers, murderers, incendiaries.
They had met it on their doorsteps. It had murdered and robbed their
friends, and threatened them with like treatment for loving their
country. This, now, was their hour of deliverance. They had come to
assist strangers against a common enemy. Their homes and possessions
appealed to them. Their dear helpless ones stretched their arms
imploringly, and seemed to say to them, "We trust in you; save us: be
men." They had come to fight without pay, and if necessary, to board
themselves. They reported to Colonel Scott, and obeyed his orders
without murmuring or hesitation. The strong motives which impelled
them to take up arms, and the knowledge that discipline is the
strength of an army, made them willing, if not skillful soldiers.
But another fact made them a great auxiliary to us. They knew who
among the citizens were friends, and who enemies. They were able
to give us valuable information concerning the enemy. Besides they
hailed from all sections of the country, and on this account made
valuable scouts. But they absolutely knew not what to do; they wanted
some one to show them. Jim Call was exactly the man. His every
characteristic admirably fitted him to command them. Cool, daring,
audacious, always taking the lead and commanding his men to follow,
Colonel Scott placed him in this position. Whole companies reported
to him, and captains obeyed him with most undoubting confidence.
Our line of march was through lanes, bordered on both sides by
cultivated fields, most of the land being planted with corn. The
country was a convenient apportionment of timber and prairie, fertile
and inviting. The inhabitants seemed well to do, and almost every
dwelling had an air of comfort about it, if not of refinement.
Indeed, in our subsequent marches in Missouri, we saw few places
where this was not the case. We noticed few negroes; and every thing
indicated that the labor was carried on by the more willing and
skillful hands of free laborers. What could so attach this people
to slavery, a system in which they could have little interest, as
to induce them to take up arms against their country for its sake,
will be a wonder to history as it was to us. As if out of punishment
for the wrong done its unfortunate victims, this system is a source
of infinite evil to the white man,--a noxious vapor that spreads
pestilence in society. Could there be a greater evidence of this
than the deplorable state of things in this section of country? The
operation of civil law had ceased, justice had no sway, magistrates
no authority. Arraigned for offenses against traitors, bands of
marauders and assassins were the citizens' only tribunal. Calling
themselves soldiers, and under pretense of military necessity, they
availed themselves of every opportunity to satiate private malice in
theft and robbery, and settle feuds of long standing, perhaps, in
blood. As a natural consequence, neighbors were in arms against each
other; friends became enemies, and brothers are known to have joined
the opposing forces and sought each other's life. An old citizen of
Kirksville had a son in the camp of the rebel Green, and another in
St. Louis endeavoring to procure arms for a Federal regiment then
organizing, and of which he was to be the colonel.
The American people are not stoics. They realize quickly and feel
keenly what is transpiring around them, or coming upon them. The
people of this section had too much on their minds to allow them
to pursue quietly their usual avocations. The younger and the more
resolute were rushing, as feeling or choice impelled them, to the
camp of the insurgents or the standard of the country. The rest were
awaiting the course of events, or watching, each his neighbor, with
trembling and hesitation. On the whole day's march we saw but one
man at work in the fields. He was loading hay close by the road, and
scarcely seemed to notice us as we marched along. His appearance
excited the admiration of the boys, some of whom cried out, "bully
for you!" Most of the people who showed themselves to us were
friends. The women and children saluted us with waving flags, and,
in some cases, the men stood armed waiting to join us. One old negro
stared at us curiously as we marched along, and cried out, "Gorry
mighty! de've got lightnin' rods on der guns! De secesh no stan' dat!"
As we approached Kirksville, we heard all manner of reports
concerning the enemy. It was said that he was not far beyond the town
and would give us a fight. His force was estimated at from 1,500 to
3,000, with three pieces of cannon. These reports greatly hightened
the enthusiasm of the boys, and served to divert their minds from the
pain of their blistered feet and the excessive heat and dust of the
day.
About noon, we halted three miles from the town, and after a short
rest resumed the march. When nearly arrived there, Colonel Scott
halted the battalion, brought it to a front, and made some well-timed
remarks which were received with great attention. He exhorted us
to patient endurance of whatever we would be called on to suffer,
and not to let any breach of discipline sully our name. He ended
by telling us that we would doubtless soon have an opportunity
of meeting the enemy, which raised a great shout, showing the
willingness of the men to fight, and their confidence in their
commander. Major Stone followed with a few remarks, which excited
much enthusiasm. We then entered Kirksville with flags flying, and
drums beating Yankee Doodle.
Here we halted and stacked arms. Green was on Salt River, seven miles
to the east. Why did we not push on? The reason is this: Colonel
Scott's orders were to march to Kirksville and _hold the place_.
He was also to co-operate with Colonel Moore. This officer with
his command was somewhere in the vicinity of Athens, and Green was
between him and us. Co-operation between two forces with the enemy
between them is something unusual in war. If Colonel Scott's force
was not sufficient to attack the enemy singly, he certainly should
not have been compelled to remain here, exposed to an attack from
him. Moreover, we had no subsistence beyond what we had brought in
our haversacks, and the rebels had stripped the country of almost
everything which could be converted into rations. It is impossible to
see the design of this movement.
Our first operation was to establish a guard-house, and arrest a
number of disloyal citizens. But these traitors were dismissed on
taking the oath of allegiance. We took quarters for the night in
vacant buildings belonging to rebel citizens.
The following day we were visited by many citizens; some coming to
declare their friendship, some out of curiosity, while some were
doubtless spies of the enemy. A few also were refugees from the reign
of terror which Green had inaugurated wherever he held sway. About 4
P. M., a report came to Colonel Scott which induced him to send out
scouting parties in different directions. Considerable excitement
ensued in camp, but nothing transpired. That night, Lieut. Call
reconnoitered the enemy's position, and captured two of his mounted
pickets. He did this by passing through their lines, and coming upon
them from the direction of their camp. He answered their challenge
as friends, and then riding up closely with his party at his back,
pointed his revolver at them and told them to put down their guns,
which they did. They were armed with good looking squirrel rifles,
without bayonets, and had curious contrivances for carrying their
ammunition. The boys visited the guard house next day, and gazed upon
them with much curiosity. They did not look like bad men, said they
had been deceived, and seemed very penitent.
"What shall be done with them?" was asked. "Shoot them," said
one. "No," said another, "they are traitors, and do not deserve a
soldier's death; hang them." Others said, "treat them as prisoners
of war. They are ignorant men and believe they are right. Hang
the leaders. They are intelligent men, and know they are wrong."
Few of the enlisted men were in favor of the policy which was
adopted,--though it was at that time in general practice throughout
Missouri, viz.: allowing them to take the oath and go.
Lieut. Call found the enemy camped on Salt River bottom, nine miles
east of Kirksville. From this time until we left Kirksville, he, at
the head of scouting parties composed of Home Guards and volunteers
from our regiment, watched the enemy constantly, and kept Colonel
Scott advised of his position and movements.
We had no clothing, tents nor camp equipage; but we accommodated
ourselves to our situation somehow, and endeavored so far to
disregard the presence of the enemy as to renew the routine of camp
duty.
But in this we failed; for though we had a short battalion drill on
the forenoon of the 19th, something transpired to induce the belief
that the enemy was advancing, and we were ordered to be ready to
form line of battle at 2 P. M. We swallowed a hasty dinner, when the
battalion was formed, and took position in rear (to the west) of
the town, behind a rail fence and in the edge of a growth of young
timber, behind which stretched for several miles toward Grand River
an uninterrupted forest. If this position had the disadvantage of
the town before it, which would obstruct our fire and afford shelter
to the enemy, it had what was perhaps an advantage, the forest
behind it, which would afford cover in case we should be compelled
to retreat. We cut brush and piled it against the fence before
us, so as effectually to conceal ourselves from view. Behind this
breastwork of leaves and boughs we waited. Some thought they could
see a column of horsemen moving in the distance past our left. This
was probably imagination. We soon gave up all expectation of a fight,
and scattered ourselves in knots and groups under the shade trees.
The boys were amusing themselves playing cards and telling anecdotes,
when a report came in that cast a gloom over many countenances.
Corporal Dix, of Company C, was killed. He was leading a small
scouting party, and had stopped at the house of a citizen four miles
from camp to get dinner, when he was surprised by a small party of
the enemy, and after a short, hand to hand fight, was himself killed
and his party put to flight. They inflicted some injury upon the
rebels; but amid the conflicting statements no definite conclusion
on this point could be formed.
Corporal Dix was the first man in our regiment that fell by the hand
of the enemy. He was an excellent comrade, and, like every good
soldier, desired a name. For this he became a scout, and almost
immediately won the admiration of the regiment. It was a misfortune
to lose so promising a soldier. There were many commissioned officers
in the service worth infinitely less to the country than he. Thus the
first sacrifice of our regiment was one of its best and noblest men.
A flag of truce brought in his body, and the next evening at sunset,
it was buried with military honors.
We remained in this position the following day. This day Captain
Hawks' company of Home Guards was organized. It amused our boys
greatly to witness this ceremony. The first sergeant commanded the
men to "fall in in two rows like the Regulars." The Home Guards
called us Regulars. This expression afterwards became a byword in
our regiment. The same day a report was brought in by four scouts
that Lieut. Call had been cut off by the enemy with his whole party,
and that they would be captured. This was true; but by riding a
circuit of about twenty miles they escaped, and arrived in camp about
midnight.
The following afternoon, the camp was again thrown into a state of
excitement by the reported approach of the enemy. The long roll was
beaten, and the men fell in under arms. The camp guard, which was a
strong one, was dismissed, and the men reported to their respective
companies. A party of men appeared in a corn field in front of our
position, and approached sufficiently near to draw the fire of our
artillery. Four shells sufficed to drive them away. This time we
thought there would surely be a fight. The enemy had been seen and
shot at. But we soon concluded that it was only a reconnoitering
party that had disturbed us, and relapsed into our usual quiet.
The following day a drizzling rain drove us into the town for
shelter. The different companies occupied such vacant buildings
as suited them best. As we were retiring for the night, we were
alarmed by the discharge of a cannon. A party of Home Guards had
some cattle in a field, and riding in reported the enemy advancing!
Fishbeem, who had been among the first to hear the report, had taken
the responsibility of a little artillery practice. The regiment
immediately turned out. Battalion was not formed; but the companies
were so disposed as to support the cannon which were stationed
at the cross streets on the corners of the public square, a part
being held in reserve. Captain Madison threw several shells in the
direction in which the rebels were supposed to be advancing. It was
very foolish thus to waste ammunition, shooting at darkness and air.
Fishbeem took the more satisfactory course of firing solid shot at
the house of one Purcel, a member of the State Legislature, and a
notorious secessionist. This operation had the effect of making a
small hole through the upper part of his mansion, and of scaring his
negroes nearly out of their wits. Scouts were sent out and searched
thoroughly, but found no enemy. Having stood till midnight in a
cold, drenching rain, we were allowed to go to our quarters.
The next morning a citizen brought a report that Colonel Smith,
coming to reinforce us, had been attacked at Laplata. Several
companies and a piece of cannon were immediately got ready to
reinforce him, when another arrival contradicted this report, and
stated that General Hurlbut was coming to join us with a large
force. This proved to be true. His force consisted of the Sixteenth
Illinois, and a two pounder cannon named "Old Abe." Our regiment was
formed in line, and as our General approached at the head of his
little column, we received him with presented arms, the artillery at
the same time firing a salute.
We now had hopes that the assurance Colonel Scott had given us
before marching into Kirksville would shortly be realized. The
arrival of reinforcements sufficient to double our present force,
together with the commanding general, we looked upon as an earnest
of immediate action. We did not now stop to inquire into the policy
which had kept us a week in the presence of a superior force of the
enemy without support, and in a destitute condition. We thought we
understood why we had not attacked the enemy: because we had not been
allowed to do so. But we did not understand why we had received no
supplies. We only knew that when the expedition was getting ready
to start from Brookfield, Colonel Williams had said that we were
only to be gone three days. He would not allow Quartermaster Clark
to accompany it; and it was only at the urgent request of Colonel
Scott, Quartermaster Sergeant Mix was allowed to do so. In procuring
subsistence from the country, the services of the latter were
invaluable.
As it was evident to us that so far the whole thing had been
badly managed by some one higher in command than Colonel Scott;
our complaints would now have entirely ceased, had it not been
for the fact that the only things which had come to us with these
reinforcements in the way of supplies, were a few camp utensils. Thus
we were almost as destitute as before. But we were willing to endure
anything, if it would result in victory.
The enlisted men now expected nothing else than to be led against the
rebels. Not one of us doubted the result. The same evening our force
was augmented by the arrival of 150 Home Guards from the northern
border of the State. It now consisted of 400 Home Guards, 1,200
Infantry, and four pieces of cannon. Surely there would be no delay
now. We almost felt the exultation of victory. Let us see how we were
disappointed.