Determination to take no part in the War.—Mr. Ringer killed
by Rebels.—The cunning device of Allen Roan.—Vigilance
Committee organized.—The baseness of Mobocracy.—Attacked by the
Mob.—Escape to Flat Woods.
In the spring of 1861, the war of the Great Rebellion was inaugurated,
and during the following summer was carried on in great fury in many
places, but I shall only speak of those occurrences which had a
particular bearing upon myself.
I called on some good citizens who were not republicans, and whom I
knew to be well posted in the current events of the day, to ask them
what course it was best for me to pursue during the unnatural struggle.
They advised me to stay at home and attend to my own business. This I
determined to do, so I paid no further attention to what was going on,
put in my crop of corn at the usual season and cultivated it during the
summer.
On the 9th day of August the popular excitement in St. Francois county
was greatly increased by the killing of Mr. Ringer, a union man,
who was shot at his own house for no other cause than his political
principles. He was killed, as I afterwards learned, by Allen Roan and
Tom Cooper. It should be borne in mind that Roan was a relative of mine
with whom I was on friendly terms. I was not implicated in the death
of Ringer in any manner, shape, or form, but suspicion rested upon me;
the “Hildebrand gang” were branded with the murder.
I could not check Roan in the rash course he was pursuing; but in all
sincerity, I determined to follow the advice given me by a certain
union friend, who told me to take no part in the cause that would in
the end bring disaster upon myself. It was good advice; why then did I
not follow it? In the presence of that Being who shall judge the quick
and the dead, I shall truthfully and in a few words explain the whole
matter. I had no sooner made up my mind fully what course to pursue,
than I was caught in a cunningly devised trap that settled my destiny
forever.
One evening Allen Roan came to my field where I was plowing and
proposed swapping horses with me; the horse which he said he had bought
was a better one than my own, so I consented to make the exchange;
finding afterwards that the horse would not work in harness, I swapped
him off the next day to Mr. Rogers.
Prior to this time my neighbors had organized themselves into what they
called a Vigilance Committee, and were moving in squads night and day
to put down horse stealing. Only a few of the committee were dangerous
men, but Firman McIlvaine, who was put at the head of the gang was
influenced by the worst element in the community; it became a political
machine for oppression and bloodshed under the guidance of James Craig,
John House, Joe McGahan, John Dunwoody, William Patton, and others,
who were swearing death to every man implicated in any way with the
southern recruits who were pressing horses.
The horse I had traded for from Allen Roan and which Rogers obtained
from me, proved to be the property of Dunwoody. I was apprised of the
fact by a friend at night, and told also that they had threatened
me and my brother Frank with death if they could find us, and
notwithstanding our entire innocence in the matter, we were compelled
to hide out. We knew that when the law is wrested from the civil
authorities by such men as they were, that anything like a trial would
not be permitted. We secreted ourselves in the woods, hoping that
matters would take a different turn in a short time; each night I was
posted in regard to their threats. I would willingly have surrendered
myself to the civil authorities with a guarantee of a fair trial;
but to fall into the hands of an unscrupulous mob who were acting in
violation of law, particularly when law and order was broken up by the
heavy tramp of war, was what we were compelled by all means to avoid.
We had no alternative but to elude their search.
It is a fact well known, that in the upheaval of popular passion for
the overthrow of law and order under any pretext whatever, a nucleus
is formed, around which the most vile, the most turbulent, and the
most cowardly instinctively fly. Cowardly villains invariably join
in with every mob that comes within their reach; personal enmity and
spite is frequently their controling motive; the possible opportunity
of redressing some supposed grievance without incurring danger to
themselves is their incentive for swelling the mob. A person guilty of
any particular crime, to avoid suspicion, is always the most clamorous
for blood when some one else stands accused of the same offense. In
the Vigilance Committee were found the same materials existing in all
mobs. No brave man was ever a tyrant, but no coward ever failed to be
one when he had the power. They still kept up the search for me and my
brother with an energy worthy of a better cause.
It was now October, the nights were cold and we suffered much for
the want of blankets and even for food. We were both unaccustomed to
sleeping out at night and were chilled by the cold wind that whistled
through the trees. After we had thus continued in the woods about three
weeks, I concluded to venture in one night to see my family and to get
something to eat, and some bed clothes to keep me more comfortable at
night.
I had heard no unusual noise in the woods that day, had seen no one
pass, nor heard the tramp of horses feet in any direction.
It was about eleven o‘clock at night when I got within sight of the
house, no light was burning within; I heard no noise of any kind, and
believing that all was right I crept up to the house and whispered
“Margaret” through a crack. My wife heard me, and recognizing my voice
she noiselessly opened the door and let me in. We talked only in
whispers, and in a few minutes she placed my supper upon the table.
Just as I was going to eat I heard the top rail fall off my yard fence.
The noise did not suit me, so I took my gun in one hand, a loaf of
corn bread in the other, and instantly stepped out into the yard by a
back door.
McIlvaine and his vigilantees were also in the yard, and were
approaching the house from all sides in a regular line. In an instant I
detected a gap in their ranks and dashed through it. As they commenced
firing I dodged behind a molasses mill that fortunately stood in the
yard, it caught nine of their bullets and without doubt saved my life.
After the first volley I struck for the woods, a distance of about two
hundred yards. Though their firing did not cease, I stopped midway to
shoot at their flame of fire, but a thought struck me that it would too
well indicate my whereabouts in the open field, so I hastened on until
I had gained the edge of the woods, and there I sat down to listen at
what was going on at the house. I heard Firman McIlvaine‘s name called
several times, and very distinctly heard his replies and knew his
voice. This satisfied me beyond all doubt that the marauders were none
other than the self-styled Vigilance Committee.
I was fortunate in my escape, and had a deep sense of gratitude to
heaven for my miraculous preservation. Though I had not made my
condition much better by my visit, yet I gnawed away, at intervals,
upon my loaf of corn bread, and tried to reconcile myself as much as
possible to the terrible state of affairs then existing. I saw very
plainly that my enemies would not permit me to remain in that vicinity;
but the idea of being compelled to leave my dear home where I was born
and raised, and to strike out into the unknown world with my family
without a dollar in my pocket, without anything except one horse and
the clothing we had upon our backs, was anything in the world but
cheering. However, I had no alternative; to take care of my dependent
and suffering family, was the motive uppermost in my mind at all times.
After the mob had apparently left, my wife came out to me in the
woods. Our plans were soon formed; after dressing the children, five
in number, as quietly and speedily as possible, she brought them to me
at a designated point among the hills in the dark forest. She returned
to the house alone, and with as little noise as possible saddled up my
horse, and after packing him with what bed clothing and provisions she
conveniently could, she circled around among the hills and rejoined me
at a place I had named in the deep forest about five miles from our
once happy home. Daylight soon made its appearance and enabled me to
pick out a place of tolerable security.
We remained concealed until the re-appearance of night and then
proceeded on our cheerless wandering. In silence we trudged along in
the woods as best we could, avoiding the mud and occasional pools of
water. I carried my gun on my shoulder and one of the children on
my hip; my wife, packing the baby in her arms, walked quietly by my
side. I never was before so deeply impressed with the faith, energy
and confiding spirit of woman. As the moon would occasionally peep
forth from the drifting clouds and strike upon the pale features of my
uncomplaining wife, I thought I could detect a look of cheerfulness in
her countenance, and more than once I thought I heard a suppressed
titter when either of us got tangled up in the brush. When daylight
appeared we were on Wolf creek, a few miles south of Farmington; here
we stopped in the woods to cook our breakfast and to rest a while.
During the day we proceeded on to what is called Flat Woods, eight
miles from Farmington, in the southern part of St. Francois county, and
about ten miles north from Fredericktown. From Mr. Griffin I obtained
the use of a log cabin in a retired locality, and in a few minutes we
were duly installed in our new house.