Started alone.—Rode off a bluff and killed his horse.—Fell in
with twenty-five Rebels under Lieutenant Childs.—Went with
them.—Attacked one hundred and fifty Federals at Bollinger‘s
Mill.—Henry Resinger killed.—William Cato.—Went back to
Fredericktown.—Killed a man.—Robbed Abright‘s store.
On the 23d day of January, 1863, I started alone on a trip to Missouri,
for the purpose of making some arrangements for the escape of my family
to Arkansas. I got along very well until the second night; then as I
was riding over a brushy ridge I was suddenly hailed by “Who comes
there?”
I halted and in an instant became aware of my close proximity to a
Federal camp. I instantly wheeled my horse in the woods to the right;
dashed furiously down a steep hill side for a short distance, and then
in the darkness plunged over a precipice eight or ten feet high. My
horse fell among some rocks and was killed, but I was precipitated a
few feet further into a deep hole of water in some creek.
I was a little confused in my ideas for a while, but I had sense enough
to crawl up out of the deep water; as I stood there with my dripping
clothes I heard some of the soldiers coming down the hill toward me; so
I crossed the creek and took up the hill on the other side. I was now
completely out of their clutches and could easily have made my escape;
but I had left my gun in the deep hole, and the thought of leaving
“Kill-devil” in that predicament was more than I could bear.
In a few minutes the soldiers left and went back up the hill. I now
slipped back cautiously and got into the water to recover my gun. The
water was deep and cold; however, I waded in nearly up to my chin and
felt around with my feet for the gun. I got my foot under it finally
and raised it up; but I had no sooner got it into my hands than I saw
five or six soldiers returning with a light. As they were making their
way down through a crevice in the bluff, some ten steps above the rock
from which I had been precipitated, I had just time to wade down the
creek, which was now only a few inches deep in places, and secrete
myself behind a cluster of willows that hung over the edge of the steep
bank about twenty yards below.
The Federals remained ten or fifteen minutes, walking around my dead
horse, and around the hole of water. They threw the glare of their
lantern in every direction, and though I was completely hid from their
observation, I must acknowledge that as I stood there in the water,
shivering with cold, holding my dripping gun, I felt more like anything
else in the world than a major. Finally they struck the trail that I
had made up the hill with my dripping clothes and each one of them went
in pursuit.
Taking this opportunity I slowly left my retreat and waded down the
creek for a long distance. I climbed up the hill on the same side on
which the Federals were camped; I made a wide circuit around them and
came into the road, some four or five miles ahead. I walked rapidly to
keep myself warm, and just before the break of day I arrived at the
house of a friend, wet, hungry, and on foot. I was soon supplied with
everything I wanted; my gun was well attended to, and when morning came
“Kill-devil” looked rather brighter than usual.
I started on in the direction of Fredericktown and fell in with
twenty-five Rebel boys, commanded by Lieut. Childs, who asked me to
take command of his men and give the Federals a “whack” at Bollinger‘s
Mill, on Castor creek.
That locality for some time had been a place of rendezvous for Southern
recruits; that fact being well-known, the Federals concluded to
station some men there. They were known to be about one hundred and
fifty strong, but I consented on condition that his men all take an
oath never to surrender under any circumstances. After the oath was
administered we marched to the place above mentioned, arriving there
about eleven o‘clock at night, on the 4th of February. We succeeded
in capturing their pickets, made a charge on their camp, fought them
for about five minutes (or until they got ready to fight); killed
twenty-two of their number as we were informed afterwards, and at the
word we marched out on double-quick time. We took four prisoners with
us and got some important information from them, but finding that they
were not McNeal‘s men we released them all.
We lost one man killed, Henry Resinger, and three badly wounded, who
recovered.
We carried the wounded with us in our retreat, and at daylight we all
started for Mingo Swamp.
The Federals followed us, and as our march was retarded by our wounded;
they made their way around and charged us, striking our columns at
right angles, they divided our line-cutting off seven of my men, whom
they took prisoners.
In this little skirmish I lost one man, and killed three of the
Federals, at which they left our trail and permitted us to make our way
to St. Francis river, which we were compelled to swim.
We got one horse drowned, but got over safely without any other
accident, struck camp and commenced getting our breakfast, dinner and
supper, all the same meal. Presently some one from the opposite shore
called for us to bring him a horse. From his voice we knew him to be
William Cato, one of the seven who had been taken as a prisoner. One of
my men swam over to him with a horse, and when he had arrived safely in
camp, he informed us that six of the prisoners were shot, and that he
had made his escape by dodging them in the brush. He was barefooted,
and had torn nearly all his clothing off.
We afterwards learned that the officer in command at Bollinger‘s Mill
was Capt. Leeper from Ironton, Missouri.
Not being satisfied with my trip, I did not remain but one week in
camp, before I selected two men and started back to Missouri to make
another effort towards getting my family to Arkansas. On getting
to Fredericktown we found the place full of soldiers. In that town
there lived a Dutchman, whose meddlesome disposition led him to be
very zealous in the cause of putting soldiers on the track of private
citizens. It seems that he never left town, and that it would be
impossible to kill him unless it were done in public.
After night I layed off my coat, and gathering up a saw buck, which I
found at a wood pile, I walked straight across a street or two, until
I reached the door, thinking thereby not to attract any particular
attention; but on being told that he was not at home, I carried myself
out of town as soon as circumstances would permit, got with my two men
and started on toward Farmington. When morning began to approach we
left the road several miles and secreted ourselves on a certain hill,
for a friend on whom we had called during the night told us that the
military authorities were aware of my presence in the neighborhood, and
that they had secured the services of two or three good woodsmen to aid
in tracking me up.
About one o‘clock in the afternoon we discovered a man tracking us
slowly around our steep hill, looking cautiously ahead, holding his
gun in a position to raise and fire in an instant. The ground was hard
and our horses were not easily trailed, but our pursuer kept moving
along very slowly. We were at a loss to know whether he was really a
brave man or a natural fool. Not coming to any definite conclusion
however, I concluded to make my way down the hill a little to gratify
his curiosity by letting him find me. I wounded him severely on purpose
to let him see me, but he yelled so loud that I had to kill him with my
knife, for I wanted “peace” about that time.
We heard some horsemen coming, so we hastened away from there and
secreted ourselves in a thicket on Wolf creek, near the residence of
John Griffin.
Here I learned that my wife had procured a little wagon and a small
yoke of oxen, with which to move to Arkansas; that she started with
the family on the 16th day of February, and by this time was in the
vicinity of Bloomfield.
At night we went out on the plank road leading from Farmington to Ste.
Genevieve and fired into a camp of Federals; we could not get near
enough to do them any harm, but wished to draw them out to hunt for us;
but in this we failed and had to abandon the project.
From there we went to the junction of the Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain
roads, and robbed a store belonging to a Dutchman by the name of
Abright We patronized him very liberally and started back to Arkansas
with all the goods we could pack.
At this stage of the war the Federals held possession of all the
principal places in Southeast Missouri. Bloomfield was also held by
them, and there was no doubt in my mind but what my family was now in
their hands.
While passing through Stoddard county, the Federals overtook us, and
run us so closely that we were compelled to throw off a part of our
loads; on arriving at St. Francis river we found it guarded. Our only
chance was to whip the Federals, and we determined to try it. We
retreated into a dense cane brake and then commenced upon them. We
killed three of their men on the second round and then they fled. We
got home safely and were again prepared “to clothe the naked and feed
the hungry.”