Took a raid into Missouri with four men.—Killed a
Federal.—Killed two of Capt. Milks‘ men.—Started to De
Soto.—Routed by the Federals.—Adventure with a German.—Killed
three Federals on Black river.
In the latter part of August, 1864, I selected four men and started
after some of my old enemies on Big river.
At this period they had all disappeared except three or four who still
ventured to call their old residences their homes, but they stayed most
of their time around the Federal camps anxiously waiting for the time
to come when the Federal authorities would succeed, either in killing
or capturing me, when a new era of peace and quiet would again bless
them in the pursuit of theft and murder.
Those of the old mob who had left their homes and were now dwelling, as
they supposed, in utter obscurity, were not lost sight of by me, for
I kept myself posted in regard to all their movements. The especial
object of this trip was to penetrate the enemies country as far as
De Soto, Jefferson county, Missouri, and surprise a couple of the
old mob who now lived in that vicinity, and before the authorities
were aware of our unholy presence, to have our little mission of
vengeance completed. On passing Bloomfield it might truthfully be
said that we were within the Federal lines. A heavy military force
was stationed at Pilot Knob at the beginning of the war, and smaller
forces were stationed at the county seats of the various counties in
Southeast Missouri; they were inactive so far as the national war was
concerned, but amused themselves by marauding through the country,
and occasionally killing some unarmed citizens, or indulging in the
characteristics of Ben. Butler.
On gaining the vicinity of Fredericktown, we obtained important
information from our friends in that quarter relative to the
distribution of the Federal forces, which aided us materially in
shaping our course. From this place we went east of Mine La Motte,
and took up our quarters for the day in an unfrequented part of the
country, about three miles south of the Cross Roads, in St. Francois
county, where we remained unmolested until in the evening, when we
discovered a man in Federal uniform tracking our horses slowly across
an adjoining ridge. We felt very sorry for him in his lonely condition;
I went down the hill a little distance toward him, and when he came
within a hundred yards of me, and commenced making his circuit toward
our camp I turned old “Kill-devil” loose upon him; but owing to his
stooping posture as he was looking for tracks I shot him too low and
broke him down in the back. He set up a hideous yelling, which was very
annoying to us just at this time; so I hastened to his relief, and soon
dispatched him with my revolver. Being a little fearful that we had
attracted the attention of the people in the neighborhood, and that
perhaps a Union force was on our track of which the lone Federal might
have been one of the number, we concluded to move. Directing our way
through the most thickly wooded parts of the country during the balance
of the day, we reached Wolf creek about midnight at the plank road
leading from Farmington to Ste. Genevieve.
Feeling much fatigued, and having lost much sleep, we decided on
camping until the following night, having with us a sufficiency of
provisions and horse feed. We slept soundly until daylight, and then
did picket duty by turns until late in the evening, when I discovered
two Federal soldiers in the valley below us, going toward Farmington.
I at once took my position with one of my men, and as they came up
talking very merrily, we surprised them by presenting our pistols in a
few feet of their faces and demanding a surrender, at which they seemed
somewhat alarmed but made no resistance.
After dismounting and disarming them we took them to our quiet nook in
the woods, and upon inquiry we found that they belonged to a company at
Ste. Genevieve under Capt. Milks.
We felt very much rejoiced at getting two of this company who had
formerly been stationed at Farmington, and after harrassing and robbing
the peaceable citizens in that community for several months they were
removed to Ste. Genevieve.
On one of their scouts through the country they arrested Charles Burks,
county judge of Ste. Genevieve for compelling the Provost Marshal to
deliver up some horses belonging to the judge whom the marshal had
unjustly seized. The old man was taken a few miles after his arrest
by Milks‘ men and shot without any questions being asked, and without
even a charge of disloyalty ever having been brought against him.
On another occasion they arrested Irvin M. Haile, one of the most
peaceable men in St. Francois county, under a charge made by some
sneaking informer, that on one occasion he had fed me and my men. This
was the whole of the accusation brought against him. He was allowed no
trial, no defense; but two inhuman monsters took him a few miles, shot
him through the head, then taking his horse they left his body in the
woods, where it was afterwards found.
The recollection of these and some other acts of atrocity committed
by that company sealed the fate of my two prisoners; in the name
of justice and humanity I shot them both through the head with my
revolver, and ordered my men to cast them in a deep hole of water in
Wolf creek, with stones tied to their feet.
As soon as it was dark we went to the house of a friend to get some
feed for ourselves and horses, but on arriving there we saw a party of
perhaps twenty persons who were just mounting their horses in front of
the gate, and in a few minutes they rode off and were lost to us in the
dim starlight. We approached the house cautiously, but found no one
there except the kind lady who told us that the cause of the excitement
was that “Sam Hildebrand was supposed to be in country;” that some
soldiers from Fredericktown had come up and stated positively that my
trail had been followed in that direction, and that the citizens were
ordered out to assist in the search.
After getting something to eat and feed for our horses we started on,
and by daylight the next morning we were safely housed in a cave among
the Pike Run hills, in the northern part of St. Francois county.
Here we remained but one day; as soon as darkness approached we
proceeded on into Jefferson county until ten o‘clock, when we stopped
at the house of a friend who gave us our suppers and treated us so well
that the night was half spent before we started on. Our friend warned
us very pressingly against going any further in the direction of De
Soto, but we determined not to retreat until real danger was apparent.
But unfortunately we had consumed too much time, and did not reach the
part of the country where we designed taking up quarters for the day,
and while making a forced march between daylight and sunrise on an old
unfrequented road near the top of a ridge where we designed taking up
quarters, we suddenly ran into a company of Federal soldiers who were
coming toward us.
They charged us on sight and in good earnest, firing a volley at us,
but we miraculously escaped unhurt, but several of us carried off some
respectable holes in our clothing. Their charge was really furious,
and caused us to scatter in every direction, and after a hasty and
precipitate retreat of perhaps a mile and a half, I ventured to stop
and take a look at my surroundings; the last fifteen minutes of my life
passed off in such a “whiz” that I hardly knew where I was, and I was
very certain that I did not know where my men were; but I felt very
well over the fact that there were no Federal soldiers in sight.
I was not long in planning my course; a place had been designated by me
in the Pike Run hills for us to meet in an emergency of this kind, and
I struck out for the spot, traveling very cautiously and keeping in the
thickest timbered country all the time.
Arriving at the place late in the evening, I found one of my men who
had gained the spot a short time before me. Here we remained waiting
in anxious suspense until after dark, and had almost come to the
conclusion that the other men had been captured or killed when they
came up. They had got together soon after the stampede, and not being
very well acquainted with the country they had been lost, and when
night overtook them they pressed a pilot into their service whom they
discovered passing along the road, and compelled him to accompany them
to the place. The pilot I knew very well, and after deceiving him in
regard to the course we designed taking, we released him under the
promise that he would not report us.
As we were now destined to be hunted down like the wild beasts of the
forest, we resolved to get out of the country as quick as possible
and over some country not traveled by us heretofore. We started in a
westwardly direction, and after traveling a few miles stopped at the
house of a friend for our suppers.
Crossing the Iron Mountain railroad south of Blackwell‘s Station, we
gained the vicinity of the Old Mines, in Washington county, before it
was yet light, where we took up quarters for the day. One of my men
being acquainted in the neighborhood, we had no trouble in getting our
necessary provisions and horse feed.
While we made our brief sojourn in this locality an incident worth
relating occurred, which was very amusing to us, and may not be
uninteresting to the reader. About ten o‘clock in the forenoon, while
it was my turn to stand on picket I sauntered through the thick brush
down to the main road, distant about two hundred yards, and suddenly
ran on to a German who was sitting near the road side, sheltered from
the sun by some brush. I discovered him before he saw me. He held in
his hand an old double-barreled shot gun. As he had on an old suit of
Federal uniform, my first impulse was to draw my revolver, which I did
in an instant. As soon as the German saw me he sprang to his feet, let
his old gun fall to the ground and threw up his hands. Seeing that
I was dressed in Federal uniform, he immediately cried out that he
was “all right,” and began in a hurried, broken gibberish to give an
account of himself; that he was from De Soto, and was going to a saw
mill west of Potosi; that he was a discharged Union soldier; that Sam
Hildebrand was in the country about De Soto, and that he was afraid to
stay there on that account. At this I advanced toward him and extended
my hand, saying as I did so that I was really a little frightened,
that I thought he was Sam Hildebrand himself when I first saw him;
that I would not hurt him if he was a Union man, but that I came very
near shooting him under the mistaken idea that he was Hildebrand. He
laughed heartily at the coincident and was quite merry over the happy
turn that the affair had taken.
I told him that I had some men stationed back in the woods on one of
Hildebrand‘s old trails, and that he could go with me and form one
of my party for the day, to which he gladly consented, manifesting a
great deal of gratitude. As we made our way cautiously to the camp
through the thick brush I told him that he was running a great risk
in traveling through that portion of country, for it was one of
Hildebrand‘s main passways.
On coming up to the boys in camp he did not wait for an introduction,
but stepped in ahead of me and shook hands with them all in the
greatest glee, telling as he did so a great many things he knew about
“Sam Hildebrand.”
The boys seemed to understand the matter perfectly well without any
explanations from me, and humored the joke very well by asking the
most absurd questions about my barbarity; but none of the questions
were too hard, for he answered them all, making it appear that I was a
blood-thirsty barbarian, without an equal in the world‘s history.
It was not until sometime during the afternoon that we undeceived him
in regard to the true nature of things; it was sometime before he could
comprehend the sudden change, or be made to believe that he was really
in my hands. But as he gradually became convinced of the fact he began
a series of lies that would have shamed “Baron Munchausen” himself. We
stopped him short, however, and told him that if he would not report us
for one month we would let him go, at which he sprang at me, seizing
my hand with both of his, he pledged himself and swore by all that was
holy and righteous that he never would report us while he lived. He
shook hands with us all and started, looking back every ten feet until
he was out of sight, then he seemed to double his speed until he was
out of hearing.
While the sun was yet an hour high we started on our way, keeping in
the woods until dark, then passing west of Potosi, by traveling all
night, we reached a point near the town of Centreville, in Reynolds
county, where we obtained feed for ourselves and horses.
In traveling down Black river late one evening we ran into a squad of
Federals, six in number, whom we charged in a furious manner, firing
on them with our revolvers. They did not return our fire, but ran most
gloriously. We killed one and captured two more; those we captured
stated that they belonged to Leeper‘s command; this being the case of
course we shot them.
We took their horses and arms, made another night‘s journey, and
arrived safely in Green county, Arkansas. There I found a dispatch
for me from Gen. Sterling Price, requesting me to take charge of the
advance guard of his army, as he was “going up to possess Missouri,” to
which I most gladly consented on conditions that I would be released as
soon as we should reach the vicinity of my old home on Big river.