Commanded the advance guard in Price‘s raid.—The Federals
burn Doniphan.—Routed them completely.—Captured some at
Patterson.—Killed Abright at Farmington.—Left Price‘s
army.—Killed four Federals.—Maj. Montgomery storms Big River
Mills.—Narrow escape from capture.
It is not my purpose to give a history of Price‘s raid into Missouri
further than to narrate a few facts connected with my own operations.
In September, 1864, by request, I took charge of the advance guard
after all arrangements were made for the grand campaign. The dispatch
that came to me, having stated that General Price designed taking
Missouri and holding it, I felt that a great honor was conferred upon
me, and was pleased beyond measure with the prospect of being once more
enabled to triumph over my enemies and to peaceably establish myself at
the home of my childhood, among the blissful scenes of my earlier years.
While these day-dreams were passing through my excited imagination, I
repaired to the designated point and found that my command consisted
of a party of ragged Missourians, about forty in number, some of whom
I knew. Keeping pace with the main body of the army, we traveled not
more than fifteen miles each day. Nothing of importance occurred until
we reached the town of Doniphan in Ripley county, Missouri; when, on
approaching the place, we discovered large volumes of smoke arising
from the town. We put spurs to our horses and hastened into the place
as soon as possible; finding that the Federals in evacuating the
place, had set fire to every house but one, and that belonged to a
Federal officer, we concluded that it had better burn also. We arrived
in time to save the mill which seemed to have burned very slowly.
It appears that McNeal‘s and Leeper‘s men were on their way to burn
up our Green County Confederacy, but ascertaining that Price was on
his march for Missouri they set fire to the town and decamped. We
pursued and overtook them before they got to Greenville, had a little
skirmish, lost two men killed and four wounded, captured sixteen
Federals and shot them, rushed on to the town of Patterson, captured
eleven negroes and seven white men in Federal uniform and shot them.
While the main army advanced slowly I scouted in front of it with my
command; but Federals and Union men were very scarce; I still held the
advance however, passing through Greenville, Bloomfield, Fredericktown
and Farmington; all of which were evacuated before our arrival, and
through which I passed with my force without molesting anyone with one
exception. On reaching Farmington no resistance was offered; the people
were somewhat alarmed, but all surrendered quietly except a German,
named Abright, who ran when we approached, refused to halt, and was
shot of course.
Finally, reaching the Iron Mountain Railroad at Mineral Point, we
tore up the road, burned several bridges, and tore down the telegraph;
but finding no one to kill, I left the command, according to previous
agreement, and hastened to the neighborhood of my personal enemies.
Finding none of them there to kill I employed myself in recruiting
for the Southern army, and succeeded in the short space of six days
in getting a full company, who were sworn in, and under Capt. Holmes
went into the Southern service. While laboring for the cause of the
South I was at the residence of Maj. Dick Berryman at the stone house
in Bogy‘s Lead Mines, near Big river, with a portion of Capt. Holmes‘
men, when four Federals who had escaped from the fort at Ironton during
the siege, came along the road; with but little difficulty we effected
their capture, shot them and threw their bodies into a mineral hole.
The main army did not remain long in our section of country; Gen.
Price indeed was a great military chieftain, but his present campaign
through Missouri seemed to lack design; from the time he entered the
State until he left it, he garrisoned no posts in the rear. Pilot
Knob, the terminus of the railroad from St. Louis and the depot for
supplies for all Southeast Missouri was taken, and then abandoned
on the next day; he made his way to Missouri river and then up that
stream in the direction of Kansas for several hundred miles without
molestation leaving St. Louis, the great commercial key of the West,
almost “spoiling to be taken.” The great Missouri chieftain left St.
Louis to his right, while the heavy force at that place were quietly
taking possession of the abandoned posts in his rear. If he had
joined the “Independent Bushwhacking Department of the Confederate
States of America” with all his men, in less than thirty days there
would not have been a Federal soldier west of the Mississippi. While
Maj. Berryman and a few other officers stayed in St. Francois county
recruiting, the main army gained the Missouri river and was quietly
making a blind march in the direction of Idaho.
The Federal forces took possession of the Iron Mountain railroad, and
on one pleasant afternoon in October, our new recruits armed with their
shot guns and squirrel rifles were run into by Maj. Montgomery of the
Sixth Missouri Cavalry and completely routed, in which their loss
was seven killed and all the balance missing. Montgomery also killed
several citizens, whose names were Fite, Vandover, and Judge Haile, the
father of Irvine M. Haile, who was previously murdered by Milks‘ men.
On the day before Maj. Montgomery routed the new recruits at Big River
Mills, I went with some men to Cadet on the railroad and took from the
store of Mr. Kellerman a wagon load of goods which I delivered up to
Maj. Berryman, who distributed them among his men. Maj. Montgomery,
with two companies of the Sixth Missouri Cavalry, struck our trail
and followed us nearly into camp; but when he ran into the pickets
they obeyed the orders I had previously given, and ran in a different
direction from the camp, thereby leading the Federals away from our
squad of raw recruits, and giving them time to escape. I was not at
Big River Mills when Montgomery stormed the place, but was at St.
Joseph Lead Mines, when he passed. I was sitting on my horse talking
to a lady, when the first thing that I saw of them they were within
a few yards of me; I assumed an air of unconcern and continued the
conversation; on discovering that they were eyeing me very closely,
I turned my horse and rode within a few feet of the column in the
direction they were going, talking back to the lady until I was too far
off to continue the conversation. I then found myself near a lieutenant
whom I addressed as captain, asking him in a very awkward manner if he
was going to Big River Mills to drive the Rebels off, which he answered
in the affirmative. I told him that I would like to help if I had a
gun, but he told me very curtly that he wanted no men who were not
drilled. My horse seemed to be a little lame and I gradually fell back,
talking all the time to the man opposite me until the last one had
passed. I kicked and “cussed” my horse to try to keep up but I could
not do it. On getting about one hundred yards behind I availed myself
of an opportunity at a turn in the road and took to the woods; the
lameness of my horse was very much improved, but I could not beat them
into the town; however, I knew that the pickets would lead them off
some other way. They did so, but were overtaken and killed at the ford
above the mill pond.
The new recruits were within hearing of the guns and “broke for tall
timber.” The short sojourn of the Confederate forces in Missouri was
indeed a severe blow to the course I had marked out for myself. In my
excited imagination I had raised the veil and looked down the vista of
time, beheld the Southern arms triumphant, our country again restored
to peace and prosperity, and my little family and my aged mother
leaning upon my arm for support at the old homestead, surrounded by
all the endearments of our once happy days. But I was awakened from
my dream by the unhappy termination of Price‘s raid; it impressed my
mind very forcibly with the fact that the people of Missouri were tired
of the war and would sacrifice but little more at the shrine of their
political convictions. In fact a large majority of them were compelled
by circumstances beyond their control to remain at home and take their
chances. The atrocities committed in their midst by men professing
Union sentiments finally failed to elicit from them a casual remark.
When the war began, the American people were untutored in regard to the
cruelties of war; in fact, I am inclined to the opinion that there was
not a nation upon earth which had formed the most remote conception
of the cruelties of the American people, with all their boasted moral
and religious training. Even the words of political bias expressed in
times of peace, many years before the war commenced, while yet almost
the whole nation was of the same opinion, were treasured up and
resurrected against certain citizens, for which their lives were taken.
From a contemplation of this unwelcome subject I turned my mind, and
through my native woods I traveled alone to my home in Arkansas, with
my fond hopes crushed, and my spirits below zero.