Fort Scott, Kansas · Monday, March 15, 2010
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Battlefield Dispatches No. 205: 'Broken, Barren & Destitute' (03/12/10)
War of any kind, time and place creates a "Broken, Barren and Destitute" landscape and civilian population on, near or in any battlefield or former battlefield. The havoc of war can also create a persistent and successful "civilian" guerrilla resistance which is what occurred throughout Missouri during the Civil War. ...
Battlefield Dispatches No. 204: A Desperado, Terror and Murder (03/05/10)
During the Civil War, no matter how hard the Blue Belly Billy Yanks from and in Missouri tried to eradicate the Confederate guerrillas or Bushwhackers, and they tried very hard, the Union troops never really accomplished their mission. Sometimes the "Union" scouts or patrols were successful, but there always seemed to be another group of guerrillas who were on the hunt to attack enemy supply trains, couriers, small Yankee outposts and civilians who supported the Union cause. ...
Battlefield Dispatches No. 203: 'Executions Justified' (02/26/10)
During the Civil War, "Congressional Inquires" occurred frequently, even as they do today and from a military perspective they could be a nuisance, but they had to be answered. This type of inquiry could come from the Federal or Confederate Congress or a state legislature. ...
Battlefield Dispatches No. 202: 'Robbing the mail' (02/19/10)
During the Civil War in Missouri, delivery of the U.S. "Civilian" Mail and "Military" Mail were often successfully disrupted by the Confederate Guerrillas (Partisan Rangers and Bushwhackers). This was accomplished by stopping and stealing the mail from commercial carrier vehicles such as stage coaches or military couriers. ...
Battlefield Dispatches: 'Robbing and Plundering' (02/12/10)
During the Civil War, "Robbing & Plundering" were common place and were committed by soldiers in both Blue and Gray, Guerrillas, Redlegs, Jayhawkers, Bushwhackers, Civilian Vigilantes and Outlaws in Kansas and Missouri. This of course complicated and frustrated the Union peace keeping forces in the Jayhawker state of Kansas and the Bushwhacker state of Missouri. ...
Battlefield Dispatches No. 200: 'Covering their tracks' (02/05/10)
During the Civil War, Scouts, Spies, Bushwhackers, Partisan Rangers and Guerrillas became experts at "covering their tracks." According to one of my best literary friends, Mr. Webster's Dictionary (I would be lost without one); the 9th definition of "Cover" is to "hide or conceal from view." Therefore all of the previous mentioned soldiers did indeed cover their tracks which was conducive to their survival and longevity, because their occupation was hazardous, fraught with danger and one mistake or track left uncovered would often lead to their DEATH.. ...
Battlefield Dispatches No. 199: Assasinations, Robberies and Murders (01/29/10)
By January 1863, the Civil War was almost two years old and the "Union" command in Missouri was still trying to figure out a way to neutralize the Confederate guerrillas and "Bushwhackers." In fact this was to be a never ending problem throughout the balance of the war that was never solved...
Battlefield Dispatches No. 198: 'Remembering Forgotten Warriors' (01/22/10)
This column is devoted to a description of the "3" Indian Home Guard Regiments from Kansas during the Civil War. One might think that their regimental designation indicates that they were organized to protect their homes in Kansas, but this was not the case. ...
Battlefield Dispatches 197: 'More winter killings' (01/15/10)
During the Civil War, the cold months of Winter, didn't stop the "Union" pursuit & killing of their worst enemy in Missouri, the "Confederate" Guerrillas / Bushwhackers! The following reports describe a successful "killing" patrol by a Union detachment in southwest Missouri that was conducted during very harsh winter weather. It is located on Pages 19 & 20 in Series I, vol. 48, Part I of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion...
Battlefield Dispatches No. 196: 'Winter Killings' (01/08/10)
Normally, during the severe winter months of January, February & early March, the large Union & Confederate Armies went into "Winter Quarters" & the major campaigns & fighting were not resumed until the spring. However, the "Guerrilla War" in Missouri often went on unabated and the following incident of "Winter Killings" is described on Pages 17 & 18 in Series L Vol. 48. Part I of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion...
Battlefield Dispatches No. 195: 'Unhappy New Years' (12/31/09)
Traditionally & this was true in the 19th Century as well. New Years Eve & Day are celebrated with remembering the past year & welcoming in the New Year. However, in today's military & that of the Civil War these days were just another day of combat or garrison duty. True, there is & was some levity whenever possible, but normally the main focus was to carry on with whatever the respective military operations or mission of the day happened to be...
Battlefield Dispatches: Remembering Christmas past (12/24/09)
Today is "Christmas Eve" and thousands of our men & women in the military service and their families from whom many are separated because we as a nation are at war, think of home & hearth & "Christmas Past". This has been true of every conflict we have been in, including our Civil War. ...
Battlefield Dispatches 193: 'Worse than Guerillas' (12/18/09)
Now wait just a minute! How on earth could anyone be "WORSE than GUERRILLAS" in the Civil War? Now if one was from Missouri & of the "Southern Persuasion, this would make perfect sense when referring to the "Kansas Jayhawkers" or "Red legs" as many of these soldiers were 'Bad to the Bone" because that is the way they & YES, the "Guerrillas" of Missouri waged war! However, this statement was made by a loyal MISSOURIAN who was a "Union" officer who described the specific way soldiers from a Kansas regiment waged war in 1864! Now let's just think for a minute! Who was one of the most despised "Union" officers in Missouri, who was from Kansas & conducted periodic raids into "The-Show-Me State" in 1861 & whose name lived on in infamy when he did the same thing as a civilian after he resigned from the "Union Army" in the spring of 1862. ...
Price in Missouri is 'monstrous' (09/26/09)
It is not surprising that "Union" Major General Samuel Ryan Curtis who commanded the Department of Kansas is 1864 would state that, "The idea of Price being anywhere in Missouri is monstrous! To those Missourians of the "northern persuasion" and there were a great many during the Civil War this was true! However, to those of the "southern persuasion" in the Show-Me-State this was heresy, because the second coming of Major General Sterling Price and his "Army of Missouri," hopefully, would liberate them from northern oppression and aggression! Alas, in retrospect Price's 1864 Campaign in Missouri and Kansas did not liberate Missouri from its' northern occupation and oppression. ...
Soldiers make a clean sweep (09/19/09)
September and October of 1864 were chaotic months in Missouri and Kansas because of Major General Sterling Price's campaign in the "Show-Me" (Mo.) and Jayhawker (Kan.) states. This column and those to follow through Nov. 7 will focus on different aspects of this campaign and the four battles that occurred on Oct. 25, 1864. These battles include Trading Post, Mine Creek and Little Osage, Kansas and Shiloh Creek/Charlot's Farm near Deerfield, Mo...
The Battle of the Mules (09/05/09)
On Sept. 2, 1861, a small battle occurred near the present town of Deerfield, Mo., that was the conclusion of a two-day engagement that has two names. This engagement has been called the Battle of the Mules and the Battle of Drywood because of its proximity to the Big Drywood Creek and the Battle of the Mules because of the capture of 200 Union mules and horses...
A little hanging (08/15/09)
Information gathering methods have changed over the years. During the Civil War, various ways of extracting information from un-willing prisoners, enemy soldiers or non-combatants (civilian men) were used. Times have changed and so have "information gathering methods". ...
Worthless ammunition complicates battle (08/01/09)
"Keep your powder dry" is an old axiom that originated with the firing of flintlock weapons in the 17th, 18th and first half of the 19th century. A piece of flint would strike a spring operated iron frizzen causing sparks to ricochet into a shallow depression, igniting a small amount of gunpowder and that would, in turn, ignite the gunpowder in the barrel to fire or discharge the musket or rifle. ...
Tomahawks and Sabers at Honey Springs (07/25/09)
On July 17, 1863, the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Kansas Indian Home Guards and battalions of the 6th Kansas and 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry participated in the Battle of Honey Springs that occurred near the present town of Checotah, Okla. The Indian Home Guards functioned as mounted infantry and were armed with their own rifles, shotguns and revolvers...
Bayonet, shell and sabers at Honey Springs, Indian Territory (07/18/09)
Yesterday was the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs or Elk Creek that occurred near the present town of Checotah, Okla. This battle was a large Union victory that included both Union and Confederate infantry, artillery and cavalry forces. ...
International Incident (06/20/09)
An "International Incident" involving a former foreign consul in St Louis, Mo., during the Civil War! Now wait just a minute! One would think that situations such as this happened in Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va.; and they did, but to have one west of the Mississippi River, that seems a bit far fetched. ...
"Cold-blooded assassinations" (06/13/09)
Throughout history civilians killing civilians is and was, commonplace in war. This is especially true today in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel and Palestine and was quite prevalent throughout Missouri and eastern Kansas during "our" Civil War. Very often "war" is convenient for settling, by murder or assassination, offenses such as personal grudges, or revenge for acts of violence or outrages committed by civilians to other civilians...
Exterminating marauding, thieving villains (05/16/09)
The title of this column could have been the motto of Union Brigadier General Clinton B. Fisk because it certainly was his policy to, whenever and wherever possible, kill every Confederate guerrilla and "bushwhacker" and outlaw in northern Missouri from April 6, 1864, to the end of the Civil War in April, 1865...
Troublesome Bushwhackers (05/09/09)
To say that the Confederate guerrillas/ bushwhackers who operated in Missouri and eastern Kansas during the Civil War were "troublesome is a bit of an understatement. They were more than "troublesome." They were a deadly enemy who would strike swiftly, kill, destroy and disappear, if they survived, to attack again until they met the "Grim Reaper" of Death, as many of them eventually did. ...
'Ordered to be shot' (04/25/09)
"Ordered to be shot." uch was the fate of most Confederate guerrillas (if you are of the Southern persuasion) or bushwhackers (if you are of the opposing or Yankee point of view) in Missouri during the Civil War. If a Confederate guerrilla or bushwhacker was unfortunate enough to be captured by the Blue Bellied Billy Yanks the grim reaper would quickly claim another soul because "Union" justice for the guerrilla was usually swift and fatal. ...
Indiginat woman and barking dogs (04/18/09)
It appears that during the Civil War in Missouri "Union" patrols or scouts often encountered a number of "Indignant Women" and Barking Dogs that became a volatile, but not violent combination. Such was the case of the "Union" patrol that is described in the following report that is located on Pages 93-95, Vol. 34, Part III Correspondence in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion...
Patrolling the "Border" (04/04/09)
It's the Kansas-Missouri border again! Previously it has been mentioned that after Quantrill's successful raid and destruction of Lawrence, Kan. on August 21, 1863, the Union Army in Kansas and Missouri established a line of posts or camps to defend their respective borders. ...
Found no bushwhackers (03/28/09)
The title of this column is very appropriate in describing the frustrating "Union" search and pursuit of the Confederate Guerillas in Missouri during the Civil War. It is also part of the June 3, 1864 entry of Sgt. James P. Mallery's Civil War Diary that describes the good Sergeant's activities for the entire year of 1864 when he was stationed with Co. A. of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry at Fort Curtis near Balltown, Vernon County, Mo...
Found bushwhackers (03/28/09)
This is a follow up and continuation of the column that appears above. However, in this set of entries in his diary Sgt. Mallery of Co. A., 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry records his patrol or scout does indeed find and attacks some Bushwhackers. Sgt. Mallery's entire diary was phonetically transcribed by Historian Pat Brophy and has been published by the Vernon County Historical Society. ...
Demonic Vipers (03/21/09)
Throughout his tenure as the commanding officer of the Department of Kansas, Major General Samuel Ryan Curtis, was constantly faced with waging a war in three basic directions. These directions consisted of defending eastern Kansas from raids by the Confederate guerrillas in Missouri, enemy attacks into Kansas from the Indian Territory (present Oklahoma) and attacks on the commercial and military traffic along the Santa Fe, Oregon and Smokey River Trails by various Plains Indian Tribes and possibly Confederate guerrillas. ...
Vipers in Springtime (03/14/09)
No, the subject of this column is not the very expensive 20th Century horseless carriage of the same name (viper) and it is not about the poisonous snake of the same name! According to Mr. Webster, a less used definition of a viper, today, is a "Malicious, spiteful or treacherous person." What a perfect word to describe Kansas "Redlegs" (maverick soldiers and civilian outlaws) and Missouri guerrillas/bushwhackers in the Civil War. ...
Defending the Border (02/21/09)
By early 1864, defending the Kansas/Missouri Border with Union forces was becoming more organized and efficient. The main reason for this was that, once again and for the duration of the war the Department of Kansas had been created from and was entirely separate from the Department of Missouri. ...
Execution by Hanging (02/07/09)
During the Civil War, military justice for committing capital crimes such as murder, rape and desertion in the face of the enemy was execution by hanging or by a firing squad. This of course was true for soldiers of both the Blue and the Gray. There was also another form of justice that preceded and occurred after the Civil War and that was "Vigilante Justice."...
Warfare doesn't stop for Christmas (12/27/08)
By the winter of 1863, a popular refrain echoed in many Union and Confederate camps, posts, garrisons and armies on campaign wishing for what had become a long Civil War to end in peace throughout the land. The thoughts of the following verse are as meaningful today for any soldier, sailor, marine or air force personnel serving in "Harm's Way" and their families at home as they were for "Johnny Reb" and "Billy Yank"...
Worst than Guerrillas! (12/20/08)
Here's that rogue regiment again! After the "Union" pursuit of Price's "Confederate Army of Missouri" to the Arkansas River in the fall of 1864, the companies of 15th Kansas Vol. Cavalry Regiment were stationed along the Missouri/Kansas Border to protect the "Jayhawk State." However, the regiment could not escape the memory of it's activities on the recent campaign which surfaced to haunt it well into 1865. ...
Wide sweep into Kansas (12/06/08)
During the Civil War, one of the constant consistent concerns in Kansas was a major Confederate invasion of the Jayhawk State from Missouri or the Indian Territory. In retrospect, this in fact only happened twice between 1861 and 1865. The first was Quantrill's successful raid on and the destruction of Lawrence on Aug. ...
Murdering, robbing and $2 million (11/15/08)
One of the biggest most complex and compound problems facing any commanding officer of Fort Scott during the Civil War was the lack of troops to protect the millions of dollars worth of supplies at Fort Scott, protecting the supply trains going south to Fort Gibson and Fort Smith and to protect the loyal civilians who were being murdered and robbed within 20 miles of Fort Scott...
Quantrill: An Elusive Foe (11/08/08)
During the week of Nov. 1-5, 1862; Colonel William C. Quantrill and his guerrillas were elusive foes of some Kansas and Missouri "Blue Belly Billy Yanks". This was not an official combined operation, nor was it a cooperative venture between the Union "Hounds" from Kansas and Missouri. ...
Hot and deadly (11/02/08)
One constant factor of the Civil War in Missouri was that the Confederate guerrillas or foxes were always looking for a fight and they usually found one. The guerrillas or bushwhackers, if you are of the northern or Kansas persuasion, were almost always successful when they were on the offensive, either from an ambush or direct attack. ...
Necessity of War (10/18/08)
One might think that by its title, this column is going to be about weapons or soldiers in the Civil War. However, that conclusion would be wrong. One of the many military sayings, the origin of which has been lost in the pages of the past, that was valid in the Civil War and for any war, even today, is that "An army marches on its stomach!" In other words a key ingredient to the success of any army is the fact that it must be supplied with food or rations for the troops...
Dangerous Formidable Foe (10/04/08)
By early October 1864, there was no doubt in the mind of the Union commanders in Missouri and Kansas that Confederate Major General Sterling Price and his "Army of Missouri" were heading north into eastern Missouri. No one knew what Price's ultimate goals were. ...
Contraband cattle and fraud (09/27/08)
Late in September, 1864, it was still not known when and where Confederate forces were going to invade Kansas. It was known, courtesy of the Talking Wire"(telegraph) that the Confederate Army of Missouri commanded by Major General Sterling Price had entered southeast Missouri and that there was a large enemy force commanded by Brigadier General Stand Watie threatening the southern border of Kansas from the Indian Territory (present Oklahoma). ...
"Mysteriously Disappeared" (09/13/08)
The "Union" pursuit of Confederate Guerrillas and Bushwhackers in Missouri was frustrating to the "Union Hounds" because the "Confederate Foxes" always seemed to mysteriously disappear into the bush, brush and timber. This was and is of course a key to the success of any guerrilla force or operation. ...
Pursuing Quantrill (08/30/08)
After the successful Confederate raid and destruction of Lawrence, Kansas on Aug. 21, 1863, the "Union" pursuit of Colonel William C. Quantrill and his band of guerrillas was disjointed and unorganized. However there were a few "Kansas" and Missouri regiments that were successful in tracking down some and killing a few of the raiders. ...
Dangerous and bad men (07/26/08)
During the Civil War, the Union forces in Eastern Kansas stationed along the Missouri border and throughout the state of Missouri were constantly on missions identified as "patrols" or "scouts" in search of Confederate guerrillas or "bushwhackers." Very often these patrols were not successful because "no" bushwhackers were found. ...
Hardshell Preaching, Good Whiskey and Guerrilla Warfare (07/12/08)
Without a doubt, many of the Confederate Guerrillas in Missouri attended church on Sunday and on this particular Sabbath it was not a wise thing to do because the fighting did not stop on Sunday and for a few "bushwhackers" this was the last church service they attended. Both of the following after action reports are located on Pages 65-67 in Vol. 41, Part I of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion...
Bushwhacking -- a system of warfare and execution (06/21/08)
Much has been written in this column about "bush-whacking" and "bush-whackers," both of which were very common in Missouri during the Civil War. However, for the benefit of any new readers and a refresher for the faithful, I thought it would be best for Mr. Webster and the Union blue-bellied hounds to provide a definition, perception and reaction to the "bushwhackers" (partisan rangers, if you are of the Southern persuasion) and what "bushwhacking" was...
A cool and observant First Sergeant (06/14/08)
It has been said and is believed that good NCO's (Non-Commissioned Officers) are the backbone of any branch of the military service. Good NCO's lead by example and communicate and implement orders received from the officers to the enlisted personal. This was true in the Civil War and is true today in times of peace and war. The following after action reports describe the excellent combat leadership demonstrated by 1st Sergeant Robert W. Smith of Co. C, 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry...
Soldiers In Citizen Dress (06/07/08)
As has been mentioned before, if the situation warranted it, some of the Union "Hounds" in Missouri would disguise themselves in civilian clothes to deceive, capture or kill any Confederate "Foxes" (bushwhackers) they could find. Occasionally in the middle of a mission or patrol it was determined that a civilian disguise would be the best course of action and this after action report describes such an incident...
Drugs, delusions and deceptions (05/31/08)
In today's world, drugs and delusions are normally associated with each other in which delusions and hallucinations can be created by the ingestion of drugs. However, delusions can also be created without drugs by visual perceptions and deceptions of reality. ...
A Screw Loose Somewhere (05/09/08)
Humor was rare in the after action reports or letters of the Civil War or of any war for that matter because of the horrific nature of war itself. However, occasionally a little bit of humor work's it's way into a piece of correspondence and the title of this column is not a misstatement. ...
Thieving, Robbing and Murdering (05/03/08)
In the spring of 1863, Majored Charles W. Blair was the commanding officer at Fort Scott and he was vexed with a number of "Bushwhacker" problems. The bushwhackers and guerrillas from the "Land of Misery" (Union nickname for Missouri) were a constant and consistent deadly nuisance that was never eliminated along the entire Kansas / Missouri border throughout the entire Civil War. ...
Another treacherous woman, cut-throats and guerrillas (12/01/07)
The following two incidents occurred within a few days of each other at opposite sides of southern Missouri and illustrate that during the Civil War the "mayhem" that was Missouri occurred throughout the entire "Show-Me-State!" Both incidents maybe found on Pages 761-764 of Series I, Vol. 22 of the Official records of the War of the Rebellion...
"Thanksgiving: A Day to Remember" (11/24/07)
Traditionally, the fourth Thursday of November is celebrated as a day of national Thanksgiving. For most folks, it is a holiday that centers around a large family gathering and dinner. It is also a day of remembering distant family members who cannot be at home or who are now remembered as part of one's family history...
Victims and victors (11/10/07)
Today is the 89th Anniversary of Armistice Day. This anniversary signifies the end of what was known as the War to End all Wars, the "Great World War" and became identified historically as World War I in the second half of the 20th Century. The end of this war occurred at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of November in 1918. This day has been renamed "Veteran's Day" to honor and remember all United States military veterans and their families and this is as it should be...
Horse thieves, house robbers and burnings (11/03/07)
During the Civil War, most after action reports describe what happened in a battle or engagement. The author of the report (normally the commanding officer) was not normally required to explain or justify his or his men's conduct. However, there were then and are very often in today's war occasions when a commanding officer was and is required to explain why he and his men did what they did! The following is an excellent description of a "Yankee" mission or "scout" that was typical of the total war that was waged in Missouri and why the commanding officer had to explain why things happened the way they did.. ...
Prairie Thunder (10/27/07)
On Oct. 25, 1864. the thunder of artillery echoed down the Marais des Cygnes, Little Osage and Marmaton River Valleys and across the eastern Kansas prairie. The sounds of Union and Confederate cannons being fired and the explosion of their ammunition caused much consternation, worry and fear on every farm and in every town, including Fort Scott, where the sounds of the big guns were heard...
Arms, Ammunition and Hard Service (10/13/07)
Early in October of 1864, along the Kansas-Missouri Border, there was worry and concern about the movements of Confederate Major General Sterling Price and his "Army of Missouri." Where was this Confederate force going? That was the big question! By Oct. ...
Fox-on-the-Run (08/19/07)
The last week of August in 1863 was pretty chaotic in the border counties of Eastern Kansas as a result of the very successful raid on and destruction of Lawrence, Kan., by one of the Chief Confederate Foxes, William Clarke Quantrill and his band of guerrillas...
FOXES AND JAYHAWKERS KILLED OR CAPTURED (04/15/07)
In the Spring of 1862, the Union Forces in Missouri and Kansas were waging a frustrating war against the cunning Confederate foxes (guerrillas) and the murderous Kansas Jayhawkers (outlaws and redlegs). Violent incidents involving these culprits were especially common and more prevalent along or near the border of Kansas and Missouri. ...
Arnold W. Schofield
Battlefield Dispatches