Primary Sources to get one's mind stirring

[Gallo de Cielo]

All,

I will attempt to post some excellent primary source bits and pieces in the coming days and weeks.

My intent to is help give some background to the general situation in Missouri, information on the warring parties, and hopefully give folks some material to use for first-person and their general approach to the event.

One can quickly grasp that the war on this side of the river, and particuarly in this stretch of Missouri, was not at all similar to the confilct in other parts of the country.

Oct of 1861
"There will be trouble in Missouri until the Secesh are subjugated and made to know that they are not only powerless, but that any attempts to make trouble here will bring upon them certain destruction and this...must not be confined to soldiers and fighting men, but must be extended to non-combatant men and women."
Property of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis

Freelance vigilante patriots, fighting under the guise of the 15th Missouri Cavalry (also known as Reeve's Scouts) raised constant hell on the Federal occupiers as well as pro-Union civilians. The Federal response was to fight fire with fire.

"Oct 29, 1864
Dear Wife and Children,
I take my pen with trembling hand to inform you that I have to be shot between 2 and 4 o'clock this evening. I have but a few hours to remain in this unfriendly world. There are 6 of us sentenced to die in retaliation of 6 Union soldiers that was shot by Reeves men. My dear wife don't grieve after me. I want to meet you in heaven. I want you to teach the children piety, so that they may meet me at the right hand of God... I don't want you to let this bear on your mind any more than you can help, for you are now left to take care of my dear children. Tell them to remember their dear father. I want you to tell all my friends that I have gone home to rest."

"Sixty-nine years gao last week [September 1863] the people of Shannon County [southeastern Missouri Ozarks] were thrown into grief over the murder of John West, Mrs. Sam West, Louis Conway, James Henry Galvon, Wm. Chilton, Henry Smith, Sam Herring, Jack Herrign, John Huddleston, John Story, and Joshua Chilton... As the story is told by relatives of the victims... a company of Federal soldiers came over from Rolla to the vicinity where the Chiltons lived and the drive on various homes was made in the dead of night... [The Federals; i.e. Union Militia] started their raid going for the Chiltons... Joe Butler and Alex Chilton were at the home of the latter's mother, and just as they were mounting to leave, eight Federal soldiers came in sight. The soldiers dashed in pursuit, but Mrs. Susan Orchard, sister of Alex Chilton, stepped into the road in front of the oncoming soldiers and flaunted her apron in front of the horses of the soldiers, until the stopped, and by the time the pursuers got around her the fleeing pair were too far gone to be caught."
From- The Civil War in Carter and Shannon Counties

"But in general, and whenever they wished, Union troops shot or hanged their prisoners, as did their guerilla foes. Many soldiers alluded to this wide-spread practice, but few so matter-of-factly as Private Edward Hanses... who had joined the Union Second Missouri Light Artillery. On July 19, 1864, near Patterson [southeastern] Missouri, Hansen noted in his diary 'Up to this day we had done but little skirmishing and catched several fellows, very mistrusting figures, which we had orders to take with us as prisoners, but no sooner did we find one in arms we just hung them to the next best tree.'"
From- Inside War: The Guerilla Conflict in Missouri

More to come.

In the meantime, load the shotgun and be sure the latch is secure on the door.

Regards,

[rkg]

Thanks for the post Fred, the war in Missouri was very different than the other theaters. My grandfather told me about the time his dad and uncle were captured by the Federals, they were tied to trees and told they were going to bayoneted. They both escaped when they were untied; the Yankees changed their minds on the form of execution they were going to use.

Fred, are you or any of your pards heading up for Marmaduke's Raid?

[Anna Allen]

Fred, this is great! Gettin' me all excited. :) I look forward to your next installment.

For those of you who aren't coming, you're gonna wish you had. There's still time left and always room for more! I know Frank has put a great deal of his time and money into this event to make it a success and I believe it's going to be one of, if not The best event of the year.

[Gallo de Cielo]

Robert and Anna,

Glad you-un's are enjoying thus far. More to come.

For those who don't know Ms. Anna, that hand-ax she's hefting in her avatar has been wetted on the blood of many an unsuspecting lad who ventured too close.

Stirred up by reports of Federal rabble rounding good folks up and shooting them out of plain meanness is likely only to prompt her to put a keener edge on the blade. No doubt she and the others are filing away on the points of all the flax hackles they'll be dispersing in the woods. At present they've rounded up over thirty of those things so I'd be wary.

Regards,

[Campjacksonboy]

Thanks guys (and Anna)
Like I always say sleep lightly and carry a big stick. Fortunately for some of the federals Marmaduke seems to have parolled many of the federals he captured. But after reading Fred's post we'll see what my mood is in September.
Frank

[Gallo de Cielo]

"A give-and-take war developed between Reeves' 15th Missouri Cavalry, CSA, and the Missouri Union Militia units in the area. Many families were forced to refugee, some as far north as St. Lous."
A History of the 15th Missouri Cavalry Regiment, CSA by Jerry Ponder

"Diary of Private Timothy Phillips, 19th Iowa Infantry Regiment, Ozark Mountains, February 25th; 'Refugees continue flocking to us and dare not return to their homes.' February 28th; 'Plenty of women in camp begging for rations.' March 19; 'We have now here some two dozen women and not less than a hundred children- more or less- varying in age from two weeks to fifteen years.' March 5; 'Refugees are coming in daily. An order has been given to build a stockade around the court house... every two or three days we find a body floating in the river.'
In April, receiving orders to join the Vicksburg campaign, the 19th pulled out of Forsyth, burning the town, stockade, courthouse and all. Phillips made no more mention of the refugees."
From "Inside War"

"The Federals came to our home two or three days later and began trying to persuade Mother to have Father come in and surrender and go to Pilot Knob [referred to by locals as Iron Mountain] and take the oath of allegiance. Meantime, while mother was discussing the matter with them, two of them took me up on a hill west of the house and out of sight of mother, and one of them took a belt from around his pants and buckled it around my neck, then bent a small sappling over and tied the end of the belt around it and hung me up for a minute or so. I had told them where father was, as mother had told them, and when they let me down I told them he was down in the field, which they knew was not so for they had come by the field. The hanging hurt my throat so that it was sore for several days. I was seven years old at the time."
JJ Chilton from "Current Local" reprinted in The Civil War in Carter and Shannon Counties

It will be a shame to have the vile Union scum staining the State of Missouri with such acts.

[BorderRuffian]

Fred,



Thanks for the material!Helps to set the backdrop for the situation in Missouri at that time.
Concerning Forsyth,Mo.,where the old part of town was is now encompassed by Shadowrock park.Where the courthouse stood is documented with a marker.Nice park,I stop in when I am in the area.

[MoFed]

What happened at Forsythe was repeated often throughout the region. That is why nearly no courthouses in the first two tiers of counties on either side of the Missouri-Arkansas border survived the war. Courthouses, typically being relatively large, strong structures were converted into minature forts. If the troops occupying them didn't burn them when they moved out, like at Forsythe, the bushwackers would burn them so they couldn't be used when the troops came back, as happened at Salem in Dent Co. and Centerville in Reynolds Co. There is evidence of collusion between the locals and the bushwackers - the county records in the courthouse at Houston in Texas County were moved to a cave for safekeeping before it was torched.

[huntdaw]

If you really want to know what the term 'civil war' means, take a look at Missouri from 1861-1865 and even later. Scary place to live. The majority of people, CW scholars and buffs alike, have no idea what it was like here.

[missourirelics]

I agree with Mike, I just got through viewing the Charleston Missouri Courier, the years '64 and '65. Southeast Missouri and Missouri in general must have been a sort of hell on Earth...literally.

Paul Arnold
Curator Stars and Stripes Museum/Library

[Campjacksonboy]

Thursday, June 11, 1863
...Our regiment's flags, which were entirely shot to pieces in the last battles at Cape Girardeau, are barely holding together. A shell went through the stars and stripes, ripping a huge hole in it. The flag of the territory (Nebraska) is tattered by many rifle shots. In the battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh they had not been damaged as much as in these last actions...

Tuesday, June 30, 1863
...Before we could march up from the regiment's front in companies for this inspection, we had to fall in in a square, front toward the inside. Colonel Livingston gave a speech and decorated a piper from Company A with a medal for bravery displayed in the last battle of Cape Girardeau. five more of our men are to be rewarded the same way for bravery displayed there. The entire regimental band had thrown away their drums and fifes and had taken up rifles and had fought in the ranks.
After the inspection all men not on duty were ordered to work on the fortifications. Every negro was seized and put to work at the fort. In the afternooon a number of the white inhabitants of the area, who had been summoned to work on building the fort, came also. The day was nice and not so warm. The teams dragged logs out of the woods up here into the fort....

Marching with the First Nebraska
August Scherneckau

Enjoy
Frank Aufmuth

[Gallo de Cielo]

"October 1, 1864
Some fifteen or twenty women and children were brought in this afternoon, and are now quartered in a building opposite Gratiot [military prison in St. Louis]. I do not know whether they are prisoners or refugees, but one thing I am certain of- they are the raggedest and dirtiest set I ever saw; some of them have not sufficient clothing to hide their nakedness. They were picked up in the southwest (part of the state). Some of the women would be really goodlooking if they were properly dressed, but they are a pitiful looking crowd in their present condition."
Giffin Frost from "Camp and Prison Journal"

"We would frequently see a squad of Union Militia start out after the Smiths [Confederate bushwhackers] and possibly the next day would hear that the Federals had dined at a farmhouse and in less than an hour the Smiths dined at the same house. The houses of these men were burned and their wives taken prisoner, but by threats of retaliation [that the Smiths would] burn the homes of Union men, forced the release of the women."
"Reminiscences of Mrs. C. C. Rainwater, from 1861 to 1865"
Special Collection, Duke Library

In June, 1864, Major Jeremiah Hackett reported the arrest of a Mrs. Gibson and her daughter, caught while tearing down telegraph lines."
From "Inside War"

[Gallo de Cielo]

"As Missouri came under [Union] martial law, the Union military operated as the law enforcement agency during much of the war in most of the state, in effect superseding whatever civil legal structures remained in place. In such a position, the military had enormous discretionary power over civilians in the areas they controlled, unchecked by any truly effective appeals system."
From "Inside War"

"In 1860 about one Missouri family in eight (as opposed to one in five in the lower south) held slaves, nearly three-fourths of those holding fewer than five, and only 38 holding more than fifty... Ninety per cent of Missourians lived on farms or in villages of less than 2,000 people. With the exception of St. Louis, there were no cities in Missouri... statistically, the average Missourian was a Methodist from Kentucky who owned a 215-acre family farm, owned no slaves, and produced most of the family's subsistence."
From "Inside War"

[ILYankee5]

These are great. I have been really enjoying these posts. In fact, I think I may have found a book that I am going to read. Who authored Inside War?

[Gallo de Cielo]

What the foul Federal heathens were up to-

"Good Heavens, my blood boils- women in this hole of filth and blasphemy! I could scarcely believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, Mrs. Mitchell, who is here with a little daughter five or six years old. She is charged with smuggling goods through to the Confederacy."
Griffin Frost, "Camp and Prison Journal"

"Now I have two very pretty rebel girls on my hands as prisoners and what the devil to do with them I don't know, as I don't like to put them in the guard house. I expect I will have to take them into my room and let them sleep with me."
Bazel F. Lazar Joint Collection, Missouri Historical Society, quoted in "Inside War."

"Headquarters District of Central Missouri
Warrensburg, MO., September 10, 1864
To: Lt. Col B. F. Lazear [Lazar, quoted in passage above], Commanding Union Militia, Second Sub-district, Lexington, MO.
Colonel: The commanding general is informed by Major-General Rosecrans that your troops are causing a reign of terror in LaFayette and Saline Counties and that it should receive your attention. He is also further informed that their officers are permitting them to rob the people of their property for their own benefit, to murder peaceable citizens, and committ other outrages upon the people while the pursuit of the bushwhackers is abandoned by loading the troops with plunder from the country...He directs you will report fully in relation to these complaints.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J.H. Steger, Assistant Adjutant-General"
Official Records, Ch LIII, Page 145

[Anna Allen]

Oh wow! :eek:

[missourirelics]

Any that are interested should read Marching with the 1st Nebraska. Also there was an article in the Missouri Historical Review in the 60s on Marmaduke's Raid, but most of that info came straight from the ORs. I have been reviewing the recently acquired Cape Argus, the Civil War newspaper of Cape Girardeau. Although I have primarily been focusing on 1864-65 (due to my independent study), human life was free game for both sides....ESPECIALLY civilians.

Paul Arnold
Marmaduke's Artillery
Curator Stars and Stripes Museum/Library-Bloomfield, Missouri

[huntdaw]

One of the ongoing projects of the Missouri State Park system is marking Civil War sites throughout the state with interpretive panels. Scott House, a resident of Cape Girardeau, has been contracted to write one about the actions that went on around Ft. Benton near Patterson - the area where Marmaduke's Raid will take place. Scott is a reenactor and reads the forum but is not a member. He sent the text for the panel to me and gave permission to post it here for the benefit of forum readers. It will give an idea of just how much went on during the war in this particular part of the state.

Attack on Fort Benton
April 20, 1863
by
Scott House

On April 20, 1863, Confederate General John S. Marmaduke and a force of nearly 5,000 men approached the village of Patterson. Capturing Fort Benton and the Union post at Patterson was an important initial step in Marmaduke’s spring raid, later to be known as the Cape Girardeau campaign. The small Union force occupying Patterson was forced to withdraw and made a fighting retreat northward to eventual safety.

A Federal Post and Fort at Patterson
Patterson, also called the Cross Roads, was located in an area known as the Virginia Settlement, named after the settlers’ state of origin. Located 35 miles south of the railroad terminus at Pilot Knob, Patterson had the potential for being an important outpost of the main Union encampment at the Knob. Local residents such as William Patterson, James English, Henry Hawkins, and Hugh Fulton supported the Union and met in June of 1861, concerned about the secessionist bands in the area. By late summer of 1861, Union troops were occasionally stationed at nearby Greenville, but local independent cavalry under Hawkins moved to Patterson in search of better camping and subsistence. By the summer of 1862 Patterson was a regular camping area and post. Small expeditions, called “scouts” were mounted from Patterson and ranged south to Arkansas and east to Dallas, now known as Marble Hill. Patterson was not a large village or post; one Union cavalry captain commented that “it is not to be found on the map, and scarcely to be seen, when you are in it.”

In late 1862 General Samuel Curtis, Commander of the Department of Missouri, ordered General John W. Davidson to take command of the Army of Southeast Missouri. Davidson ordered General William Plummer Benton of Indiana, south to Patterson to fortify the post and prepare for an expedition into Arkansas. The 25th Missouri Infantry, acting as an engineering regiment, worked on improving the road to Patterson, building bridges and establishing a telegraph line as they went. At Patterson, the O. S. (Old School) Presbyterian Church was turned into a store house surrounded by a palisade and on a hill above it a small earthen fort was built. The square fort measured 100ft on each side and had trenches or a dry moat surrounding it. The inside of the walls were held up by timbers in the style of other Civil War fortifications. Small cannon were likely mounted inside the fort and a magazine was dug in the center. Telegraph wire was strewn on the outside of the fort so as to entangle any attackers. The fort was completed by the end of November 1862 and at some point was named after General Benton. While not large, the fort was a statement of Union power and Confederate major John Edwards later remarked that it “looked ugly and vicious on its elevated position.”

Numerous troops, eventually numbering more than 7,000 men, arrived for Davidson’s expedition, camping north of the fort and village along Camp Creek. The army moved south to Van Buren shortly after the fort was completed and two companies of men were left behind to guard the post. Davidson’s expedition encountered floods, bad roads, and cold weather, but faced few rebels on its wanderings deeper into southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. In March of 1863 the 3rd Regiment of Missouri State Militia, under Colonel Edwin Smart, replaced the Federal units at Patterson.

Marmaduke’s 1863 Expedition to Cape Girardeau
In early spring of 1863, Confederate General John Marmaduke received permission to advance into Missouri. Marmaduke had several objectives: he sought provisions, armaments, and mounts for his men; secondly, he wanted to capture Union General John McNeil at Bloomfield; lastly he hoped to destroy the strong Union supply post at Cape Girardeau. Marmaduke had nearly 5,000 men from Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas but his army suffered from quality: some of the men were unarmed, others were without mounts, and still others were not very experienced in battle. Marmaduke split his forces into two wings: the left, under Colonel Jo Shelby, would move through the Irish Wilderness, crossing the Current River at Van Buren. The other, under Colonel Thomas Carter would move northeast from Doniphan. Both wings were supposed to converge on and, meet at, the little post at Patterson. In addition to hopefully capturing a large number of supplies and weapons, Marmaduke’s men would also try to capture, and probably hang, Captain William Leeper of Wayne County, an occasional member of the Missouri State Militia, and a much-hated partisan fighter.

Attack on Patterson
Near midnight on April 19, Carter detached Lieutenant-Colonel D. C. Giddings with his Texas regiment of 450 men, plus Timothy Reeves’ local partisans for guides, and two pieces of J. H. Pratt’s artillery. At dawn on April 20, 1863, these men surprised a sleeping Union picket detail several miles south of the fort, capturing twenty-five of them. Giddings’ Texans now moved toward other pickets two miles south of the fort. Here they made a mistake. As they made their approach, Pratt’s artillery unlimbered and as one Texas soldier commented, “imprudently shelled the woods” in an attempt to scatter the few pickets. Already warned to be ready to move if Marmaduke’s army showed up in force, and now hearing the booming of cannons in the distance, Smart and his 400 men realized that this was no scouting or bushwhacking force. Major Richard Woodson and a battalion quickly re-enforced the pickets, holding the attackers in check until they began to be flanked. Meanwhile the rest of the encampment quickly finished packing and departed with their mounts and numerous wagons, setting fire to their supplies and buildings as they left. The fort was abandoned.

A Running Battle
Smart’s main force headed north toward Pilot Knob along the military and telegraph road. Their departure was soon discovered by Giddings’ men and a poorly disciplined force surged after them. The Confederate cavalry attacked those Union soldiers that were on foot. Confederate Major Buck Walton reported that his cavalry fired their shotguns which “broke the alignment of the enemy and they not only retreated but ran away.” A running battle took place along the road northwards for seven miles to a rugged, narrow gorge known as Stony Battery. Here, in the confines of the rocky gorge, the Union men were able to regroup. Smart formed a line of battle and allowed the rear guard, which had “already suffered severely” to pass to the front. The Union men held off the attackers in a fight that Smart described as “severe in the extreme.” As the battle raged, Union troops moved through the gorge, while the Confederate partisans under Reeves circled west through Aley’s Gap to cut them off. Realizing the threat, Smart sent a battalion forward to cut a route through to the bridge over Big Creek. Dispersing the partisans and reaching the safety of the other side of the creek, Smart’s men reformed their lines and held their ground. The Confederate forces returned to Patterson with a number of prisoners and captured wagons in tow. During the fight, Union troops accessed the telegraph wires and the commander at Pilot Knob, Colonel John Tyler, was able to telegraph superiors in St. Louis that "Smart has fallen back to Stony Battery and is fighting like a hero."

At Patterson, other federal pickets were rounded up by Shelby’s incoming column which also had heard the cannon fire. As the running battle moved north, a Union patrol under Captain Solon Bartlett that was supposed to relieve the captured picket post returned to the fort not having found the missing pickets and not knowing the fort had been abandoned. On their way back they apprehended several Confederates who had no objection to returning to the fort. Upon their arrival in the now-Confederate camp the situation was reversed and Bartlett and his men found themselves captured in turn by those they had previously captured.

Results of the Battle
Giddings was criticized by other Confederates for allowing his artillery to announce the supposedly surprise attack, one saying “This is not the way we fight.” Confederate losses during the engagement totaled about 25 while Smart reported his losses at about 50, including missing and captured men. The captured men were paroled at the time except for the officers who were released later in Arkansas. Wounded men of both sides were treated in a makeshift hospital at William Patterson’s home.

Smart’s men, including Captain Leeper whom the rebels did not capture, retreated to Pilot Knob. Marmaduke’s army went on to experience defeat at Cape Girardeau less than a week later but managed to escape to Arkansas by holding off the pursuing Federals at Chalk Bluff on the St. Francis River. The little fort and post at Patterson were soon re-occupied by Union troops and it continued to serve as a staging post for scouts into rebel territory.

Price’s 1864 Raid
In late summer 1864, General Sterling Price received authorization to commence an extended raid into Missouri. Price’s objectives included capturing St. Louis as well as recruiting additional troops for his army. Price’s troops numbered nearly 12,000 including Marmaduke’s and Shelby’s brigades. One of the early objectives was the elimination of the post at Patterson. Shelby’s advance into Missouri was delayed by troops of the 3rd Missouri State Militia at Doniphan who burned the town before retreating to Ponder’s Mill on the Little Black River. Shelby attacked this detachment during the night, routing them and advanced to the home of Captain Leeper on the Black River, destroying “the bloody rendezvous of the notorious Leeper”. On September 22nd Shelby approached the fort and post at Patterson which was manned by two companies of the new 47th Missouri Infantry under Captain James McMurtry and one company of the 3rd Missouri State Militia Cavalry under Captain Robert McElroy. Knowing that rebels were close, the post was anticipating some attack and McElroy’s troopers were mounted and ready to leave. Sergeant Edward Wilkinson of nearby Coldwater, detailed to guard a wagon train, was eating at the fort with McMurtry’s men when he noted that the mounted militia men “had horses saddled all the time, blankets rolled and buckled to their saddles, and arms all buckled on.” He realized “there was great danger close at hand.” Shortly after 10 A.M. as the troopers and wagons left the post headed north toward Pilot Knob they were attacked by Shelby’s men. Reacting quickly, the militia cavalry headed northeast to safety along the St. Francis River. One soldier, Tom Young, was detailed back to the fort with a single word of warning: “Git!” Returning from the fort, Young ran into the Confederate force, and was killed. The men of the 47th abandoned the fort, fighting their way eastward on the Hog-Eye (Lowndes) Road, but about thirty were captured or killed. The survivors struggled east to Cape Girardeau or north to Pilot Knob in the coming days, some arriving just in time for the assault on Fort Davidson. Trying to eliminate the thorny post at Patterson, Shelby ordered the post burnt, along with “its strongly and ugly fort.”

The End of the War
Sterling Price’s army went on to meet defeat at Pilot Knob, Westport, and Mine Creek, Kansas. As Price’s defeated troops wound their way into Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, the Union wasted no time re-occupying Patterson. By November 3rd, 1864, a correspondent of the St. Louis newspaper The Missouri Democrat reported that “a new post has been established at Patterson.” The 47th Missouri had been sent to Nashville, Tennessee, and to help fill a temporary shortage of troops, local militias were called upon to counter the continuing activities of bushwhackers. On November 18, 1864, an expedition of the Union 56th Enrolled Missouri Militia from Cape Girardeau arrived at Patterson and continued on to Arkansas, seeking bushwhackers to fight. By the end of 1864, the post and fort at Patterson was being manned by companies of the 7th Kansas Cavalry. On April 15, 1865, eight days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia, and only hours after Abraham Lincoln died, the 7th Kansas Cavalry fought against bushwhackers at nearby McKenzie’s Creek. This was the last action of the war for the little post at Patterson and by summer of 1865 the 7th Kansas was reassigned to the west.

[Campjacksonboy]

Mike
Be sure to thank Scott for me. This is great stuff and I'm glad it will eventually be used as interpretive signage for the site.
I'm glad the state is picking up that end of the project.

Frank Aufmuth

[Possum Stew]

we need telegraph wire. Where can we get telegraph wire? Great history lesson, thanks Mike. I thought it was great during Prices' raid the 3rd Mo militia was packed up and ready to get the F outa dodge.

[Campjacksonboy]

Yeah TJ between 1863 and 1864 history really repeated itself. I know the garrison was pretty hacked in '64 when they were ordered to fall back to Pilot Knob. For them it's a good thing they did.
Frank

[MO-Pard]

we need telegraph wire. Where can we get telegraph wire? Great history lesson, thanks Mike. I thought it was great during Prices' raid the 3rd Mo militia was packed up and ready to get the F outa dodge.

Captain Leeper and the 3rd Missouri State Militia (Federal) were well-known in southeast Missouri. Their was a vast number of accounts/complaints tied to this group. Prior to the war, Leeper's men were thugs who took delight in falsely accusing innocent civilians to get their property. The oncoming war, much like the Kansas Jayhawkers, was used as an excuse and legal umbrella to expand their ways. They had little to do militarily, and like other MSM units in the area, resorted to terrorizing the populace for personal gain. They were also noted cowards and this is yet another instance of their stripe. It it no doubt the CS units, civilians and bushwhackers searched them out. And when anyone in the area was captured they were asked whose men they were. Many if not most times, if not dutch, they were paroled even by bushwhackers. But never a Leeper man. They were generally shot or became "tree ornaments."

[Campjacksonboy]

There's a painting of Leeper in the Wayne County Historical Society. He did not look like a nice man. Hildebrand's autobiography pretty well goes along with what you mentioned about them not paroling Leeper's men.

On another note my Dad (the property owner) will be down there and I was going to have him dress out with a EMM look just to check out what's going on. Wouldn't that be funny If I told him to tell everyone he was one of "Leeper's" Men.
On second thought Christmas is only three months after the Raid. Maybe I shouldn't do that.
Frank Aufmuth

[MO-Pard]

There's a painting of Leeper in the Wayne County Historical Society. He did not look like a nice man. Hildebrand's autobiography pretty well goes along with what you mentioned about them not paroling Leeper's men.

On another note my Dad (the property owner) will be down there and I was going to have him dress out with a EMM look just to check out what's going on. Wouldn't that be funny If I told him to tell everyone he was one of "Leeper's" Men.
On second thought Christmas is only three months after the Raid. Maybe I shouldn't do that.
Frank Aufmuth

Well, in gratitude for allowing us to hold such a unique tactical on his wilderness, I think it is a great gesture. Since I am not coming EMM/MSM, I'd be happy to send attire to fill out the impression to allow him to move about the area. Although, knowing your propensity for such period mischief, (ala BGR and "Colonel Suave") I dont' put it past you to give him such an involuntary period moment by making him one of Leeper's men. :) Just hope he doesn't run into the Confederates, any Southern Sympathizers or any mossbacks! Otherwise, he'd be fine.

Actually, it would be pretty cool to have some of the 3rd MSM prowling around as one of the impressions for this event! There are already so many different impressions already heading full-speed ahead on a collision course together, but these guys made their dubious place in the area's history. But maybe the pie-stealing Holler and Iowa boys can be just as rough on the civilians...

Yes, Frank, that is one of the sources I allude to. They (3rd MSM) knew they were marked men. Justice was always on their trail....