As southern states started to secede from the Union, political tension within Missouri rose. Union Gen. Nathaniel Lyon marched from St. Louis to Jefferson City to confront the pro-Confederate Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson. Jackson, however, vacated the state capitol and marched southward with the Missouri State Guard. Lyon split his force with the intention of cutting off the guardsmen, preventing the arrival of reinforcements from Arkansas and defusing pro-southern sympathies among Missouri civilians. Union and Southern forces meet outside of Carthage on July 5th in what has been noted as one of the first serious ground conflicts between Union and Confederate troops. Reports indicate that many of the southern soldiers did not have weapons, nor were they properly trained for combat. On paper the Union forces retained the advantage, better muskets and better training, yet they were outnumbered nearly six to one.1

Around 8:30am opposing forces exchanged fire approximately eight miles north of Carthage. The MSG took position on the high ground between Dry Creek and North Fork, overlooking the position occupied by Union forces.2 Both sides unleashed artillery barrages, and Thomas noted the booming sound of the cannon fire in his memoir.

State troops filed to the left of the road formed in order of battle, plantng the cannon on the side of the hill with their infantry to support them. when ready the order was given and off went the misiles of death and distruction from the cannons mouth. with the loud roar of distant thunder, in quick succession roar followed roar from each battery and we could see at every fire the state battery made, a swarth open through the columns of the federal troops and again and again discover the officer rally the men, but again and again would the state cannon belch fourth death among them untill they fled
Archy Thomas – Battle of Carthage Memoir, n.d.

The battle progressed into Carthage, and soon house-to-house fighting erupted. Thomas was wounded in the arm, and many of the buildings in Carthage were damaged during the close quarter engagements. Thomas reported the zealous nature of rebel women in Carthage by saying, “One lady running out when the balls were flying thick and heavy shouting hurra for Jef Davis Liberty and independence forever down with the dutch.”3 The Union Troops comprised primarily of German soldiers, and were led by Colonel Franz Sigel. “Dutch” was a common term used to describe the Germans. After nightfall, Sigel and his men were able to retreat to Sarcoxie, MO and elude the much larger Confederate force.

Both sides claimed victory in what was one of the largest engagements yet of the Civil War. Sigel was commended for confronting an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers, while Jackson and Sterling Price took advantage of the Federal retreat to organize and arm their men. Archy Thomas documented these notable events and preserved a rare first-hand account of one of the earliest battles of the Civil War.

The above is about what I saw and heard of course I cannot pretend to give all that was done or said as I could not be at both ends of a large army at once.
- An eye witness of the battle.

Contributed by the STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA

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1. Phillip Steel and Steve Cottrell. Civil War in the Ozarks. (Gretna: Pelican Publishing Company, 1993), 17.
2. Ward Schrantz, “The Battle of Carthage,” in The Missouri Historical Review vol. 31 (Columbia: State Historical Society of Missouri, 1936), 144.
3. Archy Thomas. “Civil War Battle of Carthage Memoir.” n.d., R167. The STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA, 4.

Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 presidential election created even more sectional tensions. With Southern state already leaving the Union, Missouri held a secessionist convention three weeks after his inauguration. The convention, however, was dominated by Missouri Unionists who elected to remain in the Union. Missouri’s pro-Confederate Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson was disappointed with the result of the convention, but did not give up hope of secession. His goal was merely postponed.

After the attack on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called for 75,000 militia volunteers to confront the rebellion. Missouri was asked to supply just over 3,000 men. Governor Jackson, famously replied, “Sir – Your requisition is illegal, unconstitutional and revolutionary; in its object inhuman & diabolical. Not one man will Missouri furnish to carry on any such unholy crusade against her Southern sisters.”1

Jackson declared Missouri in a state of armed neutrality, committed to the Union, but ready to defend itself against federal abuse. He authorized 669 militia men to train in Lindell Grove outside of St. Louis. This gathering of pro-Confederate militia, named their camp after the honorable Missouri Governor. St. Louis was the home of the largest arsenal west of the Mississippi River, storing approximately 36,000 muskets.2 Union Capt. Nathaniel Lyon, aware of the potential threat to the arsenal, relocated the arms to Illinois and strengthened the arsenal’s defenses. He then marched his command of 6,500 mostly German troops to Lindell Grove and demanded the militia’s surrender on the morning of May 10.

An angry crowd gathered as Lyon marched his prisoners through the streets of St. Louis and back to the arsenal, which instigated a riot. The Union men failed to restore order to the crowd, and shots were exchanged between both civilians and soldiers. Twenty-eight civilians were killed, another seventy-five wounded in the melee. Two Union soldiers and three militiamen also died.

Lyon’s rash actions and unfortunate loss of life was precisely the event Governor Jackson had been waiting for. Jackson left St. Louis immediately for Jefferson City, where the legislature was debating a military bill that would prepare Missouri for war. The bill had encountered heavy opposition, but news of Camp Jackson broke the legislative standoff and it passed in fifteen minutes. The bill reorganized the state militia into the Missouri State Guard. Sterling Price, a former governor and president of the secession convention took command of the new force. The legislature even gave Jackson control of the state’s railroads and telegraphs.

Lyon’s federal forces advanced on Jefferson City, causing Jackson and legislators to flee south. A provisional pro-union government was established, as Jackson’s administration seemed to have abandoned their position. Jackson left the state seeking support for Missouri’s admission into the Confederacy. He met with Arkansas’s Governor, Confederate General Leonidas Polk, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Congress. Jackson returned to Missouri in early August 1861. In New Madrid, Jackson issued a “Proclamation of Independence,” on August 5, which declared Missouri a sovereign and independent state. He argued Union forces had repeatedly violated Missouri’s rights and liberties. Two weeks later, the Confederate Congress passed a resolution admitting Missouri, but technically she had not seceded from the Union.

After victories at Wilson’s Creek and Lexington, the Confederates had built a large support base and gained the political momentum. In September, Jackson issued another proclamation, which called the General Assembly into session. Legislators were asked to gather at the Newton County Courthouse in Neosho on October 21. There they would solidify Missouri’s future with the Confederacy, by formally seceding from the Union.

The gathering at Neosho was surrounded with controversy. The legality of the assembly, and thus, its resolutions, hinges on the presence of a quorum. The debate cannot be resolved conclusively with the conflicting evidence available. Only this Senate Journal survives, and it does not include a roll of members present. On October 21, M. C. Goodlett, Senator representing the 15th District (Jefferson, St. Genevieve and St. Francois Counties) and later Colonel in the Missouri State Guard, motioned to dispense with the call of roll. Furthermore, the only motions the following day were to fill vacancies in committees. Certainly it is unlikely a quorum was present on October 21. The legislature spent a full week organizing itself, no doubt trying to assemble enough members to make their proceedings legal while failing to record the call of roll. Their success; or failure remains unknown, depending on one’s sympathies.

John W. Fisher, a soldier in Price’s Missouri State Guard at Neosho wrote in his diary the legislators had a quorum on October 25. Confederate Military History declared, in 1899, “In every particular it [the legislature] complied with the forms of law . . . There was a quorum of each house present . . . The ordinance [secession] was passed strictly in accordance with law and parliamentary usage . . .”3 In the eyes of the United States government, the Neosho legislature was a non-issue. The legislature had been dissolved and the governor removed from office. They had no legal standing and could pass any resolutions they pleased, though it must be remembered the Confederate Congress ultimately accepted its authority.4 Noticeably absent of course, was a vote of the people. Neither the Provisional Government, nor the Neosho Secession Ordinance was approved by Missourians at the ballot box.

The most important task facing the legislature was passing an ordinance of secession. This was accomplished on October 28. The senate listed many constitutional violations committed by Union authorities which made secession necessary:

Men, women and children, in open day and in the public thoroughfares, were shot down and murdered by a brutal soldiery with the connivance of Government officers. Our citizen soldiers were arrested and imprisoned, State property was seized and confiscated without warrant of law, private citizens were insecure in there persons and property; the writ of Habeas Corpus had been nullified and the brave Judges who had attempted to protect by it, the liberties of the citizens had been insulted and threatened and a tyrant president revealing in unencumbered powers had crowned all these acts of unconstitutional aggression by declaring war against a number of the States comprising the former Union.
Claiborne Fox Jackson – October 28, 1861

Union actions made reconciliation impossible, but the legislators were determined to take Missouri into the Confederacy. Jackson declared, “It is in vain to hope for a restoration of amicable relations between Missouri and the other United States of America under the same government, and it is not desirable if it could be accomplished.” By the end of the evening, both the House and Senate passed a bill entitled, “An Act to declaring the political ties heretofore existing between the State of Missouri and the United States of America dissolved.”

They also passed “An Act to provide for the defense of the State of Missouri,” and “An Act ratifying the Constitution for the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America.” The legislature also elected representatives to the Confederate Congress before it adjourned. The paperwork was quickly sent to Richmond, and on November 28, Missouri formally became the twelfth state to enter the Confederacy. Jackson’s efforts had paid off and upon he hearing the news he declared, “God be praised. This is the happiest moment of my life.”5

Contributed by Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

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1. Christopher Phillips, Missouri’s Confederate: Claiborne Fox Jackson and the Creation of Southern Identity in the Border West (Columbia: University of Missouri, 2000), 245.
2. Randy R. McGuire, “Solving The Mystery of the Arsenal Guns,” http://www.civilwarstlouis.com/arsenal/index.htm.
3. Clement A. Evans, ed., Confederate Military History: a Library of Confederate States History, written by Distinguished Men of the South, Vol. IX (Atlanta, Georgia: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899), 69.
4. Arthur Roy Kirkpatrick, “The Admission of Missouri to the Confederacy,” Missouri Historical Review 55 (July 1961): 383-84.
5. Phillips, Missouri’s Confederate, 269.

Introduction
Erasmus Stirman

The Stirman Davidson Collection is a spirited group of letters written to Rebecca Stirman Davidson, of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The bulk of the letters are from her brother Erasmus “Ras” Stirman, while serving in the Civil War. The letters tell the story of Erasmus service in the Confederate Army, his fears and doubts about winning the War, and leading his company of sharpshooters into certain death. Erasmus loved meeting new women, and his letters to Rebecca are full of candor and humor, often telling a larger tale of the social and cultural customs of the era to which he opportunistically flaunted. Erasmus’ successes in the military, coupled with his family’s access to political and societal privilege, combine to tell a wonderful story of upper class life in the Civil War of the Ozarks.

Contributed by the University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections
Manuscript Collection MC 541

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The Thomas Snead collection consists of several letters written about The Fight for Missouri. Most of these letters contain praise for Snead’s accomplishments, and note his ability to write a full and unbiased history of the events that unfolded. The collection includes correspondence from John F. Snyder, R. Ira Holcombe, N. L. Norton, Charles D. Drake, and Franz Sigel. These five authors provide critiques of Snead’s book and in some cases personal narratives of the events. Only six letters from the collection were selected for digitization. Included are the above mentioned correspondences and a single letter from Snead inquiring about a report of Price’s 1861 actions. These letters were selected because of their personal insight to the events and provided enriched context beyond the thank you letters in the collection. The remainder of the collection is available for research at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Museum.

The value of these letters lies not only in the candid dialogue regarding pivotal events in Missouri history, but the perspectives of the authors. Charles Drake wrote that he holds no ill will against those who served in the Confederacy. Yet in 1865 he encouraged the passage of the “Iron Clad Oath,” disenfranchising anyone with ties to the Confederacy. Franz Sigel wrote to Snead in 1886 to clarify statements published in his book. Sigel has been accused of a lack of tactical skill on the battlefield and is known for fleeting retreats when facing overwhelming odds. In his letter, Sigel explains his decisions and actions, providing a detailed description of how he slipped through enemy pursuit after the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. This collection is a valuable compendium to The Fight for Missouri, providing interesting insight to Missouri soldiers and politicians as they reflect on the war 20 years later.

Contributed by Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

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William H. Mengel was born in Hessen Cassel, Germany on Feb. 13, 1838. He came to American with his parents in 1847, and by 1850 Mengel was living in St. Louis with his mother and two sisters. Mengel moved to California, Missouri in 1859 and worked as a clerk in H.C. Finke’s store. California was located in the Little Dixie region of Missouri, which strongly supported the Confederacy and Missouri’s Pro-Secession Governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson. When the Civil War began, men in the central region of the state certainly felt pressure to join the Missouri State Guard. According to his diary and the History of Moniteau County, Missouri, when the California Guards company of the Missouri State Guard left the county for Boonville, Mengel was one of the “non-Jackson men” who were pressed into service as a teamster with MSG.

Mengel was soon released from the Missouri State Guard, and on June 14 joined the Union Army as a first sergeant in Captain Theron M. Rice’s Company G, 1st U.S. Reserve Corps, Missouri Home Guards. Six days later, he received orders to march to Jefferson City and then to Otterville to capture a Rebel camp.

Jackson abandoned Jefferson City in May 1861. He marched south to join forces with Sterling Price, leading the Missouri State Guard. During the summer, Confederate forces scored victories at the Battles of Carthage and Wilson’s Creek. After Wilson’s Creek, on August 10, Price led the Missouri State Guard north towards Lexington, Missouri.

On August 15, Mengel and the 1st Illinois Cavalry also marched towards Lexington and captured three rebels. He was promoted to second lieutenant the following day. Mengel received orders on September 7 to “take Charge of the steam boat Clara Belle and take here to Lexington Mo. The boat being loaded with provisions for troops in Boonville [Missouri] & also Coffee sugar & salt for Lexington.”1

Mengel arrived in Lexington on September 11, and camped with the Union forces near the Masonic College. Price’s Missouri State Guard reached Lexington two days later, and his numbers had swelled by several thousand men. Price laid siege to the town and eventually surrounded the Union soldiers positioned inside the Masonic College. The Union fortified their position, but they quickly exhausted their supplies without means to replenish them. Mengel and the other Union soldiers had little food or water between September 18 and 20, and they were finally forced to surrender on September 20, 1861. During the battle Mengel was wounded when a ball entered 1 1/2 inches below his clavicle, just below the 2nd rib, passing through the lung and lodging near the spine.”2

Mengle was taken prisoner and released on a parole of honor. His parole allowed him to return home, after vowing not to take up arms again. Mengel returned to California, but enlisted as a first sergeant in the 26th Missouri Infantry on October 4, 1861, and was mustered into service on January 9, 1862.3 Several months passed between Mengel’s diary entries. His next entry was on February 16, 1862 as his regiment left St. Louis for Cairo, Illinois. They traveled on the railroad to Charleston, Missouri and skirmished with General Jeff Thompson’s men. He participated in the assault on New Madrid, and noted the Confederate retreat on March 14.4

The Battle of New Madrid was part of a larger campaign to capture Island number 10 located in the Mississippi River near New Madrid. Mengel noted the opening artillery barrages at Island Number 10, March 17. When Island No. 10 finally fell on, April 8, the Confederacy relinquished complete control of the Mississippi River to the Union. The Union Army and Navy could then navigate supplies and men from St. Louis to Vicksburg, Mississippi with little contest.

The 26th Missouri Infantry pushed further into Tennessee as the Union cavalry drove Confederate forces from the area. They reached Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee on April 23 and seven days later marched within two miles of the enemy line at Corinth, Mississippi. The Siege on Corinth lasted from April 29 through June 10, 1862, though bombardment did not really begin until late May. By May 25, the Union line was entrenched on high ground within a few thousand yards of the Confederate fortifications. From that range, Union guns shelled the Confederate defensive earthworks, and the supply base and railroad facilities in Corinth. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard was outnumbered two to one, and was losing men daily to typhoid and dysentery. At a council of war, the Confederate officers concluded that they could not hold the railroad crossover.

Mengel recorded that the 26th Missouri Infantry captured seven pieces of Rebel artillery on May 28, the day before Beauregard and the Rebels evacuated Corinth.5 During the night of May 29, the Confederate army utilizing the railroad retreated from the crossroad town. The Confederate soldiers set up dummy (“Quaker”) guns along the defensive earthworks and kept the camp fires burning. Buglers and drummers remained behind playing through the night as the rest of the command slipped away undetected. When Union patrols entered Corinth on the morning of May 30, they found the Confederates gone.

The 26th Missouri Infantry continued to progress through Mississippi skirmishing with Rebel forces. On September 19, 1862 they entered the Battle of Iuka, Mississippi. Nine men from Company G were killed, wounded or missing.6 The Union spent the following day burying their dead comrades. The 26th Missouri Infantry remained in Mississippi until December of 1862.

Mengel heard rumors of an attack on Holly Springs, and the division marched to Oxford, Mississippi on December 21. Five days later the 26th Missouri Infantry left Mississippi for Memphis. The roads were extremely wet and muddy, which made terrible marching conditions. The men’s boots stuck in the mud and slowed their progress.7 That night, the division slept without tents as the rain poured down on the men. The men finally reached Memphis on December 29; which Mengel wrote the following day, “Kicking up He-l in Memphis.”8 The 26th Missouri Infantry left Memphis on December 31 and marched toards Grand Junction, Tennessee. Mengel stopped writing daily entrees in his diary on December 30, 1862. The 26th Missouri Infantry continued their campaign to the south participating at the Battle of Vicksburg and the Siege of Savannah, eventually the unit was mustered out of service on August 13, 1865.

After the war, Mengel married Elizabeth Meyers on December 24, 1865. The couple had seven children, and Mengel entered the lumber business. Years after the war, Mengel filed for an increase in his pension because of the injuries he sustained during his service in the army. Due to his wounds at Lexington, he had difficulty breathing when lying down and pain when reaching above the head. In early 1917, William Mengel became ill and passed away on February 20.9

Contributed by  Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

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1. William H. Mengel Diary, August 7, 1861. WICR 30024, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri.
2. William H. Mengel, http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~the26thmo/bios/biomengel_william.htm
3. William H. Mengel Diary, Feb. 16, 1862. WICR 30024, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri.
4. William H. Mengel Diary, March 10, 1862. WICR 30024, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri.
5. William H. Mengel Diary, May 30, 1862. WICR 30024, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri.
6. William H. Mengel Diary, September 19, 1862. WICR 30024, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri.
7. William H. Mengel Diary, December 23, 1862. WICR 30024, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri.
8. William H. Mengel Diary, December 27 and 28, 1862. WICR 30024, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri.
9. William H. Mengel, http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~the26thmo/bios/biomengel_william.htm