Comparison between slave records may provide an interesting study on the value of human property and the fluctuation of slave trade as the Civil War progressed. Researchers are encouraged to consult other slave records located in the Community & Conflict collection.

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John Polk Campbell was one of the first pioneers of European ancestry to settle in present day Springfield, Missouri; however, there are discrepancies among the historical records indicating the exact year Campbell ventured into the area. Some historians believe Campbell did not come until 1829 or 1830, while family records indicate he came to southwest Missouri as early as 1825. John Polk Campbell was the fifth child of John Campbell and Matilda Golden Polk. John Polk was born in North Carolina in 1804, and his family moved to Tennessee when he was three years old. When the Campbell boys reached adulthood, they wanted land of their own, and explored outside of well settled Maury County, Tennessee.

In 1825 my grandfather, John Polk Campbell with his brother, Madison, a cousin, and several other young men, went on a prospecting trip to Southwest Missouri, a country then peopled by the Kickapoo and Cherokee Indians.

Louisa (Lulu) Cheairs McKenny Sheppard – A Confederate Girlhood

The settlers encountered a tribe of Kickapoo Indians encamped along the James River. A young boy from the tribe was gravely ill, and John Polk offered to assist with his recovery. He gave the boy simple herbs which eventually lifted the boy’s fever and brought him back to full health. The Kickapoo Chieftain gave John Polk a tract of land to the north of their village near a large spring as a token of his gratitude. According to Lulu, granddaughter of John Polk and Louisa Campbell, John Polk built a small log cabin near the spring and began a small farm.

In 1827, John Polk returned to Tennessee and married Louisa Terrell Cheairs on May 28.1 John and Louisa traveled to Missouri, but lived there for only a short period as Louisa became pregnant with the couple’s first child. John and Louisa questioned giving birth in the rural regions of southwest Missouri, and returned to Tennessee for the birth of Talitha Caroline. According to the family, John Polk left his wife and child in Tennessee and returned to Missouri. In October 1829, John returned to his family to escort them back to their new home.

Before John Polk left Missouri, he hired two men to clear timber for construction of a larger cabin near the spring. He carved his initials into an ash tree to mark the land and location of the new cabin. On his way to Tennessee he stopped at William Fulbright’s house in Rolla. Fulbright and John Polk were friends from Tennessee, and John told him about the ample springs and land in the southwest region of the state. John continued on to Tennessee where he was welcomed by his family and friends. As they prepared to leave, several friends and family members decided to join the Campbells as they set off towards Missouri. The party arrived in Missouri in March 1830, and John Polk found his lumber had been constructed into a cabin near his spring.2

After Campbell left Rolla, Fulbright and his brother-in-law, A. J. Burnett, decided to move to the area. They found the pile of lumber, and presuming the materials to be abandoned, built a cabin. John Polk showed Burnett his initials on the ash tree near the spring which marked his property. Burnett turned over the cabin, and both families worked together to build homes for everyone as they started a community in rural southwest Missouri.

Over the years John Polk built several houses. Each house was vacated for new settlers to inherit. The Campbell’s second child, Mary Francis, was born in 1831 and was the first white female born in the area. The settlers traded with the Native Americans in the region and began to stockpile goods in their homes. In 1833, John Polk donated fifty acres for the construction of a town, with two acres designated as the public square. Lots were sold to new settlers and John Polk began the organization of the county. He appointed his family members as county officials to assist with the establishment of Greene County. By 1835, approximately 500 people lived in Springfield which included five Campbell brothers, one sister and their mother, Matilda Golden Polk Campbell. Springfield was finally incorporated into a town in 1838.3 As Springfield grew John Polk began to explore new territory in Texas and Indian Territory, current day Oklahoma. John Pol died on May 28, 1852 in Oil Springs, Cherokee Nation.4

John Polk and Louisa had ten children: Talitha Caroline, Mary Frances, John Nathaniel, Leonidas Adolphus, Sarah Rush, James Cheairs, Thomas Polk, Samuel Independence, Constantine and William Argyll.5 John Polk outlived two of his children, who succumbed to diseases at an early age. Four of his sons fought in the Civil War, two of which died. The Campbell family supported the Confederacy, and they owned a number of slaves both in Springfield and on their Mississippi plantations near Vicksburg. Lulu was a young girl during the Civil War, but she recorded her memories of the family’s experiences in “A Confederate Girlhood.” After Union forces secured Springfield, the Campbell’s were forced from their home and they sought refuge on family land in Tennessee and Mississippi. After the war, Louisa and Sarah Rush came back to Springfield, but the Springfield they returned to was vastly different from the one they left. Much of the family’s property lost during the war was never regained, and Louisa died trying to rebuild their life.

The Campbell-McCammon Collection consists of letters written between friends and family members from 1861 through 1872. Included is Louisa T. Campbell’s exile order from Springfield, Missouri, several letters reflecting on the war’s impact on the family and letters written by former family slaves.

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1. Charles Sheppard, “Watch Out! The Campbells are Coming.” John Polk Campbell vertical file, Springfield-Greene County Library Center, 1-5.
2. Sheppard, “Watch Out! The Campbells are Coming,” 6.
3. Sheppard, “Watch Out! The Campbells are Coming,” 8-12.
4. “Lucy MCammon’s Home, Built in 1851, Holds Memories of Civil War Visitors” in The Springfield Leader 3 June 1932, 15.
5. “Genealogies of Some Early Springfield Families,” Ozar’kin, vol. 1, no. 1, (Spring 1979), 27.

Introduction
Louisa Cheairs McKenny Sheppard

A Confederate Girlhood, the memoir of Louisa Cheairs McKenny Sheppard, reflects upon the life of a young lady raised in the Ozarks during the Civil War. While her reminiscence is decidedly sentimental, it is a compelling representation of wartime and economic struggles and refugee life. Louisa wrote the memoir many years after the events took place. Researchers are reminded that the validity of the events recorded, as with any memoir, may be embellished and should be thoroughly researched.

Louisa Cheairs McKenny Sheppard, “Lou” or “Lulu,” was the fourth child of Talitha and E.D. McKenny. Talitha died during Louisa’s birth in 1848, and she was raised by her grandmother Louisa “Lucy” Terrell Cheairs. Lulu was twelve when the War began, and she recalled impact it had on Springfield and her family. Eventually, they were forced to flee Springfield, and her family left for uncle’s plantation in Mississippi. Over time the family moved to Arkansas, and did not return to Springfield until after the War. A Confederate Girlhood is a recollection of Louisa’s youthful adventures and a tribute to her beloved grandmother.

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Dear Mother…I am well at present…We have been at work…on the bridge on the…pacific rail road When we got it very near done we received orders to march to this city and now we have orders to go down the river I suppose our distination is Paducah as the rebels is threatening that place…
Louis Stephens letter to his Mother – November 8, 1864

Repairing the bridge was a crucial task for the Union Army, as the Pacific Railroad was vital to the distribution of both men and goods to Southwest Missouri. Without the bridge transportation would halt, severely hindering the Union’s ability to support their men in both Missouri and Arkansas.

Paducah, Kentucky lies east of Cairo, Illinois, on the Ohio River. The Tennessee River runs south out of Paducah to Fort Henry, where the Union Army achieved their first major success in the western theater. Controlling the Rivers, like the railroad, allowed the Union Army to monopolize the distribution of goods and transportation of men throughout the region.

During the fall of 1864, General Sterling Price invaded Missouri with hopes of capturing the arsenal at St. Louis, recruiting men for the Confederate Army and obtaining crucial supplies from Federal forces. During his retreat South, Price engaged Union troops on October 25 in the Battle of Mine Creek, Kansas. John S. Marmaduke was captured at the Battle. Marmaduke was incarcerated in St. Louis for a brief period of time, as the city was a transport hub for Confederate soldiers destined for military prisons in the North.

…the rebels has captured 2 gun boats on the tenissee river prisoners is a coming in every day from prices army…Marmaduke is in this city a prisoner to day is election day and the boys is a going in heavy for Lincoln and Johnson…
Louis Stephens letter to his Mother – November 8, 1864

Stephens also provides a brief glimpse into the support and faith Union Soldiers around him had for Abraham Lincoln. During his time as President, Lincoln was heavily criticism and often disliked. It was not until after his death that he became one of the most popular Presidents in American history. Stephen’s brief letter may not further the understanding of the events that took place in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, but it serves to represent the issues facing Union soldiers in the region and distribution of news.

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Our state is comparatively quiet at the time, we have militia stationed in every County.-but stile there are a great many bushwhackers in the brush and when they find any point unguarded they dash in and robb and scare men and some times kill some of them….
Lucy Garrett letter to her brother, December 12, 1862

Throughout the letter Lucy mentions a Mr. Garrett, which could potentially be her husband. Bushwhackers attacked Mr. Garrett, robbing him and threatening his life simply because he supported the Union. Interestingly, Lucy notes that her brother and Mr. Garrett are Union men, but they owned slaves. Lucy stated, “We had to swap our negrous for land to keep the rebels from taking them….” While only one letter exists from the Garretts, it provides a classic portrait reflecting the experiences families endured while waiting for their loved ones to return home from war.

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Headquarters, General Hospital, Missouri State Guard, Springfield, Missouri

Dear John -

I suppose ere this you have had correct information in regard to the fight so I will say nothing about it. I am not in good health – nor in very good spirits. I can see no end to this infernal war… Springfield presents rather a gloomy appearance, every house nearly has been converted into a Hospital. The wounded are generally well. There has been a great many amputations. I have taken off a good many legs and arms – until I am sick and tired… We get nothing to drink (and) little to eat… Give my love to Mary… (and) respects to… friends and tell my enemies to go to hell…

Yours fraternally, O.A. Williams, Assistant Surgeon

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Harry was a Sergeant Major during the Mexican War, serving in Company F, 1st Missouri Mounted Volunteer Cavalry. He was discharged on May 13, 1848 by order of General Sterling Price. Dyer’s Civil War service records could not be found; however, a Randolph H. Dyer was listed as a Major Quarter Master within a listing of General and Staff Officers, Division and Brigade Staffs and other staff departments within the C.S.A. No other identifying information was listed in the soldier’s records. Isaac was also an officer in the Confederate Army, and their eldest brother, Alexander Dyer, served in the Union Army. Alexander graduated from West Point in 1837, and remained in the Union Army during the war.2

Dyer wrote to one of his sister two days after the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in 1861. His letter offers little detail about his regimental affiliation. Dyer’s account of the Battle is brief, but he provides his perspective of the events that unfolded.

On Saturday last we had one of the most terable battles that ever was fought on this Continent, resulting in the defeat and route of the entire Federal army On Friday evening the order was issued for us to advance on Springfield at 9 ock and our picket guards were drawn in The appearance of rain prevented the execusion of the order
Harry letter to his Sister – Aug 12, 1861

Rain on August 9 prevented the Confederate from advancing on Springfield. Confederate Generals Sterling Price and Benjamin McCulloch worried that the rain would soak their paper cartridges. Union General Nathaniel Lyon and Franz Siegel decided to attack the following morning, despite being outnumbered. The Union forces split into two columns and attacked the encamped rebels along Wilson’s Creek.

…the first thing we knew in the morning they commenced firing on us from three points having entirely surrounded us, such scampering of wagons & rushing to arms was never seen…
Harry letter to his Sister – Aug 12, 1861

Despite the surprise attack, the Confederate troops regrouped and were able to repel the Union advance. “Amongst the Killed was Missouris great enemy: Genl Lyon: So completely were they routed, the could not take time to bury him…” Lyon was killed during the battle, and he became the first General to die in the American Civil War. Harry referred to Lyon as Missouri’s great enemy, perhaps due to Lyon’s reputation from the Camp Jackson affair, his declaration of war at the Planter House in St. Louis, and his charge across Missouri to capture the State Capitol at Jefferson City. Wilson’s Creek became a strong moral victory for the Confederacy, which added to their support and momentum in Missouri.

I am happy to say that our neighbors of Kansas suffered most terably & many of them are among the prisoners, who number some four or five hundred. I sincerly hope that after their late defeat in Va & this one here that the people of the north may take the sober second thoughts & that none of us will ever be called on to witness another such a day.
Harry letter to his Sister – Aug 12, 1861

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1. James Taylor Jr., “Randolph Harrison Dyer” 31 October 1960. Wilson’s Creek, Battle, of, 1861 – Personal Narratives vertical file, Springfield-Greene County Library Center.
2. “It Was a ‘Terable’ Battle…” 13 November 1960 Springfield News & Leader, D2.; Taylor, “Randolph Harrison Dyer.”

On Monday June 3, 1861, three slaves ran away from their owners in Springfield, Missouri. G. P. Shackelford, Louisa Campbell and H. Fulbright filed a joint runaway announcement describing the men.

Wash a boy about five feet Ten inches high rather heavy built weighing some 160 lbs and of light Copper collar and has rather heavy hair inclined to be bushy. Has rather a down look and is slow spoken but has good sence Had on when lift common clothes and is some thirty years old

Henry about five feet 4 or 5 inches high Dark copper color heavy set Twenty two years old Had on when left dark pants Janes coat & black hat

Luke a boy some six feet high black color and is about Twenty six years old

Runaway Slave Announcement – June 3, 1861

The announcement appears to be designed for publication in a Springfield, Missouri newspaper; however, the description provides more detail than is commonly found in a traditional runaway handbill. The owners offered a “liberal reward” for the apprehension and delivery of the three slaves.

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When his father left for California, Rountree was sent to live with his grandfather in Springfield. William’s grandfather, Joseph Rountree, was one of the earliest settlers to Greene County. Joseph was a former school teacher, and he helped build the first school in the area.3 William attended school in Springfield, noting the uniqueness of his education. “There were no public schools then. They were what was called “subscription” schools and a teacher was employed by the community. The schools were only for the fall and winter months and you were supposed to learn the three “R’s”, Readin, Ritin, and Rithmetic.”4

William’s grandmother was permanently disabled from a buggy accident, thus his time away from school was spent on the family farm. William was given many chores and various duties to assist managing the farm. His grandfather owned two slaves who helped work the land and tend the home. Ozarks agriculture in the mid-1800s, was based on producing self-sustaining crops which fed the settlers and their livestock. The region had relatively few slaves, and those who were slave owners generally only had one or two to help with the farm and house work. The market for agricultural “cash crops” was available, but until the arrival of the railroad following the Civil War, most famers cultivated what they could consume or sell locally. Rountree described his family’s self-sufficient farm, “We were as nearly a self-contained people as it was possible to produce. We had plenty of all the essentials of living, but it was produced on the farm by our own efforts. As to money, we had very little. The crops were corn, wheat, flax, cattle, mules, sheep, and hogs. From the wool of the sheep and from the flax was made what clothing we wore.”5

Life continued rather normally for Rountree until the 1860 presidential election. Tensions in the country mounted over the issue of slavery and as Rountree recalled many southern states threatened to secede from the Union if Abraham Lincoln won the election. Roundtree and his fellow classmates never dreamed that Lincoln would actually win the election and they debated the issue in the classroom.6 Southern fireaters increased their secession rhetoric after Lincoln’s election. South Carolina became the first state to take the momentous step when it passed an Ordinance of Secession on December 20, 1860. Six weeks later, another six Southern states voted to secede. Secession conventions were called across the border-states, and Missouri’s was held three weeks after Lincoln’s inauguration. Days after the attack on Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for militia volunteers to confront the rebellion. Rountree noted Missouri became engaged in the conflict after “Mr. Lincoln called for 75,000 troops, and some thought that the war would soon be over and the states brought back into the Union. In our State of Missouri, Clark Jackson, the Governor, and the Secession Party tried to make the state secede but were prevented by the preponderance of Union men and Missouri remained loyal, but in doing so made herself the battleground for four long years.”7 Over 1,100 battles and skirmishes were fought during the Civil War in Missouri. Only Virginia and Tennessee had more engagements. 8

Rountree cited the first act of war in Springfield was when a group of men hoisted the Rebel flag over the courthouse on June 11, 1861. Tensions were high and many witnesses to the event feared there would be bloodshed right in the middle of the square, luckily no violence occurred.9 On the early morning August 10, 1861 Federal troops under Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon marched from Springfield to engage Confederate troops camped along Wilson Creek 10 miles outside of town. The Battle waged only a few miles from the Rountree farm, which ran along the Wilson Creek. “All day long we listened to the cannons roar and the continual crash of musketry.”10 The outnumbered Union Army split its force into two columns and attacked the encampment from two positions. Eventually, General Sterling Price and Benjamin McCulloch rallied their forces and drove the Union troops from the battlefield. Lyon was killed during the engagement. Rountree noted the battle was Missouri’s, “biggest battle of the war but not our last as we had that same year, on October 25th, the famous charge of Fremont’s body guard, commanded by Major Zagona, and then again, January 8th, 1863, Marmauke’s attack on Springfield.”11

As the War waged, food became scarce as more soldiers marched into the region. Both the Union and Confederate armies and bands of bushwhackers depleted the food resources in the country and took the crops and livestock of local farmers. William’s uncle, Lucius Rountree, lived on a farm nearby on Mt. Vernon Road and had all of his horses and mules taken either by the Rebels or Union army.12 Rountree and his grandfather had to become very resourceful and began hiding away food to help sustain them through the difficult time.

What little we had left we proceeded to hide away and it was very little indeed. In my grandfather’s house was an immense stone chimney between the dining room and the kitchen. On the other side of the dining room was a built-in cupboard. Between the cupboard wall and the kitchen wall was a vacant space. The only way to reach this space was to go through a small trap door in the ceiling of the passageway and clamber over the joists of the dining room. We decided to use this well, or vacant space, to hide what food we had left. I made a ladder to go down into this space, and the old negroes and grandfather handed me the stuff and we stored it away. It consisted of some bacon and hams, cornmeal, dried beans, fried fruit, and our extra clothing and bed clothes.” In the kitchen and dining room were two big fireplaces. The one in the dining room was about four feet wide. The one in the kitchen was six feet wide. Soon we had two Rebel regiments on each side of the farm, and from that time on the house was full of soldiers from morning to night, crowding us into the background as the enjoyed the warmth of those big fires more than their camp fires. We had only two meals a day.
William Rountree Autobiography, pg 10

Rountree and his grandfather along with those who decided to remain in the area suffered many hardships until February 1862 when Union General Curtis came to Springfield and drove the Rebels to Arkansas. The family was once again able to use a small steam mill that had been occupied by the Rebels to make flour for bread, which helped tide them over until they had a crop in the fall. While the Union now had control of Springfield, it did not mean that there was peace and harmony in the area by any means. “Curtis followed the Rebels on into northern Arkansas and fought the great battle of Pea Ridge and completely whipped and scattered the Rebel Army west of the Mississippi. From that time on we were not bothered by Rebels except on January 8th, 1863. Marmaduke, with a large raiding force, attacked Springfield and an all-day battle was fought in which the Rebels were defeated. The Rebel Army broke up into guerrilla bands, and there was constant raiding all over Missouri and Arkansas. Many of these band were nothing more than bands of thieves, robbers, and murderers, like the Quantral band in which Jesse and Frank James were members. It got so no one was safe in the country out on the farms away from protection of the army, as many were robbed or murdered almost in sight of the army posts. Any man was safer in the army than anywhere in the country.”13 Ironically, because of their lawlessness, many bands became an enemy to both Union and Confederate troops. What had started with such promise, ended with wholesale plundering that forced most civilians off of their land.14

On December 1, 1864, Rountree enlisted in the Union army. His uncle, Lucius Rountree, commanded the newly organized 14th Missouri Cavalry. The regiment consisted mostly of the 8th Missouri Cavalry, but the regiment enlisted soldiers from November 30, 1864 to May 13, 1865 in Springfield and St. Louis. Rountree was sixteen years old when he enlisted, but men were so scarce that no one questioned his age. An unknown number of soldiers—probably around five percent— served in the war under the age of eighteen.15 In 1861, President Lincoln announced that boys under eighteen could enlist only with their parents’ consent. The next year, he prohibited any enlistment of those under eighteen. Heavy casualties led recruiting officers to look the other way when underage boys tried to enlist. The 14th Missouri Cavalry mostly patrolled along the Missouri-Arkansas border, attempting to prevent guerrilla activity, but from June to November 1865 the regiment was assigned to frontier duty on the plains.16 Rountree recalled, “The Indians were very bad in ’64 and ’65 attacking settlers in Kansas and the Overland Stages all over the West. At that time there was no railroad west of Topeka, Kansas. All freighting was done by great trains of “prairie schooners” or large covered wagons draw by six or eight head of oxen. They were just starting to build, from Topeka, the Denver branch of the Union Pacific and the Santa Fe along the Arkansas River. We were sent out there to guard the workmen building the road and also guard over the Overland Stages running to Denver and Santa Fe.”17

After the war ended, Rountree applied to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. After failing the entrance examination, he returned to Springfield where he served as a clerk for the firms of Massey, McAdams & Co. and Keet, Massey & Co.18 Various sections of Springfield were destroyed during the war, as the town was heavily contested and changed hands several times. He concluded his autobiography by describing the reconstruction of Springfield in 1865 stating, “There had been no building completely destroyed, but the country was almost denuded of foods and feeds. The thousands of soldiers that had swarmed Southwest Missouri had seen the beautiful prairies that stretched westward from Springfield to the Kansas line, and we began to have an influx of settlers to take up land and make homes. The money they brought with them and spent made business good and recovery rapid, and soon we were almost back to normal.”19 Eventually, Rountree headed west like his father and settled with his family in Wyoming as a farmer.

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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), 116.
2. William Rountree Autobiogrpahy, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
3. “Joseph Rountree,” Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, Vol. V., 1901, pg 404.
4. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
5. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
6. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
7. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
8. Frederick H. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, vol 1 (Dayton, Ohio: Morningside Press, 1994), 797 – 815.
9. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
10. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
11. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
12. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
13. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
14. Robert R. Mackey, The Uncivil War: Irregular Warfare in the Upper South, 1861-1865 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004), 49.
15. Mintz, S. (2007).Child Soldiers. Digital History. Retrieved 29 October 2010 from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/children_civilwar/child_soldiers.cfm
16. “14th Regiment of the Missouri Cavalry,” National Parks Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Systems, http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm
17. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County pg 12.
18. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.
19. William Rountree Autobiography, c.a. 1932. Rountree Collection. History Museum for Springfield-Greene County.