Three reports outlining use, value and transfer of equipment for the 16th Missouri Cavalry. The regiment was organized from the 6th Enrolled Missouri Militia and attached to the District of Southwest Missouri. They scouted and patrolled routes across the Ozarks.
On May 7, 1856, John and Joseph McMahan, administers of James McMahan’s estate in Wright County, sold an African American slave named Henry to Kindred Rose, a resident of Greene County. Rose purchased the nineteen year old slave for $2,025. The McMahan’s claimed Henry to be “sound, sensible, healthy and a slave for life.”
The 1871 Benton County tax record book lists claims of liberated civilian property during the Civil War. These claims provide descriptions of goods taken, property value, accused soldier and regiment, oaths of loyalty and eyewitness testimonies supporting the claim. This collection provides valuable information about living conditions and market values in the Ozarks, and insight to the relationship between soldiers and civilians during the War.
William Patton, quartermaster in the 35th Arkansas Infantry, CSA, kept this ledger recording supplies distributed to soldiers. Each page lists a soldier’s name, rank and equipment details. Patton documented purchase dates, quantity and price.
The Chadwell Leavenworth Collection comprises a series of letters between family members. Gideon and Lucinda Chadwell’s son, Alexander, served in the Missouri State Guard and later in the 2nd Missouri Cavalry (CS). His letters home tell of his service in the military. Alexander had three sisters, Nancy Amanda, Martha and Mary Emma. The family resided in the Ste. Genevieve area. Although Alexander fought for the Confederacy, the family remained in correspondence with their extended Union sympathetic family in Illinois.
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 was twelve when the War began, and she recalled the impacted it had on Springfield. Her family eventually fled Missouri for her 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.
This bill of sale lists supplies and services purchased from Joseph Engle. Thomas Franklin signed the bill, and he is listed as a Captain in the Dallas County Home Guard in the Missouri State Archives’ Solders’ Records database. Engle charged $2.50 a day for shipping goods on a two horse wagon. This document warrants further investigation into shipping charges during the War. It would be interesting to compare shipping rates between counties with varying numbers of guerrilla attacks. The bill is dated August 10, 1861 the same day as the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Connections between the purchase of these supplies and the Battle is unlikely, as the Dallas County Home Guard probably did not know the Battle was taking place. This document adds to the understanding of economic conditions in the Ozarks during the War.
Ephraim Fauquier enrolled as a Private in Company “C”, 3rd Regiment, Iowa Calvary Volunteers on September 2, 1861 at Keokuk, Iowa, for three years service. His letters to his wife Margaret and their children – Charles, Lizzie and Thomas – span his service in the Union Army, across the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks.
In September 1863, James Morris wrote his wife, Sarah, while camp at Little Rock, Arkansas. Morris served in an unknown Confederate regiment, while his wife remained at their home in Vernon County, Missouri. Morris wrote about the deaths of family and friends and urged Sarah to send their children to school.
The Mack Collection offers valuable insight into the lives of Union sympathizers in the Ozarks. In many ways, their experiences are typical of Southern Unionists, though their home in Missouri placed them squarely in a border region. The war was bitter and personal for the Mack family. Their experiences as refugees and those who fighting guerrillas in the 1st Arkansas Cavalry (U.S.) hardened their feelings towards Confederate sympathizers. As Radical Republicans, the Macks entered the political arena only to find themselves at odds with fellow Unionists.
Regrettably, the Mack collection contains only half of the correspondence between the family members. The surviving letters were written to those serving in the army. While the soldier’s responses are missing, the existing letters provide researchers with a unique perspective on the civilian experience in southwest Missouri.
On January 31, 1861, John Boone wrote Albert Nelson about the value of land in Vernon County, Missouri. Nelson, a Tennessee resident, inquired about selling his land in Missouri, but Boone advised against any transaction. He stated the extreme “hard times” caused a depreciation of value in all property and he could not sell his land for a profit.
John Harvey Doran, a carpenter in Springfield, Missouri kept a journal of his daily activities from August 13, 1864 through September 24, 1865. Doran had steady business building shelves, coffins, framing houses, and other general construction jobs. The journal entries include business notes, news from family and friends, and information about Doran’s brief service in the Enrolled Missouri Militia.
John H. Utz served under General Sterling Price, and participated in the Battles of Lexington and Pea Ridge. Utz returned home after his “six months service” was up, and took the oath of allegiance to the Union sometime in 1862. He married Sarah Elizabeth (“Sallie”) Duncan in February 1863, and their first child was born in July 1864. In the fall of 1864, Utz attempted to join Sterling Price in his expedition through Missouri, which resulted in his imprisonment.
The John H. Utz collection is a series of sixty plus letters compiled by his descendents. The letters were self-published by the family in Biographical Sketches of the Bartlett Marshall Duncan and Henry Utz Families. Very limited copies of the book are available to the public, and the letters in the collection are reproduced as they were printed in the book. This collection depicts Utz experiences as a prisoner of war from 1864 through 1865
John W. Fisher’s diary documents his duties in the Missouri State Guard from mid October, 1861, through the first week of January, 1862. Fisher was born in Virginia, and lived in Westport, Missouri prior to the War. Fisher served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Missouri State Guard. The diary cites Fisher’s movement through Missouri and Indian Territory. Fisher survived the war, ending his days in a Confederate Veterans home in Harrisonburg, Missouri, in 1910.
The Minos Miller letters are a collection of correspondence written by Miller to his mother, Martha Hornaday, in Indiana. Miller served in the 36th Iowa Infantry, and his letters home describe the strange and often life altering events that he experiences in the Arkansas. Stationed at Helen, Miller resigned from the 36th Iowa Infantry, and accepted a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd Arkansas Infantry (African Descent). He wrote his mother about the condition and development of the African American soldiers. Miller participated in the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863, but spent the remainder of the war in a support capacity.
The Thomas R. Livingston Collection consists of three civil law suits related to the estate of the notorious Confederate soldier. These suits include depositions from several of Livingston’s friends and family members. Livingston and his band of Confederates conducted raids throughout the Ozarks to contest the Union’s control of the region. Livingston was known for committing acts of arson, murder, robbery, and disrupting Union supply lines. His ruthless tactics outraged Union officials and civilians. Before the War, Livingston had been a successful and prominent business man. He owned a general store, hotel, saloon, real estate in three counties, and actively traded livestock. His assets were sought as restitution for his actions.