In 1871, Benton County, Arkansas provided civilians with the opportunity to places grievances against the United State Army. The civilians provided a description, amount, and value of the property taken by Union Soldiers. Many claims list multiple witnesses attesting to the specifics of the theft and the names and affiliations of the soldiers. Oaths of loyalty accompany the claims attesting to the civilian’s loyalty to the Union.

The records include notation indicating whether the claim was paid or rejected. Not all of the claims were paid, and it is uncertain why some of the claims were rejected. Perhaps plaintiffs were Confederates seeking monetary revenge on the Union, or the appraisal value of the property was too high. Regardless, 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 Civil War.

Contributed by the Benton County Archives

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Introduction
1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry

The 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry was one of the earliest African-American regiments organized during the Civil War. This regimental order book documents correspondences, general orders and special orders between 1863 and 1864. During this period the 1st Kansas Colored was stationed in southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, western Arkansas and Indian Territory, Oklahoma.

In October 1862, soldiers from the regiment engaged Rebel troops at the Battle of Island Mound in Bates County, MO. This skirmish earned them the distinction of the first African-American troops from a northern state to see action as soldiers. The 1st Kansas Colored became seasoned veterans by the end of the war, participating in several battles and engagements. On December 13, 1864, the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry was re-designated as the 79th U.S. Colored Troops.

Original Documents Retained at the National Archives and Records Administration.

Photocopies Contributed by Mine Creek Battlefield, Kansas State Historic Site.

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Amanda and family lived in Jasper County, Missouri before the war. They moved to Missouri sometime before 1855, and owned a small amount of land, which Austin cultivated. In early August 1861, Austin and his brother-in-law James McLahlan were along the head of Little North Fork in Barton County, Missouri. The 26 defendants surrounded the men and took them prisoner. The men were held for twenty hours against their will, before they were brought onto John R. Cabiness’ land, a Union man who lived in Jasper County. Austin asked one of the defendants, John R Chenault, to let him go. Chenault refused stating, “they would make an example of him.” The men threw a rope over a tree branch a half mile from Cabiness’ home and placed a noose around Austin’s neck. Two men pulled on the rope lifting Austin from the ground, while the rest of the party held the rope until he was dead. James was six feet from his sister’s brother when he died.4

Since the suit included numerous defendants, the proceedings were very long and tedious. All of the defendants proclaimed their innocence and believed the case should be dismissed for a various reasons which included the, “Damages for which said action is brought did not arise from the Commission of a felony or misdemeanor done by this Defendant and Because there is no revenue Stamp affixed to the original papers and process filed in said suit.”5

After a change in venue, the testimony of the individuals involved in the case were submitted to the court. One of the defendants, William Board explained that he could not have partaken in the murder because he was not even in the town when it occurred. While several witnesses testified on the behalf of the defendants there were also witnesses for the plaintiff, including the testimony of James McLahlan and Nelson Knight. Knight was taken prisoner by the Defendants in 1862. At that time John Newman, one of the defendants, boasted, “We have hung Austin Ireland a brother-in law of that damned Black republican James McLahlan’s.”6

Through the graphic testimonies of the witnesses, Amanda Ireland and her attorney’s learned that Austin’s political affiliation was not the only reason why he was murdered. Austin was killed in retaliation for the killing of the defendant’s friend, a Mr. Broom. Allegedly, Austin admitted to the men before he was hung that he stood guard as others robbed Broom’s store, during which encounter Broom was killed. The 26 defendants held a mock trial, with Chenault acting as the judge, and found Austin “guilty.”7

In July 1865, Abraham Ireland, Austin’s Uncle also filed a lawsuit against several of the same defendants. He claimed the men stole and damaged his property and set fire to his farm. Abraham sought damages up to ten thousand dollars, claiming the men stole:

One Horse saddle and bridle of the value of One Hundred and Fifty Dollars One other horse a stallion of the value of Two hundred Dollars one Rifle gun of the value of Twenty Dollars Ten head of Cattle of the value of Two Hundred Dollars one other horse of the value of Fifty Dollars and also a large amount of wheat corn and Rye & Hay of the value of Two Hundred Dollars also about one Hundred head of hogs there being not less than one hundred head of hogs of the value of Three Hundred Dollars.
Abraham Ireland, Order of Publication. 25 Jul. 1865

As in the Amanda Ireland case, the men denied any wrongdoing and submitted their petitions to dismiss the suit as quickly as possible. Due to the vicious nature and predominance of the warfare in region, many of the county court rooms were filled with civilian claims of restitution. The final verdict of both the Amanda Ireland and Abraham Ireland case is unknown; however, the fact that many of the defendants were charged in multiple crimes throughout the region did not bode well for their claims of innocence. Old animosities and resentments were not forgotten in the post-war years, and these court cases represent the extreme violence that plagued the countryside.

Contributed by the Greene County Archives and Records Center

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1. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
2. Austin Ireland, 1860 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Center Creek, Jasper, Missouri; Roll: M653_624; Page: 901; Image: 361; Family History Library Film: 803624.
3. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
4. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
5. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
6. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
7. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.

Dr. Albert Badger was among the early Caucasian settlers in Vernon County, Missouri. The first settlers came to the area in 1823, but by 1840 there were only 35 or 40 families living in the County.1 Badger was born in 1821 in Windham County, Connecticut. His father, Albert, died when he was only four and a half years old. Young Albert was raised by his uncle, until he turned 14. In 1835, Albert traveled with his grandfather to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend school. Five years later, he sailed down the Ohio River to Louisiana, where he eventually became interested in medicine and attended the New Orleans Medical College. After graduation, Badger began his voyage north. In 1844, he traveled up the Mississippi River and across to Osceola, Missouri. He purchased a land claim for $30 dollars in present day Vernon County and became the namesake of Badger Township. Badger built the first “modern” house in the area. It featured glass windows, a nailed-on roof, three large rooms, a hallway and a porch. Other settlers only had simple cabins with wooden widows on leather hinges.2

On a visit to Blue Mound Township, Albert met Col. Anselmn Halley, namesake of Halley’s Bluffs, and his daughter Sarah Halley. Albert and Sarah married in 1853, and through the course of their lives had eight children. Albert practiced medicine in Vernon County, but the area’s small population made it difficult for that to be his only source of income. Albert purchased 2,200 acres of land for cultivation, and had a large population of livestock and at least one slave.3 Before 1861, Albert’s mother, Asenath Badger, traveled from the east coast to live with Albert and Sarah in their Vernon County home. She assisted Sarah with raising and educating the children, as there were no schools available at the time. Albert’s brother, Oscar Badger, was a Captain in the US Navy, and stationed on the east coast. Oscar owned land next to Albert’s estate, and hired men to take care of the property. In late 1860, Oscar wrote Albert from Baltimore about the volatile political climate and the outbreak of war.

Dear Brother: I have had it in contemplation to write to you for some weeks past, but put it off in hopes I should be able to surprise you by a visit this Fall, but I have been ordered to duty at this station, which will keep me here for some time. I shall however see you all in the Spring. I hope. I consider my Commission in the Navy of no great value at present, as from the complexion of affairs in the political horizon, the Country will fall into anarcy and dissolution of its several members before many months roll around. I may threfore be forced to seek some other occupation, which will probably be farming alongside of you on my land.

Oscar Badger letter to Albert Badger – Oct. 13, 1860

Oscar’s letter suggests he was a Southern sympathizer. Presumably he meant to resign from the navy if hostilities broke out. Though we have no evidence for why, Oscar definitely changed his mind. He remained in the navy and participated in the 1863 Union Campaign to capture Charleston, South Carolina. During the assault on Fort Sumter, he was hit in the leg by shrapnel which left him with a noticeable limp. Oscar eventually rose through the ranks to Commodore.

Back in Vernon County, Albert chose the Southern cause. Carrying his double-barrel shotgun from home, Albert enlisted in the 7th Missouri Cavalry, 8th Division, Missouri State Guard on June 1, 1861. Albert was commissioned as a Lieutenant and served under Confederate General Sterling Price at the Battles of Carthage and Wilson’s Creek. At the Battle of Carthage, he was shot through the leg with a bullet, and like his brother, walked with a limp for the rest of his life. He went on to fight at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek on August 10, 1861. Albert left the Missouri State Guard on August 25, 1861. His shotgun, valued at $20, was sold to William Halley before he and the MSG marched north to Lexington, Missouri.4

The historical records documenting Albert’s actions between the fall of 1861 and beginning of 1864 are vague. Presumably, Albert returned home after he left the Missouri State Guard in late August 1861. Some accounts indicate Albert was harassed by Jayhawkers, and he fled his home in fear of his life. Other reports state he simply moved to St. Louis. The collection contains two letters written during that interim period, but neither provides Albert’s location at the time. In the summer of 1863 Albert’s father-in-law left his home in Vernon County and moved to Calhoun, Missouri. He wrote Albert shortly after General Thomas Ewing issued General Order No. 11, forcing civilians to evacuate their homes in Bates, Cass, Jackson and parts of Vernon County Missouri.

Dear Albert,

I received your letter the 6th. The times in Johnson County is bad. The soldiers have burned five houses in that County. Henry County is peace. In the last of August some eight or ten Bushwhackers paid me a visit. After searching the house some time, they asked my name and what I was. I told them “Union” they thought it strange. They behaved very well and said they would not take anything of mine. There are a great many people moving from the counties west. Some of them are in destitute condition. It is a bad order. I am told it does not enclude Vernon County, if it does, what will Sarah & the children do.

Anselm Hailey letter to Albert Badger – Sep. 14, 1863

While Order #11 included Vernon County, it was only the northern half, thus, Sarah, the children and Albert’s mother remained on their farm. Unfortunately, Asenath Badger passed away in 1864.

Meanwhile, Albert probably maintained correspondence with his brother Oscar, letters which unfortunately have not survived. Albert reappears in the historical records at Mound City, Illinois, working as a Chief Clerk in the Naval Ordnance Department. The decision was likely encouraged by Oscar, but Albert’s true motivation is unknown. Mound City is located approximately seven miles north of Cairo, IL along the Ohio River. Three of the Union’s “City Class” ironclad gunboats – U.S.S. Cairo, U.S.S. Cincinnati and U.S.S. Mound City – were built at Mound City. The small town eventually became the location of a Union General Hospital, and by April 1862 a spur of the Illinois Central Railroad ran into the city. Troops and supplies traveled by train to Mound City and then were transferred by ship along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. In November 1863, the Navy Department established Mound City as the primary ordnance depot for the Mississippi Squadron. Ordnance shipments distributed through Mound City, were at some point overseen by Albert.

Head Quarters, Department of the Missouri, Saint Louis,

The Conductor of the first train passing Pana, Ills. Central RailRoad for Mound City, after 5 O’Clock tomorrow morning, will attach three cars of Orinance Stores, under charge of Mr [Albert] Badger. It being absolutely necessary that the stores reach Cairo to-morrow

By order of Major Genl William S. Rosecrans – Mar. 29, 1864

The experiences of Oscar and Albert are fascinating but difficult to explain. Oscar seemed concerned by the impeding crisis, yet he remained in the Union navy. Albert actually fought alongside Confederate soldiers in the Missouri State Guard, but ended the war working on Union ships. Without other documents, students and historians are left to speculate on why these men acted as they did.

Like most families in the Ozarks, the war took a heavy toll on Sarah. With Albert away, nearly all of their livestock was stolen by bushwhackers who frequently raided their home for food and clothing. Sarah was left with a blind horse and an ox, which she used to drive a cart to Fort Scott, Kansas for supplies. Albert commended Sarah for her courage and dedication to the family, as she assumed control over their estate, farm and family affairs while Albert was gone.

You had better hire a boy or man, probably a man one or two days. Mr Eidson if possible to take some loose rails, & fix up your Field & Orchard & Garden fence, you might take some of the rails from the fence round the pasture if you could do no better. It can be fixed temporally enough to stop out hogs & cattle in a coupple of days. Call on Mr Eidson & he will do it, and credit his note. Also call on him at any time for money, giving him a few days notice & he will get it. Or for any thing else you may want. You have been a good, brave woman, to stay there as long as you have, & now nearly at the end of trouble, dont despare.

Albert Badger letter to Sarah Badger – Aug. 20, 1864

Albert was discharged at the close of the war. Family records indicate he worked 18 months in Mound City. The Badger family lost approximately $10,000 in property during the war, some of which was taken by Union soldiers. He wrote the Quartermaster General in 1874, “I also lost… Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Corn, Oats, Hay &c: taken by U. States Troops for the use of the U.S. and found myself when discharged from service at the close of the war, made poor, by the very Government, I had so faithfully Served.”5 Albert requested compensation for the lost property, and it is unknown if he received any type of payment. Albert died on February 19, 1885, after leading a successful life. He helped establish Vernon County, and served as the first County Administrator, its first Justice of the Peace and first Probate Judge. He served both the Confederacy and the Union, and was a loving family man.

This collection consists of fourteen documents spanning from 1852 through 1874, related to Albert Badger and his family. It comprises of material contributed from the Bushwhacker Museum and Jail and Missouri State University’s Special Collections. The MSU documents are part of the Freeman Barrows Collection. Freeman’s son, John N. Barrows, married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Badger, Albert’s daughter. Correspondence between John and Lizzie are available at MSU.

Contributed by the The Bushwhacker Museum and Jail and Missouri State University, Special Collections and Archives

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1. “County named for Col. Vernon,” The Nevada (Mo.) Herald, 29 June 1980, pg. 4C.
2. “Historic Houses of Vernon County” in Albert Badger’s Vertical File, 09.56.273.3, Bushwhacker Museum, Nevada, Missouri.
3. In an 1874 letter to the US Quartermaster, Albert claimed he took a slave into the service with him. He lost the slave while in the service and asked the Quartermaster for compensation. Albert Badger. Letter to US Quartermaster. Jul. 12, 1874. Barrows Family Collection, M31, Special Collections, Missouri State University, Springfield
4. Ordance Department, Missouri State Guard. Letter to Albert Badger. ca. Aug. 25, 1861. Barrows Family Collection, M31, Special Collections, Missouri State University, Springfield.
5. Albert Badger. Letter to US Quartermaster. Jul. 12, 1874.

Due to the nature of the warfare in region, many of the country court rooms were filled with civilian claims of restitution. On November 17, 1864 Alvis Sheppard filed a lawsuit against George Messick and Harvey McCune. He claimed that the men illegally imprisoned him for twenty four hours. According to Sheppard the men formed a “court” and tried him on the account of being disloyal to the Confederate States of America. Messick and McCune denounced Sheppard as a “black republican” and abused him will he was detained.

Messick and McCune were no strangers to the legal system as they had been sued several times before for similar crimes mentioned in the Sheppard Case.1 However, these gentlemen were very clever and knew how to manipulate the tattered legal system to their advantage, which is why they were able to evade prosecution numerous times. The first tactic they implored was requesting a change of venue, since they were not citizens of Missouri, but claimed to residents of Red River County, Texas. and therefore would not be able to receive a fair and unbiased trial. The case was moved to the Greene County 14th Judicial Circuit Court.2

Messick and McCune had a half a dozen witnesses submit depositions saying that they had not imprisoned Mr. Sheppard and that in fact, Mr. Sheppard himself had stated how lucky he was that he had not been captured. Messick’s brother testified that on “the latter part of August, 1861 him and his brother, the defendant had stopped at plaintiff, Shepherd’s house in Lawrence County, Missouri; and during the conversation something was said about our being lucky in not having been taken prisoner, when Shepherd went on to state that he had also never been a prisoner; but that he had been afraid one time that he would be imprisoned; and that it was when he went to see Capt. Baker to get his mare which had been captured some time before. He said thought that he was mistaken; that Captain Baker treated him like a gentleman, and that he was not imprisoned.”3

Nearly an identical story was given by several other witnesses, including the testimony of a woman, Mrs. Mary F. Bottom. Messick and McCune knew that the witnesses they had selected would support their defense because they were close friends who all supported the Southern cause. The actual transgressions brought to court were often just pretenses of a deeper source of resentment to a fellow neighbor who had a differing political view. Old animosities and resentments were not forgotten in the post-war years. The violent struggle between jayhawkers and bushwhackers left a bitter legacy throughout the Ozarks.

The results of the case are unknown and the credibility of all those involved in the case are questionable; which make deciphering the events that transpired in August of 1861 difficult to know with absolute certainty.

Contributed by the Greene County Archives and Records Center

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1. McCune, Harvey T.; Hagler, John; Messick, George W, Missouri State Archives: Missouri Judicial Records, 1867, accessed on October 26, 2010, http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/stlprobate/images.asp?id=30584&party=McCune%2C+Harvey+T.%3B+Hagler%2C+John%3B+Messick%2C+George+W&case=&date=1867&reel=c53606&debugMode=false&numberMarked=0#
2. Alvis C. Sheppard vs. George W. Messick and Harvey T. McCune. CW 39, Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
3. Alvis C. Sheppard vs. George W. Messick and Harvey T. McCune. CW 39, Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.

The civil suits stemmed from the destruction of the mill, machinery, stored goods, and the three homes owned by the Bowers. The importance of regional grist mills to rural Ozarks communities cannot be overstated. Mills served myriad functions to the regional economy, and their preservation and continued operation was important to maintain a sense of hopefulness and security in the Ozarks during the War.

The first Bowers suit began on January 23, 1864, with the plaintiffs asking for roughly $32,000 in damages from 47 defendants. Depositions failed to produce a confession, and instead served to absolve certain defendants of association with the alleged crime. Defendant, Jess Newton Gotcher, noted the importance of the mill to his family living in the area, as evidence of his innocence.

(I) had no hand in it and (am) not guilty of any participation in the same (I am) opposed as a soldier and officer the robbing of private citizens non combatants and destruction of private property (I) regretted to hear of the plaintiffs mill being destroyed by any one as (my) Father lived in the neighborhood and depended on the mill for his breadstuff and (I) had…lived near the mill and was acquainted with the plaintiffs and regarded them as (my) personal friends though differing politically and (I) had no inclination to injure the plffs had (I) been present (I) would prevented so far as lay in(my)s power and injury to the person as property of the plaintiffs…
Deposition of Jesse Newton Gotcher, Paris, Texas, October 25, 1866

On October 18, 1865, the Bowers brought suit against Henry “Harvey” T. McCune for the destruction of their property. McCune’s son, Thomas, was a defendant in the first trial. The second suit did not proceed quickly, but it did produce results. Despite McCune’s death during the trial, the deposition continued, and the Bowers finally received a confession in 1869.

(I) was in Benton County Arkansas in September, 1863, and in September about the last of September 1863 (I) left Benton County with Gen Shelby’s Command, and proceeded to the State of Missouri and reached Lawrence County in the State of Missouri on or about the fifth day of October 1863, and…(I) together with one John Nelson Set fire to and Burned the Mills and Other buildings On Spring River in a little town known by the Name of Oregon. …(The) burning was done as Gen Shelbys Command pased North from Benton County Arkansas And…(I) knew at the time that…(if I) Burned the Mills and other buildings that it was in violation of Gen Shelbys orders And (I) was not ordered persuaded nor hired to burn said buildings but done it with (my) own free will and accord…(I believed at the mill)and other buildings was that the Malitia of Lawrence County Missouri made their head quarters at said Mills and other buildings and that (I) wanted to broke up their nests…
James Barnes, Dallas, Arkansas, October 15, 1869

James Barnes also implicated his partner in crime, James Dixson. The men believed Bowers Mill was a nest for the Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM), and thus justified its destruction. The EMM stationed men around mills throughout the Ozarks to establish a safeguard for civilians and help alleviate fears of guerrilla attacks. The militia’s presence allowed for continued cultivation and provided a source of food for the men. The destruction of Bower’s mill hurt more than just George, John and William, as it impacted the lives of women, children and Union forces that depended on the mill for food.

Contributed by the Greene County Archives and Records Center

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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.

Contributed by the The History Museum for Springfield-Greene County

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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.

everything is in an uproar…there is nothing to talk about here but war. I hate the war and all that is connected with it… from what I can learn the south has been behaving all the while it is the republicans that are doing the mischief I guess there will be a great deal of blood shed before the north whips the south some of the people around here thinks it will be a very easy matter to whip but I guess they will have a bitter pill to swallow first
Minerva Phillips, Central City, Illinois – January 26, 1862

Alexander served in the 3rd Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, Missouri State Guard. His initial post was Camp New Madrid, in southeastern Missouri. His service in the Missouri State Guard expired in late 1861, and Alexander joined the 2nd Missouri Cavalry as a 2nd Lieutenant. Alexander wrote home about news from the front and friends in the services. Soldiers often speculated about rumors and news in camp, and in one letter Alexander reflects on how President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation will impact the War.

We are all well; there has been but little sickness in camp this winter so far. There is little to do now in camp and times are rather dull Since we returned from the Holly Springs Raid [MS] of which you have no doubt already heard at least the federal account: if you get the other letter you will find a Short description of that brilliant little affair…The Yankees are deserting very fast Several hundred have deserted and come to Grenada …I see by a paper which I have just been reading that at Baton Rouge Louisiana whole Regiments laid down their arms and refused to fight to carry out Lincolns Proclamation We have rumors of Illinois and Indiana withdrawing their Troops from the field and it is believed by a great many that a parts of [Ulysses S.] Grants army have gone back there to put down rebellion. it is also said that Kentucky has refused to aid in prosecuting the war unless the Proclamation is withdrawn. One thing is pretty sure, the yankee army is becoming or has already become very much demoralized, and from all that I can learn we will soon see the beginning of the end according to my opinion…..
Alexander Chadwell, Camp Buck Hill, Mississippi – February 8, 1863

As the War continued, Gideon received news from his friends and family throughout the Midwest. He received letters from soldiers in Arkansas about camp conditions, and others who were captured and sent to Union prisons. Gideon’s nephew in Illinois wrote about the passing of Union troops and their treatment of defiant civilians.

…there Was Some Rough times when they stayed At Centralia there was a man went There One day and there was A pointed Him out as a copperhed they arrested Him and used him Rough for A while And he got A way from them and there Was A Soldier Shot at him did not hit Him the Same day the cut the buttons Off A mans coat another Instance They was going to take a Mans Briches off because they were brown He drawed his Revolver and they Took It from him…
James M. Strong, Central City, Illinois – March 20, 1864

Beyond war and political news, the Chadwell Leavenworth Collection provides details about the family’s post-war life. Alexander worked was a surveyor and schoolteacher. By August 1881, he was teaching in Conway County, Arkansas. Martha married Joseph A. Leavenworth, who operated a sawmill in Leota, Mississippi. Their lumber contributed to the building of homes in Mississippi. The Chadwell Leavenworth Collection consists of correspondences from 1837 through 1944. Community and Conflict only included correspondences from 1861 through 1875. Researchers are encouraged to contact Western Historical Manuscript Collection for additional letters and document.

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

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On May 4th, 1858 Wadlow filed a claim against Benjamin Perryman in the Probate and Common Plea court in Greene County, Missouri for one thousand dollars. The outcome of the case hinged on the definition of the slaves’ condition. The way to determine the “sound condition” of a slave was very subjective and the evidence to prove that a slave was “worthless” had to be quite substantial for a claim to hold any legal standing in a court of law. When Violet and Aaron came to Wadlow, they were very ill. Mrs. Whittenburg, another slave of Wadlow’s, testified that when she helped Violet into bed she “discovered that the Negro woman could not lie on one side because it caused her a lot of pain.”3

The declarations of the Negro woman, Mrs. Whittenburg, were excluded by the court, and because the judge did not allow her testimony, the verdict came back in the favor of Perryman. Charles Wadlow, displeased with the outcome, decided to appeal the case to the State Supreme Court, in which they sided with Mr. Wadlow; sighting that the lower courts had erred in not allowing the testimony be submitted into evidence.

We see no difference between this case and that of Man vs Hill & Haynes, 10 Mo. 323. The evidence offered by the plaintiff of the declarations of the slave, made whilst she was laboring under sickness, as to the cause of her ilness and the source of it, was admissible and the Court erred in excluding them. With the concurrence of the other Judges, the judgment is reversed and the cause remanded
Charles Wadlow vs. John G. Perryman.

The slave laws that prevailed during the time did not allow for a slave to testify against a white person in court.4 However, since Mrs. Whittenberg was not testifying against Mr. Perryman, only stating the condition she saw Violet in after Wadlow bought her, her testimony was legally admissible into court. The case was returned to the Common Plea court, and no documentation of further ruling could be located.

Contributed by the Greene County Archives and Records Center

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1. 1860 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Cass, Greene, Missouri; Roll: M653_621; Page: 259; Image: 259; Family History Library Film: 803621.
2. Charles Wadlow vs. John G. Perryman, 1857. S1 F007. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
3. Charles Wadlow vs. John G. Perryman, 1857. S1 F007. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri. Part 2, pg 8
4. “Slave Codes”, U.S. History Online Textbook, Wednesday, January 19, 2011, http://www.ushistory.org/us/6f.asp

Introduction
Clinton Owen Bates

“Old Age,” written by Clinton Owen Bates in 1949, reflects on the life of a young boy growing up in Arkansas during the Civil War, and his career as a teacher. Bates was born in 1857, and grew up on a farm in Fayetteville. The Bates family had split loyalty among the North and South, and even as a young child, Bates remembered the tension that the War brought into their home. Bates recalled the bloody conflict along the border of Missouri and Kansas, encounters with runaway slaves, and various Trans-Mississippi Theater battles. After the War, Bates began his career as a teacher. He taught at the Cherokee Headquarters on the Tahlequah Indian Reservation and later held a position in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Contributed by the University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections
Manuscript Collection MC 594

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