Spies and Scouts were used to gather valuable information from the opposing military side, the location and movement of enemy regiments and their strength in numbers. Through his numerous and faithful scouts and spies, General Nathaniel Lyon learned of the concentration of Southern troops at Cassville and their intention to march on Springfield. Major R.K. Hart reported to the Republican in July 1913 that he had been a spy for General Lyon in Raines’ camp near Dug Springs, prior to the Battle of Wilson Creek.2 It was his duty to find out the number of men at the Confederate camp and the course of their direction. A Union spy known only as “Three”, later identified as Charles A. McNair did reconnaissance work on General Sterling Price’s army in Southwest Missouri and reported his finding to John D. Perry, stating that, “Sir I have just returned from a thorough trip through South West Missouri – was in the camps of the rebels his men are tolerably well clad, McCulloch was in Springfield on Friday last, with not exceeding 7000 men, perhaps not more than 3 or 4000. Price’s Men have no confidence in him & don’t think he wants to fight – they curse him all the time & say he has done nothing since the 10th August but eat up the substance of the state. The South West is nearly depopulated”.3

Some of the most prominent and finest spies for both sides were women, like Mary Ann Pittman, who dressed like a Confederate Lieutenant named Rawley, joined General Nathan Forrest, accompanying him through Tennessee and Mississippi.4 Disguises, alias, diversions, and secrecy were all weapons spies and scouts used to conduct their business during the war. Eventually, she revealed her female identity to Forrest in which he laughed and said she made quite a good looking woman. Forrest cautioned her to let this secret go no further, and believed “success would be more certain if she appeared as a woman dressed herself in a suit of female apparel.…” and then sent her off on a mission..5 Under the name “Mollie Hayes,” Pittman spied and smuggled goods for the Confederacy. As “Mollie Hayes,” Pittman visited St. Louis and gained information on Union troops and fortifications.

Pittman eventually concluded that the Confederacy would loose the war and allowed herself to be captured by General Lionel Booth’s troops. While at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, she informed Booth of Forrest’s pending attack with 4,000 men. Realizing her value, Acting Provost Marshall Genreral Joseph Darr Jr. petitioned to use Pittman as a spy for the Union. He stated, “she can be trusted and would be a proper person to send to [Sterling] Price’s Camp.”.6 In January 1865, Major General Grenville Dodge provided Pittman a pass through Federal lines, allowing her to begin her mission for the United States government. That April, Pittman served as a Union spy reporting information on Sterling Price, as well as bushwhackers, Samuel Hildebrand and Alfred Bolin.

Two other valuable allies for the U.S. government were Native Americans and freed African-Americans. Many pro-union refugees from Indian Territory entered southern Kansas to escape conscription and aggression of Confederate Native Americans on the tribal lands. Their presence in Kansas and proximity to Indian Territory encouraged Kansas regiments to employee Native American scouts and spies. Fall Leaf, a Native American scout, and ten of his men were employed to gather intelligence from Rebel soldiers in Kansas and Indian Territory.7 The Union also used freed African Americans for reconnaissance work. In one extreme case, two black men returned to Dixie acting as slaves to gather information about African American kidnapping rings in Tennessee.

These men and women risked their lives in gathering intelligence for the United States. If caught spies were automatically accused of treason and sentenced to death. Some informants such as J. H. Oreton, of Webster County, and Katie Smith, were identified by and attacked in their homes. This collection is contributed by the National Archive and Records Center, and focuses on Union intelligence efforts. The Confederacy intelligence network is documented in other individual collections. Researchers are encouraged to consult other collections within Community & Conflict for additional information on scouts and spies from the region.

Contributed by the National Archives and Records Administration
Photocopies Contribiuted by Mine Creek Battlefield, Kansas State Historic Site.

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1. “Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War” Edited by Patricia L. Faust, Article by Edward G. Longacre. updated 15 December 2002, accessed 22 November 2010, http://www.civilwarhome.com/espionage.htm
2. “Scout Tells of Incidents of Terrific Battle in Ozarks”, Republican, Vol. XXII, No. 179, July 1913, pg 1.
3. Charles A. McNair Letter to John D. Perry.  Nov. 28, 1861, Entry 36, Correspondence, Reports, Appointments, and Other Records Relating to Individual Scouts, Guides, Spies, and Detectives; Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), RG 110; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC. pg 2 & 3
4. Joseph Darr,Jr. Letter to Frank Bond. Oct. 21, 1864, Entry 36, Correspondence, Reports, Appointments, and Other Records Relating to Individual Scouts, Guides, Spies, and Detectives; Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), RG 110; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC. pg 4
5. Joseph Darr,Jr. Letter to Frank Bond. Oct. 21, 1864, Entry 36, Correspondence, Reports, Appointments, and Other Records Relating to Individual Scouts, Guides, Spies, and Detectives; Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), RG 110; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC. pg 3
6. Joseph Darr,Jr. Letter to Frank Bond. Oct. 21, 1864, Entry 36, Correspondence, Reports, Appointments, and Other Records Relating to Individual Scouts, Guides, Spies, and Detectives; Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), RG 110; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC. pg 1
7. Robert J. Roe Letter to John E. Tappan. May 27, 1865. Entry 31, Correspondence, Reports, Accounts, and Related Records of Two or More Scouts, Spies, and Detectives; Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), RG 110; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC.

RESOLVED by the National Committee and Council, that all free negroes coming into the Cherokee Nation, under any pretense whatsoever, shall be viewed and treated, in every respect, as intruders, and shall not be allowed to reside in the Cherokee Nation without a permit from the National Committee and Council.1

When the Civil War began in 1861, the Cherokee Nation found itself with divided sentiment. Leader of the National Party, John Ross, supported strict neutrality. While the Old Ridge party, led by Stand Watie declared support for the Confederacy.2 In July 1861, Watie organized the First Cherokee Mounted Rifles near Fort Wayne and he was promoted to Colonel. He took command of his companies and departed for Missouri to join the Confederate war effort. Over the summer the Confederacy secured victories at the Battles of Bulls Run and Wilson’s Creek, which perhaps persuaded further support for the Confederacy. Towards the end of August the Cherokee Executive Council met and elected to join the Confederacy. On October 7, 1861 the Cherokee Nation signed a treaty with the Confederacy at Tahlequah. The tribe dissolved all treaties with the Federal Government, and later the Chicksaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole tribes also gave their allegiance to the Confederacy.

After the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, 1862 the Union Army moved into Indian Territory. Union and Native American troops burned the Confederate Command Post at Fort Davis forcing Confederate army to retreat south. On February 20, 1863 the Cherokee tribe called an emergency session of the National Council at Cow Skin Prairie and revoked the treaty with the Confederacy. They pledged their allegiance to the Union, removed all Confederates from office, emancipated slavery and reaffirmed Ross as the Principal Chief.3 The Union army took control over Fort Gibson in April 1863, and began fighting Confederate Indian raiding parties over control of the territory. Brig. General Stand Watie was the last Confederate General to surrender during the War. He finally signed a peace treaty at Doaksville, Indian Territory on June 23, 1865.

After the War, the Cherokee Nation signed a reconstruction treaty on July 19, 1866 which stated,

The Cherokee Nation having, voluntarily, in February, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, by an act of the National Council, forever abolished slavery, hereby covenant and agree that never hereafter shall either slavery or involuntary servitude exist in their Nation… They further agree that all freedmen who have been liberated by voluntary act of their former owners, or by law, as well as all free colored persons who were in the country at the commencement of the rebellion, and are now residents therein, or who may return within six months, and their descendants, shall have all the rights of native Cherokees.4

The Act to Define the Status of Freedmen and their Descendants, written after 1880, sought to establish the rights and privileges of African Americans within the Cherokee Nation. The document defined freedmen as those who resided in the Cherokee Nation at the commencement of the American Civil War, those who were at that time slaves of any Cherokee or other citizen, those who were liberated by voluntary act or by law, and those who had not return to the Cherokee country within the time specified within the Treaty of 1866. These men became adopted citizens of the Cherokee Nation, and were granted the corresponding rights and privileges as adopted citizens.

they are hereby Entitled to all the rights and amunities of adopted Citizens of the Cherokee Nation, as here in after defined. That no distinction of rights or privileges shall be deemed to exist between the Colored Citizens of the Cherokee Nation by operation of art 9 of the treaty of 1866 and those who are made citizens by the operations of the preceding section of this act

-Act to Define the Status of Freedmen and their Descendants

The legal status and rights of Cherokee Freedmen has been an ongoing political and tribal dispute since 1866. The Freedmen and their descendants were considered Cherokee citizens until the early 1980s, when the Cherokee Nation’s administration stripped them of voting rights and citizenship for more than two decades. In March 2006, the Cherokee Nation’s courts ruled that the descendants of the Cherokee Freedmen were allowed to register and become enrolled citizens of the Cherokee Nation. However, Principal Chief Chad “Corntassel” Smith, one of the most vocal opponents of the Freedmen’s citizenship, wanted to amend the constitution to exclude their citizenship entirely. After circulating a petition, Chief Smith called an emergency election to settle the issue. As a result, the descendants of Freedmen were stripped of their citizenship, but they have continued to press for recognition within Cherokee Nation.5

Contributed by the University of Tulsa Special Collections and University Archives

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1. J.B. Davis, “Slavery in the Cherokee Nation,” Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. 11, No. 4, December, 1933, Oklahoma Historical Society, accessed October 20, 2010, pg 1064 http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v011/v011p1056.html.
2. James Mooney, History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees (Fairview, NC: Bright Mountain Books, Inc, 1992), pg 148.
3. http://www.cherokee.org/Culture/71/Page/default.aspx
4. J.B. Davis, “Slavery in the Cherokee Nation,” Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. 11, No. 4, December, 1933, Oklahoma Historical Society, accessed October 20, 2010, pg1071 http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v011/v011p1056.html.
5. “Putting to a Vote the Question ‘Who Is Cherokee?’,” The New York Times, March 3, 2007.

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 Eighth Division, under the command of Gen. James Rains, participated in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek on August 10, 1861. Wilson’s Creek was the second major battle of the Civil War. Union troops under Nathaniel Lyon marched from Springfield, Missouri to engage the Confederates encamped along the creek. Completely surprised by the attack, the Confederates were able to hold their ground and repel the Union advance. Gen. Lyon was killed during the battle, and Union forces retreated to Rolla, MO. Bradford sketched part of the battlefield noting the location of the Sharp house, Sterling Price’s headquarters at the Edwards’ farm and the Gibson’s Mill.

After the Battle, Bradford’s company marched north with Price and participated in the Battle of Lexington between September 18 and 20, 1861. Price mobilized roughly 7,000 men on his march to Lexington. The town was held by Col. James A. Mulligan and his force of 2,700 Federals. Southerners flocked to Price, and by September 18 his army had grown to nearly 10,000 men.

Mulligan fortified his position in the Masonic College on the north end of town. Rains and his men, which included 3,052 guardsmen and two batteries of artillery, took a position to the north and east of the college. Mulligan launched an unrelenting artillery barrage into the approaching Confederate line. The Rebels captured Oliver Anderson’s house, which at the time was being utilized as a Union hospital. This enraged Mulligan, and he quickly ordered a counterassault to reclaim the building. The order resulted in heavy casualties, and the Federals only held the Anderson home for a short period before the Confederates overpowered them again.

On September 19, the guardsmen encircled the college, and the federals eventually exhausted their supplies. The Union men, surrounded by enemy troops, were forced to endure the battle and heat without water. On September 20, the Confederates discovered a large quantity of hemp bales stored in a nearby warehouse. The guardsmen rolled the bales onto the battlefield slowly charging the Union trenches. The bales provided ample protection for the men; even the Union cannons could not penetrate the dense hemp. Finally, the guardsmen advanced close enough to charge the Union line. Hand-to-hand combat erupted, and soon Mulligan realized surrender was his only option. Price captured several pieces of artillery, 3,000 rifles and 750 horses.

In his journal, Bradford recorded the names of his men who fought bravely at Lexington. He then made a list of those who did not answer the call of duty.

The following list of names are those who stood bneath the enemies grape and muskets for 60 hours at Lexington Mo and won for themselves never dying glories

The following list of names are those who did not go to the brest works oposite these names are there and by excuses for them1

Price reported 25 killed and 72 wounded for the three day engagement. Rains reported only two men were killed from the 8th Division and twenty wounded. Bradford offered the following tribute to his fallen comrades.

So Sleep the brave who sink to res with all there countrys’ wishes best

Asbury C. Bradford journal – n.d.

While Confederate troops clinched victories at Carthage, Wilson’s Creek and Lexington, Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson prepared the political stage for Missouri admission to the Confederacy. The General Assembly elected to remain in the Union in early 1861, but Jackson was determined to cut ties with the United States Government. Days before the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Jackson issued a “Proclamation of Independence,” which declared Missouri a sovereign and independent state. He cited atrocities committed by Union forces, who repeatedly violated Missouri’s rights and liberties. Two weeks later, the Confederate Congress passed a resolution admitting Missouri to the Confederacy, but technically Missouri had not seceded from the Union.

The momentum built from the victories on the battlefield gave Jackson the opportunity to achieve his goal. In September, Jackson called the General Assembly back into session, and asked them to meet at the Newton County Courthouse in Neosho on October 21. On October 20, Bradford’s men marched towards Neosho to protect the legislators as they gathered to solidify Missouri’s future with the Confederacy.

Sunday 20 marched to Neosho

Sunday 27 yet at Neos.

Monday 28 a fine day News confirmed that the Fedrals are in Springfield Also the Legislature in Neosho assembled ratified the Proclamation of the Govens delivered at Newmadrid

Asbury C. Bradford journal – October 20 – 28, 1861

Bradford served in the Missouri State Guard for six months. On March 1, 1862, he was transferred to the 5th Missouri Infantry, C.S.A. According to his service records, Bradford participated in the Battles of Carthage, Wilson’s Creek, Dry Wood, Lexington, Pea Ridge, Fort Gibson, Champion Hill and Vicksburg. Bradford left the service on furlough in August 1863. His records state he was last heard from on December 22, 1863, when he reported that he was extremely sick and did not expect to live. Bradford resided in Bolivar, Missouri.

Contributed by Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

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1. Asbury Bradford, Journal, 1861. WICR 30060. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri, 49-52.

Benjamin Gratz Brown was born in Lexington, Kentucky, May 28, 1826. Brown graduated from Yale College in 1847 with a degree in law. He was admitted to the bar in 1849 and commenced practice in St. Louis, Missouri. Brown soon got into politics and was elected as a member in the State house of representatives from 1852-1858. During his time in office he helped found the newspaper, the Missouri Democrat and was the chief editor in 1854.1

His strong opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act almost cost him reelection in 1854. Brown spoke to the Missouri General Assembly in 1857 and forcefully demanded the end of slavery in Missouri. Brown’s strong political made him many enemies, especially the lieutenant governor, Thomas C. Reynolds.2 Their feud escalated to the point of violence when Brown challenged Reynolds to a duel after Reynolds made slanderous comments about Brown in a rival newspaper. Brown was shot in the knee and would permanently walk with a limp for the remainder of his life.

Brown, although strong-willed and often controversial, was an intelligent politician. He did not base his support on emancipation of slaves in Missouri on humane grounds, but of aspirations for free white men and called slavery a barrier to economic progress. His speeches in the state legislature actually designed to work on several levels: the call for slavery’s end was designed to appeal to German immigrants, most of whom were hostile to the institution; the call for economic progress was designed to appeal to moderate Whigs whose party had self-destructed over the slavery issue; and the emphasis on free labor was designed to appeal to the aspirations of ordinary farmers who had made up the backbone of Benton’s followers.3

In 1860, he attended the Republican National Convention as a delegate for Edward Bates. Brown believed Bates was too conservative, and when the convention nominated Abraham Lincoln Brown cast aside his loyalty to Bates and supported Lincoln.4 With the outbreak of the Civil War in Missouri, Brown organized his own regiment, the 4th Regiment of the Missouri Volunteers and served as colonel of the company. The regiment patrolled St. Louis streets for three months and reinforced the troops of General Franz Siegel after the Battle of Carthage in southeastern Missouri. Brown did not reenlist when his term of service expired.5 The regiment did not face any significant conflict and Brown realized that he was a better leader in the legislature than the battlefield.

In 1863, Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate when Southern sympathizer Waldo P. Johnson was expelled. Brown focused his term on the state’s economic conditions. He helped obtain federal reimbursements for military expenditures, secured federal land grants for the development of railroad lines, and worked to improve navigation on the Mississippi River. Brown also advocated the nationalization of telegram lines, the reduction in working hours for federal employees.6 On January 11, 1865, the Missouri state convention, meeting in St. Louis, passed an emancipation ordinance immediately freeing all slaves in Missouri. However, Brown did think that measure was enough to help Missouri move into the future. Brown wrote to Mr. J.R. Winchell in April 1865 about his doubts that Unionists and southern sympathizers could live together post-Civil War. “I need scarcely say that I am one of those who have from the beginning believed that the loyal and disloyal can never live in Missouri together and the latter must be forced to depart and I believe that registration is the only mode that will accomplish it.”7

Brown though would change his beliefs on punishing southern sympathizers when leadership of the Radicals passed to Charles Daniel Drake. The Missouri 1865 Draconian Constitution, so named because of Drakes influence, severely restricted the civil rights and liberties of southern sympathizers. Believing that such measures were justified only in times of war, Brown recanted earlier demands for eternal punishment for former Rebels, and called for universal suffrage and amnesty.8

Senator Brown, citing poor health, returned to Missouri in 1867. He was nominated as the Liberal Republican Party nominee for the 1870 gubernatorial election and, with support from the Democratic Party, was elected in 1871 as the 20th governor of Missouri. Brown’s tenure, although limited by law to a two-year term, was productive. Taxation laws were changed, and he quelled the Ku Klux Klan within Missouri’s borders. He also established the law and medicine departments at the University of Missouri and supported a new admissions policy allowing the enrollment of women.9

In 1872, Brown was nominated as a vice presidential candidate under Horace Greeley for the Liberal Republican ticket. Greeley’s eccentricities, along with Brown’s reputation as a hard drinker, doomed the ticket. After the election of 1872, Brown returned to his law firm in St. Louis and continued to practice until his death on December 13, 1885 in Kirkwood, MO.10

Contributed by the Greene County Archives and Records Center

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1. Norma L. Peterson, American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Freedom and Franchise: The Political Career of B. Gratz Brown. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1968. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=b000905
2. Benjamin Gratz Brown, 1871-1873; Office of Governor, Record Group 3.20; Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/mdh_splash/default.asp?coll=brown
3. “Benjamin Gratz Brown”, Missouri Civil War Sesquicentennial, http://mocivilwar150.com/history/figure/213
4. Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2 (Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978
5. Missouri State Archives Finding Aids 3.20, “Benjamin Gratz Brown”, pg 2, http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/findingaids/rg003-20.pdf
6. Missouri State Archives Finding Aids 3.20, “Benjamin Gratz Brown”, pg 2, http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/findingaids/rg003-20.pdf
7. Benjamin Gratz Brown Letter to J.R. Winchell. Apr. 20, 1865. B. Gratz Brown Papers, 1863-1865, CW99, Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri. 2, pg 1.
8. Brown, Benjamin Gratz, in All Biographies (on-line) from Men of Our Day; Or Biographical Sketches of Patriots, Orators, Statesmen, Generals, Reformers, Financiers and Merchants, L.P. Brockett (St. Louis, MO: Ziegler and McCurdy, 1872).
9. Benjamin Gratz Brown, 1871-1873; Office of Governor, Record Group 3.20; Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/mdh_splash/default.asp?coll=brown
10. Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2 (Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978)

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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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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the corn crop is as fine as iever Saw the wheat and oats hungarion [Hungarian wheat] timithy [Timothy grass] all good but no market for nothing no money I surpose with out adout of all the battle that has bin faught in Virginginia and at Springfield
Coleman Bruce Letter to William and Martha Jane Jackson. Aug. 20, 1861

Bruce’s sentence structure and phonetic spelling make his letter difficult to read; yet it provides a valuable insight to the written and verbal speech patterns of the 19th Century. In his letter Bruce calls northerners the pejorative term “dutch,” a corruption of “Deutsche,” meaning German. This term was commonly used in Missouri, as many associated the massive German migration to St. Louis and the city’s urban setting with other iconic northern cities. The use of such language shows that association with the rising immigrant class was viewed by many in Missouri as a detriment to American society.

we dont expect to live under the dutch nor the Yonkeys we pur fiting untell we die in prefance the north
Colman Bruce Letter to William and Martha Jane Jackson. Aug. 20, 1861

Bruce was very vocal with his disdain for Northern troops, which placed him in a precarious position during the war. On July 9, 1863, four witnesses filed affidavits with the Missouri Union Provost Marshal, citing Coleman Bruce with disloyalty to the government. A month prior to the accusations, James W. Sappington, a captain and member of the Missouri legislature and Major William Jackson, Bruce’s son-in-law, both testified that Bruce was a “true and loyal citizen.”2 During this period of hostility, anything a person wrote or said could become subject to scrutiny and could be used as evidence that the individual was disloyal. No evidence exists showing Union officials pursued Bruce any further about his loyalty to the state or the country.

Bruce’s letter mentions significant events and individuals of the War, such as action near Cair, Illinois and Birds point (an island on the Mississippi River opposite of Cairo). He also wrote about the death of Union General Nathaniel Lyon at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Bruce mistakenly reported Franz Sigel was also killed at the Battle. Lyon and Sigel surprised Confederate troops camped along Wilson’s Creek on the morning of August 10, 1861. While initially caught off guard, the Confederates were able to rally and repel the Union advance.

After Lyon’s death, Union forces retreated back to Springfield and eventually to Rolla, Missouri. Undoubtedly, Bruce was enthusiastic with the Confederate victory at Wilson’s Creek and their occupation of Southwest Missouri. Confederate control over the region caused difficulties for union civilians. Bruce noted that Sample Orr, an 1860 Missouri gubernatorial candidate, robbed a Springfield bank of $24,000. Allegedly, the bank was robbed to prevent the Confederates from securing the money to fund their army. The money was taken to Rolla to remain in Union hands. Little documentation on this event exists, although, Bruce discusses the matter as it was true fact:

Sample Orr robed the Springfield bank of 24000$ the you have ar will hear all about it
Colman Bruce Letter to William and Martha Jane Jackson. Aug. 20, 1861

Bruce encouraged his children to share this letter with their friends and family, perhaps in an attempt to persuade others to support the Confederacy. This letter draw attentions to the impact the War had on family dynamics as well as the crumbling economic condition in the country.

Contributed by a Private Collector

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1. 1860 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Township 47 Range 14, Moniteau, Missouri; Roll M653_634; Page: 648; Image: 148; Family History Library Film: 803634.
2. “Missouri’s Union Provost Marshal Papers, 1861-1868,” Missouri Digital Heritage, accessed October 20, 2010,http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/provost/results.asp?txtName=&txtKeyword=&radSearch=BEG&selCounty=Moniteau&offset=75.

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.

Contributed by the The History Museum for Springfield-Greene County

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Coleman apparently had a high social status, as she claimed to have access to the Texas state legislature and frequently attended “meetings.”2 She was also working on creating a new flag that would fly at the state capital, she described the flag to her sister saying, “It has a blue centre with 7 stars of white in a circle and two red and one white stripes. Tomorrow the Legislature of Texas convenes, and it is to be raised tomorrow, as soon as we can get it done. We will soon have to add more stars. The Presidents message has caused one State to secede, Arkansaw and rumor says, Virginia. We know when Virginia leaves, all the rest will leave, except Missouri – that is uncertain. Then we shall have peace in our borders, and the northern people will then quarrel among themselves, as much as they please.”3

Coleman did not try and hide her hatred of President Lincoln and the Abolitionist movement citing, “I’m sure I dont want to see brother fighting against brother – as I am almost sure will be the case – now Lincoln has come into power he being the head and front of Abolitionism.”4 She also blamed those in Kansas for working with the Native Americans to gain horses from southerners. Before the Civil War began, violence erupted along the Kansas – Missouri border surrounding abolition and Kansas’ admission to the Union. Citizens from across the country were divided on the issue of slavery in Kansas. Thefts, murders, and destruction of property were prominent throughout the region as abolitionist and pro-slavery men attempted to physically force their political opponents from the territory. Coleman had obviously not forgotten about the “Bleeding Kansas Era.” It is unknown when Coleman’s family moved to Kansas, or if they were victims of the boarder war. Much is unknown about E. A. Coleman, but her letter provides interesting insight into her perspective of national and regional events in the early period of the war.

Contributed by the Pearce Civil War Collection, Navarro College

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1. 1860 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Jackson, Texas; Roll: M653_1298; Page: 370; Image: 193; Family History Library Film: 805298.
2. E.A. Coleman Papers, 1861, Pearce Civil War Collection, Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas, http://www.pearcecollections.us/fa_ind.php?fid=112
3. E.A. Coleman Letter to Lucinda, Mar. 9, 1861. Coleman (E.A.) Papers, 1861. 1996.060. Pearce Civil War Collection, Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas, pg 4.
4. E.A. Coleman Letter to Lucinda, Mar. 9, 1861. Coleman (E.A.) Papers, 1861. 1996.060. Pearce Civil War Collection, Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas, pg 1.