Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 7.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[486] surprising him. We concluded it could be done, and sent back to the Captain for permission to do so. The Captain did not ride at the advance of his column that day, as he should have done. He said if we wanted to try it, we could do so. We wanted to try it, did try it, and did capture Jeff Thompson, as well as every other prisoner that was taken on the scout, and all the horses, all the arms, did all the shooting, all the killing, and in fact every thing else that was done, excepting the straggling and stealing. Colonel Woodson rode along at his ease some four or five miles in the rear, and did not reach Pocahontas with his command for nearly one hour .and a half after the First Missouri entered the place and captured Jeff Thompson and his staff, and when he did come up and was introduced to Jeff, we think, from the position he took during the ceremony, that he was in the same predicament that Sterling Price was at Boonville, Missouri. We turned over eighteen contraband horses to the Quartermaster at Cape Girardeau, but we have never heard of any property being turned over by the M. S. M. or any other copperheads since we entered the department.

The reputation of our regiment for honesty, bravery, and efficiency, is too well know in this department to be injured by any attempt to screen the rascality of the M. S. M. by false reports. We will close by making this proposition to Captain Woodson, that if he will do the clean thing, come out like a man, and trade on the square, we will give him five hundred dollars for his net proceeds from the scout.

We, the undersigned, officers of the First Missouri, hold ourselves personally and officially responsible for the above statements.

Yours respectfully,