previous
[203]

Biographical

[204] [205]

Visional army of the Confederate States, Accredited to Missouri.


Major-General John S. Bowen

Major-General John S. Bowen was born in Georgia in 1829. He was appointed to the United States military academy in 1848 and on graduation was promoted to brevet second-lieutenant, July 1, 1853. Being assigned to the Mounted Rifles, he served at the Carlisle cavalry school, and on the frontier, with promotion to second-lieutenant on July 20, 1854. He resigned his commission on the 1st of May, 1856, and became an architect in Savannah, Ga., continuing to gratify his military tastes as lieutenant-colonel of Georgia militia. He removed to St. Louis, Mo., in 1857, where he also followed the business of an architect. From 1859 to 1861 he was captain in the Missouri militia. He was adjutant to General Frost during his expedition to the Kansas border in search of Montgomery, a prominent character in the Kansas troubles. When the civil war began he commanded the Second regiment of Frost's brigade. He was acting chief-of-staff to Frost when Camp Jackson was captured by General Lyon. Going to Memphis, Tenn., and into the southeastern part of Missouri, he raised the First Missouri regiment of infantry, of which he was commissioned colonel on June 11, 1861. He was assigned to the army of General Polk at Columbus, Ky., and acted as brigade commander under that officer's command. When in the spring of 1862 Albert Sidney Johnston and Beauregard were concentrating their armies for an attack upon Grant, Bowen, who on March 14th had received [206] his commission as brigadier-general, was assigned to the division of John C. Breckinridge. In the first day's battle at Shiloh he was wounded. General Beauregard, in his official report of the battle thus speaks: ‘Brig.-Gens. B. R. Johnson and Bowen, most meritorious officers, were also severely wounded in the first combat, but it is hoped will soon be able to return to duty with their brigades.’ When in 1863 Grant crossed the Mississippi and landed at Bruinsburg, General Bowen, though fearfully outnumbered, threw himself in his path and with the utmost courage and determination, resisted his advance. After a patriotic sacrifice he was forced back upon the main army under Pemberton. On the 25th of May he was rewarded for his brave work at Port Gibson by the commission of major-general in the army of the Confederate States. He fought with distinction in the other battles outside of Vicksburg, and in all the fighting and suffering of the long siege he and his men had their full share. At the fall of the city he was paroled, and went to Raymond, Miss., where he died from sickness contracted during the siege, July 16, 1863.


Brigadier-General John B. Clark, Jr.

There were two John B. Clarks; the father, brigadier-general of the Missouri State Guard; the son, a brigadier-general of the Confederate States army. The elder Clark was born in Madison county, Ky., April 17, 1812. He removed to Missouri with his father in 1818, and was admitted to the bar in 1824. He began the practice of law at Fayette, Mo., and was clerk of Howard county courts from 1824 to 1834. In the Black Hawk war of 1832 he commanded a body of Missouri volunteer cavalry, and during the war was twice wounded. In 1848 he was made major-general of the Missouri militia, From 1850 to 1851 he was a member of the legislature; also headed a force to drive the Mormons out of Missouri. In 1857 he was elected to Congress as a Democrat to fill a vacancy and served until [207] 1861. At the beginning of the war he was appointed brigadier-general by Governor Jackson, and commanded a force of the Missouri State Guard until he was disabled at Springfield. After his recovery he was elected to the first Confederate Congress. He afterwards served as Confederate senator from Missouri until the end of the war, when he resumed his law practice at Fayette, where he resided at the time of his death, October 29, 1895. His son John Bulloch Clark, Jr., was born at Fayette, January 14, 11831. After attending the preparatory schools he entered the Missouri university where he spent two years, then studying at the Harvard law school, where he graduated in 1854. Seven years later the great event which broke into the peaceful pursuits of so many men aroused young Clark to a new and stirring life. Being the son of such a father, he could but be profoundly moved by the sentiment which so quickly made of the whole South a great military camp. A resistless desire to serve their country in the tented field seized upon almost the entire body of the high spirited young men of the South. They felt that the rights and liberties of their States and the property of the citizens were imperilled, and they were not only ready but eager to buckle on their armor for the defense of home and native land. So the younger Clark gave up his law practice and entered the Missouri infantry as a lieutenant. He was soon made captain of one of the companies of the Sixth Missouri regiment. On the 5th of July, at the battle of Carthage, he was ranking as major and acted a gallant part. His regiment was also conspicuous at Springfield. In 1862 he had risen to the position of colonel, and as such commanded a brigade at Pea Ridge. In this battle both he and his men won a reputation for gallantry which they maintained throughout the war. General Hindman, in his report of operations in Missouri and Arkansas, mentioned in terms of highest commendation Col. John B. Clark, Jr. After he had long been acting with ability [208] in command of a brigade, on March 8, 1864, he was commissioned by the Confederate government as brigadier-general. He served with honor in company with such dashing leaders as Marmaduke and Shelby. After the war he returned to his home and resumed the practice of law. He served his State in Congress from 1873 to 1883 and on December 4, 1883, was chosen clerk of the House of Representatives.


Brigadier-General Francis Marion Cockrell

Brigadier-General Francis Marion Cockrell, who during an important era of the war had the distinction of commanding the Missouri brigade of the army of Mississippi, and since then has for nearly a quartercen-tury represented Missouri in the United States Senate, was born in Johnson county, October 1, 1834. He was graduated at Chapel Hill college in 1853, and subsequently entered upon the practice of law, in which he has continued for many years with distinguished success. He entered the service of the Missouri State Guard, for the support of the Confederacy, in May, 1861, as a private in Company G of Colonel Hurst's regiment. He was at once made captain of his company, and served in that rank six months, the period of enlistment. He then organized a company for the Second Missouri infantry, mustered in as Company H. At the reorganization of this command in May, 1862, the regimental vote was a tie between him and Colonel Burbridge for the chief command, and Burbridge was continued as colonel, and Cockrell promoted to lieutenant-colonel. Six weeks later the latter was promoted colonel, the rank he held until after the siege of Vicksburg. In command of his company of Missouri militia he and they fought like veterans under the command of General Price at the important battles of Carthage, Wilson's Creek and the siege of Lexington, in 1861, and at Elkhorn Tavern in March, 1862. With Price's army he crossed the Mississippi about the time of the battle of Shiloh, and after [209] that date his military services were mainly rendered east of that river, fighting for the Confederacy, though his own State had fallen into the hands of the enemy. He was with the army at Corinth, and on the retreat to Tupelo, and in the subsequent aggressive movements fought with Hebert's division in command of his regiment. At the October battle of Corinth, he was painfully wounded by a fragment of shell, but remained in the field and at Hatchie Bridge was distinguished for cool conduct in defending the rear-guard. In the spring of 1863 he was with his regiment, in Bowen's brigade, defending the Grand Gulf region below Vicksburg, and on the Louisiana shore, below New Carthage, was in frequent skirmish with Grant's advance. April 17th he crossed to the east side, and soon afterward was put in command of the Missouri brigade, consisting of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth regiments of infantry, and several Missouri batteries. During the latter days of April and the first of May at Grand Gulf and Port Gibson the gallant Missourians were under fire of the enemy's ironclads at close range, engaged fearful odds, and held at bay the Federal advance until almost surrounded, then safely withdrawing. From Big Black bridge they retired into the Vicksburg lines, where during a large part of the six weeks siege Colonel Cockrell and his brigade fought in the trenches, making a stubborn defense against the persistent attacks of the enemy. In the explosion of one of the mines, he was blown into the air and severely injured. After the close of this historic siege, made memorable by the heroic endurance of the garrison, he was upon parole until September 13, 1863, when notice of his exchange found him at Demopolis, Miss., still holding with him his faithful Missourians. In the meantime he had been promoted to brigadier-general, and in this rank he entered the army of Mississippi, then under the command of Johnston and later of Polk, his brigade forming a part of French's [210] division. In March, 1864, all Missourians east of the Mississippi, not in actual service, were ordered to report to him for assignment to duty. At this critical juncture, when all the resources of the Confederacy in the department of the West were being drawn upon to exhaustion to fill up the armies of Polk and Johnston, General Cockrell displayed such staunch allegiance to the cause as to merit the extraordinary honor of the thanks of Congress. By a joint resolution, approved May 23, 1864, it was resolved, ‘That the thanks of Congress are eminently due, and are hereby tendered, to Brig.-Gen. F. M. Cockrell, and the officers and soldiers composing the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth regiments of Missouri infantry, First, Second and Third regiments of Missouri cavalry, the batteries of Bledsoe, Landis, Guibor, Walsh, Dawson and Barret, and Woodson's detached company, all in the service of the Confederacy, east of the Mississippi river, for the prompt renewal of their pledges of fidelity to the cause of Southern independence for forty years, unless independence and peace, without curtailment of boundaries, shall be sooner secured.’ With these Missouri troops he moved with Polk's army to the support of Johnson against Sherman, reaching Kingston, Ga., May 17th, after which French's division was under fire every day with one exception, until the fall of Atlanta. At Lost Mountain, General French reported his thanks to General Cockrell, his officers and men, for their gallant conduct in repulsing the enemy, adding that whatever credit was due for the complete repulse of the Federal assault in this fierce engagement belonged exclusively to Cockrell's brigade and part of Barry's. Soon afterward General Cockrell was again wounded, but he resumed command August 8th, and was in constant skirmishing on the Atlanta lines until the evacuation. After marching, as rear guard of his corps, to the vicinity of Jonesboro, he was with his brigade under a destructive fire at Lovejoy's Station, and [211] made a spirited and successful attack upon the Federal works south of Jonesboro, on September 6th, driving three times their own number from strong skirmish works. In the following winter he participated in the Tennessee campaign under General Hood, until the fatal field of Franklin, when he was one of the twelve Confederate generals killed, wounded or captured. While gallantly leading his men in the face of a terrific fire, he received three wounds, in one arm and both legs, the bone of one leg being broken. These injuries prevented his further duty upon the field until the spring of 1865, when in command of a division and the left wing of the Confederate army at Blakely, before Mobile, he was captured in the general assault by overwhelming Federal forces, April 9, 1865. He was sent as a prisoner of war to Fort Gaines, and paroled six weeks later. Returning to his home General Cockrell resumed his life as a lawyer, and took a prominent part in public affairs, though never accepting office until in 1875, when he was elected to the United States Senate as a Democrat to succeed Carl Schurz. Since then he has been re-elected continuously, enjoying the unabated love of his people, who are proud both of his military and civil record. In the Senate he has rendered notable service upon the appropriation and military affairs committees, and has been conspicuous in the debates upon the tariff and monetary questions. His residence since the war has been at Warrensburg, Mo.


Brigadier-General Daniel M. Frost

Brigadier-General Daniel M. Frost was born in New York, and from that State entered the military academy at West Point. He was graduated July 1, 1844, as brevet second-lieutenant. He served in garrison until the Mexican war, during which he participated in the siege of Vera Cruz, the battles of Cerro Gordo and Churubusco, and was brevetted first-lieutenant for gallant and meritorious conduct at Cerro Gordo. In 1853 he resigned [212] his commission in the regular army and became the proprietor of a planing mill at St. Louis. In 1854-58 he was a member of the Missouri senate, and in 1860 was one of the board of visitors to the United States military academy. At the time that Mr. Lincoln issued his call for troops and received such flat refusals from the governors of the border slave States, Governor Jackson of Missouri planned with Gen. Daniel M. Frost, command. ing a small brigade of volunteer militia, to seize the arsenal at St. Louis and arm the State troops. This plan was defeated by General Lyon, who with 700 men surrounded Frost's brigade of only 635, and forced their surrender. While the surrender was taking place, a great crowd of people gathered and some of them expressed sympathy for the prisoners. One of Lyon's German regiments then opened fire upon them and 28 men, women and children were killed. A similar scene occurred next day. It was the capture of this camp and the scenes that accompanied it that drove General Price and many others, who up to that time had been staunch Union men, into the ranks of the secessionists, thus inaugurating civil war in Missouri. Frost was at this time paroled. He was afterwards exchanged, and at the battle of Pea Ridge led a brigade of Missouri State troops, which did worthy service. Just before this battle (March 3, 1862), Frost was commissioned brigadier-general. When the army of the West under Van Dorn and Price crossed the Mississippi in April, 1862, General Frost went with them. On May 8th General Bragg appointed him inspector-general, but on May 26th General Frost at his own request was relieved from this position. Concerning this General Bragg says: ‘The general commanding could not well sustain a greater loss at this particular juncture, and deeply regrets the cause which takes from us an officer so accomplished, zealous and efficient.’ General Frost served under Hindman in Arkansas in 1862, and at the battle of Prairie Grove in December [213] his commanding general complimented him by saying that ‘he did his duty nobly.’ On March 2, 1863, when General Hindman was relieved from duty in the Trans-Mississippi, General Frost was assigned to the command of his division. On the 30th of .the same month he returned to the command of his own brigade. In command of this brigade he participated in the Helena and Little Rock campaign. During 1864 he was on detached duty, and saw no more active service. After the war he resided at St. Louis, and engaged in agricultural pursuits near that city.


Brigadier-General Martin E. Green

Brigadier-General Martin E. Green.—Among the patriots who sealed their devotion to the Southern cause by a soldier's death none acted a more heroic part than the son of Missouri whose name heads this sketch. He was born in Lewis county, Mo., about 1825. At the beginning of the war he zealously went to work to organize a regiment for the Southern cause, near Paris, Mo., and joined Gen. Sterling Price. He was one of that general's most trusted and efficient officers. In the capture of Lexington, Mo., he contributed largely to the success of the Confederates. When Price was getting ready to storm the fort, Green, at that time general of the Missouri State Guard, suggested that hemp bales, of which there were a great many on the edge of the town, should be taken by the soldiers and rolled in front of the advancing lines as a movable breastwork. Thus the assailants would be as well protected as the men in the fort. Price agreed to the plan. The fort was successfully stormed and Lexington was captured with its garrison of about 3,000 men. At the battle of Pea Ridge, Green and his Missourians acted, as on all other occasions, a gallant part. When Van Dorn and Price were ordered across the Mississippi in the spring of 1862, Green's brigade followed the fortunes of Price. They did not get across [214] in time to participate in the battle of Shiloh, but they did bear their share of all the operations of the army in Mississippi Green, promoted to brigadier-general in the Confederate service, July 21, 1862, took command of the Third brigade of Price's army. He came upon the battlefield of Iuka at the close of the fight, and then marched to the junction with Van Dorn, after which was fought the bloody battle of Corinth, in which the three Missouri regiments of his brigade, the Fourth and Sixth infantry and Third cavalry, lost 443 killed, wounded and missing. On the second day, and at Hatchie bridge, he commanded Hebert's division, took an important part in the fight and the protection of the retreat and was commended by General Price. When Grant crossed the Mississippi below Vicksburg, Green, commanding a brigade of Bowen's division, marched with part of his men to Port Gibson, took command of the forces already there, also of Tracy's brigade after it came up, selected the position occupied by the Confederate forces, and fought a gallant battle until overwhelmed by superior numbers. With his own proper command of about 800 men he withstood the attacks of several thousand Federals from a little after midnight until 10:30 a. m. During the siege of Vicksburg, which began on the 18th of May, he was indefatigable in the performance of duty. On June 25th he was wounded, and on the morning of the 27th when he was in the ditches as was his wont, reconnoitering the positions of the enemy along his front, and while looking over the parapet in front of the sap of the enemy, which was only about 60 yards distant, he was shot through the head by a sharpshooter and almost instantly killed. Gen. Tom P. Dockery, who succeeded him in command, said: ‘He joined the army as a private soldier when the tocsin of war first sent its notes throughout the West He served his country long and faithfully. His soldiers regarded him with that reverence due a father, and many a tear was shed at his fall. He was a pure [215] patriot and a gallant officer, and a true Christian, divested of everything like a thirst for military fame. He acted solely from a sense of duty and right and a pure love of country, and thus inseparably entwined himself not only around the hearts of his troops, but of all who knew him.’


Major-General John Sappington Marmaduke

Major-General John Sappington Marmaduke was born near Arrow Rock, Mo., on March 14, 1833. Brought up on his father's farm, with such preparation as he could get in country schools, he entered Yale college at the age of seventeen, and after spending two years there and one at Harvard he was appointed to the United States military academy, where he was graduated in 1857. He served on frontier duty, was in the Utah expedition under Albert Sidney Johnston, and held the rank of second-lieutenant of the Seventh infantry when he resigned his commission to enter the service of the Confederate States, April 17, 1861. With the commission of first-lieutenant of cavalry he was assigned to service with General Hardee, and soon after he was promoted to lieutenantcol-onel, and on January 1, 1862, to colonel of the Third Confederate infantry, an Arkansas regiment. At the battle of Shiloh his regiment bore the guiding colors of the brigade and captured the first prisoners of the day, and he was mentioned with praise in the official reports. In the second day's battle he was wounded and disabled, and while in hospital was recommended for promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. He commanded his brigade of Arkansans during the siege of Corinth, and later was ordered to the Trans-Mississippi, and assigned to duty as a brigadier-general September 28th, under General Hindman. In command of Hindman's cavalry division, brigades of Shelby and Bradfute, he rendered valuable services. Taking a conspicuous part as a division commander in the battle of Prairie Grove he was warmly commended by General Hindman, who noted in his report [216] that Marmaduke had apparently not been confirmed as brigadier, and declared that if the higher authorities had witnessed his valor at Shiloh and Prairie Grove, the honor would not be delayed. In January, 1863, he led an expedition in Missouri and attacked Springfield, and defeated a considerable body of the enemy at Hartville, compelling by his maneuvers the withdrawal of General Blunt's army to Springfield and the destruction of a long chain of forts. In April he made a more formidable expedition, leading the cavalrymen of Shelby, Greene, Carter and Burbridge to Cape Girardeau. He defeated the Federals at Taylor's Creek May 11th, and commanded the heroic brigades of Shelby and Greene in the attack on Helena, July 4, 1863, his part of the action failing for want of support. During Price's defense of Little Rock he commanded the cavalry of the army, which, fighting as the rear guard, was reported as ‘skillfully handled and behaved admirably.’ At this time occurred his duel with Brig.-Gen. L. M. Walker, which resulted in the death of the latter. Marmaduke was put in arrest, but was ordered to resume command during pending operations, and subsequently was formally released by General Holmes. On October 25, 1863, he attacked Pine Bluff with his division, but without success. At the opening of the Red river campaign, 1864, he held the line of the Ouachita, scouring the country in front to within 25 miles of Little Rock, and when Steele advanced to co-operate with Banks he harassed and delayed the Federal movement from the north to Camden to such an extent as to make it ineffectual, fighting gallantly at Elkin's ferry, April 2d, 3d and 4th, and at Prairie d'ane, April 9th. On the 18th he won the brilliant action at Poison Spring, and at Jenkins' ferry he rendered important services. In recognition of his valuable services Marmaduke was made a major-general, though his commission was not received until March 17, 1865. In May and June, 1864, he was stationed on the Mississippi, and had a creditable encounter [217] with A. J. Smith at Lake Village. With Sterling Price on the great Missouri raid of 1864, he commanded one of the three columns of division and was greatly distinguished. At the battle of Little Blue, October 21st, two horses were killed under him while he was endeavoring to stem the onset of the enemy's forces which from this point forced Price to make a retreat. He was in fierce battle on the 22d, 23d and on the 25th, at Marais des Cygnes, was overwhelmed while guarding the rear, and made prisoner. He was carried to Fort Warren, and there held until August, 1865. After his release he took a journey to Europe for his health. In May, 1866, he returned to Missouri and engaged in the commission business until 1869, when he became superintendent of Southern agencies for an insurance company. He was editor of various Missouri papers, 1871-74; in 1874 secretary of the State board of agriculture, and from 1875 to 1880 a member of the railroad commission of Missouri. From 1885 to 1887 he held the honored position of governor of the State. He died at Jefferson City, December 28, 1887.


Brigadier-General Mosby Monroe Parsons

Brigadier-General Mosby Monroe Parsons was born in Virginia in 1819. Early in life he removed to Cole county, Mo., where he studied law and began its practice. From 1853 to 1857 he was attorney-general of Missouri and subsequently was honored by his constituents with a seat in the State senate. When war was declared against Mexico, he became a captain in the army of the United States and served with considerable reputation. He was in the invading force that entered California, and received honorable mention for services at Sacramento. After the close of the war he returned to his home and resumed his practice. When the war between the Northern and Southern States of the great Republic commenced, his whole sympathy was with the South. In company with Gov. Claiborne F. Jackson he tried to ally Missouri with the Confederate States. He was exceedingly [218] active in organizing the State militia and succeeded in raising a mounted brigade, which he commanded with signal ability at Carthage and at Springfield. He continued to serve in Missouri during 1861, some of the time having a separate command, but generally serving under Price. He rendered important service at the battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn), his brigade doing some of the hardest fighting of that well-fought field. He served all through 1862 and 1863 in the Arkansas campaigns, being commissioned a brigadier-general in the Confederate service on the 5th of November, 1862. When Banks began his Red river campaign in 1864, Parsons was sent to reinforce the army under Dick Taylor. He reached Mansfield just at the close of that brilliant victory and on the next day commanded the division of Missouri infantry at the battle of Pleasant Hill, April 9th, losing 33 killed and 288 wounded. Upon the retreat of Banks, Gen. Kirby Smith detached Parson's command with other troops and marched against Steele in Arkansas. He encountered that general at Marks' Mill and again at Jenkins' Ferry, forcing him to beat a retreat back to Little Rock. In this double campaign, in which the Confederates recovered large parts of Louisiana and Arkansas, Parsons' command added new fame to that already acquired. Parsons was with General Price in his last great march through Arkansas and Missouri and shared in all the marches, hardships and battles of that trying campaign. At the close of the war General Parsons went to Mexico and joined the republican forces in their war against Maximilian. He was killed in an engagement with the imperial forces at Camargo, Mexico, on the 7th of August, 1865.


Major-General Sterling Price

Major-General Sterling Price, called lovingly by his soldiers ‘Old Pap,’ was born in Prince Edward county, Va., on the 14th of September, 1809. His early education was acquired in the schools of his native county, [219] where he was prepared for Hampden-Sidney college. After completing the usual course in that institution he returned to his home and became a deputy in the clerk's office. At the age of 21 he emigrated to Missouri, when the city of St. Louis was little more than a depot for the Indian trade, and when the population of the State was very scattering. He made his home in Chariton county and soon after received an appointment as brigadiergen-eral in the State militia. From his earliest manhood, General Price was a Democrat and in 1836 was elected as such to the general assembly of Missouri. He was again elected a representative in 1840 and 1842 and at each session was chosen speaker of the house. In 1844 he was elected to Congress and served until the opening of the war with Mexico, when he raised a regiment and had an independent command in New Mexico and Chihuahua. He gained victories over greatly superior forces at Cancada, Lambonda and Taos. In this latter battle with 300 men he captured 1,500 prisoners. For these services President Polk appointed him a brigadier-general. Moving next against Chihuahua, at Santa Cruz de Rosales, he captured the army of General Trias, double his own. This was really the last battle of the war; for a treaty of peace between the United States and Mexico had been signed a short time before. At the next State election General Price was elected governor of Missouri by a majority of 15,000 votes. Upon the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, Missouri called a convention of which Price was elected president. He was at the time an ardent Union man, and at the first there was not a secessionist in that body. But when it was evident that President Lincoln intended to pursue a coercive policy, the Missouri State Guard was formed, with Sterling Price as major-general. General Price still attempted to preserve the peace of Missouri, but when General Lyon captured Camp Jackson and shed the blood of the Missourians unnecessarily, as Price and [220] many other of the best people of the State thought, the Missouri State Guard and their leader prepared for resist. ance. The military events which followed have been narrated, and the part of General Price fully told. Could Price have secured the support and co-operation that he desired, he would probably have saved Missouri to the Confederacy, notwithstanding the strong Union sentiment that prevailed throughout the northern and eastern sections of the State. The battle of Elkhorn Tavern or Pea Ridge, in North Arkansas, was really won by Price and his Missourians, but Van Dorn, discouraged by the death of McCulloch and McIntosh and the consequent confusion in the wing commanded by them, and mistakenly thinking the enemy's force greatly superior to his own, gave up the victory in his grasp and retreated. General Van Dorn in his report says: ‘During the whole of this engagement I was with the Missourians under Price, and I have never seen better fighters than these Missouri troops, or more gallant leaders than Price and his officers. From the first to the last shot they continually rushed on, and never yielded an inch they had won; and when at last they received orders to fall back, they retired steadily and with cheers. General Price received a severe wound in the action, but would neither retire from the field nor cease to expose his life to danger.’ After the battle of Elkhorn, Price received his commission as major-general in the Confederate army, dated the day before that battle. Shortly after the battle of Shiloh, General Price with his Missourians accompanied Van Dorn to the east of the Mississippi, and after Bragg had departed for Kentucky they were left to face greatly superior numbers under Grant and Rosecrans. At Iuka and Corinth he and his men fought with great valor. The year 1863 found Price again in the Trans-Mississippi. But he was always under the orders of others, some of whom were inferior to himself in ability. At Helena, on July 4, 1863, Price's men were the only [221] part of the army that carried the enemy's works. He co-operated with Kirby Smith in the campaign against Banks and Steele in 1864. General Price made his last desperate effort to recover Missouri in the latter part of 1864. His campaign was marked by brilliant achievements, but at last, when within a short distance of Kansas City, he was confronted by overwhelming numbers of the enemy and forced to retreat. At the close of the war he was included in Kirby Smith's surrender, but preferring exile to submission he left the country and found refuge in Mexico. There he engaged in a scheme of colonization under the imperial government, but it proved a very unsatisfactory enterprise. He returned to the United States and died at St. Louis, Mo., on the 29th of September, 1867.


Brigadier-General Joseph O. Shelby

Brigadier-General Joseph O. Shelby was born at Lexington, Ky., in 1831, of a family prominent in the early history of Kentucky and Tennessee, and with a military record extending back to King's Mountain. His education was received in the schools of his native State. At the age of 19 he removed to Lafayette county, Mo., where by industry and thrift he became the owner of a rope factory, and a planter. He was rapidly accumulating a fortune when he was led to take an active part in the Kansas border troubles, siding with the Southern party. When the civil war commenced he left everything to organize a company of cavalry which marched at once to Independence, Mo. With them he fought at Booneville and captured the steamer Sunshine. Soon after this he joined General Price's army in the western part of the State. From this time forward General Shelby was actively engaged in every campaign of the war, west of the Mississippi. He was one of the most daring of all the leaders in that part of the general field of conflict and was ever ready for the most hazardous enterprise. He commanded his company dismounted in [222] the defense of Corinth, and in June, 1862, was commissioned colonel with instructions to find his regiment in Missouri. Going with his company to Devall's Bluff he soon led the advance in a raid into Missouri and recruited his regiment in Lafayette county. In January, 1863, he was commanding a brigade including his own and three other Missouri regiments, and on the 13th of the following December he received the commission of brigadier-general. At the battle of Pea Ridge he especially distinguished himself, as also at Newtonia, Cane Hill and Prairie Grove. He commanded a division in the Cape Girardeau expedition, and in the attack on Helena was severely wounded. He was especially famous as raider, some of the most important expeditions being intrusted to him by General Price. On September 16, 1864, General Magruder, commanding the district of Arkansas, issued a congratulatory order in which he said: ‘The major-general commanding this district announces with pride to the troops one of the most gallant exploits and successful expeditions of the war: the capture of five forts by the heroic Shelby and his brave officers and men in the face of superior numbers and the destruction of a large portion of the railroad between Little Rock and Devall's Bluff.’ He then gives Shelby's report in full. We quote a part of it: ‘The immediate and tangible fruits of my expedition are 577 prisoners including one field officer and eleven line officers; over 250 Federals killed and wounded, ten miles of railroad track completely destroyed * * * 3,000 bales of hay consumed by fire; 20 hay machines chopped to pieces; five forts razed to the ground; 500 stand of small arms distributed to my unarmed men; many fine horses captured; twelve barrels of salt brought off and given to a command suffering for it, besides supplying needy soldiers with blankets, shoes, boots, hats and clothing. * * * My details were tearing up the track while the enemy's bullets fired at the covering regiments were throwing splinters from the [223] ties in their faces.’ All this was accomplished in the proximity of a much larger Federal force, which did not attack him, because Shelby's skillful movements had caused them to greatly exaggerate his strength. This was but one of his many daring and successful affairs with the enemy in the campaigns in Arkansas and Missouri. General Shelby's generous disposition, careful regard for his followers, and dauntless courage, made him the idol of his men. When the surrender had been made and the army disbanded, Shelby gathered about him 600 men, for the most part Missourians ready to follow him anywhere, whom he led to Mexico to take part in the war between the imperialists under Maximilian and the republicans under Juarez. He had expected to aid Maximilian, but the emperor's propositions did not please him and hence he changed his military scheme into a colonization enterprise. Among those in the colony with him were Gen. Sterling Price, General McCausland of Virginia and General Lyon of Kentucky. In 1867 General Shelby returned to the United States and to his farm in Missouri. He was to the last thoroughly Southern in sentiment, and remained in retirement most of the time after the war. In 1893 he was appointed by President Cleveland marshal for the western district of Missouri, an office he held until his death. During the great railroad strike of that year he performed his duties with the same fearlessness that he had shown during his military career. General Shelby in private life commanded the love and esteem of his neighbors. His presence at the annual Confederate reunions always aroused the greatest enthusiasm of the old veterans, and none will be more sadly missed at these yearly gatherings than Joseph O. Shelby, the gallant western military leader. His death occurred at his country home near Adrian, Mo., February 13, 1897.


Major-General John G. Walker

Major-General John G. Walker was born in Cole [224] county, Mo., July 22, 1822. He was educated at the Jesuit college, St. Louis, and in 1843 was commissioned as a lieutenant in the First mounted rifles, United States army. He served in the Mexican war as captain, and after the close of that struggle was retained as an officer in the regular army. He resigned his commission in 1861 to take part with the people of the South in their struggle for separate independence. He was at once made major of cavalry in the regular army of the Confederate States, his commission being dated from March 16, 1861. He soon became lieutenant-colonel, then colonel and in September, 1861, was assigned to command of a brigade in Virginia, comprising the First Arkansas, Second Tennessee, and Twelfth North Carolina infantry. Not long afterward he was promoted to brigadiergen-eral. He served under General Holmes in the Aquia district and the department of North Carolina When Lee marched against Pope, he was placed in charge of a division and left with three other division commanders, R. H. Anderson, Lafayette McLaws and D. H. Hill, to watch McClellan's movements in the neighborhood of Westover. As soon as it was certain that the whole Federal army had been withdrawn to the defense of Washington City, these three divisions rejoined the army of Northern Virginia for the invasion of Maryland. Walker led his division to the support of Jackson at Harper's Ferry, and was directed to seize Loudoun Heights. This he did, and after the surrender of Harper's Ferry marched with the other divisions of Jackson's command to Sharpsburg. In the opening of the great battle of September 17, 1862, his division was first on the right, but was soon sent to the support of Jackson. On the way being asked for help by Gen. D. H. Hill, Walker sent him the Twenty-seventh North Carolina and the Third Arkansas, and hurried on with the rest of his force and, quickly forming on Hood's left, made sure Confederate victory in that part of the field. He was promoted to [225] major-general November 8, 1862, and was now called upon to bid farewell to the army of Northern Virginia, and go to a new field in the Trans-Mississippi, where he took command of the Texas division of infantry. Walker had not been long with his new troops before he brought them to a high state of efficiency. Gen. Richard Taylor, in his account of military operations in Louisiana, thus speaks of General Walker: ‘He had thoroughly disciplined his men, and made them in every sense soldiers, and their efficiency in action was soon established.’ Speaking of a successful battle fought on the 3d of November at Bourbeau, La., in which three regiments from Walker's division were engaged, Taylor again comments upon ‘the admirable conduct of Walker's men in action.’ His division in the Red river campaign maintained its splendid record in the battles against Banks and Steele. In June, 1864, he was assigned to command the district of West Louisiana, succeeding Gen. Richard Taylor, and subsequently he was until March 31, 1865, in command of the district of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and at Houston on the 27th indignantly refused the terms of surrender offered by Gen. Lew Wallace at Point Isabel, declaring that he would not ‘basely yield all that we have been fighting for during the last four years, namely, nationality and the rights of self government.’ His command at this time included Steele's Texas division of cavalry, Bee's Texas division of cavalry, Cooper's division of Indians, Bagby's division of Texas and Louisiana cavalry, and Slaughter's brigade. After the war General Walker served as consul-general at Bogota, and as special commissioner to invite the South American republics to the Pan-American convention won the complimentary mention of Secretary Blain He died at Washington, July 20, 1893.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Places (automatically extracted)

View a map of the most frequently mentioned places in this document.

Sort places alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a place to search for it in this document.
Missouri (Missouri, United States) (41)
United States (United States) (9)
Arkansas (Arkansas, United States) (8)
Springfield, Mo. (Missouri, United States) (5)
Mexico, Mo. (Missouri, United States) (4)
Little Rock (Arkansas, United States) (4)
Port Gibson (Mississippi, United States) (3)
Mexico (Mexico, Mexico) (3)
Louisiana (Louisiana, United States) (3)
Fayette, Mo. (Missouri, United States) (3)
St. Louis (Missouri, United States) (2)
Prairie Grove (Arkansas, United States) (2)
Pea Ridge, Ark. (Arkansas, United States) (2)
LaFayette County (Missouri, United States) (2)
Jonesboro (Georgia, United States) (2)
Iuka (Mississippi, United States) (2)
Harper's Ferry (West Virginia, United States) (2)
Georgia (Georgia, United States) (2)
Elkhorn Tavern (Arkansas, United States) (2)
Devall's Bluff (Arkansas, United States) (2)
Chihuahua (Chihuahua, Mexico) (2)
Cerro Gordo, Tenn. (Tennessee, United States) (2)
Westover (Virginia, United States) (1)
West Point (Georgia, United States) (1)
Washington (United States) (1)
Warrensburg (Missouri, United States) (1)
Vera Cruz, Mo. (Missouri, United States) (1)
Tennessee (Tennessee, United States) (1)
Sharpsburg (Maryland, United States) (1)
Savannah (Georgia, United States) (1)
Santa Fe (Colombia) (1)
Sacramento City (Missouri, United States) (1)
Raymond (Mississippi, United States) (1)
Prince Edward (Virginia, United States) (1)
Pine Bluff (Arkansas, United States) (1)
Patton (Pennsylvania, United States) (1)
Paris, Mo. (Missouri, United States) (1)
Mississippi (United States) (1)
Milton (Missouri, United States) (1)
Memphis (Tennessee, United States) (1)
Maryland (Maryland, United States) (1)
Madison County (Kentucky, United States) (1)
Loudoun Heights (Virginia, United States) (1)
Lost Mountain (Georgia, United States) (1)
Lexington, Lafayette County (Missouri, United States) (1)
Lexington (Kentucky, United States) (1)
Lewis (Missouri, United States) (1)
Lake Village, Ark. (Arkansas, United States) (1)
Kingston, Ga. (Georgia, United States) (1)
Jefferson City (Missouri, United States) (1)
Jackson (Mississippi, United States) (1)
Independence, Mo. (Missouri, United States) (1)
Howard (Missouri, United States) (1)
Houston, Mo. (Missouri, United States) (1)
Hartville (Missouri, United States) (1)
Fort Warren (Massachusetts, United States) (1)
Fort Gaines (Alabama, United States) (1)
Demopolis (Alabama, United States) (1)
Columbus, Ky. (Kentucky, United States) (1)
Cole (Missouri, United States) (1)
Churubusco (New York, United States) (1)
Chariton County (Missouri, United States) (1)
Cape Girardeau (Missouri, United States) (1)
Camden, Ark. (Arkansas, United States) (1)
Camargo (Mississippi, United States) (1)
California (California, United States) (1)
Bruinsburg (Mississippi, United States) (1)
Boonsborough (Arkansas, United States) (1)
Blakely (Alabama, United States) (1)
Atlanta (Georgia, United States) (1)
Arrow Rock (Missouri, United States) (1)
Arizona (Arizona, United States) (1)
Adrian (Missouri, United States) (1)
hide People (automatically extracted)
Sort people alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a person to search for him/her in this document.
Sterling Price (34)
Daniel M. Frost (13)
Joseph O. Shelby (10)
John G. Walker (9)
Martin E. Green (7)
John S. Bowen (7)
Mosby Monroe Parsons (6)
John Sappington Marmaduke (6)
Thomas C. Hindman (6)
Earl Dorn (6)
Frederick Steele (5)
Polk (5)
Nathaniel Lyon (5)
Claiborne F. Jackson (5)
U. S. Grant (5)
Francis Marion Cockrell (5)
Banks (5)
Fredericktown Shelby (4)
William M. Price (4)
Albert Sidney Johnston (4)
F. M. Cockrell (4)
John Bulloch Clark (4)
Richard Taylor (3)
Kirby Smith (3)
Maximilian (3)
Abraham Lincoln (3)
John Q. Burbridge (3)
Bragg (3)
B. R. Johnson (2)
John B. Hood (2)
T. H. Holmes (2)
D. H. Hill (2)
Hebert (2)
Colton Greene (2)
French (2)
Beauregard (2)
Woodson (1)
Richard Walsh (1)
Lew Wallace (1)
L. M. Walker (1)
Trias (1)
Tracy (1)
Dick Taylor (1)
Taos (1)
A. J. Smith (1)
Slaughter (1)
Sherman (1)
Carl Schurz (1)
Rosecrans (1)
Cruz Rosales (1)
John Pope (1)
Pemberton (1)
Parson (1)
Montgomery (1)
Lafayette McLaws (1)
McIntosh (1)
Ben McCulloch (1)
McClellan (1)
McCausland (1)
J. B. Magruder (1)
Lee (1)
J. C. Landis (1)
Juarez (1)
Jenkins (1)
Indians (1)
Hurst (1)
Hardee (1)
Henry Guibor (1)
Elkin (1)
Tom P. Dockery (1)
Dawson (1)
Douglas H. Cooper (1)
Cole (1)
Francis Cockrell (1)
Cleveland (1)
John B. Clarks (1)
George W. Carter (1)
John C. Breckinridge (1)
Bradfute (1)
Blunt (1)
Nashville Bledsoe (1)
Blain (1)
Bee (1)
Barry (1)
Barret (1)
Bagby (1)
R. H. Anderson (1)
hide Dates (automatically extracted)
Sort dates alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a date to search for it in this document.
1864 AD (6)
1862 AD (5)
1861 AD (5)
1863 AD (4)
1857 AD (4)
1853 AD (3)
1875 AD (2)
1874 AD (2)
June, 1864 AD (2)
July 4th, 1863 AD (2)
January, 1863 AD (2)
1854 AD (2)
1848 AD (2)
1824 AD (2)
December (2)
April 9th (2)
April (2)
February 13th, 1897 AD (1)
October 29th, 1895 AD (1)
January 14th, 1895 AD (1)
July 20th, 1893 AD (1)
1893 AD (1)
December 28th, 1887 AD (1)
1887 AD (1)
1885 AD (1)
December 4th, 1883 AD (1)
1883 AD (1)
1880 AD (1)
1873 AD (1)
1871 AD (1)
1869 AD (1)
September 29th, 1867 AD (1)
1867 AD (1)
May, 1866 AD (1)
August 7th, 1865 AD (1)
August, 1865 AD (1)
April 9th, 1865 AD (1)
March 31st, 1865 AD (1)
March 17th, 1865 AD (1)
1865 AD (1)
September 16th, 1864 AD (1)
May 23rd, 1864 AD (1)
May, 1864 AD (1)
March 8th, 1864 AD (1)
March, 1864 AD (1)
October 25th, 1863 AD (1)
September 13th, 1863 AD (1)
July 16th, 1863 AD (1)
March 2nd, 1863 AD (1)
November 8th, 1862 AD (1)
November 5th, 1862 AD (1)
September 17th, 1862 AD (1)
July 21st, 1862 AD (1)
June, 1862 AD (1)
May, 1862 AD (1)
April, 1862 AD (1)
March 3rd, 1862 AD (1)
March, 1862 AD (1)
January 1st, 1862 AD (1)
September, 1861 AD (1)
June 11th, 1861 AD (1)
May, 1861 AD (1)
April 17th, 1861 AD (1)
March 16th, 1861 AD (1)
1860 AD (1)
1859 AD (1)
1858 AD (1)
May 1st, 1856 AD (1)
July 20th, 1854 AD (1)
July 1st, 1853 AD (1)
1851 AD (1)
1850 AD (1)
July 1st, 1844 AD (1)
1844 AD (1)
1843 AD (1)
1842 AD (1)
1840 AD (1)
1836 AD (1)
October 1st, 1834 AD (1)
1834 AD (1)
March 14th, 1833 AD (1)
1832 AD (1)
1831 AD (1)
1829 AD (1)
1825 AD (1)
July 22nd, 1822 AD (1)
1819 AD (1)
1818 AD (1)
April 17th, 1812 AD (1)
September 14th, 1809 AD (1)
November 3rd (1)
October 21st (1)
October 2nd (1)
October (1)
September 28th (1)
September 6th (1)
August 8th (1)
July 5th (1)
June 25th (1)
May 26th (1)
May 25th (1)
May 18th (1)
May 17th (1)
May 11th (1)
May 8th (1)
May 1st (1)
April 17th (1)
April 3rd (1)
April 2nd (1)
March 14th (1)
30th (1)
25th (1)
22nd (1)
18th (1)
13th (1)
2nd (1)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: