Clay County in the Civil War

Companies of men were organized in various parts of the county. A company of "South-Rights" men was organized in Liberty with Henry L. Routt, as captain and L. S. Talbott, George W. Morris and John W. Gillispie as lieutenants.

At Smithville a company was formed with Theodore Duncan as captain and J. E. Brooks, William Davenport and P. M. Savery, as lieutenants.

In the northeast part of the county a company was officered by Prof. L. M. Lewis as captain and G. W. Mothershead, M. D. Scruggs, Richard Laffoon, as lieutenants.

In Gallatin Township another company was organized with G. W. Crowley, captain, Amos Stout and R. H. Stout, lieutenants.

Just west of Kearney, at Gilead, a company for "home defense" was organized of which O. H. Harris was captain; W. W. Smith and Samuel Henderson were lieutenants and Tapp Soper orderly.

Another company at Liberty was organized, 0. P. Moss, captain; James H. Moss, William G. Garth and John Dunn, lieutenants. With the exception of the company of which O. P. Moss was captain were armed with arms from the Liberty arsenal.

These various companies did not all remain intact. Some of them were broken up and the men joined other companies and served in the Confederate cause. Camp Jackson, near St. Louis was captured by General Lyon and E. P. Blair, Jr. This was a camp of Missouri State Guards, under the command of Gen. D. M. Frost. Directly thereafter the Missouri Legislature passed the famous "military bill". Governor Jackson immediately ordered several companies of the Missouri State Guard to come to the capital for its defense. Captain Routt's company from Liberty and Capt. Theodore Duncan from Smithville left for Jefferson City in obedience to orders, but only remained a few days, returning to their respective homes.

On the 15th day of June, 1861, by orders of the governor, Capts. Routt, Duncan and Mothershead, with their companies, crossed the Missouri River at Blue Mills Landing and joined the forces under Col. Richard H. Weightman, who were in camp on the Lexington road a few miles east of Independence. Some history states that on this date a fight had ensued on Rock Creek, two miles west of Independence, between the Missouri State Guards under the command of Col. Hollaway and some regular army forces under the command of Lieutenant Stanley. No such conflict ever occurred. Colonel Holloway's men were in camp west of Independence, when receiving information that a large force of Federals had left Kansas City with the intention of attacking the State Guards, Colonel Holloway made preparations for defense and when the Federals approached the camp of the State Guard, Colonel Holloway observed that a white flag was being earned at the head of the Federal column; riding toward the Federals. Colonel Holloway was accidentally shot, mortally wounded, by one of his own men. Someone had accidentally shot his gun off, which the rank and file of Holloway's men thought was a signal to fire, when there was a general fusillade from the State Guard, mortally wounding the commanding officer. Colonel Holloway, and Bud McClanahan and slightly wounding Samuel Ralston. The Federals did not fire a gun but returned with the least disorder to Kansas City. While in camp east of Independence, Capt. Theodore Duncan was shot and mortally wounded, dying from the wound a few days later and was buried in Liberty. At the time Colonel Holloway was wounded he was acting instead of Brig. Gen. James S. Rains, the commander of that military division of the state, and had for his aids-de-camp, John W. Henry, afterwards judge of Supreme Court, Shrewsberry Darneal, Bud McClanahan and William H. Woodson, all citizens of Independence.

Lieut. Colonel Weightman marched the State Guard to Lexington, where General Rains assumed command of the troops gathered at that place. In the meantime other companies were being organized in Clay County. Capt. Thomas McCarty organized a company of infantry, with Alexander J. Calhoun, J. C. Vertress and R. P. Evans as lieutenants. This company started for Lexington, June 17th. Within a week four other companies from Clay County were on the road to Lexington, Captain Talbott's, Captain Holt's, Captain Mothershead's and Captain Crowley's. Captain Talbott succeeded Captain Routt in command of the "Rangers", Routt being elected to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

The Federal forces under Lyons and Sturgis had a fight at Boonville with the State Guards, compelling the latter to retreat to Lexington and other places southwest of Boonville. These Missourians were compelled to still further retreat toward the southern part of the state, but were intercepted near Carthage on the 5th day of July by a large force of Federals under command of Gen. Franz Sigel. A battle was fought, resulting in the defeat of the Federals. In this battle, Captain McCarty's company had one man killed, Albert (Dink) Withers. On the 10th day of August, the greatest, most stubbornly and sanguinary battle on Missouri soil during the War Between the States was fought at Wilson's Creek. The following men from Clay County under General Price were killed:

Sergents. A. W. Marshall, John W. Woods, Amos Stout
Privates
David Morris, John Grant (cousin of Gen. U. S. Grant), and Richard Gates.

The wounded were:
Capt. Thomas McCarty, seriously, and Lieut. Theodore K. Gash, Privates James Miller, J. B. Winn, C. S. Stark, Richard Talbott, William Hymer and L. B. Thompson, more or less severely.

Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, the commander-in-chief of the Federal forces was killed and his army defeated. Gen. Samuel Sturgis succeeded to the command and retreated to Springfield and from that place to Rolla. This victory gave great encouragement to the people of Southern sympathy and greatly stimulated by the Federal defeats at Carthage and Wilson's Creek, many rushed to enlist before the war should be over. The Federals in the western part of the state kept remarkably quiet for quite a while as the Confederates passed to and from Price's army with no "one to molest or make them afraid".

Clay County formed a part of Gen. A. E. Stein's military division of the state. This commander issued in August a proclamation calling upon men to enlist in his army to drive from the state the Northerners who had invaded it, which was not without results. Men were organized into companies and regiments in Stein's division which was in Northwest part of the state. Colonel Saunders from the extreme northwest Missouri, commanded a regiment and other regiments were organized, ready for immediate service. Col. John H. Winston, of Platte County, organized a regiment. A considerable force under the command of Col. Henry L. Routt, were encamped near Lexington. Colonel Mulligan, a Federal commander with a large force had taken the Old Masonic College building at Lexington in possession and had thrown up entrenchments. The Southerners determined to capture this officer and his army if possible. To this end the two above mentioned regiments hastened to Lexington. In Clay County, Capt. L. B. Dougherty commanded a company, with James A. Gillispie and L. A. Robertson, as lieutenants. Capt. John S. Groom and Capt. Peter C. Pixlee had also organized companies. These Clay County soldiers also repaired to Lexington, for the news had reached them that Gen. Sterling Price was marching on Lexington from Springfield. The regularly organized companies from Clay County which participated in the siege of Lexington and assisted in the capture of 2,800 Federals under Colonel Mulligan, who surrendered September 20th, were those of Captain Pixlee, Captain Groom, Capt. Gideon Thompson, L. B. Dougherty and Captain Mothershead. Other men from Clay County participated in the siege, but were attached to other commands.

The Missourians from northwest concentrated at St. Joseph for their march to Lexington, and on their march to Lexington were joined by the regiment of Colonel Winston, numbering about 3,500 men, most of them mounted, and the baggage train numbered over sixty wagons. They had three cannon, two six-pounders and one nine-pounder. The Federal commander of the northwest part of the state was fully aware of the movement of these Missouri troops and determined to prevent them from crossing the Missouri River and augmenting the force confronting Mulligan at Lexington. This Federal commander from the northwest rushed troops from all quarters toward Blue Mills Landing, for that was the point where the Missouri troops expected to cross the river. Colonel Winston's regiment without interference crossed the river. At Liberty, Colonel Saundures receiving information that Federal troops were near and he was likely to be attacked, rapidly marched his forces in the direction of Blue Mill Landing. The Federals also were alert; they too hurried toward the Landing Before the Missourians could reach the crossing, messengers apprised the commander of the close proximity of the enemy. Colonel Saunders secreted a large number of his men behind an embankment of a slough for at least a quarter of a mile just west of the farm of John Beauchamp, about four miles south of Liberty. Thick underbrush between the embankment and the road prevented the Federals from observing their enemy who were in complete ambuscade. The Federals marched gaily along; suddenly a terrific fire was opened upon them from the guns of the State Guards with disastrous results. The advantage was with the State Guards from the start to the close, which was of short duration, as the Federals being taken by surprise fled in haste and disorder back to Liberty. The Missourians crossed the river that day and marched to Lexington without being further hindered or molested. That night the Federals visited the field and removed nearly all their wounded. The next day they were all brought back to Liberty and taken to the William Jewell College building, which was improvised into a hospital for their accommodation. The dead, consisting of fourteen in number, were buried on the College grounds. The wounded were about eighty.

To give the reader some idea of reports of battles in those days made by officers whose duty it was to make reports of engagements, we here give reports of the killed and wounded in this affair. Colonel Saunders, commander of State Guards, in his report, dated September 21, 1861, states that he had one man killed and seventeen wounded and that the Federals admitted a loss of 150 to 200 killed, wounded and missing. Lieut.-Col. John Scott, of the 3rd Iowa Volunteers, commanding the Federals, states in his report, dated Liberty, September 18, 1861, "The loss of the enemy cannot be certainly ascertained, but from accounts deemed reliable, is not less than 160, many of whom were killed". The colonel in his report does not state the loss of the Federals, but states, "I have to regret the loss of a number of brave officers and men who fell gallantly fighting at their posts. I refer to the enclosed list of killed and wounded as a part of this report."

Governor C. F. Jackson having been driven from Jefferson City, called the legislature to meet in Neosho on the 26th of October and on the 28th, an ordinance of secession was passed by both houses. In the Senate, only one vote was cast against the ordinance, that of Charles H. Hardin, then senator from Boone and Callaway district and afterwards governor of the state and in the House only one vote cast against the ordinance, that of Shambaugh, of DeKalb County. The Congress of the Confederacy at Richmond, Virginia, approved of this ordinance annexing of the people of Missouri with the Southern Confederacy.

Our citizens were greatly surprised on one Sunday early in December, 1861, to find a large body of soldiers under the command of Gen. B. M. Prentiss, of the regular United States army come into Liberty, where they remained until the Tuesday following. During their stay numbers of persons of Confederate proclivities were arrested and forced to take the oath of loyalty to the Federal government. When this general departed with his troops, returning to Leavenworth, he carried with him Judge James C. Vertrees, judge of the Probate Court, J. J. Moore, deputy sheriff, James H. Ford, constable, and about a dozen other prominent citizens.

Missouri state government was reorganized by ordinance of the State Convention, with Hamilton R. Gamble as provisional governor, Willard P. Hall, as lieutenant-governor, and Mordecai Oliver as Secretary of State. It required all county officers and almost all other civil officers of the state to take an oath of loyalty to the State and National Government, which was generally deemed not improper, but there were many obnoxious provisions in the oath which a great many officers in the state would not take or subscribe to. Judge W. Dunn, of the Clay County Circuit Court refused to subscribe to the oath and ex-governor A. King was appointed his stead. D. C. Allen, circuit attorney, would not take and subscribed to the oath, and D. P. Whitmer, of Ray County, became his successor. A. J. Calhoun, the circuit clerk, subscribed to the oath.

The leader of the conservative Union men of northwest Missouri was Col. James H. Moss, brother of Capt. Oliver P. Moss, a brother-in-law of Hon. John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky. It was Colonel Moss and the men of his regiment, composed of men from Clay and Platte Counties, who did more than all other agencies combined from 1862 to the end of the War Between the States, to protect Clay and Platte Counties from marauders, thieves and villains, military and otherwise.

In September, 1862, the companies of enrolled militia in Clay and Platte were organized into a regiment denominated the Forty-eighth Regiment:

Colonel, James H. Moss; Lieutenant-colonel, Nathaniel Grant; C. J .White, adjutant; William T. Reynolds, Quartermaster; Dr. William A. Morton, Surgeon, all of Clay.

By reason of the very large reduction in numbers of this regiment by removals from the state and other causes, this regiment was disbanded in November, 1863. Colonel Moss retaining his commission, was instructed to reorganize effective militia of Clay, Clinton and Platte Counties, which he accordingly did and into a regiment.

 Eighty-second Enrolled Missouri, better known as the "Paw-Paw" militia: Colonel, James H. Moss; Lieutenant-colonel, Nathaniel Grant, both of Clay; Major, John M. Clark, of Platte.

A book of no small dimensions could be truthfully written, giving a history of this command during the trying times from the time of its organization to the end of the war. Its combats with thieves and "Red Legs" alone, depicted, would be a long and interesting narrative. Especially next to Colonel Moss, due credit would be given to Capt. John S. Thomason, of Clay, and Davis Johnson, of Platte, and great praise, not a modicum, to Maj. John M. Clark. It was this command that prevented Clay and Platte from being laid waste by vandals from our neighboring state of Kansas, as Jackson, Cass and a part of Bates Counties were despoiled about this period of the war by these same vandals.

On the 19th of May, 1863, a body of armed men, under the command of one Fernando Scott, who crossed the river at Sibley several days before, made a raid into Missouri City.

From July to the end of the year roving bands of bushwhackers infested the county and predatory squads and larger companies of state militia roamed over the county to the unrest and constant dread of peaceable, law abiding citizens.

The news of the surrender of General Lee was a quietus to this kind of warfare. The Confederate people of Clay County became resigned to the inevitable and looked forward to the future in hopes for peace. 

Clay County| AHGP Missouri

Source: History of Clay County, Missouri, by W. H. Woodson, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, 1920.