Captain Henry Guibor's Ingenuity

Recently, I’ve been doing some reading about artillery during the battle of Wilson’s Creek in preparation for a Staff Ride. In the process I learned that some of the Missouri State Guard artillerymen used a great deal of ingenuity in manufacturing ammunition and other supplies for their battery.

Lieutenant William P. Barlow explained that “After [the skirmish at] Carthage [Captain Henry] Guibor’s ingenuity was exercised in establishing an ‘arsenal of construction.’ We had found a number of loose, round shot in the battery wagon. A turning-lathe in the town supplied sabots, and the owner of a tin shop contributed straps and canisters, iron rods donated by and cut up in the blacksmith shot made good slugs for the canister and a bolt of flannel, needles and thread, freely given by some dry goods man, furnished material for cartridge bags. A bayonet made a good candlestick, and at night, after the day’s march, the men went to work sewing cartridge bags, strapping shot to the sabots, filling the bags from a barrel of powder placed some distance from the candle, in the meantime watching each change of wind and fearing it might blow a spark from the candle and blow us up.

My first cartridge resembled a turnip, rather than the trim cylinders from federal arsenals, and would not enter a gun on any terms. But we soon learned the trick, and at the close range at which the next battle [Wilson’s Creek] was fought our home-made ammunition proved as effective as the best” (page 32).

As it turns out, Barlow’s tale was not an “old soldier’s story.” About ten years ago, an archeological survey was conducted at Wilson’s Creek and among the finds was expedient (i.e. homemade) canister on the slopes of Bloody Hill as well as in Sharp’s Cornfield. Thanks to Barlow’s account historians can safely conclude that Guibor’s Battery fired the expedient canister found on Bloody Hill. Captain Hiram M. Bledsoe’s Battery, another Missouri Guard unit, probably fired the expedient canister found in Sharp’s Cornfield.

Source of Lieutenant Barlow’s quote:

Patrick, Jeffrey L., ed. “Remembering the Missouri Campaign of 1861: The Memoirs of Lt. W. P. Barlow, Guibor’s Battery, Missouri State Guard.” Civil War Regiments: A Journal of the American Civil War, Vol. 5, Number 4, pages 20-60.

Iowans on the March

As some of my previous postings have noted, soldiers in the trans-Mississippi were involved in some incredible marches. One of these marches is documented in Jeffrey L. Patrick’s Campaign for Wilson’s Creek: The Fight for Missouri Begins. The book is part of

the McWhiney Foundation Press’ “Civil War Campaigns and Commanders” series, consisting of shorter books about a variety of topics. Patrick’s book is a clearly written study of the Wilson’s Creek campaign. Notably, it includes a number of helpful maps and sidebars with biographical data about prominent campaign participants.

Patrick’s description of the march is based partly on Missouri in 1861: The Civil War Letters of Franc B. Wilkie, Newspaper Correspondent. Edited by Michael E. Banasik, this excellent source focuses on the activities of the 1^st Iowa Infantry during the Wilson’s Creek campaign; in the second half of the book, Wilkie chronicles the later 1861 fall campaigns.

While crossing the Osage River on July 11^th, Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon learned that Brigadier General Franz Sigel’s force was retreating to Springfield after the battle at Carthage with Confederate forces in pursuit. Lyon ordered a forced march to Springfield to rescue Sigel and his men. The 1^st Iowa Infantry led the way for Lyon’s force and pulled out shortly afterwards at 5:00 a.m. on July 11^th.  Ten hours later, the 1^st Iowa had logged 27 miles. Following a break of about three hours, the soldiers again took up the march and by 3:00 a.m. on July 12^th, they had traveled an additional 21 miles. A two-hour break followed and then the soldiers trudged another five miles. At this point, a courier arrived to announce that Sigel’s force had arrived safely in Springfield. So, from 5:00 a.m. on July 11^th to the morning of July 12^th, the 1^st Iowa infantry marched 53 miles. The men sustained themselves in part by singing “Happy Land of Canaan,” a tune enhanced by the addition of over 200 verses.

150 Years Ago Today: The Battle of Wilson's Creek

The battle of Wilson’s Creek, fought near Springfield, Missouri, was a vicious affair. The Union “Army of the West” suffered approximately 24.2% casualties, one of the higher percentage losses for an army during the conflict; Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, the army’s aggressive commander, was one of the killed. The Confederate “Western Army” suffered approximately 10.1% casualties at Wilson’s Creek, or Oak Hills as it is sometimes designated. The percentage of casualties at Wilson’s Creek was higher than at the battle of Bull Run fought less than a month earlier.

A couple of eyewitness accounts follow:

Eugene F. Ware, 1^st Iowa Infantry:

“On the edge of the meadow toward us, and between us, was a low rail fence; the enemy rallied under the shelter of it, and, as if by some inspiration or some immediate change of orders, they broke it down in places and started for our artillery. As they got nearer to us, their own artillery ceased to fire, because it endangered them. When they got close the firing began on both sides. How long it lasted I do not know. It might have been an hour; it seemed like a week; it was probably twenty minutes. Every man was shooting as fast, on our side, as he could load, and yelling as loud as his breath would permit. Most were on the ground, some on one knee. The enemy stopped advancing. We had paper cartridges, and in loading we had to bite off the end, and every man had a big quid of paper in his mouth, from which down his chin ran the dissolved gunpowder. The other side was yelling, and if any orders were given nobody heard them. Every man assumed the responsibility of doing as much shooting as he could…

The boys were highly pleased that they had got through with the day alive, and there was no idea that the day had gone against us…We were so hoarse from yelling that we could hardly talk. The reiterated kick of ‘U. S. 1861’ made my shoulder feel as if I had the rheumatism. We did not get into Springfield until after sundown. There was absolutely no pursuit, and we felt no apprehension of danger” (Ware, The Lyon Campaign In Missouri: Being A History Of The First Iowa Infantry. Topeka, KS: Crane & Company, 1907; reprint ed., Iowa City: The Camp Pope Bookshop, 1991, p. 318-319, 327).

William Watson, 3^rd Louisiana Infantry

“We soon afterwards received orders to go back to camp; the battle was over, and we had gained the victory. This announcement was received with loud cheers, and we started back to camp highly pleased with the day’s work, everyone, of course, recounting the deeds they had done—some of the boys having slain half-a-dozen generals or put a squadron of horse to flight.

When we got to our camp we found the ground torn up in some places with shot, and strewn with fragments of shells, but not much damage done. (The enemy, in their report of the battle, said they had destroyed the camp.) But there was but little to damage; one or two tents had been burned by the shells, and one or two waggons damaged, but the horses and mules and the greater part of the waggons had been got behind a hill, out of range of the shot. In our bivouac the coffee was standing over the cold fires, just as we had left it in the morning (it seemed an age since that time)… We were very hungry and tired, and soon made a hearty breakfast and dinner all in one...

Whether there was anything in the air (which was strongly impregnated with the smell of powder, as there was not a breath of wind) I do not know, but I think I enjoyed the sweetest night’s rest I ever enjoyed in my life” (Watson, Life In The Confederate Army Being The Observations of an Alien in the South During the American Civil War. London: Chapman and Hall, 1887; reprint ed. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995, p. 225, 228).

Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Wilson's Creek

The latest issue of Hallowed Ground, the publication of the Civil War Trust features Gettysburg on the cover, but the magazine contains three feature articles about the trans-Mississippi. They are:

“Missouri’s Bloody Hill: The Battle of Wilson’s Creek” by Jeff Patrick

“The ‘Sesquicentennial App’: Springfield-Greene County Library’s Ambitious Digitization Project” by Brian Grubbs

“Beyond the Display Case: Exploring The Collections Of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield” by Deborah Wood

By the way, there will be some special events at the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in recognition of the battle’s anniversary in August.

The 1st Kansas Infantry

This is the continuation of a series highlighting twenty-three Union regiments from William F. Fox’s list of 300 fighting regiments from his Regimental Losses In The American Civil War, 1861-1865 (1898). Each of the twenty-three regiments featured suffered combat losses in the trans-Mississippi during their term of service. What follows below is the entry about the 1^st Kansas Infantry from Fox’s book, a regiment that served almost for the entire war in the trans-Mississippi. It suffered 106 killed at the battle of Wilson’s Creek, the fifth highest number of killed in a single battle by a Union infantry regiment during the war (Fox, p. 17). Ranked right behind it is the 1^st Missouri Infantry that had 103 killed at the same battle. After participating in the battle of Wilson’s Creek, the 1^st Kansas Infantry saw duty primarily in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Here are some other resources about the 1^st Kansas Infantry that may be of interest:

Hatcher, Richard W., III and William Garrett Piston, eds. Kansans at Wilson’s Creek: Soldiers’ Letters from the Campaign For Southwest Missouri. Studies of the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. Springfield, MO: Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation, 1993. This slim volume reproduces letters from soldiers of the 1^st Kansas Infantry and the 2^nd Kansas Infantry that were published in wartime newspapers.

Kate Newland Collection, Kansas State Historical Society: digitized collection includes letters written by Lewis Stafford of Company E to Kate Newland

Museum of the Kansas National Guard: a short history of the 1^st Kansas Infantry appears on this website

“Reid's Brigade — McArthur's Division--Seventeenth Corps.

（1) Col. George W. Deitzler;Brig.-Gen.

（2) Col. William Y. Roberts.

companies.		killed and died of wounds.			died of disease, accidents, in Prison, &c.			Total Enrollment.
		Officers.	Men.	Total.	Officers.	Men.	Total.
Field and Staff								16
Company	A		5	5		11	11	104
	B	1	2	3	1	13	14	115
	C		20	20		14	14	141
	D	1	9	10		15	15	137
	E		18	18	2	12	14	146
	F	1	14	15		14	14	121
	G		7	7		12	12	127
	H	1	23	24		10	10	144
	I	1	15	16		13	13	129
	K	2	7	9		8	8	128
Totals		7	120	127	3	122	125	1,308

Total of killed and wounded, 339.

battles.	K. & M. W.	battles.	K. & M. W.
Wilson’s Creek, Mo.	106	Atchafalaya, La.	1
Tuscumbia Mountain, Miss.	2	Vicksburg, Miss. (1864）	1
Old River, La.	1	Columbia, Ark.	2
Bayou Macon, La.	3	Guerrillas	2
Lake Providence, La.	3	Rebel Prison Guard	1
Cross Bayou, La.	1	Place unknown	3
Alexandria, La.	1

Present, also, at Dug Springs, Mo.; Trenton, Tenn.; Tallahatchie, Miss.; Big Black River, Miss.; Yazoo City, Miss.

Notes.--Organized at Leavenworth in May, 1861, and in June, was ordered into Missouri where it joined General Lyon's forces. It fought at Wilson’s Creek, August 10, 1861, a desperate battle in which General Lyon was killed, and in which the regiment suffered an unusual loss, its casualties amounting to 77 killed, 187 wounded, and 20 missing; a total of 284, out of 644 engaged; four line officers were killed, and Colonel Deitzler was severely wounded. General Sturgis, after having passed through many of the bloodiest battles of the war, once remarked that “for downright, hard, persistent fighting, Wilson’s Creek beat them all.” After this battle the regiment was stationed in Missouri until May, 1862, when it was ordered to Corinth. The summer of 1862 was spent in opening and guarding the Mobile & Ohio R. R. In January, 1863, it moved to Young’s Point, opposite Vicksburg, where the regiment was mounted by order of General Grant. It served as mounted infantry during the ensuing eighteen months, including the siege of Vicksburg, after which it joined the expedition to Natchez. During this time it was engaged, almost continuously, on scouting and outpost duty. In October, 1863, it returned to Vicksburg, and was stationed at Black River Bridge, twelve miles south of the city, where it went into winter quarters. The spring of 1864 was also passed in the vicinity of Vicksburg. On June 1, 1864, the regiment, excepting two companies of reenlisted men and recruits, embarked on transports for home, its term of service having expired. While passing Columbia, Ark., the steamer was fired on by an eight-gun battery, killing two of the men. The two companies remaining in the field were continued in service until August 30, 1865, when they were mustered out” (Fox, p. 417).

A Visit to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

Earlier in the month, I spoke at a meeting of the Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks in Springfield, Missouri. My talk was a biographical one that focused on Brigadier General Daniel W. Adams, the first commander of the Adams-Gibson Louisiana brigade that served in the Army of Tennessee. “Old Pelican” was an interesting character, and I enjoyed researching his life story. The audience of about 50 was quite attentive; there are many fine folks in the CWRT of the Ozarks, and I encourage you to attend one of their monthly meetings.

While on my way home the next day I stopped by the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield for a short visit. It was a gloomy, drizzly day, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity of visiting one of my favorite battlefields! I hope that you enjoy this mini tour.

Although not the best day for photography, I snapped a few shots.The park service has placed a cannon near the site of the Pulaski Battery's position, and this photograph shows the markings of the manufacturer. Many of the cannon barrels at the battlefields administered by the National Park Service do date from the Civil War as does this one. All of these images may be enlarged by clicking on them.

The Pulaski Battery, a Confederate unit from Little Rock, Arkansas, bombarded part of Bloody Hill; interestingly one of the Union batteries stationed on Bloody Hill was commanded by Captain James Totten who in the antebellum period had been stationed in Little Rock and gave the Pulaski Battery some instruction. The armies spent several hours contending for control of the hill with Confederate forces seizing it when the Unionists started retreating back to Springfield.

The wildflowers were in bloom and these were taken near the Ray House.

This photograph shows the Edwards Cabin situated near the Wire Road and used as a headquarters by Sterling Price, one of the Confederate commanders at the battle. This is not the original Edwards Cabin but a cabin dating from the 1850s that was moved into the park.

In this photo I have just crossed Wilson's Creek on the historic Wire Road and am walking along a park trail; in the distance is Bloody Hill.

A view from the slopes of Bloody Hill looking back toward the Edwards Cabin in the far distance near the middle of the photograph.

Excellent Book about the Battle of Wilson's Creek

William Garrett Piston and Richard W. Hatcher III’s book, Wilson’s Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2000) rates as another outstanding book about a Trans-Mississippi battle. The battle of Wilson's Creek occurred on 10 August 1861 just a few miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri. Although the battle was a Confederate victory, the Confederates were unable to capitalize on their triumph. Not only was it an important battle in the struggle for control of Missouri, but the fiery Union commander, Nathaniel Lyons, was killed during the battle. The smaller scale of battles in the Trans-Mississippi allows historians to write of battles in great detail and give increased coverage of related topics. In this book, the authors carefully explain the entire campaign and the ensuing battle; the eight maps are a well done enhancement to the text. The authors give an unusual amount of coverage to the backgrounds of some of the regiments and the geographical areas that they hailed from. It is unusual in a campaign history to gain such a strong sense of the soldiers’ civilian backgrounds and the important ties between soldiers and their hometowns. Since reading this book, I have been unable to visit Wilson’s Creek without also thinking about St. Louis, Missouri; Marshall, Texas; Davenport, Iowa; Lawrence, Kansas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Winn Parish, Louisiana, and other communities that provided the soldiers that fought at Wilson’s Creek.

“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;”