Missouri Treasures

There are lots of trans-Mississippi resources available for researchers! Are you as skeptical as this gentleman?

Don't be! The Missouri Digital Heritage website boasts over 500,000  digitized Civil War era records, Yes, you read that correctly. Essentially all of these records relate to the trans-Mississippi with Missouri, of course, being the focus.

Here are just a few of the collections that are digitized:

Boone County Historical Society Civil War Collection
Civil War Manuscripts, State Historical Society of Missouri
Missouri Judicial Records, Missouri State Archives
Palmyra Massacre Collection
St. Louis Area Civil War Digitization Project
Union Provost Marshal Records
Cape Girardeau Argus
St. Louis Daily Missouri Republican
Governor Hamilton Rowan Gamble Papers
Freedom Suits Case Files, 1814-1860


Additionally, the website features research guides, lesson plans, videos, and links to related websites. Impressive!! 

Missouri Civil War Battle Flags

Civil War battle flags are amazing relics, and it is moving to contemplate the men who carried them, those who manufactured the flags, as well as those who have worked so hard to conserve them. I was delighted to learn recently that the Missouri State Museum has placed online the photographs and descriptions of 45 conserved flags (both Union and Confederate). Check out the special exhibit of Missouri Civil War Battle Flags!

Trans-Mississippi Units at Shiloh

Today marks the Sesquicentennial of the last day of the battle of Shiloh, a battle at which trans-Mississippi units played an important role. Below is a list of trans-Mississippi states that fielded units at Shiloh along with the number of units. Casualty totals are provided for Union units.

Union:

Iowa: 11 infantry units

Total casualties from Iowa units: 235 killed, 999 wounded, 1,149 missing or captured (most were captured)= 2,383

Minnesota: 1 Battery

Total casualties: 3 killed, 8 wounded=11

Missouri: 7 infantry units and 5 Batteries

Total casualties from Missouri units: 104 killed, 407 wounded, 659 missing or captured (most were captured)=1,170

Nebraska: 1 infantry unit

Total casualties: 4 killed, 22 wounded, 2 missing=28

Total for trans-Mississippi Union units: 346 killed, 1,436 wounded, 1,810 missing or captured=3,592

Confederate:

Arkansas: 10 infantry units and 4 Batteries

Louisiana: 11 infantry units and 2 Batteries

Missouri: 1 infantry unit

Texas: 2 infantry units and 1 Cavalry unit

The Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway

While traveling home from Tucson recently, I was startled to see this monument at a rest area near Lordsburg, New Mexico, on Interstate 10:

At the time, I wondered if the monument related in some way to Davis’ establishment of a Camel Corps in the mid 1850s while he served as Secretary of War. But, as it turns out the main clue on the monument is the mention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. According to an article by Richard F. Weingroff on the U. S. Department of Transportation's website, the United Daughters of the Confederacy promoted the idea of a Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway beginning in 1913. The Daughters envisioned a transcontinental highway that would be the southern counterpart of the Lincoln Highway. Apparently several other Jefferson Davis Memorial Highways were established as well. So, although it is not directly related to the Civil War, I found this little story deserving of a short posting.

Picacho Pass: April 1862

Recently I went on a road trip to Tucson, Arizona, with my mom and a friend. While there, my uncle kindly drove us to Picacho Peak State Park along Interstate 10 between Tucson and Phoenix. I had long wanted to visit this place as the site of the Picacho Pass skirmish is nearby. This was not the only clash between Union and Confederate soldiers in the Arizona Territory, but it is the most famous. Taking place on either April 15^th or April 16^th (the 15^th seems to be the most accepted), the skirmish erupted as thirteen men led by Lieutenant James Barrett of the 1^st California Cavalry scouted east of El Picacho, a 3,374 foot mountain. Another detachment was to pass to the west side of the mountain. The detachments were to capture a Confederate force stationed in the pass. Instead, Barrett and his men attacked the ten men from Captain Sherod Hunter’s Arizona Rangers. The fighting lasted for approximately one hour and a half; by the end Lieutenant Barrett had fallen dead along with Private George Johnson and W. S. Leonard (mortally wounded). Privates James Botsford, Peter Gann, and William Tobin were wounded. The Confederates lost three men captured: Sergeant Henry Holmes, William Dwyer, and John Hill. These three men were taken to Fort Yuma, California, where they were paroled in December 1862. The three prisoners maintained that a sizable force defended Tucson, and as a result, the Unionists retreated about forty miles. This small military action probably ended up delaying the advance of the California Column by a few weeks. An excellent source for this skirmish is Andrew E. Masich’s The Civil War In Arizona: The Story Of The California Volunteers, 1861-1865, a book that I have highlighted in an earlier posting. For other information about the events at Picacho Pass, the Picacho Peak State Park website includes a 4:35 minute video about the Civil War in the Southwest.

During my visit to Picacho Peak State Park, the weather was unstable with sleet falling intermittently. Here is a view of Picacho Pass where the skirmish took place:

According to Masich’s book, “In 1928 the Arizona Historical Society and the Southern Pacific Railroad erected a fifteen-foot stone obelisk in the railroad right of way between the tracks and the peak on a spot a railroad signal superintendent believed to be Barrett’s burial site” (p. 42). In 1975, the obelisk was moved near the entrance to the state park after a bronze plaque on the obelisk was stolen.

The park even includes a map depicting the action at Picacho Pass:

A courtyard area includes a wall with special plaques:

Lovely saguaro cacti dot the slopes of Picacho Peak and the Pass. This magnificent saguaro specimen on the slope of Picacho Peak may have witnessed the nearby skirmish.

Another Hard Fighting Iowa Regiment

My record of posting entries has been pretty poor this month primarily due to a week off for spring break. I was fortunate to be able to go on a road trip to Tucson, Arizona, to visit some family members. While visiting in Arizona, my uncle took me to the site of a skirmish near Picacho Peak between Tucson and Phoenix. This skirmish will be the subject of a future posting. For today, though, here is the next entry in my series on regiments that served in the trans-Mississippi drawn from William Fox’s list of "300 fighting regiments".

Iowa compiled an impressive record of fielding exceptional fighting units with the 2^nd Iowa Infantry being a fine example. Their first commander was Samuel R. Curtis, who went on to render significant service in the trans-Mississippi. As for his regiment, they first saw duty in Missouri and then experienced heavy combat at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Corinth. The regiment was an “old” one serving from the spring of 1861 until their final service during the battle of Bentonville in the spring of 1865. For more information about these Hawkeyes, see the following websites:

Civil War Index: brief history of the 2^nd Iowa from The Union Army

Iowa in the Civil War: a roster and a short history of the regiment are on this helpful website

“Sweeny’s Brigade — Dodge’s Division--Sixteenth Corps.

（1) Col. Samuel R. Curtis, W. P.; Major-Gen.	（3) Col. James Baker (Killed).
（2) Col. James M. Tuttle; Brig.-Gen.	（4) Col. James B. Weaver; Bvt. Brig.-Gen.
（5) Col. Noel B. Howard.

Companies.		killed and died of wounds.			died of disease, accidents, in Prison, &c.			Total Enrollment.
		Officers.	Men.	Total.	Officers.	Men.	Total.
Field and Staff		2		2				17
Company	A		12	12		11	11	117
	B	1	9	10		14	14	160
	C	3	12	15	1	17	18	115
	D		9	9		12	12	129
	E	1	10	11	1	18	19	127
	F	2	15	17	1	21	22	107
	G		13	13	1	20	21	151
	H	1	7	8		19	19	120
	I	1	10	11		11	11	133
	K	1	11	12		16	16	115
Totals		12	108	120	4	159	163	1,291

Total of killed and wounded, 465; died in Confederate prisons (previously included), 16.

Battles.	K. & M. W.	Battles.	K. & M. W.
Fort Donelson, Tenn.	54	Nickajack, Ga.	1
Shiloh, Tenn.	15	Atlanta, Ga.	17
Corinth, Miss.	25	Jonesboro, Ga.	2
Dallas, Ga.	4	Eden Station, Ga., Dec. 7, 1864	2

Present, also, at Siege of Corinth, Bear Creek, Ala.; Town Creek, Ala.; Resaca, Ga.; Rome Cross Roads, Ga.; Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.; Litttle Ogeeche River, Ga.; Siege of Savannah, Ga.; Columbia, S.C.; Lynch’s Creek, S. C.; Bentonville, N. C.

Notes.--Organized at Davenport, Iowa, in May, 1861. During the first year of its service it was stationed in Missouri, employed on guard duty at various points, and in protecting railroad communications. It left St. Louis February 7, 1862, proceeding by river transports to Fort Donelson, where, under command of Colonel Tuttle, it was engaged in the assault on the enemy's right. It was then in Lauman’s Brigade of General C. F. Smith's Division, and led the attack of the brigade. Its casualties at Fort Donelson were 33 killed and 164 wounded; two color-bearers were killed, and two wounded, while eight of the nine men in the color-guard were killed or wounded. The regiment was engaged a few weeks later at Shiloh; it was then in Tuttle's Brigade of W. H. Wallace's Division; loss, 8 killed, 60 wounded, and 4 missing. Next came the Siege of Corinth, and on October 3, 1862, the battle of Corinth. At that battle the Second fought in Hackleman's Brigade of Davies's Division, its loss there amounting to 12 killed, 84 wounded, and 5 missing. Among the killed were Colonel Baker, Lieutenant-Colonel Noah W. Mills and four line officers; General Hackleman was also killed in this engagement.

The regiment wintered at Corinth, Miss., and in the fall of 1863 moved to Pulaski, Tenn. It reenlisted in the winter of 1863-64, and upon its return from its veteran furlough entered the Atlanta campaign, during which it was in Fuller's (1st) Brigade, Veatch’s (4th) Division, Sixteenth Corps. After the fall of Atlanta it was transferred to Howard’s (1st) Brigade, Rice’s (4th) Division, Fifteenth Corps, with which it marched to the Sea and through the Carolinas. In November, 1864, the veterans and recruits of the Third Iowa remaining in the field were transferred to this regiment. The Second Iowa was mustered out July 12, 1865” (Fox, Regimental Losses In The American Civil War, 1861-1865, p. 403)

More Civil War Veterans in My Hometown

In August 2009, my first set of postings included a two part series that featured Civil War veterans buried in Fairview Cemetery in my hometown of Pryor Creek, Oklahoma. When I visited the cemetery a few weeks ago, I was surprised to find three more Civil War veterans. Fairview Cemetery is a bit unusual in its arrangement. As a veteran cemetery tramper, I’ve noticed that the “older” section gradually progresses to the newer sections. Fairview Cemetery has two “older” sections: one on the east side and one on the west side. Not sure why the cemetery developed in that fashion, but the soldiers featured in this posting are buried on the east side of the cemetery. All three were Union veterans, and I was able to find some additional facts about two of the men.

William H. Pearson served in the 6^th Illinois Cavalry, a regiment that saw much duty in the western theater.

Mathias Washam, a farmer, enlisted at age 22 on September 7, 1863 in the 11^th Tennessee Cavalry, later being transferred to the 9^th Tennessee Cavalry. His descriptive record states that he had blue eyes, light hair, and stood five feet eight inches tall. After being paid a $25 bounty, Washam went absent without leave until he was restored to duty in late February 1864; he lost his pay for the forty-nine days that he was absent. From that point on, Washam served faithfully even being promoted to sergeant and then appointed as quartermaster sergeant. The military mustered him out in Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 11, 1865.

Initially, Corporal Samuel Johnson puzzled me as no Samuel Johnson served in the 17^th Missouri Infantry as his marker so plainly notes. The 1900 census listed a Samuel Johnson, a native of Michigan, living in the Cherokee Nation. Could he have served in the 17^th Michigan? Indeed, after searching in various records, I concluded that he did. Johnson enlisted in Company I on August 16, 1862 in Dundee, Michigan. At some point during the war he was promoted to corporal and was mustered out in Washington, D. C. on June 3, 1865. One of Fox’s “Three Hundred Fighting Regiments,” the 17^th Michigan Infantry served in the IX Army Corps and saw much hard service.