Laudator Temporis Acti

My 3rd great-grandfather, John B. Wagner, served in the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard, 8th Division (under Brigadier General James Spencer Rains), 10th Cavalry Regiment (under Colonel William Hugh Erwin), from September 1, 1861, to April 22, 1862. It is therefore likely (though not certain) that he fought with his regiment in the Battle of Morristown, Cass County, Missouri, on September 17, 1861. Here are two accounts of the battle by participants, one (John Berry) on the Confederate side, the other (Thomas Moonlight) on the Union side.

"The Battle of Morristown in Cass County Was Sixty-Five Years Ago," Cass County Democrat (June 10, 1926), p. 9 (excerpt, cols. 2-3), rpt. in Missouri Historical Review 21.2 (January, 1927) 284-285 (I quote from the newspaper):

On September 17, 1861, one hundred and twenty-one Confederate troops were encamped just a short distance northeast of the main part of Morristown. The soldiers were under the command of Colonel Will Hugh Irwin and for the most part were untrained and poorly equipped.... [T]he location of the camp ... was not far from the town's main thoroughfare. Colonel Irwin and his company of men were there for the purpose of recruiting a regiment of soldiers to join the army of General Sterling Price who was then fighting at Lexington, Mo. Colonel Irwin was a Cass county citizen, making his home on a farm near the present town of Peculiar.

A member of Colonel Irwin's company of men at that time was John Ed. Berry, then just nineteen years old. Mr. Berry is now eighty-four years old and lives in Harrisonville. To watch him in action one would set him down as being twenty years younger, for he did not show fatigue after recently conducting a party of sight-seers over the old battle-ground, and telling how the handful of Confederate soldiers escaped after being surprised by two regiments, or some 1,500 Union soldiers, under the command of General Lane.

The night of September 16 was quiet, with no one stirring except those on guard duty. Just at the break of day, however, the pickets rushed to the sleeping camp and notified the officers that hordes of Federal soldiers were approaching the camp from the east. There was no time to prepare for defense, for the camp was unprotected and its occupants outnumbered ten to one, so the Confederate soldiers deployed along the brushy stream ... and soon were surrounded by the enemy.

There was a saloon located near the first bend in the stream, and it was here that Mr. Berry was ensconced, having a plain view of all that took place. While the Union soldiers were deploying, a column of cavalry headed by Colonel Johnson, rushed down Morristown's main street, while a body of infantrymen was stationed northeast of the Confederate camp. There was no disciplined order of battle, for the Confederates, using the dry stream as a trench and its rocky ledges as a parapet, were firing whenever there was a good target, Colonel Johnson being killed almost in front of Mr. Berry. The battle lasted until 8:30 o'clock that morning, with the Union soldiers getting decidedly the worst of the engagement. Not only were the Confederates outnumbered, but the enemy used two pieces of field artillery, which were not of much effect under the circumstances although a barn across the stream, south, which is yet standing, can show evidence of artillery fire.

Seeing that the Confederate forces would be annihilated if the battle continued, the officers ordered a retreat, which was accomplished, although Union soldiers had the southern soldiers pocketed. Being thoroughly familiar with the terrain, Colonel Irwin selected Mr. Berry to lead the retreat. This was successfully accomplished by following the stream east, during which they could see and hear the Union soldiers but could not be seen. The escape was miraculous, and after leaving the battle scene, the soldiers made their way to Harrisonville. As near as Mr. Berry can remember, one hundred and nineteen Union soldiers were killed and a great many wounded, while none of the Confederate forces lost their lives, although several were wounded and five were taken prisoners. The Union forces, after destroying the camp, left Morristown about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The prisoners were taken toward Paola, Kans., and were executed just after the Kansas line was passed. The Union soldiers were stationed at Paola on recruiting duty and had marched to Morristown to drive out the Confederate soldiers, the march, about thirty-five miles, being made at night. Mr. Berry did not receive a scratch in the skirmish, and as far as he knows, there are now only four Confederate survivors of this battle. Besides himself, there are Jim Beegles of East Lynne, Mo., Tom Dolan of Rocky Ford, Colo., and Robert White of Kansas City, Mo.

Mr Beegles was not far from Mr. Berry when the former was wounded by a bullet piercing his right side. After the retreat to Harrisonville Mr. Berry and Hale Beegles, a brother of Jim Beegles, went back and after some difficulty, located the injured man. Jim Beegles recovered and for years has lived in East Lynne, in this county. He still possesses the bullet which went clear through his side.

Following are the names of some the Confederate soldiers who took part in the battle: John Ed. Berry, Jim Beegles, Tom Dolan, Robert White, yet living; Captain Will Dolan, Frank Dolan, Eph Jones, Captain Robert Adams, Captain A. S. Bradley, Walter Adams, Sam Oldham, George Nowell, Green Williams, William Stark, Dan Stark, Hale Beegles, Ed. Dunn, John Dunn, ———— McGruder, Reliford Hook, John Hammond, "Doc" Peterson and John L.L. Stephens. Captain Bradley was the father of Mack Bradley, now a prominent farmer of this county, and had been doing recruiting in Everett, a village northwest of Archie, this county. There may be other Confederate survivors of this skirmish, but their names are not known.

There were other skirmishes in and near this scene. That part of Cass county was undeveloped then, many of the present fine farms being nothing but timberland. A relic of the Morristown battle was recently unearthed near the spot where the saloon stood. It was a demijohn, full of bullet holes.

Details of the battle of Morristown have hitherto been unpublished. We have consulted several histories of Cass county in which the affair was mentioned, and they indicate that the Union forces did not know that the southern soldiers were encamped at Morristown, but Mr. Berry is certain they did.

There may be inaccuracies in the above account of the skirmish, but we have been faithful to what we saw and was told us. Over half a century has elapsed since that stormy period, but we believe that Mr. Berry told us of the fray as he remembered it.

One incident of the battle he recalls very distinctly. A Yankee bugler was blowing some signal quite lustily, when Green Williams, a Confederate soldier stationed not far from Mr. Berry, raised up and said, "I'll stop that dam' music." He fired and the "music" stopped.

Kip Lindberg and Matt Matthews, "'The Eagle of the 11th Kansas': Wartime Reminiscences of Colonel Thomas Moonlight," Arkansas Historical Quarterly 62.1 (Spring, 2003) 1-41 (at 10-12):

My next skirmish was at Butler, a town in Missouri that was captured by Col. Johnson's 5th Kansas²⁴ about the 12th of the month [September, 1861]. Nothing of special interest occurred in the way of a fight as the rebels ran at our approach, several, however, were killed where they were found in their houses afterwards or in the brush. On the 17^th two columns left West Point, a small place right on the Missouri & Kansas line. This command left in the afternoon and marched as if going into Kansas, but as soon as darkness came on the head of the column was changed towards Missouri. During the night the command was divided into two wings, each numbering about 300 men- one moving under Col. Johnson and the other under Col. Montgomery; the latter was to march straight on Morristown from the westward and strike the rebel command there at daybreak. Col. Johnson was to march northward through fields, fences and whatever came in his way and strike the enemy on the northeast side in conjunction with Col. Montgomery. I accompanied, with one howitzer, the command of Col. Johnson.

A more dashing and brilliant march was never made, a distance of about 30 miles was made most rapidly without incident. Col. Johnson was a little too fast and Col. Montgomery a little too slow, the former getting to Morristown at early day break, and the latter about an hour after day. The enemy were encamped in Morristown and numbered about 500 under command of Col. Irwin,²⁵ all Missourians, and as completely did Col. Johnson take them by surprise that not a picket or even a sentinel killed until the bullets from our sharps rifles went whistling through their tents. Had Col. J[ohnson]. behaved and conducted the attack with as much judgement as he had exhibited of gallantry, the enemy would not [have] escaped.

My last conversation with Col. Johnson was within one hundred yards of the rebel camp, where we were hidden from view by the timber. He asked me for my opinion as to the mode of attack. I urged the dismounting of the men and the summoning in of the howitzer, by hand, double cannistered [sic], right into camp and play into the tents until they cried "Hold enough!"²⁶ The Colonel would not hear to dismounting but ordered 2 companies to charge into camp, while with the balance, including my howitzer, he would sweep along the street from the eastward and cut off their retreat southward. Supposing, I humanely believe, that Col. Montgomery, who had only about half the distance to travel, would immediately on the sound of his guns close from the westward and completely hem in the enemy. "Man proposes but God disposes," [and] as I said before Montgomery was slow, and sick.

Ere we could make the little circuit as to get on the street, the rebels (or at least the most of them) had run from camp, crossed the street, [and] hid themselves in a ravine behind some brick buildings. As we came dashing along the street we received a crossfire from at least 400 rifles, at a not greater distance than ten steps. Col. Johnson was ahead of the chief bugler and received almost the entire fire. I came next and just saved myself and my men by seizing the bridle of the lead horse of the piece and dashing them round against the brick walls. Several of our men were killed and wounded at that moment, and but for the cowardice of the enemy not one of us would have escaped. We were huddled together, cavalry and artillery, in the street, and I trembled for the result until we changed our position; it became my duty to attend to this, as after the fall of Col. Johnson I was next in command, and none had seen him fall but myself, as it was still quite early in the morning. I immediately swung the command out of the street on to clear ground, opened on the ravine and houses with case shot²⁷ and sharps rifles, and in less than ten minutes the crack of a rebel rifle could not be heard.

We captured the entire camp and garrison equipage of the enemy, as well as horses, mules, wagons, rations & a number of arms; the loss of such property was of immense damage to the enemy as they could not possibly replace there equipage in the country, besides the demoralizing effect such a defeat had on a newly organized regiment, as was the case with this one. About 40 killed and wounded on our side, among the list of killed was the gallant Col. Johnson, with whom a braver soldier, a truer man and upright Christian never offered up his life a sacrifice on the alter [sic] of this country. After the wounded had been collected together Col. Montgomery's command came into town, which was thoroughly plundered and afterwards burnt.²⁸ Morristown was a den of rebels and a rendezvous for all the bushwhackers who ranged on Kansas soil, and the destroying of it saved Kansas in a manner from their depredations during that fall and winter.

²⁴ Col. Hampton P. Johnson, of Leavenworth, Kansas, was a Methodist minister and veteran of the Mexican War, having served under the command of his friend, James H. Lane. H.D. Fisher, The Gun and the Gospel: Early Kansas and Chaplain Fisher, 4th ed. (Kansas City: Hudson-Kimberly, 1902).

²⁵ Col. Hugh Erwin, commanding the Tenth Cavalry Regiment, Eighth Division, Missouri State Guard.

²⁶ Moonlight was proposing to advance the howitzer a short distance by hand, rather than by horse, in hopes that the movement could be more quietly accomplished. "Double canistered" is simply loading two tin cylinders of lead balls at once to double the blast effect.

²⁷ A hollow iron shell, filled with lead balls and a small bursting charge, which could be timed to explode at any distance from the cannon by means of a fuse. It was invented by Henry Shrapnel, a British artillery officer whose name became synonymous with explosive fragments.

²⁸ Because of their protective cover, pro-Confederate casualties were minimal, with only a single man known wounded. The Leavenworth Daily Conservative stated, however, "Twelve prisoners were taken, of whom five were subsequently shot." Witnesses reported the murdered men were first made to dig their own graves. Henry E. Palmer, "The Black-Flag Character of the War on the Border," Transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society 9 (1909-1910), 456.

Morristown no longer exists. Its location can be seen on this map, west of Harrisonville on the railroad line: Related post: John B. Wagner.