Significant Missouri Home Guard Battle

Patrick H

Lt. Colonel
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
@SWMODave requested more information about a Home Guard action that occurred on September 13, 1861 in Boonville, Missouri. I've posted bits and pieces of this story in various threads, but I'm not sure it has all been collected in one place. Maybe with the help of @Boonslick and @Booner we can do that in this thread. This action was the second battle of Boonville, and it should be significant to historians because it might be the first instance of runaway slaves being armed and allowed to fight.

To begin, @Boonslick came across a scanned two page spread from an Illinois soldier's diary, which showed a map of an earthen fort on the land where I grew up. It was a bit disorienting to me at first, until I realized the soldier oriented North on the bottom edge. Note "Road To Boonville" near the top, "Gate" and "To Boonville" on the right side. Note "Soldier Graves" near the bottom, underneath the compass rose. Within the part of the fort shaped somewhat like a boat, and where the two parts overlap, look carefully to see the notation "Graves on a Mound".


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Now, take a minute to study the current Google satellite view of the same land, but with North oriented at the top. The fort was attacked by one unit of cavalry coming from the West on Rural Street and Col. Brown's cavalry attacking through a wooded area just off the bottom edge of this view. The notation "Lilly family farm house" shows where I grew up. The house still stands. "Hollows" correspond perfectly to those drawn in very light pencil on the original soldier map. The soldier graves would be just to the west of the hollows. An account of the battle has been linked to a different thread, but let's link it here, too, so that all the information is together:
http://www.mogenweb.org/cooper/Military/Negro_Soldiers.pdf

This battle is notable because the Home Guard commander protected some runaway slaves within the fort, and he armed them for the anticipated fight. When the State Guard cavalry attacked, their Col. Brown was shot and killed by one of the black men.
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Regarding the "Graves on a Mound" and the "Soldier Graves" near the hollows, the following newspaper clipping gives a good insight into the mindset of a lady living on this land during construction and occupation of the fort. This was compiled by Rudi Keller a few years ago for his nightly column in the Columbia, Missouri TRIBUNE:
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In the PDF account of the battle, linked above, we read of Col. Brown saying "Hold! I will get that fellow". John A. Hayn had run up onto the burial mound (family and Indian burials), making himself a good target for Brown. Hayn was one of two local men who died within the fort.
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Just curious - Booner said in another post that he lived close to the battlefield . Is that his place of residence listed just south of East Morgan Street with the really big parking lot? :biggrin:
Hah! No, Booner doesn't live in the correctional center, but his house is in the photo. For the sake of his privacy, I'll let him decide whether to show everyone where it is.
 
Regarding the "Graves on a Mound" and the "Soldier Graves" near the hollows, the following newspaper clipping gives a good insight into the mindset of a lady living on this land during construction and occupation of the fort. This was compiled by Rudi Keller a few years ago for his nightly column in the Columbia, Missouri TRIBUNE:
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Patrick H, many thanks for pulling all of this together, this is a great thread and its in my list to follow, nice one. :thumbsup:
 
Patrick H, many thanks for pulling all of this together, this is a great thread and its in my list to follow, nice one. :thumbsup:
My pleasure. I was going to add a photo of Col. Eppstein's handsome grave monument (he commanded the Home Guard unit at the time of the battle) but the inscription was in shadow when I was just there. It will be a better morning photo. I'll get around to posting it.

Now, hopefully @Boonslick and @Booner will chime in with their own contributions to the thread.
 
Patrick,
I'm up at our farm right now and should be back on Friday. If you're going out to take a picture of eppstiens grave, take a picture of that home at the top of Locust and 10th. The name of the house escapes me now but its where Browns men dismounted and kept their horses as they swept though the grove of walnut trees to the east of the house (today's prison) then turned North to attack up what is today Mohawk and Pawnee street.
 
Patrick,
I'm up at our farm right now and should be back on Friday. If you're going out to take a picture of eppstiens grave, take a picture of that home at the top of Locust and 10th. The name of the house escapes me now but its where Browns men dismounted and kept their horses as they swept though the grove of walnut trees to the east of the house (today's prison) then turned North to attack up what is today Mohawk and Pawnee street.
It's the Thomas Nelson estate and I had the same idea. It's a better afternoon shot. I guess I'll have to take a lunch break in between photos. Thanks! Safe return trip!
 
At Booner's request, here's a picture of the Thomas Nelson estate, known as Forest Hill. Colonel Brown's cavalry moved through a large wooded area behind this house, heading north toward Morgan Street and the Home Guard fort. The stone retaining wall in the foreground is much more recent than the house--my guess is the 1930s or 40s. During the Civil War, this house was on the very edge of town, where the streets suddenly become country roads. This property isn't shown on the satellite photo. It is well out of the frame off the lower left corner. However, the estate extended east as far as small north/south street right next to the Google logo.

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Colonel (then Captain) Joseph Eppstein commanded the Home Guards in Boonville at the time of this fight. He is the one responsible for taking several local men under "arrest" and holding them hostage within the fort. To an extent, his strategy worked. It didn't stop the initial fight, but when it became clear that the State Guard cavalry could not take the fort, a negotiation was held. The State Guard agreed to withdraw three miles if the hostages would be released. He is also responsible for arming and then uniforming the runaway slaves in the article. They were combatants in the battle, and one of them shot Col. Brown of the State Guard.

This is quite an impressive piece of stone carving. Col. Eppstein is on the left. Mrs. Eppstein's inscription is on the right. Both were German immigrants. The raised a large family and their plot in this cemetery is extensive and contains many graves. I will also note that this cemetery was one of the first smaller pieces of property to be subdivided off the Forest Hill estate. If you could see through the trees and beyond the deep hollow in the background, you would see a glimpse of the back side of the big house.

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John August Hayn
b. 30 September 1832 in Prussia
Merchant with a personal estate value of $4000. His wife was Pauline Thro. They were married 28 December 1858 and had a daughter Laura aged 7 months. His wife was born to a French Immigrant named Catherine, who appears as the head of the household in 1850.

Living with him were two clerks; Fred Knierim (aged 18, b. Germany) and John Thro (aged 18, Pauline's brother).

Hayn also owned a slave, a black female aged 35 who lived in her own dwelling.

He Enlisted as one of the 135 Home Guards formed under Nathaniel Lyon as a sergeant and eventually rose to Adjutant.

He fought in the Second Battle of Boonville on 13 September 1861. In the closing moments of action when the battle appeared won he jumped to a mound, waved the Union flag, shouted "Hurrah for the Union," and was shot twice and killed. Jacob Gmelich, a jeweler who would rise to prominence in the community (eventually becoming a jeweller, businessman, mayor) and in Missouri politics (state treasurer and lieutenant governor) was purportedly ten feet away from Sgt. Hayn when he was killed.

Sgt. Hayn was buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery- his gravestone epithet citing that he died in defense of the national banner.

His wife survived him for nearly 20 years, passing in 1879. His daughter followed in 1880.

I am working on transcribing his probate papers and doing some additional work on his descendants. I read in one of the county Histories that he had a grandson. It may be that his daughter died in childbirth.

It is not often that we are able to flesh out these people who are so integral to the history of our community. I hope you enjoyed this.

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I am working on a lot of these - put I won't post every one of them as it would kind of run against the grain of publishing an article. I will share some interesting ones from time to time. This one I found very interesting.

Pvt Phillip Peter Back enlisted 20 June 1861 in Boonville for service with the Reserve Corps of the Missouri Home Guards. There were four individuals with the last name Back, all hailing from the same region in Germany. It is assumed they were likely brothers. He participated in the Home Guard activities from that date, including Second Boonville which occurred on 13 September 1861. He was discharged on account of disability on 31 October 1861.

He was born 15 November 1821 in Rettert, Nassau, Germany. It is assumed he immigrated here with the other Back’s listen in this document during the year 1853. He married Elizabeth Barbara Stegner on 4 May 1854 and in the 1860 census was listed as a Cooper. He and his wife, listed as Barbara, at the time had two children Lena (4) and Ernest (1). Also living with them were siblings of Barbara: Ernest (19) and Frank (7). In addition a Peter Back (24), a possible younger brother. By 1870 Lena was no longer enumerated but Ernest was present at age 11 along with a brother William (9), L (5), a daughter M (3) and Emma A (1). At this time he was listed as a Cooper and a Brewer.

Tragedy struck on 28 November 1874 when Phillip Peter Back was found murdered and robbed behind his tavern. He was buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery. High wife received a pension for his service during the water beginning in September 1891. She herself passed away in 1900.

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Private Walter Barron enlisted 20 June 1861 in Boonville for service with the Reserve Corps of the Missouri Home Guard. County histories say all members except for one were of German descent. Walter is that exception as he was born in Ireland. He served with the Homeguards throughout the summer and participated in the Second Battle of Boonville in September 1861. He quit the service on 26 September 1861 but re-enlisted with the 9th Missouri Cavalry in the Missouri State Militia as a sergeant with Company I. We know he was 5’9” tall with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair.

He was born in County Waterford, Ireland 2 April 1840. He immigrated to the United States in 1848 with his father Michael; mother Mary Rosalie, and sister Mary. They settled in Callaway County where they were enumerated in the 1850 census. Sometime in the decade, they relocated further west to Cooper County where they farmed in the Clarks Fork Township and still living together as a family in 1860. By 1870, Walter’s mother has passed from the scene and he is now listed as the head of household. Having been married in 1869 to Virginia Mildred Hurt, in 1870 he has a 6 month old son named William. Over time they would have eleven total children, six of whom were listed as living in the 1900 census. By 1920 he was widowed and living on his farm with his daughter Nellie (32). He died of apoplexy on 30 June 1922 and is buried at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery.

In the image provided, Walter is second from left. This early image is possibly of other members of the Home Guard.

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Patrick H and myself have discussed this particular find. The author of the map was a member of the 37th Illinois Infantry. They arrived at the end of September and beginning of October, after the battle.

These earthworks were extensive. It is my guess that they were constructed in two phases. I believe the eastern section is what was created first and what was present during the Second Battle of Boonville. General Lyon ordered their construction during the weeks following First Boonville and while the Home Guard was created, they were not a continuous presence throughout the summer and early autumn.

I think it likely that the Home Guard and the two companies of the 37th Illinois Infantry constructed the rest between October 1861 and February 1862.
 
Private Walter Barron enlisted 20 June 1861 in Boonville for service with the Reserve Corps of the Missouri Home Guard. County histories say all members except for one were of German descent. Walter is that exception as he was born in Ireland. He served with the Homeguards throughout the summer and participated in the Second Battle of Boonville in September 1861. He quit the service on 26 September 1861 but re-enlisted with the 9th Missouri Cavalry in the Missouri State Militia as a sergeant with Company I. We know he was 5’9” tall with a fair complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair.

He was born in County Waterford, Ireland 2 April 1840. He immigrated to the United States in 1848 with his father Michael; mother Mary Rosalie, and sister Mary. They settled in Callaway County where they were enumerated in the 1850 census. Sometime in the decade, they relocated further west to Cooper County where they farmed in the Clarks Fork Township and still living together as a family in 1860. By 1870, Walter’s mother has passed from the scene and he is now listed as the head of household. Having been married in 1869 to Virginia Mildred Hurt, in 1870 he has a 6 month old son named William. Over time they would have eleven total children, six of whom were listed as living in the 1900 census. By 1920 he was widowed and living on his farm with his daughter Nellie (32). He died of apoplexy on 30 June 1922 and is buried at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery.

In the image provided, Walter is second from left. This early image is possibly of other members of the Home Guard.

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It's interesting that if this is a picture of W. Barron as a member of the home guard, they were certainly well equipped! And again from the picture, I would assume that Walter, from the sash and sword he's wearing, was also a sergeant in the Home guard? And what are those crossed straps going over his chest, and why is he the only one with them?

Your image raises a lot of questions for me, and I would agree that by the way they are equipped, they are home guard and certainly not cavalry.

I will be very interested in following your research, and how broad is it? Does it just pertain to the 2nd BoB, or is it broader?

And you're also a resident of Boonville! Imaging that, four of us here on CWT live in this "vine-clad" city of Boonville.
 
Your image raises a lot of questions for me, and I would agree that by the way they are equipped, they are home guard and certainly not cavalry.

I will be very interested in following your research, and how broad is it? Does it just pertain to the 2nd BoB, or is it broader?


I have found myself wondering the same thing about the image, for I know he was a sergeant later on...but my understanding is that he left the Home Guard service shortly after Second Boonville. I'm digging a bit, but he certainly had to have at least some position of import.

My research is focusing on the Second Battle and the impact it had on the town and its combatants.
 
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