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".
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".