"Bushwhacker Belle" Ancestor

rbortega

Corporal
Joined
May 4, 2013
Did anybody have an ancestor who was a wife, girlfriend, mother, or sister of a Missouri Bushwhacker and was arrested under suspicion of being a Confederate sympathizer? I was curious about this after I discovered a recent book called Bushwhacker Belles: The Sisters, Wives, and Girlfriends of Missouri Guerillas by Larry Wood. While looking through the book I discovered a chapter about my ancestor Mary Vaughn. She lived in Jackson County, Missouri and was arrested in February, 1865 based on accusations that she had aided her son, Missouri Guerilla Daniel Vaughn. Mary denied being a Confederate sympathizer. However, the Union Provost Marshal didn't believe her and Mary and her children were briefly held at the Gratiot Prison in St. Louis. Mary was later banished from Missouri and her whereabouts after the war are unknown.

Here is a link to her Prison statement:

http://www.doug.vaughn.org/trouble/maryvaughn.html
 
I don't have any of the belles in my ancestry (at least none known to me) but it's a very good book.
 
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