Help answer a 30 year family question

[Whitfield's Legion]

I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this but I'm looking for my 4th Great Grandpa's regiment

He lived in Cass county in 1860 and family stories have always said he fought for the south but I just wanted to know for sure

I've found a person who kind of matches what I've heard but if anybody can find anything it would be much appreciated

 

[DorwinBlack]

The 1890 Veterans Census in Webb City MO lists an Elihu L Howard (line 44) as having served in a Confederate MO cavalry regt for several months in 1861.

 

[RedRover]

Seconding the above. From the 1910 Census, Elihue Howard, born in Kentucky ca. 1838-39, listed as a retired farmer, age 71, with his wife Margaret and a son living at Webb City...

This census records him as a veteran of the Civil War, and appears to have a notation "Con." (confederate)...

His marriage record from Cass County, January, 1864:

According to Tom A. Rafiner's "Caught Between Three Fires" (2010) Margaret (Hockensmith) Howard's father George Hockensmith, had his Cass County farm sacked by the 7th Kansas Cavalry USA during the winter of 1861-62, and he relocated to Harrisonville where he died in 1864. Her two oldest brothers joined the Confederate service against her fathers' "request and desire," and died. Her cousin Clark Hockensmith rode with Quantrill's guerrillas, before his death in Kentucky in 1865.
In 1915 the US Congress appropriated $540 for the damages to the Hockensmith farm during the war.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

He could have joined the MO State Guard or a guerrilla outfit early in the war, to fight Union forces.

However, the Cass County marriage record extract shown above establishes a Cass County connection, and this would seem to suggest that 'Elihue Howard' might be your man.

 

[Whitfield's Legion]

That's amazing! Thank all of you for helping me solve this.

Is there any way of knowing what guerrilla bands he rode with or is that impossible to find

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

In 1915 the US Congress appropriated $540 for the damages to the Hockensmith farm during the war.

Restitution far too late to do any good.

 

[Booner]

I maintain a roster of men who rode with Quantrill and there is a William B. Howard listed in 1862. He gave a newspaper to Quantrill that stated that fellow guerrilla, Perry Hoy, had been executed. I have no other information about this Howard.

There are two Hockensmith's listed, Clark and Henry (brothers) Hockensmith. Clark H. also had a brother-in-law who rode with Quantrill, H.W. Hobbs. Clark H. fought at Centralia and went to KY with Quantrill where he was killed at the Wakefield Farm fight in KY., (the last fight Quantrill was in and where he was shot in the spine). His brother, Henry H. was at Lawrence and after the war he attended Quantrill reunions. I think this information validates Red Rover's post #3. Cass County is directly south of Jackson County (Kansas City is in Jackson Co.), and Jackso Co. and the counties surround it was the prime area of requitement of men who rode with Quantrill. It's very interesting about how inter-related the men who served under Quantrill were. Brothers, brothers-in-law, cousins; more that 40% of the men who rode with Quantrill were somehow related, and this doesn't count the men who were neighbors or friends of each other. These relationships made the guerrilla's a very cohesive unit.

Webb City is down in Southwest Mo by Joplin, so how did Elihue Howard of Webb City, Mo meet and wed Margarite Hockensmith of Harrisonville, Cass Co. Mo? We don't have an 1860 census showing where E. Howard lived. General Order #11 would have cleared Cass Co. of all residences in late August/early September of 1863, with the exception of the town of Harrisonville. The Hockensmith family had southern ties, so they should not have been able to stay at Harrisonville, (only families that could prove their loyalty to the Union would have been allowed to stay). So many questions....

I personally have issues with sources that list the Missouri State Guard as a Confederate organization. The MSG was formed to resist invasion of the state, and it was pro-confederate, but it was a separate entity of the State of MO. It disbanded in early 1862, (there was a couple of MSG units that remained in service throughout the war), with some of the men returning to their homes, but those who remained were reshuffled into other units that became part of the Confederate army, and this had led to a lot of confusion of who served when and with what unit.

 

[Whitfield's Legion]

I maintain a roster of men who rode with Quantrill and there is a William B. Howard listed in 1862. He gave a newspaper to Quantrill that stated that fellow guerrilla, Perry Hoy, had been executed. I have no other information about this Howard.

There are two Hockensmith's listed, Clark and Henry (brothers) Hockensmith. Clark H. also had a brother-in-law who rode with Quantrill, H.W. Hobbs. Clark H. fought at Centralia and went to KY with Quantrill where he was killed at the Wakefield Farm fight in KY., (the last fight Quantrill was in and where he was shot in the spine). His brother, Henry H. was at Lawrence and after the war he attended Quantrill reunions. I think this information validates Red Rover's post #3. Cass County is directly south of Jackson County (Kansas City is in Jackson Co.), and Jackso Co. and the counties surround it was the prime area of requitement of men who rode with Quantrill. It's very interesting about how inter-related the men who served under Quantrill were. Brothers, brothers-in-law, cousins; more that 40% of the men who rode with Quantrill were somehow related, and this doesn't count the men who were neighbors or friends of each other. These relationships made the guerrilla's a very cohesive unit.

Webb City is down in Southwest Mo by Joplin, so how did Elihue Howard of Webb City, Mo meet and wed Margarite Hockensmith of Harrisonville, Cass Co. Mo? We don't have an 1860 census showing where E. Howard lived. General Order #11 would have cleared Cass Co. of all residences in late August/early September of 1863, with the exception of the town of Harrisonville. The Hockensmith family had southern ties, so they should not have been able to stay at Harrisonville, (only families that could prove their loyalty to the Union would have been allowed to stay). So many questions....

I personally have issues with sources that list the Missouri State Guard as a Confederate organization. The MSG was formed to resist invasion of the state, and it was pro-confederate, but it was a separate entity of the State of MO. It disbanded in early 1862, (there was a couple of MSG units that remained in service throughout the war), with some of the men returning to their homes, but those who remained were reshuffled into other units that became part of the Confederate army, and this had led to a lot of confusion of who served when and with what unit.

Still trying to figure out how Elihue even met margaret. The lack of an 1860 census record isn't much help. I've always heard from family he was a rebel aligned bushwhacker. It's great to narrow down seeing that he didn't ride with Quantrill.
Were there any other Guerrilla outfits that operated in and around Cass county? Or would that be near impossible to find

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Many men from Cass county in western MO during the summer and winter of '61/'62 joined guerrilla groups because of the outrages committed by occupying Union forces. But any man with the last name of 'Howard' did not appear on a viewed list of 'Known Members of Quantrill's, Anderson's and Todd's Guerrillas'. So maybe he was not an irregular fighter.

Otherwise. It's noted the below four last names of 'Howard' were found that joined the MO State Guard (pro-Confederate militia) early in the war:-
Daniel Howard
Pvte. Franklin K. Howard
James P. Howard
W. C. Howard

But could not establish a connection with Cass County for any of the above names listed.

 

[Whitfield's Legion]

Many men from Cass county in western MO during the summer and winter of '61/'62 joined guerrilla groups because of the outrages committed by occupying Union forces. But any man with the last name of 'Howard' did not appear on a viewed list of 'Known Members of Quantrill's, Anderson's and Todd's Guerrillas'. So maybe he was not an irregular fighter.

Otherwise. It's noted the below four last names of 'Howard' were found that joined the MO State Guard (pro-Confederate militia) early in the war:-
Daniel Howard
Pvte. Franklin K. Howard
James P. Howard
W. C. Howard

But could not establish a connection with Cass County for any of the above names listed.

He was adopted and sometimes went by Emberton if that helps

 

[Nathan Stuart]

He was adopted and sometimes went by Emberton if that helps

Could not find the name of 'Emberton' ringing a bell anywhere.

There were quite a few (about twenty, or so) last names of 'Howard' shown as enlisted in various Confederate regular MO units.

Do you have any other known bits of information on him - approximate age in 1860, first name, circa birth/death years, etc.? Also, are you confident he fought for the South and not the North?

 

[Whitfield's Legion]

Could not find the name of 'Emberton' ringing a bell anywhere.

There were quite a few last names of 'Howard' shown as enlisted in various Confederate regular MO units.

Do you have any other known bits of information on him - approximate age in 1860, first name, circa birth/death years, etc.? Also, are you confident he fought for the South and not the North?

Yes, his wife passed down stories saying he was a bushwhacker, her brothers and a cousin all served with Quantrill.

He was born in 1838 in Monroe Kentucky and died in manhattan Kansas in 1914

He was married in Cass co. on 1864

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Okay - thanks for the extra bits of information.

All of the information provided above fits with him being 'Elihue W. Howard'. His find-a-Grave listing is found at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36652245/elihue-w-howard .

It appears that no soldier with that last name, and those first name initials, served in any Confederate MO militia or regular unit.

If he came from a pro-Southern family farm in Cass county (western MO) in 1860, and his Find-a-Grave listing above shows him having no connection with any Confederate unit he may have served in, and he was indeed a CW combatant in some form, then thought chances are he was a so-called 'bushwhacker' for a period. But he may not have belonged to the outfits of Quantrill, Anderson or Todd, but maybe joined another smaller band of partisans.

 

[Booner]

All of Elihue's children were born in Cass Co and Webb City wasn't founded until the late 1870's, so he didn't move there prior to the late 1870's, so he's living in Cass County when the war breaks out.

Quoting you; "Yes, his wife passed down stories saying he was a bushwhacker, her brothers and a cousin all served with Quantrill." But it appears her two brothers perhaps joined the CSA army, and she had two cousins that rode with Quantrill. It's not uncommon at all for family histories to get distorted with their retelling over time; it has happened in my family. To answer your question, Quantrill was not the only guerrilla in this area. There were several bands of guerrillas operating in this area of western Missouri, it just happens that Quantrill has come down to be the most notable or infamous, and to many people, if you mention the words "Missouri Guerrilla," they automatically think of Quantrill. There were at least two other bands of up to 40 men each with one, under the command of Benjamin Parker, operated in the same area along with a group of exiled Kansas southerners led by Bill Reed whose members included the Anderson brothers: William (later Bloody Bill) and Jim and Bill Haller. The Anderson brothers and Haller would later join Quantrill's band and since they brought a sizable group of men with them, Bill Anderson and Haller would become lieutenants under Quantrill. I think Parker was later captured or killed, but as a rule, these bands kept to themselves and rarely, if ever worked together. The Kansas exiles had a bad reputation for being rather violent and indiscriminate in who they took horses and food from

In July of 1862, every able-bodied male Missourian by law had to join the Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM). So, with that in mind, I searched the MO. State Archives Soldier Records

(link-->.https://s1.sos.mo.gov/records/archives/ArchivesMVC/soldiers/#soldierSearch

Using the first names of Elihue and Emberton Howard, nothing came up. But I reviewed the information given in post #2 by DorwinBlack and realized that the first name of Elihue was spelled "Elihu" in both the military service records and wedding certificate, so I put that into the soldier's search function and found where a Elihu Howard joined Company K, 77th EMM on Sept. 14,1863 until Nov. 18, 1864 at Harrisonville, Cass County, Mo.

What could have happened is this; When the law was made that every Missouri male had to join the EMM, a man had 3 choices. 1. he could leave the state. 2. he could join the confederates or guerrillas. or 3. he joined the EMM, and that what looks like what happened here. Even if E. (however you want to spell his first name) Howard had been a member of the Mo. State Guard in 1861, he was bound by the law to join the EMM and his local unit would figure out if he was loyal enough to stay a member. It was not unusual for former Mo State Guard members to join the EMM.

 

[Whitfield's Legion]

Thanks for clearing this u

All of Elihue's children were born in Cass Co and Webb City wasn't founded until the late 1870's, so he didn't move there prior to the late 1870's, so he's living in Cass County when the war breaks out.

Quoting you; "Yes, his wife passed down stories saying he was a bushwhacker, her brothers and a cousin all served with Quantrill." But it appears her two brothers perhaps joined the CSA army, and she had two cousins that rode with Quantrill. It's not uncommon at all for family histories to get distorted with their retelling over time; it has happened in my family. To answer your question, yet Quantrill was not the only guerrilla in this area, there were several bands of guerrillas operating in this area of western Missouri, it just happens that Quantrill has come down to be the most notable or infamous, and to many people, if you mention the words "Missouri Guerrilla," they automatically think of Quantrill. BTW, I had two very distant cousins who were Mo. guerrillas, Frank and Jesse James. Frank originally rode under Quantrill's command, while Jesse rode under Bill Anderson, as did Frank after 1863. You'll often see where someone states that Jesse rode under Quantrill--not true. Quantrill lost control of the guerrillas who rode under him during the winter of 1863/64, and Jesse didn't become a guerrilla until 1864.

In July of 1862, every able-bodied male Missourian by law had to join the Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM). So with that in mind, I searched the MO. State Archives Soldier Records
(link-->.https://s1.sos.mo.gov/records/archives/ArchivesMVC/soldiers/#soldierSearch
Using the first names of Elihue and Emberton Howard, nothing came up. But I reviewed the information given in post #2 by DorwinBlack and realized that the first name of Elihue was spelled "Elihu" in both the military service records and wedding certificate, so I put that into the soldiers search function and found this:

thanks for helping clear this up. The info I had on him was something along the lines of "I heard from my grandpa that his grandma told him this" and I'm the first person to care about the civil war since the civil war I figure so it's nice to finally get Elihu's story wrapped up

 

[Booner]

Thanks for clearing this u

thanks for helping clear this up. The info I had on him was something along the lines of "I heard from my grandpa that his grandma told him this" and I'm the first person to care about the civil war since the civil war I figure so it's nice to finally get Elihu's story wrapped up

happy I could help.

 

[Booner]

deleted double post

 

[RedRover]

Using the first names of Elihue and Emberton Howard, nothing came up. But I reviewed the information given in post #2 by DorwinBlack and realized that the first name of Elihue was spelled "Elihu" in both the military service records and wedding certificate, so I put that into the soldier's search function and found where a Elihu Howard joined Company K, 77th EMM on Sept. 14,1863 until Nov. 18, 1864 at Harrisonville, Cass County, Mo.

What could have happened is this; When the law was made that every Missouri male had to join the EMM, a man had 3 choices. 1. he could leave the state. 2. he could join the confederates or guerrillas. or 3. he joined the EMM, and that what looks like what happened here. Even if E. (however you want to spell his first name) Howard had been a member of the Mo. State Guard in 1861, he was bound by the law to join the EMM and his local unit would figure out if he was loyal enough to stay a member. It was not unusual for former Mo State Guard members to join the EMM.

Some history of Captain West's Company of Enrolled Missouri Militia: They were mustered into active service to place them under federal pay, etc.

Apparently West's company originated as a company of Missouri "Citizen Guards" principally men exempt from the Militia laws (by age, etc.) formed at Harrisonville. The Company however, subsequently entering State service as Enrolled Missouri Militia...

...

Some background on this force, from General Ewing's orders...

Missouri Troops in Service During the Civil War

www.google.com