Potosi News

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There is a small lead-mining community just over fifty miles southwest of Saint Louis that was founded early on by French Explorers, but renamed in the 1820's by Moses Austin for a silver mining operation in Bolivia, South America, named Potosi. To transport this lead from its origin to a river port, in the 1850's one of the first railroads west of the Mississippi branched off out of Saint Louis toward Jefferson City and went southwest to this small town, inland from the Great River by at least thirty miles, passing through De Soto on its way. In 1860 the town having grown to a population of 548 persons was also the county seat for Washington County and therefore had a courthouse built into the town square. It had no access to water, being landlocked as it was, and the rails made economic security sure for this section of Missouri. The railroad was named the Pacific due to its extending on past Jefferson City to Tipton, where the hub connected with the Pony Express Riders' station that hauled the mail into San Francisco. This helped cut the time for mail to cross the vast West by a week. It also set the theme for expansion to a transcontinental railroad sometime in the near future, thus making Missouri an important State of the Union and an asset of enormous gain monetarily. The Civil War clouded that outlook and as Missouri almost broke completely away to join her sister States in the secession movement. Missouri was much divided in loyalty, irregardless of the slavery issue, and control was gained by some very hostile acts that induced the State to fragment further. These initial grasps at control were made by Nathaniel Lyon, a mere Captain in the Army at the beginning of the war. He had bypassed his General in command, General Harney, who was treating the movement with delicacy, by writing directly to Washington with complaints that all he sought to accomplish would be "...embarrassed..." by the leniency of command, and the time could not be bought, for it was dire. The Captain was soon given his way, and it was used most expeditiously. He had bold ideas and unimaginable zeal in comparison to even Fremont, and where others might be 'talking a good game', he was performing. Captain Lyon was stationed in Saint Louis which was the main Headquarters for the whole Department of the West, and troops had been gathered quickly once the bombs burst over Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor. In less than a month he had already broken up the State Militia gathering under a southern sympathizing Governor, taken control of the Armory in the State and confiscated shipments of muzzle-loading weapons from New Orleans, brought in under the cover of night. By mid-May he was to add one more prize to his glory as he sifted through intelligence reports being brought in from the surrounding counties. It appears this level of intelligence was thorough and very trusted by the plans carried out on the night raid that was made against the inhabitants of Potosi on May 15-16, 1861...or was it? Captain Lyon claimed in his official reports that many citizens were being forcefully coerced by rebels to either join up or leave their part of the 'confederacy'. In fact these accusations seem to have been the guiding light for every hostile act Captain Lyon pursued, though there is direct evidence the munitions taken from the State by Federal raid were actual. In fact Captain Lyon's one Company had blossomed into two, and he now planned to invest Potosi, claim all their pig-lead production for the Union, and help secure the 'badgered citizenry' from harm. Therefore on May 15, 1861, he had his two companies loaded onto the railroad cars at 10 p.m. in Saint Louis to head down the branch leading southwest out of Franklin toward Potosi and thus amend his resume with another victory. By rail the trip was near to seventy-five miles and even at that stage of development, with the ore-cars now carrying just 180 men including the officers with their rifles, (probably the new acquirements), instead of heavy ore, the train arrived about 3 a.m.; a passage of five hours. Led by Captains Cole and Koniuszko, with a surgeon and his assistant as the staff officers, the 176 men debarked at Potosi at 3 a.m. and quickly surrounded the town. At a given signal the sentinels went directly into the homes of 56 men known to be confederate, and having arrested them, moved them to the Court-House and locked them up. They then proceeded to search the homes for any weapons, and after all this, nine men were taken under restraint and returned to Saint Louis. The others were set free. Upon departure the two companies visited two local smelting operations and took away 100 'pigs of lead', and at the depot captured another 325, making a total of 425 pigs of lead. Another one of its prizes on the night raid was a quantity of clothing material for uniforms, many already being made, along with those nine prisoners to hold as proof of 'capture'. Yet in the official report nothing was mentioned about importance of pig-lead, nor mining operations, nor rail connections, but only that many complaints were made by its citizenry, of harassment. On the way back to Saint Louis, after loading up the men with their rifles, and the 425 'pigs of lead' with the nine prisoners, De Soto was reached about noon of May 16. They had left Saint Louis at 10 p.m. the night before, captured a town after 3 a.m., and searched it, and then the smelters, and now noon in De Soto; a hustling day so far. At the time they entered into De Soto, a huge rally of town folks were gathered to celebrate secession, and these people were quickly dispersed by the troops, except 15 of the slow ones losing their horses and fire-arms, and one confederate flag. Thirty men of the troop were left behind to guard De Soto from those notorious rabble-rousers that took flight upon approach, and the rest of the two companies returned by 6 p.m. that evening to Saint Louis to celebrate the victory with Captain Lyons. Now it would be all eyes turned on Boonville along the banks of the Missouri river, as Nathaniel Lyons plots another raid, this time by boats into Jefferson City, and overland-ho!
Lubliner.
 
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