Price captures Boonville, MO

[Patrick H]

General Stirling Price returned to Boonville (where the war started in Missouri) on October 10, 1864.
Rudi Keller, of the Columbia Missouri Daily TRIBUNE gives a good overview of events in the area on that date.

Price's official report states that he received a hero's welcome and I suspect that is approximately half correct--meaning that he would have been a hero to about half the population. He had recruited successfully during his invasion of Missouri and some accounts say he picked up many recruits in Boonville and Cooper County, although he had no means of arming these recruits. His army was growing but his stores were depleting and his men foraged the county of practically everything left that was useful while here.

At least General Shelby, who actually captured the town for Price, was known to have written receipts for items his men appropriated, when asked by local merchants. One local family still has a receipt, issued by Shelby himself, for "a lot of watches" taken from a local jewelry store.

It was during this occupation of Boonville that Price had his famous meeting with Anderson--and was shocked to see Anderson's men sporting Yankee scalps they had collected at Centralia. It was also during this occupation that Shelby most likely posed for the famous "leg crossed" portrait that we have all seen. And it was also during this stay that Shelby accepted the surrender of the small militia garrison in front of Thespian Hall. He freed a bunch of young local boys the next afternoon and allowed them to go home. I reported on that very kindly incident in a previous thread which contains one boy's account of the whole thing. It is well worth another read and you can find it here:

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/gen-j-o-shelby-and-the-boonville-boys.98949/#post-862239

For those interested in war time central Missouri events, Rudi Keller's column may be read online here:

http://www.columbiatribune.com

With full credit to Keller for his daily compilation and to the Tribune for its coverage, you can read the rest below. Note in the side item that Generals Rosecrans and Pleasanton were unsure how to respond to Price's presence in the area. Below that, Keller's report on Confederate Governor Reynolds' difficulty in Boonville with Price.

 

[Patrick H]

As I said above, Boonville was the scene of the famous meeting of Price with Bill Anderson. One can barely imagine what Price's soldiers must have thought as Anderson's band paraded down Main Street. Rudi Keller's source gives Price's headquarters as the City Hotel--a building which still exists in altered form today. Other accounts place the meeting at Thespian Hall or the old Court House. I've not read Price's official report, but I am relatively sure it lists the true location of his headquarters.

It's also worth noting that Anderson's lone prisoner from Centralia finally made his escape in the confusion while Anderson was preparing to cross his men over the Missouri River into Boonville.

Price was being heavily pressed during his Boonville stay. His cavalry did a commendable job of holding off the pursuing Federals until he could make his escape. There were a number of very "brisk" skirmishes just a few miles south of Boonville during these actions--including an artillery duel between opposing units.

Meanwhile, two of Anderson's men executed a German militia officer. Shelby commented on the incident later.

Farther downstream, Brig. Gen. Clinton Fisk wanted into the fight with Price, but was stalled near Providence, MO due to low water in the river.

 

[Patrick H]

The Boonville portrait of Shelby.

 

[ErnieMac]

Sterling Price's Official Report (OR Series 1, Volume XLI, Part 1, pages 625 - 640). Only the part dealing with Boonville is posted - pages 631 - 632.

WASHINGTON, ARK., December 28, 1864.
GENERAL: I have the honor to make the following report of my operations in the late expedition into Missouri: ......

I followed on with the divisions of Major-General Fagan and Marmaduke, and encamped on the night of the 8th fourteen miles from Jefferson City, and on the 9th marched through and beyond California, making twenty-six miles. On the 10th I arrived at Boonville with the rest of the command. My reception was enthusiastic in the extreme. Old and young, men, women, and children, vied in their salutations and in ministering to the wants and comforts of my wearied and war-worn soldiers. About 300 prisoners were captured at Boonville, with arms, ammunition, and many stores, which were distributed among the soldiers. On the 11th, hearing of the approach of the Federal General McNeil with a cavalry force estimated at 2,500 men, for the purpose of attacking Boonville by the Tipton road, I selected my position about half a mile from the river and placed the divisions of Major-Generals Fagan and Marmaduke in line of battle to receive him. The enemy attacked them, but was easily driven back with considerable loss, and was afterward pursued by a portion of Fagan's division and Jackman's brigade a distance of twenty-one miles from Boonville with heavy loss, in spite of obstinate resistance and the ruggedness of the country over which the pursuit was made. (For full particulars, so far as the action of his own troops were concerned, see the report of Colonel Jackman, accompanying.)

Captain Anderson, who reported to me that day with a company of about 100 men, was immediately sent to destroy the North Missouri Railroad. At the same time Quantrill was sent with the men under his command to destroy the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad, to prevent the enemy, if possible, from throwing their forces in my front from Saint Louis. These officers I was informed afterward did effect some damage to the roads, but none of any material advantage, and totally failed in the main object proposed, which was to destroy the large railroad bridge that was in the end of Saint Charles County.

I moved that evening from Boonville to Chouteau Springs on my proposed route, a distance of eleven miles, having recruited at Boonville between 1,200 and 1,500 men, mostly unarmed. ......

STERLING PRICE,
Major-General, Commanding.

Brigadier General W. R. BOGGS,
Chief of Staff, Shreveport, La.

 

[Patrick H]

Sterling Price's Official Report (OR Series 1, Volume XLI, Part 1, pages 625 - 640). Only the part dealing with Boonville is posted - pages 631 - 632.

WASHINGTON, ARK., December 28, 1864.
GENERAL: I have the honor to make the following report of my operations in the late expedition into Missouri: ......

I followed on with the divisions of Major-General Fagan and Marmaduke, and encamped on the night of the 8th fourteen miles from Jefferson City, and on the 9th marched through and beyond California, making twenty-six miles. On the 10th I arrived at Boonville with the rest of the command. My reception was enthusiastic in the extreme. Old and young, men, women, and children, vied in their salutations and in ministering to the wants and comforts of my wearied and war-worn soldiers. About 300 prisoners were captured at Boonville, with arms, ammunition, and many stores, which were distributed among the soldiers. On the 11th, hearing of the approach of the Federal General McNeil with a cavalry force estimated at 2,500 men, for the purpose of attacking Boonville by the Tipton road, I selected my position about half a mile from the river and placed the divisions of Major-Generals Fagan and Marmaduke in line of battle to receive him. The enemy attacked them, but was easily driven back with considerable loss, and was afterward pursued by a portion of Fagan's division and Jackman's brigade a distance of twenty-one miles from Boonville with heavy loss, in spite of obstinate resistance and the ruggedness of the country over which the pursuit was made. (For full particulars, so far as the action of his own troops were concerned, see the report of Colonel Jackman, accompanying.)

Captain Anderson, who reported to me that day with a company of about 100 men, was immediately sent to destroy the North Missouri Railroad. At the same time Quantrill was sent with the men under his command to destroy the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad, to prevent the enemy, if possible, from throwing their forces in my front from Saint Louis. These officers I was informed afterward did effect some damage to the roads, but none of any material advantage, and totally failed in the main object proposed, which was to destroy the large railroad bridge that was in the end of Saint Charles County.

I moved that evening from Boonville to Chouteau Springs on my proposed route, a distance of eleven miles, having recruited at Boonville between 1,200 and 1,500 men, mostly unarmed. ......

STERLING PRICE,
Major-General, Commanding.

Brigadier General W. R. BOGGS,
Chief of Staff, Shreveport, La.

Thanks for posting this section of the report! Price's route through Chouteau Springs is one I know fairly well. It's hard to imagine moving such a large army down that road. In its day, it must have been one of the main routes from Boonville towards Marshall. Shelby used parts of the same route in his 1863 raid.

 

[Patrick H]

Boonville's City Hotel, much as Price would have seen it. This photo from the LOC was made in the 1930s. Interestingly, Frank James was brought to Boonville to stand trial some time after his surrender to the governor. He spent an hour or two in the historic jail here, but citizens quickly raised his bail and he was put up for the duration in this hotel. Charges were dropped--I believe because the prosecutor couldn't find anyone to testify against James. That's another interesting story. But it's likely that Frank saw this scene while in town with the guerrillas in October of '64. The building is much altered now and is a private residence on Morgan Street, just a half block off Main. The top story and two side wings were removed in the renovation and those bricks were used to build other residences along 4th Street. A massive stone retaining wall (barely visible under the overhanging grass) and steps leading to former entrances of the hotel also still exist.

 

[chellers]

Great thread, Patrick H. Thanks for posting.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Patrick, you are fortunate to live in the state that has the most history of the guerrillas and their exploits during the Civil war. On my wish list is to someday visit Missouri, and perhaps even Texas, and see some of these places firsthand.

By the way, we're still waiting for some of that Anderson folklore you mentioned on a previous thread.

 

[KansasFreestater]

As I said above, Boonville was the scene of the famous meeting of Price with Bill Anderson. One can barely imagine what Price's soldiers must have thought as Anderson's band paraded down Main Street. Rudi Keller's source gives Price's headquarters as the City Hotel--a building which still exists in altered form today. Other accounts place the meeting at Thespian Hall or the old Court House. I've not read Price's official report, but I am relatively sure it lists the true location of his headquarters.

It's also worth noting that Anderson's lone prisoner from Centralia finally made his escape in the confusion while Anderson was preparing to cross his men over the Missouri River into Boonville.

Price was being heavily pressed during his Boonville stay. His cavalry did a commendable job of holding off the pursuing Federals until he could make his escape. There were a number of very "brisk" skirmishes just a few miles south of Boonville during these actions--including an artillery duel between opposing units.

Meanwhile, two of Anderson's men executed a German militia officer. Shelby commented on the incident later.

Farther downstream, Brig. Gen. Clinton Fisk wanted into the fight with Price, but was stalled near Providence, MO due to low water in the river.

View attachment 49221

I hate to reveal my ignorance, but I don't understand why, if the 300 home guard soldiers were paroled, was Shoemaker, the commander of one of those same companies, shot and thrown in the river?

 

[Patrick H]

I hate to reveal my ignorance, but I don't understand why, if the 300 home guard soldiers were paroled, was Shoemaker, the commander of one of those same companies, shot and thrown in the river?

It's a mystery. However, we have to remember that Anderson's boys were not in the regular Army. Shelby freed the young Boonville pickets. Price paroled the home guard unit. But they were regular army on a raid. Anderson's boys were irregulars and if the tables had been turned, the Federals would not have accepted their surrender. Early in the war, Halleck had issued orders directing all captured guerrillas to be summarily executed. Anderson and some of his band were also particularly vicious. It's likely they had some sort of grudge against Shoemaker. Perhaps his unit had previously killed one of their guerrilla buddies. Perhaps Shoemaker just represented Federal control to them. It's even possible that they were drunk and it seemed like a good idea at the time. It's pretty hard to know for sure.

The home guard unit was mostly manned by German immigrants and some of these guys were notoriously abusive of local citizens, too--as were some of the out of state Union army men previously stationed in Boonville. I have a hunch that this was a long, smoldering grudge against the whole situation, and Shoemaker caught the rap for it.

I thought Shelby's comment was very interesting. He had no use for Shoemaker, either, but he did not approve of the way he was killed.

 

[ErnieMac]

The attached link connects to an article titled "That he deserved death no one denies": Price's men reach Boonville, Missouri. The author notes that Shoemaker (or Shumaker as in the article) had previously captured and hung a man by the name of Spencer who was suspected of spying for Anderson.
http://markerhunter.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/price-boonville-mo-1/

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Great thread, Patrick H. Thanks for posting.

The state of Missouri is a gold mine for Civil War history buffs.

 

[KansasFreestater]

The state of Missouri is a gold mine for Civil War history buffs.

Yes, it is -- and though it's the state next door to my own, I had no idea of its CW history until I started hanging out here at CivilWarTalk!

 

[Patrick H]

The attached link connects to an article titled "That he deserved death no one denies": Price's men reach Boonville, Missouri. The author notes that Shoemaker (or Shumaker as in the article) had previously captured and hung a man by the name of Spencer who was suspected of spying for Anderson.
http://markerhunter.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/price-boonville-mo-1/

Many thanks for attaching the link to this article. I wasn't personally familiar with the story of Shumaker having Spencer hung, but in my previous reply I obviously suspected something like this had happened. It is no surprise to me, as these various militia units were sometimes very heavy-handed and abusive. This wasn't always the case, but it was an all-too-frequent situation. It was said that some of the militia units, by their bullying, thieving and other abuses, did more for the southern cause than ANY southern recruiting officer.

The campaign map within the article is very useful in placing Jefferson City, California, Boonville and Glasgow. It is reasonably correct in showing the course of the Missouri River, too. However, the Lamine River is totally inaccurate. This won't really matter except to those who might read of Price's progress north and west after leaving Boonville. The Lamine runs more or less northward and enters the Missouri about ten miles upstream from Boonville. Its location is only important because it would have been an obstacle for Price after leaving Boonville and the Yankees chasing him. Still, the map is very good for showing overall movements in this part of the campaign. Thanks again for the link!

 

[ErnieMac]

Many thanks for attaching the link to this article. I wasn't personally familiar with the story of Shumaker having Spencer hung, but in my previous reply I obviously suspected something like this had happened. It is no surprise to me, as these various militia units were sometimes very heavy-handed and abusive. This wasn't always the case, but it was an all-too-frequent situation. It was said that some of the militia units, by their bullying, thieving and other abuses, did more for the southern cause than ANY southern recruiting officer.

I concur with your thought process. The singling out of one man in a group of three hundred seemed more than random chance. Shelby's response was interesting; he seemed more concerned with the reflection on his honor than the death of Captain Shumaker.

 

[Patrick H]

I concur with your thought process. The singling out of one man in a group of three hundred seemed more than random chance. Shelby's response was interesting; he seemed more concerned with the reflection on his honor than the death of Captain Shumaker.

It's possible that Shelby was concerned with...let's say his reputation. However, Anderson wasn't part of Shelby's army, so Shelby might have simply been commenting on the relative level of discipline between his troops and the guerrilla troops. I'm certain Shelby wouldn't have hesitated to kill Shumaker in a "fair" fight, nor vice versa. I think Shelby was a classic officer and gentleman and that he had a strong sense of right and wrong.

Price is interesting in this regard, too. He saw the value of using guerrilla forces to disrupt Federal forces by harassing them. He was always willing to use guerrillas to his advantage, but Anderson was one guy he did not want to be associated with too closely. He ordered Anderson to cross the river again and attack east along the North Missouri railroad. I've read that he really wanted Anderson to penetrate into St. Charles County and destroy a very long railroad bridge there, so that Federal troops couldn't be shipped in by train from Illinois during his raid. Others say the order had a secondary purpose: To move Anderson in the opposite direction and put him at the far side of the state. There's probably some truth in that theory. In any event, Anderson did NOT follow these orders. He went a bit east and then turned west to Glasgow. Price's orders were still in his pocket a couple of weeks later when his dead body was searched after his death.

 

[rosefiend]

Often I think, "If I stick around the CivilWarTalk forum long enough, they'll soon tell me everything I need to know," and I'm never disappointed.

 

[Missouri Rebel]

Pap Price...my collection

 

[Patrick H]

I'll add another item to this thread, because it shows what two foraging armies can do to a county's civilian population. It shows Price's choices upon leaving Boonville. It shows his crafty adversary's strategy of keeping Price pinned to the river corridor. And it hints at another crafty officer's last ditch strategy for denying Price a substantial store of weapons and ammunition.

Price knew that substantial stores of weapons and ammunition were stored in Glasgow, Missouri--a short distance upstream. A large part of his army consisted of unarmed recruits. He could have struck south, through Pilot Grove and bypassing Sedalia and he probably could have made it safely back to Arkansas. Or.....he could gamble on capturing the stores at Glasgow, which he knew to be weakly defended. In my view, he chose a good calculated risk and if he'd been a little luckier, he might have armed much more of his army. History shows that an equally crafty officer in Glasgow denied Price his prize of stores. Ironically, that officer probably did more to damage the town of Glasgow than Price ever would have done. Nevertheless, he denied Price the prize of those stores. More on that in a later.

Furthermore, another very crafty Federal officer with a smaller force camped his men just south of Pilot Grove at Mt. Nebo Church and his presence (but maybe not his strength) was known to Price. Gen. Sanborn's bluff was pretty heroic, given Price's superior numbers. But Sanborn's bluff, coupled with the potential prize at Glasgow, kept Price's advance right along the river corridor, for better or worse.

I won't bump this thread further unless any of you wish to discuss it further. I would prefer to turn the next events over to those who are more familiar with the campaign as it developed west of Boonville.

For details, as reported in the various media of the day, and with full credit to compiler Rudi Keller and the Columbia, Missouri Daily TRIBUNE, I offer a clipping of yesterday evening's column:

 

[Confederate grandfathers]

I have been following this message group with great interest. My Confederate great-grandfather and his parents, siblings, cousins, uncles, aunts, in-laws, etc - his entire kin in MO were living between Marshall and Miami - right in the path of Price so this must have been a wild and wooly scary time for them to say the least. Thanks so much for everyone's efforts and for posting.