Retaliation Executions - A study of

[M E Wolf]

There was an interesting thread on the "retaliation execution" -- unfortunately, there have been several cases documented and frequently listed as "massacres." There may be a useful purpose in looking at these "retaliation executions" committed by both sides during the American Civil War.

Rule 1: PLEASE, PLEASE -keep this mutual and cooperating study of "retaliation executions" civil and not pit one side against the other.

Rule 2: When replying, please refer to which incident, e.g. Palmrya, etc., you are posting about, as we (in a general) sense will no doubt have many incidents to refer to).

M. E. Wolf

 

[Lost Cause]

Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865: A Riveting Account of a Bloody Chapter in Civil War History

Is an excellent, if not exhausting, read on retaliations in that area during the war.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0253213037/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

 

[M E Wolf]

Ok gang! Let us all find all the incidents we can about retaliation executions of both Armies, so there is a huge pool of information of how many retaliation executions took place, where they were in the USA, e.g. Western Theater, Eastern Theater, etc., what led up to the retaliation executions, e.g. unrest, anti-Confederate/Union feelings, spying, killing of one side's soldiers and thus the other side retaliates by executing the enemy's POWs and or retaliation executions, etc.

Let us all concentrate on "military retaliation executions"

It will be interesting how much we can all gather on this focus on 'retaliation executions.'

M. E. Wolf

 

[AndyHall]

Retaliations/reprisals/summary executions happened not infrequently. Neither side was immune to the desire to extract revenge. A long while back I blogged about one.

____________

Running through the 1865 compilation, Soldiers' Letters from Camp, Battlefield and Prison, I was struck by this letter's clarity and direct, matter-of-fact language.

Vidalia, La.
May 17th, 1864​

There has been a party of guerrillas prowling about here, stealing horses and mules from the leased plantations. A scouting party was sent out from here, in which was a company of colored cavalry, commanded by the colonel of a colored regiment. After marching some distance, they came upon the party of whom they were in pursuit. There were seventeen prisoners captured and shot by the colored soldiers. When the guerrillas were first seen, the colonel told them in a loud tone of voice to "Remember Fort Pillow." And they did: all honor to them for it.

If the Confederacy wish to fight us on these terms, we are glad to know it, and will try and do our part in the contest. I do not admire the mode of warfare, but know of no other way for us to end the war than to retaliate.

Lieut. Anson T. Hemingway
70th U.S. Col. Regiment​

I've seen no better example of the way one atrocity is used to justify another in wartime, fueling an endless, violent spiral of reprisal and revenge. And yet, knowing what happened at Fort Pillow, I cannot be sure I'd have tried to stop those cavalrymen. The desire for retribution is very strong, and very human.

Expired Image Removed

Anson Tyler Hemingway was born in East Plymouth, Connecticut in 1844. He moved to Chicago with his family at age ten. Hemingway enlisted in Company D of the 72nd Illinois Infantry and served with that regiment at Vicksburg. Mustered out of the service, he later joined Company H, 70th USCT as 1st Lieutenant and also served as provost martial of the Freedman's Bureau in Natchez. Hemingway was mustered out of the service in March 1866, after which he attended Wheaton College. Two of Hemingway's brothers had died in the war. After two years at Wheaton, Hemingway took a position as general secretary of the Chicago YMCA. He later established a real estate business in Oak Park. He died in 1926 at the age of 82.

Anson Hemingway's grandson Ernest also enjoyed some success as a writer.

 

[M E Wolf]

O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME 3 [S# 3]
CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS, RELATING SPECIALLY TO OPERATIONS IN ARKANSAS, THE INDIAN TERRITORY, KANSAS, AND MISSOURI,(*) FROM MAY 10 TO NOVEMBER 19, 1861.
UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.--#2

NEW MADRID, Mo., August 15, 1861.
Maj. Gen. FREMONT, U.S. A.,
Commanding U. S. Forces in Missouri:
SIR: Capt. Charles Price, of the Missouri State Guard, has received a letter from Messrs. B. S. Curd and William M. Price, dated Cape Girardeau, August 10, 1861, in which they write: "The colonel says that if you attack Commerce to-night he will hang us." With this note is another, recognized to be in the handwriting of Col. C. C. Marsh, and of which the following is an exact copy:

HEADQUARTERS U.S. FORCES,
Cape Girardeau, August 10, 1861.
SIR: Your relatives have written you the above note. It is true. If you injure the people of Commerce or their property I will hang them, and take a bitter revenge on you in other respects.
C. C. MARSH,
Colonel, Commanding U. S. Forces, Cape Girardeau.

The gentlemen held by Colonel Marsh are, as I am credibly informed, citizens of this State, and unconnected in any way with military operations. Even were they so connected in a manner justifying their being made prisoners of war, the Articles of War and Army Regulations of the United States require humane treatment of prisoners.

I also learn that the detachment of Colonel Marsh's troops which captured Mr. William M. Price wantonly burned his father's warehouse and took away a large quantity of corn and 60 mules. Similar outrages are believed to have been very lately committed at the farm of General N. W. Watkins, near Cape Girardeau, and also by Colonel Marsh's troops. I therefore, in the interest of humanity, lay these matters before you, and request a frank answer to these inquiries:

Does this conduct of Colonel Marsh and his troops meet your approval? If not, what steps do you propose to take in respect to the guilty parties and in order to prevent the repetition of such conduct?

It is the desire of the Missouri State authorities to conduct the present war according to civilized usages, and any departure from them by Missouri forces will be properly punished by their officers if aware of it. I deem it proper to add that on seeing Colonel Marsh's letter I immediately instructed the general commanding the Missouri State Guard in this district to hold in close custody a number of prisoners recently taken by him and belonging to your forces. Should Colonel Marsh's future treatment of Messrs. Curd and Price necessitate the hanging of any of those prisoners in retaliation, I am content that impartial men shall judge who is morally responsible for their melancholy fate.

I am; sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
THOS. C. REYNOLDS,
Acting Governor of Missouri.

 

[M E Wolf]

O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME 3 [S# 3]
CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS, RELATING SPECIALLY TO OPERATIONS IN ARKANSAS, THE INDIAN TERRITORY, KANSAS, AND MISSOURI,(*) FROM MAY 10 TO NOVEMBER 19, 1861.
UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.--#3

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 2, 1861.
Major-General FREMONT:
MY DEAR SIR: Two points in your proclamation of August 30 give me some anxiety:
First. Should you shoot a man, according to the proclamation, the Confederates would very certainly shoot our best men in their hands in retaliation; and so, man for man, indefinitely. It is, therefore, my order that you allow no man to be shot under the proclamation without first having my approbation or consent.

Second. I think there is great danger that the closing paragraph, in relation to the confiscation of property and the liberating slaves of traitorous owners, will alarm our Southern Union friends and turn them against us; perhaps ruin our rather fair prospect for Kentucky. Allow me, therefore, to ask that you will, as of your own motion, modify that paragraph so as to conform to the first and fourth sections of the act of Congress entitled "An act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes," approved August 6, 1861, and a copy of which act I herewith send you.

This letter is written in a spirit of caution and not of censure. I send it by special messenger, in order that it may certainly and speedily reach you.
Yours, very truly,
A. LINCOLN.
-

 

[damYankee]

I believe that several factors worked hand in glove to make our Civil War one of the bloodiest affairs in modern times.
1. The issue was left to simmer for generations, as tempers flared, the root cause, slavery became a secondary issue.
Let me explain, after decades of rancor what started the argument doesn't matter, events took place that had to be avenged.
2. The Missouri Compermise did more to fan the flames in the west then the slave issue itself. Once abolisonist or proslavery backers committed an atrocity, the other side had to take action, everything snowballed.
3. Like it or not, the newspapers of that era were very much one side or the other, and they also became the targets of terror campaigns. I make a habit of reading old papers, from the era in question, they are eloquent and very inflammatory, often mixing religion with politics. Any event in one state would be quickly picked up and used to insight a reaction in another.
4. The lack of law enforcement. There were very few cops and courts around in the western states and territories, and the ones that were there were just as likely to be deep on on side as the other.

 

[M E Wolf]

O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME 8 [S# 8]
CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS. AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN MISSOURI, ARKANSAS. KANSAS, AND THE INDIAN TERRITORY FROM NOVEMBER 19, 1861, TO APRIL 10, 1862.
UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. --8
GENERAL ORDERS No. 48.
HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE MISSOURI,
Saint Louis, Mo., February 26, 1862.
I. The public press has given circulation to the following correspondence:
Yesterday (February 8) several companies of our cavalry, with one company of Ross' infantry, scoured the country west, bringing in 50 prisoners. Our cavalry also encountered a large force of rebel cavalry 15 miles beyond Bloomfield. They succeeded in routing them, killing 7, wounding many, and taking 20 prisoners. We had 2 missing and 1 wounded. They found 5 bodies, known to be Union men murdered.
W. P. KELLOGG,
Colonel, Commanding.

General E. A. PAINE,
Commanding, Cairo.
----
CAIRO, February 8.
Colonel KELLOGG, Commanding, Cape Girardeau:
Hang one of the rebel cavalry for each Union man murdered, and after this two for each. Continue to scout, capture, and kill.
E. A. PAINE,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.

General Paine, in explanation of the foregoing, says that at the time he received the dispatch of Colonel Kellogg he supposed they caught the rebel cavalry in the act. The major-general commanding takes the earliest opportunity to publish his disapproval of this order. It is contrary to the rules of civilized war, and if its spirit should be adopted the whole country would be covered with blood. Retaliation has its limits, and the innocent should not be made to suffer for the acts of others over whom they have no control.

II. Again, by whom was this official correspondence furnished to the press, in violation of the Army Regulations and repeated general orders? The imputation must rest upon the two officers concerned until they account for the publication.

III. Information is almost daily furnished to the public press respecting army movements which should be known only to the general giving the orders and to the officer receiving them. Knowledge thus given to the enemy may sometimes cost us the lives of thousands. Moreover, the contents of official letters, which should have been known only to the writer and to those superior in rank, have been published, together with ex-parte statements and misrepresentations. The law and Army Regulations afford a remedy for all personal grievances, no matter by whom they have been caused, and when military officers carry their complaints to newspapers the inference is that they are without foundation. Hereafter any officer who publishes, without proper authority, any information respecting the movements of our armies, even of battles won or any official papers, will be arrested and tried by a court-martial, and the Secretary of War has directed that the whole edition of the newspaper publishing such information be seized and destroyed.

IV. It is officially represented to the commanding general that certain parties in this city and elsewhere have been negotiating with companies and regiments originally, perhaps, irregularly organized, to obtain for a certain price their disbandment or discharge, and encouraging expressions of dissatisfaction and mutinous conduct as a means to accomplish that end. An investigation of this matter will be made immediately, and the provost-marshal-general will arrest guilty parties and confine them in the military prison until they can be tried and punished as prescribed by the Rules and Articles of War.

By command of Major-General Halleck:
N. H. McLEAN,
Assistant Adjutant-General.

 

[M E Wolf]

I believe that several factors worked hand in glove to make our Civil War one of the bloodiest affairs in modern times.
1. The issue was left to simmer for generations, as tempers flared, the root cause, slavery became a secondary issue.
Let me explain, after decades of rancor what started the argument doesn't matter, events took place that had to be avenged.
2. The Missouri Compermise did more to fan the flames in the west then thevslave issue itself. Once abolisonist or proslavery backers committed an atrocity, the other side had to take action, everything snowballed.
3. Like it or not, the newspapers of that era were very much one side or the other, and they also became the targets of terror campaigns. I make a habit of reading old papers, from the era in question, they are eloquent and very inflammatory, often mixing religion with politics. Any event in one state would be quickly picked up and used to insight a reaction in another.
4. The lack of law enforcement. There were very few cops and courts around in the western states and territories, and the ones that were there were just as likely to be deep on on side as the other.

Like any 'physical fight' -- one side pokes, other side pokes back and if one doesn't stop and back off, it continues to grow, as you mention in No.2.

There was the 'frontier justice,' which wasn't always a law backed system yet, a custom fit for the frontier situation, again the situation mentioned in No. 4. Reminds me of the "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." -- though it was a post war setting/themed movie.

I agree that this shoving back and forth took place and tolerance was there. These things were elements leading up to and sustaining the American Civil War. Very important foundations which laid the foundation of military 'sense' of law.

With the guerrilla warfare that frequently was detrimental to both military Armies -- Union and Confederate. With your assistance DamYankee I'd like to take advantage of your 'digging' skill to find incidents of military retaliation executions and compare and study.

M. E. Wolf

 

[M E Wolf]

SERIES I--VOLUME XII/3 [S# 18]
Correspondence, orders, and returns relating specially to operations in Northern Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland from March 17 to September 2, 1862.
CONFEDERATE CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.--#4

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
July 27, 1862.
General TOMAS J. JACKSON,
Commanding Valley District:
GENERAL: I have received your dispatch of 26th instant.(*) I will send A. P. Hill's division and the Second Brigade of Louisiana Volunteers to you. Stafford's regiment (Ninth Louisiana) need not, therefore, be sent here, as directed in Special Orders, No. 163. These troops will exceed 18,000 men. Your command ought certainly to number that amount. What has become of them? I heard they were coming to you from the valley. Do not let your troops run down if it can possibly be avoided by attention to their wants, comforts, &c., by their respective commanders. This will require your personal attention; also consideration and preparation in your movements. I want Pope to be suppressed. The course indicated in his orders, if the newspapers report them correctly, cannot be permitted and will lead to retaliation on our part. You had better notify him the first opportunity. The order of Steinwehr must be disavowed, or you must hold the first captains from his army for They will not be exchanged. A. P. Hill you will, I think, find a good officer, with whom you can consult, and by advising with your division commanders as to your movements much trouble will be saved you in arranging details, as they can act more intelligently. I wish to save you trouble from my increasing your command. Cache your troops as much as possible till you can strike your blow, and be prepared to return to me when done, if necessary. I will endeavor to keep General McClellan quiet till it is over, if rapidly executed.
Very respectfully and truly,
R. E. LEE,
General.
-----

 

[Lost Cause]

Execution of Bushwhackers

On the 29th wit. A.J. Copeland, James H. Rowden, John Norwood and William Carey suffered the extreme penalty of the law for murder and the violation of the civilized rules of warfare. These men were tried by a military commission and found guilty of the above names crimes.

In April here, in company with twenty or more accomplices, they murdered eight Federal soldiers of the 1st Ark. Cav., who were herding horses near Fayetteville, Ark. They approached our men dressed in the uniform of U.S. soldiers, and pretending to belong to the 14th Kans. Cav., completely throwing them off their guard. That point gained, they suddenly and without a moment's warning fired upon them, and killing eight out of ten.

A Union citizen, named John Brown, was also killed by the miscreants at his own house about the same time.
When the sentence of death was first read to the culprits, they first seemed to be indifferent, one of them remarking with an air of bravado, "Well, all right." As the time of their execution drew near, however, they began somewhat to realize their awful situation, and requested the services of a spiritual adviser, and Rev. Francis Springer assumed that duty.
During the ministrations of several weeks of this reverend gentleman, they showed symptoms of considerable contrition, thought at first they seemed to be aware of scarce any consciousness of the awfulness of their crimes, which they had committed. They began to feel that they had been in their previous career the enemies of God and man, and confessed that they had been "pretty bad boys." So callous and hardened were they at first that what they had done, they considered as first rate, too.

The condemned were all very young men, their average age not exceeding nineteen years.
Carey, the youngest, was a most desperate case, and gave his spiritual adviser a partial history of his wicked career. He is said to have killed twenty-one men. . They had all been once in the confederate army, but at the time of their capture were levying war upon their own hook, that so had become outlaws.

Early in the morning of their last day on earth the prisoners were visited by the chaplain, and impressive religious [illegible] were held. Soon after the close of this interview the irons were taken off the culprits. They were then brought forth from the prison and placed in the custody of the guard detailed for the occasion. In a few moments more they were in the wagons each one seated on his coffin. Chaplain Springer was with two of the condemned in the first wagon, and Chaplains Wilson and McAfee with the other two in the second wagon.

The solemn procession was then formed, the Provost Marshal of the District, Capt. C.O. Judson, 6th Kans. Cav., with his staff, taking the lead. Then came the music and the firing party, consisting of 64 men of the 13th Kans. Inft., the two wagons with the culprits and chaplains, and lastly the guard. A large number of citizens and soldiers lined the streets through which the procession moved.

The unfortunate but guilty man evidently tried to be firm and composed on the march, except Norwood, who repeatedly gave signs of grief by weeping and inaudible prayer. The expression of their countenances, in spite of endeavors to be self-possessed, was that of sadness and despair.

On reaching the place of execution south of town and just outside of the rifle pits, the prisoners were arraigned in a line, each one by the side of his coffin. Three sides of a hollow square of infantry had previous been formed to keep the multitude of the spectators at a proper distance, leaving the side next to the prisoners open.

The Judge Advocate of the District, Lieut. Whicher, then read to them the charges and findings of the military commission, after which the condemned kneeled down with the chaplains, and Rev. Mr. Springer offered a short and appropriate prayer. At the conclusion of it, the officers and others about the condemned shook hands with them and, bidding them a final farewell, retired except the Judge Advocate who remained til their eyes were bandaged and hands tied. By this time all of the unfortunate men showed signs of intense mental distress. Carey and Copeland prayed audibly and with great force. Norwood started a hymn, and was still singing in a low voice when the death volley sent his soul into eternity. Carey, on shaking hands with the Judge Advocate, remarked, "Judge, I hope to meet you in Heaven." At length, as the preparations were completed, and in another moment or two forty-eight muskets were pointed at the culprits. One moment more and at the simultaneous discharge of the forty-eight guns, four lifeless bodies lay stretched on the ground.

The whole terrible scene, from beginning to end, was conducted with the propriety due to a transaction so awful but to the detail entrusted with the fatal shooting a special word is due. The entire detail, consisting of sixty-four men of the 13th Kans. Inf., was commanded by Capt. Frankhouse. Forty-eight were in line about twenty-five feet from the doomed men. One half of the guns were charged with ball and the other half with blank cartridges. The remaining sixteen men were held as a reserve in case of failure in the first discharge, but the volley of forty-eight guns was simultaneous and complete. Death ensued almost instantaneously — no lingering agony remained to torture the doomed and distress the beholders. The most painful reflection awakened by the sad ceremony was that selfish, faithless, and traitorous citizens should have stirred up a strife that precipitates into the vortex of crime, ignominy and ruin so many of the young men of our once peaceful, prosperous and happy country.

http://www.fold3.com/page/762_civil_war_hangings_other_executions/#stories/#2295/

 

[M E Wolf]

O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XIII [S# 19]
CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING SPECIALLY TO OPERATIONS IN MISSOURI, ARKANSAS, KANSAS, THE INDIAN TERRITORY, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NORTHWEST FROM APRIL 10 TO NOVEMBER 20, 1862.
CONFEDERATE CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. -- #4
CAMP AT ABBEVILLE, MISS., November 11, 1862.
The meeting in pursuance of adjournment having been prevented by the movement of the army, the meeting was held this evening at General Green's headquarters and fully attended. The meeting was called to order by the president and addressed by Dr. Kavanaugh and others, when the committee submitted the following preamble and resolutions, which were by the meeting unanimously and enthusiastically adopted, directing a copy to be respectfully submitted to the War Department and these proceedings published in the Mobile Register and Memphis Appeal:

The committee appointed by a meeting of the officers of the First Brigade of Missouri Volunteers to prepare suitable resolutions and such other papers as may be necessary to give a full expression of their sentiments in regard to the outrages committed upon our fellow-citizens in Missouri by the authority and action of the Federal Army now in our State, in having I captain and 9 privates shot as a retaliation for the loss of 1 man said to be killed by our men, we beg leave to submit for the consideration of the officers of the brigade the following preamble and resolutions:

Whereas it has come to the knowledge of the officers of this brigade, through authentic sources, that on or about October 18 last, in the town of Palmyra, in the State of Missouri, one Andy Allsman is said to have come to his death by being shot by some of the authorized Partisan Rangers of the Confederate Army; and whereas the perpetrator of this deed was demanded by one General McNeil, who was in command of the Federal forces at that time at Palmyra, and upon failing to deliver the Federal soldier to the military authorities aforesaid then it was declared that 10 Confederate prisoners then in their possession should be shot as a vindictive retaliation; and whereas the demands of the Federal commander were not complied with and the threatened vengeance carried into execution, by which Capt. Thomas A. Sidner and 9 privates, good and loyal citizens and soldiers of the Confederate States, were barbarously and inhumanly shot, in violation of all the laws and usages of civilized warfare: Therefore,

Resolved, That the officers of the First Brigade of Missouri Volunteers, now encamped near Abbeville, in the State of Mississippi, and forming a part of the Army of the West, feel called upon to express their indignation at the unwarrantable and brutal conduct of the officers of the Federal Army in regard to the outrage here referred to, and take such action as may bring this case to the notice of the Government of the Confederate States, and ask that some measures be adopted by the President that shall avenge the death of our fellow-soldiers and prevent the repetition of like outrages in future.

Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting Missouri is still loyal to the South and true to the Confederate cause, and although when this war first broke out and before we could defend our soil and our homes the brutal invader of the North overran the whole State, garrisoned every important town, burned our houses, murdered our citizens, and committed every outrage known in the category of crime in his vain attempts to crush out our liberties, yet there are thousands who are forced by Federa1 authority to remain at home, and thousands who are in the army and have fought in every battle of war, who are still willing and anxious to strike and to continue to strike until the tyrannical horde is driven back; and we respectfully ask the able and wise Chief Magistrate of the Confederate States, not only for its bleeding thousands, who are imploringly looking to him for protection, but for its own sake, its great future, its boundless resources, and its magnificent dimensions, to extend to Missouri the powerful aegis of its protection, to bring its Partisan Rangers, its citizens, its thousands of true Southern men and women under the effects of the retaliatory measures of the Confederacy, as has been done in other States, so that our citizen soldiery shall not be brutally murdered on its own soil and by their own firesides with impunity, and we will be satisfied to follow the Stars and Bars of the South until the last battle of this revolution is fought.

Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting prompt and fall retaliation is the only means that will effectually arrest the outrages so often committed by our enemy upon our soldiers and citizens, and any appeal made to his sense of justice or right would be wholly unavailing.

Resolved, That should the President adopt measures of retaliation on the army now in Missouri or elsewhere during the war, we pledge ourselves to carry out such measures to the fullest extent should it ever fall in the line of our official duty.

Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings be properly authenticated by the officers of this meeting and forwarded to the President of these Confederate States, asking his serious attention to the subject-matter herein presented.

Upon motion the meeting adjourned.
[M. E. GREEN,]
President.
R. S. BEVIER,
Secretary.
-----
NOTE: It is a repeat from the Palmyra Massacre thread but, re-posted as to add to the overall listings of incidents of Military retaliation executions.

 

[Lost Cause]

A MISSOURI EXECUTION

THIS INFORMATION WAS TAKEN FROM THE MICROFILM OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI,
OFFICE PROVOST MARSHAL-GENERAL,
Saint Louis, Mo., October 29, 1864.
Col. J. V. Du Bois, Chief of Staff, in the Field:
COLONEL: I have the honor to inform the commanding general that on this day
the following rebel soldiers--James W. Gates, Company H, Third Missouri Cavalry, C. S. Army; Harvey H. Blackburn, Company A, Coleman's regiment, C. S. Army; John Nichols, Second Missouri Cavalry, C. S. Army; Charles W. Minneken, Company A, Crabtree's cavalry, C. S. Army; Asa V. Ladd, Burbridge's regiment Missouri cavalry, C. S. Army; and George F. Bunch, Company B, Third Missouri Cavalry, C. S. Army--were executed by being shot to death by musketry in retaliation for the murder of six men of the Third Cavalry Missouri State Militia by Tim. Reves' guerrillas, and in compliance with Special Orders, No. 277, paragraph 12, dated headquarters Department of the Missouri, Saint Louis, Mo., October 6, 1864.
I respectfully inclose records in the case.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully,
JOSEPH DARR, JR.,
Acting Provost-Marshal-General.
[Inclosure No. 1.]
HEADQUARTERS SAINT LOUIS DISTRICT,
Saint Louis, Mo., October 25, 1864.
Col. JOSEPH DARR, Jr.,
Actg. Provost. Marshal-General, Dept. of the Mo., Saint Louis:
COLONEL: Yesterday I received the inclosed dispatch from Colonel Stone, General Pike's chief of staff, informing me that the bodies of Major Wilson and six men, who were captured at Ironton, Mo., were found fifteen miles southwest of Washington, Mo. To-day I received from Colonel Stone the accompanying books and papers, which were taken from one of the bodies, and which show conclusively to my mind that the body from which they were taken was Major Wilson's, Third Cavalry Missouri State Militia.
Captain Dinger, Forty-seventh Missouri Volunteers, reports that he was paroled fifteen miles south of Washington and ten miles west of Union, and that Major Wilson was at the same time and place ordered by the field officer of the day of the rebel army to be turned over by the guard to Tim. Reves, and when he last saw him he was waiting there under guard for Reves to come up.
The facts and papers conclusively establish to my mind the fact of his murder by order of the field officer of the day, and fully justify and call for retaliation.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
THOMAS EWING, JR.,
Brigadier-General.
[Sub-inclosure.]
WASHINGTON, Mo., October 24, 1864.
Brigadier-General EWING:
The bodies of Major Wilson and six men, captured at Ironton, have been found about fifteen miles southwest from this place on the old State road, near Jeffrey's farm. Major Wilson was shot through the body several times. One of the bodies is supposed to be that of an artillery bugler, from the trimmings on his jacket.
<ar120_1061> They were found by a man who was out gathering persimmons, who identified Major Wilson by papers found on his body. All documents found on these bodies are in the hands of Esquire Kleinbacker, of this county, and will be forwarded to you as soon as received here. G. HARRY STONE,
Colonel and Chief of Staff.
[Inclosure No. 2.]
SPECIAL ORDERS No. 279.
HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE MISSOURI,
OFFICE PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL,
Saint Louis, Mo., October 28, 1864.
VIII. It appearing from the most conclusive evidence that Maj. James Wilson, Third Cavalry Missouri State Militia, and six men of his command, taken prisoners of war by the enemy in their late raid through the State at Pilot Knob, Mo., were turned over by some rebel officer, now unknown, to the guerrilla Tim. Reves, at a place near the town of Union, in Franklin County, Mo., and that subsequently Major Wilson and his men were brutally murdered by this blood-stained outlaw; therefore, in compliance with so much of Special Orders, No. 277, paragraph 12, headquarters Department of the Missouri, dated October 6, 1864 (hereto appended), as can at this time be carried into effect, the following six of the enlisted men of the rebel army--names W. Gates, Company H, Third Missouri Cavalry, C. S. Army; John N. Ferguson, Company A, Crabtree's cavalry, C. S. Army; Harvey H. Blackburn, Company A, Coleman's cavalry, C. S. Army; John Nichols, Company G, Second Missouri Cavalry, C. S. Army; Charles W. Minneken, Company A, Crabtree's (Arkansas) cavalry, C. S. Army; Asa V. Ladd, Company A, Burbridge's (Missouri) cavalry, C. S. Army-will be shot to death with musketry within the limits of the city of Saint Louis, Mo., on Saturday, the 29th day of October, 1864, between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m.
Lieut. Col. Gustav Heinrichs, Forty-first Missouri infantry,
superintendent and inspector of military prisons, is hereby charged with the execution of this order.
JOSEPH DARR, JR.,
Acting Provost-Marshal-General.
SPECIAL ORDERS No. 277.
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI,
Saint Louis, Mo., October 6, 1864.
12. From testimony which cannot be doubted the commanding general learns that Maj. James Wilson, Third Missouri State Militia Cavalry, and six enlisted men of his command, prisoners of war, were given up by Maj. Gen. Sterling Price to the guerrilla Tim. Reves for execution. The provost-marshal-general of the department will send a major and six enlisted men of the rebel army in irons to the military prison at Alton, Ill., to be kept in solitary confinement until the fate of Major Wilson and his men is known. These men will receive the same treatment Major Wilson and his men received. The provost-marshal-general is held responsible for the execution of this order.
By command of Major-General Rosecrans:
FRANK ENO, Assistant Adjutant-General.
<ar120_1062>
[Inclosure No. 3.]
SPECIAL ORDERS No. 280.
HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE MISSOURI,
OFFICE PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL,
Saint Louis, October 29, 1864.
I. Paragraph VIII, Special Orders, No. 279, headquarters Department of the Missouri, office of the provost-marshal-general, Saint Louis, Mo., October 28, 1864, is hereby altered so as to erase from the same the name of John N. Ferguson, Company A, Crabtree's (Arkansas) cavalry, C. S. Army, it appearing from this man's examination that he never bore arms and was only employed as a teamster, and substituting for the said Ferguson the following rebel soldier for execution, viz, George F. Bunch, private, Company B, Third Missouri Cavalry, C. S. Army.
JOSEPH DARR, JR.,
Acting Provost-Marshal. General.

http://www.fold3.com/page/762_civil_war_hangings_other_executions/#stories/#2295/
.

 

[M E Wolf]

O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XIII [S# 19]
CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING SPECIALLY TO OPERATIONS IN MISSOURI, ARKANSAS, KANSAS, THE INDIAN TERRITORY, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NORTHWEST FROM APRIL 10 TO NOVEMBER 20, 1862.
CONFEDERATE CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. -- #6

HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
Fort McCulloch, July 3, 1862.
Maj. Gen. T. C. HINDMAN,
Commanding Trans-Mississippi District:
GENERAL: Your dispatch of the 21st instant(*) reached me this morning, and has given me great gratification. I could not have believed that you were in such a condition as your letter shows in regard to arms and men.

If General Van Dorn had let my supplies alone, I should have had an abundance of ammunition for both of us. I had an ample supply of fixed ammunition, and he got the whole of it, except what Captain Woodruff took from Fort Smith in his caissons.
[extensive excerpt, not germane to Military retaliation executions]

The chief object in keeping a couple of regiments of white troops here is, therefore, not to prevent invasion, but to encourage and aid the Indians. That-this is done is proven by the fact that so many of them are in arms. The chief complaint now, from the upper Cherokee country, is that bodies of white men are running about there, crossing the line and firing a few shots, and then running back into the Indian country, provoking retaliation. When I proposed in making the treaties that the Indians should furnish troops, they invariably stipulated for two things: One, that they should not be taken out of their own country; the other, that they should not be drilled like white men, but be always allowed to fight in their own way. Of course, I agreed to both. You cannot use them in large bodies, nor play the general with them in the field. None of them, except the Choctaws and Chickasaws, would consent to have any white officers, and they only so far as to the colonel. I have found that it does not answer to put them and white troops close together. You cannot use the same hospital for both. It will not do to have a white company in an Indian regiment. In fact, the organization by regiments is all nonsense. They ought to go by towns, in bands of different numbers, under their chiefs and captains; and I have sent the Secretary of War a draught of a bill covering that and other points.

[extensive excerpt - not germane to military retaliation executions]

I take the liberty of inclosing to you copies of two pamphlets printed here, for distribution to officers without charge. I will send you others as I print them. Having purchased a press, I print my own blanks. Five large boxes of stationery and blanks, part procured on requisitions in Richmond and part purchased by me, with which were military books, papers, &c., of my own, all sent from that city in December, have never reached here, being needed, I suppose, somewhere else.
I have the honor to be, general, very respectfully, yours,
ALBERT PIKE,
Brigadier-General, Comdg. Department of Indian Territory.

 

[Lost Cause]

I happened upon Greenlawn Memorial Park/former pow "Camp Butler" in Newport News, VA over 15 years ago.


United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service

Greenlawn Memorial Park is historically significant for it's association with the Newport News POW camp. Greenlawn Memorial Park contains 163 Confederate soldiers that were reinterred there in 1900. In 1908, a monument was erected to honor these soldiers who died in the Newport News POW Camp, between April 27,1865 and July 5, 1865. The camp was actually located at the end of 18th Street next to Camp Butler overlooking Hampton Roads. Additionally, Greenlawn Memorial Park is significant for it's 19th century style of landscape design which emerged in the 1850's and was in full use by the late 1800's. In 1888, the original developers selected a piece of property that was separated from the business and residential portions of the city making the cemetery site a rural setting. The designers of the cemetery skillfully used the style of the existing natural landscape of native trees and designed the drives and pathways to wind around and through the property. This informal picturesque design created the atmosphere of a public park. The idea was to create a space that was for the living as well as the dead Greenlawn became a popular gathering place for families to picnic and socialize. The POW monument in the center of the cemetery is another example of the trend of 19th century cemeteries. It was common among the 19thcentury cemetery designers to have monuments erected memorializing prominent or historical figures as a centerpiece of the cemetery.
The victorious Union army had thousands of Confederate troops to parole and return to their homes throughout the South at the war's end With Northern camps already filled to capacity with captured Confederates, Newport News POW camp was planned to hold and process 10,000-20,000 prisoners, The camp was quickly built on a site (east of present 18th Street and the CSX right of way and extending to the Waterfront) next to Camp Butler. 'Other facilities, including a hospital, wereconstructed. The 122nd US Colored Troops: Battery B, 2nd US Colored Light Artillery and the 1stUS Colored Cavalry were assigned to guard the camp. Colonel J. Ham Davidson was camp commandant. The use of black soldiers to guard the Newport News POW camp led to several unfortunate incidents. In late April, two former Confederates were wounded by sentries, (one accidentally) which increased the friction between the guards and prisoners. Racial tensions compounded by fears of a prison escape came to a deadly explosion on the evening of May 7, 1865. Approximately ten prisoners approached the guard, Pvt. Harrison Woodson of the 122nd USCT, trying to sell himtrinkets and taunting him about President Lincoln's death. One ex-confederate ignored Woodson's repeated commands t~ halt his steps onto the gallery where prisoners were forbidden to go after dark. The officer, Lt. Harold, approached the scene and ordered the sentry while he was reloading his musket with double shot, 'There is another man on the gallery now; why do you not use the bayonet on him?" Woodson leaped toward the prisoner, Pvt. Benjamin Hunt, thrusting his bayonet into the prisoner's back. "You have killed him dead, "to which the black soldier replied, "Yes, by God!They buried us alive at Fort Pillow".
The Commissary-General of Prisoners ordered a court martial which indicated no wrong doing but he also issued new regulations to avoid reoccurrence of similar incidents. Union officials now realized the hostility of imprisoning former Confederates until they were formally paroled and the Newport News POW camp never reached its anticipated capacity. By July it was empty. The camp never held more than 3,490 prisoners, of which 168 died during captivity and 12 escaped The authorities deactivated the camp in August of 1865.

http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/NewportNews/121-0065_Greenlawn_Cemetery_1999_Final_Nomination.pdf

 

[Carronade]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the incident with Mosby in 1864. Six or seven of his men had been executed by Union troops under Sheridan's overall command, and he selected seven Union prisoners to be executed in retaliation. As it turned out only three of them were, although two others were shot but survived. Mosby then communicated with Sheridan, and apparently both sides refrained from further executions.

 

[16thVA]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the incident with Mosby in 1864. Six or seven of his men had been executed by Union troops under Sheridan's overall command, and he selected seven Union prisoners to be executed in retaliation. As it turned out only three of them were, although two others were shot but survived. Mosby then communicated with Sheridan, and apparently both sides refrained from further executions.

I was about to mention that. You can find the details in "Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders" by Virgil Carrington Jones. Mosby's retaliation is related on pages 325-331.

 

[IcarusPhoenix]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the incident with Mosby in 1864. Six or seven of his men had been executed by Union troops under Sheridan's overall command, and he selected seven Union prisoners to be executed in retaliation. As it turned out only three of them were, although two others were shot but survived. Mosby then communicated with Sheridan, and apparently both sides refrained from further executions.

Actually, it was Mosby and Custer. Sheridan is the one who intervened to stop it.

 

[Patrick H]

The retaliations that always get me fuming are the ones like the Missouri example given above.

I can at least understand the twisted logic of saying "guerrillas murdered six of my men and their officer.... I'm going to have a dozen guerrillas killed in retaliation." Or saying "That unit burned my town... I'm going to burn their town."

But there is no logic in saying "guerrillas murdered six of my men and their officer, so I had six otherwise innocent POWs shot in exchange."

Of course, this stuff happened all too frequently. I'm sure this will be an interesting and tragedy-filled thread.

 

[AndyHall]

Wars tend to bring out that sort of behavior, and it generally gets worse the longer they go on.