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When we think of war in this day and age, we often think of it as being somewhere overseas and, as a general rule, only affecting the lives of the military soldiers and people of other nations. But that was not the case in this country during the Civil War.
The War Between the States affected everyone, young and old, male and female, soldier and civilian alike.
The military casualty list was the highest of any war America has ever been involved in. In today’s world, that list would likely not have been nearly so high, because many of the troops died from a lack of medical care after being wounded. Across Missouri, our civilian population was just as involved in the war as the soldiers, but “their” deaths were never recorded as war casualties.
Only the young who were born here, just prior to the war, were actually Missouri natives, most of the adult population of Missouri was born and raised elsewhere, primarily in the South. So it was only natural that Missouri farmers held Southern sympathies and furnished many Confederate soldiers for the war effort.
Civil War history abounds in Missouri – the state is ranked third among all states in the number of wartime military actions. More than 1,100 battles, engagements and skirmishes were fought in Missouri. More than half of all Civil War actions took place in four states – Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi. Missouri never was safe for the Union or the Confederacy. Missourians fought each other, brother against brother, father against son, not only at home, but also in nearly every major campaign in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters.
Of the more than 1,100 engagements in the state, there were three major battles – Wilson Creek, south of Springfield; the Battle of the Hemp Bales at Lexington around the Anderson House; and the Battle of Westport, across the present day Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. General Sterling Price, the former Missouri governor just prior to the Civil War, led the charge in all three of those campaigns. A couple of smaller confrontations locally, here in Jackson County, also were pretty fierce and considered major to those involved – the First Battle of Independence and the Battle of Lone Jack.
As the war progressed, the federal soldiers occupied all of the cities and ports along the Missouri River including Independence, Liberty, Lexington and Kansas City in an attempt to flush out the Southern element. The Union command confiscated the Missouri state treasury, effectively snatching the state government out from under Gov. Claiborne Jackson.
When we think of war in this day and age, we often think of it as being somewhere overseas and, as a general rule, only affecting the lives of the military soldiers and people of other nations. But that was not the case in this country during the Civil War.
The War Between the States affected everyone, young and old, male and female, soldier and civilian alike.
The military casualty list was the highest of any war America has ever been involved in. In today’s world, that list would likely not have been nearly so high, because many of the troops died from a lack of medical care after being wounded. Across Missouri, our civilian population was just as involved in the war as the soldiers, but “their” deaths were never recorded as war casualties.
Only the young who were born here, just prior to the war, were actually Missouri natives, most of the adult population of Missouri was born and raised elsewhere, primarily in the South. So it was only natural that Missouri farmers held Southern sympathies and furnished many Confederate soldiers for the war effort.
Civil War history abounds in Missouri – the state is ranked third among all states in the number of wartime military actions. More than 1,100 battles, engagements and skirmishes were fought in Missouri. More than half of all Civil War actions took place in four states – Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi. Missouri never was safe for the Union or the Confederacy. Missourians fought each other, brother against brother, father against son, not only at home, but also in nearly every major campaign in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters.
Of the more than 1,100 engagements in the state, there were three major battles – Wilson Creek, south of Springfield; the Battle of the Hemp Bales at Lexington around the Anderson House; and the Battle of Westport, across the present day Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. General Sterling Price, the former Missouri governor just prior to the Civil War, led the charge in all three of those campaigns. A couple of smaller confrontations locally, here in Jackson County, also were pretty fierce and considered major to those involved – the First Battle of Independence and the Battle of Lone Jack.
As the war progressed, the federal soldiers occupied all of the cities and ports along the Missouri River including Independence, Liberty, Lexington and Kansas City in an attempt to flush out the Southern element. The Union command confiscated the Missouri state treasury, effectively snatching the state government out from under Gov. Claiborne Jackson.
So for the many years of the Civil War, and for a few reconstruction years following the war, the residents of Independence were hampered and harassed by the occupying forces, restricting their movements and daily life. The old Jackson County Courthouse in the center of the Square was used by the Union troops at night for sleeping, a hospital during confrontations, and even used to stable horses. In general, the building was very disrespected by the Union presence.
But eventually military rule was relaxed and the troops vacated the courthouse, turning it back over to the people. However, the people found the building so infested with fleas, it was almost impossible to walk in the door. Of course they had no exterminators back in those days, so what do you think they did? They moved in a flock of sheep, closed the door and left them there for a few days. Naturally, the fleas preferred the wool to the hard wood floors. So, when the sheep went back out to pasture, the problem was solved.
Reference: Civil War and Reconstruction in Independence, Missouri by Don Hale.
Ted Stillwell also writes a similar column for the Leavenworth Times and has recently compiled some of those stories in a Leavenworth edition of “Portraits of the Past,” which is now available at The Examiner office, 410 S. Liberty St., Independence. These affordable books make ideal gifts and are a good way to preserve these stories for future generations.
