First, I thank you for your wonderful web page with all the results of your search in the MO Provost Marshal's files and other places. I recall some years back somebody asking me in either this forum or the old Rootsweb one if the Union had a prison in Springfield, to which I answered that they had a jail there used to house prisoners for short periods of time. Your research now proves that at least in May and June 1863 the Feds had in Springfield the College Prison, the Courthouse, and Fort Number 1 in which they housed prisoners. I also had no idea that on 23 May 1863 46 prisoners mass escaped from the College Prison, because I had not seen that in other records. I wonder if that debacle caused the Union authorities to cut down the number of prisoners kept at Springfield at any one time and began insisting that the Springfield commander send his prisoners under escort to St. Louis, as other Union garrisons in Missouri were required to do. After all, Springfield was at times during the war little more than an isolated outpost, although a strongly defended one with a large garrison force.

Now, let's talk about the poorly documented guerrilla raid on the German-American settlement in southeast Lafayette County on 13 July 1863.

I think most actions in that Concordia community were poorly recorded because the Germans kept to themselves in their enclave hoping the rest of the Civil War would pass them by--which it probably would have done for the most part if it were not for Dave Poole. He was the lightning rod for much of the tragedy there during the war, although I suppose he had his reasons. The two most more detailed accounts by that community itself are Harry R. Voigt's 1960 Concordia centennial booklet and Robert W. Frizzell's July 1977 "Missouri Historical Review" article. Voigt had only a paragraph about it citing the "Official Records" letter in series 1, vol. 22, part 2, pp. 377-8 to BG Ewing the Union district commander by citizen Sam. Breitenbaugh on 15 July based on what he heard on a riverboat passing by Lafayette County. More about the Breitenbaugh letter in "Official Records" below. Voigt also used cemetery records and the military records of the four members of Company C, 71st EMM lined up and shot during the raid. Frizzell cited Voigt but also Castel's 1962 "Quantrill" book, on page 120, which says:

"...Bill Anderson, leader of a gang of Clay County guerrillas, whose family suffered worst of all [referring to the 13 August 1863 collapse of the Kansas City prison which killed and maimed several southern women jailed for supporting guerrillas]. Already a merciless killer of men--for instance, in July he and Dave Poole led a sweep through the German settlements in Lafayette County shooting down unarmed farmers at their plows--."

Frizzell mentioned that Castel did not cite his source for the above. Frizzell also used Louis A. Meyer's "The Battle of Emma, Mo. as Seen by an Eye Witness," from the Meyer papers. Frizzell mentioned a general article in the "Lexington Weekly Union" about "only bushwhackers and their friends could travel the roads in safety," but without citing from which issue he found that. Admittedly, the German-Americans there strongly supported the formation of the 71st EMM in the late summer of 1862, and, it seems paid a terrible price for that choice, as we remarked earlier. Lafayette County was so torn apart by the war that county histories either ignored large parts of war actions in the county or mentioned only some of them.

I mentioned John McCorkle's short paragraph of his memory of this raid, and the only other guerrilla memoir I could find was whichever guerrilla(s) told John N. Edwards about it which he included in his 1877 "Noted Guerrillas" book, page 210-211. That account in detail told about some of the preparations for the raid at guerrilla Kell. Campbell's home in Lafayette County where his mom and Mrs. William Kirtley made for them a US flag to carry in order to fool the German-Americans when they conducted the raid. Edwards spoke about this and other precautions which allowed Anderson and Poole to fool the residents so that not many retired to their fortress to wait out the raid, as they usually did. Edwards wrote the 40 guerrillas killed 15 (which is bogus) and severely wounded 10 more, and that the bushwhackers did not attack the fort, which was probably true.

Before I get too far away from it, the "Official Records" letter cited above by Sam Breitenbaugh in his July 15 letter said Anderson's men, numbering 40, murdered "4 Union men and 1 girl, and 9 wounded." Not even Voigt or Frizzell could substantiate the killing of the girl, and evidently there was no burial record of her death, and the burial records at Concordia are precise. I could believe the nine wounded, though, and this matches closely to whatever guerrilla Edwards quoted. Breitenbaugh wrote that there were 40 raiders, but, of course, he was merely quoting somebody else, since he was passing by on a steamboat.

So, that leaves us the local newspaper accounts. There really is only one, and the others quoted it. That one is the "Lexington Weekly Union," printed every Saturday. You mentioned the Kansas City "Daily Journal of Commerce" of 22 July, which I have not seen, but their 25 July issue on page 3 talked about the raid in detail. The St. Louis "Daily Missouri Democrat" printed an article on the raid on 22 July, too. Since the 13 July 1863 raid took place on a Monday, I would suppose the "Lexington Weekly Union" issue of 18 July carried the story that the Kansas City and St. Louis dailies cited in their issues on 22 and 25 July. The St. Louis version of the raid was word for word the same as the Kansas City one, except the Kansas City article had a bit more. Here is what the 25 July Kansas City article had about the raid itself in "Some Plain Talk to the Sympathizers of Bushwhackers in Lafayette County:"

'The following we copy from the Lexington Union, a paper not by any means given to radicalism...The Union says...Last Monday morning about twenty bushwhackers under Anderson and Pool passed through the German settlement in Freedom township, shooting, killing, and murdering the German indiscriminately as they went. Four were killed and six or seven wounded. Their men were plowing in the fields without arms. We have not learned the names of any of the killed and wounded; but that the brutal outrage has been committed is too true. Jim. and Tom. Warren and Bill Greenwood were in the gang. They robbed as they went every house and barnyard.'

Therefore, I glean from Edwards that a Kell. Campbell was one of the raiders, and from the Lexington paper quoted in the Kansas City paper I learn, as you pointed out, that Jim and Tom Warren and Bill Greenwood were also among the raiders, too.

Now, were there 20 raiders, as cited in the Lexington paper or was Edwards' figure and the Breitenbaugh letter in "Official Records" of 40 raiders correct? None of the others sources I found gave a figure. Personally, I guess that Quantrill split up his large band to his four subordinate leaders more or less evenly, which would mean 40 in Anderson's band would be more appropriate. Further, Dave Poole knew the German-Americans were armed and had a fort, so my opinion is that it would be folly to go into that community with only 20 riders, US flag flying in front of the column or not. I go with 40 in the raiding party.

Bruce Nichols