George and William,

Well, with that last input Private Thompson strayed back into the world of irregulars, where I can at least figure out the some of the jargon and abbreviations. From what you wrote, Jasper or Charles served in Company C, 4th Provisional Enrolled Missouri Militia Regiment.

The Provisional EMM Regiments of 1863 (eleven of them in all), were culled mostly from the better of the various Enrolled Missouri Militia Regiments begun in 1862. If the notation had only been for the company without a regiment, that would point to a late-war county organization, many of which remained active to assist the returning civil war officials keep peace. But we know Jasper served in the 44th from August 1864 through 18 May 1865.

The Company C officers of the 4th Prov EMM were Captain Clayton Tiffin, 1LT George Ray, 1LT W. H. Stone, and 2LT Isaac McKown. Those officers came into the 4th Prov EMM from the 51st EMM, partly a Ray County outfit. I don't have a record for Thompson in the 51st ( and I forgot to look for one), but I see a Private Jasper Thompson in Company C of the 4th Prov EMM Regiment. Company C of the 4th Prov EMM was raised mostly from the EMM units of that area on 2 May 1863, but also took men who enlisted directly into the 4th Prov EMM Regt. from civilian life. In other words, Jasper Thompson may not have been in any Union unit previous to his service in the 4th Prov EMM Regt. Although the Provisional EMM Regiments (eleven of them in all) were disbanded by the state in fall 1863, some subunits of some of them served on into 1864 and 1865. The state disbanded most of the Prov EMM Regiments because they were on active duty, and that was expensive for the State to pay.

Now, George showed us that Jasper Thompson enlisted 18 August 1864 at Richmond, county seat of Ray County, into what became the Company F, 44th Missouri Infantry Regiment, and served in that unit mostly out of Missouri until he was mustered out at Vicksburg, Mississippi 18 May 1865. From this we can gather that Private Jasper Thompson's service with the 4th Prov EMM was sometime in 1863 through just before 18 August 1864.

Now, this is very interesting, because Captain Clayton Tiffin led his company and there were others of the 51st and others from Carroll County who on 14 August (four days before Thompson enlisted into regular US service at Richmond) on Wakenda Creek in south Carroll County attacked Bill Anderson's guerrilla band of as many as 100, who were taking a break at "Flat Rock Ford," and gave Bill Anderson one of his few defeats in stand-up fighting in the war. Between 10 and 15 militiamen were killed. unknown number of militia wounded, and 5 to 6 bushwhackers killed, and several wounded, including 16-year-old Jesse James seriously wounded, his older brother Frank not as seriously wounded, and Bill Anderson wounded in the leg. Clayton's militiamen made the initial attack upon Anderson's men and surprised them, but then the militia (not considered by Union officials capable of any fighting but defensive fighting) refused to leave, but with their single-shot, slow-rate-of-fire muzzleloaders against the guerrillas' revolvers and some carbines and shotguns remained in the brush a few yards from the southerners exchanging shots with the bushwhackers more superior rate of fire (since most of Anderson's men carried multiple loaded pistols) until Anderson's men left the battlefield to the local militia and retreated across the Grand River to Chariton County where they found southern families to help tend their wounds and bury the few bodies of comrades they carried off under Union fire.

We don't really know if Jasper Thompson was serving under Captain Tiffin on 14 August at Wakenda Creek, and he may very well have been at home at this time. But, he could have been there. Either way, Jasper Thompson only a few days after this fight mustered into US Federal service into the 44th Missouri Infantry at Richmond, Ray County. If Jasper had been in that terrible fight or only heard about it from the others, it was enough for him to join the regulars. Maybe he figured he would have a better chance of surviving the war if he joined a regular unit and would go off and fight in the regular war, rather than remain with those crazy Yankee militiamen who evidently forgot they were only supposed to TRY to defend their home county against occasional bushwhackers.

Like I wrote, I cannot say if Jasper was at Wakenda, but the possibilities are interesting, don't you think? I probably gave you more possibilities than real answers, but I hope that helped.

Bruce Nichols