The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

Civilian/ex-Confederate William Rowland was killed

Another civilian killed at Centralia was William Rowland. The irony here is he was an ex-Confederate killed by Confederates. In 1924 Centralia-native son Louis Hulen, who was 14-years-old at the time of the Massacre, wrote: " I was born on the 31st day of March, 1850, the year so many people went to California following the discovery of gold in '49....The very first question asked me, I could not answer -- 'Were you in Centralia September 27, 1864, and what did you go there for that day.' I could not answer the question regarding why but I did say I was there. Yes, I was there, and I think I saw it all, or at least most of what happened. I could not and cannot say why I was there, but Centralia was our trading town, and I suppose I must have gone there on some errand, or to purchase some farm supplies, or take something to sell from our farm.....It was nearly noon -- about eleven o'clock -- when the train from the east came in. I had seen the Anderson gang of soldiers but outside of being surprised to see them there, I thought it a small matter, as I had seen many such squads of the boys all during the war and supposed they were there to get food or clothing....Among the soldiers was a private citizen, but, unfortunately, he had on a soldier's blouse. He tried to tell them he was not a soldier nor ever had been, but they shot him along with the balance. During the excitement and shooting of the Federal soldiers, one of Anderson's men was guarding the depot. For some cause, Willliam Rowland, the clerk in the depot, got into some trouble with this guard and the guard shot and killed Rowland. The guard said Rowland had attacked him and he had to shoot to save himself...."

I have a bit compiled on the Rowland family, including, William Rowland as a consequence of a 60,000 word memoir I am working from a member of the Purcell Scouts, a Confederate unit that was active behind Federal lines for its entire existence. As the unit was being hunted down and decimated in the fall of 1862, the memoir states--"The greater number of the Purcell Scouts, as I have mentioned, surrendered to Federal authorities, but a few did not. John Rowland and his brother, Will Rowland, who as killed in Centralia during the Bill Anderson Raid in 1864, and myself, after talking the matter over with our folks, and contrary to their wishes and advice, decided we would take a risk and would not surrender. That winter of 1862-1863 Will Rowland left home at once, but John and I made us a house to sleep in and scouted and hunted every day when the weather permitted. Our place was in the center of a big straw rick, fully a mile from any dwelling, and was near where the Dunbar school house now stands in 1922...."

William Rowland had also been a prisoner in the Columbia Jail with two other Confederates -- William R. Jackson and Amos Marney Jr. -- when the Purcell Scouts boldly raided the town on Aug. 12, 1862, and broke them loose. This event is just a sentence or two in most histories, but in the memoir I am editing I have entitled a detailed chapter "The Great Columbia Jail Break" from the first person memoir account, and have further compiled a pile of additional detailed first person details on the Columbia Raid in footnoting.

Regarding civilian deaths at Centralia, the History of Boone County, at page 461, has an account of Rowland's death. It's author erroneously attributes the Rowland who was killed as being John Rowland. Almost certainly it was his brother William, given the two first-person accounts of individuals who personally knew William, including one who had served with William and had spent a winter living in and hiding out in a hay rick with his brother John, who survived the war.

Anyway, the History of Boone County's version of Rowland's death is as follows--"John C. Rowland, a citizen, was in town in a wagon with some ladies, when the guerillas came into town on the heels of the Federals. Mr. Rowland drove the wagon behind a barn, intended to keep himself and ladies out of harm's way. Tom Little, one of Anderson's guerrillas, rode upon the wagon, and struck at Mrs. Redman, one of the ladies, with his revolver. Mr. Rowland caught the weapon by the barrel and held on with such a grip that he was almost dragged from the wagon. Little then killed him. Mr. Rowland was a well-respected young man, who had never been a soldier, but was regarded a a Southern sympathizer."

The statement of Rowland, "who had never been a soldier," was clearly in error, given that both William and John rode with the Purcell Scouts. This error may have been due to the fact the Purcell Scouts, like scores, and perhaps hundreds, of Missouri Confederate small units in the early days of the war had a relatively brief existence, and left virtually no record of their existence other than anecdotal, if even that. In addition, after they returned to civilian life neither William or John Rowland submitted to surrender or the taking of the oath and actively hid their service, and would have been summarily executed or jailed for it had it been discovered. This further tended to obscure their time in Confederate service, confusing the issue, along with the author of the History of Boone County.

The memoir I am working on goes into considerable detail regarding what steps were taken to hide service in the Purcell Scouts. Hopefully I'll get it finished and published. It's a beast. Upon completion it will compare to my work on the Sam Hildebrand memoir published by the University of Arkansas Press.

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Civilian deaths at Centralia
Civilian/ex-Confederate William Rowland was killed
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