....whoever Joe Thompson was.... Anybody know?

It took me a couple more hours, but I have a solid handle on this Paris raid/flag episode now. In order to unravel what happened you have to look at this Paris sacking through the lens of what was happening in the region at the time. Yeah, the Feds (3rd Iowa Cav) were occupying Paris in July 1862, but then again the Feds were everywhere in North Missouri at the time...until they weren't. That is until Porter and Poindexter went and exploded on them at the end of that month. Then the Feds were combined into two massive forces resulting in garrisons being left empty.

The Battle of Moore's Mill east of Fulton occurred July 28. After being defeated there by Federal Col. Odon Guitar, the bulk of Confederate Col. Jo Porter's force headed north post haste and went into camp on the Elk Fork of the Salt River east of Paris. The July 29 date I cited in the first post is highly unlikely, given that would have entailed a 60 mile ride in one day by a defeated force. Two other sources state they went into camp at Elk Fork on July 30 (not July 29), which makes more sense. Once there Porter sent Joe Thompson into Paris that day, which had been left wide open due to the 3rd Iowa Cavalry being called to support the general fighting enveloping the region elsewhere.

Once in Paris Thompson and his men cut down the flag pole, took the sheriff, county clerk and court clerk prisoner, freed an accused murderer from jail, unsuccessfully demanded the sheriff hand over the county's tax receipt collections to him, robbed stores, bridles and harnesses, pressed a large number of horses and a wagon into service and packed it full, and robbed citizens unfortunate to have been out and about. Later that evening another 400 of Porters men joined Thompson in town, with everyone taking supper there.

Word of what was going on made its way to Palmyra, with McNeil and the 2nd Missouri State Militia Cavalry taking up the forced nightime march, joining up with Cox and his 1st Missouri State Militia Cavalry troopers at Clinton (North Fork). The Confederates still in Paris moved back onto the Elk Fork east of town as the combined Federal force of McNeil and Cox, along with three cannon, were entering Paris in their wake on the morning of July 31. Once in town McNeil then ordered that the flag and its pole be restored or the town would be burned. It was back up by noon.

It being no secret as to each others presence, Confederate Porter and Federal McNeil made feints towards each other over the next few days, during which time the internecine confrontation between Federals McNeil/Strachan and Cox regarding prisoner executions would have taken place. With large Federal reinforcements, including the 3rd Iowa Cavalry and 10th Missouri State Militia Cavalry now moving on Porter in support of McNeil, Porter finally deployed north on the morning of Aug. 4. With McNeil et al in close pursuit and closing fast, Porter turned and made a stand at Kirksville two days later, where he was decisively defeated.