The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

New Article: Bashi-Bazouks and Rebels Too

Ladies and gentlemen,

For those of you who like reading about the "border war",particularly in Clay and Platte Counties in NW Mo, there is an article I wrote in the current edition of Missouri Historical Review (Jan 07)named "Bashi-Bazouks and Rebels Too." It is principly about the action at Camden Point (Platte County)on 13 July '64 when a Federal cavalry force commanded by Col. James H.Ford of the Second Colorado attacked approximately 140 rebels (many being former Paw Paws)under the command of Col. John C. Calhoun Thornton. The story also concerns events that lead up to this action and the consequences afterwards. Also included in the story is the lost "Protect Missouri" Confederate flag that now resides in the Colorado Historical Society Museum archives in Denver. This flag was lost during the engagement by Thornton's men and recovered by Capt. George West of Co. "F", Second Colorado (who after the war took it back to Colorado). Other key players in the story include notables such as Charles Fletcher Taylor, the James Bros., Brig. Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, Col. Charles Jennison and Lt. Col. Daniel Draper.
-Scott Porter