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to Gen. Lane , then tit Fort Lincoln , nnd
having won Gon. Lnne's friendship nnd
connnendation 1'or services rendered nt
"Drywood , I persuaded him to let young
Rosser go to his homo nnd mother , out
of what he thought was the jnws of
hell. For this act Rosser seven
mouths later saved my life by prevent
ing my capture by Dick Yeager's band
of guerillas.
About October 1 , 1801 , wo captured
Osceola , Mo. , defeating a largo force of
rebels , captured about 400 mules and a
very large amount of stores , gathered
for the confederate army. Among
these supplies were several wagon
loads of liquor .stored in a brick
building. Our men were danger
ously thirsty. Some officers and men ,
myself among the number , were de
tailed to break in the heads of the bar
rels and spill this stock of "wet goods , "
to prevent the men from indulging too
freely. The "mixed drinks" filled the
side-hill cellar nnd rnu out of a rear door
down a ravine where the boys filled
their canteens and "tanks" with the
stuff more deadly for a while than rebel
bullets. Nearly .100 of our men had to
be hauled from town in wagons and
carriages impressed into the service for
that purpose. Had the rebels rallied
and renewed the fight we would have
been captured and shot. The town was
fired and was burning as we left. After
Osceola we camped at "West Point , Mo. ,
on the Kansas line. I was ou duty as
sergeant of the guard , on picket nearly
a mile from the main camp. It had
been raining all night and then at 10 a.
in. a cold , drizzly October rain. We
saw a woman approaching from down
the dreary uninhabited roadway. She
was ou foot and was carrying a babe
hugged to her breast , four little children
also walking , two boys and two girls ,
the oldest a girl of seven years. All
were in their night clothes and all wet to
the skin , the children crying and suffer
ing with cold and hunger. We soldiers
quickly shed our coats to shelter them
from the storm and gave them our dog
tent by the rail campfire. The babe was
dead. I sent for a wagon and soon wo
had them in camp. The mother died from
this exposure within thirty-six hours ;
the four children were sent to four dif
ferent homes by friendly officers and
soldiers. The story told by the woman
before her death revealed the fact that
her husband had , as a member of the
Missouri legislature of 'GO and ' 01 ,
fought bitterly the secession scheme.
He was a rich man , owned 500 acres of
improved land , fine buildings , house ,
barn and other out-buildings , and owned
several slaves ; yet ho loved the Hag and
was for the Union.
In January ' 01 ho freed his slaves and
then his neighbors damned him as a
"black abolitionist. " They finally , in
July , ' 01 , drove him from his homo.
The Union army was the only safe re
sort , so ho joined Montgomery's Kansas
regiment nnd was on this fatal October
day 110 miles south of West Point.
Bush whackers had at divers times robbed
his homo until every head of stock had
been driven away save a yoke of old worn-
out oxen. His wife , with one old black
aunty , had remained at the persecuted
liome , and during her confinement in Au
gust no friends came to see her. Only
the old slave woman who would not ac
cept her freedom , was left to help her.
On this cold dreary October night the
bushwhackers came for their last damn
able raid , burst in the doors suddenly
and drove her and her children out into
the storm and set fire to the house , barn
and other out-buildings. The burning
homo gave generous heat until morning
when the old colored woman yoked the
oxen to an old wagon , filled the box
with straw , loaded in the children and
started for Kansas. Within four miles
of our camp a band of bushwhacking
fiends rode out of the brush and asked
"Where are you going ? " Answer , "To
Kansas. " "Go on and give our compli
ments to your husband. " With this re
ply they shot the oxen and rode away
leaving a helpless mother and five child
ren , near no habitation , to walk in the
rain and mud to our camp. When the
soldier husband and father heard the
news only four survivors of his
once happy family were loft and they in
four different homes widely separated.
Did he thirst for revenyct
In October , 1SG3 , Mr. Lawrence , a
Virginian , a rebel sympathizer , nearly
GO years old , feeble and week , unable to
do harm to anybody , was living near the
Big Blue in Jackson county , Mo. , three
miles from my headquarters whore I had
180 men specially detailed to fight the
famous guerrilla chief , Quantrill. Law
rence owned a fine homo , was a slave
holder before the war and reputed quite
wealthy. It was a lonesome neighbor
hood , and he lived quite alone ; his wife
and two daughters who were between
25 and 80 year old , and two or three old
darky servants constituted his family.
An unmarried son about 35 years old
lived iii New Mexico , serving as clerk
for Jesus Perea at Cimmaron. He had
gone to New Mexico some years before
the war and at this time , October , 180'J ,
had not taken side in the struggle.
Capt. J. B. Ssvain commanding Co. K
of the Fifteenth Kansas cavalry ( which
regiment was them commanded by Col.
C. R. Jennison , late commander of the
Seventh Kansas cavalry "Jayhawkers" )
with seven of his squadron made a night
raid on Mr. Lawrence on the very day
of the death by disease of Mrs. Law
rence. Mr. Lawrence was ordered to
produce his money and silver plate. He
answered that his money and silver were
iu a bank in Canada. Capt Swain's
party dragged old man Lawrence into
the orchard in front of his homo and
three times hung him to a tru-o to force
him to produce the ii'oneyaud valuables
wanted. Lawrence had told the truth.
His persecutors loft him nearer dead
than alive and commenced a wild search
of the house opening drawers with an
axe when locked , emptying trunks upon
the floor and ripping open bed Licks.
Passing from room to room they had
passed the coffin containing the remains
of Mrs. Lawrence resting on chairs in
the parlor. One fellow , Boardsloy , sug
gested that maybe the money was hid in
the cofrin. With that ho knocked off
the lid of the casket and searched for
gold ; a ring on the finger of the dead
woman attracted his attention ; whipping
out his bowie-knife ho cut oil' the finger
to release the ring. Before leaving , this
gallant party of Union defenders said to
the two terror-stricken daughters : "If
yoxi want to plant the old lady drag her
out , for wo are going to fire the ranch. "
Unaided they dragged the coffin from
the burning home , nursed their father
back to life and watched for the dawn
of day and reflected perhaps that they
were not the only sufferers on account
of this cruel civil war , that "man's inhu
manity to man makes countless millions
mourn. " A colored servant came to toll
me the story early next morning. I did
all I could to relieve their distress , tried
to locate the villains , but did not forever
over a year learn who the night raiders
wero. My vote as a member of a court
martial held in March , 1805 , helped to
give tliis same captain a dishonorable dis
missal from the service , which ho had
from the first disgraced. Young Law
rence came home from New Mexico and
joined Quantrill j'or revenge ; in fact ,
"revenge" was the watchword from the
north line of Kansas south on the line
between Kansas and Missouri into Ar
kansas. Old scores from the early Kan
sas troubles had to bo settled. The Avar
Avas not commenced at Fort Sumpter ; it
started in Kansas in 1850 , and the fires
had been kept bright until the Fort
Sumpter breeze had fanned the entire
border counties into a flame.
Thus , as before stated , from early
spring of'01 until in October,18GlLane's
brigade fought under the black flag ,
the rebels opposed to us. Up Hayes ,
General Rains , Davidson , StandAvatio
and his Choctaws and ChickasaAV In
dians , Coon Thornton ( the Avorst dare
devil of them all ) Qnantrill , Thrailkill ,
Bill Anderson , Arch Clements , Jesse
James ( Avho made Missouri notorious
after the Avar ) his brother Frank ,
Cole Younger , Si Porter , Si Gordon ,
Bill Todd , Dick Yeager , all officers
under Quantrill , commanding guer
rilla bands , started in under the war
cry "No surrender except in death. "
The Kansans under Lane , Montgomery ,
Blunt , Jennison , Anthony , Hoyt and
others accepted the challenge , and until
General Fremont in October , 1801 , is
sued his order against this retaliatory
Avork and forced a reorganization of