the issue between early settlers—influx of free state and pro-slavery partisans—early volunteering—military organizations—threatened invasion from missouri—political societies—jayhawkers—cleveland’s gang—lynchings—atchison county troops in the war—price’s attempted invasion.
the six years intervening between 1854 and 1860 constitute a momentous period in the history of atchison county. no new community was ever organized under more unpromising circumstances. it was not merely land hunger and lust for personal gain that were the impelling motives which brought men to kansas in that day. neither gold, nor gas, nor oil, nor precious gems lured men here. kansas was then, as it is now, an agricultural paradise, and such an environment has ordinarily but little charm for the daring adventurer and the seeker after sudden riches, who toil not and spin less. it is true that a large number of peaceful, plodding home-seekers—the tillers of the soil—the hewers of wood and the haulers of water, immigrated to kansas to take up land and build permanent homes, but they were in the minority prior to 1860. the tremendous issue of human slavery was the all absorbing fact, and the long struggle here wrought a complete revolution in the political thought of the whole country. men came to kansas for the most part for political rather than for business or agricultural reasons. the settlement of kansas was an inspired political movement of partisans. there was little room for neutrals, and those who were “too proud to fight” went elsewhere. there was little consideration on the part of the early settlers of kansas, of any questions except slavery and anti-slavery. they came in large numbers from the south and from the north, and met here upon the frontier in a final test of strength. the free soilers won, but only 130after bitter contests in which passion, prejudice and bloody partisanship ran riot, and atchison county played a most conspicuous part in this great battle. the nation and the world looked on as the battle lines surged forward and backward. and while they fought here in a last desperate struggle for supremacy, these courageous men and women on both sides founded their towns, built their court houses, their primary schools and their churches with an abiding faith in the hearts of each of them that victory would finally crown their efforts. atchison county made progress in spite of the fact that her leaders were wrong. we gave promise here of being the metropolis of kansas, for we had many geographical and commercial advantages over other struggling communities of the territory. but before the well laid plans of our citizens matured, before projects for the development of steam transportation to bring us nearer the outside world could be concluded the mighty conflict which ended in four bloody years of civil war, broke upon the nation, and kansas within three months after being admitted as a state enrolled itself on the side of the union. atchison county sprang to arms almost a thousand strong, and may it ever be said to its everlasting glory that few, if any, counties in the state had a more patriotic record. one hundred and thirty-one atchison county men enlisted in the first kansas regiment; twenty-five in the seventh; eighty-five in the eighth; eighty-six in the tenth; 260 in the thirteenth; 100 in the first kansas (colored); twenty-five in the first nebraska; 105 in the thirteenth missouri; thirty in the fifteenth kansas; forty in the ninth, and fifty in the sixteenth, or a total of 937 men, which, together with the scattering of men in other regiments in adjoining states, brought the total number of soldiers engaged during the civil war to 1,000. the population of atchison county at that time was 7,747, and the voting population 1,133, which shows that the total number of voters was but slightly larger than the total number of volunteers. at that time atchison, by reason of its location, was subject to incursions from confederate troops and jayhawkers from missouri, which called for the organization at different periods of the war, of home guard companies, which are not included in the foregoing statement. at the outset of the war atchison had three militia companies, a, b and c, and a fourth, known as the all hazard company, the origin of whose name is thus explained. at the city election in the spring of 1861 the issue was union or dis-union. the republicans and union democrats united in supporting g. h. fairchild for mayor. he was a union democrat who on various occasions announced his unwavering friendship of the union and for the 131maintenance of the constitution and laws “at all hazards,” and when this company enlisted for the war mayor fairchild was its captain and it became company k of the first kansas. it participated in the battle of wilson’s creek, august 10, 1861, which was the first action in which a kansas regiment was under fire.
in 1861 there were constant threats of invasion from missouri rebel organizations in buchanan and platte counties, and in that year another home guard company was organized with the following officers: charles holbert, captain; j. g. bechtold, first lieutenant; clem rhor, second lieutenant; w. becker, third lieutenant; john schupp, ensign. during the following year the danger of invasion became still more threatening and 650 men in sixteen companies came to atchison to protect the town from destruction. the atchison county companies were commanded by captains holbert, hays, batsett, evans and vanwinkle. it was due to the thoroughness with which the people of atchison organized themselves against invasion that they were spared from being completely annihilated. on the fifteenth day of september, 1861, another company for home guard service was mustered in at ft. leavenworth. j. m. graham was captain; j. g. bechtold, first lieutenant; r. n. bryant, second lieutenant. this company subsequently became company e of the first kansas regiment home guards, numbering fifty men, and were ordered back to atchison for duty, where they were stationed until all danger of invasion had passed, after which the company became a part of the eighth kansas. the victories of the union forces in 1862 were frequent, and as a result many rebel sympathizers came to atchison for safety, where they became very troublesome. in order to counteract the growing evil over the activities of these men, mayor fairchild issued a proclamation in which he warned them that they must not expect to be protected in any manner by the city laws as long as they held to the views which they expounded at even favorable opportunity. “it would be absurd to suppose,” the proclamation said, “that a patriotic community could treat otherwise than its enemies, persons who are in sympathy with base men who have brought upon our country untold misery, almost unlimited taxation and almost inconceivable pecuniary suffering. as a representative of a loyal people i will not encourage men to return among us who have circulated reports that they were refugees from the loyal states on account of their secession doctrines, nor will i give protection to men who unmistakably at heart belong to the confederacy.” this proclamation met with such favor that a mass meeting of union men in atchison county 132was held at price’s hall march 15, 1862. the whole county was well represented and stirring addresses were delivered by colonel edge, of doniphan county, tom murphy, the genial proprietor of the massasoit house, rev. w. s. wenz, lieutenant price, e. chesebrough, mayor fairchild, caleb may, and others, after which resolutions denouncing the southern sympathizers and notifying them not to return were unanimously adopted. during the latter part of the same year a call for aid to assist the atchison county troops met with immediate response and within a few days, commencing august 20, 1862, almost $4,000 was subscribed by the citizens of atchison. seven hundred and forty-five dollars came from mt. pleasant township. among the leading contributors were theodore bartholow, e. chesebrough, g. w. fairchild, j. w. russell, w. l. challiss, dr. william irwin, g. w. howe, bela m. hughes, william hetherington, otis & glick, henry deisbach, j. e. wagner, rice mccubbin, mccausland & brown, tom murphy, w. a. cochrane, samuel c. pomeroy, stebbins & company, e. butcher, and william c. smith, each of whom subscribed the sum of $50 or over. atchison also made a notable contribution when quantrell invaded lawrence, sending $4,000 to assist the people of that city. in 1863 depredations of the jayhawkers became very annoying, and a vigilance committee was organized and all good, peaceful and loyal citizens were called upon to band themselves together for the protection of their lives, homes and property. those who joined the vigilance committee took an oath to support the government of the united states and kansas, and to do all in their power to put down the rebellion, and also to keep secret all proceedings of the organization. this committee did very effective work in bringing to punishment violators of law and also in keeping the lawless bands of jayhawkers and other thieves out of atchison county.
the following “circular” has been unearthed by the author, and while it bears no date it apparently contained the constitution, by-laws, ritual and oath of these societies.
“circular to officers.
“be extremely careful in the selection of your members. admit no one who is not of good standing in the community, and whom you have not good reason to believe to be firm and uncompromising in his devotion to the union, and to be relied upon to assist in any emergency in maintaining the laws and good order in the community. this is of the first and highest importance to the order, and if any member shows symptoms of defection, watch him closely.
133“in all cases, deal kindly with your opponents, and strive by gentle means to win them over to a change of sentiment. many good men may thus be brought within our circle who would otherwise be lost to us.
“the first club established in your county seat will be called the county club, to which all clubs in the county will report, and by those officers all such clubs will be established. it is important that we be frequently advised as to our strength in the state; and for this purpose each subordinate club will report weekly to the county club the number of members enrolled therein; and the county club will report monthly to the ex. com. at —— the number of clubs and number of members in the county. these reports should be carefully sealed and addressed ——.
“the officers of county clubs will be supplied with a printed constitution and ritual, and they will furnish officers of subordinate clubs copies of the same, with a strict injunction to secrecy.
“all correspondence must be secret as possible; and in order that this may be accomplished the monthly reports may consist only of the place, date, number of clubs in the county and number of members. no signature must be attached. these reports will be summed up and published by the ex. com.
“strict secrecy as to the working of the organization is enjoined and promptness and vigor in its extension is very important. we must work now and work rapidly. no time is to be lost; our opponents are working vigorously and secretly, but it is not too late to counteract their machinations and utterly overthrow them. work! work! work!
“constitution.
“object.
“the object shall be to preserve and maintain the union and the constitution of the united states and of the state of kansas, and to defend kansas against invasion, insurrection, civil commotion and to protect union men against assassination, arson, robbery, prescription and all other wrongs inflicted by the enemies of the government of the united states and of this state upon loyal persons.
“officers.
“the officers shall consist of pr., v. p., r. s., t., m., and s., who shall hold their office for three months.
134
“duties of officers.
“the duties of officers shall be the same as in similar organizations and all business shall be conducted in the usual parliamentary form.
“admission of members.
“persons may become members who are eighteen years of age and upwards, and are citizens of the united states.
“initiation.
“all initiations shall take place in and with the authority of the officers of the club who may delegate suitable persons to initiate members from time to time as occasion requires outside of any regular meeting of the club. branch clubs may be formed by proper application to this club when the president may appoint suitable persons to establish the same.
“withdrawals.
“any member may withdraw from this club by giving written notice of the same to the r. s. at any regular meeting; but the obligations of such member shall remain the same as before.
“amendments.
“this constitution may be altered or amended by giving one week’s notice thereof, by a vote of two-thirds of the executive committee of the state. each county club may make by-laws for its own organization, not conflicting with this constitution.
“ritual.
“eternal god! supreme ruler, governor and architect of the universe! we humbly beseech thee to protect the people of the united states in general and especially the members of this organization. wilt thou be pleased to direct and prosper all our consultations to the advancement of thy glory, the good of thy country, the safety, honor and welfare of thy people, and may all things be ordered and settled by the legislature and executive branches of our government upon the best and surest foundation, so that peace and happiness, truth and justice may be established among us for all generations. wilt thou be pleased to guide and direct us as thou didst our fathers in the revolution. with the strength of thine almighty arm thou didst uphold and sustain them through all their trials, and at last didst crown them with victory. may 135charity, and brotherly love cement us; may we be united with our principles founded upon the teachings of thy holy word and may thy good spirit guide, strengthen and comfort us, now and forever, amen.
“all candidates for membership to this club will be required to answer the following questions to be propounded by the marshal before initiation:
“1. are you opposed to secession or dis-union?
“2. do you acknowledge that your first and highest allegiance is due to the government of the united states of america?
“3. are you willing to take such an oath of allegiance to the united states of america?
“4. are you willing to pledge yourself to resist to the extent of your power, all attempts to subvert or overthrow the constitution of the united states, or the constitution of the state of kansas?
“should the candidates answer affirmatively, the marshal, after repeating to the president, will conduct them into the club room and present them to the president, who shall then address the candidates as follows:
“gentlemen:—we rejoice that you have thus voluntarily come forward to unite yourselves with us. the cause we advocate is that of our country; banded together for the purpose of perpetuating the liberties for which our fathers fought, we have sworn to uphold and protect them.
“it is a strange and sad necessity which impels american citizens to band themselves together to sustain the constitution and the union; but the government under which we live is threatened with destruction. washington enjoined upon us that ‘the unity of the government which constitutes us one people is a main pillar in the edifice of our real independence; the support of our tranquility at home, our peace abroad—of our safety, of our prosperity, of that very liberty which we so highly prize.’ he charges that we should ‘properly estimate the immense value of our national union to our collective and individual happiness; that we should cherish a cordial, habitual and immovable attachment to it; accustoming ourselves to think and speak of it as the palladium of our political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned.’
“he tells us again that ‘to the efficiency and permanency of the union, a government for the whole is indispensable. no alliances, however strict between the parts, is an adequate substitute.’
“it is to sustain this government we are banded together, and for this purpose you are now required to take a solemn obligation.
136“place your left hand on the national flag and raise your right hand toward heaven; repeating after me:
“we and each of us do solemnly swear in the presence of god and these witnesses to support, protect and defend the constitution and government of the united states and of the state of kansas against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to maintain and defend the government of the united states and the flag thereof, and aid in maintaining the laws of the united states in this state and to defend the state of kansas against invasion from any state or states and from any other rebellion, invasion, insurrection to the best of our ability without any mental reservation or evasion—so help us god.
“the members will respond.
“to this we pledge ourselves.
“we do severally solemnly swear and affirm that we will protect, aid and defend each member of all union clubs, and will never make known in any way or manner, to any person or persons, not members of union clubs, any of the signs, passwords, proceedings, purposes, debates or plans of this or any other club under this organization, except when engaged in admitting new members into this organization.
“the president will then deliver the following address to the candidates:
“‘the oath which you have now taken of your own free will and accord cannot rest lightly upon your conscience, neither can it be violated without leaving the stain of perjury upon your soul. our country is now in “disorder” and “confusion;” the fires of commotion and contest are now raging in our midst, war has come to us but we cannot, we must not, we dare not omit to do that which in our judgment the safety of the union requires, not regardless of consequences, we must yet meet consequences; seeing the hazard that surrounds the discharge of public duty, it must yet be discharged. let us then, cheerfully shun no responsibility justly devolving upon us here or elsewhere in attempting to maintain the union. let us cheerfully partake its fortune and its fate. let us be ready to perform our appropriate part, whenever and wherever the occasion may call us, and to take our chances among those upon whom the blows may fall first and fall thickest.
“‘above all remember the words of our own immortal clay: “if kentucky tomorrow unfurls the banner of resistance, i never will fight under that banner. i owe a paramount allegiance to the whole union. a subordinate one to my own state.”
“‘be faithful, then, to your country, for your interests are indissolubly connected with hers; be faithful to these, your brethren, for your life and theirs 137may be involved in this contest; be faithful to posterity for the blessings you have enjoyed in this government are but held in trust for thee.’
“response by all the members—we will!
“the president will then present the constitution and oath to the candidates for their signature.”
charles metz, a notorious jayhawker, whose personal appearance and characteristics are best described in an essay entitled, “the last of the jayhawkers,” contributed to the old kansas magazine, by john j. ingalls. “conspicuous among the irregular heroes who thus sprang to arms in 1861,” says ingalls, “and ostensibly their leader, was an ohio stage driver by the name of charles metz, who having graduated with honor from the penitentiary of missouri, assumed for prudential reasons the more euphonious and distinguished appellation of ‘cleveland.’ he was a picturesque brigand. had he worn a slashed doublet and trunk hose of black velvet he would have been the ideal of an italian bandit. young, erect and tall, he was sparely built and arrayed himself like a gentleman in the costume of the day. his appearance was that of a student. his visage was thin, his complexion olive tinted and colorless, as if ‘sicklied over with a pale cast of thought.’ black piercing eyes, finely cut features, dark hair and beard correctly trimmed, completed a tout ensemble that was strangely at variance with the aspect of the score of dissolute and dirty desperadoes that formed his command. these were generally degraded ruffians of the worst type, whose highest idea of elegance in personal appearance was to have their mustaches a villainous, metallic black, irrespective of the consideration whether its native hue was red or brown. * * * *
“the vicinity of the fort with its troops rendered leavenworth undesirable as a base of operations. st. joseph was also heavily garrisoned, and they accordingly selected atchison as the point from which to move on the enemy’s works. atchison at that time contained about 2,500 inhabitants. its business was transacted upon one street and extended west about four blocks from the river. its position upon the extreme curve of the ‘grand detour of the missouri, affording unrivaled facilities to the interior in the event of pursuit. having been principally settled by southerners it still afforded much legitimate gain for our bird of prey, and its loyal population having already largely enlisted, the city was incapable of organized resistance to the depredations of the marauders.
“they established their headquarters at the saloon of a german named ernest renner, where they held their councils of war and whence they started 138upon their forays. the winter was favorable to their designs, as the river closed early, enabling them to cross upon the ice. cleveland proclaimed himself marshal of kansas, and announced his determination to run the country. he invited the cordial co-operation of all good citizens to assist him in sustaining the government and punishing its foes. ignorant of his resources and of his purposes, the people were at first inclined to welcome their strange guests as a protection from the dangers to which they were exposed, but it soon became apparent that the doctors were worse than the disease. they took possession of the town, defied the municipal authorities, and committed such intolerable excesses that their expulsion was a matter of public safety. their incursions into missouri were so frequent and audacious that a company of infantry was sent from weston and stationed at winthrop to effect their capture, but to no purpose. * * * * if a man had an enemy in any part of the country whom he wished to injure, he reported him to cleveland as a rebel, and the next night he was robbed of all he possessed and considered fortunate if he escaped without personal violence. * * * * a small detachment of cavalry was sent from the fort to take them, but just as they had dismounted in front of the saloon and were hitching their horses, cleveland appeared at the door with a cocked navy in each hand and told them that he would shoot the first man who moved a finger. calling two or three of his followers he disarmed the dragoons, took their horses and equipments and sent them back on foot to reflect upon the vicissitudes of military affairs. early in 1862 the condition became desperate and the city authorities, in connection with the commander at winthrop, concerted a scheme which brought matters to a crisis. cleveland and about a dozen of his gang were absent in missouri on a scout. the time of their return was known, and marshal charles holbert had his force stationed in the shadow of an old warehouse near the bank of the river. it was a brilliant moonlight night in mid-winter. the freebooters emerged from the forest and crossed upon the ice. they were freshly mounted and each one had a spare horse. accompanying them were two sleighs loaded with negroes, harness and miscellaneous plunder. as they ascended the steep shore of the levee, unconscious of danger, they were all taken prisoners except cleveland, who turned suddenly, spurred his horse down the embankment and escaped. the captives were taken to weston, where they soon afterward enlisted in the federal army. the next day cleveland rode into town, captured the city marshal on the street and declared his intention to hold him as a hostage for the safety of his men. he compelled the 139marshal to walk by the side of his horse a short distance, when finding a crowd gathering for his capture, he struck him a blow on the head with his pistol and fled.”
cleveland continued his exploits for a number of months after this, but was finally captured in one of the southern counties where he was attempting to let himself down the side of a ravine. he was shot by a soldier from above, and the ball entered his arm and passed through his body. he was buried in st. joseph. mo., and a marble head stone over his grave bears the following inscription, placed there by his widow: “one hero less on earth, one angel more in heaven.”
as the direct result of the operations of cleveland and his gang, the spirit of lawlessness grew and the people finally “took the law into their own hands.” perhaps the best account of the lynchings that followed was given by hon. mont. cochran march 17, 1902, at the time a congressman from missouri, but formerly a leading citizen and county attorney of atchison. mr. cochran said:
“the thieves who fell victims to judge lynch, while not known as cleveland’s gang, operated extensively throughout the period of lawlessness in which no effort whatever was made to bring the outlaws to justice. after the cleveland gang had been effectively broken up, these depredatory scoundrels continued their operations. their last crime, and the one for which they were gibbeted, was the attempted robbery of an old man named kelsey. he had received at ft. leavenworth $1,500 on a government contract, and, upon returning home by the way of atchison, he deposited it in hetherington’s bank. the thieves went to his house at night and demanded the money. of course, he could not produce it. they tortured the old man and his wife alternately for hours, and when after the departure of the thieves, the neighbors were called in, kelsey and his wife were nearer dead than alive. the next morning hundreds of their neighbors, armed to the teeth, swarmed into atchison. in third street, north of commercial, was a little log building, which had been the home of an early settler, in which was a gunsmith’s shop. three or four of the farmers went there to have their fire arms put in order. when they came out one of them had a revolver in his hand. two fellows standing by, seeing the farmers approaching, dived into an alley and started westward at lightning speed. the farmers pursued and at the house of a notorious character, known as aunt betsey, the fugitives were run to cover. the house was surrounded and they were captured. one of them was sterling, the fiddler and pianist of the bagnio. other arrests 140followed until five were in durance. then ensued probably the most extraordinary proceeding known to the annals of judge lynch. the mob took possession of the jail and the court house and for a week held them. the prisoners were tried one by one. sterling was convicted and executed. an elm tree, standing on the banks of white clay creek, in the southwest quarter of the town, was admirably suited to the purpose. when the wagon, bearing sterling to his doom reached the ground the whole town was in attendance. a range of hills to the south swarmed with women. asa barnes, a prominent farmer, a man of iron resolution and unswerving honesty, was the leader of the mob. with clinched teeth and blanched face he ordered sterling to take his place on the seat of the wagon, and, while the desperado was as game as a peacock, he promptly obeyed. standing on the wagon seat sterling took off his hat, banged it down and placing his foot on it, shook his clenched hand at the sea of upturned faces, and with a volley of imprecations, said: ‘i am the best d—d man that ever walked the earth and if you will drop me down and give me a gun, i will fight any ten of you.’ sandy corbin, a great bluffer, who bore but little better reputation than the man with the noose on his neck, pretended that he wanted to fight sterling single-handed. nobody else paid any attention to sterling’s ravings, and in a twinkling he was swung into eternity. the next day two others, a man named brewer, a soldier at home on a furlough, and a young fellow known as pony, met the same fate. there was much sympathy for pony. he was a drunkard and all his delinquencies were attributed to this weakness. just as they were ready to swing him up, two or three members of the mob told him that if he would give information as to others implicated, but who had not been arrested, they would save him. his reply was: ‘i went into this thing as a man and i will die as a man.’ there was a stir among those nearest the wagon and it was discovered that an effort was being made to save the boy from death. the traces were cut and the horses led away. the effort failed. fifty men seized the wagon and dragged it away. the fourth to suffer the vengeance of the mob was an old gray-haired man named moody. at the trial he strongly protested his innocence, and promised, if given a respite of twenty-four hours, he would prove an alibi. this was granted, but the witnesses were not forthcoming and the next day the old man was put to death. a priest visited him in jail, which was constantly surrounded day and night, and when he came out after administering the rights of the church to the doomed man, it was remarked by those who saw him that the priest was as pale as a ghost. the report gained currency that 141when asked if moody was innocent, he refused to answer yea or nay, and, although it had not then developed that moody could not produce the witnesses he promised, the conduct of the priest was taken as proof that moody was guilty. during the week in which these extraordinary proceedings took place, the mob was in undisputed control of the court house and jail. judge lynch was perched upon the wool sack and a jury of twelve men, who had qualified under oath, in the usual form, occupied the jury box. not the slightest effort at concealment was made by those who led or those who followed. in my judgment no other course was left open to the community.
“not less than 500 men were driven out of kansas on the charge of disloyalty in 1861 and 1862, with the approval of men of excellent character, by thugs and scoundrels, who made no concealment of the fact that they lived by horse stealing and house breaking. from the beginning of the civil war until peace was declared, the kansas border from the nebraska state line to the indian territory, was a scene of lawlessness and disorder. in the earlier years of the war, thieves regularly organized into companies, with captains whose authority was recognized by the rank and file, with headquarters in the towns and cities of eastern kansas, masqueraded as saviors of the union, and upon the pretense that they were serving the cause, thrived amazingly by pillaging the farm houses and barns of neighboring counties in missouri. atchison was the headquarters of the cleveland gang—the most active and the boldest of the banditti. the gang did not hesitate to cross over to missouri and steal horses, and returning to atchison sell them in broad daylight. usually these raids were made at night, but there was no concealment of the business they were engaged in, nor of the fact that hundreds of the horses sold by them were stolen from farmers of buchanan, platte and clinton counties. in the capacity of saviors of the union, they took upon themselves the task of driving all persons suspected of sympathy for ‘the lost cause’ out of kansas. p. t. abell, j. t. hereford, headley & carr, prominent lawyers, were notified to leave or they would be killed. they departed. headley, carr and hereford served in the confederate army. abell lived in exile until after the war was over, and then returned to atchison. he was one of the founders of the town, and before the war was the partner of gen. b. f. stringfellow. tom ray, proprietor of an extensive blacksmithing and wagon shop, was banished. in a month or two he returned, but not until after he had halted at winthrop, a village opposite atchison and opened up negotiations which resulted in a grant of permission to remain in atchison long enough to settle 142up his business and collect considerable sums due from his customers. he registered at the old massasoit house, but did not tarry long. maj. r. h. weightman, an early settler, who left atchison in 1861, and accepted a colonel’s commission in the confederate army, had been killed at wilson’s creek. while sitting in the massasoit house barroom, ray was approached by sandy corbin, a somewhat notorious character, who handled most of the horses stolen by cleveland’s thieves. corbin mentioned weightman’s death, expressing satisfaction at his untimely end, and applying all the epithets known to the abandoned, to the dead man. ray expostulated, and finally warned corbin to desist or expect a thrashing. corbin rushed to his room and returned with two revolvers, so adjusted upon his belt that ray could not help seeing them. ray, who was a giant in size, seized corbin, threw him face downward upon a billiard table, and with a blacksmith’s hand as large as a ham, spanked him until he was almost insensible. then he hurriedly boarded the ferry boat, crossed the river and made his way to montana, where he lived until his death, twenty years ago.
“cleveland’s lieutenant, a fellow named hartman, was the worst of the gang, and was guilty of so many and such flagrant outrages upon the prominent citizens that in sheer desperation, four men, all of whom are now dead, met and drew straws to see who would kill hartman—(1) jesse c. crall, during his life prominent in politics and business; (2) george t. challiss, for thirty years a deacon in the baptist church and a prominent wholesale merchant and identified prominently with atchison affairs; (3) james mcewen, a cattle buyer and butcher; (4) the fourth man was a prominent physician. each of these had suffered intolerable outrages at the hands of hartman. he had visited their houses and terrified their wives by notifying them that unless their husbands left atchison within a specified period they would be mobbed. even the children of two of the victims of persecution had been abused. they met at the physician’s office, and after a prolonged conference, at which it was agreed that neither would leave until hartman had been killed, proceeded to draw straws to see which would undertake the work. crall held the straws, mcewen drew the short straw and the job fell to his lot. atchison is bisected by two or three brooks, one of which traverses the northwest section of the town and runs into white clay creek. this ravine has very precipitous banks, and was crossed by several foot bridges. at the east approach of the bridge was a tall elm tree. mcewen took his position under this tree, and awaited the appearance of hartman, who necessarily passed that way in going home at night. when 143hartman was half-way across the bridge, mcewen stepped out, dropped to his knee, leveled a double-barreled shotgun and turned loose. he filled hartman with buckshot from his head to his heels, but strange to say, the fellow did not die for months afterward. had either of the others drawn the fatal straw, no doubt hartman would have been killed in broad daylight, on the streets, but mcewen concluded to give the fellow no chance for his life.”
the first kansas volunteer cavalry was the first regiment to be raised under the call of president lincoln may 8, 1861. it was mustered into the service at ft. leavenworth june 3, 1861. george w. deitzler, of lawrence, was colonel, and the following men from atchison were officers: george h. faicheled, captain, company c; camille aguiel, first lieutenant: rinaldo a. barker, second lieutenant; james w. martin, second lieutenant of company b. within ten days of the date this regiment was mustered in, they received orders for active service. the regiment joined the army of general lyon at grand river, mo., and on july 10 arrived at springfield, where the force of general sigel was gathered. the united forces of the rebels, under price and mccullouch, was concentrated at wilson’s creek, twelve miles from springfield, and was strongly entrenched there, where the initial engagement of the first kansas regiment took place. this regiment went into the engagement with 644 men and officers, and lost seventy-seven killed and 333 wounded. the rebel forces were estimated to be 5,300 infantry, fifteen pieces of artillery, and 6,000 horsemen, with a loss of 265 killed, 721 wounded, and 292 missing. the union forces numbered about 5,000, with a loss of about 1,000. it was one of the fiercest and most determined battles of the civil war, and both officers and privates in the companies from atchison displayed great bravery. first lieut. camille aguiel was among the killed, and privates henry w. totten and casper broggs, together with corporal william f. parker, of atchison, also lost their lives in this engagement.
the seventh regiment kansas cavalry was ordered into active service immediately following its organization. colonel daniel r. anthony, of leavenworth, was a lieutenant-colonel of this regiment, and among the line officers was william s. morehouse, of atchison, who was second lieutenant. this regiment saw a great deal of active service in the civil war, and was first attacked by the rebels november 11, 1861, while encamped in western missouri, on the little blue river. following a furious battle the regiment lost nine of its force by death and thirty-two wounded. this regiment 144subsequently participated in an engagement at little santa fe and at independence. in january, 1862, the seventh regiment went into camp at humboldt, kan., and remained there until it was ordered to lawrence in the following march, and subsequently was ordered to corinth, miss., and from thence to rienzi, miss., where it was assigned to the first cavalry brigade, of which phillip h. sheridan was commander, and subsequently saw much service in tennessee and other points in the south, and participated in the various actions that occurred during general smith’s expedition to the tallahatchee, after which the balance of their active service took place in missouri. it was mustered out at ft. leavenworth september 4, 1865.
the eighth regiment kansas infantry was perhaps closer to the hearts of the people of atchison county than any other regiment that participated in the civil war, for the reason that its lieutenant-colonel was the beloved john a. martin, editor of the atchison champion, and subsequently governor of kansas. it was originally recruited and intended for home and frontier service. the fear of invasion, both by hostile indians on the west, and the rebels on the south and east, kept fear alive in the hearts of many residents of kansas, and for this purpose it was deemed desirable to have a regiment of volunteer soldiers close at hand. as originally organized, this regiment consisted of six infantry and two cavalry companies, but various changes were made during the three months following its organization. it saw active service throughout the south, and participated in many of the important battles of the civil war, but in none did it play a more conspicuous part than in the great battle of mission ridge. the following is from colonel martin’s official report of the part taken by the eighth kansas in this engagement:
“shortly after noon, on the twenty-fifth (november), we were ordered to advance on the enemy’s position at the foot of mission ridge, and moved out of our works, forming in the second line of the battle. we at once advanced steadily in line through the woods and across the open field in front of the enemy’s entrenchments to the foot of the hill, subjected during the whole time to a heavy artillery fire from the enemy’s batteries, and as soon as we reached the open field, to a destructive musketry fire. reaching the first line of works we halted to rest our men for a few moments, and then advanced through a terrible storm of artillery and musketry, to the foot of the hill and up it as rapidly as possible. the crest of the ridge at the point where we moved up was formed like a horseshoe. we advanced in the interior, while the enemy’s batteries and infantry on the right and left, 145as well as in the center, poured upon us a most terrific fire. but the men never faltered or wavered, although from the nature of the ground, regiments were mingled one with another, and company organization could not possibly be preserved. each man struggled to be first on top, and the officers and men of the regiment, without a single exception, exhibited the highest courage and the most devoted gallantry in this fearful charge.
“the enemy held their ground until we were less than a dozen yards from their breastworks, when they broke in wild confusion and fled in panic down the hill on the opposite side. a portion of our men pursued them for nearly a mile, capturing and hauling back several pieces of artillery and caissons, which the enemy were trying to run off.
“we occupied the summit of mission ridge until the night of the twenty-sixth, when we were ordered to return to camp at chattanooga.
“our loss was one commissioned officer wounded and three enlisted men killed and thirty-one wounded. the regiment went into the battle with an aggregate force of 217 men and officers.
“where all behaved with such conspicuous courage, it is difficult to make distinction, but i cannot forebear mentioning my adjutant-lieutenant, sol. r. washer. wounded at chicakamauga, and not yet recovered from the effects of his wound, and suffering from a severe sprain of the ankle, which prevented his walking, he mounted his horse and rode through the whole battle, always foremost in danger.”
the eighth infantry remained in camp at chattanooga until it removed to the relief of burnside at knoxville, which city was reached on december 7. about the same time sherman’s corps arrived. the winter of 1863 was spent in east tennessee, and in the following february arrived home in atchison and ft. leavenworth. there was great rejoicing and celebration and both officers and soldiers were greeted with waving banners, ringing bells, booming cannon, and there was much feasting and speech making. the regiment was home on a furlough, and early in april the men re-assembled at leavenworth and on the twelfth of that month was ordered to report back to chattanooga, where it subsequently saw service in the cumberland mountains, and throughout the state of tennessee.
colonel martin was mustered out at pulaski november 17, his term of enlistment having expired, and the following day he left for the north, but the regiment was not mustered out of service until the following january.
the tenth regiment, kansas infantry, was made up of the third and fourth and a small portion of the fifth kansas regiments, and among its 146officers were mathew quigg, captain of company d; seth m. tucker, first lieutenant, and david whittaker, second lieutenant, all of atchison. the activities of this regiment were largely confined to operations in missouri and arkansas, and afterwards in tennessee. in december, 1864, it arrived at clinton, miss., without tents or blankets, and many of the men without shoes or overcoats. during january it made an expedition into mississippi, and the latter part of that month marched to waterloss, ala., remaining there until february 8, when it embarked for vicksburg, where it remained until february 19, and subsequently operated around mobile, and the men of this regiment were employed as skirmishers in the joint advance upon the fortifications around mobile. it was mustered out at montgomery, ala., september 20, 1865, and finally discharged at ft. leavenworth, kan. the regiment was mostly composed of veterans, who understood the life of a soldier, and realized the hardships of military campaigns. they did their duty, whether it was in guarding their own state from invasion, or assaulting the rebels at the siege of ft. blakely.
the thirteenth regiment, kansas infantry, had more officers in it from atchison than any of the regiments that participated in the civil war. it was raised under president lincoln’s call of july, 1862, and was recruited by cyrus leland, sr., of troy, kan., by virtue of authority from james h. lane, in the counties of brown, atchison, doniphan, marshall and nemaha. the regiment was organized september 10, 1862, at camp staunton, atchison, and mustered into the service ten days later. colonel of this regiment was thomas m. bowen, of marysville, and the major was caleb a. woodworth, of atchison. among the line officers from atchison were: henry havenkorst, captain of company b; august langehemeken, second lieutenant; henry r. neal, captain; robert manville, second lieutenant; john e. hayes, captain, company f; archimedes s. speck, first lieutenant; william j. may, second lieutenant; patrick mcnamara, captain, company k; daniel c. o’keefe, first lieutenant; hugh dougherty, second lieutenant.
the regiment joined a division of general blunt soon after the battle of old ft. wayne, and participated in various engagements in arkansas. at the battle of prairie grove, it was one of the first regiments to be engaged, and in every attempt to capture the battery of which this regiment formed the support at this battle, was successfully repulsed, with heavy losses to the rebels. this battle virtually finished the campaign for the winter. it subsequently did garrison and out-post duty in arkansas, and in the cherokee nation. the regiment remained on duty at ft. smith, ark., until 147march 3, 1865, when it was ordered to little rock, ark., and on june 26 of that year was mustered out of service.
among the privates of this regiment from atchison, who were killed, were: james l. parnell, of mount pleasant, and john collins and lorenzo richardson, of atchison.
thomas roe, a fine, stout young man, son of a widowed mother, of brownsville, pa., was the only member of company d, of the second kansas cavalry, that lost his life in battle during its nearly four years of service in the civil war. this company participated in the battles of cane hill and prairie grove, in arkansas, and other engagements. roe came to kansas with the late thomas butcher, for whom he worked until going into the war of the rebellion.
in may, 1861, a company of home guards was organized by free state men, of lancaster and shannon townships, atchison county, with a few from brown and doniphan counties, which gathered every saturday afternoon for drill, alternating at the homes of johnson wymore and robert white. robert white, who had received military training during the mexican war, having served there in 1846–48, did most of the drilling. a. j. evans was captain; robert white, first lieutenant; john bertwell, of brown county, was second lieutenant.
the pro-slavery people were also organized and drilling at the same time, consisting of south carolinians, virginians and missourians, who were for the confederacy and slavery.
at a sunday school meeting on the prairie, held in a vacant settler’s shanty near eden postoffice, where both sides in the neighborhood worshiped on sundays, robert white found out on a sunday in august, 1861, that a southern organization was to disarm all free state men the following tuesday. his nearest neighbor and a good friend, also a southerner, thought white had found this out and came and visited him a good part of sunday afternoon and staying in the evening until after 10 o’clock before going home, white showing no excitement. willis went home, seemingly much at ease, but he was watched by his friend white until safely resting at his home, when white went and called another free state man from his bed who notified half the free state company and white the other half, causing them to meet early the following monday, when by the middle of the afternoon of that day every pro-slavery man in that part of the country had his fire arms taken from him, and before tuesday evening all of them had departed for missouri.
148most of the members of the free state company enlisted in the following october as volunteers for three years’ service in the union army and became known as company d of second kansas cavalry. robert white, who was commissioned as first lieutenant in company d, was discharged and sent home to die with a serious case of inflammatory rheumatism, but he recovered so far that in 1863 he raised and drilled a company that became a part of the state militia. he was commissioned captain of this company and led it in the price raid at the battle of westport in 1864 as a part of the regiment commanded by col. l. s. treat in helping keep capt. white’s old brigade, commanded by gen. sterling price, of the mexican war, from getting into kansas. the late m. j. cloyes and t. b. platt, of atchison, were members of captain white’s company in the price raid. platt was clerk of the company; john english was first lieutenant; w. f. streeter, second lieutenant, and francis schletzbaum was first sergeant.
the seventeenth regiment, kansas infantry, was a negro regiment, but with white officers. james m. williams was colonel, and george j. martin, of atchison, was captain of company b, and william g. white and luther dickinson, of atchison, were first and second lieutenants. this regiment played an honorable part during all the civil war, and its service was largely confined to operations in arkansas and texas. it was mustered out of service at pine bluff, ark., october 1, 1865.
the second regiment, kansas colored infantry, was organized in june, 1863, at ft. smith, ark., and among its line officers was first lieut. john m. cain, of atchison. it conducted itself with conspicuous bravery with the army of the frontier, and during the brief occupation of camden, ark., by general steele’s forces, this regiment was employed on picket and forage duty. it showed conspicuous bravery around poison springs and mark’s mills, and under the able command of col. samuel j. crawford, who subsequently became governor of kansas, it won for itself an enviable name among the regiments from kansas, who participated in the civil war. this regiment was finally discharged from the services at leavenworth november 27, 1865, after having proved to the nation the fidelity of the colored soldier.
it was in september, 1864, that general sterling price created great consternation by an attempted invasion of kansas, which ended in his defeat on the border by the union forces, aided by the kansas state militia. at the time price started north in his march through arkansas and missouri. maj. gen. samuel r. curtis commanded the department of kansas, which 149included nebraska, colorado and indian territory, in addition to kansas. general curtis had about 4,500 men, all of whom had been employed in protecting the frontiers of kansas and colorado, and the overland mail route. at this time general curtis was near ft. kearney, operating against the indians. on receipt of word announcing the movements of general price, general curtis was recalled and reached kansas in september. a few days later he received word that 3,000 rebels were marching on ft. scott, and advised governor carney to call the militia into service. at this time george w. deitzler was major-general of the state militia; john t. norton was assistant adjutant-general; r. a. randlett, assistant quartermaster; samuel s. atwood, assistant quartermaster; charles chadwick, george t. robinson, lewis t. welmorth, john j. ingalls, thomas white, elijah g. moore, h. stein, and john a. leffkler were all majors. constant reports of a conflicting nature were spread from day to day, regarding the movements of general price, but the first point to be attacked was pilot knob, the engagement commencing september 27 and lasting all day. general ewing put up a vigorous defense, with a force of about 1,000 men, while the militia commanders in kansas made preparations for further resistance to the invasion of price. meanwhile general price continued to make headway, and on the fourth of october an order was issued forbidding the transit of boats below kansas city. when it was discovered that the rebels under price had not been seriously checked in their movement westward, further efforts were made by general curtis to prevail upon governor kearney to call out the militia, which the governor seemed disinclined to do. finally, on october 9, 1864, major general deitzler issued an order for the state militia from doniphan, brown, nemaha and marshall counties to rendezvous at atchison, and the militia from other counties were ordered to other points in the state. a few days later leavenworth was fortified, because of a telegram which was received from general rosecrans, stating that it was price’s intention to strike that point first. the militia responded promptly, and the following regiments reported for service at atchison: the twelfth regiment, composed of 460 men, under the command of col. l. s. treat, and the eighteenth regiment, composed of 400 men, under the command of colonel mathew quigg. the total number of militia enrolled under the call of the governor was 12,622, of which about 10,000 were south of the kansas river at the point most exposed to danger. from the eleventh until the sixteenth of the month there was great excitement, as the forces rapidly gathered, to 150be organized and equipped. on the staff of general deitzler there were two men from atchison: a. s. hughes, an aide, and john j. ingalls, judge-advocate, with the rank of major.
as a result of this determined move on the part of gen. sterling price to invade kansas, there followed in quick succession the battle of lexington, the battle of big blue, and finally the battle of westport, at which, on october 23, 1864, the forces of price were finally routed and his campaign and invasion were stopped, but not until it had caused the citizens of kansas, in addition to the labor and loss of life, not less than half a million dollars.