GGG Grandfather James Calaway Hale's first letters from Benton Barracks General Hospital

Chasing History: Exploring My Ancestral Roots - Post #12

by Tonya Graham McQuade

During the Civil War, Benton Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri was a Union Army military encampment that could accommodate up to 30,000 soldiers in over a mile of barracks. The site, which included a headquarters, warehouses, cavalry stables, and parade grounds, was used primarily as a training facility for Union soldiers attached to the Western Division of the Union Army. After the Battle of Lexington, the Post and Convalescent Hospitals were added in order to assist in treating hundreds of incoming wounded troops - up to 3,000 at a time. 

James Calaway Hale was one of those troops - and he spent almost two years at the General Hospital, also known as “The Marine,” at Benton Barracks. During that time, he wrote many letters to his wife and children, as well as to his oldest daughter, Mary Ann Hale Petree, and her husband, Bailis Petree (my great-great grandparents). Below are excerpts from three of those letters - including the first one after arriving at the hospital and one describing another "lucky escape" from likely death (see the previous "lucky escape" described in my Centralia Massacre post):

 

23 June 1863 - General Hospital, Benton Barracks, St. Louis, MO

 

Mr. James C. Hale, 33rd Reg. Mo. Vols., Co. H General Hospital, Benton Barracks, MO, Ward A

 

Dear Son and Daughter; 

I am thankful to god that I am blest this morning of writing a few lines to you to let you know that I am good spirits and good heart and not sick at all, only I have a pain in my stomach but not much cough. I have the Rheumatism in the small of my back and hips, but Mary Ann, I cannot act the deceit, for I forget myself and leave my cane half the time and I go without. I will come out all right. 

If a man will do right and keep on his guard and get the good will of the doctors and of the rest of the officers that is over you, they will favor you. The doctors just now come round. I cannot tell yet what they will do with me. They is men getting discharges here every day that look a good deal stouter than I do and have not been off of duty half so long, and then they is some others here that looks bad and have been here ever since the first of April and ain’t discharged.

 

If a man had some good friend to tend to his case, he could get a discharge without any trouble, but if you go yourself to urge it too fast, you cannot do much with the doctors. They have been fooled so much by men pretending to be diseased and nothing the matter that it is almost impossible for a man to get discharged. But as long as I am in as good a place as I am, I am satisfied to get out of danger or any hard battles, although it is hard that I cannot get to come home and see you all. They don’t let men bring their wives here to stay, only two or three hours in the day with their husbands, so they tell me, but I will find out more about it.

 

The government hires these ladies to tend to the sick - four in each ward. They are passing all the time. They will tend on them that gets so low they cannot help theirselves and feed them. The men sweeps out the room twice a day. The floor is as smooth as a die. You cannot find a particle of dirt all over. You have to take off your hat at the door, everybody - doctors, preachers, and everybody else - while you are inside. 

If I had plenty of money, Mary Ann, I would have you and Bailis and your Mother and the balance of the children come and see this place. It would be worth more than all the shows and everything else you ever seen. I cannot describe it at all to you so as you could ever draw any idea how these Hospitals look and the Barracks. It is the beautifullest place that eyes ever beheld, I think, but I see no chance for any of you to come yet, but be in good heart until I write again….

So no more at present but still remains your affection father until death,

James C. Hale

Pages 1 and 4 of letter dated 23 June 1863

Over the next couple weeks, James continued to write to his family, reassuring them the was was “on the mend fast” and expressing his belief that he would soon be “well and hearty as [he] ever was” and that he would “take good care of [him]self.”

In his letter dated July 5, 1863, he wrote: “I have been blessed to what hundreds and thousands of others has. I see hundreds myself crippled and wounded. They is now one hundred and twenty six in this ward. The most of them have been shot somewhere – one man, his eye shot out; some in the mouth and out at the side of the jaw, others with one or two fingers off, some in the arm. They are shot from the top of their head down to their toes. I see one man shot through the toes, but the most of these men are in good health…. [The wards} are all full, and they is four other wards round this ring. You can walk all the way round. I will go round this week and see. They is any amount of other large rooms all round close by all full and any amount down in town where the most of the sickest is left.”

Several weeks later, he learned he had narrowly escaped a likely death when the camp where he had been stationed prior to being taken to the hospital - in Helena, Arkansas - had been attacked by Confederate troops. Here are excerpts from his letter, dated July 13, 1863:

 

Today I got a fresh paper giving the correctness of all the late battles, so I thought I would send it to Bailis. I want you to read it all through, and you will see how I escaped that battle (Battle of Helena – 4 July 1863). The Seesech (secessionists) broke right plum through where my company was posted, and I expect they killed the most of them. I don’t know how the Rebs ever got up the hills and hollows, but they did and cut their way right through and took the battery, but they did not hold it long….

 

Thanks almighty God that I have escaped as well as I have. I have never seen a Rebel in arms since I left home, but I have been close to them, and they would hear of us coming and they would skedaddle. I think the war is about over, and then I can come home in peace….

 

I wish it was so that you come all of you and just see this place and the wounded soldiers that is in this ward. I don’t know but what they is fifty more wards besides this that is all full of sick and wounded in town and at Schofield Barracks and at Jefferson Barracks. All are full, but they have but two men died out of this ward since I have been here, none dangerous now I don’t think. They is men here in the ward, several with one arm shot off close up to their shoulder or taken off - there some the right and some the left, and some shot through the arm and some through the hand, part of their fingers shot off, and some in the knee and foot. They are all getting well, but what use will the most of them be, just an expense to their families. Can’t get discharged – been here some of them all summer.

Pages 1 and 4 of letter dated 13 July 1863

As you can see, James had quite a way with words. Most of his letters are four pages each - and there are forty of them! Some are faded, and some have portions missing, but most are still in good shape, with very legible handwriting. Sometimes his spelling or wording was a bit strange, sometimes he used slang or expressions that we no longer use, and sometimes he left words out. In addition, there was almost no punctuation, so that has been added by me to help make the letters more readable. But overall, I was impressed by his detail and descriptions, as well as the care he took to write special messages to the various family members.

If you've enjoyed this "peek" at James Calaway Hale's letters and his descriptions of his hospital experience during the Civil War, be sure to click "Follow" above and sign up for email alerts for future posts.

My next posts will explore some of the letters I acquired describing various family members' experiences on the Oregon Trail and settling in California, Oregon, and Washington in the 1850's and 1860's. Check back soon ...

 

Some Interesting Displays at the Missouri Civil War Museum

Chasing History: Exploring My Ancestral Roots - Post #11

by Tonya McQuade

Missouri Civil War Museum

The Missouri Civil War Museum is housed at Jefferson Barracks south of St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1905 Post Exchange and Gymnasium Building. In its 22,000 square feet, it features over one thousand artifacts and several films. According to the museum’s website, “Each gallery and exhibit tells a different story of Missouri in the American Civil War, from guerrillas and jayhawkers to life on the home front. The Museum also contains several galleries on the post-war era and the history of our home here at Jefferson Barracks" (mcwm.org).

A View of Jefferson Barracks from the Museum

After watching the introductory film and reading through the exhibits in the “Pre-War Gallery” that explained some of the key events in Missouri leading up to the Civil War (see Post #10), I entered the Main Gallery to see a large space, at the center of which stood a large Studebaker Horse Wagon, a 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle (one of the most common cannons used during the war), and soldiers and a war horse ready for battle. The names of various Missouri battles encircle the room, as do quotes from various Civil War figures. 

View upon entering the Main Gallery

One sad piece of trivia from the “War Horse” sign: “Approximately one million horses and mules were lost during the Civil War due to combat injuries and from disease and exhaustion. In Missouri, tens of thousands of horses and mules were taken and used by both Federal and Confederate troops, most of which never returned.”

The War Horse

A 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle - Known for its Accuracy

Two quotes that especially stood out to me for their vehemence were from two of the main “guerrilla” leaders - Jayhawker  and Kansas Senator James Lane, a Union soldier who led the attack on Osceola, Missouri; and Bushwhacker and Confederate guerrilla leader William C. Quantrill, who led the attack on Lawrence, Kansas. I write about both of these attacks in my book. Here are their quotes:

• “All the plunder, or the bulk of it, stolen from Missouri will be found stored away in Lawrence. We can get more revenge and more money there than anywhere else.” - William C. Quantrill 

• “We believe in a war of extermination. There is no such thing as Union men in the border of Missouri. I want to see every foot of ground in Jackson, Cass and Bates counties burned over and laid to waste." - Kansas Senator James Lane

Lane’s extreme actions along the border and in the town of Osceola drove many Missourians who might otherwise have supported the Union to the rebel side. Some of those same Confederate supporters - such as William “Bloody Bill Anderson” and Frank and Jesse James - played key roles in the Centralia Massacre and Battle of Centralia that I wrote about in previous posts.

The museum had informational signs about many key players in the war from both sides: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Claiborne F. Jackson, Nathaniel Lyon, John S. Marmaduke, Sterling Price, James Robinson McCormick, Douglas Hancock Cooper, Daniel Marsh Frost, Thomas Lowndes Snead, James L. Lane, William C. Quantrill, James Buchanon Eads, Joseph Orville Shelby, and many more. Many of them I knew, but others I had never heard of. Still so much to learn! 

Nathaniel Lyon comes us early in my book - 

he was the first Union general to die in the Civil War

There were MANY displays featuring various types of guns, swords, knives, ammunition, tools, games, toiletry items, knapsacks, and uniforms used by soldiers during the war. One helpful display explained how “Money and Finance” worked during the war and showed the many types of notes and bonds used by both sides. Another talked about the role music played in the war.

Confederate Notes and Bonds

Sounds of War: Music's Important Role

Two of my favorite displays were also two of the most relevant to my research: one that discussed Ground Troops/Infantry; the other, Medicine and War. James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree, whose letters form the basis for the books I'm working on, were both in the infantry (though in different regiments); and James spent a lot of time at the hospital in St Louis, so many of his letters deal with illnesses and injuries he both experiences and sees all around him. My next post will feature excerpts from some of those letters.

According to the “Ground Troops” exhibit sign, “Civil War armies were primarily made up of the infantry. These soldiers marched, attacked, and retreated largely on foot. Through extensive training and drill, the infantry needed to effectively maneuver on the battlefield to strike an enemy’s position wherever needed. Using rifles and muskets, troops maximized their firepower against an enemy force in line of battle.”

Ground Troops: The Infantry

The exhibit included a typical uniform and forage cap, rifle, musket, knapsack, and boots a soldier might use, as well as a spyglass, canteens, horse spurs and bits, as well as some books on infantry tactics. It also included informational signs about the 39th Missouri Infantry, which was the one almost completely killed in Centralia (see Post #6); the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, made up of many former Missouri slaves and the first African American unit to fight in combat; and Brigadier Gen. Francis M. Cockrell and his Missouri Brigade. Sadly, I didn’t see anything specifically about the 33rd Regiment, Missouri Infantry, Company H, which was the one to which my GGG Grandfather belonged.  

The “Medicine and War” display featured lots of medicines, tool kits, amputation sets, knives, vials and bottles, an old wheelchair, dental instruments, crutches and splints, and various prosthetics that were used by doctors in the war to treat their patients. According to the sign, “When the Civil War began, both sides were ill equipped to handle the medical needs of three million troops. Over one million soldiers became casualties during the war with more dying from illness and disease rather than weapons. One out of every five soldiers who fought in the war lost their life, and by war’s end, more than 620,000 of them perished.”

Medicine and War: Caring for the Wounded

Much of the medical treatment soldiers received on the battlefield was quite brutal, with amputations being common. However, “tremendous advancements in medical care occurred as a result of the Civil War that related to trauma care, internal medicine, infectious diseases, and rehabilitation.” James C. Hale got a firsthand view of some of these advancements, but he also described one eye doctor he observed at the hospital as “the roughest doctor [he had] ever seen” and said he wouldn’t let him near his eyes.

On the lower level, an exhibit that stood out to me was “Hollywood and the Civil War,” with information about both book and movie portrayals of the Civil War. I still vividly remember reading Gone with the Wind back in eighth grade over a two-day period when I had chickenpox. I just sat in my bed and read and read and read … and grew interested in history for the first time. The Red Badge of Courage is one of the books I have strong memories of reading in high school - seeing what war could do to a young man in a short period of time.

Hollywood and the Movies

(including a first edition of Gone with the Wind)

It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties that I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin, whose author - Harriet Beecher Stowe - President Lincoln credited with being "the little woman that wrote the book that started this great war." That book also had a big impact on me - especially the character of George - and made me want to learn a lot more about slavery, as well as the fugitive slave law and the abolitionist movement.

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852 1st Editions)

There is much more to see if you ever make it to the museum for yourself. In the meantime, I hope you’ve enjoyed this recap of my recent visit. Tune in next time to see some excerpts from my GGG Grandfather’s letters from Benton Barracks General Hospital in St. Louis.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please click “Follow” up above, and be sure to check back soon!

Missouri: A State Divided Long Before the Civil War Began

Chasing History: Exploring My Ancestral Roots - Post #10

by Tonya McQuade

Lincoln Elected: Secession Begins

(Photo taken at Missouri Civil War Museum)

In my previous post, I began discussing my visit to the Missouri Civil War Museum in April. The museum, located at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, opens with several exhibit displays talking about events prior to the Civil War that contributed to the state's political divisions. Since that's also how I begin the book I'm working on, A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree, I thought I'd share excerpts from that opening chapter before sharing some of the museum's other displays in my next post.

One "event" I had not known about was Missouri's unique role in the Election of 1860. I knew that, with Abraham Lincoln's election, various southern states had started to secede. I did not know Missouri was the only state in which Stephen A. Douglas, the Northern Democratic candidate, came out on top as their choice for president. Lincoln was their last choice. Candidates from four different political parties competed in this election, with disputes regarding states' rights and slavery all coming to a head - the election had the second largest voter turnout in American history.

Museum Display - Results for the Election of 1860

More Information on the Election of 1860

At the start of the Civil War, Missouri clearly was a state divided - with many events and decisions tied to Missouri significantly contributing to the later outbreak of the war, including the Missouri Compromise (1820); the Compromise of 1850, which strengthened the Fugitive Slave Law and had a big impact on border states like Missouri; the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), which led to the “Bleeding Kansas” borders wars between Kansas and Missouri; and the Dred Scott decision (1857), which started in the Missouri Courthouse and resulted in one of the Supreme Court’s worst decisions: that African Americans were not U.S. citizens and therefore had no citizenship rights. 

Missouri Compromise - 1820

Compromise of 1850 

(including controversial Fugitive Slave Law)

Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 

(which led to "Bleeding Kansas" border wars)

Now for some excerpts from A State Divided:

Chapter 1: Early Beginnings - Greene County, Tennessee and Andrew County, MO

The Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott case, the “Bleeding Kansas” border wars - Missouri was a state torn apart by political disagreements and violence even before the firing on Sumter that early morning of April 12, 1861. Some of the first blood shed during the Civil War was spilled on Missouri soil during the Camp Jackson Massacre, and the first Union general to be killed - Nathaniel Lyon - was killed there at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Soon, the state even found itself with two competing governments and governors, one recognized by the United States government and one by the Confederacy.

Like so many in Missouri, the Hale and Petree families of northwestern Andrew County found themselves caught in this political maelstrom. Originally from Tennessee and Indiana, each had relatives who fought and died on both sides of the war. James C. Hale volunteered early on to join the Union army, seeing action in Missouri, Kentucky, and Arkansas before spending much of his enlisted time at Benton Barracks General Hospital in St. Louis. Benjamin Petree was drafted toward the end of the war and found himself participating in Gen. Sherman’s March to the Sea - across South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia - witnessing huge amounts of devastation and destruction, before marching in the celebratory Grand Review of the Union Army in Washington. D.C. 

James C. Hale’s and Benjamin Petree’s letters cast light on this pivotal border state that saw 42% of the battles in the U.S. during the first year of the war; suffered more than 1000 battles on its soil, many of those involving guerrilla warfare; and experienced one of the last surrenders - that of Confederate Lt. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, who commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department west of the Mississippi River - 47 days after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox….

While many in Missouri initially hoped the state could stay neutral in the war, the battle over slavery was one they knew all too well. The 1850’s brought a lot of strife to Missouri, especially along the western border where James Calaway Hale and his family established their farm just south of Savannah in Nodaway Township, Andrew County, in an area known as the Platte Purchase. Not originally part of Missouri, this land was acquired in 1836 after the United States government purchased it for $7500 from various Indian tribes, who agreed to move west of the Missouri River to areas that are now part of Kansas and Nebraska.

The acquisition added 3,149 square miles to the northwest corner of Missouri but sparked controversy for two reasons. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 had prohibited the extension of slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel at the 36°30′ north except within the boundaries of the then-defined state of Missouri. Further, it went against the terms of the controversial Indian Removal Act, which had “permanently” moved tribes west of the Missouri border as it stood in 1830. Now, some of those same tribes were being forced to move again.

The Platte Purchase, however, drew many farmers - especially slave-holding farmers from Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky eager to plant hemp and tobacco in the more southern portion - to its lush soil. By extending Missouri’s border to the Missouri River on the east, it also opened up shipping options for these same farmers. By the time James and his family settled in the more northern region of the Platte Purchase, St. Joseph had become one of the largest cities in Missouri and was the jumping off point for many of the American settlers moving west. It also became the point of departure for the Pony Express for the eighteen months it operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861.

Additional political tensions in Missouri began with the Compromise of 1850, which admitted California as a free state but allowed other territories acquired from the Mexican War to be subject to “popular sovereignty,” determined by voters in those territories. The compromise also included a strengthened Fugitive Slave Law, which led to tensions in both slave and free states. Since Missouri was a slave state bordered by four free states (Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois), tensions there ran especially high.

Only about a tenth of Missouri’s residents owned slaves - and those who did typically had only a much small number of slaves. In 1860, the free population of Missouri was 1,058,352; the slave population, 114, 965. Slaves made up less than 10% of the population in most parts of the state, whereas in states like Mississippi and South Carolina, they made up half the population. Still, at the start of the Civil War, most Missouri residents favored preserving slavery.

A Map of Slavery in Missouri from the Civil War Museum

The Kansas/Nebraska Act of 1854 brought further troubles to Missouri. The act not only established the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska, but it too altered the previous conditions set forth in the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had prohibited the expansion of slavery north of Missouri’s southern border in land acquired by the Louisiana Purchase. The new act divided the territories of Kansas and Nebraska at the 40th parallel and allowed for the issue of slavery to be decided by “popular sovereignty,” or popular vote.

The Spread of Slavery in the U.S. 1840-1860

This decision shocked and angered abolitionists. Frederick Douglass in a speech on October 30, 1854, stated: “Fellow citizens, the proposition to repeal the Missouri Compromise was a stunning one. It fell upon the nation like a bolt from a cloudless sky. The thing was too startling for belief … and you knew that the repeal of the Missouri Compromise was a breach of honor.”

There was little debate over the issue of slavery in Nebraska, where most settlers came from the midwest which had no slavery. Such was not the case, however, in Kansas where there were many pro-slavery Missourians living just across the border. Soon, the Kansas/Nebraska Act set off efforts among both pro- and anti-slavery proponents to alter the vote in Kansas, with voters racing to the territory to cast their votes - in many cases fraudulently - to determine whether Kansas would be slave or free. The violence that ensued earned this area and time period the name “Bleeding Kansas.” 

Eventually, Kansas was admitted as a free state - the 34th state of the Union - on January 29, 1861. However, the conflicts that occurred there contributed significantly to the later eruption of the Civil War. Some of the most brutal acts of violence during the war occurred along the Kansas-Missouri border, in many cases perpetrated by the anti-slavery Jayhawkers and pro-slavery Bushwhackers, acting in retaliation for actions and events that occurred during the “Bleeding Kansas” years.  

This was the environment in which James and his family found themselves living in early 1861, as more and more states began to secede and the country moved toward war. Border ruffians were roaming the countryside, leaving everyone feeling on edge. James’s own brother Meshack was killed in June 1861 by Confederate sympathizers. Fortunately, his wife and son were able to escape injury.

Meshack’s death came right as everything else in the state seemed to start falling apart. First, their governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson, had called for a vote on secession, leaving many Missourians feeling anxious as the constitutional convention in St. Louis approached. Many experienced relief when the majority of state legislators voted not to secede, saying that at present they saw “no adequate cause to impel Missouri to dissolve her connection with the Federal Union.”

 

Unfortunately, that was not the end of it. A few weeks later, shots were fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina, and President Lincoln asked Governor Jackson to send four Missouri infantry regiments to join federal troops. He refused….

That refusal, among other things, eventually led to Missouri having two governments - one led by Claiborne Fox Jackson that was recognized by the Confederacy; the other, led by the newly appointed Governor Hamilton Gamble and recognized by the Union. Some Missouri troops stayed loyal to Jackson and were renamed the Missouri State Guard; others remained loyal to the Union, joining various Missouri Regiments to battle the Missouri State Guard. Many Missourians, not wanting to be sent east to fight in battles in other states, left the Missouri Stage Guard after some months of service and joined up with the many bushwhacker groups roaming the countryside. It’s not difficult to see how families and towns were torn apart.

If you like what you read, please click "Follow" up at the top! Stay tuned for my next post about the Missouri Civil War Museum Exhibits - coming soon.

Missouri Civil War Museum at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis

Chasing History: Exploring My Ancestral Roots - Post #9

by Tonya Graham McQuade

 

Benton Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri

As described in the letters written by my great-great-great grandfather James Calaway Hale, he spent about ten months with the 33rd Regiment, Missouri Volunteers, Company H – marching around southern Missouri, Kentucky, and Arkansas – before landing in the General Hospital at Benton Barracks in St. Louis in late June 1863. As it turned out, other than the couple times he returned home on furlough, he would remain there in St. Louis through the end of the war, his rheumatism and other health issues keeping him from returning to his regiment – and possibly saving his life - but unable to get a discharge so he could return home.

 

Benton Barracks was also where James first reported when he joined up with the Regiment, having volunteered his service to the Union army. He left behind his wife Elizabeth and children Amanda (14), McDonald (12), and Eliza (6), as well as his recently married oldest daughter Mary Ann and her husband Bailis Petree, in Nodaway Township, Andrew County, just south of Savannah. There the family had to work hard to maintain the farm and livestock during his absence.

James was amazed at his first sight of Benton Barracks. As I explain early on in my book A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree:

 

“When James arrived in St. Louis to join up with the 33rd Regiment, he was amazed at the sight of the big city and even more impressed by Benton Barracks. As he wrote in later letters, he thought it was the most beautiful place his eyes had ever beheld, and he wished his wife and children could see it. The Barracks, also known as Camp Benton, had been built the previous year on the old fairgrounds in St. Louis, where they had held the Agricultural and Mechanical Association fairs beginning in 1855. Now, the site was being used as a training camp and military hospital.”

 

Well, Benton Barracks no longer exists. Once the war was over, the buildings were dismantled, and the site returned to being a fairgrounds and racetrack. However, Jefferson Barracks – which was located south of St. Louis on the Mississippi River in Lemay, Missouri – still stands, and one of the buildings now houses the Missouri Civil War Museum. That museum marked my final stop on my recent visit to Missouri – but it was certainly one of the most anticipated. I had by that time read all of the letters from both James C. Hale and Benjamin Petree (see Post #1) and  had spent quite a bit of time researching the Civil War in Missouri, but I knew there was much more to learn.

Missouri Civil War Museum at Jefferson Barracks

As I approached the museum entrance, the first thing I saw was the statue of President Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. As a slave-holding state, this proclamation was certainly of interest to Missouri; but since its recognized government had remained faithful to the Union, the proclamation did not actually free Missouri’s slaves (though many by this time had already escaped on their own or been stolen away by anti-slavery forces).

President Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation

The next sign described Ulysses S. Grant’s relationship with St. Louis, Grant having first arrived at Jefferson Barracks in September 1843 as a new officer fresh out of West Point. He married a woman from St. Louis, Julia Dent, and after resigning from the U.S. army in 1854, he lived in St. Louis for four years. Grant first worked as a farmer, then later in real estate, before moving to Illinois to work in a harness shop until the Civil War sucked him back into army life – and eventually to the presidency.

Ulysses S. Grant: The St. Louis Years

The sign also explained Grant’s connection to Samuel Langhorne Clemens – aka. Mark Twain – who later encouraged Grant to write his memoirs. As the sign states: “Twain, who owned a publishing company, encouraged Grant to write his memoirs. He offered to publish the work on terms favorable to the ex-President. Grant’s Memoirs, released just after Grant’s death in 1885, proved to be the best-selling work of non-fiction to that point in American history. The proceeds supported Julia Grant for the rest of her life.”

 

Jefferson Barracks itself was first established as a U.S. army installation in 1826, long before Benton Barracks, and continued serving in that role through 1946. Today it is used as a base for the Army and Air National Guard, and also houses a Veterans Affairs healthcare service. It was named after Thomas Jefferson, who died the same year it was established.

Jefferson Barracks

 

During the Civil War, Jefferson Barracks – just as Benton Barracks – served as a hospital for both sides, as well as a recruitment depot for the North. By the end of the war, over 18,000 patients had been treated there. In 2002, the 1905 Post Exchange and Gymnasium Building began to be restored and transformed into the Missouri Civil War Museum, which officially opened in 2013.

 

As I walked through the doors, I actually felt a thrill of excitement. I had devoted MANY hours over the prior couple of months to studying Missouri Civil War history, and I was anxious to see what I had missed and what more I could learn. I started with the brief video, which gave an overview of some of the issues Missouri faced as a state heading into the war, and they were many. Some argue that the Civil War actually started on the Kansas-Missouri border, where pro-and anti-slavery supporters sparked a lot of violence in the “Bleeding Kansas” years.

Mission Statement

 

Those many issues are the reason I decided to title the non-fiction book I am writing A State Divided: The Civil War Letters of James Calaway Hale and Benjamin Petree. The non-fiction book was not part of my original plan. My focus had been on writing a historical fiction novel that incorporates the letters but also adds “at home” chapters which imagine (based on the letters and extensive research) what the Hale and Petree families might have been doing back in Andrew County. However, after learning that the Civil War Museum Gift Shop and many other Civil War sites only carry non-fiction books, I thought I’d better write TWO versions of this family tale.

Maybe someday one of my books will be on this shelf ...

Be sure to check back soon for my next post, which will include an excerpt from A State Divided that helps to explain the Missouri events that lead up to the Civil War.