Personal Narrative: My First American Civil War

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Pages: 2

What I remember: We lived about 25 miles from Kansas line. We visited John Brown’s home in Osawatomie, the place of the massacre and other historic spots along what is now 69 highway going north to Lawrence, Kansas.
Claiborne Fox Jackson, Governor of Missouri tried very hard to make us become a southern state and we were a divided state. My great grandfather tho’ root from Virginia, definitely did not support slavery.
In SW Missouri, where we lived, was a hot bed during the Civil War. Some of the worst came out of Kansas. The Bushwhackers came from Kansas. Killed, ravished and really didn’t care who won. They were mean. Missouri ended up a free state, thought very divided.

My great grandpa was a crippled man and tough as shoe leather. He did belong to the home guard. He was shot at by his neighbor (Tom Livingston, a Southern sympathizer) and was taken prisoner 2 or 3 times; once to be hung and the other for prisoner exchange. A lot of “guerillas” also came out of Kansas. One of the cruelest was Quantrill (an ex-school teach). However, guerillas and Bushwhackers came from both Missouri and Kansas. Bloody Bill Anderson came out of Missouri and was very bad!
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He said they were welcome but not to burn his wood. He had a lot of wood cut and stacked. They camped but did not burn his wood. Grandpa was captured and was taken to Ft. Smith, Arkansas and was to be hung the next day. When he appeared before the Southern judge it was the same old Indian. He said, “What are you doing here, Jim?” Grand said he’d like to go home. The old Indian loaned him a horse and told him where to turn it loose and he would come home, also what houses to stop at on the way to help him get