AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF
SAMUEL
S. HILDEBRAND,
THE RENOWNED MISSOURI BUSHWHACKER
AND UNCONQUERABLE ROB ROY OF AMERICA;
BEING HIS COMPLETE
CONFESSION
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SAMUEL S.
HILDEBRAND, THE
RENOWNED MISSOURI
BUSHWHACKER AND
UNCONQUERABLE ROB ROY OF AMERICA PROOF OF
AUTHENTICITY. This is to
certify that I, the undersigned, am personally acquainted with Samuel S.
Hildebrand (better known as Sam Hildebrand, the Missouri Bushwhacker,"
etc.,) and have known him from boyhood; that during the war, and on
several occasions since its termination, he promised to give me a full and
complete history of his whole war record; that on the night of January
28th, 1870, he came to my house at Big River Mills, in St. Francois
county, Missouri, in company with Charles Burks, and gave his consent that
I and Charles Burks, ln conjunction, might
have his
confession whenever we were prepared to meet him at a certain place for
that purpose; that in the latter part of March, 1870, in the presence of
Sam Hildebrand alone, I did write out his confession as he gave it to me,
then and there, until the same was completed; and that afterwards James W.
Evans and myself, from the material I thus obtained, compiled and
completed the said confession, which is now presented to the public as his
Autobiography. A. WENDELL
KEITH, M. D. STATE OF
MISSOURI, COUNTY OF STE.
GENEVIEVE. On this, 14th
day of June, 1870, before me, Henry Herter, a Notary Public within and for
said county, personally appeared W. H. Couzens, J. N. Burks and G. W.
Murphy of the above county and State, and on being duly sworn they stated
that they were well acquainted with Charles Burks of the aforesaid county,
and A. Wendell Keith, M. D., of St. Francois county, Missouri, And to
their certain knowledge the men
set forth in
the foregoing. certificate are
true and correct, and that Samuel S. Hildebrand also acknowledged to them
afterwards that he had made to them his complete
confession. WM. H. COUZENS,
MAJOR C. S. A. J. N. BURKS,
G. W.
MURPHY Subscribed and
sworn to before me, this 14th day of June, 1870. HENRY
HERTER, Notary
Public. Hon.,,. ELLIS
G. EVANS, Senator, Rolla
District. Hon.,. E. C.
SEBASTIAN, Representative,
St. Francois county. Hon. MILTON P.
CAYCE, Farmington,
Missouri. FRANKLIN
MIURPHY, Sheriff St.
Francois county. WILLIAM
R.
TAYLOR, Clerk St.
Francois county. The Statement
made by A. Wendell Keith, M.
D., is entitled
to credit from the fact of his well-known veracity and standing in
society. HON. JOSEPH
BOGY, Representative
Ste. Genevieve county. CHARLES
ROZIER, Clerk
Ste.
Genevieve
county. EXECLTIVE
OFFICE, JEFFERSOX CITY, Mo. June 22,
1870. I here certify
that the persons whose official signatures appear above have been
commissioned for the offices indicated; and my personal
acquaintance with Dr. Keith, Honorables Evans, Sebastian, Cayce, Bogy and
Sheriff Murphy is such that I say without hesitation their statements are
entitled to full faith and credit. credit. J. W.
McCLURG, Governor of
Missouri AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SAMUEL S.
HILDEBRAND, THE
RENOWNED MISSOURI
BUSHWHACKER AND
UNCONQUERABLE ROB ROY OF
AMERICA; BEING HIS
COMPLETE CONFESSION RECENTLY
MADE TO THE
WRITERS, AND CAREFULLY. COMPILED By JAMES W.
EVANS AND A. WENDELL KEITH M. D. OF ST. FRANCOIS
COUNTY, MO; TOGETHER WITH
ALL THE FACTS CONNECTED WITH HIS EARLY HISTORY. . JEFFERSON CITY,
MO. STATE TIMES
BOOK AND JOB PRINTING HOUSE, MADISON
STREET. . LIST OF
ILLUSTRATIONS. SAM HILDEBRAND
DRIVEN FROM HOME FRANK
HILDEBRAND HUNG BY THE MOB SAM HILDEBRAND
KILLING McILVAINE THE MURDER OF
WASH. HILDEBRAND AND LANDUSKY STAMPEDE OF
FEDERAL SOLDIERS SAM HILDEBRAND
BETRAYED BY COOTS SAM
HILDEBRAND'S LAST BATTLE COL. BOWEN
CAPTURES HILDEBRAND'S CAVE . Entered
according to act of Congress in the year 1870,
by JAMES W. EVANS
and WENDELL KEITH, M. D., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of
the United States for the Eastern District of Missouri.
PREFACE. The public
having been grossly imposed upon by Federal spurious productions
purporting to be the "Life of Sam Hildebrand," we have no apology to offer
for presenting the reader with his authentic
narrative. His confession
was faithfully written down from his own lips, as the foregoing
certificates abundantly prove. From this
copious manuscript we have prepared his autobiography for the press, with
a scrupulous care to give it literally, so far as the arbitrary rules of
language would permit. Sam Hildebrand and the authors of this work were
raised up from boyhood together, in the same neighborhood, and we are
confident that no material facts have been suppressed by Hildebrand in his
confession. The whole
narrative is given to the reader without any effort upon our part either
to justify or condemn his acts. Our design was to give the genuine
autobiography of Sam Hildebrand; this we have
done. The book, as a
record of bloody deeds, dare-devil exploits and thrilling adventures, will
have no rival in the catalogue of-Wonders ; for it at once
unfolds, with minute
accuracy, the exploits of Hildebrand of which one-half had never yet been
told. Without this record the world would forever remain in ignorance of
the right history of his
astounding audacity. We here tender
our thanks to those of our friends who have kindly assisted us in this
work, prominent among whom is Miss Hilda F. Sharp, of Jefferson City, Mo.,
who furnished us with those beautiful pencil sketches from which our
engravings were made. JAMES W.
EVANS, A. WENDELL
KEITH, M. D. BIG RIVER
MILLS, l\!o., June, 1870, , INTRODUCTION. THE ORIGIN AND
HISTORY OF THE HILDEBRAND FAMILY. Note: A very
long, 1,000 year old German poem, 6 pages long, which was located here was
scanned and put on the Illustrations page (Page 4). It has nothing to do
with Sam Hildebrand- jrbakerjr Following the genealogy
down, we meet with several of the Hildebrands celebrated in the
ecclesiastical, literary and scientific world. Of the parentage
of Gregory VII.
but little is known more than that he was a Hildebrand, born near Rome,
but of German parents. On becoming a Roman Pontiff in 1077, he assumed the
name of Gregory. He occupied the chair of St. Peter for eight years,
during which time he assumed an authority over the crowned heads of
Europe, never before attempted. He was a bold man, but was driven from his
chair in 1085. George Frederick Hildebrand
was a famous physician, who was born June 5, 1764, at Hanover. He was one
of the most learned men of his age; was appointed professor of
Anatomy at Brunswick, but he soon took the chair of Chemistry, at
Erlangen, in Bavaria. He died March 23, 1816, leaving some of the most
elaborate and valuable
works ever written. Ferdinand Theodore
Hildebrand was born June 2, 1804, and under the tuition of Professor
Schadaw, at Berlin, he became very renowned as a painter.
He followed his
tutor to Dusseldorf in 1826, and· was one of the most celebrated artists
of the Academy
of
Painting
at that place.
In 1830 Hildebrand visited Italy to view the
productions of some of the old masters, and afterwards traveled through
the Netherlands. Some of his best pictures were drawn to represent scenes
in the works of
Shakespeare, of which" King Lear mourning over the death of Cordelia,"
was-perhaps the most important. But among the critics, "The sons of
Edward" was considered his greatest production. It is not our purpose to
name all the illustrious HiIdebrands who have figured in German history or
literature; for it must be borne in mind that from the
ninth century down to
the sixteenth, the name Hildebrand was almost invariably applied as a
given name; it was not until that century that it appears as a surname. It
is a fact, however, well known to historians, that the same given name is
frequently retained in a family, and handed down from one generation to
another perhaps for one thousand years. In the southern part of
Germany the name Hildebrand was borne by a certain class of vassals, but
in the Northern States of that country, there were families
of noble birth by
the same name. The record of those nobles run back with a great deal of
certainty to a very remote period of German history-beyond which,
the dim out-lines
of tradition alone can be our guide. This tradition,
whether entitled to credit or not, traces the genealogy of the Hildebrands
in the line of nobles up to Sir Hildebrand, the exiled hero mentioned in
the Book of Heroes. According to the record of
the Hildebrand family, as given by Henry Hildebrand of Jefferson county,
Missouri, to the authors of this work; the seventh generation
back reaches to
Peter Hildebrand of Hanover. He was born in 1655, and was
the youngest son of a nobleman. His father having died while Peter was yet
a boy, he was educated at a military school, and after arriving to manhood
he served several years in the army. Returning at length, he was vexed at
the cold reception he received from his elder brother, who now inherited
the estate with all the titles of nobility belonging to the family. He
resolved to emigrate to the wild solitudes of America, where individual
worth and courage was
the stepping stone to honor and distinction. His family
consisted of a wife and three children; his oldest son, Jacob, was born in
1680; when he was ten years of age the whole family emigrated to New
Amsterdam,
remained three years and then settled in the northern part of
Pennsylvania, where he died a few years
afterwards. Jacob Hildebrand's second
son, Jacob, was born in 1705. He was fond of adventure and joined in
several exploring expeditions in one of which he was captured by a band of
Miami Indians, and only escaped by plunging into the Ohio river and
concealing himself under a drift of floating logs. His feelings of
hostility against the Indians prompted him to join the expedition against
them under Lieutenant Ward, who erected a fort at what is now called
Pittsburg, in 1754, here he was killed in a vain attempt to hold the
garrison against the French and Indians under
Contrecoeur. His third son, John
Hildebrand, was born in 1733, and at the death of his father was
twenty-one years of age. Like most of the frontiersmen of this early
period, he seemed to
have an uncontrollable love of adventure. His most ardent desire was to
explore the great valley of the Mississippi. At the period of which we are
now speaking (1754), he joined James M. Bride and others and passed down
the Ohio river in a canoe; to his regret, however, the company only
reached the mouth of the Kentucky river, cut their initials in the barks
of trees, and then returned. In 1770 he removed to Missouri.
His family consisted of his
wife and two boys. Peter was born in 1758, and Jonathan in 1762. He built
a flat-boat on the banks of the Ohio, and taking
a bountiful
supply of provisions, he embarked with his family. To avoid the Indians he
kept as far from each shore as possible, and never landed but once to
pass around the
shoals. On reaching the Mississippi he spent more than a week in ascending
that river to gain a proper point for crossing. He landed on
the western side at
Ste. Genevieve. Viewing the country
there as being rather thickly settled, he moved back into the wilderness
about forty miles and settled on Big River at the mouth of
Saline creek. He was
the first settler in that country which was afterwards organized as
Jefferson county. He opened a fine farm on Saline creek, built houses,
and considered
himself permanently located in that wild country. The Indians were
unfriendly, and their hostility toward white settlers seemed to increase
until 1780, when
Peter Chouteau, by order of the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, went to
see Hildebrand and warned him to leave on account of Indian
depredations. He then removed to St.
Genevieve. In 1783, Peter Hildebrand left Ste. Genevieve and settled
on Big River in
the same neighborhood
where his
father had resided. He had a wife and four children, whose names were,
Isaac, Abraham, David, and Betsy. He was a
good marksman and very fond of hunting. After he had resided there about
one year, he was shot and killed by the Indians on the bank of
Big River one
morning while on his return from hunting wild game, after which the family
removed nearer to a settlement. In 1802, David Hildebrand
settled on Big River, and about the same time Jonathan Hildebrand settled himself
permanently on the same river. He lived until the
commencement of the late war, and then died at the age of one hundred
years. He had three sons, whoso names are, George, Henry, and
Samuel. In 1832, George Hildebrand
and his family moved higher up on Big River and settled in St. Francois
county-his house was the Hildebrand homestead
referred to in these
pages-and he was the father of Samuel S. Hildebrand, whose Autobiography
we now submit to our readers. AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF SAMUEL S.
HILDEBRAND. CHAPTER 1. Introduction.-Yankee Fiction.-Reasons for making a full confession. Since the close of the late
rebellion, knowing that I had taken a very active part during its progress
several of my friends have solicited me to have my history written out in
full. This anxiety to obtain the history of an individual so humble as
myself, may be attributed to the fact, that never perhaps since the world
began, have such efforts been put forth by a government for the
suppression of one man alone, as have been used for my capture, both
during the war and since its termination. The extensive military
operations carried on by the Federal government in South-east Missouri,
were in a great measure designed for my special
destruction. Since the close of the
rebellion, while others are permitted to remain at home in peace, the war,
without any abatement whatever, has continued against me with a
vindictiveness
and a lavish
expenditure of money that has no parallel on this continent; but through
it all, single-handed, have I come out unscathed and unconquered.
My enemies have thrust
notoriety upon me, and have excited the public mind at a distance with a
desire to know who I am and what I have done. Taking advantage of this
popular inquiry, some enterprising individual in an eastern state has
issued two or three novels purporting to be my history, but they are
not even founded on
fact, and miss the mark about as far as if they were designed for the Life
of Queen Victoria. I seriously object to the
use of my name in any such a manner. Any writer, of course, who is
afflicted with an irresistible desire to write fiction, has a
perfect right to do so,
but he should select a fictitious name for the hero of his novels, that
his works may stand or fall, according to their own intrinsic merit,
rather than the name of an individual whose notoriety alone would insure
the popularity of his books. But an attempt to palm a novel on the
inquiring public as a history of my life,
containing as it does a catalogue of criminal acts unknown to me in all my
career, is not only a slander upon myself, but a glaring fraud upon the
public. Much of our misfortune as a
nation may he attributed to the pernicious influence of the intolerant,
intermeddlng, lrrepressible writers of falsehood. In a community where the
spirit of fiction pervades every department of literature and all the
social relations of life, writers become so habituated to false coloring
and deception, that
plain unadorned truth has seldom been known to eminate from their
perverted brains; it would be just as impossible for them to write down a
naked fact as it would for the Prince of Darkness to write a volume of
psalms. The friend who has finally
succeeded in tracing me to my quiet retreat in the wild solitudes of the
down trodden South, is requesting me to make public
the whole history
of my life, without any attempt at palliation, concealment or apology.
This I shall now proceed to do, in utter disregard to It perverted
public opinion, and
without the least desire or expectation of receiving justice from the
minds of those who never knew justice, or sympathy from those who are
destitute of that ingredient. The necessity that was
forced upon me to act the part I did during the reign of terror in
Missouri, is all that I regret. It has deprived me of a happy home and the
joys of domestic peace and quietude; it has driven me from the
associations of childhood, and all the scenes of early life that so
sweetly cling to the memory of man; it has caused my kind and indulgent
mother to go down into her grave sorrowing; it has robbed me of three
affectionate brothers who were brutally murdered and left weltering in
their own innocent blood; it has reduced me and my family to absolute want
and suffering, and has left us without a home, and I might almost say,
without a country. A necessity as implacable aa
the decrees of Fate, was forced upon me by the Union party to espouse the
opposite side; and all the horrors of a merciless war were waged
unceasingly agaimst me for many months before I attempted to raise my hand
in self defense. But fight I
must, and fight I did! War was the object, and war it was. I never engage
in but one business at a time-my business during tho wa.r was killing
enemies. It is a very difficult matter to carry on a war for four years
without someone getting hurt. If I did kill over a hundred men during the
war, it was only because I was in earnest and supposed that everybody else
was. My name is cast out as evil because I adopted the military tactics
not in use among large armies. They were encumbered with
artillery and fought where they had ample room to use it, I had no
artillery and generally fought in the woods; my plan was the most
successful, for in the regular army the rebels did not kill more than one
man each during the war. CHAPTER
II. Early History
of the Hildebrand family.-Settled in St. Francois county, Missouri.-Sam
Hildebrand born.-Troublesome Neighbors.- Union
Sentiments. In regard to the early
history of the Hildebrand family, I can only state what tradition has
handed down from one generation to another. As I have no education, and
can neither read in English nor Dutch, I am not able to give any of
the outlines of history bearing upon the origin or acts of the Hildebrands
in remote ages. This task I leave for others, with
this remark, that
tradition connects our family with the Hildebrands who figured in the
German history up to the very origin of the Dutch language. The branch of
the family to which I belong were driven from Bavaria into Netherlands two
hundred years ago, where they remained about forty years, and then
emigrated to Pennsylvania at the first settlement of that portion of
America. They were a hardy race of
people and always shunned a city life, or being cooped up in thickly
settled districts; they kept on the outskirts of aggressive civilization
as it pressed the red man still back into the wild solitudes of the West,
thus occupying the middle ground or twilight of refinement. Hence they
continually breathed the pure, fresh air of our country's morning, trod
through the dewy vales of pioneer life, and drank at Freedom's shady
fountains among the unclaimed
hills. They were literally a race
of backwoodsmen inured to hardship, and delighted in nothing so much as
wild adventure and personal danger. They explored the hills rather than
the dull pages of history, pursued the wild deer instead of tame
literature, and enjoyed their own thoughts rather than the dreamy
notions eminating from
the feverish brain of philosophy. In 1832 my father and
mother, George and Rebecca Hildebrand, settled in 8t. Francois county,
Missouri, on a stream called Big River, one of the tributaries
of the Meramec
which empties into the Mississippi about twenty miles below St.
Louis. The bottom lands on Big
River are remarkably fertile, and my father was so fortunate as to secure
one of the best bodies of land in that county. Timber
grew in abundance,
both on the hills and in the valleys, conl5equently it took a great deal
of hard labor to open a farm; but after a few years of close attention,
father, by the
assistance of his boys who were growing up, succeeded in opening a very
large one. He built a large stone dwelling house two stories high, and
finished it off in
beautiful style, besides other buildings, burns, cribs and stables
necessary on every well regulated farm. Father and mother raised a
family of ten children, consisting of seven boys and three girls. I was
the fifth one in the family, and was born at the old
homestead on Dig River,
St. Francois county, Missouri, on the 6th day of January,
1836. The facilities for
acquiring an education in that
neighborhood were very slim indeed, besides I never felt inclined
to go to school even when I had a chance. I was too fond
of hunting and fishing, or playing around the majestic bluffs that wall in
one side or the other of Big River, the whole length of that crooked and
very romantic stream. One day's schooling was all that I ever got in my
life; that day was sufficient for me, it gave me a distaste to the
very sight of a school house. I only learned the names of two letters, one
shaped like the gable end of a house roof, and the other shaped like an ox
yoke standing on end. At recess in the afternoon the boys got to picking
at me while the teacher was gone to dinner, and I had them every one to
whip. When the old tyrant came back from dinner and commenced talking
saucy, I gave him a good cursing and broke for home. My father very
generously gave me my choice, either to go to school or to work on the
farm. I gladly accepted the latter, redoubled my energy and always
afterwards took particular pains to please my father in all things,
because he was so kind as not to compel me to attend
school. A threat to send me to
school was all the whipping that I ever required to insure obedience; I
was more afraid of that than I was of old Haw-head-and-bloody.bones," or
even the old scratch himself. In 1850, my father died, but
I still remained at the homestead, working for the support of my mother
and the rest of the family, until I had reached the
age of nineteen
years, then, on the 30th day of October, 1864-, I married Miss Margaret
Hampton, the daughter
of a highly
esteemed citizen of St. Francois County. I built a neat log house, opened
a farm for myself
within half a
mile of the old homestead, and we went to housekeeping for
ourselves. From the time that my father
first settled on Big
River, we had
an abundance of stock, and especially
hogs. The range
was always good, and as the uplands and hills
constituted an endless forest of oaks, the inexhaustible supply of acorns
afforded all the food that our hogs required; they roamed in the
woods, and of course,
many of them became as wild as deer; the wild ones remained among the
hills and increased until they became very numerous. Whenever
they were fat enough
for pork, were in the habit of going into the woods with our guns and our
dogs and killing as many of them as we could. A few years after my father
had settled there, a colony of Pennsylvania Dutch had established
themselves in our neighborhood; they were very
numerous and constituted
about two-thirds of the population of our township. They soon set up "wild
hog claims," declaring that some of their hogs had also run wild; this led
to disputes and quarrels, and to some "fist and skull fighting," in which
my brothers and myself soon won the reputation of "bullies." Finding that
they had no show at
this game, they next resorted to the law, and we had many little law suits
before our justice of the peace. The Dutch out swore us, and we
soon found the
Hildebrand family branded by them with the very unjust and unpleasant
epithet of "hog thieves'" but
we went in on the muscle and still held the woods.
As our part of the country
became more thickly settled and new neighbors came in, they in turn were,
prejudiced against us; and the rising generation seemed to cling to the
same idea, that the Hildebrands seemed to love pork a little too well and
needed watching. Unfortunately for me, my oId neighbors were union men;
all my sympathies too, were decidedly for the union. I heard with alarm
the mutterings of war in the distance, like the deep tones of thunder
beyond the frowning hills. I had never made politics my
study. I had no education whatever,
and had to rely exclusively on what others told me. Of course I was easily
imposed upon by political tricksters, yet from
my heart I
deplored the necessity of a resort to arms, if such a necessity did exist,
and whether it did or not was more than I could
divine. While my union neighbors and
enemies were making the necessary preparations for leaving their families
in comfortable circumstances before taking up arms in defense of their
country, there were a few shrewd southern men around to magnify and
distort the grievances of the southern people. In many cases the men whom
they obtained had nothing in the world at stake, no useful object in view
no visible means of acquiring an honest livelihood, and were even without
a horse to ride. This, however, only afforded them a pretext for
practicing what they called "pressing horses," which was done on a large
scale. Neither political principles, patriotic motives, nor love of
country prompted this abominable system of horse stealing. It was not
confined to either party, and it was a remarkable co-incident how
invariably the political sentiments of a horse-pressing renegade would
differ from the neighbor who happened to have the fastest
horses. CHAPTER
III. Determination
to take no part in the War.- Mr. Ringer killed by Rebels.-The cunning
device of Allen Roan.
- Vigilance Committee
organized.-The baseness of Mobocracy.- Attacked by the Mob.-Escape to Flat
Woods. In the spring of 1861, the
war of the Great Rebellion was inaugurated, and during the following
summer was carried on in great fury in many places, but I shall only speak
of those occurrences which had a particular bearing upon
myself. I called on some good
citizens who were not republicans
and whom I knew
to be well posted in the current events of the day, to ask them what
course it was best for me to
pursue during the unnatural struggle. They advised me to stay at home and
attend to my own business. This I determined to do, so I paid no further
attention to what was going on, put in my crop of corn at the usual season
and cultivated it during the summer. On the 9th day of August the
popular excitement in St. Francois county was greatly increased by the
killing of Mr. Ringer, a union man, who was shot at
his own house for
no other cause than his political principles. He. was killed, as I
afterwards learned, by Allen Roan and Tom Cooper. It should be borne in
mind that Roan was a
relative of mine with whom I was on friendly terms. I was not implicated
in the death of Ringer in, any manner, shape, or form, but
suspicion rested upon me;
the "Hildebrand gang" were branded with the
murder. I could not check Roan in
the rash course he was pursuing; but in all sincerity, I determined to
follow the advice given me by no certain union friend, who told me to take
no part in the cause that would in the end bring disaster upon myself. It
was good advice; why then did I not follow it? In the presence of that
Being who shall judge the quick and the dead, I shall truthfully and in a
few words explain the whole matter. I had no sooner made up my
mind fully what course to pursue, than I was caught in a cunningly devised
trap that settled my destiny forever. One evening Allen Roan came to my
field where I was plowing and proposed swapping horses with me; the horse
which he said he had bought was a better one than my own, so I consented
to make the exchange; finding afterwards that the horse would not work in
harness, I swapped him off the next day to Mr.
Rogers. Prior to this time my
neighbors had organized themselves into what they called a Vigilance
Committee, and were moving in squads night and day to put
down horse stealing.
Only a few of the committee were dangerous men, but Firman
McVIlvaine,
who was put at
the head of the gang was influenced by the worst element in the
community; it became a political machine for oppression and bloodshed
under the guidance of James Craig, John House, Joe McGahan, John Dunwoody,
William Patton, and others, who were swearing death to every man
implicated in any way with the southern recruits who were pressing
horses. The horse I had traded for
from Allen Roan and which Rogers obtained from mc, proved to be the
property of Dunwoody. I was apprised of the fact by a friend at night, and
told also that they had threatened me and my brother Frank with death if
they could find us, and notwithstanding our entire innocence in the
matter, we were compelled to hide out. We knew that when the law is
wrested from the civil authorities by such men as they were, that anything
like a trial would not be permitted. 'We secreted ourselves in the woods,
hoping that matters would take a different turn in a short time; each
night I was posted in regard to their
threats. I would willingly have surrendered myself to the civil
authorities with a guarantee of a fair trial; but to fall into the hands
of an unscrupulous mob who were
acting in violation of law, particularly when law and order was broken up
by the heavy tramp of war, was what we were compelled by all means to
avoid. We had no alternative but to
elude their search. It is a fact well
known, i that in
the upheaval of popular passion and the overthrow of law and order under
any pretext whatever, It nucleus is formed, around which the most vile,
the most turbulent, and the most cowardly instinctively fly. Cowardly
villains invariably join in with
every mob that comes within their reach; personal enmity and spite is
frequently their controlling motive; the possible opportunity of
addressing some snpp0l'led
grievance without incurring danger to themselves is their incentive for
swelling the mob. A person guilty of any particular crime, to
avoid suspicion, is
always the most clamorous for blood when some one else stands accused of
the same offense. In the Vigilance Committee were found the same materials
existing in all mobs. No brave man was ever a tyrant, but no coward over
failed to be one , when he had the power. They still kept up the search
for me and my brother with an energy worthy of a better
cause. It was now October, the
nights were cold and we suffered much for the want of blankets and even
for food. 'Ye were both unaccustomed to sleeping out at night and were
chilled by the cold wind that whistled through the trees. After we had
thus continued in the woods about three weeks, I concluded to venture in
one night to see my family and to get something to eat, and some bed
clothes to keep me more comfortable at night. I had heard no unusual noise
in the wood! that day. had seen no one pass, nor heard the trump of horses
feet in any direction. It was about eleven o'clock
at night when I
got within sight of the house, no light was burning within; I heard no
noise of any kind, and believing that all was right I crept up to the
house and whispered "Margaret" through a crack. My
wife heard me,
and recognizing my voice she
noiselessly opened the door and let me in. We talked only in whispers,
and in a few minutes she placed my supper upon the table. Just as I was
going to eat I heard the top rail fall off my yard
fence. The noise did
not· suit me, so I took my gun in one hand, a loaf of corn bread in the
other, and instantly stepped out into the yard by a back
door. McIlvaine and his vigilantes
were also in the yard, and were approaching the house from all sides in a
regular line. In an instant I detected a gap in
their ranks and
dashed through it. As they commenced firing I dodged behind a molasses
mill that fortunately stood in the yard, it caught nine of their bullets
and without doubt
saved my life. After the first volley I struck for the woods, a distance
of about two hundred yards. Though their firing did not cease, I
stopped midway to shoot
at their flame of fire, but a thought struck me that it would too well
indicate my whereabouts in the open field, so I hastened on until I
had gained the edge
of the woods, and there I sat down to listen at what was going on at the
house. I heard Firman McIlvaine's name called several times,
and
very distinctly
heard his replies and knew his voice. This satisfied me beyond all doubt
that the marauders were none other than the self-styled Vigilance
Committee. I was fortunate in my
escape, and had a deep sense of gratitude to heaven for my miraculous
preservation. Though I had not made my condition much better
by my visit, yet I
gnawed away, at intervals, upon my loaf of corn bread, and tried to
reconcile myself as much as possible to the terrible state of affairs then
existing. I saw very plainly that my enemies would not permit me to remain
in that vicinity; but the idea of being compelled to leave my dear home
where I was born and raised, and to strike out into the unknown world with
my family without a dollar in my pocket, without anything except one horse
and the clothing we had upon our backs, was anything in the, world but
cheering However, I had no alternative; to take care of my dependent and
suffering family, was the motive uppermost in my mind at all
times. After the mob had apparently
left, my wife came out to me in the woods. Our plans were soon formed;
after dressing the children, five in number, as
quietly and speedily as
possible, she brought them to me at a designated point among the hills in
the dark forest. She returned to the house alone, and with as little noise
as possible saddled up my horse, and after packing him with what bed
clothing and provisions she conveniently could, she circled around among
the hills and rejoined me at a place I had named in the deep forest about
five miles from our once happy home. Daylight soon made its appearance and
enabled me to pick out a place of tolerable
security. We remained concealed until
the re-appearance of night and then proceeded on our cheerless wandering.
In silence we trudged along in the woods as best we could, avoiding the
mud and occasional pools of water. I carried my gun on my shoulder and one
of the children on my hip; my wife, packing the baby in
her arms,
walked quietly by my side. I never was before so deeply impressed with the
faith, energy and confiding spirit of woman. As the moon would
occasionally peep forth from the drifting clouds and strike upon the pale
features of my uncomplaining wife, I thought I could detect a look of
cheerfulness in her countenance, and more than once I thought I heard a
suppressed titter when either of us got tangled up in the
brush. When daylight appeared we
were on Wolf creek, a few miles south of Farmington; here we stopped in
the woods to cook our breakfast and to rest a while. During the day we
proceeded on to what is called Flat Woods, eight miles from Farmington, in
the southern part of St. Francois county, and about ten miles north from
Fredericktown. From Mr. Griffin I obtained the use of a log cabin in a
retired locality, and in a few minutes we were duly installed in our new
house. CHAPTER
IV. McIlvaine's
Vigilance Mob.-Treachery of Castleman.- Frank Hildebrand hung by the Mob.-
Organization of the Mob into a Militia Company. The Vigilance Committee, with
Firman McIlvaine at its head, was formed ostensibly for the mutual
protection against plunderers; yet some bad men were in it. By their
influence it became a machine of oppression, a shield for cowards, and the
head-quarters for tyranny. After I left Big River my
brother Frank continued to conceal himself in the woods until about the
middle of November; the weather now grew so cold that
he could stand it
no longer; he took the advice of Franklin Murphy and made his way to
Potosi, and in order to silence all suspicion in regard to his loyalty, he
went to Captain
Castleman and offered to join the Home Guards. Castleman being Intimate
with Firman McIlvaine, detained Frank until he had time to send McIlvaine
word, and then basely betrayed him into the merciless hands of the
vigilant mob. In order to obtain a shadow
of legality for his proceedings, McIlvaine took brother Frank before
Franklin Murphy, who at that time was justice of the
peace on Big River.
Frank was anxious that the justice might try the case; but when Murphy
told them that all the authority he had would only enable him to
commit him to jail for
trial in the proper court, even if the charges were sustained, they were
dissatisfied at this, and in order to take the matter out of the hands of
the justice and
move it beyond his jurisdiction, they declared that he had stolen a horse
in Ste. Genevieve county. The mob then took Frank to
Punjaub, in that county, before Justice R. M.
Cole, who told
them that he was a sworn officer of the law, and that if they should
produce sufficient evidence against their prisoner, he could only commit
him to jail. This of course did not satisfy the mob; to take the case out
of his hands, they stated that the offense he had committed was that of
stealing a mule in Jefferson county. They stated also that Frank and Sam
Anderson had gone in the night to the house of a Mr. Carney to steal his
mare; that Mrs. Carney on hearing them at the gate, went out and told them
that Mr. Carney was absent and had rode the mare; that they
then compelled Mrs. Carney to go with them
a quarter of a
mile in her night clothes to show them where Mr. Becket lived; and finally
that they went there and stole his horse. Failing however to obtain the
co-operation of the Justice in carrying out their lawless designs, the mob
left with their prisoner, declaring that
they were going to take him to Jefferson county for
trial. The sad termination of the
affair is soon told. The mob took my kind, inoffensive brother about five
miles and hung him without any trial whatever, after
which they threw his
body in a sink-hole thirty feet in depth, and there his body lay for more
than a month before it was found. A few weeks after this cold
blooded murder took
place, Firman McIlvaine had the audacity to boast of the deed, declaring
positively that Frank bad been hung by his express orders. This
murder took
place on the
20th day of November, 1861, about a month after I had been driven from Big
River. A few nights after my
arrival at Flat Woods I made my way back to my oId home in order to bring
away some more of my property, but on arriving there I found that my house
had been robbed and all my property either taken away or destroyed. I soon
learned from a friend that the Vigilance Committee had wantonly destroyed
everything that they did not want. I returned to Flat Woods in a very
despondent mood. I was completely broken up. The union men were making
war upon me, but I was making no war upon them, for I still wished to take
no part in the national struggle. I considered it "a rich man's war and a
poor man's fight." But a sense of my wrongs bore heavily upon me; I had
been reduced to absolute poverty (to say nothing of the murder of my
brother) by the unrelenting cruelty of Firman McIlvaine who was a rich
man, drowned in luxury and surrounded by all the comforts of life that the
eye could wish, or a cultivated appetite could
desire. The war was now raging with
great fury in many sections of the country; yet I remained at home intent
on making a living for my family, provided I could
do l'!0
without being
molested, but during all the time I was at work, I had to keep a sharp
lookout for my enemies. That leprous plague spot-the
Vigilance Committee ~finally
ripened and
culminated in the formation of a company of militia on Big River, with
James Craig for Captain and Joe McGahan for First Lieutenant. The very act
for which they were so anxious to punish others, on mere suspicion, they
themselves now committed with a high hand. They were ordered to disarm
southern sympathizers and to seize on articles contraband of war, such
as arms and ammunition.
This gave them great latitude; the cry of
"disloyal" could be very easily raised against any man who happened to
have a superabundance of property. "Arms" was construed also to include
arm chairs
and their
arms full of everything they could get their hands on; "guns"
included Gunn's Domestic Medicine; a fine claybank mare was
confiscated" because she looked so fiery, and a spotted mule
because it had so many colors; they took a gun from Mr. Metts
merely because he lived on the south side of Big River; they dipped
heavily into the estate of Dick Poston, deceased, by killing the cattle
for beef and dividing it among themselves, under the pretext that if Dick
Poston had been living, ho most undoubtedly would have been a
rebel. OHAPTBR
V. His house at
Flat Woods attacked by Eighty Soldiers - Wounded.- Miraculous Escape.-
Captain Bolin.-Arrival in Green County,
Arkansas. In April, 1862, after we had
lived at Flat Woods during six months of perfect tranquility, that same
irrepressible Vigilance Committee, or some men
who had composed
it, learned finally that I was living at Flat Woods. Firman McIlvaine and
Joe McGahan succeeded in getting eighty soldiers from Ironton to aid in my
capture. I had been hauling wood; as soon as I unloaded the wagon I
stepped into the house, and the first thing I knew, the eighty soldiers
and the vigilantes were within gunshot and coming under full charge. I
seized my gun and dashed through a gap in their lines that Heaven had
again left open for my escape. They commenced firing upon me as soon as I
was out of the house. The brush being very thick not far off, I saw that
my only chance was to gain the woods, and that as soon as possible. I ran
through the garden and jumped over a picket fence-this stopped the cavalry
for a moment. I made through the brush; but out of the hundreds of bullets
sent after me, one struck my leg below the knee and broke a bone. I held
up by the bushes as well as I could, to keep them from knowing that I was
wounded. While they had to stop to throw down a fence, I scrambled along
about two hundred yards further, and crouched in a gully that happened to
be half full of leaves; I quickly buried myself completely from sight. The
soldiers were all around in a short time and scoured the woods in every
direction; then they went back and burned the house and everything we had,
after which they left and I saw them no more. Sixteen of Captain Bolin's
men on the day before had been seen to cross the gravel road; this,
probably, was why the federal soldiers did not remain
longer. Captain Bolin
was a brave rebel officer, whose headquarters were in Green county,
Arkansas, and under whose command some of the most daring spirits who
figured in the war, were led on to deeds of heroism scarcely ever equaled.
Our condition
was truly deplorable; there I lay in the gully covered up with leaves,
with one leg rendered useless, without even the consolation of being
allowed to groan; my family, too, were again without shelter; the soldiers
had burned everything-clothes, bedding and
provisions. As I lay in that gully,
suffering with my wounds inflicted by United States soldiers, I declared
war. I determined to fight it out with them, find by the assistance of my
faithful gun, "Kill-devil," to destroy as many of my blood-thirsty enemies
as I possibly could. To submit to further wrong
from their hands would be an insult to the Being who gave me the power of
resistance. After the soldiers had left, my wife came in search of me,
believing that I was wounded from the manner in which I seemed to run. I
told her to go back, that I was not hurt very bad, and that when she was
satisfied that no one was watching around, to come at night and dress my
leg. She went, however,
in search of some friend on whom we could rely for
assistance. Fortunately she came across
Mr. Pigg, to whom she related the whole circumstance, and he came
immediately to my relief. He was a man of the right stripe; regardless of
consequences, he did everything in his power to relieve my suffering, and
to ,.supply my family with bedding and provisions. He removed us by night
to a place of safety, and liberally gave us all we
needed. While I thus lay nursing my
wound, my place of concealment was known only to a few men whom we could
easily trust. In my hours of loneliness I had much time for reflection.
The terrible strait in which I found myself, naturally led me to the
mental inquiry: Have I the brand of Cain, that the hands of men should be
turned against me? What have I done to merit the persecution so
cruel and so persistent?" I could not solve the questions; in the sight of
a just God I felt that I did not merit
such treatment. Sometimes I half resolved to go into some other State on
purpose to avoid the war; but I was constantly warned by my
friends who were
southern men, (the only men with whom I could hold communication at
present,) that it would be unsafe to think of doing so, and that my only
safety lay in my
flight to the southern army. The vigilance mob had nearly destroyed every
vestige of sympathy or good feeling I had for the union people. They
had reported me,
both to the civil and military authorities, as being a horse thief, and,
withal, a very damgerous man. On thinking the matter over
I lost all hope of ever being able to reinstate myself in their favor and
being permitted to enjoy idle peaceful privileges of It
quiet citizen. The
die was-cast-for the sake of revenge, I pronounced myself a
Rebel. I remained very quietly at
my place of concealment while my wife doctored my wounded leg for a week
before my friend had an opportunity of sending
word to any of
Captain Bolin's men to come to my relief. As soon as my case was made
known to them, however, a man was dispatched to see me for the purpose
of learning all
the particulars in the case. He came and asked me a great many questions,
but answered none. When he arose to depart he only said, "all right-rest
easy." The next night I was placed
in a light spring wagon among some boxes of drugs and medicines, and was
told that my wife and family would be taken to Bloomfield by Captain Bolin
in a short time, and protected until I could come after them. A guard of
two men accompanied us, and rode the whole night without speaking a word
to anyone. Nearly the whole route was through the woods, and although the
driver was very watchful and used every precaution against making a noise,
yet in the darkness of the night I was tumbled about among the boxes
pretty roughly. When daylight came we halted
in a desolate looking country, inhabited only by wild animals of the
forest. We had traveled down on the western side of St. Francois river,
and were now camped near the most western bend on that river near the
southern line of Madison county; we remained all day at that point, and I
spent most of my time in sleeping. When the sun had dipped behind the
western hills we again commenced our journey. Our course seemed to bear
more to the eastward than it did the night before, and as we were then in
a country not so badly infested with Federals, we traveled a good part of
our time in narrow, crooked roads, but they were rough beyond all
description, and I was extremely glad when about eight o'clock in the
morning we halted for breakfast on the western bank of St. Francois river,
about midway between Bloomfield, in Stoddard county, and Crane creek, in
Butler. While resting hero a
scouting party from General Jeff. Thompson's camp came riding up. "Well
boys! what have you in your wagon?" "Drugs nnd
medicines for Captain Bolin's camp." On hearing this they
dismounted and kept up a lively conversation .around the camp fire. Among
their number was a jovial fellow who kept the rest all laughing. I
thought I knew
the voice, and as I turned over to peep through a hole in the wagon bed,
he heard me and sprang to his feet. "Who in
thunderation have you in the wagon?" "Some fellow
from St. Francois county, wounded and driven off by the
Federals." "The devil! why
that is my native county. I'll take a look at that fellow. Its Sam
Hildebrand as I live! How do yon do,
old rapscallion?" 'Well, well, if
I haven't run across Tom Haile, the dare-devil of the
swamps!" "Old drugs and
medicines' what are you doing here? trying to pass yourself off for a
great medicinal root I suppose. Do you feel tolerable better? I'm afraid
you are poison. Say, Sam, did you bring some good horses down with
you?" "Hush Tom! if
they find out that I'm not a horse thief, they will drum me out of
camp!" The party soon prepared to
start; the first man who attempted to mount came near being dashed to the
ground in consequence' of the rattling of a tin
cup some one had
tied to his spur. Tom said it was a perfect shame to treat any man in that
way; the man seemed to think so, too, judging from the glance
he cast at Tom.
But they mounted, dashed through a sheet of muddy water, then over a rocky
point, and soon were far away amid the dim blue
hills. We started on, and after
traveling until about midnight, we reached the State line between Missouri
and Arkansas, there we remained until morning; on starting again we were
in Green county, Arkansas, and sometime during the day we arrived safely
at the Headquarters of Captain Bolin, and I was welcomely received into
the little community of families, who were here assembled for mutual
protection-most of them were the families of Captain Bolin's men. I
received every attention from them that my necessities required, and as my
wound seemed to be doing well, I felt for a time quite at
home. CHAPTER
VI. Interview with
Gen. Jeff. Thompson.-Receives a Major's Commission.-Interview with Captain
Bolin.-Joins the "Bushwhacking Department." Captain Bolin with most of
his forces were somewhere in the vicinity of Bloomfield, Missouri, and as
I was anxious to identify myself with the army, I
got the use of a
horse as soon as I was able to ride, and in company with several others
proceeded across the swampy country east of the St. Francis river, for
the purpose of
joining General Jeff. Thompson. I reached his headquarters in safety, and
stayed about camp, frequently meeting acquaintances from Missouri
and occasionally
getting news from home. As soon as I could gain admission to the General's
headquarters I did so, and he received me very kindly. He
listened very
attentively to me as I proceeded to state my case to him-how my brother
had been murdered, how I had barely escaped the same fate, and how I had
finally been driven
from the country. General Thompson reflected a
few moments, then seizing a pen he rapidly wrote off a few lines and
handing it to me he said, "here, I give you a Major's commission; go where
you please, take what men you can pick up, fight on your own hook, and
report to me every six months." I took the paper and crammed it
down into my
pantaloon's pocket and walked out. I could not read my commission, but I
was determined to ask no one to read it for me, for that would be rather
degrading to my new honor. I retired a little distance
from camp and taking my seat on an old
cypress log, I reflected how the name of " Major Sam Hildebrand" would
look in history. I did not feel comfortable over the new and very
unexpected
position in which I had been placed. I knew nothing of military tactics; I
was not certain whether a Major held command over a General or whether he
was merely a bottle washer under a Captain. I determined that if the
latter was the case, that I would return to Green county and serve under
Captain Bolin. As I had no money with which
to buy shoulder straps, I determined to fight without them. I was rather
scarce of money just at that time; if steamboats
were selling at a
dollar a piece, I did not have money enough to buy a canoe paddle. I
stayed in camp, however, several days taking lessons, and hearing the
tales of blood and
pillage from the scouts as they came in from various
directions. By this time my wound felt
somewhat easier, so I mounted my horse and made my way back to Green
county, and arrived safely at Captain Bolin's
headquarters. The Captain was
at home, and I immediately presented myself before him. He said he had
heard of me from one of his scouts, and was highly gratified that one of
his men had seen proper to have me convoyed to his
headquarters. "I presume," said ho, "that
you have been to the headquarters of General Jeff. Thompson. Did you see
the' Old Swamp Fox ?'" "I
did." "What did he do
for you ?" Here I pulled
my commission from my pocket, that now looked more like a piece of gun
wadding than anything else, and handed it to the
Captain. "Well, Major
Hildebrand-" "Sam, if you
please." "Very well
then, what do you propose to do ?" " I propose to
fight." "But
Major-" "Sam, if you
please." "All right,
sir!
Sam, I see that
you have the commission of a Major." "Well Captain,
I can explain that matter: he formed me into an independent company of my
own-to pick up a few men if can get them-go where I
please-when I please-and
when I go against my old personal enemies up in Missouri, I am expected to
do a Major part of the fighting myself." At this the Captain laughed
heartily, and after rummaging the contents of an old box he drew forth
something that looked to me very much like a bottle
After this ceremony
was over he remarked: "Well sir, the commission I
obtained is of the same kind. I have one hundred and twenty-five men, and
we are what is denominated' Bushwhackers'; we carry on a war against our
enemies by shooting them; my men are from various sections of the country,
and each one perhaps has some grievance to redress at home; in order to
enable him to do this effectually we give him all the aid that he may
require; after he sets things to right in his section of country, he
promptly comes back to help the others in return; we thus swap work like
the farmers usually do in harvest time. If you wish an interest in this
joint stock mode of .fighting you can unite your destiny with ours, and be
entitled to all our privileges." Captain Bolin's proposition
was precisely what I so ardently desired. Of the real merits of this war I
knew but little and cared still less. To belong to a large army and be
under strict military discipline, was not pleasing to my mind; to be
brought up in a strong column numbering several thousands, and to be
hurled in regular
order against a mass of men covering three or four miles square, against
whom I had no personal spite, would not satisfy my spirit of revenge.
Even in a fierce battle
fought between two large opposing armies, not more than one man out of ten
can succeed in killing his man; in a battle of that kind he would have no
more weight than a gnat on a bull's horn. I was fully satisfied that
the" Bushwhacking department" was the place for me, with the continent for
a battle field and the everlasting woods for my
headquarters. CHAPTER
VII. Trip to
Missouri.- Kills George Cornecious for reporting on him.-Kills Firman
McIlvaine.- Attempt to kill McGahan and House.- Returns to
Arkansas. My wound kept me at
headquarters for about six weeks after my arrival in Arkansas. During all
this time I could not hear a word from my family, for
the Federals had
possession of every town in that section of country, together with all the
roads leading from one county to another. On the 1st day of June,
1862, having been furnished a horse, I took my faithful gun, "Kill-devil,"
and started on my first trip back to Missouri. As my success would depend
altogether on the secrecy of my movements, I went alone. I traveled
altogether in the night, and most of the time through the woods. From
Captain Bolin's men I had learned the names of Southern sympathizers along
the whole route, so I made it convenient to travel slowly in order to
favor my wounds and to get acquainted with our
friends. I arrived in the vicinity of
Flat Woods, in St. Francois county, Missouri, on the 12th day of June, and
immediately commenced searching for George
Cornecious, the man who
reported my whereabouts to McIlvaine and the soldiers, thereby causing me
to be wounded and expelled from Flat Woods. After searching two days and
two nights I succeeded in shooting him; he was the first man I ever
killed; a little notch cut in the stock of my gun was made to
commemorate the
deed. To avoid implicating my
family in any way with my transactions, I satisfied myself with exchanging
words with my wife through a friend who was thought by his neighbors to be
a Union man. My family resided in a little cabin on Back creek, and my
wife was cultivating a garden. To carry out the daring
object I had in view-that of killing Firman McIlvaine-I went to Flat
river, and after remaining several days, I took a pone of
bread for my rations
and walked to his farm on Big river after night. I passed through his
fields, but finding no place where harvesting was going on, I crossed Big
river on a fish trap dam and ranged over the Baker farm on the opposite
side of the river, about a mile above Big river Mills, where the McIlvaine
family now resided. I found where
harvesting had just commenced in a field which formed the southwestern
corner of the farm. This field is on the top of a perpendicular bluff,
about one hundred feet high, and is detached from the main farm by a road
leading from Ste. Genevieve to Potosi. A portion of the grain had
already been cut on the western side of the field, near the woods j there
I took my station in the fence corner, early in the
morning, thinking that
McIlvaine would probably shock the grain while the negroes were cradling.
In this I was mistaken, for I saw him swinging his cradle in
another part of the
field, beyond the range of my gun. I next attempted to crawl
along the edge of the bluff among the stunted cedars, but had to abandon
the attempt because the negroes stopped in the shade of the cedars every
time they came around. Then I went back into the woods, and passed. down
under the bluff, along the edge of the river, until I got opposite
the place where
they were at work, but I found no place where I could ascend the
high rock. I went around the lower end of the bluff, and crawled up to the
field on the other
side, but I was at too great a distance to get a shot. Finally, I went
down to the river and was resting myself near a large flat rock that
projected out into the river,
where some persons had recently been fishing, when suddenly Firman
McIlvaine rode down to the river and watered his horse at a ford about
sixty yards below me. I tried to draw a bead on him, but the limb of a
tree prevented me, and when he started back he rode too fast for my
purpose. At night I crept under a
projecting rock and slept soundly; but very early in the morning I
ascended the bluff and secreted myself at a convenient distance from
where they had
left off cradling. But I was again doomed to disappointment, for, as the
negroes were cradling, McIlvaine
was shocking
the grain in another part of the
field. In the evening, as soon as
they had finished cutting the grain, all hands left, and I did not know
where they were. I next stationed myself at a short distance
from the river, and
watched for him to water his horse; but his father presently pass;ed along
leading the horse to water, I again slept under the
overhanging rock; and on the next morning (June 23d) I crossed the river
on the fish dam, and went to the lower part of McIlvaine's farm. There r
found the negroes cutting down a field of rye. They cut away for several
hours, until they got it all down
within one
hundred yards of the fence, before McIlvaine made his first round. On
getting a little past me, he stopped to whet his scythe; as soon as he had
done so he lowered the cradle to the ground, and for a moment stood
resting on the handle. I fired, and he fell
dead. Nothing but a series of
wrongs long continued could ever have induced me to take the life of that
highly accomplished young man. After the outbreak of the war, while others
were losing horses, a fine mare was stolen from him. The theft was not
committed by me, but my personal enemies probably succeeded in making him
believe that I had committed the act. He was goaded on by evil advisers to
take the law into. his own hands; my brother Frank was
hung without a
trial, and his body thrown into a sink-hole, to moulder like that of a
beast; my own life had been sought time and again; my wife and tender
family were forced to
pass through hardships and suffering seldom witnessed in the annals of
history. The mangled features of my poor brother; the pale face
of my confiding
wife; the tearful eyes of my fond children-all would seem to turn
reprovingly upon me in my midnight dreams, as if demanding retributive
justice. My revenge was
reluctant and long delayed, but it came at last. I remained in the woods,
near the residence of a friend for a day or two, and then I concluded to
silence Joe McGahan and John House before returning to Arkansas. I
proceeded to the residence of the former, who had been very officious in
the Vigilance mob, and posted myself in some woods in the field within one
hundred yards of the house, just as daylight began to appear. I kept a
vigilant watch for him all day, but he did not make his appearance until
it had commenced getting dark; then he rode up and went immediately into
his house. By this time it was too dark for me to shoot at such a
distance. I moved to the garden fence, and in a few minutes he made his
appearance in the door with a little child in his arms. The fence
prevented me from shooting him below the child, and I could not shoot him
in the breast for fear of killing it. He returned in the door only
a minute or two, and then retired into the house; and while I was thinking
the matter over, without noticing closely for his reappearance, I
presently discovered him riding off. I went to a thicket in his field and
slept until nearly day, when I again took my position near the house,
and watched until
night again set -in, but fortunately for him he did not make his
appearance. I now went about four miles
to the residence of John House, selected a suitable place for my camp, and
slept soundly until daybreak. I watched all day, but saw nothing of my
enemy. As soon as it was dark I went back to Flat river, and on the next
night I mounted my horse and started back to Green county, Arkansas,
without being
discovered by
anyone except by those
friends whom I called on for provisions. CHAPTER
VIII. Vigilance mob
drives his mother from home.- Three companies of troops sent to Big
river.- Captain Flanche murders Washington Hildebrand and
Landusky.-Captain Esroger murders John Roan.- Capt. Adoph burns the
Hildebrand homestead and
murders Henry Hildebrand. I shall now give a brief
account of the fresh enormities committed against the Hildebrand family.
The same vindictive policy inaugurated by the
Vigilance mob was still
pursued by them until they succeeded, by misrepresentation, in
obtaining
the assistance
of the State and Federal troops for the accomplishment of their
designs. A Dutch company, stationed
at North Big River Bridge, under Capt. Esroger , a Dutch company stationed
at Cadet, under Capt. Adolph, and a French company stationed at the Iron
Mountain, under Capt. Flanche, were all sent to Big River to crush out the
Hildebrand family. Emboldened by their success
in obtaining troops, the Vigilance mob marched boldly up to the Hildebrand
homestead and notified my mother, whom they found reading
her Bible, that she must immediately leave the county, for it was their
intention to burn her house and destroy all her
property. My mother was a
true Christian; she was kind and affectionate to everybody; her hand was
always ready to relieve the distressed, and smooth the pillow for the
afflicted; the last sight seen upon earth by eyes swimming in death has
often been the pitying face of my mother, as she-hovered over the bed of
sickness. I appeal to all
her neighbors-I appeal to everybody who knew her-to say whether my mother
ever had a superior in this respect. When ordered to leave her
cherished home, to leave the house built by her departed husband, to leave
the quiet homestead where she had brought up a large family, and where
every object was rendered dear by a thousand sweet associations that clung
to her memory, she turned her mind inwardly, but found nothing there to
reproach her; then to her God she silently committed
herself. She hastily took her Bible
and one bed from the house-but nothing more. She had arrangements made to
have her bed taken to the house of her brother, Harvey McKee,
living on Dry Creek, in Jefferson county, distant about thirty-five miles.
Then, taking her family Bible in her arms, she burst into a flood of
tears, walked slowly out of the little gate, and left her home
forever! I will here state that I was
the only one of the Hildebrand family who espoused the Rebel cause. After
the murder of my brother Frank, I had but three brothers left : William,
Washington and Henry William joined the Union army and fought until the
close of the war. Washington took no part in the war, neither directly nor
indirectly. Never, perhaps, was there a more peaceable, quiet and law
abiding citizen than he was; he never spoke a word that could be construed
into a sympathy for the Southern cause, and I defy any man to produce the
least evidence against his loyalty, either in word or act.
While the war was raging, he
paid no attention to it whatever, but was busily engaged in lead mining in
the St. Joseph Lead Mines, three miles from Big River Mills, and about six
miles from the old homestead. In partnership with him was a young man by
the name of Landusky, a kind, industrious, inoffensive man, whose loyalty
had never once been doubted. My sister Mary was his affianced bride, but
her death prevented the marriage. My brother Henry was a
mere
boy, only
thirteen years of age. Of course he was too young to have any political
principles; he was never accused of being a Rebel; no accusation of any
kind had ever been made against him; he was peaceable and quiet, and, like
a good boy, he was living with his mother~ and doing the
best he could toward supporting her. True, he was very
young
to have the
charge of such a farm, but he was a remarkable boy. Turning a deaf ear to
all the rumors and excitements around him, he
industriously applied himself to the accomplishment of one object, that of
taking care of his mother. On the 6th day of July,
1862, while my brother Washington and Mr. Landusky were working in a drift
underground, Capt. Flanche and his company of cavalry called a halt at the
mine, and ordered them to come up; which they did
immediately. No questions were asked
them, and no explanations were given. Flanche merely ordered them to walk
off a few steps toward a tree, which they did; ,he then gave
the word "fire!" and the whole company fired at them, literally tearing
them to pieces! I would ask the enlightened
world if there ever was committed a more diabolical deed? If, in all the
annals of cruelty, or in the world's wide history, a murder more
cold-blooded and cruel could be found? A citizen who happened to be
present; ventured to ask in astonishment why this was done; to which
Flanche merely replied, as he rode off, "they
bees the friends of
Sam Hildebrass!" It was now Capt. Esroger's
time to commit some deed of atrocity, to place himself on an equality with
Capt. Flanche; so after a moment's reflection, he concluded that the
murder of my uncle, John Roan, would be sufficient to place his brutality
beyond all question. John Roan was a man about
fifty years of age, was proverbial for his honesty, always paid his debts,
and kept himself entirely aloof from either side during the war, but
against his loyalty nothing had ever been produced, or even attempted.
One of his sons
was in the Union army, and another was a Rebel. Being my uncle, and the
father of Allen Roan, however, was a sufficient pretext for the display of
military brutality. His house was situated about three miles
from St. Joseph Lead
Mines and about the same distance from the Hildebrand
estate. On the 10th.
day of July, Capt. Esroger and his company rode up to his house, and the
old man came out onto the porch, with his white locks streaming in the
wind, but never once did he dream of treachery. Esroger told him that he
"vas one tam prisoner,"
and detailed six men to guard him and to march along slowly until they
should get behind. They did so until they got
about a mile from his house; there they made him step off six paces, and
while his eyes were turned towards Heaven, and his hands were slightly
raised in the attitude of prayer, the fatal word "fire" was given, and he
fell to the earth a mangled corpse~There was still
another actor in this bloody tragedy, who had to tax his ingenuity to the
utmost to select a part in which to out do, if possible, the acts of
atrocity committed by the others. This was Capt.
Adolph. On the 23rd day of July,
Capt. Adolph and his company with an intermixture of the Vigilance mob,
went to my mother's house-the Hildebrand homestead- for the purpose of
burning it up. The house was two stories high, built of nice. cut stone,
and well finished within, making it altogether one of the best houses in
the county. The soldiers proceeded to
break down the picket fence, and to pitch it into the house for kindling.
They refused to let anything be taken out of the house, being determined
to burn up the furniture, clothing, bedding, provisions, and everything
else connected with it. All things being now ready,
the house was set on fire within, and the flames spread rapidly from room
to room, then through the upper floor, and finally out through the roof.
The house, with all the outer building was soon wrapped in a sheet of
fire. My little brother Henry and an orphan boy about fourteen years of
age, whom my mother had hired to assist Henry in cultivating the farm,
were present at the conflagration and stood looking on in mute
astonishment. Esroger ordered brother Henry to leave, but whether he knew
it was their intention to shoot him after getting him a short distance
from the house, as was their custom, it is impossible for me to say.
Probably feeling an inward consciousness of never having committed an act
to which they could take exceptions, he did not think that they would
persist in making him go, so he remained and silently gazed at the burning
house, which was the only home he had ever
known. When ordered again to leave,
he seemed to be stupefied with wonder at the enormity of the scene before
him. Franklin Murphy being present told him it was best to leave, so he
mounted his horse and started, but before he got two hundred yards from
the house, he was shot and he dropped dead from the horse. Thus perished the poor
innocent boy, who could not be induced to believe that the men were base
enough to kill him, innocent and in-offensive as he was. But alas I how
greatly was he mistaken in them! They next burned the large
frame barn, also the different cribs and stables on the premises; then
taking the orphan boy as a prisoner they left. Some neighbors, a few days
afterwards found the body of my little brother and buried him.
This was the crowning act of
Federal barbarity toward me and the Hildebrand family, instigated by the
low cunning of the infamous Vigilance mob. I make no apology to mankind
for my acts of retaliation; I make no whining appeal to 'the world for
sympathy. I sought
revenge and I
found it; the key of hell was not suffered to rust in tae lock while I was
on the war path. I pity the poor miserable,
sniveling creature who would tamely have submitted to it
all. Such a man
would
be
so
low in the
scale of human conception; so far beneath the lowest grade of humanity,
that the head even of an Indian would grow dizzy in looking down upon
him. CHAPTER
IX. Trip with
Burlap and Cato.- Killed a Spy near Bloomfield - Visits his Mother on Dry
Creek-Interview with his Uncle - Sees the burning of the homestead at a
distance. As yet, I had heard nothing
about the atrocities committed against the remaining members of the
Hildebrand family; but in order to stir up my
old enemies in that
quarter, I selected two good men, John Burlap and James Cato, to accompany
me in another excursion to St. Francois county,
Missouri. They, too, had
been badly treated at the outbreak of the war, and had several grievances
to redress, for which purpose I promised them my future
aid. We procured
Federal uniforms, and started late in the afternoon of July 13th, 1862;
but on arriving at St. Francis river, we found it out of its banks
from the heavy rains
that had fallen the day previous. My comrades were rather reluctant about
venturing into the turbid stream amid the floating
driftwood; but I had ever
been impressed with the truth of the old adage, that it was "bad luck to
turn back." I plunged my horse into the stream and made the opposite shore
without much difficulty. I was followed by Burlap and Cato, who got across
safely, but
were somewhat scratched by the driftwood. We built a fire, dried our
clothes, took a "snort" from our black bottle, and camped until
morning. Nothing of interest occurred
until we reached the vicinity of Bloomfield, in Stoddard county, Missouri,
when we met a man in citizen's dress, whom we accosted in a very familiar
manner, asking him if there were any Rebels in that vicinity. He stated
that there was a party of Rebels in Bloomfield, and
that we had better
make our way back to Greenville to the command, otherwise we would be sure
to fall into their hands. He stated that he had been with them all day,
pretending that he wanted to enlist; that he had learned all about their
plans, and thought that about to-morrow night they would all be taken in.
I inquired if they had not suspicioned him as a spy? He answered that they
had not; that he had completely deceived them. I then asked him if he did
not want to ride behind me and my companions, by turns, until we reached
Greenville? He signified his assent by
springing up behind me. I let him ride about two miles, but not exactly in
the direction of Greenville, for I told him that I was aiming to strike a
certain cross road, which seemed to satisfy his mind. He had much to
tell us about
his exploits as a spy, and that he had learned the names of all the Rebels
in Greenville and Fredericktown. By this time we had
enough. I told him I was Sam
Hildebrand, knocked him off my horse, and then shot him. I felt no
compunction of conscience for having ended the days of such a scoundrel. A
little notch underneath the stock of old" Kill-devil" was made,
to indicate the
probability that he would fail to report. On the rest of our trip we
traveled altogether in the night, and avoided the commission of any act
that would be likely to create a disturbance. We arrived safely
at the house of my brother-in-law, on Flat river, who lives within ten
miles of the Hildebrand homestead. Here, for the first time, I
heard of the murder of my brother Washington, also that of my uncle, John
Roan. Mother's house had not yet been burned, but she had been
peremptorily driven from it, and had sought refuge with her brother, in
Jefferson county. The country was full of soldiers, and the Vigilance mob
were in their glory. Their deeds would blacken the name of John A. Murrel,
the great land pirate of America, for he never robbed a lady, nor took the
bread from orphan children; while they unblushingly did
both. On learning these
particulars, I determined to go to Dry Creek for the purpose of seeing my
mother, although the soldiers were scouring the country in every direction
for fifty miles for my destruction. We started at night, but
having to travel a circuitous route, daylight overtook us when within six
miles of my uncle's. We made a circuit, as was my custom, round a hillside, and then camped
in such a position that we would be close to our pursuers for half an hour
before they could find us. My companions took a nap
while I kept watch. They had not been asleep long before I discovered a
party of men winding their way slowly in the semi-circle we had made.
There were ten of them, all dressed in Federal uniform. I awakened my
companions, and
they took a peep at them as they were slowly tracking us, at a distance of
three hundred yards. We could hardly refrain from making war upon them,
the chances being so good for game and a little fun, but my object was to
see my mother; so we let them pass on to the place where our tracks would
lead them out of sight for a few minutes, then we mounted our horses and
rode on to another
ridge, making a circuit as before, and camping within a quarter of a mile
of our first ambush. On coming to that place, the
Federals struck off in another direction, probably finding our tracks a
little too fresh for their safety. When night came, we made our
way cautiously through the woods to within a few hundred yards of my
uncle's house. I dismounted, and leaving my horse with my comrades,
approached the house carefully, and climbed upon a bee-gum to peep through
the window. I discovered that there were two strange men in the room, and
I thought I got a glimpse of another man around in a corner; but as
I leaned a
little to one side to get a better view, my bee-gum tilted over, and I
fell with a desperate crash on a pile of clapboards. I got up in somewhat
of a hurry, and, at about three bounds, cleared the picket fence, and
deposited myself in the corner of the garden to await the
result. The noise, of course,
aroused the inmates of the house, and they were soon out with a light, but
with no utensils of war except a short double-barreled shot-gun, in the
hands of my uncle. He inspected the damage done to his favorite bee-stand,
and breathed out some rough threats against the villains who had attempted
to steal his honey. After ordering his family and the two strangers back
into the house, he posted himself in a fence corner about thirty yards
off, for the purpose of waging war against the offenders, should they
attempt to renew the attack. The night not being very
dark, I was fearful that if I attempted to climb over the picket fence,
the old man might pepper me with shot. So I moved myself. cautiously
around to the back part of the garden, and found an opening where a picket
was missing. Through this aperture I succeeded in squeezing myself, and
then crawled around to the rail fence where my uncle was, until I got
within two panels of the old man, when I ventured to call him by name, in
a very low tone. He knew my voice, and said: "Is that you, Sam? "
My answer in the affirmative
brought him to where I was, and although the fence was between us, we took
a hearty shake of the hand through a crack. He told me that the two
men in the house were Union neighbors, who came over to tell him that the
trail of a band of bushwhackers had been discovered about six miles from
there, and that on to-morrow the whole country would be out in search of
them. He told me to go back until his neighbors took their leave, and then
to come i~
and see my
mother, who was well, but grieving continually about her son,
"Sam." I fell back to my
companions, reported progress, and again took my stand in the fence
corner. As soon as the two neighbors were gone, my uncle made known to my
mother, and to his wife and daughters, the cause of the disturbance; the
younger members of the family having retired early in the night, were all
fast asleep. As soon as my uncle thought it prudent to do so, he came out
and invited us in. Although
my mother had received the news of my visit with a quiet composure, yet,
on my approach, she arose silently and started toward me with a firm
step, but in a moment she tottered and would have fallen, but I caught her
in my arms; she lay with her head on my bosom for some minutes,
weeping like a
child, and I must confess that now, for the first time since I was a boy,
I could not restrain my tears. My mother broke the silence by uttering, in
broken sentences: "Oh, my dear son! Have you indeed come to see your
mother? I thought I would go down with sorrow- to my grave, as I never
expected to see you again on earth!" How my manhood and my iron
will left me at that moment! How gladly would I have left war and revenge
to the beasts of the forest, and secreted myself in some quiet corner of
the earth, that there, with my mother and my family, I might once more
take delight in the sweet songs of birds, and in the tranquil scenes of
life, like those I enjoyed in my younger days! My mother became more
tranquil, and We talked over matters with a great deal of satisfaction;
and my uncle, to divert our minds from a subject too serious, occasionally
poked fun at me, by accusing me of trying to steal his bee-gum, in which
he was joined by my two comrades. His two daughters were flying around in
the kitchen, and presently announced a supper for us all. We enjoyed
ourselves finely until two o'clock in the night, at which time we were
compelled to leave, in order to secure a safe retreat from the vigilant
search to be made for us during the following
day. On starting, we rode back on
our old trail half a mile, to where we had crossed a small creek, down
which we rode, keeping all the time in the water, for about three miles,
to a public road leading south, which we followed about six miles; then,
on coming to a rocky place where our horses would make no tracks, we left,
the road at right angles and traveled in the woods about two miles; here
we made a semi-circle around a hill, and camped in a commanding position.
My comrades did picket duty while I slept nearly all day. At night we went
to a friend who lived near my old residence, and from him we learned that
our trail had been discovered on our way up, that the whole militia force,
composed most exclusively of my old enemies, together with some Dutch
regulars, were quartered at Big River Mills; that the woods were being
constantly scoured; that each ford
on Big river was guarded night and day, and that they considered my escape
impossible. Before the approach of
daylight we secreted our horses in a deep ravine, covered with brush and
briars, and then hid ourselves underneath a
shelving rock near the
top of a high bluff, from which, at a long distance, we had a view of my
mother's house -the homestead of the Hildebrand family. We remained here
all day, during which time the house was surrounded by soldiers, how many
I could not tell, but they seemed to fill the yard and the adjoining
inclosures. Presently I saw a dense column of smoke arise from the house,
which told me too plainly that
the Vandals were burning up the home of my
childhood. The flames presently burst
forth through the roof and lapped out their long, fiery tongues at every
window. The roof fell in, and all that remained of that superb house was
the blackened walls of massive stone. Gladly would I have thrown
myself among those Vandals, and fought them while I had a drop of blood
remaining; but it would have been madness, for I would have been killed
too soon, and my revenge would have been ended, while my enemies would
still live to enjoy their pillage. Immediately after dark we
returned to our horses and commenced our retreat to Arkansas; but instead
of going south we traveled west about twenty miles, until we struck on a
creek called Forche a' Renault, in Washington county; then turning south,
we traveled over the wild pine hills west from Potosi, and camped in a
secure place between Caledonia and Webster. We started on in the
evening, and just before sunset made a raid on a store, getting all we
wanted, including several bottles of "burst-head." We traveled mostly in
the night, followed Black river down to Current river, crossed at Carter's
Ferry, and made our way safely to Green county,
Arkansas. CHAPTER
X. Trip with two
men.-Killed Stokes for informing on him.- Secreted in a cave on Big
river.- Vows of vengeance - Watched for McGahan.- Tom Haile pleads for
Franklin Murphy.-
Tongue-lashed and whipped out by a Woman. After remaining a few days
at headquarters I commenced making preparations for another trip against
my enemies on Big river. I was yet ignorant of the murder of my brother
Henry, and knew nothing about the burning of my mother's house, except
what I saw at the distance of a mile, a few hours before I started back to
Arkansas. I was now fully determined to use the same weapons upon some of
my enemies, and to retaliate by any and all means placed in my power. I
told the boys my plan. Among
those who were present was Thomas Haile, or "devilish Tom", as he was
called, and as usual, he was spinning some of his laughable yarns; but
when I spoke the name of Franklin Murphy as probably connected with the
house burning, he
stopped short in his conversation, and after a moment's reflection he
proposed to go with me to see some of his old friends. To this I readily
consented. and after selecting another man, we started on our way. we
passed through Stoddard and then into Wayne county after a man by name of
Stokes. He had
fed me on my
previous trips, inducing me to
believe that he was a substantial Southern man; I
learned shortly afterwards that he was laying plans for my
capture, and had, more than once, put the Federals on my trail.
Notwithstanding I had these
statements from good authority, I was unwilling to take his life until I
knew to my own certain knowledge that he was guilty. I did not wish to
fall into the error, so common among the Federals, of killing an innocent
man to gratify the personal
enmity of some informer. Just after dark I went to
his house
alone, he
greeted me in a very cordial manner and remarked: "Well, Mr. Hildebrand,
I'm glad to see you-hope you are well-and are yet
too smart for
the Feds." "Are there any
Feds in Greenville?" "None, sir,
none 'at all; I was there to-day; the place is entirely clear of the
scamps. By the way, Mr. Hildebrand, are you
alone?" "Oh yes; I am
taking this trip by myself:" "Glad to assist
you, sir; You must stay with me to-night; I'll hide you tomorrow in a safe
place; can go on to-morrow night if you like; would like for you to stay
longer." I thanked him for his
proffered assistance, but told him that as I had troubled him so often I
would go to a neighbor's about a mile off and stay until the next night. I
went back a short distance to where my men were and waited about an
hour. My two men
after putting on the Federal uniform, rode around the place and approached
the house from another direction; they rode up in a great hurry and called
Mr. Stokes out. Tom Haile in a very confidential tone commenced:
" Well sir, we
are on the hot track of Sam Hildebrand! he is here again; he robbed a man
down on the Greenville road, five miles below here, about sunset; he came
in this direction, and we concluded to ride down to your house thinking
that you might have seen or heard something of him." " I reckon I
have, by George! Sam Hildebrand was here not more than an hour ago, and I
tried to detain him; he was alone and said he was going to stay until
to-morrow night at a certain house; I know the place; hold on a minute!
I'll get my gun and coat and will go with you-we've got him this time,
sure I" . "All right,"
said Tom, "come along; we are always glad to meet a man of your
stripe." He marched along with the
boys until they came to where I was waiting for them; Stokes had forgotten
to ask many questions, but on coming up to me in the dim moonlight he
asked, "how many men have you?"
one of my men
answered "twelve." He at once began laying
plans for my capture, and related what he had done on previous occasions
to capture Sam Hildebrand, but that Sam was too sharp for him. "When I
thought that he had said enough I stopped him with the remark-" I am Sam
Hildebrand myself!" and emptied old" Kill-devil " into his
bosom. We then proceeded on,
traveling altogether in the night, until about day-break; one morning we
got near the ruins of the old Hildebrand homestead, and called at the
house of a friend. Knowing that we were in an enemy's country and liable
to be trailed, we could not sleep, nor could we travel in the daytime,
considering the fact that if our enemies got after us we would have to run
about one hundred and fifty miles
to get out of their lines, and that the government had no less than four
thousand men in active employment all the time for the especial purpose
of capturing
me. We secreted our horses in a thicket under a bluff and entered a cave
nearby, which was afterwards called by my name. Our friend remained in the
cave a few minutes with us, and it was from him I learned the particulars
of the atrocities
committed by the Federal troops, in the murder of my poor innocent brother
Henry. I shall not attempt to
describe my feelings, when the truth flashed across my mind that all my
brothers had been slain in cold blood-Frank, first, and now the other two
- leaving me not a brother upon earth except my brother William, who was
in the Federal army, but whose well known loyalty was not sufficient to
shield his neutral brothers from an indiscriminate butchery. For several
hours I remained quietly in the cave, studying the matter over, but
finally my mind wall made up. I determined to sell my life as dearly as
possible, and from that moment wage a war of fire and blood against my
persecutors, while one should last, or until I was numbered with the
dead. I hastily gathered my arms;
only one word escaped escaped my lips: Revenge!" sounded and reechoed from
the deepest recesses of the cavern, and with one wild rush I made for the
mouth of the cave; but my two men happening to be there, sprang to their
feet and choked up the passage; but near it was another outlet- I dashed
through it, and down the steep declivity I hastily made my way,
and mounted my
horse. But Haile was close after me, and before I could pass around a
fallen tree he had my horse by the bridle. "Hold on, Sam! Don't be a
fool. If you are going to throw your life away, you cannot expect to kill
a dozen; if you take your own time. you may kill a thousand! If I go back
without you, what could I tell your wife and children? Come, Sam,
you must not
forget your duty to them. See how they have clung to you! Light now,
and go with me to the cave." I have but a faint
recollection of going back to our retreat; but when I awoke it was nearly
sunset, and Tom soon had me laughing in spite of myself. When night came
we moved our position about five miles, to the residence of William
Patton, as he was a man whom I particularly wanted; but we were
unsuccessful; he was at home when we first went there, but by some means
he succeeded in eluding our grasp. We left there, and before daylight we
had secreted our horses in a thicket on Turkey Run, a small creek emptying
into Big river above Addison Murphy's, and had stationed ourselves near
the residence of Joe McGahan, on the different roads leading to his house.
About eight o'clock in the morning I concluded that it was fruitless to
watch for him any longer; so I proposed to repair to
Franklin Murphy's residence, which was not more than a mile from where we
were; but Tom suggested that we must now return to our horses and consult
as to our future movements. We found our horses all
right; but when I expressed a desire to stir up Franklin Murphy for being
present at the burning of my mother's house, and several other little
incidents that led me to think strangely of his conduct, Tom Haile
replied: "I do not
believe that he sanctioned, in any manner, the outrages of which you
speak; he could not rescue your brother Frank from the hands of a mob who
seemed to have the sanction of public opinion; he could not prevent an
army of soldiers, acting under the command of another man, from burning
the house, nor from killing your brother Henry. Once for all, let me tell
you that it will never do for you to attempt to harm that man. He is a
member of a certain Order, that dates back for thousands of years; the
members are bound together by an obligation to watch over
each other's interests, and to shield each other, as much as possible,
from any impending danger." Tom was so sincere, and
looked so serious-which was not common with him-that I told him I never
would harm one of them, if I knew it, unless it was in self
defense. We now thought it best to
make our way back to Arkansas. We passed through Farmington and
Fredericktown on the following night, and then camped in the woods until
evening. We started before night, in order to capture some fresh horses.
Dressed in Federal uniforms, we were riding along the road in Madison
county, when on passing a farm, I saw a fine looking horse in a lot near
the house. I halted
my men, dismounted and went up to the horse to catch him, but he was a
little shy, and kept his head as far from me as possible. While I was thus
trying
to get a halter
on the spirited animal, a woman stepped onto the
porch and bawled out:
" See here I What are you trying to do?" "I'm trying to
catch this horse." " Let him
alone, you good-for-nothing! Don't you look pretty, you miserable scamp,
trying to steal my only horse! " "Yes, madam,
but I'm afraid you are a rebel." " I am a rebel,
sir, and I'm proud of it! I have two sons in the rebel army, and if I had
six more they should all be in it. You white-livered, insignificant scum
of creation I you had better let him alone. Why, you are worse than Sam
Hildebrand! He wouldn't
take the last horse from a poor widow woman! " By this time I had caught
the horse, but as soon as the woman made that last remark, I pulled the
halter off, begged her pardon and left. On getting to headquarters, Tom
never let me rest about that adventure. CHAPTER
XI. Another trip to
Missouri.- Fight near Fredericktown.- Horse shot from under him.-Killed
four Soldiers - Went into their camp at Fredericktown and stole four
horses - Flight toward the South.-Robbed "Old Crusty."- Return to
Arkansas. While I was recruiting at
our headquarters in Green county, Arkansas, Capt. Bolin and most of his
men returned to rest themselves for a while. Of course our time passed off
agreeably, for we all had so much to say, and so much to listen to, that
the mind was actively engaged all the time, rendering it impossible for
time to drag heavily. Having thoroughly rested myself, on the 25th day of
August I selected three men, and we started on a trip to St. Francois
county, Missouri. Nothing unusual occurred until we arrived in Madison
county. On getting within about eight miles of Fredericktown, daylight
overtook us, and we stopped at an old friend's house for breakfast, who
had always treated us kindly, for I had stopped with him several times on
my previous trips. He stated to us that there were no troops in
Fredericktown. Upon receiving this information, from a source, as we
supposed, so reliable, we felt quite free, and resolved to make our
journey on that day to my old home on Big river. So, after getting our
breakfast and feeding our horses, we made our way quietly to our usual
place of crossing the gravel road leading from the Pilot. Knob to
Fredericktown, when we were suddenly fired
on from the brush by about fifty soldiers. Fortunately for us, we had not
kept 'the usually travelled path that crossed the road at the place where
the soldiers were stationed in ambush; consequently we were about two
hundred yards from them, and none of us were hurt, though my horse was
shot from under me; the ball that pierced his chest, passing through my
pantaloons, slightly burning my
knee. At the word from me my three
men whirled into the brush, and we retreated back in the direction from
which we came, my men on horses and myself on foot. I was still lame from
the effects of the wound received at Flat Woods, but we made good time,
and effected our escape. On getting about a mile, I ordered my men to
hitch their horses in a thicket, and we would hold the place if they
undertook to follow us. After waiting for some time and not hearing from
them, we concluded to make our way cautiously back to where we had been
fired upon, and try
to get a shot. We crept slowly up, and saw six or seven men near the
place, but we could not get close enough from the side we were on; so we
made our way in the direction of Pilot Knob about a mile, crossed the
gravel road behind a hill, and came up on the opposite
side. We got in sight of them just
in time to see a party ride up, leading our three horses; at this, I
concluded to try one of them at long range, seeing distinctly from our
position that we could get no closer without exposing
ourselves too
much. I pulled off old" Kill-devil" at one of them who wore
shoulder-straps; at the crack of the gun the gentleman got a very hard
fall, which, I am fearful, killed him. At this
they concluded to follow us into our native woods, for which they paid
very dearly. They made a dash on us,
which caused us to scatter in different directions, to divide their party
up into several squads. Each one of us took a course through the woods in
the roughest places we could find, which rendered it very difficult for
them to follow. I stopped at every place, such as fallen timber, steep
banks and high rocks, to get a pop at them, and would be off again in a
different direction. Sometimes I was in front,
sometimes at one side, and frequently in the rear. I was pleased to see
them have so much pluck, for it afforded old "Kill-devil" an opportunity
to howl from every knob and dense thicket in the wild woods until
about one
o'clock in the evening, when they gave up the chase and quit the unequal
fight. On meeting my men, at dark,
on the top of a certain high hill designated by me in the morning, I had
four new notches on the stock of old "Kill devil," indicating by that
rough record that four more of my enemies had gone to that land where
the righteous
would cease from troubling them or making them afraid. Two of my men had
killed a man apiece, and the other had made what we call in fishing ., a
water haul." I suppose, however, that he betook himself into some secure
corner to meditate on the uncertainty of all human affairs until the
danger was over. The Federals, on the next
day, started in search of us with three or four hundred men; but their
numbers being so great, we did not make war upon them that day. At night
it rained very hard, and whilst it was raining we went into Fredericktown;
finding all things quiet about camp, we managed to steal a horse apiece
from them, but did not get the saddles and bridles, as we were in a hurry.
We got about thirty miles on
our way back to Arkansas before morning-each of my men riding bare·
backed, with only a halter for a bridle. I stopped, however, at the old
gentleman's where we had got breakfast, for the purpose of having a small
settlement with him, as he had deceived us in regard to the soldiers at
Fredericktown, and, as we believed, had reported us, for we noticed that
his son, a lad about fifteen years old, had rode off while we were eating
our breakfast on that morning. I stopped, but the old man was not at home,
so I took an old saddle and bridle from him, and went on to Arkansas,
leaving the Federals to hunt for us, which we were told they kept up about
ten days. Before reaching Arkansas,
however, for the purpose of laying in our winter's supplies, we diverged
about twenty miles from our usual course to pay
our respects to an
old Union man living at the crossroads, who had caused the expulsion of
two families from the neighborhood by reporting on
them. He still had the remnants of
what had once been a full country store. No Federal soldiers happened to
be near the premises at the time, so we rode up to his house about sunset,
and while I left one man at his door to prevent anyone from leaving the
house, we went with the old crusty fellow to the store. He was not
disposed to be accommodating, but we bought everything that we could put
upon our horses and
upon a mule that we borrowed of him, and, after telling him to charge it
to Uncle Sam, with the Big river mob for security, we left, and before
morning were out of the reach of danger. On reaching camp, we
relieved the needy, not forgetting the two families that "Old Orusty" had
driven from his neighborhood. CHAPTER
XII. Trip with three
men.- Captured a Spy and shot him.- Shot Scaggs.- At night charged a
Federal camp of one hundred men.- Killed nine men.- Had one man wounded.-
Came near shooting James Craig - Robbed Bean's store and
returned to
Arkansas. My family still remained in
Cook settlement, in St. Francois county, Mo., and as they were in the
enemy's country, I did not think it prudent to pay them a visit, knowing
that it would only bring ruin upon them if the fact of my visit should
ever become known to the Unionists in that county. But determined by some
means or other to effect their escape to Arkansas as soon as it would be
prudent to make the attempt. Capt. Bolin and his men had promised me their
co-operation if called upon for that purpose; but I was well aware that
our whole force would be insufficient for the accomplishment of the
object, if attempted by force of arms, for two or three thousand men could
be brought against me in less than twenty-four
hours. To keep myself well posted
in regard to the strength of the enemy along the route, I selected three
of Quantrill's men, and in the latter part of September, started on
another raid into Missouri. On arriving at the St.
Francis river we found it swimming, but made no halt on that account,
having by this time become inured to all kinds of hardships and
dangers. On the second day after we
started we left the main road and diverged several miles to our right, for
the purpose of traveling in day time. On getting within sight of a house
we discovered some one run into the 'yard, and immediately afterwards we
saw a little boy running toward a barn. The movement being a little
suspicious, we dashed forward and were soon on each side of the barn. We
discovered a man through a crack, and demanded his surrender; he came to
the door and threw up his hands. On taking him back into the barn, we
discovered his bundle to
contain a complete Federal uniform, and when we noticed that the citizen's
dress which he had on was much too small for him, we at once pronounced
him a Federal spy. We found a letter in his pocket, written by a man by
the name of Scaggs, to the authorities at Fredericktown, containing the
names of his rebel neighbors, whom he was desirous of having burned out.
One of the men in the list I happened to know, and by that means I knew
that Scaggs lived about seven miles from there. We took the spy half a
mile and shot him, then, changing our course, we started on the hunt for
Scaggs, whose residence, however, we did not find until after dark.
Dressed in Federal uniform, we rode up to the gate and
called him out. On arresting him we took him to the house of a friend, who
told us that Scaggs had already made two widows in that neighborhood by
reporting their husbands. We took him with us until daylight appeared,
hung him to a limb in the woods, and made our way toward Castor
creek, in
Madison county. The next night, on crossing
Castor creek, we discovered a camp of Federals; judging them to be about
twenty or thirty strong, we concluded to charge them for a few minutes;
but on getting into their camp we found that there were three or four
times as many as we expected; so we charged on through as quick as
possible, still two of our horses were killed and one of my men
we
slightly
wounded in the fleshy part of his thigh. After getting through their camp,
we captured the four pickets who were placed in a lane on the opposite
side. As we came from the wrong direction, they mistook us for their own
men, until we had taken them in. My two men who had lost their horses, now
mounted those taken from the
pickets. As soon as the pickets told us that they were Leeper's men, we
shot them and hurried on. On our return, at another
time, we were told by the citizens that we killed five and wounded several
more in our charge through their camp; making nine men killed,
including
the pickets. My
wounded man could not be kept in Missouri with any degree
of safety, and according to the usage of the petty tyrants who commanded
the little squads of Federals, it would have been death to any
man under whose
roof the wounded man might have taken refuge; the man, without any
questions asked, would have been shot, his house and property burned, and
his wife and children turned out into the world, houseless, forlorn and
destitute. To avoid the infliction of such a calamity upon any of our
friends, my wounded man was under the necessity of making his way alone
back into Arkansas. My other two men and myself
traveled the remainder of the night in the direction of my old home in St.
Francois county. I learned that a prolonged effort was made
on the following day to trail us up to our camp in the woods; but a rain
having fallen about daylight, our tracks were entirely destroyed. On the
following night we made our way to the house of a friend, near the ruins
of my once happy home. Here I remained, resting myself and scouting over
the country on foot, two whole days and nights, trying to shoot some of
the miscreants who had belonged to
the old mob, but they kept themselves so closely huddled that I had no
chance at them. On the second day, however,
while lying near the road, James Craig, captain of the mob-which by this
time had assumed the name of Militia-with two men whom I did not
recognize, came along, riding very fast. I got a bead on Craig, but my gun
did not fire;
and I will say here, that this was the only time during the war that old
"Kill-devil" deceived me. On returning to my friend
near my old home, he stated to me that our horses, which we had concealed
in a nook in one of the bluffs of Big river, had been discovered by some
boys who were hunting, and that they had gone to report to the militia.
Upon receiving this
intelligence, we started at once to our horses, found them all right, and,
not being satisfied with the results of our trip, we concluded to obtain
some supplies from our good Union friends before leaving. We got on Flat
river about the middle of the afternoon, and rode up to a store kept by
the sons of John Bean, one of whom belonged to the Vigilance mob-but he
was not there. The boys had
sense enough to make no demonstration, so, without damaging anything
whatever, I took such things
as we needed,
in part payment for my property which the mob had destroyed.
The boys looked a little
displeased; they considered us bad customers, and did not even take the
trouble to book the articles against us. The militia, having
received the
report of the boys, mustered their whole force and, on the following
day, struck our
trail and overtook us between Pilot Knob and Fredericktown; they followed
us about ten miles, but only got sight of us occasionally on the tops of
hills we had to pass over. Night came, and we neither saw nor heard them
any more. We traveled all night and about daylight we rode up to the house
of a man named Slater, in the southern part of Wayne county, Missouri, for
whom we had been watching for some time. He had made himself very busy
ever since the beginning of the war by reporting Southern men. He
succeeded in having several of them imprisoned, and their families
impoverished. We found him at home; his manhood wilted
like a cabbage leaf; we took him about a mile from home and shot
him. We then pursued our way home
to Green county, Arkansas, and divided our spoils amonKst the destitute
families driven
there by the ruthless hands of Northern
sympathizers. CHAPTER
XIII. The Militia mob
robs the Hildebrand estate.- Trip with ten men - Attacks a Government
train with an escort of twenty men - Killed two and put the others to
flight. Directly after the
termination of my last trip, certain events transpired in St. Francois
county of which it is necessary that the reader should be
informed. I have already
stated that the infamous Vigilance mob finally came to a head by the
organization of its worst material into a militia company with James Oraig
for captain and Joe McGahan for first lieutenant. As Craig could neither
read nor write, and did
not know his alphabet from a spotted mule, the lieutenant was actually the
head and front of the marauders. Their design in assuming the
form and style
of a militia company was merely for the purpose of legalizing their acts
of plunder. They did not pretend to take the field against the Rebels, or
to strike a single blow in defense of the State or anything else. While
drawing their pay from the government, they spent their time hunting hogs,
sheep, and cattle belonging to other people. Having killed all my
brothers but one (and he was in the Union army where they could not reach
him), they proceeded to divide the property of the Hildebrand estate among
themselves. Mother, though decidedly a Union woman originally, they had
long
since driven
her off to Jefferson county, with nothing but her bed and Bible. The
homestead had been burned, yet there was an abundance of stock
belonging to
the estate, and a large
field of
standing corn. They collected the stock and
gathered the corn, and then proceeded to divide it among themselves. In
this division they disagreed very much; a question arose whether an
officer was entitled to any more than a private, and a few of them went
home declaring that they would not have anything if they could not get
their share. At the very time this
valorous militia company had stacked their muskets against the fence and
were chasing mother's sheep and pigs around through the dog fennel, I was
capturing a government train and getting my supplies in an honorable
manner. About. the first of
November, 1862, having learned that the Federals were in the habit of
hauling their army supplies to Bloomfield from Cape Girardeau on the
Mississippi river, Capt. Bolin and myself determined to lily in our
supplies from the same source. We took ten men and started
with about ten days' rations. Arriving on a stream called White Water,
which, with Castor creek, forms the Eastern fork of St. Francis river, we
concealed ourselves in an unfrequented part of the woods. It was necessary
that we should be thoroughly posted in regard to the expected time of the
arrival of the train, and the probable strength of the
escort. I undertook this delicate
mission disguised as a country farmer, in search of a stray mule. without
my gun I made my way on foot to the vicinity of a mill and there concealed
myself near a road to a wait the arrival of some one going to mill.
Presently a man came along with a cart and oxen, but I let him pass,
fearing that my questions might arouse his
suspicions. I remained there nearly an
hour for some boy to pass; at length I saw one at a distance coming
slowly along,
riding on his sack and whistling little
fragments of " John
Brown." I stepped into the road before he got near me and walked along
until I met him. I asked about my mule, but of course he knew nothing
about him. I told him that I had concluded to hunt no further, but that I
was anxious to return to Bloomfield
if I could only meet with a conveyance for I was tired of walking so much.
He told me that the government wagons would pass there on the following
day and perhaps I could get a ride. I told him that I would be afraid to
do that for the Rebels might capture me; he said that there was no danger
of that, for twenty soldiers always went with the
wagons. I returned to my comrades
with all the information we wanted. and we soon settled all our
preliminary arrangements for the attack. After dark we took the road along
which we knew they were to pass; we selected a place called the Round
Pond, and secreted ourselves in a clump of heavy timber through which the
soldiers could not see, in order that they might imagine the woods full of
Rebels. Night passed and the morning hours wore away, when at length we
saw two government wagons coming, and in the sunlight sure enough, twenty
bayonets were
gleaming. We suddenly broke from the
woods with a great shout, and dashed in among them with all the noise we
could make. We fired a few shots, killing two and causing the remainder to
break for the woods in every direction. The sole object of our trip being
to get supplies of clothing, ammunition, etc., we felt no disposition to
hunt them down, but let them continue their flight without any pursuers.
We unhitched the horses and packed them
with such
things as we needed; after which w
burned the
wagons and every thing else we could not take with
us. On starting back we went through Mingo Swamp and made our way safely to St. Francis river, which we found out of its banks. With a great deal of difficulty we succeeded in swimming the river with our train, but with the loss of one man named Banks, who unfortunately was drowned. Becoming entangled in a drift of grape vines and brush, he drowned before we could render him any assistance. |
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