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Chapter 27: Butler County During the Civil War, Part Two |
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We continue with the report of Major Poole on "Scout from Cape Girardeau to the Ash Hills and Poplar Bluff."
"From Bloomfield to St. Francisville, the road leads across a high and rolling country, but from St. Francisville to Ash Hill there is little or nothing but glades and swamps, which, as at any other season of the year, would be utterly impracticable for artillery. The roads through Ash Hills are indistinct and wretchedly bad, and again, upon striking the river, there are about 10 miles of glades to pass through before reaching Poplar Bluff.
The little howitzer that I had with me was the first thing in the shape of artillery that ever passed over that road. I think the distance from Bloomfield to Poplar Bluff, via Ash Hills, is about 50 miles. Forage out of the question, the men in that country preferring bushwhacking to honest labor. The roads from Poplar Bluff to Dallas mostly pass through rolling, barren, and uninhabited sections, but are good, and must be at all times practicable for the heaviest artillery. I found great difficulty in procuring forage enough for my command between Poplar Bluff and Dallas, Marmaduke's and General Davidson's commands having consumed everything within reach. New hay is plenty between Dallas and the Cape, and the farmers at these points are assiduously at work raising good crops of corn. (Dallas is the present Marble Hill.)
"From all the information that I could collect, I have good reason to believe that there are no considerable armed bodies of rebels in the State, as I had good information that they were all ordered south toward the line of Texas, and those that now remain are merely mutineers or guerrillas, who have refused to obey the orders, taking it as a subterfuge that they belong to the old State Guard and cannot be taken out of the State. I should have no hesitancy to take one squadron and move in any direction through this portion of the State.
"To the officers and men under my command I tender my sincere thanks for their good conduct and cheerfulness throughout the trip. During the march of 200 miles I never heard a murmur, although we frequently marched twenty-four hours without eating. I especially recommend to your notice Captain McClanahan and Bugler (E.Z.) Shannon and (W.C.) Thatcher for their unflinching courage and bravery in following me where none but the brave and true could have fought and lived. To them I owe my life and a never-ending debt of gratitude.
"I am, colonel, very respectfully, your obedient servant," (signed) Fred R. Poole, Major, Comdg. First Batt. Second Missouri State Militia Calvary.
During January, 1865, Col. John B. Rogers, Union commander at Cape Girardeau, ordered an operation against Confederate forces at Cherokee Bay, Akransas, titled "Expedition from Bloomfield to Poplar Bluff, Mo., and vicinity." Lt. William Rinne, Second Missouri Artillery, led the expedition. Though none of the fighting was done in Butler County, the movement of troops through the swamps and the suffering of men and animals in mid-winter is an interesting story.
At Bloomfield, January 4, 1865, Lt. Rinne took command of the troops assigned to him, 45 men from Companies A, I and M, Second Cavalry Missouri State Militia, 25 men of the Second Missouri Artillery and 20 men of the Seventy-ninth Enrolled Missouri Militia, totaling 90 men. At Poplar Bluff Lt. Rinne was to join troops under Captain John R. Cochran but Cochran was too far away to arrive in Poplar Bluff on time. Lt. Rinne waited 36 hours in Poplar Bluff and then marched on to Cherokee Bay. Finding that the swamps were impassable for teams. He left his team and ambulance in Poplar Bluff with a guard to protect them until Captain Cochran arrived. (We do not know where Captain Cochran was stationed when he was ordered to Poplar Bluff) Captain Cochran would go to Cherokee Bay by a different and better road and could bring the team and ambulance.
We now quote from Lt. Rinne's report to Col. Rogers, Jan. 18, 1865. "The command I took with me numbered 70 men. (Evidently 20 men were left in Poplar Bluff as a guard.) I crossed the swamp between Cane Creek and Current River and then divided my small force into two parties. I directed one party to strike the bay near the lower end at the rebel Colonel Reves; while I with the other party struck it at the upper end, directing the party I sent in the lower end of the bay to join me at Patterson's on the bay. By these directions I succeeded in surprising the rebels, killing 19, wounding 3 severely, and capturing 5. I had one man killed, and no other casualty to any of the men of my command during the expedition. Among the rebels killed were three officers—Lieutenant Copeland, Lieutenant Sooter, and Lieutenant Moore. The killed and prisoners all belonged to Reves' command. We found no considerable force together. They were scattered over the country in small bands from five to ten. Captain Cochran joined me on the bay, bringing up my team and ambulance. I reported to him for orders, when he instructed, after having done all I could at the bay, to return with my command to the Cape by the same route in which I had entered the bay, while he would take a different route, this being necessary, as forage could not be procured for the whole command at any one place. In crossing the bay to Poplar Bluff I lost my wagon and ambulance, drowned two mules and five horses. It was impossible to get the wagon or ambulance out of the swamp. Cane Creek was very high, overflowing its banks and covering the whole country for eight miles with water two to three feet deep, through which the command had to march and break their road through ice from one and a half to two inches thick. Our next trouble was in crossing the Saint Francis River, which we had to swim, but which was effected without loss or accident. From there to Cape we had an uninterrupted march, where I arrived with the command on the 16th instant, having marched about 300 miles through swamps, ice, and water. The command suffered much from cold by often being compelled to swim their horses and to assist when mired out of mud and water. The result of the expedition was 19 rebels killed, 3 severely wounded, and 5 captured, 50 horses and mules were captured, 35 of which have been turned over to the provost-marshal at Cape Girardeau, Mo., 5 head drowned in the swamp, 4 head claimed by citizens and given up, and 6 head stolen from the corral at Bloomfield, Mo."
In January and February, 1866, Col. J.B. Rogers, Union commander at Cape Girardeau, led an expedition titled, "Expedition from Cape Girardeau, Mo., to Eleven Points River in Ark." Col. Rogers with 300 men proceeded to Indian Ford on the St. Francis River where he was jointed by Captain McClanahan with 200 men. None of the fighting occurred in Butler County, but the passage through the county of 500 men with horses, wagons, and other paraphernalia of war very likely caused much excitement and perhaps an equal degree of terror and apprehension among the inhabitants along the line of march. The expedition crossed Butler County probably by the "Road from Brannum's Old Mill to the Indian Ford on the St. Francis" or a combination of this road with a portion of the "Old Military Road." Col. Rogers reported the men had to wade for miles through water one to three feet deep in the Arkansas swamps. The wagon train had to be left behind as it could not be taken across the swamps. The men making the march carried five days rations. The area around Pocahontas, Arkansas was searched for Confederate forces. On the return trip one column went through Doniphan on the road to Pilot Knob. This column probably used the Old Military Road. The other column, we assume, returned to Cape Girardeau, though the report does not so state. If so, it also returned through Butler County, probably through or near Poplar Bluff.
We are indebted to Mr. C.W. Knuckles for the research on "Scout from Cape Girardeau to the Ash Hills and Poplar Bluff."
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