Skip to main content

Blogs and Blue Coats

I was doing some research on the August, 1863 capture of General M. Jeff Thompson while he was at Pocahontas and stumbled upon a blog operated by a local guest house.

This particular post focuses on Confederate officers Reeves and Carter and states:

"This episode of Pocahontas and the Civil War tells of a fascinating deception by which southern sympathizers tricked men in southern Missouri into entering the war on the side of the south, just as men used to “Shanghai” sailors, using force, liquor or drugs to fill ships’ crews by unscrupulous means"

The basis for the belief of the blog post is a letter sent to General Davidson in Pilot Knob , Missouri from Lt. Colonel Theo Harmann who was commander at Fort Barnesville.



The Confederate government passed a conscription act on April 30th, 1862. The United States conscription act was not passed until March 3, 1863.  The fact that Reeves' and Carter's men were wearing Union jackets was most likely done not to trick citizens into think they were being conscripted into the Union army but done so in order to slip more easily through occupied or contested areas. In fact, Bruce Nichols, in his book "Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Missouri Vol. 1" (also published on the law.missouri.edu website) states:

"So many guerrillas and Confederate troops were wearing captured Union uniforms in the region that General Merrill issued an order that all newly formed Enrolled Missouri Militia while on active duty were to wear broad white hat bands to simplify recognition by other northern troops. "

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fake News and False Information On Mississippi Scalawag Flag Proposal

WREG News Channel 3 (Memphis , Tennessee) is reporting : Photo credit: WREG News 3 "Laurin Stennis’ flag design has gained so much popularity that even those who order the flag want her autograph. She matched the colors exactly to the United States flag. “I think those are wonderful colors and the symbolism is meaningful, but also this is a strong standalone but when you pair it with the United States flag they make a handsome couple,” said Stennis. Nineteen stars circle around a large star, which represents Mississippi as the 20th state to join the Union in 1817. The large star is called Bonnie Blue. Stennis had some help producing the flags with Complete Flag Source. To date, well over 2,000 Stennis flags have been sold." According to the report Stennis' asks: "Is our logo doing it’s job? I would argue absolutely not because every time it comes up we fight about and we get tense.” Okay, where to start? WREG reports that the flag is...

How We Got Here , What Can We Do?

 For as long as I can remember both the Republican and Democratic parties have had their fair share of Lincoln defenders. The Republican Party was founded with the election of Abraham Lincoln thus Lincoln has been the party's trademark so to speak. The problem with this is that the Republican Party, presents itself as the party of smaller government, states rights and defenders of the Constitution and freedom. It is a problem because Lincoln was a proponent of big government, and committed acts that violated the Constitution. Ah, but defenders of Lincoln proclaim that President Lincoln had  to violate the Constitution to "save the Union." This defense of Lincoln by the Republican party has been effective from the end of the War Between the States until November , 2020 At the time of America's "Civil War" one could describe the Republicans as the Liberals and the Democrats as the Conservatives. This began to change with the election of President Franklin D. R...

Oklahoma Veteran Arrested for Defending Himself Against Alleged Meth- Maker

U.S. Army Veteran and Private Investigator Edwin Turlington. On the evening of April 14, 2014 Edwin Turlington, a U.S. Army Veteran and Private Investigator who lives in Delaware County, Oklahoma noticed two men starting a fire on adjacent property owned by his brother. Ed tells me, "When I purchased the property it was land locked so my brother purchased the property next to it so I would not have to get an easement." The incident has placed Mr. Turlington in a four year legal battle and facing a 10 year sentence if convicted. Mr. Turlington states he: "Found three strangers, including convicted drug dealer Darrell Philpott cooking Meth on land his brother recently contracted for and already acquired the right to possess. Relying on his law enforcement training and experience, Ed realized the men had taken the  license plates off their truck, which is a significant indicator they were going out into the community with bad intentions. Ed executed a citizen...