157th Anniversary of Brutal War Crime Which Occurred on Christmas Day in the Ozarks of Southeast Missouri

 

Members of the Third Missouri State Militia (Union) slaughtering women, children in Ripley County, Missouri on Christmas Day 1863 as portrayed in this sketch by artist Rocky Medley.

Christmas , 2020 marked the 157th anniversary of the Wilson Massacre which occurred in Ripley County, Missouri on Christmas Day, 1863, part of a bitter rivalry between members of the 15th Missouri Cavalry, CSA (commanded by Col. Timothy Reeves) and the 3rd Missouri State Militia Cavalry, USA (commanded by Major James Wilson)..

The massacre was "payback" for an event that happened just days before on December 21, 1863 when men from Reeves' command captured 102 Union soldiers in Centerville, Missouri. They were taken back to Confederate Colonel Timothy Reeves' encampment where (as some say) they were going to be used to exchange for Confederate prisoners.

It wasn't an ordinary Confederate encampment. On Christmas Day it was the site of a Christmas gathering which included not only Confederate soldiers, but their families as well. No doubt Reeves' and his men thought they would be safe as Christmas has always been recognized as a holy day, even in war, throughout the American and European civilizations.

Union Major James Wilson had been notified of the capture of the Union militia members at Centerville, Missouri shortly after the event and immediately set out to hunt down his mens' captors. 

Wilson with a contingent of 200 cavalrymen arrived at Reeves' camp just as the men and their families were eating dinner (with their arms stacked).  A mere' 35 men remained armed, acting as guards. It is believed that 35 men of Reeves' command were killed during the attack along with most of the civilians.

In September 1864, Major Wilson was captured at the Battle of Pilot Knob, Missouri and deliberately kept under guard until Reeves and his men could catch up to the main force of the Confederates, who were, this time, heading west. 

When Reeves' did catch up to the column Major Wilson along with 5 other men of the 3'rd Missouri State Militia Cavalry were executed.

Detractors say a massacre never happened and that Wilson was a hero for rescuing the 100 Union militia members being held prisoner by Reeves but a careful analysis of Major Wilson's military record points to a different conclusion.

For instance, a month after the event (January, 1864) Major James Wilson was up for a promotion but was passed over. He was passed over for promotion again in February, 1864. Wilson was then transferred to another unit on a recruiting assignment but was reprimanded and sent back to his former unit , the 3'rd MSM Cavalry.

If his actions were heroic and no innocent civilians were killed in the attack (as detractors claim) then he would have been promoted for his heroic efforts.

Additionally, at the time of his surrender in 1865, Colonel Timothy Reeves was the only one out of 10,000 men who was not paroled and sent home. Instead he was sent to a St. Louis military prison to await execution for the killing of Major Wilson. For reason's which have never been explained, Reeves' remained in St. Louis for one month at which time he was mysteriously paroled and released to go home.

I have carefully documented this story throughout the course of 14 years of painstaking research. The final result is 308 pages of military records, newspaper archives, personal accounts of atrocities and interviews with former slaves. All of which document one of the worst war-crimes of the War Between the States and the cover up which followed.

"Blood in the Ozarks: Expanded Second Edition" is available for $15 (paperback) or $2.99  Kindle which you can purchase by clicking on the link below.