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 Conf...

 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...

An Open Letter to Cape Girardeau Mayor Bob Fox, Cape Girardeau, Missouri Dear Mayor Fox, On June 12, 2020 KFVS-12 news interviewed a “community activist” who created a petition calling for the removal of a memorial honoring Southeast Missouri’s Confederate soldiers. In the interview Sophia Voss made a baseless claim that the statue was originally erected in 1931 near the old Mississippi River bridge on Morgan Oak street as a warning to African-American citizens traveling through the area. There is no basis for that claim whatsoever. KFVS also interviewed “community historian” Denise Lincoln who stated, “I think that if I were African-American, bringing my family through this area, and the first thing I saw was CSA, a monument to the Confederacy, this might be a town you just keep driving through.” I can’t help but feel that Mrs. Lincoln lacks professionalism and objectivity. If I were an African-American traveling through Cape Girardeau the first thing I would notice is the depleted co...

April 25, 2020 MARBLE HILL, Missouri – Foothills Media LLC is announcing the publication of “The Rape of Delaware County” by Clint Lacy. The book is the result of several months of communication with Delaware County, Oklahoma, resident Edwin Turlington, who on April 14, 2014, shot a convicted felon who attacked him on his family’s property. The result is that Turlington launched his own investigation and fought the charges for over five years before they were finally dropped. Through countless hours of interviews and research, a picture of protected informants, abusive jailers, and a lawyer who made international news when he was arrested in a murder-for-hire plot is presented. Delaware County used to be a safe-haven for outlaws, and, as Edwin Turlington found out, it still is. Lacy has also authored “Blood in the Ozarks.” For more information, visit  www.foothillsmedia.net .

Marine Corps Commandant David H. Berger This just in from Fox News : "The commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps wrote that “it is time to exclude” public displays of the Confederate flag in a letter addressed to his fellow Marines this week. “I am mindful that many people believe that flag to be a symbol of heritage or regional pride,” Gen. David H. Berger wrote. “But I am also mindful of the feelings of pain and rejection of those who inherited the cultural memory and present effects of the scourge of slavery in our country.” Part of doing that, Berger wrote, is identifying “symbols or subcultures that degrade the cohesion that combat demands,” noting the adage that failure is not an option. “This symbol has shown it has the power to inflame feelings of division,” Now where have we heard this before?... That's right. It was on my blog . Specifically December 8, 2018. It was on this date I wrote about another "Diversity Warrior" making head...

This week I sat down for an interview with Dr. Edward DeVries for TBR History Hour. Dr. Ed and I talked for an hour about my latest book "The Rape of Delaware County" We also discussed my relationship with Edwin Turlington, who was facing 10 years in prison for defending himself from a violent attack against a convicted felon, how the collaboration fell apart and how all of these circumstances inspired me to write about not only Turlington's five-year legal battle but the greater corruption and violent crimes that are a common occurrence in Delaware County, Oklahoma.  Note: I have to correct myself, I mistakenly referred to Darrell Philpott as "Jerry" Philpott. I apologize for the error . "The Rape of Delaware County" is available in paperback for $10 (b/w 145 pages) and Kindle for $.99 (Free with Kindle Unlimited).  Order by clicking this link. Listen to the interview by clicking on the video below: BONUS INTERVIEW! ...

$10 paperback / $.99 Kindle When I was first contacted by Edwin Turlington in the summer of 2018 I was told as story that literally seemed stranger than fiction. A veteran of the U.S. Army was telling me that he was facing a 10-year prison sentence for shooting a felon on his property who had threatened him. Mr. Turlington asked me if I could write an article to help get his story out to the public, being a sucker for a good story I agreed to do it. The story revealed that the corruption in Edwin Turlington’s case, extended throughout the county and included “snitches” given free passes to break the law, a county jail system so corrupt that local property taxes had to be raised to settle the lawsuits of former female inmates, and a local lawyer who made international headlines for his involvement in a murder for hire plot. As the article began to gain attention, Mr. Turlington urged me to write a book about the events, thinking it could be a vital tool to p...

Do you use Facebook? You know, that social networking miracle that is supposed to help us stay in touch with friends and family and maybe make more friends in the process. If you are a Facebook user chances are you've joined a few groups. If you have than there is an even greater chance you've ran into a few "control freaks". I communicated with a "control freak" today. This individual runs a Civil War group on Facebook, and I have shared my articles numerous  times there with no problems, until today. I shared a new article in the group and as with all of my articles , there is a link to purchase my book, "Blood in the Ozarks: Expanded Second Edition." Most groups have some type of "no selling" clause in their rules, but generally speaking, if you have taken the time to research and write something of historical significance and have a link to your book in the article, it's not considered an act of "selling" because it ...

Paulette Jiles , author of Enemy Women, The Color of Lightning, News of the World & Simon the Fiddler, very graciously posted a review of Blood in the Ozarks: Second Edition on her blog. In it she writes: Blood in the Ozarks by Clint Lacy is a much-needed look at the war in southeastern Missouri. In that area things were quite different and this work makes things about as clear as they are going to get.  On Amazon there are a great many books (non-fiction) on the guerillas in Missouri during the Civil War, and almost all of them have to do with the guerillas/bushwhackers in Central Missouri; Quantrell, Frank and Jesse James, Bloody Bill Anderson and others. Blood in the Ozarks by Clint Lacy is a much-needed look at the war in southeastern Missouri. In that area things were quite different and this work makes things about as clear as they are going to get. The geography was different, the terrain and the people and the circumstances were different and other th...

Paperback $24.50 I've gotten a lot of feedback since I released "Blood in the Ozarks: Union War Crimes Against Southern Sympathizers and Civilians in Occupied Missouri Second Edition", most of it has been positive but there is the occasional criticism, some of it from critics who haven't even read the book yet. A select few are triggered by the title alone. I often hear "What do you mean occupied? Missouri was a border state!"  The most popular criticisms by far are, "There were atrocities on BOTH sides!", and  "I wish there was a book that told the other side of the story."  I will try and address these criticisims in order. You have to admit that describing Missouri as "occupied" in the title is an attention getter. An author should  come up with a title and book cover that grabs the attention of would-be-readers but more importantly, it is the truth, Missouri was  occupied. Critics do have a point when they d...