Information Sheet

 

 

R         Williams, Francis Marion, 1835‑1909.

413                  Papers, 1862‑1866.

                                    One folder, photocopies.

 

 

 

These are Civil War papers of Francis M. Williams, a native of Fredericktown in Madi­son County, Missouri, who served in the 4th Missouri Militia Regiment and the 50th Mis­souri Infan­try.  The collection includes correspondence and military papers concern­ing duty at St. Francis Bridge and in Iron and Washington counties in Missouri.

 

The Williams family came to Missouri in the early 1800s from Vir­ginia and North Caro­lina.  They were among the first settlers of Madison County.  Francis Marion Williams was born in Madison County in 1835.  He married Sarah Ann Berry of the same county in 1859.  Williams joined Union forces during the Civil War, serving first in the 4th regiment of Mis­souri militia, a six‑months unit commanded by Samuel P. Simpson.  Later in the war, Williams enlisted as ser­geant of Co. F of the 50th Missouri Infantry, a unit composed of six‑ and twelve‑months volun­teers.  Part of the regi­ment, including Williams’s company, was engaged in 1864 at the Battle of Pilot Knob.  Williams was discharged in April 1865.  He returned to Madison County, where he lived until his death in 1909.  He is buried in Mine La Motte Cemetery.

 

Williams’s papers consist of items pertaining to his military serv­ice during the war.  The ear­liest item, dated 27 February 1862 at Ironton, is a certificate of discharge from the 4th Mis­souri Militia (Simpson’s regiment).  The remainder of the collection, 1865‑1866, regards serv­ice with the 50th Missouri Infantry.  There are several items headed “St. Francis Bridge,” in­cluding a letter to Sarah Ann Williams which mentions guerrillas in the vicinity of Irondale and Blairsville and military papers concerning the return of army clothing from a civilian, and a ros­ter of the squad stationed at St. Francis Bridge.  Two postwar items in the collection are a letter from James Lind­say at Ironton about land papers destroyed during Price’s raid in 1864, and from Robert L. Lind­say, formerly Wil­liams’s company commander, regarding claims against the gov­ernment.

 

The Williams papers will be useful for research on the waning months of the Civil War in southeastern Missouri.

 

 

 

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