Information Sheet

 

 

R         Peirce City Guards.

544                  Records, 1883-1888.

                                    One folder, photocopies.

 

 

 

This collection consists of a “Secretary’s Record” and miscellaneous papers of the Peirce City Guards, a local company of state militia at Peirce (now Pierce) City in Lawrence County, Mis­souri.  Included are minutes of meetings and some membership data.

 

According to secondary accounts the “Peirce City State Guards” were organized in August 1877 as a unit of the “Missouri Second Regiment of State Guards.”  However, these records refer to the unit as Company E of the “Fifth Regiment, N.G.M.” [“National Guard Militia”].  The same published accounts state that in the 1890s the unit was “reorganized” into the Second Mis­souri In­fantry, and saw service, but not action, in the Spanish-American War.

 

During the period covered by these records the Peirce City Guards first prospered and then struggled to survive as a functional organization.  Membership appears to have peaked between 25 and 30, with active membership about half of that.  The military head of the unit was “Captain” F. C. Stellhorn, although an elected slate of civil officers (president, vice-president, secretary, treas­urer, and trustees) conducted the unit’s administrative affairs and business meet­ings.  Members also held military titles, including commissioned and non-commissioned ranks.  Leading members during this period included J. L. Johnson, John H. Barber, H. M. Dockery, Jo­seph N. Davies, George H. Hill, Albert Newman, Will A. Rhea, Henry T. Tutt, and W. A. Dun­can.

 

The major portion of the collection consists of the “Secretary’s Record,” which commenced with the meeting of 12 November 1883.  For an unexplained reason, the record book was begun on Page 13, with entries through Page 16.  Then the chronological order went to Page 1, contin­ued through Page 12, and then resumed on Page 19.  Pages 17 and 18 are missing, but there is no ap­parent gap in the record.  Entries then continued through Page 28, where the minutes con­cluded.  Page 110 contains receipts for funds deposited in the treasury by the secretary.  There are several “loose” items, which have been designated by the letters A through G.

 

Meetings were generally held monthly, at first on the first Monday, later changed to the sec­ond Monday.  However, there are no minutes from January 1884 to January 1885, and after June 1886 meetings were irregular.  The meetings appear to have been marked by some rancor, as elec­tions were usually contested and motions were often defeated or ruled out of order by the chair.  New recruits were admitted by a vote of the attending membership, and in June 1886 two prospec­tive members were refused admission.  Only seven meetings were held in the last two years repre­sented in this collection.

 

The record begins on 12 November 1883 with a meeting in the Mayor’s office.  At this meet­ing it was determined to secure lumber and a lot and to construct an “armory” for the use of the unit.  The membership also received an invitation from the Carthage (Mo.) Light Guards to at­tend a military ball on Thanksgiving night.  By the December meeting two lots on Walnut Street, leased from the Odd Fellows, had been obtained for the armory.

 

By January 1885 the Guards were meeting at the “Armory Hall,” and the unit entered its happiest period as represented in these records.  The membership organized a brass band, pur­chasing instruments for $20 in February 1885 [See item B.].  In May they presented a “festival,” including “a dress drill,” which raised over $100, to be applied to the armory debt.  The member­ship considered the purchases of gymnasium apparatus, and knapsacks to complete their uni­forms.  They purchased a medal, which was to be worn monthly by the member “who comes out victorious at the Cos. Competitive Drill” [See item A.].  In February 1886, after having had the floor of the armory planed, the Guards hosted a military ball, and in May the Armory Hall was home to a “Strawberry Festival.”  In June several members announced plans to attend the “state encamp­ment.”

 

However, there were no meetings between 14 June 1886 and 10 January 1887.  At that time elections were held, but at the next meeting, on 11 April 1887, the membership considered dis­banding.  The major problem might have been financial, as a committee was appointed to solicit new recruits and to secure delinquent dues.  On 23 May 1887 the Guards met pursuant to call from the president and voted that Company E “do now disband as a Military organization.”  The com­pany medal was given to Capt. Stellhorn in consideration for his faithful service.  Still, there may have been other activities after this, probably rentals of the Armory Hall, as an account sheet [item F] shows receipts from the “Col[ored?]. Mason Festival” ($3) in June 1887 and a “Temperance Lecture” ($38) on 24 September 1887.  They continued lease payments to the Odd Fellows.

 

In December 1887 the Guards met again to debate the disposition of the Armory Hall and its furnishings.  The trustees were empowered to sell the assets for not less than $350.  On 30 May 1888, at a final meeting, F. C. Stellhorn was elected president, and the Peirce City Guards ad­journed, sine die.

 

 

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