Information Sheet

 

 

R         Carthage (Mo.).

167                  Civil War battle memoir, n.d.

                                    One folder, photocopies.

 

 

 

This is an unsigned, manuscript account of the battle of Carthage in Jasper County, Mis­souri, on 5 July 1861.  Contextual evidence indicates that the author might have been Archy Thomas, a sol­dier in the Missouri State Guard from Carrollton, Missouri.

 

This battle memoir is consistent with official reports and secondary accounts of the fight.  It is, unfortunately, signed only by “An Eyewitness” to the battle, who was a member of the Mis­souri State Guard.  Although there is some internal evidence to suggest that Archy Thomas was the au­thor, the handwriting  and phrasing  of the memoir are not clear enough to make a certain identifi­cation of the writer.  Other than the commanding generals, Gen. Mon­roe Parsons and a Col. Pritchard are the only officers mentioned in the account.  Parsons commanded the Sixth Di­vision, Missouri State Guard, and Pritchard was in Hughes’s Brigade, Fourth Division, so it seems likely that the author was  a member of one of those divisions.

 

The Battle of Carthage was one of the largest engagements of the Civil War when it oc­curred.  It was precipitated by the Federal column sent into southwestern Missouri in the summer of 1861 to intercept  pro-Southern Missouri Governor Jackson and to prevent the junction of Mis­souri State Guard troops with Confederate forces out of Arkansas under Gen. Benjamin McCul­loch.  Led by Franz Sigel, the Federal force of about 1100 men was made up largely of St. Louis Ger­mans, many of whom were veterans of military service in Europe.  The rebel force was much larger, but consisted of unorganized and untrained recruits.  About one-third of the estimated 6000 Missouri troops were unarmed.

 

Sigel encountered Jackson’s army about twelve miles north of Carthage on July 5, and the bat­tle began with a lively artillery duel.  Although the Federal troops had the advantages of supe­rior arms and training, the Missourians soon threatened to envelope the Union line by sheer weight of numbers, forcing Sigel to order a withdrawal.  Through skillful use of his artil­lery, Si­gel man­aged a series of rear-guard actions that allowed his troops to retreat slowly to Carthage.  Night­fall ended the engagement, and, under cover of darkness, Sigel’s soldiers con­tinued their re­treat toward Sarcoxie, thus eluding the rebels.

 

Both sides claimed victory at Carthage.  Sigel was acclaimed for slipping from the grasp of a larger force and for managing a skillful retreat, the first of several retrograde movements he made during the war.  For the Missourians, victory was more tangible, the re­sults of which they were to demonstrate at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in August.  The Union withdrawal bought valuable time in which to complete their organization and begin training, and opened the route southward for supplies and reinforcements from the Confederacy.  The junction of Missouri and Confederate troops the day following the battle meant that plans could be made for an offensive to recapture the state.  Having evened the score for their pre­vious defeat at Boonville, the morale of the state troops was considerably improved, and they had gained needed battle experience along with their first victory.  With Sigel and his force temporarily out of the way, the rebels could also work the lead mines near Granby for much-needed ammunition.

 

 

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