The following story is one I stumbled across by accident a few days ago, and was so surprised by what I read that I knew I had to share it. In February and March 1865, guerrillas in Egypt, or southern Illinois, became a dangerous nuisance in a place where such issues should theoretically not exist. Illinois was a loyal Union state and home to President Lincoln. Illinois could also boast in its contribution to the war effort--more than 259,000 men resulting in 150 infantry regiments, 17 cavalry regiments, and eight independent artillery batteries, plus two regiments of artillery. Only New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio provided more soldiers than Illinois.[1]
Even with these numbers, Illinois was complicated, just like many other states in the west. Southern Illinois had a different culture than that of the northern part of the states nearer Chicago and Springfield. The population in the lower reaches of the state consisted of strong familial ties to slave-holding, Southern states. Whether the residents were more recent arrivals, or their parents moved the families from Kentucky or Tennessee, the southern sentiments remained. When hostilities broke out in April 1861, Governor Yates wisely despatched 500 Chicago militia to Cairo, and also swiftly put important bridges and railroads under government control. In May 1861, several dozen men left Illinois to join the Confederate army and eventually mustered into the 15th Tennessee. Clearly, questions of loyalty hung over that strategically important part of the state throughout the war.[2]
Though questions of loyalty remained, Egypt contributed above its quota in troops for Union service. Through the fighting men and political generals from that part of the state, notably John McClernand and John Logan, Illinois remained a pillar of Union strength.
Devoid of Civil War battlefields, Illinois still experienced episodes of violence. In the summer of 1864, a gang of suspected Confederate sympathizers, or actual Confederates from Missouri, Arkansas, or Kentucky, entered the south-central part of the state near the small hamlet of Ramsey. One Union provost Marshall in the area reported:
The Leader Clingman is a Southern desperado a bold daring energetic man of sufficient ability and force of character to obtain and hold an influence over the men among whom he operates--He has had lately in his gang about fifteen Southern desperados and five or six deserters which form the nucleus of his band to which are added as circumstances require or policy may dictate from fifty to one hundred men who are residents of the surrounding county. His policy seems to be to unite organize and drill as many men as possible. Their depredations and acts of lawlessness here consisted mostly in taking arms and supplies for their own support. But lately they have been more defiant and violent and have robbed and maltreated several union citizens a number of whom have been compelled to leave Ramsey for personal safety.
A makeshift home guard outfit quickly organized and amounted a force 300-400 strong. It moved into the suspected camp of the villains, but found nothing except evidence of a quick departure. A few small skirmishes ensued, but they were not able to bring the rebels to a decisive fight. Some locals were arrested and charged, but the leaders escaped. Later, the 41st Illinois under the command of Isaac Pugh attempted to restore order, but they too came up empty handed. Eventually, these particular guerrillas vanished and calm returned.[3]
In February 1865, guerrilla activity returned to southeastern Illinois, due to the spillover effect from the chaos of the massive guerrilla war in Kentucky. Horses were stolen in Kentucky, and transported across the river into Illinois. Some guerrillas committed depredations in Kentucky, then fled into Indiana or Illinois to avoid the numerous Union army patrols and guerrilla hunters in Kentucky. Most of these men did not even deserve the moniker of guerrilla. With a guerrilla, they might not have had any official connection to an army, but they at least had a connection to one side or cause. Stealing, murdering, and creating mayhem for only personal gain made them simple criminals. By 1865, the distinction between guerrillas and bandits was sometimes razor thin. Even the Confederate army detested the so-called Confederate guerrillas. Nathan Bedford Forrest related that such miscreants "created squads of men who are dodging pillar to post, preying on the people robbing them of their horses and other property," and "whose presence in the country gives pretext to Federal authority for oppressing the people."[4]
The commander of the Northern Department, General Joseph Hooker, permitted a force to cross the Ohio River from Kentucky into Illinois to alleviate the growing guerrilla problem in Lincoln's home state. It is unclear who exactly requested this order, as nothing has been found in any the Official Records or other sources that mention this particular incident, but one possibility is General Stephen Burbridge, military commander of Kentucky. On February 14th, he wired Hooker about possible Confederate plots to free Southern prisoners in the north, especially Camp Douglas in Chicago. If such information was to be taken seriously, it made sense to get ahead of any such plot by striking along the Ohio River.[5]
The only available force in western Kentucky was the 17th Kentucky Cavalry, a regiment that had not even finished organizing. The men of the regiment hailed from the part of the state that it mostly operated, those counties between the Green and Cumberland Rivers. Many of the officers, and the men for that matter, had previously served. Some for three years in other regiments, some for one. One reason why many of these troopers reenlisted with the 17th, was that they stood a high chance of being murdered by a roving band of guerrillas, hell-bent on killing former or current Union soldiers at their homes. The Louisville Journal reported:
For the discharged soldier, there is no safety outside a military post. Outlaw bands ride upon every road, and carry terror to many hearts. They wage a ruthless, vindictive Warfare upon the people, and have avowed vengeance upon the Federal soldier simply because Federal authorities have executed many of their comrades in a spirit of retaliation. . . The guerrillas are more numerous and bloodthirsty in their dealings now than they were one year ago. They show no mercy to their victims. The discharged soldier commands no respect from them. Every person sporting the Federal blue, who is made a prisoner by them, suffered instant death. The simple color of his dress is a death warrant. . . A new sorrow is added to the already desolate home, as a bloody corpse is stretched upon the threshold.[6]
By continuing the fight in their own neighborhoods, the war was personal.
The regiment's colonel, Samuel F. Johnson, had previously served as captain in the 8th Kentucky cavalry and lieutenant colonel of the 52nd Kentucky Mounted Infantry, an outfit that had its fair share of run-ins with Confederates, whether regular cavalry or irregulars. In 1898, Johnson filed a pension claim with the US government. In it he claimed that during the war, most of his property was destroyed on account of his anti-guerrilla activities. One witness explained that "he was at the time, in the midst of the enemy's country, his property was all swept away." Another affiant described Johnson as "a perfect terror to the Guerrillas and disloyal people, and over and over again, by the terror of his name and the promptness by which with which he executed marauders and rebel ruffians, he saved lots of Government property and railroads from being torn up, as well as the lives of many Unionists who would have been murdered."[7]
The lieutenant colonel, Thomas W. Campbell, previously served in the 25th Kentucky Infantry, and then the 17th Kentucky Infantry when those two regiments consolidated in 1862. By 1863 he served as colonel for the Hopkins County militia. In late 1864, they began recruiting for the 17th Kentucky Cavalry. The ranks of the regiment filled with hundreds of men by the late fall of 1864, but complete organization did not occur until late spring 1865. Campbell proved an active and efficient officer toward wiping the western part of the state free of the guerrilla plague.[8]
In October 1864, Burbridge issued General Orders No. 8. In it he laid out the policy that made him infamous to Kentuckians, but at the time, authorities viewed the policy as a necessity.
They [guerrillas] form no part of the original army of the rebellion, and when captured are not entitled to the treatment prescribed for regular soldiers, but by the laws of war they have forfeited their lives. Frequent robberies and murders committed by these outlaws demand that they laws of war be stringently meted out to them. Hereafter, no guerrillas will be received as prisoners, and any officer who may capture such and extend to them prisoners of war will be held accountable for disobedience of orders.[9]
The Union leaning press agreed and urged even more drastic measures. One newspaper insisted that the guerrilla bands be "systematically hunted down and exterminated." Evansville, Indiana's paper, echoed the sentiments since their city had always felt the indirect ramifications of the irregular war just across the Ohio River. The Daily Journal argued, "The robbers and murderers prowling through Kentucky are outlaws, and deserve and will receive no mercy. It is the correct policy of the Federal authorities to rid the earth of them as fast as they are caught." The Frankfort Commonwealth argued that the Confederate army did not even want to protect the guerrillas.[10]
The 17th Kentucky Cavalry was happy to oblige.
Though these goals sounded tough in the papers, carrying them out was a different manner. As 1862 had shown the Union army, the only way to deal with mounted irregulars was to have enough mounted forces to counter them and take the fight wherever they operated. This also required sizable and prepared infantry units to garrison important points along rivers and railroads, and even the Brown Water Navy to keep the rivers free of their activities. However, as the war continued to move further south, these lessons were soon forgotten, especially as Sherman pressed on toward Atlanta and beyond. He needed every available man and horse to protect his ever growing supply lines, and mount cavalry operations further south. These moves drained Kentucky of the necessary forces keeping the guerrilla threat at bay.[11]
Commanders in Kentucky howled. How could they possibly perform their duties without the proper means to do so? Generals Burbridge and Edward Hobson beseeched their superiors to leave cavalry in Kentucky. "These regiments are now operating. . .against guerrillas with every prospect of breaking up and driving out the outlaws. If taken from me I shall have no troops with which to replace them, and shall be powerless to protect the loyal people," argued Burbridge. Hobson concurred. "I am left without troops to render that part of the county safe and secure from guerrilla outrages. I doubt very much the propriety of promising the citizens of the exposed parts of Kentucky protection, furnish it for a few days, then suddenly deprive them of it." A few days later he continued, "The withdrawal of these troops (four regiments), the only mounted forces at my disposal, leaves me entirely powerless against the bands of guerrillas that infest Kentucky." Hobson also let it be known that if the ravages of guerrilla war intensified, he would not accept the blame. "I make this simple statement. . .In the event of complaint on the part of the citizens as to the insecurity of life and property, that the blame and responsibility, if any, may rest where it properly belongs, and not with us."[12]
Luckily for Burbridge, if there was to be any fallout, he would not be there to have to deal with it. In February he was replaced by General John Palmer. The Illinois general recognized immediately the predicament he was stepping into. "I reached here last night. It seems that four regiments of cavalry heretofore on duty in this state are ordered south. Much apprehension is felt in consequence," he wrote Secretary of War Stanton.[13]
The pleas fell on deaf ears and the four cavalry regiments left with General Stoneman for the south. However, there was one regiment that could be of service, if only it could complete its organization and be properly mustered into service--the 17th Kentucky Cavalry in the western part of the state. Governor Bramlette urged Stanton to give him authority to raise five more regiments. With the increasing number of Union veterans returning home, it was presumed that these regiments would fill quickly. He also repeated an earlier request to finish the organization of the 17th Kentucky.[14]
Though military commanders and political leaders in the commonwealth wrung their hands about the state of affairs, Colonel Johnson and Lieutenant Colonel Campbell did not let red tape get in the way of their fight against those who terrorized their region. Before the regiment ever set foot in Illinois, it made a reputation for itself in Kentucky. In mid February, a portion of the regiment captured 15 guerrillas. The telling of the story in the Louisville Daily Journal relates that some of the guerrillas tried to escape and were consequently killed. Shortly thereafter the rest likewise attempted to get away and "are now missing." If the men truly tried to escape, or if they were summarily executed, is anyone's guess. The paper commented that "The boys of the 17th, it is said, shoot very carelessly, especially when guerrillas are about." When some guerrillas were captured and sent north toward Johnson's Island prison though Evansville, The Evansville Daily Journal suggested that these "hared-looking set of scoundrels" be handed over to Lieutenant Colonel Campbell. Doing so "would save the Government some expense." In other words, a bullet is cheaper than a prisoner. Even in faraway Springfield, Massachusetts it was reported that Campbell was hunting guerrillas, and all those he captured he "tries by drumhead court martial and shoots."[15]
Since the regiment was spread throughout the region, small squads took it upon themselves to take the fight to their enemy. A Sergeant Stout led a squad after 10-12 guerrillas and managed to scatter them. In the process they brought back six horses, the camp equipage of the guerrillas, along with some weapons. With the removal of the other regiments from the state, these experienced soldiers disregarded the absence of mustering officers and did what they needed to do.
Johnson's headquarters in Russellville was once the hotbed of secession in the state, and served as the locale where a convention of Kentucky secessionists declared Kentucky for the Confederacy in 1861. In three and a half years, attitudes had somewhat shifted, thanks to the roving guerrillas that sometimes did not care to distinguish between Unionists or Confederates. In a speech to the citizens of the town, where many Southern soldiers serving in the Confederate army resided, Johnson reiterated that he would treat captured Confederate soldiers as prisoners of war. But should any guerrilla "scoundrels fall into his hands, that he would parole them to meet their command, no more on earth, but at the bar of Eternal Justice." Some thought that should the regiment be allowed to do what needed to be done, "the midnight cutthroats will soon play out in this section, from the simple fact they cannot live, breathe, and have a being where the 17th Kentucky cavalry are stationed." The Louisville paper urged the authorities to let Johnson and Campbell "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war." Campbell was about to do just that, and in a place few expected.[16]
Taking a detachment into Illinois under Campbell was no simple task. Illinois was technically out of their district and official jurisdiction, if they were officially in service. But as mentioned before, the guerrillas were finding the north side of the Ohio River a safe place to hide and take their captured goods. Apparently such acts had occurred for more than ten months. As commander of the Northern Department, Hooker evidently allowed the crossing to take place, resulting in an odd site for the people of southern Illinois.[17]
On their trek through western Kentucky toward the crossing at Shawneetown, Illinois, Campbell continued to enlarge the regiment's growing list of executed guerrillas. Four men, Dixon, Henry, and Elisha Brenning, along with David Jones were captured on the Kentucky side of the river. All were executed save Jones. Campbell believed Jones had vital information on the location and activities of the guerrillas he was associated with, and that information proved beneficial once in Illinois. Once the men and their horses crossed the Ohio into Shawneetown on February 18th, they were confronted by the question of one Mark Potts. Potts, who was "a notorious guerrilla, who had been captured at Mt. Vernon, Indiana," was handed over to Campbell for execution. Potts's execution was not without good cause. Reportedly, he was condemned to death a year previous, but made his escape until he was recognized and captured once again. He was delivered up to Campbell in Illinois where the question of Potts was quickly decided. In the presence of a large number of the town's curious citizens, a squad of the 17th's soldiers executed him by firing squad.[18]
Campbell's list would only grow larger. The column rode north for about 20 miles, and crossed into White County. There they captured two more men named Stewart and Carter, both described as "old sinners." These two men were hanged. At this juncture, the column split. One detachment rode directly for Carmi, while the other continued further north toward Grayville and crossed into Edwards County.[19]
Continuing north, Campbell's detachment gave chase to four guerrillas--Mart Wise, James Quin, Joseph Quin, and Dr. George Davidson. Of the four, only Davidson escaped, as he abandoned his horse and fled to the swamps. As they reached the hamlet of Big Prairie, about nine miles southeast of Carmi, with prisoners in tow, the ugly business of eradicating guerrillas continued. There, Wise and the two Quins were shot. With the executions complete, Campbell pushed for Carmi where they encamped for the night.[20]
The northern column dealt out its fair share of doom upon the guerrillas. Near Grayville, two guerrillas, Mark Carter and Thomas Carlise, were captured. The detachment continued to Albion in Edwards County where they put the two men to death. The next day they made for Shawneetown and the Ohio River. Adding to the idea that Illinois had split allegiances in this part of the state, the grave of Carter was decorated in flowers in 1879, to the horror of many in the community. They believed it was Democrats and Copperheads who were responsible for the "premeditated insult to the Union dead" buried in the same cemetery.[21]
After staying the night in Carmi, Campbell rode south back to Shawneetown where he was to rendezvous with his other detachment. Along the way they gave chase to James Neal and Lem Wise. Neal ran for the cane breaks, abandoning his horse like Dr. Davidson and evaded the cavalrymen. Wise, a brother of Mart Wise, was kept as a prisoner, and for some reason was not executed. Several other guerrillas were chased and scattered during the operation, foiling their plans and activities. However, Jones managed to get away, but was shot in the leg by a trooper in the process. During the expedition, the two columns also scattered the enemy at Saline Mines and Fairfield.[22]
When the two columns returned to Shawneetown, they brought with them several horses and mules that had been stolen. They also had a prisoner who undoubtedly faced some sort of future justice in Kentucky. The expedition could claim the execution and elimination of 11 guerrillas, significant losses for guerrilla bands and gangs. Campbell believed that the operation would allow "Southern Illinois [to] have a resting spell for some little time." [23]
The expedition was hailed as a success by those desiring to see the fight taken to the Guerrillas. However, there were those who believed the executions amounted to nothing more than murder, as described by one North Carolina newspaper. Some feared that such measures taken to guerrillas could result in the deaths of innocent men and boys who had no connection with guerrillas, but were turned in by unfriendly neighbors or associates (As happened with one of the author's ancestors. Fortunately, he was imprisoned and eventually sent home after the letters of several Unionists cleared him of the guerrilla charge.). With the end of the war approaching, the guerrilla war eventually began to die down as well. The guerrilla bands led by men like Clarke, Quantrill, Magruder, Davison, and the others lost to history, dissipated with the deaths of their leaders.[24]
The Unionists of Kentucky were fortunate that regiments like the 17th Kentucky Cavalry battled those who brought chaos and death to their state. In a way, even Confederate sympathizers benefited from the protection. The regiment remorselessly and unapologetically waged the only kind of war able to bring the desired peace. Those of us looking back at 1865 Kentucky can probably agree that they succeeded in their mission.
Derrick Lindow is an author, historian, teacher, and creator of the WTCW site. His first book, published by Savas Beatie, was released in Spring 2024. Go HERE to read more posts by Derrick and HERE to visit his personal page. Follow Derrick on different social media platforms (Instagram and Twitter) to get more Western Theater and Kentucky Civil War Content.
Sources:
[1] Hicken, Victor. Illinois in the Civil War (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1966), 5.
[2] Hicken, Illinois in the Civil War, vii-viii, 12.
[3] Tingley, Donald F. "The Clingman Raid," Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society Vol. 53, No. 2 (1963), 355-361.
[4] Whitesell, Hunter B. "Military Operations in the Jackson Purchase Area of Kentucky, 1862-1865," Register (1965), 342.
[5] OR Vol. 49, part 1, 716; The Western Citizen, March 10, 1865, 2; OR Vol. 49, part 1, 716; Wilmington Independent March 1, 1865, 2.
[6] Speed, Thomas. The Union Regiments of Kentucky (Louisville, 1897), 264-265; Louisville Daily Journal, March 7, 1865, 3.
[7] Report from the Committee on Invalid Pensions concerning Colonel Samuel F. Johnson; Louisville Daily Journal, Mar. 18, 1865, 1.
[8] Speed, The Union Regiments of Kentucky, 264-265; Louisville Daily Journal, March 18, 1865, 1.
[9] OR Vol. 39, part 3, 457.
[10] "The Guerrillas in Kentucky," The Western Citizen, Feb. 10, 1865, 3; Evansville Daily Journal, Feb. 22, 1865, 2; The Frankfort Commonwealth, Feb. 28, 1865, 3.
[11] For more information on the irregular and partisan war in 1862 western Kentucky, see my book, We Shall Conquer or Die: Partisan Warfare in 1862 Western Kentucky.
[12] ORÂ Vol. 49, part 1, 732-733, 742.
[13] ORÂ Vol. 49, part 1, 741.
[14] ORÂ Vol. 49, part 1, 753.
[15] Louisville Daily Journal, Feb. 21, 1865, 1; Evansville Daily Journal, Feb. 25, 1865, 2; The Springfield Daily Republican, March 2, 1865, 3.
[16] Louisville Daily Journal, March 18, 1865, 1.
[17] OR Vol. 49, part 1, 716; Wilmington Independent March 1, 1865, 2.
[18] Centralia Sentinel, March 9, 1865, 3; "Execution of Guerrillas in Illinois," Evansville Daily Journal, Feb. 25, 1865, 2; "Guerrilla Hunting in Egypt," Chicago Tribune, March 6, 1865, 2; Daily State Journal, March 1, 1865, 3.
[19] "Execution of Guerrillas in Illinois," Evansville Daily Journal, Feb. 25, 1865, 2; "Guerrilla Hunting in Egypt," Chicago Tribune, March 6, 1865, 2; Daily State Journal, March 1, 1865, 3.
[20] "Execution of Guerrillas in Illinois," Evansville Daily Journal, Feb. 25, 1865, 2; "Guerrilla Hunting in Egypt," Chicago Tribune, March 6, 1865, 2; Daily State Journal, March 1, 1865, 3.
[21] "Execution of Guerrillas in Illinois," Evansville Daily Journal, Feb. 25, 1865, 2; "Guerrilla Hunting in Egypt," Chicago Tribune, March 6, 1865, 2; Daily State Journal, March 1, 1865, 3; Daily Cairo Bulletin, June 18, 1879.
[22] "Execution of Guerrillas in Illinois," Evansville Daily Journal, Feb. 25, 1865, 2; "Guerrilla Hunting in Egypt," Chicago Tribune, March 6, 1865, 2; Daily State Journal, March 1, 1865, 3; Western Citizen, March 10, 1865, 2.
[23] "Execution of Guerrillas in Illinois," Evansville Daily Journal, Feb. 25, 1865, 2; "Guerrilla Hunting in Egypt," Chicago Tribune, March 6, 1865, 2; Daily State Journal, March 1, 1865, 3.
[24] "Murder of Confederates," Fayetteville Semi-Weekly Observer, March 9, 1865, 3.