After 5: Battle Buffs

But to the area’s Civil War history buffs, the mention of one of those names is the start of a fascinating conversation.

That’s because Missouri was one of the most fiercely contested states during the war, a result of its location smack in the middle of the nation.

“People don’t realize how much Missouri was involved (in the war),” says Hal Funk, a retired elementary school teacher and Missouri State University education professor. Funk is involved with the Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks and regularly gives presentations on a number of historic topics. “People think about the southeast and the Carolinas, and Kentucky. But only two states had more battles fought there than Missouri. And the guerilla warfare was worse in Missouri than anywhere else where the war was fought.”

There was a reason for all the tension and violence in Missouri, especially in the Ozarks, according to John Rutherford, a historian with the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

The Confederacy favored continuing slavery, due in large part to its dependence on cotton, which had to be picked by hand. Missouri was split on the issue, Rutherford said, because of the state’s varied topography.

“The kind of anomaly is that because this was rocky terrain, cotton didn’t grow very well down here (in southwest Missouri), and that seems to me to be the reason for the strong connection to the union,” Rutherford said. “On the other hand, if you look along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, those were very strong areas for cotton, and for confederate support.”

Steve Buffat is not a native Missourian, but the manager of Massachusetts-based Nantero’s operation at the Roy D. Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center has always been a Civil War buff. He has a large collection of Civil War-era pictures, including daguerreotypes.

Buffat also specializes in document collecting and analysis, a hobby he enjoys for several reasons.

“It’s bringing history to life again,” Buffat said. “When I pick up a document, or buy one from a dealer, I immediately go to work on that document to understand who the person was and what they were going through. I don’t just buy a cannonball or something willy-nilly.”

And for Buffat, the Ozarks is a Civil War enthusiast’s Nirvana, with several battles that occurred in the area: Wilson’s Creek, Carthage, Springfield, Hartville and Pea Ridge.

“When I moved to this area, I realized there was a lot more of the Civil War here,” said Buffat, an Idaho native. “This was a sought-after state during the war, and everywhere you look there was something happening here.”

Did you know …

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek was the first major Civil War battle west of the Mississippi, a victory for the Confederacy, and the site where the first Union general was killed in combat. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, 6424 W. Farm Road 182 in Republic, is a popular site for Civil War enthusiasts. The battlefield is maintained by the National Park Service and has remained relatively untouched since the battle on Aug. 10, 1861. The museum and visitor’s center on site have an extensive collection of books, documents and artifacts about the Civil War west of the Mississippi River. For more information, visit the battlefield Web site at www.nps.gov/wicr.

Interested?

The Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks holds its next monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. July 11 at the Library Center, 4653 S. Campbell Ave. Round table members will show off relics from Civil War-era relatives. Visitors are welcome, and admission is free.

For more information, visit http://history.missouristate.edu/WGPiston/CWRT/cwrt.htm

Important Names

Claiborne Jackson – governor of Missouri, sympathetic to the Confederate cause – he planned to seize the U.S. arsenal in St. Louis.

Nathaniel Lyon – commander of the weapons arsenal. He secretly moved the weapons to Illinois and went on to capture the state capitol for the Union. Later, the general was killed at Wilson’s Creek after marching his troops to southwest Missouri.

Sterling Price – commander of the Missouri National Guard. He led 12,000 troops into battle against Lyon’s forces.

“Bloody” Bill Anderson – a pro-Confederate guerilla leader known for his brutality toward both Union soldiers and pro-Union civilians in Missouri and Kansas. His group was part of the Lawrence (Kan.) Massacre, which saw the killing of more than 200 men and boys, the robbing of the town bank and the burning of most of its buildings.[[In-content Ad]]