The Paw Paw Scout of Wayne County, Missouri

Another Chapter of

Our Story

By Keith Wayne Ragan

   The Civil War in Wayne County, Missouri was not fought with bugles, swords, and spotless uniforms.  It has been said to be, by several historians, the seat of the bloodiest guerrilla warfare of any arena of the Civil War in the United States..  Pretty much everyone knew everyone else.  If they weren’t neighbors, they knew each other from extended family alliances, trips to the general mercantile, the sawmills, the gristmills, blacksmith shops, or church or arbor gatherings.

   The militias that were formed for both sides were often composed of those that advocated slavery and/or had strong ties to Southern ancestry, vs. those that did not.  Just as often, the alliances chosen were simply community or neighborhood commonalities.  The old locales of the Ojibway and Lost Creek communities, for instance, were not seats of slavery, their immediate ancestry were not prosperous owners of vast plantations that employed slavery and so it was easy for the citizens there to find little difficulty in registering on Union rolls at the outbreak of the war in Wayne County.  Many of the men saddled their horses and rode together along dirt and rock roads and registered at old Greenville.  A great number of the men’s fathers and grandfathers had fought for the flag of the United States in the War of 1812, including Josiah Wilson[i], an ancestor many of us share in common on this family tree. Other men in old Wayne County had fought for the country’s colors in the Blackhawk War, and the War with Mexico.  It was a very natural thing for the Ojibway and surrounding communities to align with Union militias.  Besides, the war would be over before you know it.  Or so they thought.

   But instead, for almost four and one half years the men of Wayne County hunted each other without mercy in the swamps of the St. Francis River Basin, and along the adjacent Great Mingo Swamp as well. The swamps we see today are but a trace of the original size, before they were drained in later years to provide more agricultural acreage. Portions of the swamp extended all the way to New Madrid, Missouri from Wayne County, a distance of about 80 miles.  Beautiful from its perimeters, dark, foreboding, and dangerous in its interior, the swamp nourished and devoured indiscriminately.

Mingo today....Photo by Tom Talbot

Since the men knew each other, one guerrilla conflict resulting in casualties always concluded with some form of retaliation on the men victorious in the immediate engagement, and on the families of those men, and their homesteads as well.

   One such Wayne County militia that was involved in guerrilla warfare for the Union Forces was Company K, 68^th Enrolled Missouri Militia led by Captain Pinkney L. Powers.  They were famously called the Paw Paw Regiment for their love of Paw Paws.  At every opportunity they gathered the fruit, and they even took them along as snacks on their forays and scouts.

   Company K made history books when on an cold, wet day, January 25^th, 1863 they set out as part of five companies of 115 men through swamps regarded as impassable on a scout to Bloomfield in Stoddard County to engage Confederate guerrillas as revenge for an earlier raid the rebel forces had made in Wayne County.  One of the Paw Paw Regiment men, surveyor and preacher H. C. Wilkinson wrote in later years, he would “never forget that gloomy Sunday morning as the command rode away in a cold, slow January rain with the girls, their “Sundays’ on, looking on with long faces[ii].”

   For relevance, Bloomfield was about half way between Poplar Bluff in Butler County, and old Greenville in Wayne County – to the southeast of Greenville and to the northeast of Poplar Bluff. Confederate guerrilla militias controlled the roads into Bloomfield, as Bloomfield was a Confederate stronghold.  This being at a time before the impoundment of Wappappello Reservoir, that meant that the men of the Paw Paw Regiment had to cross the original morass of water and vegetation, in places extremely foul, of the flooded St. Francis River bottoms and the immense Mingo Swamp to arrive safely and deliver surprise to the enemy in Bloomfield proper. 

   As was typical for the time of year, the river was swollen and flooded all of the low areas.  At no place was there the definition of a riverbank, except as revealed by strategically located ferry boats. The men were shivering in the cold and wet conditions of the foul January weather, and wading the frigid swamp waters would insure that they would become even more miserable. The flooded bottoms, inclement conditions, and challenges of terrain and fauna were obstacle enough, but there was yet another problem.  Very few knew how to navigate the way safely through Mingo Swamp; and one of the rare few was a soldier in the Paw Paw regiment, Company K.

   The unit rode through the rain the first day from Ft. Benton[iii] in Wayne County near Patterson until, shivering and soaked through to the bone they set up bivouac.  They had passed through the empty lands, void of homesteads, between Bear Creek and the Greenville to Fredericktown Road to the head of Lost Creek.

The hill near Patterson where Fort Benton once stood.  Photo from rebelcreekmissouri.blogspot.com

   After a welcome break for a meal, they traveled on through the Lost Creek settlements until night overtook them in the Greenville and Bloomfield Road vicinity, about half way between the settlements and the swamp. They were near the east bank of the St. Francis River at the residence of the widow Rubottom[iv]. The men were too anxious, cold, and wet to sleep.

   The next morning they proceeded to the Mingo Ferry at Mingo River, near its confluence with the St. Francis.  As the river was in condition to prevent fording with the horses, they ferried across to the edge of the swamp, now swollen with black waters overflowing from the St. Francis River and neighboring streams.  The first area they had to cross before they could catch their breath was a substantial stretch of swirling water at least knee deep.  Once begun, the journey offered nothing in the way of landmarks and direction was critically concealed.  The Paw Paw scout had better know his stuff if they were to reach their intended ambush with strength remaining to accomplish their mission.  And he did.

  The detachments rode and alternately led their horses to each patch of high ground through the muddy waters, led by the scout, over 18 miles until they neared Bloomfield. They finally stopped, short of the town, the second night at the spreads of Duck Creek[v].  At every rise of high ground approaching Bloomfield they surprised and took Confederate pickets prisoner. One of the men they encountered a short way from the destination, obviously a Confederate soldier heading home on furlough, was captured.  He was known by several of the Paw Paw men, and he begged them to not take him captive.  For this consideration, he revealed there were 150 Confederate soldiers in Bloomfield, totally unaware that Union forces had miraculously navigated the swamp and were soon to engage them.  A rider was sent to the rear Militia units trailing the advance scouting party with orders to “hurry them up”. 

  The Paw Paw men, relieved to be rid of the swamp and with the metallic taste of fear on their tongues, hearts pounding ,praying for surprise, fearing their death, began descending from a ridge above Bloomfield towards the town at a slow deliberate gait.  They were still hidden from the main town view by a dense tree line.  When almost there the big guns brought by the rear party of Union militia boomed, and the order was given for full gallop.  The various detachments, whooping and yelling, led by the Paw Paw forward unit converged on the town’s center “en mass”.

   There were six confederate guerrilla companies staged in Bloomfield that day, spread out from the courthouse to the hotel. Some of the Southern boys simply surrendered while others exchanged fire as they made a hasty and erratic retreat into the countryside outside of town. 

Stoddard County Courthouse located in Bloomfield after the Civil War, scene of the Union Victory.

Photo courtesy Stoddard County Historical Society.

   The Great Bloomfield Raid was successful because of the Union having used the advantage of an unseen and unexpected approach through the quagmires and flood waters of the low lands separating Wayne and Stoddard counties.  52 guerrilla officers and men were captured, 70 head of horses, and 100 stands of arms.  Not a single casualty was suffered on either side. The Southern Forces completely taken by surprise put up little resistance and it was a rare moment in the annals of the Wayne County guerrilla wars, as mercy was given to those that surrendered.

   But there was a problem. Again. They had to retreat with their spoils and prisoners, the same way they had come.  It was told to them that 600 more Confederate troops were in the area, controlled the roads proper, and the Southern boys that escaped the Bloomfield raid would summon this army and soon be in hot pursuit.  The men understood quickly that there was little likelihood that they would be not killed either before or after, if they were engaged.  They were exhausted.  But, they took to the swamps again.  Again, one man knew how to navigate quickly and safely, and the lives of all hung again upon his abilities.  Just one inadvertent course that required a backtrack or adjustment would result in massacre of most of the Union detachments.

   Confederate Colonel Solomon Kitchen[vi] with 600 men closed on the Paw Paw regiment and the detachments quickly.  The swamps were, to the southern guerrillas, their old friends and a place of sanctuary when required.  But, they weren’t exactly sure which route would take them directly to the retreating enemy soldiers, and this small delay allowed the Paw Paw scout just enough time to keep the Union boys in a lead. In fact, just as they crossed the Mingo Ferry to the other side of the river, the Confederate men watched them disappear into the standing timber. 

   The scout who led them to victory through the swamps and to safety through them again was to be a famous man for years in Wayne County story telling.  He is documented in history books for his contributions, though perhaps not with the acclaim that his feats and heroism warranted.  He was the son of my great-great-great grandfather and brother to my great-great grandmother, as he is related to most in this family tree, the Wilson, Moore, Ward, Tarlton lines in particular. He is important to the fabric of our family’s story, and he should not be forgotten. 

   He was a very tall man, some say close to 6’10” tall and a life-long bachelor.  Everyone liked him and admired him.  He was named ironically for the Swamp Fox of South Carolina, Francis Marion, the patriot of Revolutionary War fame.  He was Francis Marion Ward[vii], son of Meshack Ward[viii], brother to Mahala Ward.  He was Wayne County’s – and this family’s – Swamp Fox.

   Francis Marion Ward was the Paw Paw Swamp Fox.

Francis Marion Ward enlistment in Company K, 68th Regiment.

   Francis loved family.  So when his sister Mary Jane Ward[ix] married William Bennett[x] he had visited often. The visits by Francis however, came to a sudden halt when William decided to take his sister and family to the other side of Mingo Swamp and out of the Lost Creek settlements where so much fighting had already begun.  William thought the war was of little merit, and it was one in which he was steadfastly opposed.  So if Francis wanted to visit with his friend and brother-in-law William and sister Mary, he needed to learn how to navigate the swamp.  Francis was an avid hunter and accomplished backwoodsman, and so he took it upon himself to challenge the swamp; short forays at first, venturing ever further and further until he knew it like very few were ever to know it.

   Alexander Tarlton[xi], a great-great grandfather and brother-in-law to Francis Marion Ward through his marriage to Mahala Ward[xii], would name a son for him, Francis Marion Tarlton[xiii].  In February, 1864 Alexander would be called into duty in the Paw Paw Regiment, and be killed by the Southern guerrillas in his home a week before Christmas of that same year, unarmed, in front of wife Mahala and her children, including great-grandmother Susan Tarlton Moore[xiv]. 

  Grandmother Bessie Moore Wilson[xv] did not need much time to decide on a name of her first born son.  The namesake was to be for her mother’s uncle, Francis Marion Ward.  She knew him as a child, though it is not certain how much memory a six-year-old girl would retain of those early years of life, but she had heard the stories of his valor and contributions and like most, had admired the tall, gangly, hero of the Paw Paw Regiment and family stories.

   Grandma Bessie’s uncle, Francis Marion Tarlton had died by 1894 giving more sentimentality to the name, although she was never to know him. Ultimately Uncle “Hank” Wilson was named for this now obscure scout of the great Bloomfield Raid -- of such importance to Wayne County history. Francis Marion “Hank” Wilson[xvi] was named for Francis Marion Ward, and possibly to some lesser contributing extent, Francis Marion Tarlton.

  Francis Ward’s original Civil war enlistment papers were presented to Francis “Hank” Wilson by Hank’s brothers and sisters[xvii]. They were attached to a plaque, to commemorate and honor his namesake.

  Now you know about the Paw Paw Regiment, the Paw Paw Scout,  the great Bloomfield Raid, and the namesake of Uncle “Hank” Wilson.

 And a little more of “our story.”

 

Keith Wayne Ragan

  February 28, 2012

  

Note: Histories of the events and military units have been researched extensively while doing the research for several family stories and profiles, especially the narrative I have written on “The Tarltons of Wayne County, Missouri”.  But, all family should be indebted to the research by Cletis R. Ellinghouse on Wayne County in general.  Many of our family members are mentioned and profiled in his books, including Wayne County’s Lost River Settlements and Mingo.  The latter especially was important in the compilation of this narrative.  Our family should be eternally grateful for his research ethic, attention to detail, and written record for our Wayne County ancestry.

This narrative is copyrighted and may not be reproduced for purpose of publication without the author’s written approval.  It is intended for family of all descendents of the individuals in the narrative and it may be reproduced without approval as needed for family collections.

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Footnotes:

[i] Josiah Wilson (1788-Bef 1860) was born in Virginia, but was a War of 1812 soldier, we believe at this writing, in Tennessee.  He and Sarah McBride Wilson were in the present Wayne County, Missouri by 1819 and were pioneers instrumental in the settlement. 

[ii] From the book Mingo, by Cletis R. Ellinghouse, Xlibris Corporation, Philadelphia, PA.

[iii] Fort Benton was located at Patterson in Wayne County.

[iv] Approximate location would have been just North of the Butler County line, in Wayne County on the river’s east bank..

[v] This was probably at a point between today’s towns of Asherville and Puxico. This was swamp at the time.  The short distance covered the second day was a result of the terrain (swamp).

[vi] Solomon G. Kitchen was born 1820 in Roane County, Tennessee.  He was in Stoddard County by 1841 and at various times had the distinction of being the county’s first lawyer, a judge, land developer. He had interests in the railroad, and contributed to the building of the first court houses in Butler and Stoddard County, MO.  He died in Kirkwood, MO in 1891.  He has an ancestry link in this tree through the Maloney line.

[vii] Francis Marion Ward (1835-1905) was born in Tennessee, almost certainly in Henry County near the town of Paris.  After his mother Elizabeth’s death in 1885, he lived with his father Meshack and took care of him until his death.  Meshack deeded the land he lived on since 1850 to Francis some years prior to his death.

[viii] Meshack Ward (1804-1891) was born in Orange County, N.C.  His biography states that he was involved in several skirmishes during the Civil War in Wayne County, though not enlisted in service because of advanced age.   He was elected Justice of the Peace and served as Judge of the County Court for two years.

[ix] Mary Jane Ward (1830-1912) was born in Tennessee, it is believed in Maury County near Columbia on the Duck River.

[x] William Bennett (1828-1901) returned his family to the Lost Creek area of Wayne County at the end of the Civil War.  Francis Marion Ward could now keep his feet dry!

[xi] Alexander C. Tarlton was born on the Tarlton Plantation in Wayne County, Missouri north of Wappappello and near Mingo swamp.  The property had been in the Tarlton family since at least 1825 when it was homesteaded by General Azion Tarlton, his grandfather.  His murder in 1864 was 1 week before Christmas, and he was home recovering from illness at the time. I believe that his death occurred in the vicinity of Lost Creek near the property of Meshack Ward and Francis Marion Ward.

[xii] Mahala Ward (1834-1926) was born near Paris, Tennessee and died while living at the home of her daughter, Susan Tarlton Moore and son-in-law Daniel Moore in the old Moore Community near Rucker and Ojibway, MO.

[xiii] Francis Marion Tarlton (1857-1894) was the son of Alexander C. Tarlton and Mahala Ward Tarlton.  He married Josephine Block in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri in September 1880.  He was teaching school in Dunklin, Mo in 1880 and he is known to have taught school in Wayne County as well. He was not yet 8 years old when he witnessed his father’s assassination in the family home.

[xiv] Susan Ann Tarlton Moore (1863-1948) lived with daughter Bessie Moore Wilson on Reece’s Creek at the time of her death.  She was virtually blind since childhood, able to make out only dim shadows and shapes.

[xv] Bessie Edith Moore Wilson (1899-1993).  Grandma always had room for family and an extra chicken to fry.

[xvi] Francis Marion “Hank” Wilson (1918-1988)

[xvii] Personal communication with Francis Marion Wilson’s sister, Mary Louise Wilson Bazzell.