J.S.Griffing:"It Is Said The Topeka Boys Fought Like Tigers"

James Griffing and the rest of the 23rd. Kansas Militia returned home to Nemeha County shortly after the Battle of Westport and the retreat of General Price's Army.  He immediately began to search the newspapers for details of the fate of his friends and neighbors of the 2nd Kansas Militia from Shawnee County where he and his wife Augusta had so recently resided.  The sad results are contained in James next letter to Augusta.

Lincoln [Kansas]
October 30, 1864

My Dear Cutie [Augusta],

You will be glad to hear that your husband is at home again safe and sound. My last letter was written to you whilst we were in the trenches at Kansas City amidst the greatest confusion & excitement in sight of the smoke of a  most tremendous battle and if it reaches you, I want you to be sure & keep it, that I may know what I wrote, when I may see you again. The night before it was written, I thought it not improbable that I might never see you again and as my place in the ranks was next to Brother [John] Hodgins of Centralia, we had agreed with each other – as we lay sleeping upon our arms in the city of Wyandotte – if we should be spared to see about the other’s family. The Good Being averted the battle, which threatened to take place at Kansas City, and caused it to take place at another point. And the consequence is that instead of the citizens of Nemaha being thrown into the deepest mourning, our acquaintances and friends in Shawnee County suffered as much as any one county in the great conflict. I have not as yet received the full particulars but enough to convince me that it is dreadful. Not only as the Topeka Battery taken, but a great many were either killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, or are missing. Among the killed, I notice Lieut. Col. [H. M.] Greene* (United Brethren preacher on Wakarusa), Mac Martin (Dr. Martin’s brother), W. P. Roberts (Judge Robert’s son at Big Springs), Mr. [Samuel Allen?], James Eagle, Tavern keeper at Big Springs, Dan Handley of Topeka, John Ward* (the Ward’s son above Topeka), H. C. Coville living above Topeka, Harvey Young, N. Brown, L. Selkin, M. D. Race, R. McNown, Mr. Rake, Charles Budd, Mr. Chapman, and two others unknown reported up to Monday as killed/wounded. I have concluded to cut out the piece and send you. Please preserve it.  

 *Henry M.Greene and John Ward both survived but suffered major injuries

  As to Brother [Joshua]Hannum’s Company, I am almost afraid to hear the particulars. Those killed living at Big Springs must have been in his Company. I saw (Ishiel)Tyler a moment at Kansas City. He says they were right in the fight and had plenty to do. Says that he (Tyler) lost a horse. I am anxious to learn the fate of Bro. Hannum, [James]Taylor, [Jesse] Stevenson, Lewis Clogston, John Ward & all our old neighbors. Also to hear the fate of the many taken prisoners. It is most dreadful to think of. Had we been residing at Topeka, I might have been in the thickest of the fight and helped to do something for the salvation of my state, and the good of my country. It is said the Topeka boys fought like tigers. They held the advancing columns of Price’s advancing legions at bay for about an hour until they were surrounded and their battery taken. I have been away from home so much or I would go right down there and see and sympathize with my old neighbors. I am anxious to hear from Harry Winans. I expect he was in the midst of the fight. I learn the mail is about to start. I will write again soon as I get more particulars. I found two letters from you when I came home. One written with a pencil from Hartford, the other written after returning [to Owego]. Was glad to hear [from you]. I think Missouri will be safer now. I may come for you directly after my Quarterly Meeting, or preacher’s meeting, starting about the 20th of November if you deem best. Write and let me know. Buy just as little as you must at present prices. Everything is bound to change after [the presidential] election. – J. S. Griffing

 Owego [New York]
October 30, 1864

My dear husband [James],

I see by one of the New York papers that [General] Price has been defeated & has retreated. I hope it is true and that there will be no need of you or any others of the militia to be sent after him again. I received a letter written at Atchison and was in hopes to get another yesterday but none came. I hope to hear soon that all are safe…. I hope this will find you well and that the next letter will bring me good news from you. The boys often talk of you and want to see you very much. Write often as you can. Ever your, -- Augusta

 Augusta was hopeful that James would have good news in his next letter, but it wasn't meant to be. 

The Letters of James and Augusta Griffing:"Excuse the Dirt, Grease and Writing"

                                                 James and Augusta Griffing in 1855

                                                      photo courtesy of W.J.Griffing
  I recently discovered a website griffingweb.com which features the personal letters of James Griffing, a Methodist Minister who in the fall of 1864 was living in the now defunct town of Lincoln in Nemeha County Kansas.  These letters provide an insight into the lives of the men of the 2nd KSM and their families around the time of the Battle at Mockbee Farm which so many were wounded, killed or captured.
   James had his wife Augusta had recently rented out their homestead in Shawnee County and moved to temporary quarters in Lincoln, Kansas. After a Cheyenne uprising on the central Kansas plains threatened  the family's safety it was decided that Augusta and her three children should return to the Griffing's home state of New York . This meant that they would have to venture through the volatile state of Missouri which was rife with guerrilas and outlaws.  The plan was carried out anyways and by August 1864 Augusta and the children were safely in Owego, New York.  James meanwhile was called to join the Nemeha Home Guards in response to the Cheyenne threat and when Price's Army invaded Missouri, he mobilised with his unit toward the Border area should the Confederates threaten Kansas.  James served with the 22nd Regiment of the Kansas State Militia, Co. G and was encamped with his unit at Kansas City when he took time to write to Augusta.
 

  In camp, Kansas City
October 23, 1864

My Dear Wife [Augusta],

We came here last evening. [General] Price is reported to have entered Westport last evening and [is] said to have a force of from 20 thousand to 40. If so, and as he is pretty well surrounded, I am looking for a pretty severe contest today. Our company may be in the midst of a most terrible slaughter. The thing has become more of a reality than I was expecting when I started. I hope everything will be for the best.

 Half past two o’clock. I commenced writing [you] this morning [when] an order came that we must drop everything and march at once. So we came over to the breastworks which Col. Jennison had thrown up for the protection of Kansas City. Col. Jennison was driven in by the rebels last evening into the entrenchments where we are at present quartered. They are at present fighting a tremendous battle five miles south of this [location]. The wounded are being brought in, in large numbers. We can see the smoke of the battle very plainly, but the wind is quite unfavorable, and the continued talking and cheering as the dispatches come in prevents our hearing much of the thunder of the artillery.

Still later. Our men have cut off his long train of commissaries, taken a large amount of his pillage, and Price is going South just as fast as he can. An order has come requiring just as many of our men as possible to get horses and pursue him. I have not yet been down to the hospital to see the wounded. Our regimental surgeon, Dr. Hidden, just told me they were generally slightly wounded; he thought but few cases would prove fatal. You can form no idea of the amount of Militia here – especially the infantry. I was just down where the Topeka boys were camped. They told me the Topeka battery was taken by the enemy yesterday and Col. Veale’s cavalry company was cut off from the main body, and they had not as yet heard from them.

 Next morning. Dreary from standing guard most of the night. News comes that the enemy are retreating [as] fast as they can go with our men in hot pursuit, fighting him with the artillery and cavalry. A great many hundred have already been killed and taken prisoners. Yesterday, whilst a portion of the men were packing up to leave on the retreat, they were surprised by a battery planted in their front which mowed down a large number of them. Our Captain, who was ordered down to assist in guarding prisoners, says he thinks we will be ordered home again today. I do hope it will be so that I can go out to the battlefield before I return. Returning cavalry militia state that the “Rebs” are scattered quite thickly over the ground. Preparations are making for a drill so I will leave this and hope to write again soon. Hoping I may be able to tell you good news about the Topeka Cavalry, as Capt. [Joshua B.] Hannum’s Company was away then. Now I would like to hear how you all are this morning. Ever your own affectionate husband, -- James   NB. excuse the dirt, grease and writing as it has been done mostly as I could catch it on my knee in camp.

 Owego [New York]
October 27, 1864

My dear husband [James],

I hope to hear soon that the militia are not engaged in fighting. I cannot bear to think that you have got to be in battles. It is dreadful to think of the poor families left desolate & alone this time of the year. I am glad we are here if there is to be trouble in Kansas. People have said ever since I came that they would not think of going back this winter & now they think it would be foolish & unwise. Ever your affectionate wife, -- Augusta

 The letters in the next post between James and Augusta discuss the fate of those they knew from the 2nd KSM.

Nelson Holder Ritchie, Co. B - "A Good Clean Man"

 

                                                        photo courtesy of Kurt Rogers 

          Nelson Holder Ritchie arrived in the Topeka Kansas area around 1860, coming over from western Missouri.  Born Nelson Holder in what was later Lawrence County Missouri,he was a man of mixed race who was listed as "white", "black" or "colored" in various census and Civil War Draft Registration records.  It has been the subject of discussion amongst Nelson's descendants that he may have been part Cherokee.  According to one daughter, "He was a very good looking man over six feet tall, about 200 hundred pounds, black curly hair, a good clean man."    Nelson told his descendants that he was raised by an old Scotch lady, as his mother died when he was a baby and his father died before he was born.
  Nelson took on the Ritchie surname after being taken in and perhaps employed by noted early Topekan John Ritchie.  John Ritchie was a Free-stater and abolitionist with ties to the Underground Railroad and was also Commander of the 2nd Indian Home Guards - a Federal Unit from Kansas during the Civil War.  John also served in various capacities with the 5th Kansas Cavalry in 1861/62, a unit which frequently skirmished with the Confederates in the Border area.  It was perhaps on one of these forays that John encountered 20 year old Nelson - or it could be that Nelson came to Topeka seeking a better life and was taken under the wing of John Ritchie.  Whatever actually happened, by 1864 Nelson's prospects at a better life had dramatically increased with his arrival in Topeka.  The threat of Rebel invasion put these prospects at risk however and in October 1864 Nelson answered the call to arms and joined the 2nd Kansas Militia, Company B.  According to one of Nelson's daughters, "It was at the close of the Civil War, and Nelson got in on the last part of it.  He was in the Cavalry and had a good horse.  He had his hat with a few bullet holes in it, but he was never hurt.  He was in his twenties at the time of the war." 
  Like so many of his peers in the 2nd Kansas Militia, Nelson narrowly escaped the Battle of Mockbee Farm and returned to Topeka, where he rejected an offer from John Ritchie to attend school.  Nelson had decided that he would build a life in Kansas, but it would be on his terms.  He worked hard, perhaps working construction on one of the numerous buildings sprouting up in the rapidly growing capitol of Kansas and by 1870 he had married and fathered a child.  After his wife and child both died in 1871 (Nelson joked with his later family that he thought an old black mammy had poisoned them) Nelson persevered and moved to Great Bend Kansas where he owned and operated a hotel, complete with livery stables and carriages for hire.  He remarried and raised quite a large family at Great Bend and in 1892 relocated to Bountiful Utah where he worked for the railroad for many years.  His family continued to grow and Nelson was a good father and husband, passing on these enduring qualities to his loved ones before passing away in Bountiful in 1913 at the age of 72.
   Nelson passed to the great beyond without giving many details of his experiences with the 2nd Kansas Militia to his friends and family.  This seemed to be a common trait among these men who had come so close to death.  He had made the most of his humble origins and endured to become the cornerstone of his family as it moved out west.  And he found that not only would he be accepted in Kansas, but he would flourish.

The Missing Six of the 2nd Kansas Militia

  The final resting places of the "missing six" men of  the 2nd Kansas Militia are unaccounted for and in all likelihood lost to history.  They were perhaps quickly buried in the aftermath of bloody battle, their graves unmarked and forgotten.  Some of their bodies may have been collected by family members and brought back to the family farm where the gravesite was eventually lost to development.  Although these men and the others who sacrificed for Shawnee County at the Big Blue River have nearly faded to obscurity, I will attempt to exhume whatever bits and pieces of their lives that I can.  These scant facts are an effort to pay them the tribute they so richly deserve.
   The story of David Fultz has been brought to light recently but his gravesite remains a mystery. It is likely that his body was removed from the field by family members and buried near the family farm in southeast Shawnee County.  He left behind a wife named Elizabeth and three children.
   Elias Roberts of Co. I originally hailed from New Jersey before moving out west to Ohio and later Iowa, where he farmed and started a family.  By 1860 Elias, his wife Martha and their three children had relocated to Lone Jack in Jackson County Missouri.  This was an extremely dangerous area to raise a family - Lone Jack was in the heart of the Border War region and by 1863 Elias and his family moved over into Shawnee County Kansas and farmed in the Tecumseh Township.   Shortly thereafter Elias was killed at Mockbee Farm but his gravesite remains unknown at this time.  It is possible that his sacrifice faded into obscurity even within his own family history, as was the case with many others who died that day.
  The spirit of the obscure American wanderer was embodied by William Waln, who was also from Co. I.  After William was killed at the Battle of the Blue, he was identified as "William Wann" in every source that listed the dead of the 2nd KSM.  After I failed to track down that name, I came across a Widow's Pension File that revealed his true name.  More research revealed that he was born in Highland Co. Ohio in 1818 and migrated to Marion Co. Iowa by the late 1840's.  According to census records, William and his wife Leah had at least two children in Iowa before moving to Indiana and having two more.  By 1864, William was serving in the 2nd Kansas Militia and became a (misspelled) footnote to history. The whereabouts of his gravesite remain unknown.

   Moses Banks served in Company D from Indianola Kansas, just north of Topeka.  He is listed as "colored" in various sources and died at the Battle of Mockbee Farm.  Moses may have been a former slave but at this point his origins are not known.  It is known that Kansas was a destination of free African Americans in the early 1860's because of its admission to the Union as a free state. When Governor Carney called out the Militia in October, 1864 all men between the age of 18 and 60 were called to service including African Americans.   Nearly one thousand blacks answered the call (in addition to the roughly 2,000 that were already serving) with most of these men forming separate regiments.  The 2nd KSM did have a few "colored" men serving, probably filling roles such as Teamster and Blacksmith.  Moses Banks gravesite is unknown at this time; there was an pension application made in July of 1867 for a minor dependant in Moses name so perhaps somewhere there is a descendant.
    Ben Hughes was an African American Teamster who was believed to have been murdered at the Mockbee Farm battlefield while attempting to surrender.  Ben's origins and personal life are also unknown but the circumstances of his death were widely used to exemplify the cruelty of the Confederates under Colonel Sidney Jackman. It would be nice to believe that such a martyr were given a proper soldiers burial - his gravesite remains unknown.
   Dennis Ray was not listed as a man of color but was listed among the dead from Company D.  There doesn't appear to be any census records for him but I did come across a Dennis Ray in the "U.S. Civil War Draft Registrations" Records.  He was listed as living in Timber Hill, Bourbon County Kansas and his occupation was listed as blacksmith.  The final resting place of Dennis Ray is unknown.

   The fact that these three men of African descent died at the Battle of the Blue is interesting to me because they weren't actually supposed to be fighting.  Their roles were of a support nature and therefore it seems likely to me that they could have chosen to be among the first to retreat and thus escape when it had become apparent that the Rebel forces would overcome them.  That they didn't run when they had the chance gives an indication of their true character.
   The mystery as to the locations of the gravesites of these six men may never be solved but it doesn't really matter if they are remembered by future generations for their bravery and sacrifice. 
  There was another man of color who served in the second KSM - his name was Nelson Ritchie and not only did he survive the Battle of Mockbee Farm but thrived to become highly successful.  His story will be told another time.

Burial Places of the Remaining Heroes

  Colonel George Veale had made sure that fifteen of his "fallen heroes" were laid to rest in their proper place and with a proper funeral, but what became of the remaining men from the 2nd Kansas Militia who gave their lives at the Big Blue River?
   Private James Eagle owned a hotel on the California Trail near Big Springs in Douglas County.  After he was killed at the Battle of Mockbee Farm his body was brought back to Big Springs and was laid to rest at the East View Cemetery.  Although Big Springs was in neighboring Douglas County, it supplied Shawnee County with Company F of the 2nd KSM.
   Private Robert Campbell was also from F Company and his remains were returned to Kansas by family members as well.  Private Campbell was interred near the family farm in Southeast Shawnee County at the Zion Cemetery near present day Watson, Kansas.
   Lt.William DeLong of Co. G died from his injuries long after the battle, in a Kansas City hospital.  His remains were then brought back to his hometown, the tiny berg of Auburn, Kansas, and were interred at the Auburn Cemetery in southwest Shawnee County. 
 The burial site of Merrick Race has been previously established but what became of the remains of the other six men who gave their lives for Shawnee County?  This question remains (to me) unanswered but the memory of their passing shouldn't be.  These are the names of the "missing six" of the 2nd Kansas Militia, whose burial place is lost or unknown: 
 Ben Hughes
 Dennis Ray 
 Moses Banks
 William Waln
 Elias Roberts
 David Fultz
    There is scant information about the lives of these men but what little I have found will be discussed in the next entry.

The Dead of the 2nd Kansas Militia Return Home

   The days following the Battles of Mockbee Farm and Westport were extremely trying ones for Colonel George Veale.  As commander of the 2nd KSM he felt personally responsible for the men of his Regiment - especially the ones who had died, been injured and taken prisoner.   His sense of duty towards his men made it imperative that he do all in his power to ensure that those who had died at Mockbee Farm have a decent burial.
    Colonel Veale's first task was to locate the exact burial location of his men.  In the aftermath of the battle of Wesport, the wounded men (Union and Confederate) were gathered from the field; the dead from both sides however became the problem of the local citizenry. After ensuring that everything possible was being done for the wounded men of his Regiment, Colonel Veale returned to the Battlefield at Mockbee Farm on the 24th of October to find the temporary burial location of his men killed on the 22nd.  He found that some had been buried on the field near the battlesite and others had been buried in a trench near Westport.  With the help of local citizens, medical personnel and some of his own men, Colonel Veale arranged the disinterment of his men and removal to the Huron Cemetery in Wyandotte, Kansas on October 25th as he felt it was proper for the men to be buried in Kansas soil.  Colonel Veale obtained coffins for his men here as well.  A few of those killed from the 2nd KSM were located and removed by their own family members; it is unknown whether any men from the 2nd remain buried near the battle site.
  
  In early December 1864 it had become certain that Kansas was now safe from the threat of invasion by the Confederates.  The wounded and prisoners from the 2nd KSM had returned to their homes and the process of healing had begun.  Colonel George Veale decided it would be fitting if the men from his Regiment who had been buried at the Huron Cemetery be disinterred and brought home to Shawnee County.  He contacted Franklin Crane, (a friend of his from Topeka who had established the Topeka Cemetery a few years earlier) with the thought of setting aside a special plot for those who gave their lives at the Battle of the Blue.  The two men struck a deal and arrangements were made for the fifteen coffins to be brought to Topeka on December 10th, where they would find their third and final resting place.

                                          The 100 Block of Kansas Ave. in the mid 1860s

courtesy of the Kansas State Historical Society,copy and re-use restrictions apply

                                      
    The dark cold day matched the mood of the citizens of Topeka as the first of the wagons coming up Kansas Avenue rolled into view.  The scene was remembered years later by Louis Laurent, who had been a boy at the time: "At that time the butcher of the city was Dan Handley. He went to the front with the Militia and was killed at the Battle of the Blue. He left a family of several girls. His residence was about two blocks east of Kansas Avenue on First street. I remember distinctly when his body reached Topeka. I can see it yet, in a pine box and the blood stains on the bottom of the box.”
   
  The plots set aside for these fallen men had been arranged at the Topeka Cemetery in the shape of a square.  A large crowd gathered here to pay their respects and in their own way thank the ones who had given their lives so that Topeka and all of Kansas could remain free.
  
  The worn tombstones of the fifteen remain still, off to the side in the form of a square. I hope their names are never forgotten:  Harvey G.Young, James P. Alverson, McClure Martin, David Rake, Nicholas Brown, Samuel Allen, Georg Ginnold, Robert McNown, Charles H. Budd, Albert Chapman, Lear Selkin, Hiram C. Coville, Robert Boles, Daniel Handley and William C. Roberts.

                                                   photo courtesy od HMbd.org - copy and re-use restrictions apply

The Investigation Into the Death of David Fultz; Conclusion

The investigation by Lt.J.M. Hubbard into the death of David Fultz revealed that Fultz had identified the men that shot him had belonged to Col.Charles Jennison’s Regiment, (Jennison was in command of the 1st Brigade, Army of the Border) although Fultz never stated how he discerned this.  After interviewing several others who had witnessed different parts of the Fultz incident, Lt. Hubbard came to a different conclusion.

   During his interviews with the men who had first came across Private Fultz after he had been shot, Lt. Hubbard was able to deduce that Fultz had ridden toward the advancing column of Col. Thomas Moonlight’s Brigade as it headed south in pursuit of General Price’s retreating Army the late afternoon of 23 October.  This was during the aftermath of the Battle of Westport and the emotions of the men of Moonlight’s Brigade still flared hot as they headed south out of Shawneetown toward the fleeing rear Confederate guard.  Lt. Hubbard’s next set of interviews focused on members of the 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. In the words of Richard Josiah Hinton:  

   "Nathaniel D. Horton, Chief Bugler 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, states that he accompanied Colonel Moonlight in the pursuit of the rebels from Shawnee Mission southward, on the 23rd of October last, and that when about five miles out, a young man dressed in homespun clothing, similar to that worn by the rebels, rode out of a field on the left of the road and joined the column. Colonel Moonlight called him to the head-of the column, and demanded of him who he was, where he belonged, and what he was doing there. His answer was in substance that he belonged to the Kansas Militia, but that he had been compelled to join them against his will, and had left them the day previous with the intention of joining the rebels. This last point seemed rather to be inferred by his hearers than explicitly stated by himself; and the inference rested, at least in part, upon an assumption that he had mistaken the character of the command he had joined, and supposed it to be rebel. Horton thinks his exact words were,” I've been wanting to get with you," though he would not speak positively in regard to the language used. Proceeding apparently upon the assumption referred to above, Colonel Moonlight repeated once or twice, in form slightly varying, a question, the substance of which was, " Would you rather go with the Feds, or with us?" Each time the answer of the stranger was in substance, “I would rather go with you," upon which Colonel Moonlight declared himself satisfied, and ordered him to be shot. He(Fultz) turned to run, but was shot by Adjutant Faber and Quartermaster-Sergeant Cowan before he had gone many steps, and was left by the road side still living, but judged to be mortally wounded."

   Colonel Thomas Moonlight was apparently never interviewed by Lt. Hubbard, but Horton’s story was corroborated by other members of the 11th K VC, including one of the shooters, Quartermaster Sgt. Cowan.  

  A cruel set of ironic events conspired against David Fultz: bad-timing, being in the wrong place and wrong clothing and poor semantics – all of which, when taken together had sealed his fate.   But how had David come to be at this crossroads of events?  He may have survived the battle of Mockbee Farm, fled on his horse and was cut off from the rest of his unit as they fled.  Other possibilities also exist but seem less likely.  The first is that David was taken prisoner after the battle and then escaped.  The second is that he straggled from his unit before the battle, was cut off and then attempted to rejoin Moonlight’s column the next day. Whatever actually happened, David probably felt reluctant to make his appearance after hiding in the brush for roughly 24 hours. The thoughts which raced through his troubled mind may have also conspired against him.

 R.J. Hinton’s final paragraph on the subject of David Fultz makes an attempt to explain the situation:

 “On the other hand, it should be borne in mind that his personal appearance, dress, and the place, and manner of his joining the command, all combined to make him an object of suspicion, and that those who had stood in battle against the rebel foe for nearly a week, and then had just prevented the desolation of their homes, could hardly be expected at that time, and under such circumstances, to exercise a cool and deliberate judgment.”