On April 15, President Lincoln requested that Missouri supply just over 3,000 men for Union forces. Missouri's Governor Jackson, famously replied, "Sir—Your requisition is illegal, unconstitutional and revolutionary; in its object inhuman & diabolical. Not one man will Missouri furnish to carry on any such unholy crusade against her Southern sisters.”
In May federal forces under General Lyon took over the State Militia training camp near St. Louis. Shortly after Missouri had gained statehood in 1821, the Legislature had enacted a law for organizing a militia. All men over 18 and under 45 were enrolled as state soldiers to prepare for Indian wars or other emergencies. On the first Saturday of April each year, the citizens of each township came together to be organized into companies and drilled for soldiers. This was called Muster Day. Then in May the companies came together and were organized into battalions, drilled and paraded for several days. Muster Day became when debts were paid, loans made, and trading done.
As General Lyon marched his prisoners away from the State Militia training camp in St. Louis, a riot erupted during which Union soldiers fired upon civilians, killing more than two dozen of them, including women and children. The event polarized the state. Hundreds crowded the streets of the capital, Jefferson City, to enlist in the Missouri State Guard and protest.
Federal supporters began to organize Missouri Home Guard units in many counties, including Miller, Camden, and Laclede. The men were mounted and armed at their own expense. They were never mustered into the U.S. Army, but were paid by the U.S. government. The beginning of the war disrupted trade in the area and the local economy collapsed. "Men who had been employed on the river loading and unloading cargos, men who hauled wagon loads over old salt roads to and from markets - all lolled on the streets or visited dram shops. Idle men sat on benches and whittled bass-wood."
On June 11 a peace conference in St. Louis between General Lyon and Missouri's elected governor, Claiborne Jackson, broke down. General Lyon declared war on Missouri's elected government. Governor Jackson traveled back to Jefferson City, burning bridges over the Osage and Gasconade Rivers to slow the federal troops.
The next day Governor Jackson issued a proclamation pleading for men to take up arms against the federal troops:
"Your first allegiance is due to your own State, and you are under no obligation whatever to obey the unconstitutional edicts of the military despotism which has introduced itself at Washington, nor submit to the infamous and degrading sway of its minions in this State. No brave hearted Missourian will obey the one and submit to the other. Rise, then, and drive out ignominiously the invaders who have dared to desecrate the soil which your labors have made fruitful and which is consecrated by your home."
General Lyon commandeered four steamboats and captured Jefferson City on June 15. He left three companies of soldiers commanded by Henry Boernstein in Jefferson City "to oversee steamer traffic on the river, keep peace and order, in the capital itself." Boernstein made the Capitol building his headquarters, establishing a temporary bivouac for men of the companies in the great hall of the House of Representatives and the officers were quartered in the hall of the Senate. Boernstein himself took over the chambers of the Secretary of State. Fearing a rebellion by capital city residents, he decided to rule by fear, "bloodless terror" as he phrased it. He quickly arrested five local citizens denounced as chief conspirators of the rebels. and requisitioned the prisoners of the large penitentiary seven blocks away and had them build high earthworks around the elevated capital. At one point Boernstein's soldiers brought seven prisoners who were all preachers and who had been accused of disloyalty. His men wanted to hang the seven preachers in the Capitol rotunda and began extending ropes for that purpose but Boernstein put a stop to it. This event was a harbinger of what was to come for Methodist and Baptist preachers in Missouri during the Civil War.
Governor Jackson escaped upriver to Boonville where General Sterling Price struggled to organize Missouri State Guard forces. Price fell ill and Jackson took command. To buy time for the Missouri State Guard to organize elsewhere he ordered General Marmaduke to battle Lyon when approached, even though the men were outnumbered four to one.
President Lincoln, the War Department, and local commanders in Missouri began to determine when, where, and how martial law would be applied. Successive commanders applied increasingly harsh penalties for disloyalty. They appointed a Unionist provisional government that enacted a requirement that voters and officeholders be made to take an oath of loyalty to this provisional government and to the federal government before being allowed to vote or hold office. The oath effectively created an atmosphere of suspicion that encouraged neighbors to spy on and accuse each other of disloyalty, especially those with money. As one Missourian of moderate means later sneered, “the cry of ‘disloyal’ could be very easily raised against any man who happened to have a superabundance of property.” Civilian assessments were charged against citizens in the forms of levies, taxes, and bonds. Those who refused such levies had their property confiscated. In one military district alone, provost marshals required 612 persons to post bond in 1862, which ranged from one thousand to ten thousand dollars each. The provost in Palmyra, Missouri, reported taking in as much as $1 million in the same year."
"Callaway and his brother Seth had plenty of good land, large herds of cattle, and were considered prosperous for that day. Callaway was a Baptist minister while Seth was a judge and held some political offices. Both men had large families and the children of both families were as brothers and sisters to each other." In the election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln received only seven votes in Pulaski County. When the election came to a vote on whether or not the state was to secede from the Union, Callaway and Seth voted to stay in the Union. These sentiments were mirrored by the majority of citizens in Pulaski County. "Though their sympathies were with the South, they still felt that the Union should be preserved at any cost. They could not forget that their grandfathers had fought for the Stars and Stripes in the Revolution and therefore were opposed to secession.
By the end of June, General Price had established a camp on Cowskin Prairie in the extreme southwestern corner of Missouri, assembling some 1700 men.
"These people were not all rebels nor disunionists, but believed that they were serving the lawfully constituted authorities of the State, in repelling invasion and in protecting their homes." (p. 83 Wilson's Creek Piston and Hatcher)
Three sons of Seth Manes joined the Missouri State Guard: Thomas Callaway, Francis Marion, and Jacob Newton.
Less than a month after joining up, Seth and Becky's oldest son, Thomas Callaway Manes, contracted measles, died, and was buried in an unrecorded grave near Joplin, Missouri. His widow, Nancy York Manes, and her two young daughters came to live with Seth and Becky.
The Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri on August 10, 1861, was the bloodiest battle in the West, with about 2,500 casualties. Two of Seth's sons were with the Missouri State Guard at Wilson's Creek. Jacob Newton Manes was born August 11, 1843; he celebrated his 18th birthday at Wilson's Creek. After the battle, Francis Marion Manes was in a Missouri State Guard hospital in Springfield with remittent fever.
When word reached Pulaski County, "Callaway and Seth set off for Springfield. While the Manes brothers were in Springfield, the Union Army, commanded by General Franz Siegel, retreated from Springfield to Rolla, which was the end of the rail line at that time. The Union Army retreated right by the newly constructed Callaway Manes' home, (in what is Richland, Missouri, today) and camped overnight on what was afterwards called the "Old Union Road." That night the soldiers burned all the rails in the fence on one side of the farm for firewood. A flock of sheep and all of the hogs and chickens were butchered for the army. General Siegel paid for the animals with script, but the Manes family was never able to collect any money for their stock." The beaten Federal army encumbered by a train of Government wagons and refugees was estimated at seven miles long.
Francis Marion Manes was furloughed on September 12, 1861. Returning home brought little peace. A month later a skirmish was fought in nearby Camden County between Union forces and the Missouri State Guard. The Union soldiers prevailed in the Battle of Monday's Hollow (or Wet Glaize). An undetermined number of Missouri State Guard soldiers from Camden, Miller, and surrounding counties were killed. Many more were taken prisoner.
The commanders of the Missouri State Guard merged with Confederate troops in Arkansas. The men were forced to choose between leaving Missouri to join the Confederate Army or returning to their homes. Jacob Newton Manes was furloughed from the Missouri State Guard at 19.
By 1862 the Union forces needed more troops. On July 22 General Schofield issued General Order 19 requiring every able-bodied man in Missouri to report to the nearest military post to become a member of the Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM). "Over 18 and under 46 had to enroll in six days from the date of the order."
These men were on-call as needed in their local counties. The purpose of the EMM was to provide protection in local counties. "These units were untrained and lacked even the lax discipline of the Missouri State Militia, a full-time federal force. A distressing number of men took advantage of their newfound military authority to harass, or even rob or kill, neighbors against whom they bore grudges or whom they suspected or knew to be Southern sympathizers."
The Lt. Colonel of the local 47th Regiment EMM organized in Camden County was Thomas O'Halloran, an Irish immigrant who worked as a meat cutter in St. Louis, then came to Camden County to work for Joseph McClurg. The Manes folk "always hated old man O'Halloran with a hatred that was akin to poison, and he was always afraid of the Manes men."
General Order 24, issued in August, required all disloyal men and those who had sympathized with the rebellion to report to the nearest military post or enrolling station, be enrolled, surrender their arms and return to their homes where they would be permitted to remain as long as they attended to their ordinary business and in no way gave aid or comfort to the enemy.
Disarmed citizens quickly reported concerns. Residents of Camden County met to form the Wet Glaize Union Patrol Guards because "stealing, robbing, and other crimes and misdemeanors are enacted in our midst with impunity." A detailed set of rules and regulations for the new organization was sent to General Brown. The letter requested that General Brown "order the Colonel at Linn Creek to give us our shotguns and rifles again."
Seth's son, Francis Marion Manes, paid $300 in Commutation Tax in 1862, exempting him from service in the 47th EMM. "Each person liable to perform military service shall be exempt from service during each year on the annual payment of a commutation tax equal to ten (soon modified to thirty) dollars each, and one percent of the assessed value of his property." He was listed as "rebel" on the Muster Roll. The following year he was listed exempt as a teamster employed by the government.
Multiple encounters heightened the tension between the Manes family and the area's Union forces. One encounter was retold by Seth's great-nephew: "During the Civil War Grandfather Callaway and Great Uncle Seth and Uncle Ben Clark went to Linn Creek at about wheat harvest time. On the way they passed near to the place of Major Thomas O'Halloran, where the Chitwood gang hung out. They were intercepted by some of the soldiers, bushwhackers, or militia, or whatever they were, and ordered to get out of the wagon and cut O'Halloran's wheat."
"Grandfather said, 'Gentlemen, I am as ready to die as I ever expect to be. I propose that, when I do die, it shall be as a free man and not as a slave. I will cut no wheat and I will resist to the limit of my power any effort to force me to do anything against my will.' At this, he and Uncle Seth seized their guns which were in the wagon and, standing back to back in the wagon, Uncle Seth said, 'Now men, we don't want to die, but we will not cut your wheat while we are alive and we can't cut it when we are dead, so you can make nothing by killing us. You can kill us, but we will get some of you while you are at it, so do your worst.' "
"Uncle Ben got out of the wagon, got down on his knees and begged the Manes brothers to go with him to the wheat field, but they refused and continued to defy the crowd against them until they finally agreed that they might go. They refused to go without Clark and ordered him to get in the wagon. He drove off, while Grandfather and Uncle Seth faced the rear with their weapons in their hands."
Baptist and Methodist preachers were systematically being warned out of the pulpit at this time. The majority of Missouri churches were either Methodist Episcopal South or Southern Baptist. Seth's brother, Callaway Manes, was ordered to stop preaching. After preaching next to his last sermon in Waynesville, a bunch of switches was laid at the door with a note saying that if he preached there again, they would kill him. The bundle of switches, an omen of a slicking, was a last dire warning used during this era. If the warning went unheeded, the subject was drug out in the middle of the night and beaten with the switches until the entire bundle was exhausted. The first slicking took place in Camden County in 1832. The popularity of slickings spread from punishments administered to cheaters to become a method of intimidation.
Two weeks after the murder, on August 21, Becky Manes died from dysentery and was interred in Mays-Gillespie Cemetery.
A second company of the 48th enlisted at Waynesville on August 27, including Seth's son, Francis Marion Manes. On September 5 he was promoted to Corporal at Rolla. On September 16, Jacob Newton Manes age 21 enlisted in the 48th Regiment Company C at Rolla, along with his brother-in-law George Vaught.
In 1865, the 48th Regiment was disbanded and discharged on June 30. In September Alice Jane Manes was born to Seth and Nancy in Illinois.
The commanders of the Missouri State Guard merged with Confederate troops in Arkansas. The men were forced to choose between leaving Missouri to join the Confederate Army or returning to their homes. Jacob Newton Manes was furloughed from the Missouri State Guard at 19.
By 1862 the Union forces needed more troops. On July 22 General Schofield issued General Order 19 requiring every able-bodied man in Missouri to report to the nearest military post to become a member of the Enrolled Missouri Militia (EMM). "Over 18 and under 46 had to enroll in six days from the date of the order."
These men were on-call as needed in their local counties. The purpose of the EMM was to provide protection in local counties. "These units were untrained and lacked even the lax discipline of the Missouri State Militia, a full-time federal force. A distressing number of men took advantage of their newfound military authority to harass, or even rob or kill, neighbors against whom they bore grudges or whom they suspected or knew to be Southern sympathizers."
The Lt. Colonel of the local 47th Regiment EMM organized in Camden County was Thomas O'Halloran, an Irish immigrant who worked as a meat cutter in St. Louis, then came to Camden County to work for Joseph McClurg. The Manes folk "always hated old man O'Halloran with a hatred that was akin to poison, and he was always afraid of the Manes men."
General Order 24, issued in August, required all disloyal men and those who had sympathized with the rebellion to report to the nearest military post or enrolling station, be enrolled, surrender their arms and return to their homes where they would be permitted to remain as long as they attended to their ordinary business and in no way gave aid or comfort to the enemy.
Disarmed citizens quickly reported concerns. Residents of Camden County met to form the Wet Glaize Union Patrol Guards because "stealing, robbing, and other crimes and misdemeanors are enacted in our midst with impunity." A detailed set of rules and regulations for the new organization was sent to General Brown. The letter requested that General Brown "order the Colonel at Linn Creek to give us our shotguns and rifles again."
Seth's son, Francis Marion Manes, paid $300 in Commutation Tax in 1862, exempting him from service in the 47th EMM. "Each person liable to perform military service shall be exempt from service during each year on the annual payment of a commutation tax equal to ten (soon modified to thirty) dollars each, and one percent of the assessed value of his property." He was listed as "rebel" on the Muster Roll. The following year he was listed exempt as a teamster employed by the government.
Multiple encounters heightened the tension between the Manes family and the area's Union forces. One encounter was retold by Seth's great-nephew: "During the Civil War Grandfather Callaway and Great Uncle Seth and Uncle Ben Clark went to Linn Creek at about wheat harvest time. On the way they passed near to the place of Major Thomas O'Halloran, where the Chitwood gang hung out. They were intercepted by some of the soldiers, bushwhackers, or militia, or whatever they were, and ordered to get out of the wagon and cut O'Halloran's wheat."
"Grandfather said, 'Gentlemen, I am as ready to die as I ever expect to be. I propose that, when I do die, it shall be as a free man and not as a slave. I will cut no wheat and I will resist to the limit of my power any effort to force me to do anything against my will.' At this, he and Uncle Seth seized their guns which were in the wagon and, standing back to back in the wagon, Uncle Seth said, 'Now men, we don't want to die, but we will not cut your wheat while we are alive and we can't cut it when we are dead, so you can make nothing by killing us. You can kill us, but we will get some of you while you are at it, so do your worst.' "
"Uncle Ben got out of the wagon, got down on his knees and begged the Manes brothers to go with him to the wheat field, but they refused and continued to defy the crowd against them until they finally agreed that they might go. They refused to go without Clark and ordered him to get in the wagon. He drove off, while Grandfather and Uncle Seth faced the rear with their weapons in their hands."
Baptist and Methodist preachers were systematically being warned out of the pulpit at this time. The majority of Missouri churches were either Methodist Episcopal South or Southern Baptist. Seth's brother, Callaway Manes, was ordered to stop preaching. After preaching next to his last sermon in Waynesville, a bunch of switches was laid at the door with a note saying that if he preached there again, they would kill him. The bundle of switches, an omen of a slicking, was a last dire warning used during this era. If the warning went unheeded, the subject was drug out in the middle of the night and beaten with the switches until the entire bundle was exhausted. The first slicking took place in Camden County in 1832. The popularity of slickings spread from punishments administered to cheaters to become a method of intimidation.
The next week the men of Pulaski County organized. According to Seth's half-brother, Samuel Jasper Manes, who was 24 and serving in the Union Army, the men were responding to the actions of the Union forces in the area. "Finally, the people, to escape the raids and persecutions of the Chitwoods and their associates, called a meeting at Waynesville on Sunday, July 31, 1864, to organize a company of the 48th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. Callaway was elected First Lieutenant over some friend of the Chitwoods. This was the last straw."
Two descriptions of the murder of Seth's brother, Callaway, follow: On August 7th "some men rode up in the lane about forty yards from the house, stopped there, and five men came through the gate on to the house. One man knocked at the East door of the house. Pa was already in bed. He had taken some cattle to market at Waynesville, then filled his appointment to preach there. When he got home he took the gold he got from the cattle and buried it in a stone jar. When he heard the men, Pa got up and opened the door. Pa said, 'Come in, gentlemen.' One man asked, "Is this Callaway Manes?" When Pa said, 'I am,' the man pulled his pistol and shot him in the chest. Pa fell back against the stairs and Polly screamed. Pa whispered, 'Hush, hush, hush.' The same party that did the shooting called for a light and Polly got the candle. He made her hold a light so he could shoot Pa through the ear."
"So, on the night of the following day, an unknown number of Chitwood’s Company G – some say 12, and some say 20 or more – rode to the Manes home and aroused him from his bed. As he approached the door he said, “Come in, gentlemen. To which the reply was a question, “Are you Callaway Manes?” He answered, “I am.” A shot followed. Stepping back to the bed, the stricken man let himself gently to the floor. Hush Hush Hush A light was made and one of his daughters was compelled to hold it over her father while the assassin shot him again through the head, although he was already dead. "
The family members interred Callaway Hodges Manes in the Mays-Gillespie Cemetery.
Military service cards substantiate that many men enlisted in Company A of the 48th Regiment on July 31, 1864, at Waynesville, and were mustered into service on August 3. The men named in service records as officers for Company A were noted as enlisted at Rolla a week after the murder. The service card for Captain William Wilson was altered. The First Lieutenant was Daniel E. Davis, a neighbor of Callaway's, and the grandson of William Gillespie, whom Callaway had worked with when he first came to Pulaski County.
A second company of the 48th enlisted at Waynesville on August 27, including Seth's son, Francis Marion Manes. On September 5 he was promoted to Corporal at Rolla. On September 16, Jacob Newton Manes age 21 enlisted in the 48th Regiment Company C at Rolla, along with his brother-in-law George Vaught.
On October 24 Seth Manes married his daughter-in-law Nancy York. The marriage was performed by W. S. York, Justice of the Peace, in Phelps County. Francis Marion Manes arranged for military permission so that Seth and Nancy could take the younger children to Illinois. They left in November.
In 1865, the 48th Regiment was disbanded and discharged on June 30. In September Alice Jane Manes was born to Seth and Nancy in Illinois.
By 1867 they had returned to Pulaski County where six more children were born: 1867 James F., 1869 Benjamin Albert, 1871 Harriet J., 1873 George Washington, 1875 Samuel J., 1879 Jessie Gillespie
Seth McCully Manes (II) died on June 15, 1896, and was interred with his first wife Rebecca and his brother Callaway at Mays-Gillespie Cemetery.
Nancy York Manes died on June 21, 1923, and was interred at Manes Cemetery.
Nancy York Manes holding her grandson Drew
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