Ellen,

I rather doubt Bryce can help you with this query, because his very considerable expertise lies with operations of regulars and not isolated, irregular actions. I am supposed to be good with the latter, so I will see what I can do.

First, the 51st Missouri Infantry Regiment was formed at St. Joseph, MO between 1 Mar and 15 Apr 1865; was stationed for its entire history in St. Louis; and was mustered out 31 Aug 1865. During its tenure this regiment lost 2 enlisted men killed and 47 enlisted men died of disease. This I obtained from Frederick Dyer, "A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion," 1959, New York: Thomas Yoseloff, Publ, vol. 3, p. 1338.

I also checked with Dyer's volume 2 which lists all known (actually not nearly all) skirmishes and combat actions of the war by date, place, and Union units involved. This list of Dyer on page 815 sheds no light on any such action at or near Pilot Knob, Iron County, in the timeframe you indicated, and no action at all involving the 51st MO Inf.

However, there are some possibilities that seem to match the few details you provided. Recall that I said the 51st MO Inf was stationed in St. Louis for its entire tenure. The "Annual Report of the Adjutant General of Missouri For the Year 1865" on page 299 states about this regiment that "during the short time it was in service, it was stationed in St. Louis, doing guard and escort duty." Notice particularly the mention of "escort duty." When the war ended in April nearly all the military prisoners of war were released, but not military criminals. As the Union military closed down its military prisons in the St. Louis area, these military criminals (mostly Union soldiers who had committed felonies) were transferred to federal facilities. This is probably where I am guessing that elements of the 51st were called upon to escort these convicts to Fort Leavenworth across the state.

Now, what about Pilot Knob? Taking the Iron Mountain Railroad to Pilot Knob is not a direct route to Fort Leavenworth, as there is an easier route for that (the Pacific Railroad). I wonder if this convict detail went via the large Union bases at Pilot Knob and Rolla to pick up more prisoners on the way. Many war criminals were kept at the MO State Penitentiary at Jefferson City where they were guarded by the 48th Missouri Infantry Regiment, a unit like the 51st. I learned this from a period Kansas City newspaper describing a prisoner riot there in late May 1865.

I did find a long shot involving an action near Pilot Knob on 30 June 1865 in the St. Louis "Daily Missouri Republican" of 4 July 1865. This article said that unidentified authorities on 30 June captured a Rebel guerrilla Jim Edgar near Potosi in Washington County and were taking him to the Union base at Pilot Knob when on 2 July Edgar attempted to escape was shot and killed. Edgar was accused of being in on the execution of captured Union POWs by Confederate Tim Reeves' unit during Price's Raid the previous autumn. The article doesn't say, but I cannot rule out the possibility that the local authorities at Potosi may have held Edgar until soldiers came from somewhere (St. Louis, perhaps?) to escort him to the Pilot Knob base. Potosi is close to the Iron Mountain Railroad that connects Pilot Knob to St. Louis. By early July 1865 there were a lot fewer Union troops on duty in Missouri, and it is possible that a detail of the 51st in St. Louis could have been sent down the railroad to escort Edgar from Potosi to Pilot Knob. Most of this is guesswork, of course.

If you haven't already, you should contact the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. via your local library and obtain a copy of your ancestor's military service record. That may give you more details.

I hope this helps. I had fun working it, even if I didn't quite nail it down for you.

Bruce Nichols