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Re: Southern Cross of Honor
In Response To: Re: Southern Cross of Honor ()

Don and John,

There were several events during January 1863 that may have a bearing upon the 19 January death of Samuel Montgomery of Quantrill's band.

In John McCorkle's memoir penned by O.S. Barton he told that in January 1863 with a few other Quantrill men (including Ike Bassham and George Wigginton) he travelled north through the Jasper County area back to their normal west-central Missouri operations area. In Connelley's 1910 book about Quantrill on page 281 it says Confederate General John Marmaduke sent several of his soldiers back to their home ground to recruit for the Confederacy toward the end of Marmaduke's southwest Missouri raid in January. Connelley said among this number were William Gregg, John Ross, John Koger, and Bennett Wood, who were all Quantrill members before. Perhaps Montgomery was among them, too.

In the "Official Records" series 2, volume 2, p. 63 it tells that Rebels on their way north in about middle January 1863 captured a Union militiaman near Germantown in west Henry County probably to serve as a guide through that area. A patrol of the 1st Cavalry MSM in turn captured one of these southerners in that area. On this point, McCorkle said they abducted a Union man enroute and forced him to guide for them and then killed him near Pleasant Hill.

In the "Official Records" series 1, vol. 22, part 2, page 63 Union Colonel Edwin C. Catherwood of the 6th Cav MSM reported sending a large patrol searching for a guerrilla band on January 18 at the head of Davis Creek in south-central Lafayette County. Perhaps these bushwhackers were McCorkle and others having made their way north through Jasper County, and Henry County, to that point. Maybe the patrol Catherwood sent out found and killed Montgomery on 19 January.

This is just supposition, but it does tend to put guerrillas attracting attention near Montgomery's home area about the time other records state that Montgomery died evidently not far from home.

Bruce Nichols

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