The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

Capt. George W. Hummell/Capt. Hiram A. Rice
In Response To: Re: Capt. George W. Hummell ()

Regarding the treatise on the Jackson Fairground fight, Jim McGhee's research was critical in making it happen. I will admit that getting to the final draft took me many rewrites. Dozens of rewrites would not be an exaggeration. With all of the sources from all of the different viewpoints of the skirmish, I basically had to go through each one, sentence by sentence, and plug them into the story, until the big picture finally emerged.

Regarding Hummell being the man referred to in Martin's narrative, I don't have any doubts. Lindsay's petition that you reference mentions the names not by home residence, but by duty station at the time of the petition (note that Captain Hiram A. Rice was from Pike County in northeast Missouri). Not only was Lindsay mentioning Rice and Hummell together, but Sgt. J.C. Steakley also did at page 92 of Cyrus Peterson's "Pilot Knob: the Thermopylae of the West"--"'Oh, well, then,' said they, 'we know who they are. They're some of old Captain Rice's 'Kill-Devils,' and Hummel's 'Four-Mile Deadshots....''"

And look at the context in regard to why they were being pulled out of line to be executed -- the fight at Doniphan--also known as the Burning of Doniphan (see Kirby Ross, "The Burning of Doniphan." North & South magazine 6 (November 2003). Not wanting to start a debate here, but lowly-Federal militiaman Albert J. Martin gave the same reason for the execution of these men as did Confederate General Jeff Thompson--DONIPHAN. Note that the primary units at Doniphan were Rice's company, and Hummell's company, under command of Erich Pape. [I hear one fellow is suggesting that Jeff Thompson lied about the reason for the executions because Thompson couldn't have known, since he was in a Federal prison on the East Coast. In fact, Thompson had been released from prison in an exchange, was present during Price's Raid (how is this even debatable?) and TOOK AN ACTIVE PART IN THE EXECUTION DISCUSSIONS. Thompson said so in his memoir. Thompson essentially was on an informal ad hoc jury that was formed, such as it was -- certainly since Jeff Thompson was a party to the execution deliberations he knew the reason why the men were executed. Calling a Confederate hero like Jeff Thompson a liar does him a grave injustice. But I digress....]

Messages In This Thread

Albert J. Martin narrative/Cochran's Militia
Re: Albert J. Martin narrative/Cochran's Militia
Capt. George W. Hummell
Re: Capt. George W. Hummell
Capt. George W. Hummell/Capt. Hiram A. Rice
Re: Martin's Narrative
Re: Martin's Narrative
Re: Albert J. Martin narrative/Cochran's Militia
Re: Albert J. Martin narrative/Cochran's Militia
Re: Albert J. Martin narrative/Cochran's Militia
Re: Albert J. Martin narrative/Cochran's Militia
Albert J. Martin/Levi Lincoln/G.R. Zimmerman
Re: Albert J. Martin/Levi Lincoln/G.R. Zimmerman