I will give you what I have, which is little, actually.

The rule of thumb on skirmishes is that the earlier you go in the war in Missouri the poorer the documentation of what happened. Therefore, there is little available most places in Missouri for March 30, 1862. In most places in Missouri in the spring of 1862 civil law was not functioning and many newspapers stopped printing out of simple fear that one side or the other would wreck their press.

Another point is important here. You specifically wrote that you wanted information about a "Skirmish at Clinton" on 30 March 1862. There was none. What the "Official Records" (source: "O.R." series 1, vol. 13, p. 358) that I think you cited wrote is precisely "Skirmish near Clinton, Mo." Please notice that was NOT IN the town of Clinton. The Union Army records tried to put a place to every battle, action, skirmish, etc. as best as they could, but if all they had was location of the Union unit's station or garrison, they would either put that town name or state that the skirmish was "near" such-and-such, even if in reality it was 30 to 40 miles away. This is true for many of the skirmish reports, and it catches lots of readers unawares, including me from time to time.

The report of the 30 March 1862 skirmish in the "O.R." on page 358 was sent by Major General Henry W. "Old Brains" Halleck (at that time the chief of the Department of the Missouri) on April 6 from his headquarters in St. Louis to Secretary of War Stanton in Washington, D. C. I would imagine, and this is my opinion only, that Halleck selected this skirmish report from Colonel Fitz Henry Warren, the commander of the 1st Iowa Cavalry at Clinton, his headquarters, simply because it showed impressive numbers of southern wounded and prisoners. In other words, it showed the 1st somewhere in the Henry County area was doing its job efficienty and effectively, whether or not that was really the case. Actually, they were doing their job. I will get to that.

Alan, are you still with me? If so, read on.

I examine the contents of the report itself. Notice that General Halleck said that some element of the 1st Iowa Cavalry captured 19 prisoners, eight wagons, and horses, mules, and so forth "...belonging to Price's army." These are not guerrillas. These are men on their way or would soon be on their way to join Major General Sterling "Old Pap" Price's Confederate army many miles south in Arkansas. I would guess that the wagons and the animals to pull the 8 wagons were to gather and haul subsistence, clothes, camp equipment, and the like for the long trip, and maybe to haul some of the men who didn't have animals to ride. More than likely these men were recruited by a southern recruiting team, and maybe some of them were part of the 19 prisoners, too. Maybe the Iowa troopers used the horses, mules, and wagons to haul back to Clinton some of those seven wounded southerners, and maybe the dead guy. The 1st Iowa Cavalry usually took prisoners and did not commonly practice the terrible rule of "no quarter" which in spring of 1862 was becoming common practice between guerrillas and Union soldiers. Notice that I said "guerrillas," as Union troops commonly took as prisoner men they considered to be Rebel soldiers, under current accepted rules of warfare as practiced in that time. Not guerrillas.

I have here what Doctor Charles H. Lothrop, surgeon of the 1st Iowa Cavalry, wrote about actions in the Henry County area about this time from the unit history of the First Regiment Iowa Cavalry Veteran Volunteer he wrote and had published in 1890 at Lyons, Iowa by Beers and Eaton, Printers, "Mirror" Office. On page 60 he explained that Union recruiters were besieged by large numbers of Confederate recruiters in this part of Missouri and called for help. In response, Union superiors sent the 1st Iowa Cavalry into the lion's mouth to try to beat back literally hundreds of Confederate recruits gathering in west Missouri. Colonel Warren told all or nearly all his scattered companies to assemble at Clinton by March 30, which Warren designated as his headquarters. On page 62, the doctor wrote: "Night and day they [1st Iowa Cavalry] were in their saddles--in a certain locality at night, the next morning they would be found thirty or forty miles away, attacking and routing a rebel camp, or effectually breaking up a band of bushwhackers or desperadoes. It would require pages to give the history of its engagements, skirmishes and marches, as they were of almost every day occurrences, with some part of the regiment..." Basically, this regiment was so busy in several places at once in Bates, Henry, Benton, and St. Clair Counties for a number of days fighting daily actions that there was little time to write it down.

Who was involved in this nebulous skirmish March 30 within maybe 30 miles of Clinton? Well, the southerners were part of a recruiting detail working in this region. Several Confederate regiments had companies of men from Henry and surrounding counties. Without more information, I could pick two or three such companies out of James E. McGhee's 2008 landmark work "Guide to Missouri Confederate Units, 1861-1865," but that would be just wild guesses. Company G from Henry County of McCown's 5th Missouri Infantry woud be one guess (p. 203 in McGhee); or Company F of Cass and St. Clair Counties of the 6th Missouri Infantry would be another guess (page 206 in McGhee): a third might be Company I from Henry County of 2nd Missouri Cavalry (page 58 in McGhee). There were several others. Who knows?

Now, for the Union side I would guess Company H of the 1st Iowa Cavalry for a couple of reasons. I cite Broadfoot Publishing Company, "Supplement to the 'O.R.,' Part 2, Records of Events, vol. 19, 1st Iowa Cavalry, p. 105 which as written by the company clerk, first sergeant, or commander which says "March 23-25 [1862]. It was ordered to Clinton, Henry County, Missouri, a distance of forty-five miles [from Sedalia], where we arrived and camped on March 25 and yet remain. Details for guard and scouting [read that as patrolling] have been so heavy upon the company daily that drill has been almost neglected (of necessity). Discipline of company is good." I would guess this company because they arrived at Clinton before many of the other companies, and because they took the time to say all that they had been doing in general terms. I would guess that one of the early companies to arrive at Clinton would be involved in some skirmish out in the countryside on March 30, because the late-comers would still be busy getting set up in town. This is just conjecture, of course, but that would be my guess.

That's about all it can tell you about what happened near Clinton on 30 March 1862. I wish I could do a better job of it, but at least you know what little I know about it. Questions?

Bruce Nichols