The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

David Guitar loyalty; Analysis of his company

In the Douglass communique wherein Col. Joseph B. Douglass (later general) listed the four companies under his command that were considered disloyal, he went out of his way to mention that the commanding officers of those companies, including David Guitar, were loyal. Going further in analyzing Guitar's company--Company B, 61st Enrolled Missouri Militia--there is further evidence of his loyalty.

Company B had 80 men enrolled in it. And while by 25 February 1863 Col. Douglass had taken that company as a whole out of service due to the "considerable portion" of men felt to be disloyal, he was still calling up individual men from that company--five were called to duty on 29 March 1863.

In addition, while Company B as a whole was not subject to duty in 1863-1864, twelve men from the company were still listed as "subject to duty" on into 1864. And one of those 12 men, out of 80, was David Guitar.

And out of the 80 men who had been enrolled, 25 had been dis-enrolled by 1864. One can assume that a large portion of those who had been dis-enrolled were part of that "considerable portion" of those who had been felt to be disloyal.

Going further, out of the 80 men who had been enrolled, 16 paid a commutation tax that exempted them from duty. Some of these may have been disloyal, while others may have been taking advantage of the "rich man's war, poor man's fight" axiom.

Out of the 80 men enrolled, 15 were exempted from duty due to the following reasons: disability, 5; mail contractor, 3; overage, 3; school teacher, 2; deputy sheriff, 1; city assessor, 1

And out of the 80 men, 8 were listed as left the county, left the state, or were not present by 1864

Accounting for the remaining balance of the 80 enrolled men--one joined the U.S. Army; one "transferred"; and two died

Bottom line here--not only did Col. Douglass go out of his way in his communique to refer to David Guitar as being loyal, by 1864 Guitar was listed as being one man out of just 12 in the entire company that was subject to duty. Douglass had taken the disloyal men out of the mix, exemptions took a large portion of others out of the mix, and 12 men remained--considered loyal, otherwise Douglass would have removed them too....

Messages In This Thread

Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.
Re: Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.
Seriously flawed research/logic/headstone
Primer on Slaveholding Unionism
Re: Primer on Slaveholding Unionism
More slaveowning Unionists
Newspaper report of Guitar's death; Ghosbusters
Re: More slaveowning Unionists
Re: More slaveowning Unionists
Re: More slaveowning Unionists
Re: More slaveowning Unionists
Re: Seriously flawed research/logic/headstone
Re: Seriously flawed research/logic/headstone
EMM membership; Odon Guitar as slaveholder
Re: Seriously flawed research/logic/headstone
David Guitar myth dissected
Re: David Guitar myth dissected
Re: Seriously flawed research/logic/headstone
Re: Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.
Re: Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.
Re: Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.
Re: Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.
Re: Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.
Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
Special Order 126 seems to have targeted Radicals
Re: Special Order 126 seems to have targeted Radic
Review DMD?; David Guitar a Radical??
Re: Contents of Special Order 126, 1864?
David Guitar loyalty; Analysis of his company
Re: Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.
Re: Controversy re: David Guitar, Columbia, Mo.