John L. Owen, Bushwhacker?
By Robert G. Schultz
“Near Richmond, Virginia, July 6, 1862. Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, U. S. Army.
General: I have been directed by the Secretary of War of the Confederate States to inform you that it is reported in the journals of the United States that ……Col. John L. Owen, of the Missouri State Guard [has] been executed by the U. S. authorities ….. upon a charge of bridge burning in Missouri. Colonel Owen …… was shot without trial. He was a commissioned officer of the Missouri State Guard. Individuals have been put to death by the authority of the Confederate Government for burning bridges within its territory ….. but they have had a fair trial. Supposing then ….. Colonel Owen to have been executed without trial, the Confederate Government deems it to be its duty to call on the authorities of the United States for a statement of the facts, inasmuch as it is not intended to permit outrages of such a character to be perpetrated without retaliation. R. E. Lee, General.”1
This note, by any understanding, seems strange. Why would Robert E. Lee write an across the lines letter to George McClellan about an obscure event? When did this execution happen? Who was John L. Owen of the Missouri State Guard? What had he done to deserve such a summary execution? What happened as a result of Lee’s letter? Let us start with John L. Owen, the subject of the letter.
In 1860, times were good for John L. Owen and his family. He owned about 200 acres of good farmland in Warren Township, Marion County, Missouri. He was 39 years old, had a wife, Mary, age 34, and a five year old daughter, Eudora. According to the 1860 Census he was a farmer, his real estate was valued at $7000, and his personal property at $10,810. In addition, he owned five slaves, ranging in age from 3 to 24 years which probably accounted for most of the value of his personal property. A younger brother, William lived nearby, was also a farmer with real estate valued at $8,000 but personal property valued at only $650. Also, his widowed mother, Nancy, age 64, lived with John’s older brother Amsley, age 42, also a farmer. Apparently, Nancy retained ownership in her farm of about 400 acres valued at $14,900 along with personal property valued at $12,000 made up of 15 slaves, aged 1 to 50 years. Amsley owned personal property valued at $1500, although no slaves were found in his name in the 1860 slave census. John, William, Amsley and Nancy were all born in Kentucky and John’s wife, Mary had been born in Pennsylvania.2
John Owen’s father, Stephen, was born in Orange County, New York but then settled in Bourbon County, Kentucky where he met and married Nancy, a native of Bourbon County. In 1830, the family moved to Illinois where Stephen died in 1851. The remaining family moved to Marion County, Missouri in 1853.3
With the coming of the war in 1861, many changes were occurring in the county. The election of Abraham Lincoln in November showed just how divided the Marion County was:
Candidate Votes
Douglas (Northern Democrat) 1240 37.7%
Bell (Constitutional Union) 1386 42.1
Breckenridge (Southern Democrat) 432 13.1
Lincoln (Republican) 235 7.1
Total 3293
The two moderate candidates, Douglas and Bell, received almost 80% of the vote in the County. This vote was in agreement with the rest of the state that gave its electoral votes to Douglas (the only state to do so). In Missouri, about 72% voted for Douglas or Bell.4
In August, 1860, Claiborne Fox Jackson had been elected Governor along with Thomas Caute Reynolds as Lieutenant Governor. Jackson had nominally been a Douglas supporter for political reasons, but his heart lay with Breckenridge. With Lincoln’s election, the South began the process of secession beginning with South Carolina on December 20, 1860, followed in January by the rest of the Deep South. Jackson felt that the time was not ripe for Missouri’s secession, but instead called for a Constitutional Convention to determine the relationship of Missouri to the Union, fully expecting that the majority of the elected delegates would be secessionists. To Jackson’s surprise and chagrin, most delegates were either Unconditional Unionists or Conditional Unionists and the Convention, after much deliberation decided that Missouri would not secede.5
Things rapidly came to a head. Governor Jackson called for the State Militia to meet for training within the various state divisions (identical to the boundaries of the Congressional Districts). Marion County was in the Second Division.6 Militia enlistment and training had been somewhat haphazard in previous years. In some cases, especially in the St. Louis area, militia units had been established for many years, were well-uniformed and equipped, and drill, when called, had become a social as well as a military event. Governor Jackson called the State Legislature into special session to address the rising tensions. This “called session” began May 2, 1861. However, after the Camp Jackson affair in St. Louis on May 10, 1861, (where the militia training encampment at Lindell’s Grove was surrounded and captured by troops led by Nathaniel Lyon)7 the Twenty-First General Assembly enacted a Militia Act on May 14, 1861 that formalized the establishment of the Militia, called the Missouri State Guard.8 There were 216 “Sections” of the Act plus an “Articles of War” section. Part of Section 135, “Bringing Troops into the Field” reads, “Whenever it shall be necessary for the defense of the State, maintenance of public tranquility, the suppression of riot, rebellion, or insurrection, or the repelling of invasion, that the military force of the State or any part thereof,…..”
With this Militia Act in hand, arming of the State began. Brigadier Generals were named for each of the Divisions of the Missouri State Guard. In the case of the Second Division, The first appointee was Thomas Beverly Randolph who declined the appointment due to “advanced age and physical infirmities.”9 In his place, Thomas Alexander Harris, 34, a resident of Hannibal and an attorney, was appointed on June 18, 1861.10 On June 12, 1861, Governor Jackson issued a proclamation noting that Missouri had been “invaded” by Federal forces and calling for the enlistment of 50,000 men into the Missouri State Guard “for the purpose of repelling said invasion.”11
Men responded to the call and enlistments began. Of the Owen family, only John L. Owen appears to have responded to the call. A Monroe County Company of Cavalry was formed as part of the 5th Cavalry Regiment of the Second Division and John L. Owen was elected as its captain.12 It may seem odd that a resident of Marion County would enlist in a Monroe County unit, but Owen’s home was but a few miles from Monroe Station, Missouri, and much further from Hannibal or Palmyra. Brigadier General Harris called for the various State Guard units that were informally organizing throughout the Second Military District to meet at Florida, Monroe County. By early July, it was estimated that about 500 men had assembled there.13
The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad was a key communications link between Hannibal, Missouri (and Quincy, Illinois) and St. Joseph, Missouri. As such it was an attractive target for Confederate sympathizers and the Missouri State Guard to disrupt communications across the northern part of the state. Similarly, the Union forces also recognized its importance and sent the 16th Illinois Infantry, Col. R. F. Smith commanding, to Hannibal and Palmyra. Shortly afterwards, the 2nd and 3rd Iowa Infantry arrived in Hannibal and moved out along the railroad to protect bridges, stations and facilities.14 Union sympathizers and scouts reported the actions of Gen. Harris and Col. Smith was ordered to march upon them and break up their camp.15
The expedition, consisting of companies from the Illinois 16th and the Iowa 3rd, about 500 men in all with one cannon, entrained on Monday, July 8th at Palmyra for Monroe Station (now Monroe City). From there, their intent was to march southward to engage General Harris at his assembly point near Florida. However, a rainstorm made the planned night march impossible and departure from Monroe Station was delayed until the next day. Colonel Smith, in his enthusiasm for the attack, neglected to leave anyone to guard the train, supplies and ammunition at Monroe Station. General Harris was well aware of their approach; the terrain was mostly level prairie with little cover and Harris’ spies also reported Smith’s progress. As Smith was leaving the prairie and approaching Florida, a small ambush was encountered with little loss on either side. Smith decided to make camp and resume the march the next day. During the evening of the 9th, Smith was apprised of dangerous developments. His arrival at Monroe Station and southward march had stirred up the countryside and large numbers of secessionists were coming from all directions. The morning of the 10th dawned, and Smith reached the decision that it would be prudent to return to Monroe Station. As they approached, they found the railroad station and its outbuildings in flames along with a number of freight and passenger cars. These actions had been the work of Capt. John Owen and about 100 men of his company.16
Colonel Smith was now surrounded with the number of secessionists increasing hourly. His forces took refuge in the local “seminary,” a two-story brick building and built breastworks for additional protection. He also sent for reinforcements. More and more men came in from the countryside to take part in what had become a siege. Townspeople, men, women, and children gathered to watch the “festivities.” General Harris’ cannon arrived but ammunition was limited and what shots were fired did little damage to the building. But then, late Thursday afternoon a train was seen approaching from the east. Reinforcements, Major Hays and three companies of his 16th Illinois (about 275 men) along with a nine-pounder cannon arrived and General Harris and his men retired from the field, some precipitously and others (including Captain Owen’s company), in good order.17
News of this dire battle had spread eastward, even reaching Chicago. More troops were sent including the Illinois 14th led by Col. Palmer and the Illinois 21st led by Col. U. S. Grant arrived and fanned out to protect the railroad.18
One unit for reinforcement of Col. Smith was led by ex-Governor Wood of Illinois.19 Note was taken of this battle in the eastern press. On August 17, 1861, Harper’s Weekly reported on the battle with what could best described as florid prose. Casualty reports were also fictitious. Governor Wood did not “rescue” Colonel Smith’s command but rather arrived late to the scene.20
Revenge reared its ugly head a few days after the Monroe Station battle. Union forces arrived at the home of John Owen and burned it to the ground and took some horses and mules and a large lot of bacon as retaliation for his burning the railroad property.21
After the battle at Monroe Station, most of the Second Division of the State Guard dispersed, but were still on call. There is no record that units of the Second Division took part in the battle of Wilson’s Creek on August 10th. But as Sterling Price and Missouri State Guard units fresh from their victory at Wilson’s Creek approached Lexington on the Missouri River, General Harris’ Second Division joined in the siege. The Division took an active part in the siege, and some credited his division with the idea to use dampened hemp bales as moving siege devices.22 Captain Owen is not mentioned in any of the reports, but he undoubtedly was present with his unit. On September 29, 1861, realizing that his army could not match that of General Fremont, who had finally stirred himself to pursue Price, General Price began a retreat to the southwest part of the state. At least part of the Second Division, including John Owen, took part in this retreat.
The Missouri Army Argus, a “mobile” newspaper that followed Price’s army, edited by J. W. Tucker, noted in an issue of November 30, 1861, that troops were offered a voluntary 12-month enlistment in the Confederate Army, under the command of Sterling Price.23 Shortly before this, the Missouri State Guard was reorganized. In the Second Division, in the 5th Cavalry, John L. Owen was listed as Major and second in command to Lt. Col. B. W. Hawkins.24 On December 2, 1861, it was announced that Col. Martin Green had been named Brigadier General, replacing Thomas Harris, who had been named to represent the Missouri 2nd District, in the Confederate House of Representatives.25
At this time, John L. Owen’s six-month enlistment was up and he decided not to enter the Confederate Army, but rather to return home to his family. However, he did not report and take a loyalty oath. It was said that there was an order out for his arrest for treason because of the railroad burning and he dared not show himself in the area. He made the decision to hide in the vicinity of his former home (burned) and the nearby home of his mother. This was a fateful decision. Over the next few months, Union patrols repeatedly scoured the area without success, but ultimately he was undone and captured.26
John Owen had become a particular target over the Spring months of 1862. Brigadier General John M. Schofield, commander of the Missouri State Militia, issued General Orders No. 18 on May 29, 1862. In it, he said, “The time has passed when insurrection and rebellion in Missouri can cloak itself under the guise of honorable warfare. …. When caught in arms, engaged in their unlawful warfare, they will be shot down on the spot.”27 Schofield continued his diatribe with a letter to Brigadier General John McNeil, the commander of the District of Northeast Missouri at Palmyra, stating: “I want you to take the field in person, with as much of your force as can be spared, and exterminate the rebel bands in your division…… Don’t rest until you have exterminated the rascals.”28 On June 7, 1862, rumors of a rebel camp reached the office and a detachment was sent out made up of units of Colonel Lipscomb’s 11th Gen. John McNeil (above) Missouri State Militia (MSM), under General John Schofield (left) the command of Captain Lair. No rebel camp was found, but then Lair and his men went to the home of Nancy Owen, mother of John Owen and searched for him. He was discovered in some nearby bushes and taken first to his mother’s home. After some “unseemly demonstrations on the part of the Militia, he was carried away.” Owen supposedly was unarmed, but that made little difference to the MSM troops.29 Owen’s wife and mother were told that he was being taken to Palmyra to jail and trial, and that they could come to Palmyra the next day to visit him. Nothing was further from the truth. Within a mile of his home he was tied to a fencepost and executed on June 8, 1862.30 Within a few days, John Owen’s wife, Mary, wrote her version of the events claiming his innocence which was published in the Quincy, Illinois Herald. As a result of that publication, General McNeil forbade circulation of the Herald within his military district.31
John Owen was buried in the cemetery of the Mount Vernon Methodist (South) church, where his gravestone and that of several of his family members also may be found.32
That is not the end of the story. News of his capture and execution appeared in the Hannibal Herald of June 10, 1862: “Information was brought into camp at Palmyra on Saturday last that Col. John L. Owen, a notorious rebel who has made himself conspicuous in burning bridges, cars, and depots, firing into passenger trains, last summer and fall, was secreted at or near his farm in Monroe [actually, Marion County, near Monroe County]. A detachment from Company A, Eleventh Regiment Missouri State Militia (Colonel Lipscomb) under command of Lieutenant Donahoo, was immediately sent out from Palmyra to hunt the outlaw. On approaching the farm of Colonel Owen on Sunday about 12 m. the squad discovered a negro running rapidly from the house towards a piece of brush. The lieutenant and his company immediately started for the brush and going into it discovered the game and soon bagged it. At first the colonel showed a determination to resist his capture, but finding such a procedure useless he yielded. Preparations were made for his execution. He begged the soldiers to take him prisoner. They informed him that “taking prisoners” was played out. They then placed him upon a stump in front of a file of soldiers and at the word of command eight bullets pierced the body of the rebel, killing him instantly. Thus ended the career of a notorious bushwhacker and outlaw. He has met the just retribution of his damning crimes.”33
The same note appeared in the St. Louis Missouri Democrat of July 12, 1862.34 But the question remains, how did this information get to General Robert E. Lee in his letter to General George McClellan in less than one month? We must return to General Thomas Alexander Harris, newly named to the Confederate House of Representatives, representing the Missouri 2nd District. Apparently, Harris had some conduits of information from Missouri that worked through the lines. In an earlier letter from Corinth, Mississippi, D. W. Vowles writes of the news carried to his camp: “Old Captain Robards,35 from Hannibal reached our camp yesterday direct from his home. He came by water to St. Louis, from there to Nashville, thence to Chattanooga and here.”36 Harris wrote to George W. Randolph, Secretary of War on June 10, 1862 about the information he had received.37 In some similar manner, Harris must have received news of the murder of John L. Owen because he again wrote to Secretary Randolph on June 23, 1862 (just 15 days after the murder and 13 days after the first print news of the event): “Sir: I have the honor to inclose [sic] herewith an extract from the Hannibal (Mo.) Herald of the 10th instant, in which it will be perceived that Col. John L. Owen, of the Second Division, Missouri State Guard, who was an officer duly commissioned in accordance with the laws of the State of Missouri, and recently under my command, was recently captured near his late residence by the enemy, and although he demanded to be treated as a prisoner of war, according to the rules of civilized warfare, it was unhesitatingly refused him and he was summarily executed without the form or pretense of trial.38 At the same time he wrote to John B. Clark, Sr. with the information about John Owen and that he had written to Secretary Randolph.39
On June 29, 1862, Randolph wrote to Robert E. Lee about the Owen affair enclosing the newspaper clipping, and asked that he bring it to the attention of the “general in command of the U. S. forces for the consideration of his government.” On the same day he wrote to Harris acknowledging his letter. In both letters he noted: “We have executed private individuals for burning bridges and persons in military service for coming disguised into our lines to destroy railroads, but we have given them fair trials. If Colonel Owen entered the enemy’s lines in disguise and burnt bridges, we could not consistently deny their right to try and punish him, but an execution without a trial is not justifiable under any circumstances, and if he acted in obedience to orders and without entering the lines of the enemy in disguise his execution is a palpable murder committed by a U. S. Officer.”40 This letter, Randolph to Lee, was the reason for the letter, Lee to McClellan, that opened this article.1
On July 11, 1862, General McClellan forwarded Lee’s letter to Secretary of War Stanton and also, on the same day, replied to Lee noting that he had forwarded Lee’s letter and telling him, “I am wholly ignorant of the cases complained of in your letter.” And, “I am glad that nothing has occurred among the forces under my command which can in any point of view subject any prisoners taken from them to any retaliatory action under any circumstances.”41
On August 2, 1862, General Lee again wrote, this time to “General Commanding U. S. Army, Washington (i.e. Halleck) enquiring about the Owen matter, as he had heard nothing. He also brought up several other matters related to prisoners in the Western Theater. On the same day, he wrote another letter to Halleck about cartels and prisoner exchanges and expropriation of private Confederate property.42
On August 7th, Halleck responded to Lee, apologizing to him, explaining that Lee’s letter of July 6th had been misfiled. He stated, “No authentic information has been received in relation to the execution of … John L. Owen … but measures will be immediately taken to ascertain the facts of [the] alleged execution of which you will be duly informed.43 On August 9th, Halleck again wrote to Lee stating, “General: Your two communications of the 2d instant with inclosures [sic] are received. As these papers are couched in language exceedingly insulting to the Government of the United States, I must respectfully decline to receive them. They are returned herewith.”44 Finally, Halleck wrote to McClellan on August 11th asking him to forward these letters.45 This, then, essentially ended the matter as far as the Union was concerned. There are no letters in enquiry to St. Louis to be found in the Official Records. There were other matters to be handled in northeast Missouri that summer and fall. Colonel Joseph Porter (CSA) was raising forces and raiding throughout the area.46 If a communication from Washington had been received, it probably would have been ignored or lost.
There is one final irony in this tale. Less than two months after the death of John L. Owen at the hands of Captain Lair, Lair himself was captured at Newark, Missouri when the town was surrendered to the forces of Colonel Joseph Porter. Even though Porter and his men knew full well of the murder of Owen, Porter paroled Lair and even let him keep his sidearms.47
Going back then to the letter of General Robert E. Lee to General George B. McClellan noted in the opening of this article.1 The Southern Press pounced upon the Owen case. The Daily Morning News of Savannah, GA reprinted the Hannibal Herald article in its original form, but added a lead: “The Linconites in Missouri Murder a Secessionist.”48 The Fayetteville Observer noted: “Barbarous. The war is tending more and more to a condition of indiscriminate slaughter. We suppose our government will hang some Yankee in retaliation…Col. John Owen, a notorious rebel bushwhacker was taken on his farm in Monroe County, Missouri, on the 7th inst. and in accordance with the orders of General Schofield he was fastened to a stump, and the contents of eight muskets found their way into his body. He begged hard to be treated as a prisoner of war.”49
This series of events raise several important questions. First, was Col. Owen in military service? The record seems to say that he resigned and returned home after his six month term of enlistment was over. Second, was he under orders to create trouble in Northeast Missouri? No such orders have been found. So then, if he was captured and executed without a trial, was it any business of the Confederacy if Owen were a civilian? Finally, the Hannibal Herald article, Owen is called “notorious rebel who has made himself conspicuous in burning bridges, cars, and depots, firing into passenger trains, last summer and fall.” There is no indication in the article of any recent activity. If this is the case, was he executed for his military activity almost a year earlier? But there is one tantalizing hint of something else that might have been going on. The Chicago Historical Society holds an orderly book (or rather part of one) containing copies and abstracts of orders issued by Sterling Price for the Missouri State Guard. The index lists Order No. 100 on November 28, 1861 issued to Major John L. Owen for “recruiting power for Mo. Army.”50 This was the approximate time that Owen’s six-month enlistment in the Missouri State Guard expired. In this orderly book, there are many other similar “recruiting power” entries for many other officers.
In the end, the reader must decide for himself if John L. Owen was a “notorious rebel” or merely an innocent victim of an out of control Missouri State Militia unit.
NOTES:
1. The War of the Rebellion, A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Government Printing Office, Washington. Series II, Vol. 4, p. 134. 1899. Hereafter, Official Records or O. R. The ellipses in this passage are due to the removal of material relating to another, separate case contained in the same letter.
2. 1860 United States Census, Missouri, Marion County, Warren Township, page 19. Their land was located in the area of T57N, R7W.
3. History of Marion County, Missouri. E. F. Perkins, St. Louis. 1884. p. 703
4. Laughlin, Sceva B. Missouri Politics During the Civil War. n. p. Salem, Oregon. 1930. p.24
5. Ibid. pp. 37-45
6. Peterson, Richard C., James McGhee, Kip Lindberg, Keith Daleen. Sterling Price’s Lieutenants. Independence, MO. Two Trails Publishing. Revised Edition, 2007. p.24.
7. Winter, William C. The Civil War in St. Louis, A Guided Tour. St. Louis. Missouri Historical Society Press. 1994. pp. 47-53.
8. Laws of the State of Missouri Passed at the Called Session of the Twenty-First General Assembly Begun and Held at the City of Jefferson, on Thursday, May 2, 1861. Jefferson City, J.P. Ament Public Printer, 1861. Called Session, pp. 3-43.
9. Mudd, Joseph A. “What I Saw at Wilson’s Creek.” Missouri Historical Review. Vol. 7, p. 90. (January, 1913). Cullum, George W. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy. Boston. Houghton Mifflin & Co. 1891. Vol. 1, p. 105. (Randolph was 69 years old in 1861.)
10. Peterson, p. 103. Thomas A., Harris,
11. Official Records Series I. Vol. LIII, p. 696. Peterson, p. 130.
12. Peterson, p. 130. History of Monroe and Shelby Counties Missouri. St. Louis, National Historical Co. 1884.
13. History of Marion County, p. 381.
14. Ibid. pp. 377-378.
15. Ibid. p. 382.
16. Ibid. pp. 381-383. The railroad company placed a value of $22,000 on the rolling stock destroyed and of $18,000 on the station and its contents. This did not include the value of the military stores lost.
17. Ibid. pp. 384-386.
18. Ibid. pp. 386-387.
19. John Wood (1798-1880) was the founder of Quincy, Illinois and was elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1856. He became Governor in 1860 upon the death of Governor William Bissell. He was succeeded in 1861 by Richard Yates. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wood_(governor)
20. Harper’s Weekly, August 17, 1861
21. History of Marion County, p. 387.
22. Official Records Series I. Vol. III, pp. 189-193 for Gen. Harris’ report; Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Vol. 1, p. 309 for the map. Gifford, Douglas L. Lexington Battlefield Guide. Self-published, 2004. ISBN: 1-59196-729-5.
23. Missouri Army Argus. On line: http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/document.php? CISOROOT=/CivilWar&CISOPTR=15590&REC=37
24. Missouri Army Argus, Nov. 16, 1861 as listed in Bevier, R. S. History of the First and Second Missouri Confederate Brigades, 1861-1865. St. Louis. Bryan, Brand & Co. 1879. P.69. 1985 Reprint Edition.
25. McGhee, James E., Transcriber. Letter and Order Book, Missouri State Guard, 1861-1862. Independence, MO. Two Trails Publishing. 2001. P. 85 in original order book. Peterson, p. 103.
26. History of Marion County. pp. 446-450.
27. Official Records. Series I, Vol. XIII, p. 402.
28. Ibid. p. 427
29. History of Marion County, p.447.
30. History of Marion County, pp. 447-448.
31. History of Marion County, pp. 448-450.
32. Photograph taken September 21, 2010. The cemetery is located in Block 15, T57N, R7W of Warren Township, Monroe County.
33. Official Records Series II, Vol. IV, p.134.
34. St. Louis Missouri Democrat. June 12, 1862.
35. Apparently Archibald Sampson Robards, 1797-1862, History of Marion County, p.991
36. Official Records Series II, Vol. III, p. 897.
37. Ibid. p. 896.
38. Ibid. p. 784.
39. Official Records Series II, Vol. IV, p. 807. John B. Clark, Sr. (1802-1885) was then a Senator from Missouri in the First Confederate States Congress (1862-1864). He served as Representative in the Second Confederate Congress (1864-1865). He had served as Brigadier General commanding the 3rd Division of the Missouri State Guard and had been wounded at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek.
40. Official Records Series II, Vol. III, pp. 792-794.
41. Official Records Series II, Vol. IV, p. 170.
42. Ibid. p. 328.
43. Ibid. p. 350.
44. Ibid. p. 362.
45. Ibid. p.372.
46. Mudd, Joseph A., With Porter in North Missouri, 1909, reprint, Iowa City, IA, Camp Pope, 1992
47. Ibid. p. 244.
48. Savannah, Ga. Daily Morning News. June 24, 1862.
49. Fayetteville, NC Fayetteville Observer. June 26, 1862.Chicago Historical Society.
50. Sterling Price Orderly Book in the Sterling Price Papers, 1851-1869.
Abstract: John L. Owen, Bushwhacker?
In the summer of 1862, General Robert E. Lee sent a letter under a flag of truce to General George McClellan about an execution without trial in Missouri. John L. Owen was executed for “bushwhacking” activity even though he had served a six month enlistment as Captain in the Second Division of the Missouri State Guard. Owen had decided not to enter the Confederate service, but rather to return home in December, 1861 after his enlistment was finished. Because of charges stemming from his actions at the Battle of Monroe Station, July 10, 1861, he went into hiding near his home. In June, 1862, he was captured and executed near his home without trial. The trail of this event from Hannibal, Missouri to the desk of Jefferson Davis and the command tent of Robert E. Lee is elucidated.