John and Ross,
Weighing all the various accounts, including those as close to primary sources as we can determine, it appears the mysterious Captain Kelly who commanded the escort that brought the gunpowder--evidently 70 tons of it--was Captain Joseph M. Kelly from the 8th Ward of St. Louis. I base that conclusion on the McNamara account as well as Jim McGhee's careful analysis that he mentioned in a much earlier reply in this forum. Jim used that conclusion in his book "Service With the Missouri State Guard: The Memoir of Brigadier General James Harding," pub. 2000 by Oak Hills Publ. Co. in Springfield.

The problem with identifying this Captain Kelly is the great secrecy involved in obtaining the gunpowder and taking it by boat to Jefferson City. Since southerners faced recrimination postwar, I would imagine those who actully knew chose to keep quiet to protect Captain Kelly. Since the Captain Kelly from St. Joseph and the one from St. Louis were both merchants, I can easily see how they could be confused for each other.

This same desire for secrecy may also cloud our full understanding of the large-scale effort to quickly move the gunpowder out of the capital before Union forces arrived in June 1861. I would guess that the same Captain Joseph Kelly who brought the powder to Jeff City also commanded the effort to spirit it out of the city and distribute it to trusted southerners. If anyone can find a primary source or an account close to a primary account that specifically names Captain Joseph Kelly as leading that effort to take the powder OUT of Jeff City, I would like to hear about it.

I really appreciate the effort you made trying to find evidence on this inquiry.
Bruce Nichols