Below is a map of incidents in Randolph County, Missouri during the American Civil War. Randolph County, Missouri was a place of mixed allegiances during the Civil War. The culture was that of the Upper South, but with a frontier character, and aspirations that looked to the industrial north. Yet, there were about 504 slaveholders with 2,619 slaves with a white population of only 8,777.The general outlook of many of the wealthier men was therefore pro-slavery and Unionist. They wanted to keep the institution of slavery while being the gateway to the west and also have the benefit of such things as railroads. Such wealthy men as former Congressman William Augustus Hall, Henry Austin, and Joel Smith supported the Union. At the same time, Randolph County had been the home of such men as Hancock Jackson, former Governor, who was a noted Secessionist, not to mention General Sterling Price's in laws were from Randolph County. And a large number of Middle Class and Upper Middle Class landowners clung to the Southern cause. Their sons enlisted in the Confederate Army, and they gave aid to bushwhackers, with some men joining or forming bands. It is no surprise then that during the later part of the war you saw Huntsville, the county seat controlled by a local Union militia, while the countryside served as safe harbor to such bushwhackers as Bill and Jim Anderson, Jim Jackson, Bill Stephens, and Thomas Hunter.
Randolph County did not see a great deal of activity until the summer of 1864. Prior to that the county was primarily a place recruiting was done for both the Union and the Confederacy, and acts of sabotage. Both Perkins and Poindexter recruited regulars for the Confederate Armies, while the Union militias actively recruited men around Huntsville. Bands of guerrillas tore up the rails of the North Missouri Railroad, and cut telegraph lines. However, recrutiting for the Confederate Army largely ended with the Battle of Roan's Tan Yard (Silver Creek) on Jan. 7, 1862 when Confederate forces under Col. J.A. Poindexter were routed by Union units under Maj. W.M.G. Torrence. As the war wore on guerrilla activity increased in Randolph County. This was perhaps aggravated by the local Union administration's handling of Southern Sympathizers. Beginning in 1862, many Southern Sympathizers were forced to give Oaths of Allegiance. The men targeted were those suspected of giving aid to guerrillas or whose family had volunteered to serve in the Confederate Army. Later, men for the Southern cause were conscripted into local Union militias, and forced to serve. Some of these men deserted and joined guerrilla units. All of this was complicated by opportunists of both sides who used the war as an excuse for personal gain.So while Randolph County only had one minor battle, it still saw a lot of activity.
This map is a work in progress. More incidents will be added, and details added to the ones already on the map. Note, for many incidents we have the barest of information, so the locations are not precise. I counted myself lucky that some did provide enough information to get reasonably close, for example, the skirmish that took place on July 16, 1864 was noted in the official report as, "on the Fayette road, ten miles from Huntsville...." Others however, give the barest of clues such as, "near Renick," or "in Randolph County." Red icons on the map indicate skirmishes and battles, yellow icons are raids where no combat occurred, and blue icons are those incidents that are neither combat or a raid. To enlarge the map in another window, please click on the little rectangle in the upper right hand corner. You can zoom in and out by clicking on the + and -. You can move around the map by hovering over the map and holding the left mouse key down and moving it the direction you want. And when you click on one of the icons you get little tidbits of information about the place.