Civil War in Ripley County, MO

There is much information scattered throughout the world wide web about the Civil War, Ripley County and those individuals involved. The purpose of this site is to try and consolidate some of that information to make it easier for the "history buff" to learn more about the Civil War in Ripley County.

Ripley County saw a lot of troops, both North and South, traveling in the area. This wasn't because of what was here but because of its location. Pocahontas, AR to the south and Patterson and Greenville to the north resulted in northern and southern troops often entering the area.

A 1845 map by Joseph Meyer shows a road going through the county connecting Greenville, MO with Davidsonville, AR which is near present day Pocahontas. Another 1845 map by Jos. Perkins shows a different road from Van Buren to Davidsonville. A 1845 map by Morse and Breese incorporates both of these roads into their map.

According to the Morse and Breese map, the first road is the Greenville to Pocahontas road which passed through Cane Creek Post Office, crossing Current River at Pitman's Ferry. This road was also know as the "Old Military Road" or " The Natchitoches Military Road" which passed through Little Black (Fairdealing), Martinsburg (Oxly) and Buck Skull (Currentview).

The second road crossed through western Ripley County connecting Van Buren to Pocahontas, passing through Mill Creek Post Office (Ponder). Commonly called the Bellevue Road it came through the county along what is now J highway passing through Briar Creek (Briar) and Ponder and leaving the state at present day Burr.

The earliest reference to Ripley County found in the "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion" appears as a letter written July 16, 1861. The heading is Headquarters Ripley County Battalion, Camp Burrows, the signature is M. Jeff Thompson, Commanding Ripley County Battalion. Further research is needed to determine the location of Camp Burrows. It could possibly be in Union township near present day Burr, where a family of Burrows appear in the 1860's Federal Census. Most of the activity in 1861 and 1862 centered around Pitman's Ferry where William Hardee had set up headquarters. He had been given command of the Confederate Army in Northeastern Arkansas.

The first "Official Records" account of Doniphan being invaded by Federals is by Henry Hawkins, Independent Missouri Cavalry in his report dated 16 Nov 1861. Coming down from the Federal Post at Greenville, they captured a rebel Lieutenant and pursued his men two miles south to the Pitman Ferry Road. The next recorded incident was a skirmish that took place 1 April 1862 at a ford on Current River at Doniphan. Colonel Carlin, 38th Illinois Infantry, reported that they killed 1 Lieutenant, wounded others, took their camp, all supplies of forage, provisions, small arms and important official dispatches, without any loss of men.

In October 1862 US Iowa and Missouri troops engaged a large concentration of Confederate troops at Pitman's Ferry.

Ripley County in 1863 saw the most activity of any year during the Civil War as one side or the other operated in the county for control. The year closed with the greatest loss of life, in Ripley County during the Civil war, occurring on Christmas Day 1863 at Pulliam's Spring in the southwestern part of the county.

It wasn't until September 1864 that things started to get more active as Price was planning his invasion of Missouri. As his forces entered the State, through Ripley County on September 19, Union soldiers as they fled, set fire to the courthouse and most of the buildings in Doniphan.

Although there were no "major" battles as defined by historians, the residents of the county suffered greatly. Many tried to avoid taking sides and all were preyed upon by both sides. Reading the Official Records can help one gain a better understanding of the Civil War in Ripley County.