A THREE HUNDRED-AND-FIFTY-MILE RAID
On August 1, 1862, Cols. Cockrill and Jackman left the Arkansas River for North Missouri, with such men as could mount themselves, for the purpose of bringing Upton Hayes’s unarmed men from that section. I think Cockrill commanded. We marched in two divisions, Co. Coffee striking Missouri somewhere in Stone County, thence going north through Dade, St. Clare, Bate, and Johnson to Lone Jack, in Jackson County, two hundred miles from my home, while our command concentrated fifty miles west, near Neosho, Newton County, followed the State line through Newton, Jasper, Barton, Vernon, Bates, thence turned east through Johnson to Warrensburg, and from there made a bee line for Lone Jack, arriving two hours ahead of Col. Coffee. We continued the march eight miles in a northwest direction, and went into camp. Coffee reached Lone Jack about night, and camped, not knowing that there were any troops near, but Col. Emory Foster had been sent out from Lexington with one thousand picked men to drive Quantrell from the State. Quantrell was giving them lots of trouble along the river counties. When Foster reached Lone Jack he found Coffee there. Having some brass guns, left the neighborhood, and Foster went into camp in the little village.
We could hear the firing at our camp, so we immediately fell into line and marched back to within a half mile of Foster’s men, dismounted, formed as infantry (for we were regular infantry soldiers), formed a hollow square around the village except the south side, which had been left for Coffee to close, but he had secured a pilot in his hurry that led him clear out of the country. My understanding is that he did not get to the fight, but of this I am not sure. The fight opened at five o’clock, and we held our ground till eleven; then Foster’s men gave way after killing thirty-seven of our men. He was wounded and captured. My recollection is that he lost one hundred and eighty. I was one of the detail to bury our dead, all of whom we placed in one pit. We did not bury Foster’s men, but laid them out the best we could under the circumstances. We captured two twelve-pound brass rifle guns, over which we had a hard tussle for two hundred miles. They tried hard to take them from us, but we were proud of them and needed them in our business, so we took them to Arkansas.
By John Logan, Logan, MO
Confederate Veteran, 1904, Vol XIL