Foreword

The Boone County Historical Society traces its roots back to the late 19th century but has greatly expanded its programs of preserving the history of Boone County in Missouri, with the construction, completion and dedication of the Walters-Boone County Historical Museum and Visitors center in 1989. The Museum is located adjacent to Nifong Park in southeast Columbia at 3801 Ponderosa (Historic Ashland Pike Road). In 1994, the adjoining Montminy Gallery for displaying and storing art and photographic collections was completed. The Lenoir-Nifong (Maplewood) Home next to the Museum, is also managed and operated by the Society for public tours. Over 15,000 visitors annually register at these facilities.

Most of the Society's activities of collecting, preservinging, displaying and interpreting the county history, center around these three facilities, but the mission on informing the public of the rich, almost 200 year, history of the county is carried by a variety of programs and media to all corners of Boone County.

In 1993, a plan of marking significant historic sites was adopted, concentrating on those sites that had not previously had clear identification. On September 27, 1994, the first historic site marker was placed near the Civil War Battlegrounds southeast of Centralia on the 130th Anniversary of that battle that resulted in the largest number of fatalities in the county during the Civil War.

This page was written to give visitors a thumbnail sketch of the activities on that fateful day in 1864.

Related Links:
The Civil War in Missouri (Animated Battle of Centralia)

The Prelude to Battle

In 1864, the Confederacy was being invaded on two different fronts. The Army of the Potomac, commanded by Union General Ulysses S. Grant, was driving on Richmond, Virginia and to the south, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman was forcing Confederate troops back toward Atlanta, Georgia. The Confederacy knew that something had to be done.

In an effort to relieve pressure in the eastern theatre, Confederate General E. Kirby Smith, Commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, asked Missouri Confederate General Sterling Price, whose troops were camped at Batesville, Arkansas, to invade Missouri in the fall of 1864. Smith told Price to enter through southeast Missouri and drive north toward St. Louis. With this city captured, Price was ordered to take his troops into Illinois and southward into Kentucky and Tennessee to disrupt Sherman’s advance.

A secondary objective was also discussed. If Price determined that St. Louis could not be taken, he was to take his army west, staying south of the Missouri River and capture Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. He was to reinstall the Confederate Missouri Governor, Thomas Reynolds, and continue west to Kansas and take Fort Leavenworth.

In order to make this invasion a success, General Price asked partisan ranger bands in Missouri to create havoc north of the Missouri River thus preventing the Union troops from focusing on his army. Consequently, Price sent messages in late August to ranger commands telling them to immediately step up their activities north of the river. Anderson received his order from Price early in September while camped in Jackson County. He mounted his command, crossed over to the northern side of the Missouri River and began to raise hell. Price specifically wanted Anderson to cripple the North Missouri Railroad lines as far east as he thought practical. Anderson’s first skirmish in Boone County occurred on September 23, 1864 seven miles east of Rocheport. On this day, the combined ranger commands, numbering 100 men, under the leadership of Anderson, George Todd, and John Thrailkill attacked a union supply train that had stopped at Goslin’s Lane. The Union troops were surprised and fled from the battlefield. The rangers killed eleven Federal soldiers and three African-American teamsters. Anderson’s men then retired to Rocheport.

The next day, Union soldiers surrounded a home outside Rocheport where six rangers were staying. The rangers were shot down as they tried to escape and Anderson was told that they were scalped by Federal troops.

On September 24, Anderson’s rangers led a charge on Fayette, Missouri, where a command under Union Major Austin King was stationed. The Federals had built blockhouses north of town and the partisans charged these strong defensive positions three times in an effort to overtake them. It turned out to be a turkey shoot for the Federals. The rangers, armed only with pistols, never had a chance as they advanced on horseback over open ground to take the blockhouses. The well protected Union soldiers caused a number of ranger casualties. Seeing his blunder, Anderson reluctantly retreated north towards Glasgow. Thirteen of Anderson’s men were killed and over thirty wounded. The Union casualties were one killed and two wounded. After the battle, ranger Hamp Watts said that five ranger bodies were dragged out onto the streets of Fayette where Union soldiers ran rough-shod horses back and forth over their bodies until they were mutilated. The rangers were later dumped in a common grave in a cemetery south of town.

The Battle of Fayette is often overlooked by historians and not given the recognition it deserves. The ferocity of this engagement cannot be denied. Frank James, who fought in attack, said the “worst scared” he ever was during the war was at Fayette – strong words spoken from a fearless man. The battle also is important in that it developed a revengeful attitude for the rangers. Prior to Fayette, most rangers had never experienced defeat and they were determined to settle the score. Secondly, Anderson’s men were aware that on two different occasions, their fallen comrades had been scalped and mutilated by Union troops. The tragic events at Rocheport and Fayette were heavy on the minds of the rangers by the time they reached Centralia.

The Centralia Massacre

After Fayette, the rangers rode east, following the North Missouri Railroad. On the night of September 26, they camped 3 ½ miles south of Centralia on the farm of Colonel Singleton, a southern sympathizer. The location was perfect for the rangers as the North Missouri Railroad ran right through the middle of Centralia. At 9:00 a.m., on the 27th Anderson took eighty men, some dressed in Union uniforms, into Centralia to reconnoiter the area and determine the location of Union troops. Jesse James was riding with this group – his brother, Frank remained in camp.

Upon entering the town, Anderson spoke with some of the leading citizens including Dr. Thomas S. Sneed, and Joe Collier, the owner of the Eldorado House. He asked the men about the whereabouts of Union troops. During the interview, some rangers ransacked a clothing store and discovered a number of boots. At the same time, another group discovered whiskey barrels and the partisans freely imbibed, pouring the alcohol into the boots and drinking from them.

At 11:00 a.m. a stage from Columbia arrived in Centralia. Aboard was the Missouri Congressman, James S. Rollins and Boone County Sheriff, James Waugh. Both were on their way to the Democratic Convention in Mexico, Missouri. The rangers stopped the stagecoach and tried to obtain the identities of the passengers. Rightly fearing for their lives, Rollins said he was a minister with the Methodist Church South, and Waugh Gave his name as “Smith”. While the passengers were being robbed, the rangers heard a train whistle off to the east. The rangers quickly left the stagecoach and rode over to the train depot. Anderson had no idea that a train was going to arrive in Centralia. The train originated in St. Louis and had 125 passengers on board including twenty-three Union Soldiers, who had fought with Union General Sherman during the battle for Atlanta, Georgia. These men were on furlough and going home to see their families. The Union soldiers lived in parts of Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa.

As the train neared Centralia, Anderson ordered his men to place railroad ties across the tracks in an effort to stop the train. The train’s engineer was confused when he saw men, dressed in Union uniforms, blocking the track. By the time he sensed danger, it was too late as the train hit the railroad ties and came to a halt. The rangers ordered the passengers out of the cars and as they did, they were segregated into two groups; one for civilians, and the other for soldiers.

The twenty-three Union soldiers were lined up in single file and robbed of their possessions. They were then told to take off their Union uniforms. The Rangers made this request as they had little clothing and could only obtain it from prisoners. Union uniforms also allowed the partisans to deceive the Union troops as they operated exclusively behind enemy lines (a ploy used by American and German soldiers during WW II). As the soldiers disrobed, a contingent of rangers, bearing rifles, lined up opposite them.

Anderson asked the prisoners if there was a Sergeant in the ranks. Initially no one came forward fearing that they would be killed and the rest set free. Anderson inquired a second time and in response, Sergeant Thomas Goodman stepped forward. Being a true Christian, Goodman was prepared to sacrifice his life for his comrades. Instead, Goodman was led away from the others and Anderson told the soldiers that he was going to parole them. For a moment the prisoners breathed a sigh of relief. But this feeling was short lived as the Federals saw the rangers pointing their rifles at them. Anderson ordered his men to fire and the Union soldiers fell to the ground (Jesse James was likely in this firing squad). After the smoke cleared the rangers walked among the fallen and killed

Those who had not died outright. Some soldiers were shot a second time while others had their heads smashed in with the butts of rifles.

Anderson and his men set the train on fire and sent it abandoned to the west toward Sturgeon. The depot was set on fire and the rangers returned to their camp on the Singleton farm. The massacred Union soldiers were left where they fell (ironically, Thomas Goodman was spared and escaped from the rangers a few days later).

The Centralia Battle

At 3:00 p.m. that same afternoon, Union Major A.V.E. Johnston, with roughly 155 men of the 39th Missouri Infantry rode into Centralia after seeing smoke on the horizon coming from the burning depot. The 39th Missouri Infantry was a mounted infantry unit that carried single shot Enfield muskets as their weapons. Most of the men were recruits from North Missouri, and had seen little to no action prior to this day. On entering town, the men saw the naked murdered Union soldiers lying across from the depot. Major Johnston was incensed and began to interview civilians about the number of rangers involved in this incident. The townspeople told him that eighty partisans came into town, but that many more were in camp. Johnston believed that the pro-Southern citizens of Centralia were trying to deceive him and decided to go after the band responsible for the massacre. The civilians begged Johnston not to go after the partisans but the Major refused to listen saying that he would bring Anderson’s head back with him after battle.

As Johnston’s men left town, the soldiers saw a band of ten rangers ride up close to them, halt and gallop off (a Native American trick). The men of the 39th were excited thinking that the enemy was retreating and trying to get away. They quickly put spurs to their horses and followed the men across the prairie. They temporarily lost sight of the partisans as they rode over a ridge and out of sight. When Johnston’s men reached this spot, they looked down and saw Anderson’s eighty men below them dismounted. The rangers positioned themselves with Young’s Creek at their back and thick woods on each side of their position.

Johnston thought that he had the enemy outnumbered and seeing no other partisans in sight, decided to fight. He was confident that his men’s long range muskets could defeat the enemy at a distance before the rangers could close in on his troops. Johnston ordered his men to dismount and following standard military procedure, every fourth man held a group of horses.

The Union Major formed his men in a single battle line and told them to fix bayonets. He then marched his soldiers forward about 100 yards and halted. In response, Anderson’s men mounted their horses and slowly walked uphill toward the Federals. With the rangers still a considerable distance away, Johnston prematurely ordered a volley to be fired. Because the Union soldiers were firing downhill, most bullets passed harmlessly over the rangers heads (although three partisans were killed by this volley). This was the prearranged signal that Anderson’s men were waiting for. They put spurs to their horses and galloped towards Johnston’s men. At the same time, ranger bands, who had been hiding in the woods on both of Johnston’s flanks, attacked the Federals. The Union soldiers had no time to reload for a second volley. It was over in a minute. According to Frank James, the rangers rode over the Union ranks, Jesse James singled out Major Johnston and shot him in the forehead. Ranger John McCorkle said that some soldiers tried to escape, others tried to surrender while others tried to fight. They were all killed. Only one Union soldier, Private Enoch Hunt, escaped the battlefield and made it safely to Sturgeon.

The Aftermath

After the battle a group of partisan rangers mutilated the Union dead. It is said many were scalped while others were decapitated. The bodies were left on the battleground as a warning to other Union commands who might dare fight the partisans. The rangers also felt that they had sufficiently retaliated for their slain comrades in Rocheport and Fayette.

One month later, Captain “Bloody Bill” Anderson was killed in a Union ambush that was eerily similar to the same strategy he used in Centralia. Anderson’s dead body was photographed by Union troops, and it is said that his body was also mutilated and decapitated. Anderson was buried in an unmarked grave in Richmond, Missouri.

The bodies of the Union victims were buried near the North Missouri Railroad tracks in Centralia. In 1873 they were disinterred and moved to the National Cemetery in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Today, you can find a monument dedicated to the Centralia Train Massacre located in the City Park. The marker was originally donated by the Wabash Railroad company, the successor to the North Missouri Railroad.