Col. Hiriam Bledsoe - Depot Park - Pleasant Hill, Mo.
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N 38° 47.154 W 094° 16.447
15S E 389338 N 4293788
This bronze and granite memorial is located at Depot Park - Roadway Street, Veterans Parkway, and Paul Street in Pleasant Hill, Mo.
Waymark Code: WMNMG8
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 04/04/2015
Views: 1
This bronze and granite memorial is located at Depot Park. The sculpture is part of a larger Civil War display consisting of a cannon, this Memorial and a marker describing the Civil War around Pleasant Hill. The Memorial has a bronze bust on a light grey granite plinth. The text reads:
COL. HIRIAM BLEDSOE
APR. 25, 1825 - FEB. 1899
(picture of crossed cannon tubes between flanking stars)
BLEDSOE'S BATTERY
One of the finest artillery
units of the Civil War was
Bledsoe's Battery, commanded
by Col. Hiriam Bledsoe, a
resident of Pleasant Hill.
Born in Kentucky, he moved
at age 14 to Lexington, Mo.
In 1846 he joined the U.S.
Army, Missouri Volunteers,
to fight in the Mexican War.
When the Civil War broke out
in 1861, Bledsoe formed an
artillery battery and offered
it for service in the Missouri
State Guard commanded by
Major General Sterling Price.
The pride of the battery was
"Old Sacramento", a large
bronze and silver cannon,
which Bledsoe had helped
capture in the Mexican War.
Cast from Chihuahua church
bells, "Old Sac" produced a
unique ringing sound that
echoed across the battlefield.
The unit fought for the Mo.
State Guard at the Battles
of Carthage, Wilson's Creek,
Lexington and Pea Ridge.
Information about Colonel Bledsoe and his artillery battery from the Cass County Historical Society:
(Visit Link)
"Hiram Bledsoe was born April 25, 1825 in Bourbon County, Kentucky and came to Missouri about 1839, settling on a large farm near Lexington.
He volunteered to fight in the war with Mexico and
served with Alexander Doniphan. Bledsoe and his men captured a cannon in the battle of Sacramento in Mexico. The cannon became known as “Old Sacramento” and went along with Bledsoe’s Battery in the Civil War.
In 1861 Bledsoe formed an artillery battery and offered it for service in the Missouri State Guard commanded by Major General Sterling Price. The bronze and silver cannon was the pride of the battery. Cast from Chihuxihua church bells, “Old Sac” produced a unique ringing sound that echoed across the battlefield.
The unit fought for the MO State Guard at the battles of Carthage, Wilson’s Creek, Lexington, and Pea Ridge.
The battery joined the regular Confederate Army fighting east of the Mississippi. Two-thirds of all the Missourians who crossed the river became casualties. Bledsoe’s Battery fought in many major battles including Iuka, Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta, Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga and Franklin.
After the Confederate defeat at Nashville, Bledsoe volunteered his unit to serve as part of the rear guard. Their desperate fighting halted the advancing federals and allowed the remnants of Gen. Hood’s army to escape.
By war’s end, Bledsoe was a Colonel, had served as a chief of artillery in charge of 12 guns, and had been wounded six times. He and his famous battery surrendered in 1865 in South Carolina. He had the old faithful plus four 12-pound modern Napoleons.
After the war, Col. Bledsoe settled on a farm near Pleasant Hill. He served several terms on the Cass County Court and became County Collector. He was appointed to a Civil War Battlefield Commission, and was elected to the Missouri State Senate. He died at the age of 74 and is buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
There is a granite monument in honor of his battery at Chickamauga. “Old Sac” was melted and recast and for many years stood on the capitol lawn at Jefferson City"