County of marker: Macon County
Location of Marker: E. Livingston St., city park, Bevier
Marker Erected by: The Citizens of Bevier
Date Marker Erected; 1958
Town Platted: 1858
The Person:
"Robert S. Bevier (April 28, 1834, Painted Post, New York – February 24, 1889, Owensboro, Kentucky) was an American military officer. He was a Missouri colonel in the American Civil War and fought with the Confederate Army.
"Bevier fought in the Wakarusa War against Kansas Jayhawkers in 1855. He opened a law practice in Macon, Missouri in 1858, and was a founder of Bevier, Missouri, which was laid out in 1858 and named for him.
"With the coming of the Civil War, Bevier enlisted in the Confederate Missouri State Guard in 1861. He was elected Colonel of the 4th Regiment of the 3rd Division. At the Battle of Pea Ridge on March 6–8, 1862, Bevier was in command of Bevier's Missouri Infantry Battalion which fought with the Missouri State Guard on the left wing of the Confederate forces. By September 1, 1862 Bevier was Colonel of a four-company battalion which, with another battalion led by James McCown, formed the understrength 5th Regiment of Missouri Infantry. At the encampment of the Confederate Army of the West (1862) at Saltillo, Mississippi on that date, the 5th Regiment was brought up to full strength with the addition of another company and achieved regimental status. McCown was elected Colonel of the regiment with Bevier as his lieutenant.
"The regiment was involved in nearly continuous combat during the war. The regiment went on to fight in the Iuka-Corinth Campaign at Iuka (September 19, 1862) and in the Second Battle of Corinth (October 3–4, 1862) and in the Vicksburg Campaign. It was captured en masse at the fall of Vicksburg although paroled soldiers were formed into a consolidated 3rd and 5th Regiment which fought until the end of the war. Robert Bevier was one of two Lieutenant Colonels in this consolidated regiment.
"Bevier later wrote a war history, A History of the First and Second Missouri Confederate Brigades, published in 1879." ~ Wikipedia
"Enlisted Mar 1, 1861 in MO State Guard. Elected Colonel of the 4th Regt 3rd Div. Promoted to Lt Col 5th Regt Mo Infantry on Sep 1, 1862. Authored History of the 1st and 2nd Missouri Confederate Brigades in 1879. Thank you for your service to the CSA; you are not forgotten." ~ Find-A-Grave
The Place:
"Bevier is a city in Macon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 718 at the 2010 census.
"Bevier was laid out and platted in 1858 along a new railroad line. The community was named for Kentucky native Col. Robert Bevier, who afterward became a leader of the Confederate army. A post office called Bevier has been in operation since 1858.
"Coal was discovered in Bevier in 1860, and coal mining was an important part of the town economy well into the 20th century. Bevier was incorporated as a village on September 5, 1881, and reorganized as a city on March 16, 1889." ~ Wikipedia
"BEVIER elevation 780 feet
"Bevier, on the Hannibal & St. Joseph R. R., five miles west of Macon City, contained about 900 people who were mostly miners. There were about three of four coal mines in the vicinity. The place contained 8 stores and a few other industries." ~ Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri, 1874, pp. 335, 336
"Bevier was laid out in 1858, by John Duff and named after Col. Robert Bevier of Kentucky. The land upon which the town was started was originally the property of Louis Gilstrap, who entered 160 acres. The plat embraces the northeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter of section 15, Township 57, Range 15, and was filed for record June 29, 1858.
"James McDermott, an Irishman, opened the first hotel. The first marshal of the town was P. C. Grimes. William Hardister opened the first store; Col. Benjamin erected one of the first business houses. The first dwelling house was built by Arborg Bower. John H. Kennedy was the first white child born in the town. Oscar Parker was the first postmaster. The first mill in the place was erected by Oliver Hughes, in 1880. John Skinner was the first mail carrier, his route extending from Huntsville to Bloomington. The first church was built in Bevier in 1862." ~ History of Macon County, 1884, St. Louis, National Historical Society, pp. 756, 757