Centralia, Missouri - a railroad town with Civil War history - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

“CENTRALIA……..(884 alt.,1996 pop.) whose principal industry is the A.B. Chance Manufacturing Company, specializing in the production of telephone-pole anchors. The town was established in 1857 on the proposed route of the North Missouri Railroad, which was completed to this point in 1859. It was named for its central position on the railroad between St. Louis and Ottumwa, Iowa. At Centralia during the Civil War occurred the Centralia Massacre. On the morning of September 27, 1864, 80 confederate guerrillas led by Bill Anderson, part of a band of 350, entered the town, plundered two stores and the dozen of more homes of food and supplies, and then held up the stagecoach from Columbia, robbing the passengers. James S. Rollins , the United States Congressman, and James H. Waugh, sheriff of Boone County, both strong union sympathizers, were in the coach , but the attention of the guerrillas being diverted by the approach of a North Missouri train from St. Louis, they were not recognized. Placing ties across the railroad track to stop the engine, the guerrillas opened fire , wounding the fireman. Of the 150 people on the train, 23 0r 24 were unarmed Federal soldiers, either discharged or on furlough. The bandits robbed the passengers, took $3000 from the baggage-car safe, and rifled the baggage, one piece of which yielded $10,000. They then stripped the Federal Soldiers of their uniforms, evacuated the train, and set fire to it. The engineer was forced to open the throttle, and the blazing train traveled two or three miles west before it was entirely burned. Anderson then commanded that the Union soldiers be taken to the south side of the railroad and placed in line. A German, wearing a military blouse and cap, protested in his native tongue that he was not a soldier, but he was lined up with the others. The guerrillas formed a squad with Arch Clements in charge, and fired with revolvers at about 20 paces. Half the Union men fell at the first volley; others staggered about and were shot again and again until they were dead. Most of them were from the First Iowa Cavalry and the First Missouri Engineers. The depot was burned, and the guerrillas returned to their near-by camp with the spoils, including large supplies of whiskey which they had stolen from the stores.
The same afternoon, a union force of 175 men, under Major A.E.V. Johnson of the Thirty-ninth Missouri Infantry, arrived at Centralia. Major Johnson, believing that the size of the main force of the guerrillas had been overestimated, determined to pursue them. He gathered about 120 men in the open prairie, leaving a guard of 35 in Centralia. Meanwhile, the guerrillas sent out a small scouting party under Dave Poole, for the purpose of luring the Union men to the guerrilla camp. Major Johnson and his men fell into the trap and were attacked. The battle was short and furious. The troops, mostly raw recruits, were poorly mounted, while the guerrillas were trained marksmen, equipped with fresh horses and well armed. Probably not more than 12 Union men escaped. Major Johnson was killed, some say by Jesse James.”

Nearly 150 years after the Centralia, Missouri massacre at the railroad depot, and same day battle south of town, I enjoyed a winter 2012 visit to this railroad and prairie town. Later, I would learn a bit more the town through the reading of the Missouri WPA Guide of 1941 and the story of Missouri congressman James S. Rollins. Rollins, who is also considered to be the “father of the University of Missouri.” Rollins was an exceedingly lucky man that fateful day in September 1864. He would live to carry on in the US Congress after that day, and would be a signer of a key legislative document in January 1865. That legislation would evolve into the 13th amendment to the US Constitution.

Many of the Union soldiers who lost their lives that day were later reburied at the National Cemetery in Jefferson City. To this day on Memorial Day a wreath is placed at their joint grave marker there by a veterans group.

A book that explains the intensity of conflict in 1864 Missouri was written by Richard S. Brownlee in 1958. The study’s title is: Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy, Guerrilla Warfare in the West, 1861-1865. It is a classic and well worth reading before you visit Centralia.
Through it you learn the relationship of the 1864 raid into Missouri by Confederate General Sterling Price and the guerrilla activities led by Bill Anderson, William Quantrill and George Todd in the summer of 1864. Their coordinated goal was to disrupt the railroads north of the Missouri River to thus aid General Price's reentry into the state of Missouri. You also learn of the meeting in Boonville on October 11, 1864 (after the Centralia Massacre and the stinging and costly delay of Price’s army at Pilot Knob in the Acadia Valley) where Anderson presented Price with a silver mounted pistol set. In a speech there Price would acknowledge the worth of Anderson’s efforts.

The routes in Centralia and just south of town are well marked by Gray Ghosts Trail signs. The battle ground south of town is particularly well cared for by the Friends of the Centralia Battlefield is one of the best preserved battlegrounds in the state.

I have yet to visit the Centralia Historic Society’s museum, but hope to visit their Civil War Room in the home once owned by A.B. Chance, an industrialist and principal employer in Centralia in the early 20th century. The Chance Gardens are right across the street.

After the Civil War the Wabash Railroad would complete a connecting spur to Columbia, Missouri. Samuel Clements (Mark Twain) would take the Wabash to Columbia and its University of Missouri to receive an honorary degree in 1902. In 1957 for Centralia's Centennial the Wabash Railroad erected a bronze plaque beside the railroad tracks to note that fateful day in 1864.(See Gallery photo)

Today, the Wabash legacy is preserved with a dinner train that follows the route from Columbia to Centralia and return with a Wabash 1950s engine and rail coaches.

Book: Missouri Page Number(s) of Excerpt: TOUR 8 page 465 Year Originally Published: 1941

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/03/2019 kJfishman visited it