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We know for sure that William C. Inks, the man who platted the town of Franklin, later changed to Pacific, and who served as the town's first postmaster, formed a Home Guard unit in June 1861 under Col. Lyon's St. Louis command. Known as Inks Battalion or the Pacific Battalion, the unit consisted of six companies and totaled 316 men and was headquartered at Pacific.
The battalion was mustered out on Sept. 18, 1861. Mustering out records refer to Inks as Maj. W.C. Inks. Each man received $10 pay. Some of the men immediately enlisted in the Union Army.
A reunion of the surviving members of Inks Battalion was held on Sunday, Sept. 26, 1880, at Dutch Hollow on Manchester Road. One thousand persons attended the grand celebration, which included a parade, music and food.
The mission of Inks Battalion was to guard the property of the Pacific Railroad, which was strategic in order to move Union troops to Jefferson City or Rolla in case of a Confederate incursion.
Following the release of the Home Guard men, Col. Francis Herron - fresh off the Battle of Wilson's Creek - brought an Iowa infantry regiment to guard the Pacific Railroad bridges. He established Camp Herron, which some of the men referred to as Devil's Gulch or Hell's Half Acre.
The exact location of Camp Herron is open to interpretation. A report left by one of Herron's men said it was situated between two white bluffs that rose in splendid magnificence, the top enveloped in dense fogs. Another man described it as being in Meramec Bottoms. The closest location that I can see that fits this description is the spot occupied by the present-day U.S. silica silos and offices.
On Dec. 5, 1861, the officers at Camp Heron held a Grand Union ball. The engraved invitation lists a dozen officers who were in charge of the arrangements. It is not certain who attended the ball.
Among reports of Herron's men there are claims of chills and fever, associated with the river bottom, and some of the men were placed in a "crowded hospital."
It is not known how long Camp Herron was an active military base.
Gene Hoffman, a great-grandson of Fred Mayle who once owned the residence known locally as the Blue Goose, said a Civil War hospital was set up in that house. The large house occupied the spot where the Bank of America now sits on St. Louis Street between Second and Third streets.
Eloise Mayle, a prolific genealogist and local history collector, described the Blue Goose as the grandest house in Pacific when Mayle, her grandfather, lived there.
When Fred remodeled the house in 1904, a Civil War cannonball was found lodged in the upstairs hall. Gene Hoffman believes that a family member still has the cannonball.
Things were quiet during much of the war years and business continued apace. But as the war appeared to be ending, the town of Pacific, with its two railroads, became a military target.
On Friday, Sept. 30, 1864, troops in Confederate Gen. Sterling Price's Army of Missouri burned the railroad bridges at Moselle. The following morning they entered Catawissa, where they chopped down the telegraph lines and ripped up the railroad tracks. They piled the wooden ties onto the bridge over the Meramec south of Pacific and set it on fire.
There are several official accounts of the military action in the town of Pacific - all referring to the town of Franklin.
Union Col. F. W. Wolf reported that he encountered the enemy two miles east of Franklin and drove them into town where they opened fire on his troops with one piece of artillery. According to this report there were 2,000 rebel troops in the town and two pieces of artillery.
Capt. Mattocks of the 2nd Indiana reported that he met the enemy on the Franklin Road, 1 1/2 miles east of Franklin and drove them into town where they formed a battle line against him. He said rebel forces had three pieces of artillery.
Brig. Gen. William Lewis, who commanded Confederate troops through Franklin kept a booklet of his activities. Lewis said the battle at Franklin (Pacific) lasted two hours. "My loss was two killed, six wounded and several captured."
Now I have to tell you . . . young Mr. Flannery is a former military man who served in Iraq and is cautious about calling this activity a battle. While it might not rise to the level of a full-blown battle in his lexicon, here's what is significant in my reading of these events.
First, two Union officers sent official reports that they encountered rebel forces east of town - one said two miles east, another said 1 - mile east. This makes a spot on the Franklin Road at the town of Pacific as the farthest point north reached by Price's army. The rebel advance was stopped here, and turned south and west where they finally veered south and returned to Arkansas.
Billy Murphy, whose prolific memory has often been referred to in this column, says there used to be a bronze plaque about 3-feet square affixed to the bluff that marked the spot where Price's army was turned.
One local account says that the trains were stopped at Eureka and the local accommodation train taken to Eureka to avoid being destroyed by rebel forces.
This matches another story by Billy Murphy, who says that a great-grandfather of his was a Pennsylvania volunteer and was part of the Union force dispatched to Pacific. They had to get off the train at Allenton and march to Pacific.
Henry Williams, founder of the town's first newspaper, gave his eyewitness recollection of the battle in 1941. He was 82 years old at the time. Williams said he and his mother were on the street, advised to go into the house and the cellar, which they did. They heard shots east of town, shouting and running feet. From the basement window they could see the railroad depot on fire.
"In the melee, several buildings in the city were struck by cannonballs," Williams said. "One which stands today on Osage Street is said to have visible grooves from the cannonballs in the rafters."
I offer all this as a token to Mr. Flannery, who said recently that if the city plans to use Civil War activity to encourage tourism, the city should map these various activities and focus on what happened here and where it happened.
There are other stories - romantic stories - one about a matronly lady convincing Union officers not to use stones assembled to build St. Bridget Church for their fort. Another about a Union soldier guarding the Catawissa bridge being invited to a wedding at St. Patrick's Rock Church and given a medal, from the wedding cake, as a souvenir. Later captured by rebel forces and ordered shot, the soldier gave his medal to the rebel soldier and asked him to send it to his mother. As it turned out, the rebel soldier had attended the same wedding and had a similar medal. He released the Union soldier and allowed him to escape.
There are several accounts of cannon placements on top of the bluff at present day Blackburn Park and/or at Jensen's Point. I haven't found an official version of that but it sounds plausible, as does Mr. Flannery's plan to put together a Pacific Civil War map.
With his enthusiasm and sound thinking, it occurs to me that he should be on the Tourism Committee.
Pauline Masson can be reached at 636-257-0988 or paulinemasson@att.net
