A Thought to Remember: 15th Missouri Infantry Regiment heads home from the Civil War
The 15th Missouri, in 1861, contained 40 men from the Highland area, who had enlisted and began training in Highland, under Jacob Eggen.
Maurice Marcoot, author of Five Years in the Sunny South, was a member of the regiment. He writes about the end of the war:
“After the Civil War was over and many of the regiments were being discharged from service, the 15th Missouri and several other regiments were being sent to Texas, to assist the USA and Texas, as there was a war going on between our neighbor on the south, Mexico, and France.
“Before we left for Texas, Joseph Bader of Highland and our company, who had been wounded, then captured at Franklin, Tenn., returned in good health. Also, all those who had enlisted in 1862 for three years, were now being mustered out. Those of us that had enlisted in 1861 were not, as we had enlisted for the duration of the war.
“June 17, 1865, we were on our way to Texas. Our four regiments, together with our equipment and baggage, were sent to Johnstonville, Tenn., and transferred to the steamer Indiana. Going up the Tennessee River to Padukah, Ky., then down the Ohio River over to Cairo, Ill.”
Marcoot had another attack of rheumatic fever and he was lying in his cabin, when the regiment reached Cairo. The Indiana was going to drop anchor in the middle of the river and some of the officers were going to take the skiff into Cairo.
Marcoot writes: “This was more than the boys would stand, we were in Illinois and not getting to land… A squad of them, fixed bayonets, marched up to the pilot and ordered him to ‘Pull for shore!’ It is unnecessary to say that he obeyed.
“Our officers hastily detailed a strong guard to prevent the boys from leaving the boat, when they reached shore. But the guards threw down their guns and shouted for their comrades to come and started for the city. They were determined to set foot on Illinois soil before going to Texas. All but 11 of our company made it back to our ship before it pulled out, headed for Texas. I remained in my cabin and didn’t get to set foot on Illinois soil…
“At New Orleans, we disembarked, and we had a very pleasant journey across the Gulf on the steam ship New York and finally reached Port Lavaca, Texas, on July 24, 1865. By this time, we thought that we were real sailors, the seasickness was gone.
“Our first march of 12 miles was made without finding a drop of water or a shade tree. The sun was terrible, and we were loaded down with baggage. It was no wonder that some suffered sun stroke, as we hadn’t marched since April 9. This was truly the worst march of our enlistment, and it’s a long way to the Rio Grande River, our destination.
“The next day we finely came to a small creek, ‘Water,’ and along the banks were a scattering of live oak trees. This became our camp, but soon the air was full of mosquitoes. The ground was alive with snakes, scorpions and horned frogs. During the night, the wolves surrounded us, and sleep vanished. The next morning, we surrounded a herd of wild cattle and were able to bring one down. We fared sumptuously on beef not furnished by Uncle Sam.
“August changed to rain, and on the 3rd, we had a heavy storm and lightening. The remainder of the time in this area, it rained almost every day. On the 18th of September, we finally reached Matagorda Bay, but we had nothing to do, but I took sick again.
“Most of our boys that had jumped ship at Cairo arrived in our camp, as they had concluded they would not tarnish the good record they had made. They were tried by a court martial, but were only sentenced to 30 days of hard labor, and our colonel changed that to fatigue duty in our camp. We were all relieved, and it was great to have them back.
“On the 23rd of September, 1865, the 15th Ohio and the 51st Illinois were mustered out and left for home. On the 26th of September, the 44th Illinois also left, but not the 15th Missouri. We were sad, as these four units had been together since 1861. More units were leaving every week, but not the 15th.
“We were now at Victoria, Texas, on the 27th of October, where most of the inhabitants were Germans. We headed for the banks of the Guadalupe River, just two miles away. Here we were assigned to railroad work, rebuilding the railroad, which we continued up into January 1866.”
Marcoot was just 16 when he volunteered. Nearly five years later he was “equally as zealous to drop the armor, forget the past and return to civilian life…”
On Jan. 3, 1866, the 15th Missouri was finely on its way home.
“On the 17th, we arrived at Cairo, then rail to St. Louis, and on Jan. 24, 1866, after 4 years and 8 months, we were again ‘FREE,’” Marcoot wrote. “Within hours, we were in Highland, and within the circle of our loved ones, and I confess, heartily tired of military life…
“I wish to say to OUR children: ‘You have the garden of the world, you inherit it from the soldiers of 1861-1865 (And soldiers of the wars that the United States has been in before and since that time.) They gave it to you, free and clean, not with 6 million slaves, as they had received it. They paid a terrific price for that freedom. Look at the 40 National Cemeteries at the battle fields, over 400,000 of our soldiers and sailors, plus all of the wounded, and you will see, it was not secured cheaply. Defend the old flag. Permit none to dishonor it.”
(Quotes from Maurice Marcoot’s book, Five Years in the Sunny South, Pages 96-111 and my files.)
This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 6:35 AM with the headline "A Thought to Remember: 15th Missouri Infantry Regiment heads home from the Civil War."