Thursday, January 22, 2009
Larned to the farm
The approximate route that Edwin C. would have taken on his scouting missions from Ft. Larned to the future homestead.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Civil War History
Corporal Edwin C. Mercer
by Steven D. Treaster
Edwin C. Mercer enlisted in the 17th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry at age 18. He was born in Rushville, Schuyler County, Illinois. His father had emigrated from the area just west of Dover, England, in 1828. He was a farmer and the fifth of five brothers who were Union soldiers. One of the brothers died in a Confederate prison camp in Texas.
He enlisted October 27, 1863 at Frederick, Illinois. His eyes were gray and he was 6 feet tall. He was enrolled as a corporal in Company D. He was not mustered in until January 22, 1864.
The regiment was organized under special authority from the war department to Congressman John Farnsworth. The congressman had previously organized and had been the first colonel of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry. That regiment served well at Gettysburg under Buford, firing the first shot of the battle.
John L. Beveridge, formerly major in the Eighth, was named Colonel of the 17th. The Eighth provided a number of officers and non-commissioned officers as a core of the new regiment. The new regiment was also recruited in the same area (and congressional district) as the Eighth.
A rendevous for recruitment was established at St. Charles, Kane County, in the northern part of the state, on November 15, 1863. Mercer was mustered in with the first eight companies. Four additional companies were mustered in on February 12, 1864.
On May 3, 1864, the regiment moved to St. Louis to repot to General Rosencrans. At Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, they received their horse equipment. They then briefly served as prison guards at the military prison at Alton, Illinois.
Early in June 1864 the First Battalion (companies A through D) and the Second Battalion were transferred to North Missouri District. The First Battalion reported to General Fisk, commanding the department at St. Joseph. The Second Battalion was assigned to Glasgow.
The first squadron was then sent to Weston. The second squadron (companies C and D) was retained at district headquarters. The next three months involved mainly escort and provost guard duty. The second battalion particularly was involved in frequent fights with guerillas.
On September 19, 1864, the Second and Third Battalions reported to General McNeil at Rolla. These battalions met General Ewing’s troops as they retreated from the Battle of Pilot Knob. They are credited with saving that force at Cuba covering the retreat to Rolla.
The second squadron then moved from St. Joseph to Jefferson City where they rejoined the other two battalions. The first squadron stayed at Weston throughout Price’s Raid. There is some evidence that Mercer’s squadron was at the scene of the Centralia Massacre that day, soon after it had occurred.
After helping to face Price off at Jefferson City, the regiment was made a part of General Alfred Pleasanton’s Provisional Cavalry Division. The regiment was involved in the October 11th attack on Boonville, causing Price’s early evacuation of that point.
On October 15, 1864, Mercer was captured by Shelby’s Iron Brigade, under the command of General Jeff Thompson. Approximately 75 volunteer cavalrymen and 300 militia were captured at Sedalia at that time. When the Iron Brigade unexpectedly showed up and charged the earthworks at Sedalia, most of the militia fled. The remaining militia and several cavalry scouting detachments were quickly flanked and surrounded.
Thompson restrained the troops from taking action against his captives. He reports that he paroled them as he needed to move quickly back to his own lines. He did not have proper parole papers, but stated to his captives that if they were captured again without being exchanged, then they would be killed.
The regiment went on to do good service at the Battle of Westport, primarily at Independence. They also fought well at Charlot’s Prairie, late in the day after the Battle of Mine Creek.
Mercer was sent back to Benton Barracks at St. Louis. He is reported there on October 25, 1864. He was exchanged and sent to his regiment on December 22, 1864, at Rolla. In April they were sent to Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
In early May 1865, the Seventeenth accompanied commissioners from Department Headquarters, with a flag of truce, who reached General Thompson in northern Arkansas. Thompson arranged for the terms and places for the surrender of his forces (most of whom he reports had already deserted to the swamps) with the commissioners.
The regiment was sent in June to the plains of Kansas. They were to provide protection against Indians until the regular army could arrive. The companies were dispersed over a number of posts.
Mercer and Company D were sent to Fort Larned on the Santa Fe Trail. According to his pension records, he was working on the new fort blockhouse in November 1864 when a piece of lumber fell on his back, left hip and leg. This caused him considerable disability later in life. There were some minor skirmishes with Kiowa Indians, mainly involving horse stealing and raids at the fort.
Mercer reports that his company was traveling back to Fort Leavenworth to be mustered out in December when a blizzard struck. They were within a days travel of Fort Riley at the time. The company lost one or two men to freezing. Mercer was in the advance guard, facing the storm, and his eyelids were frozen. In 1903, he reported that his eyes were never the same afterwards.
After his discharge at Fort Leavenworth on December 20, 1865, he returned home. On April 8, 1866, he married Hetty Schisler at Baden Station, Illinois.
In February 1872, the Mercers and their three children traveled to Reno County, Kansas by covered wagon. Mercer established a timber claim with cottonwood saplings from a spring-fed creek on the land. According to family legend, he had camped at the creek while on scouting details from Fort Larned, west of there. The Chisholm Trail to Ellsworth, Kansas followed the Ninnescah River a mile north of the homestead.
Mercer built a sod hut. The first cash crops were primarily buffalo bones, taken to the railroad at Hutchinson, 21 miles away. In 1874 the grasshopper storm came through and ate almost everything. Hetty and the children returned to Illinois temporarily. Edwin told his grandson (Loys Mercer, my grandfather) that he did not give up and go back at that time, as he did not want everyone to laugh at him for being such a fool as to try to homestead in Kansas.
Hetty and Edwin had a total of eight children. On April 8, 1926, they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. The local (Pretty Prairie, Kansas) newspaper reported that Mercer “helped drive Price out of Missouri and clear the border of Gorilla’s (sic) and ruffians.”
One of the neighbors, John Roberts, was a Confederate veteran. They liked to kid each other about their service. When Mercer would talk about the times the rebels retreated, that would prompt Roberts to say that he couldn’t figure out how Mercer had got buckshot in the back of his heel unless he was retreating. That wound is identified in his pension records as extending into his lower leg. It apparently was not debilitating to the extent of causing him to miss active duty. It is unknown at what service location he was wounded.
Edwin C. (Clem) Mercer died on Christmas Day in 1928. He had worked as both a farmer and blacksmith. Hetty died March 5, 1933. Their grandson, Loys, purchased the homestead quarter sections from the other heirs. His widow, Martha Ann Holmes Mercer, still owns the land. My brother, Mark Treaster, and his family live on the homestead now. The house built by Loys in 1937 is surrounded by the cottonwoods — now huge — that his grandparents planted in 1872.
The grave of General M. Jeff Thompson was re-marked and re-dedicated at Mount Mora Cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 30, 1988. Given my great-great-grandfather’s personal history, I felt a great honor and considerable irony in representing the (Civil War) Round Table as president at the ceremony.
by Steven D. Treaster
Edwin C. Mercer enlisted in the 17th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry at age 18. He was born in Rushville, Schuyler County, Illinois. His father had emigrated from the area just west of Dover, England, in 1828. He was a farmer and the fifth of five brothers who were Union soldiers. One of the brothers died in a Confederate prison camp in Texas.
He enlisted October 27, 1863 at Frederick, Illinois. His eyes were gray and he was 6 feet tall. He was enrolled as a corporal in Company D. He was not mustered in until January 22, 1864.
The regiment was organized under special authority from the war department to Congressman John Farnsworth. The congressman had previously organized and had been the first colonel of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry. That regiment served well at Gettysburg under Buford, firing the first shot of the battle.
John L. Beveridge, formerly major in the Eighth, was named Colonel of the 17th. The Eighth provided a number of officers and non-commissioned officers as a core of the new regiment. The new regiment was also recruited in the same area (and congressional district) as the Eighth.
A rendevous for recruitment was established at St. Charles, Kane County, in the northern part of the state, on November 15, 1863. Mercer was mustered in with the first eight companies. Four additional companies were mustered in on February 12, 1864.
On May 3, 1864, the regiment moved to St. Louis to repot to General Rosencrans. At Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, they received their horse equipment. They then briefly served as prison guards at the military prison at Alton, Illinois.
Early in June 1864 the First Battalion (companies A through D) and the Second Battalion were transferred to North Missouri District. The First Battalion reported to General Fisk, commanding the department at St. Joseph. The Second Battalion was assigned to Glasgow.
The first squadron was then sent to Weston. The second squadron (companies C and D) was retained at district headquarters. The next three months involved mainly escort and provost guard duty. The second battalion particularly was involved in frequent fights with guerillas.
On September 19, 1864, the Second and Third Battalions reported to General McNeil at Rolla. These battalions met General Ewing’s troops as they retreated from the Battle of Pilot Knob. They are credited with saving that force at Cuba covering the retreat to Rolla.
The second squadron then moved from St. Joseph to Jefferson City where they rejoined the other two battalions. The first squadron stayed at Weston throughout Price’s Raid. There is some evidence that Mercer’s squadron was at the scene of the Centralia Massacre that day, soon after it had occurred.
After helping to face Price off at Jefferson City, the regiment was made a part of General Alfred Pleasanton’s Provisional Cavalry Division. The regiment was involved in the October 11th attack on Boonville, causing Price’s early evacuation of that point.
On October 15, 1864, Mercer was captured by Shelby’s Iron Brigade, under the command of General Jeff Thompson. Approximately 75 volunteer cavalrymen and 300 militia were captured at Sedalia at that time. When the Iron Brigade unexpectedly showed up and charged the earthworks at Sedalia, most of the militia fled. The remaining militia and several cavalry scouting detachments were quickly flanked and surrounded.
Thompson restrained the troops from taking action against his captives. He reports that he paroled them as he needed to move quickly back to his own lines. He did not have proper parole papers, but stated to his captives that if they were captured again without being exchanged, then they would be killed.
The regiment went on to do good service at the Battle of Westport, primarily at Independence. They also fought well at Charlot’s Prairie, late in the day after the Battle of Mine Creek.
Mercer was sent back to Benton Barracks at St. Louis. He is reported there on October 25, 1864. He was exchanged and sent to his regiment on December 22, 1864, at Rolla. In April they were sent to Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
In early May 1865, the Seventeenth accompanied commissioners from Department Headquarters, with a flag of truce, who reached General Thompson in northern Arkansas. Thompson arranged for the terms and places for the surrender of his forces (most of whom he reports had already deserted to the swamps) with the commissioners.
The regiment was sent in June to the plains of Kansas. They were to provide protection against Indians until the regular army could arrive. The companies were dispersed over a number of posts.
Mercer and Company D were sent to Fort Larned on the Santa Fe Trail. According to his pension records, he was working on the new fort blockhouse in November 1864 when a piece of lumber fell on his back, left hip and leg. This caused him considerable disability later in life. There were some minor skirmishes with Kiowa Indians, mainly involving horse stealing and raids at the fort.
Mercer reports that his company was traveling back to Fort Leavenworth to be mustered out in December when a blizzard struck. They were within a days travel of Fort Riley at the time. The company lost one or two men to freezing. Mercer was in the advance guard, facing the storm, and his eyelids were frozen. In 1903, he reported that his eyes were never the same afterwards.
After his discharge at Fort Leavenworth on December 20, 1865, he returned home. On April 8, 1866, he married Hetty Schisler at Baden Station, Illinois.
In February 1872, the Mercers and their three children traveled to Reno County, Kansas by covered wagon. Mercer established a timber claim with cottonwood saplings from a spring-fed creek on the land. According to family legend, he had camped at the creek while on scouting details from Fort Larned, west of there. The Chisholm Trail to Ellsworth, Kansas followed the Ninnescah River a mile north of the homestead.
Mercer built a sod hut. The first cash crops were primarily buffalo bones, taken to the railroad at Hutchinson, 21 miles away. In 1874 the grasshopper storm came through and ate almost everything. Hetty and the children returned to Illinois temporarily. Edwin told his grandson (Loys Mercer, my grandfather) that he did not give up and go back at that time, as he did not want everyone to laugh at him for being such a fool as to try to homestead in Kansas.
Hetty and Edwin had a total of eight children. On April 8, 1926, they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. The local (Pretty Prairie, Kansas) newspaper reported that Mercer “helped drive Price out of Missouri and clear the border of Gorilla’s (sic) and ruffians.”
One of the neighbors, John Roberts, was a Confederate veteran. They liked to kid each other about their service. When Mercer would talk about the times the rebels retreated, that would prompt Roberts to say that he couldn’t figure out how Mercer had got buckshot in the back of his heel unless he was retreating. That wound is identified in his pension records as extending into his lower leg. It apparently was not debilitating to the extent of causing him to miss active duty. It is unknown at what service location he was wounded.
Edwin C. (Clem) Mercer died on Christmas Day in 1928. He had worked as both a farmer and blacksmith. Hetty died March 5, 1933. Their grandson, Loys, purchased the homestead quarter sections from the other heirs. His widow, Martha Ann Holmes Mercer, still owns the land. My brother, Mark Treaster, and his family live on the homestead now. The house built by Loys in 1937 is surrounded by the cottonwoods — now huge — that his grandparents planted in 1872.
The grave of General M. Jeff Thompson was re-marked and re-dedicated at Mount Mora Cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 30, 1988. Given my great-great-grandfather’s personal history, I felt a great honor and considerable irony in representing the (Civil War) Round Table as president at the ceremony.
Early Days in Kansas: Stories Told By Edwin Clem Mercer
By Loys Mercer
Grandpa, Edwin C. Mercer and Grandma, Hetty Schisler Mercer came to Kansas (Reno County in February of the year 1872 and homesteaded Northwest of Pretty Prairie – no town there at that time.)
On the way out to Kansas the Mercer family had to cross the Mississippi River by fording it. The load was too heavy, so Grandfather threw out Grandmothers chest with all her linens, silver, and many other things that she treasured. I don’t think Grandma ever forgave Grandpa for that.
Grandpa had a team of horses when he came to Kansas. Both of them died. He bought a yoke team of oxen, but one of them died. Later, when a herd of cattle were being driven from Texas, north to Abilene, (later on they were driven to Ellsworth past the Mercer place) they left a baby calf on the Mercer homestead. It was left behind because it could not follow. When this calf was a year and a half old, he worked the calf with the older oxen by changing the yoke so the oxen had to carry most of the load.
Grandfather took the family to Hutchinson with the oxen hitched to the wagon. Grandfather had to walk to keep the oxen moving and out of the water holes. Later these water holes were called buffalo wallows.
The only farm implements that the Mercers had were the walking 12 I and the A harrow, that the brought with them from Illinois.
Early, after their arrival, Grandpa had walked to Hutchinson (21 miles). He worked all week at the Salt Plant, then walked home on Saturday night, taking with him supplies such as sugar, flour, etc. During the week he stayed with John Hartman’s in Hutchinson. John Hartman’s wife was Grandma (Hetty) sister.
Men from the East came out to hunt buffalo. Grandpa hired out as a guide. Grandpa picked up the bones the next year and hauled them to Hutchinson to sell. The hunters shot the buffalo, skinned them for the hides and left the rest on the prairie. Many times when he took the bones to Hutchinson to sell them, he said, the Main Street had mud about hub deep.
During the grasshopper raid, they ate the clothes off the line, stripped the grass and ate everything in sight, that was edible. Grandpa said, they couldn’t see the sun at times because of the “clouds” of grasshoppers.
Grandma Mercer told the story about 3 Indians, who came to their house and wanted something to eat. While she was fixing some food, Grandpa sat with the rifle in his hands watching them. He told a story about Indians stealing cattle at Fort Larned, when he was stationed there.
Grandpa, like other old soldiers liked to tell stories about when he was in the Army. He told one about the time when he was in the army during the Civil War. The Captain’s horse was shot out from under him. The Captain jumped up behind him. A shot from the cannon came along and shot the horse’s tail off. The horse started bucking but they didn’t dare let that bother them because the Johnnies (the Confederate soldiers) were too close behind them.
Grandpa and a neighbor liked to kid each other. John Roberts had been in the Confederate Army. They were both full of humor, but they would sometimes get sarcastic. Grandpa to Roberts – “Remember the time we whaled the dickens out of the Confederates?” John Roberts - - “Can’t figure out how you got that buckshot in the back of your heel unless you were retreating.”
Grandpa, Edwin C. Mercer and Grandma, Hetty Schisler Mercer came to Kansas (Reno County in February of the year 1872 and homesteaded Northwest of Pretty Prairie – no town there at that time.)
On the way out to Kansas the Mercer family had to cross the Mississippi River by fording it. The load was too heavy, so Grandfather threw out Grandmothers chest with all her linens, silver, and many other things that she treasured. I don’t think Grandma ever forgave Grandpa for that.
Grandpa had a team of horses when he came to Kansas. Both of them died. He bought a yoke team of oxen, but one of them died. Later, when a herd of cattle were being driven from Texas, north to Abilene, (later on they were driven to Ellsworth past the Mercer place) they left a baby calf on the Mercer homestead. It was left behind because it could not follow. When this calf was a year and a half old, he worked the calf with the older oxen by changing the yoke so the oxen had to carry most of the load.
Grandfather took the family to Hutchinson with the oxen hitched to the wagon. Grandfather had to walk to keep the oxen moving and out of the water holes. Later these water holes were called buffalo wallows.
The only farm implements that the Mercers had were the walking 12 I and the A harrow, that the brought with them from Illinois.
Early, after their arrival, Grandpa had walked to Hutchinson (21 miles). He worked all week at the Salt Plant, then walked home on Saturday night, taking with him supplies such as sugar, flour, etc. During the week he stayed with John Hartman’s in Hutchinson. John Hartman’s wife was Grandma (Hetty) sister.
Men from the East came out to hunt buffalo. Grandpa hired out as a guide. Grandpa picked up the bones the next year and hauled them to Hutchinson to sell. The hunters shot the buffalo, skinned them for the hides and left the rest on the prairie. Many times when he took the bones to Hutchinson to sell them, he said, the Main Street had mud about hub deep.
During the grasshopper raid, they ate the clothes off the line, stripped the grass and ate everything in sight, that was edible. Grandpa said, they couldn’t see the sun at times because of the “clouds” of grasshoppers.
Grandma Mercer told the story about 3 Indians, who came to their house and wanted something to eat. While she was fixing some food, Grandpa sat with the rifle in his hands watching them. He told a story about Indians stealing cattle at Fort Larned, when he was stationed there.
Grandpa, like other old soldiers liked to tell stories about when he was in the Army. He told one about the time when he was in the army during the Civil War. The Captain’s horse was shot out from under him. The Captain jumped up behind him. A shot from the cannon came along and shot the horse’s tail off. The horse started bucking but they didn’t dare let that bother them because the Johnnies (the Confederate soldiers) were too close behind them.
Grandpa and a neighbor liked to kid each other. John Roberts had been in the Confederate Army. They were both full of humor, but they would sometimes get sarcastic. Grandpa to Roberts – “Remember the time we whaled the dickens out of the Confederates?” John Roberts - - “Can’t figure out how you got that buckshot in the back of your heel unless you were retreating.”
Edwin C. Mercer + Hetty Schisler
Back Row (left to right): John Mercer, May Mercer, Martin Sherman Mercer, Anna Mercer Burling, Ellen Mercer Dupus, Ida Mercer Burnett Parents: Edwin Clem Mercer and Hetty Schisler Mercer
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