Battlefield Dispatches No. 203: 'Executions Justified'

During the Civil War, "Congressional Inquires" occurred frequently, even as they do today and from a military perspective they could be a nuisance, but they had to be answered. This type of inquiry could come from the Federal or Confederate Congress or a state legislature. The following request came from a House Committee in the Missouri legislature and the "Union" response is addressed to the Honorable J. Davies, Senator in the General Assembly at Jefferson City, Mo. The response is located on Pages 291 and 292, in Series I, Vol. 34, Part II, Correspondence in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion.

"Headquarters District of Central Missouri, Jefferson City, Mo., February 10, 1864.

Hon. J. Davies,

Senator, General Assembly, Jefferson City, Mo. Gentleman of the House Committee of Nine: In reply to your communication of this date, through J. Davies, requesting my answer to the following interrogatories, to wit:

"What were the circumstances attending the trial, conviction & execution of Dr. Zimmerman & Hamilton at Tipton? What other parties have been summarily tried & executed under similar circumstances in your department & what was the military necessity & effect, if any has it produced upon the country? What was the nature of the organization of Maddox & others in the vicinity of Knobnoster? Please state all the prominent facts of the case, also those attending their arrest & trial."

I would say in answer, that Dr. Zimmerman & Hamilton were executed at Tipton, for the crime of HORSE STEALING, after having been impartially tried & convicted by a court composed of the officers of the post, Lieut. Col. Crittenden, 7th Cavalry, Mo. State Militia, Commanding. CARLISLE a noted REBEL & GUERRILLA, was tried & executed at Warsaw by a similar court, Lieut. Col. Lazear, 1st Ca., Mo. State Militia, Commanding. SNELLING a NOTORIOUS GUERRILLA, was tried & SHOT at Clinton by a similar court, Lieut. Col. Brown of the Enrolled Missouri Militia, Commanding. BENTON, a perjured TRAITOR & a noted BUSHWHACKER, after having taken the Oath of Allegiance, joining the militia, DESERTED them, was captured by a detachment of the 4th Cavalry, Mo., State Militia, in a skirmish with QUANTRILL'S men, tried, convicted & SHOT by a similar board of officers Col. George H. Hall, Commanding.

A spirit of lawlessness & recklessness, having no regard for the rights of any class of citizens, whether loyal or not, had pervaded the western portion of the Central District of Missouri to such an extent that the civil functions of law were utterly helpless, & the military law, to a great extent was crippled.

Men thoroughly organized in bands, & having a perfect connection, had inaugurated a REIGN of TERROR & CRIME which rendered the lives & property of all citizens unsafe & so completely cowed citizens into submission through fear of repeated outrages that it became impossible to reach & punish the perpetrators through the legitimate channels of properly constituted military tribunals. These acts of crime were not confined to rebel enemies of the occupying army, but extended to various men [civilians] & bands who used their cloak of loyalty as a disguise to gratify the spirit of plunder & personal aggrandizement. So general had this become & of such an aggravated character, that there existed a necessity for a stringent & summary disposition of the offenders whenever & wherever they were caught.

An opportunity for such measures soon followed in the cases I have above cited & examples were promptly made which have been attended with the most gratifying effect, restoring peace & quiet & safety to all alike & bringing men back to a proper observance & reverence for the laws. The examples thus made have saved a section of Missouri, already devastated by a Civil War attended with the BARBARITIES & ATROCITIES unparalleled, from further scenes of ROBBERY, RAPINE & ARSON & effusion of blood, which fully atones for the irregularity & justifies the summary method by which they were effected [executed].

Maddox's company at Knobnoster was an independent company formed without authority, ostensibly for the protection of the citizens of Knobnoster & vicinity, but as the evidence which was elicited at the trial of Maddox, Chester & others shows that the men, while under the immediate command ofMaddox, who assumed to be their leader, at other times roamed through the country ROBBING the houses of unoffending & peaceable citizens, taking the wearing apparel of women & children, burning dwellings, stealing horses & MURDERING MEN. Maddox's company was known as Company Q & such were the terror of the county ofJohnson. Some 20 of this Company Q & those that consorted & acted in concert with them have been arrested. Some of them have been tried before a MILITARY COMMISSION & the record in their cases awaits the action of higher authority, while others are yet to be tried. Those whose cases have been investigated have had a fair & impartial trial, with every opportunity to make a legitimate defense before a LEGALLY COSTITUTED MILITARY COMMISSION. Others have been released upon preliminary investigation without a formal trial.

I am, very truly, your obedient servant,

E. B. BROWN,

Brigadier General of Volunteers."

Now then, it appears that General Brown's explanation satisfied this Congressional Inquiry because there is no documentation that he was reprimanded for any of these executions and he remained in command for the duration of the war and of Course the War Went On!