Our American Civil War: Still a Great Deal to Learn

Contributed by Geoff Giglierano, MHC Executive Director

In this issue of MOPassages, the larger part of the articles that Editor Marilyn Webster-Brown has collected have to deal directly with the theme of the American Civil War, a topic that still holds considerable power and appeal for many Americans. To a great extent, the idea of the war and the diverse meanings that it holds for us is never very far below the surface in both the local and national consciousness. We are particularly reminded of its significance as we hear more and more about the events and activities that are being planned and carried out to mark the 150^th anniversary of that conflict.

At the same, some of us may already be feeling like there is perhaps almost too much going on with this anniversary. We may even feel like we already know so much about it….what else is there that can be said?

There is in fact a great deal that can and needs to be said. There is so much that we think we know about the war, yet it is inevitably limited.

I have had very direct experience in coming to understand this reality that many of us do not know nearly as much about the Civil War as we like to think we do. Part of my background is as a military historian, yet when I moved to Missouri a little bit over a year ago and started learning more in-depth about the history of this state, I was fascinated to discover that there were dramatic, important Civil War stories and events in Missouri that I was largely unaware of.

For example, I found myself utterly intrigued by the story of the attack on Fort Davidson, during the Battle of Pilot Knob. Pilot Knob took place in Iron County, early on in Sterling Price’s invasion of Missouri during the Fall of 1864. I can assure you that an astonishing number of avid Civil War enthusiasts are pretty much unaware of this engagement.

The story however, is moving and meaningful. In this fight on September 27, 1864, on the one hand, you have a dreadfully outnumbered Union force bravely driving off a series of assaults by Price’s much larger force. On the other hand, you have thousands of less than well-trained and armed confederate troops boldly making repeated headlong charges into the fire of the well-entrenched unionists, who were equipped with a significant collection of heavy artillery. Price wound up taking possession of the remains of Ft. Davidson the next day, but only after the federal troops had secretly retreated in the darkness and blown up the fortification and its supplies. Price was left with a big hole in the ground, many of his best and most aggressive troops as casualties, and no further hope of taking St. Louis for the Confederacy.

Wow! What a story! And yet, until very recently, it was something that was essentially unknown to me, other than the very barest outline of the facts.

As the anniversary progresses, there will be many opportunities for all us to learn something new and to gain fresh perspectives on stories that we believe we know very well. One need only look at Jeremy Neely’s 2007 book, The Border Between Them: Violence and Reconciliation on the Kansas-Missouri Line to realize that with the benefit of good historical analysis and good writing, historians can provide us with increasingly accurate and sophisticated understanding of subjects that have been covered many times before. As I begin thinking about the Civil War 150^th anniversary in those terms, I find I am very much looking forward to the range of activities and programs that will be inspired by sesquicentennial, as a growing number of organizations and communities conduct programming like the activities that you will be reading about in this issue.

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