I am sending this to both lists as I have just discovered my missing relative I have hunted for 20 years. Anyway, I believe it to be him. Who knows until the papers come in. Can someone help me with some military information? William D. Shields (William DeShields) died in Alton, Illinois Prison as a prisoner of war. With him was James Wilmoth. Both boys were captured in Marion Co., Arkansas. William on 12/23/1864 and James on 1/10/1865. However it says: Schnables Company; Missouri. Can anyone give me information on this company? I realize Boone/Marion counties border Missouri so this would not be that unusual. But, as I remember from my Green History, it was said that many young men were taken against their will by the Union Army. It was said that was why the grain and valuables were stored in the Cave above the DeShields Green Cemetery. Since it said James and William was captured, it is possible these are the young men the Green folklore was talking about. I was always told William died of Measles, but it says he died of Small Pox which would be very easily crossed. In December and January, 1865, was there any Union troups encamped in the Yellville/Lead Hill area? When was the courthouse burned? Any information would be helpful. Reta DeShields Parton rpsodapop@aol.com

Hi Reta! Schnable's Cavalry is the unit that a supposed relation of mine was in. My uncle (since deceased) found a pension record that a man surnamed King had served with Col Schnable. The pension record seemed to imply that the unit was a militia unit formed in the area of present day Marion and Baxter County, Arkansas. On the strength of that pension record, my uncle was able to join the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Personally, I have never been satisfied that the man in question was in fact related to us. However, that doesn't deal with your question. While I was trying to resolve the question at the time, I didn't have much luck locating any information about Col. Schnable or his unit. Indeed, it wasn't even clear whether it was a Missouri or an Arkansas unit. Since then I've come into possession of a copy of the appropriate volume of Stewart Sifakis' "Compendium of the Confederate Armies." That most useful reference work has the following information: Schnable's Missouri Cavalry Battalion Organization: Organized with six companies in the summer of 1864. Probably surrendered at Yellville, Arkansas in May or June 1865. First Commander: John A. Schnable (Lieutenant Colonel) Assignment: Jackman's Brigade, Shelby's Division, Army of Missouri, Trans-Mississippi Department (August-December 1864) Battle: Price's Missouri Raid (August-October 1864) So there - now you know as much as I do. :) Actually, you might want to research Sterling Price, Governor of Missouri and Confederate General and the history of the great raid he led into Missouri in 1864. I've lifted a few paragraphs from "Civil War in the Ozarks" by Phillip W. Steele and Steve Cottrell that may help fill out the scene for you: Just when it seemed that the Confederate Cause in the Ozark region was at last growing too weak to be a serious threat, a major Southern offensive was launched. General Sterling Price, who had been transferred back to the Trans-Mississippi Department, received an order that he had been anxiously awaiting for two and a half years. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, department commander, directed him to take charge of a mounted invasion force and cross the Arkansas border into Missouri. St. Louis was to be the main objective and the gathering of new recruits was to be a primary activity of this massive raid. Price himself had high hopes that the expedition would be more than just a raid, but a full-scale campaign to retake the entire state. It was with this in mind that Missouri's Confederate governor, Thomas C. Reynolds, joined the expedition, hoping to be installed as Missouri's chief executive at Jefferson City. Former Missouri governor Jackson had died of cancer near Little Rock, Arkansas, on December 6, 1862. Earlier in the war, a Union state legislature and governor had been sworn in following Governor Jackson's retreat south. After successfully eluding Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele's forces in northeast Arkansas, General Price set forth from the town of Pocahontas, Arkansas, on September 19 with 12,000 troops and 14 artillery pieces. However, "Old Pap's" army was poorly armed and ill equipped. Many of his men .didn't even have weapons as the invasion began and some 1,000 had no horses. Price's legion of rough-cut troops, made up of Missourians and Arkansans, was organized into three divisions under Maj. Gen. John Marmaduke, Brig. Gen. Jo Shelby, and Maj. Gen. James Fagan. On the same day it left Pocahontas, the 'Army of Missouri," as Price named his force, crossed the state line. [stuff snipped] Meanwhile General Price, heading north toward St. Louis, received word at Fredericktown of Federal positions. Spies told him that 8,000 troops were encamped near St. Louis and ready to defend the city. He was also told that a garrison of 1,500 Federals was at the nearby town of Pilot Knob. The old general saw the chance of an easy victory and on September 26, he sent General Shelby northward to destroy the tracks and bridges of the Iron Mountain Railroad, cutting off the Union force at Pilot Knob from St. Louis reinforcements. The rest of Price's army marched toward Pilot Knob until late in the afternoon when they collided with Federals at a spot called Shut-In Gap near the town of Arcadia where indecisive skirmishing took place until darkness fell. At sunrise the struggle resumed with the Federals fighting a delaying action through Ironton to Pilot Knob where their commander, Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing, ordered his men to take up positions at Fort Davidson. Surrounded by a dry moat ten feet wide and over six feet deep, the fort was an eight-sided structure with a nine-foot high dirt parapet topped with sandbags. An impressive network of trenches beyond its walls provided the fort with outer defenses. Gen. Ewing's force was not 1,500 strong as reported to Price, but actually consisted of no more than 900 men, some of whom were civilian volunteers from the vicinity. However, with four huge siege guns, three howitzers, three mortars, and six field artillery pieces, Ewing's men prepared to hold the fort against the thousands of Confederates massing before them. That afternoon, after a short and pitifully ineffective bombardment of the fort by four cannons situated on high ground, Price ordered an assault. The high-pitched Rebel yell echoed through the valley as thousands of men hurled themselves into a hideous storm of shot and shell. Three times they charged the walls; three times they failed to take them. The hellish gunfire mowed down scores of brave, young soldiers. A few reached the moat, only to be slaughtered by rifle fire and crude grenades. As the thunder of the guns finally subsided, thick clouds of sulfureous gunsmoke drifted away to reveal a ghastly scene of carnage. The fields before Fort Davidson were covered with nearly 1,000 dead and wounded men. The surviving Confederates bivouacked for the night and prepared to renew the bloody contest in the morning, building ladders to scale the fort's walls. Word that the hated General Ewing was in command of the Union force no doubt strengthened the resolve of the Southerners. Inside the jolt, Ewing tallied his casualties, only 75, and made plans to attempt an evacuation that night. Incredibly, he succeeded! At 3:00 A.M., his troops quietly slipped out of the fort and in the nighttime chaos of battle preparations, the Union force was mistaken by Rebel pickets for friendly troops moving to a new position. An hour after the Yanks abandoned the fort, a slow burning fuse in the powder magazine accomplished its mission, setting off an incredible explosion that shook the surrounding hills and left a huge smoldering crater in the middle of the fort. Not taking a hint, the Confederates believed an accident had occurred within the stronghold and that the survivors would surrender at dawn. In the morning, Price learned that the fort was his but that Ewing and his men were gone. A subsequent attempt by a portion of the Confederate force to overtake the Federals was unsuccessful. There was no victory for the Confederates to celebrate at Pilot Knob and large numbers of troops began deserting the Army of Missouri soon after the bloody debacle. Leaving Pilot Knob on September 29, Price marched north. His delay at Pilot Knob had allowed the Federals enough time to rush reinforcements to St. Louis. Deciding against an assault of the heavily defended city, Price sent a small force of Shelby's cavalry to fake an attack there while he marched off with his main force westward to Jefferson City. Upon reaching the outskirts of the state capital on October 7, Price spent the day probing its strong Federal defenses. The following morning he marched off and Thomas C. Reynolds remained a governor without a capital. As the Army of Missouri approached the area of Kansas City, it encountered strong Federal resistance. Finally on October 23, the weary Confederates, now numbering only 9,000, were soundly defeated at Westport by 20,000 Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis of Pea Ridge fame and Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton, noted cavalry commander from the Eastern Theater. This defeat was followed by a hasty retreat south with the Union army in close pursuit. Crossing the border into Kansas, Price's desperate army ravaged the land in its path. West of the Ozarks, a portion of the Confederate army, under Generals Marmaduke and Fagan, made a stand at Mine Creek north of Fort Scott, Kansas. The Southerners were routed and hundreds were captured, including General Marmaduke himself. Crushed and demoralized, most of Price's ragged force nevertheless remained intact and once again entered the Ozark region. Crossing back into Missouri, the Confederates arrived at the charred ruins of Carthage on October 26 and camped for the night. The entire town had been burned by guerrillas on September 22. By October 28 the Confederate army was four miles south of Newtonia and Price decided to set up camp and rest his men and horses for a few days. Yet the relentless Yanks were still in pursuit and the tired and hungry Rebels had just begun to gather corn from a nearby field when the alarm was sounded that the enemy was within sight. Price ordered Shelby to hold them back while the main force continued its retreat. The familiar sounds of battle once again filled the air near Newtonia. When Shelby opened fire on the Federals he met with immediate success and drew close to overrunning them, pushing the Union troops back a mile and a half. It was not the Curtis full force that had surprised the Confederates but merely 1,000 cavalrymen led by Gen. James Blunt. Since his humiliating defeat at Baxter Springs, Blunt had been struggling to regain his military reputation and when he located Price's camp he did not wait for the rest of Curtis' forces to arrive before attacking. Outnumbered by his foe, Blunt was forced to stretch his battle lines thin. Shelby sensed his opponent's weakness and grouped several units for a mass charge. He sent them roaring into the center of the Union line in a furious headlong assault. But with the help of the blazing mountain howitzers of the 1st Colorado Battery, the stubborn Union force repelled the savage onslaught. It is said that during the confusion of the battle, two Union scouts serving as spies slipped from the Confederate lines and galloped away under a hail of bullets. One was shot from his saddle while the other, James B. Hickok, escaped without a scratch. This young scout later gained fame as a fearless Western gunfighter known as Wild Bill Hickok. Blunt's men began running low on cartridges as the battle continued. One company of the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry exhausted its supply of ammunition but still held its position apparently planning to use their empty carbines as clubs if necessary. Just before Blunt's men suffered the consequences of their leader's impetuous aggression, Brig. Gen. John Sanborn's brigade, accompanied by General Curtis himself, dramatically arrived on the scene to rescue them. Shelby then withdrew and the fast approaching nightfall discouraged any attempt of Federal pursuit. Continuing its retreat south through early sleet and snow, the Army of Missouri steadily dissolved, losing men to desertion and disease every step of the way. On November I, army entered the village of Cane Hill, Arkansas, and licked its wounds for three days. During this time, word arrived in camp that a Southern force was besieging the Union garrison at Fayetteville, 30 miles away. Incredibly, Gen. Fagan sought and gained permission from Price to take 500 men and an artillery battery to participate in the action. On November 2, Fagan ordered his men forward through drifting snow in an assault on the town. However, his demoralized troops refused to advance within range of the Federal rifles. The Yanks retained their hold on Fayetteville and the Civil War in the Ozark region was over. The Army of Missouri trudged off into Indian Territory on a hideous trek to Texas in which freezing weather and disease took a heavy toll on the desperate survivors of this last great raid. The foregoing would make it appear likely that Col. Schnable's command (and hence your ancestor) were involved in the bloody assault against Fort Davidson at Pilot Knob and the fake attack (called a "demonstration" by us professional military types) against St. Louis while the rest of the Army of Missouri marched off to the west. Then they were heavily involved in the losing battle at Westport. They seem not to have been present for the engagement at Mine Creek in which Gen. Marmaduke was captured. However, they seem to have fought rather effectively under Shelby's good generalship at Newtonia before withdrawing in the face of additional Federal forces approaching the field. Somehow, I rather doubt that Schnable's Cavalry Battalion stayed with General Price all the way to Texas though. I suspect that they probably slipped away after Newtonia or the stay at Cane Hill and went home to Yellville where they spent the rest of the war being nasty to their neighbors of the Union persuasion. At any rate, that is where they seem to have been when it came time for them to surrender. -- Robert W. King I'm an ingenieur, NOT a bloody locomotive driver! SnailNet: 19023 TV Tower Rd, Winslow, Arkansas 72959 BellNet: 479-634-2086 InterNet: robert@wildweasel.net Web site: http://www.wildweasel.net -----Original Message----- From: RPSODAPOP@aol.com [mailto:RPSODAPOP@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, 05 May 2002 05:21 To: ARMARION-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Schnables - Missouri - Marion Co., Ar I am sending this to both lists as I have just discovered my missing relative I have hunted for 20 years. Anyway, I believe it to be him. Who knows until the papers come in. Can someone help me with some military information? William D. Shields (William DeShields) died in Alton, Illinois Prison as a prisoner of war. With him was James Wilmoth. Both boys were captured in Marion Co., Arkansas. William on 12/23/1864 and James on 1/10/1865. However it says: Schnables Company; Missouri. Can anyone give me information on this company? I realize Boone/Marion counties border Missouri so this would not be that unusual. But, as I remember from my Green History, it was said that many young men were taken against their will by the Union Army. It was said that was why the grain and valuables were stored in the Cave above the DeShields Green Cemetery. Since it said James and William was captured, it is possible these are the young men the Green folklore was talking about. I was always told William died of Measles, but it says he died of Small Pox which would be very easily crossed. In December and January, 1865, was there any Union troups encamped in the Yellville/Lead Hill area? When was the courthouse burned? Any information would be helpful. Reta DeShields Parton rpsodapop@aol.com ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Hi Reta! In addition to my previous message, I have two brief references to Colonel John A. Schnable, CSA: First - On page 384 of the book, BRANDED AS REBELS, by Joanne Chiles-Eakin & Donald R. Hale, 2nd printing by Print America, Independence, MO (1995) - "Schnable, J. A. - Confederate Colonel, who was second in command of the Missouri State Guards" (MSG) "at Springfield" (MO) "in 1861. Later in the War, his forces were a constant source of trouble for the Unionist along the Missouri/Arkansas border. Ref: Ingenthron, Elmo: 'Borderland Rebellion'." Second - On page 320 of the book, THE FORGOTTEN MEN, MISSOURI STATE GUARD, compiled by Carolyn M. Bartels from the National Archives, Two Trails Publishing, Shawnee Mission, KS (1995) - 'SCHNABLE, J. A. Commissary, 3rd Regt Cavalry, 7th Division / ref: CSA records; commanding the 3rd Regt Infantry, 7th Division, January of 1862." There are a couple of Missouri sources you can access on the Internet: First - Missouri State Archives State Information Center 600 West Main Street P.O. Box 778 Jefferson City, MO 65102 Phone: (573) 751-3280 Fax: (573) 526-7333 Email: Archref@mail.sos.state.mo.us (for free look-up service & photocopies - see the Website below for instructions - they're a bit slow, but free) Website: http://mosl.sos.state.mo.us/rec-man/archweb/emailpol.html Point-of-Contact for Confederate Records: Mary Neblett Beck Mary's Email: mbeck01@pop.sos.state.mo.us Second - The State Historical Society of Missouri 1020 Lowry Street Columbia, MO 65201 Phone: (573) 882-7083 Fax: (573) 884-4950 Email: shsofmo@umsystem.edu Website: http://www.system.missouri.edu/shs/welcome.htm Third - The Missouri Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) - The Division has an excellent message board Website, which you can post your query. There are plenty of gurus watching the Website, who might be able to provide more detailed information on John Schnable, his MSG & CS outfits & a remote possibly on Sylvester V. Wood. Website: http://www.missouri-scv.org/messageboard/ It was not unusual to find Arkansas troops under Missouri leadership & vice-versa. Hope the above helps. -- Robert W. King I'm an ingenieur, NOT a bloody locomotive driver! SnailNet: 19023 TV Tower Rd, Winslow, Arkansas 72959 BellNet: 479-634-2086 InterNet: robert@wildweasel.net Web site: http://www.wildweasel.net -----Original Message----- From: RPSODAPOP@aol.com [mailto:RPSODAPOP@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, 05 May 2002 05:21 To: ARMARION-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Schnables - Missouri - Marion Co., Ar I am sending this to both lists as I have just discovered my missing relative I have hunted for 20 years. Anyway, I believe it to be him. Who knows until the papers come in. Can someone help me with some military information? William D. Shields (William DeShields) died in Alton, Illinois Prison as a prisoner of war. With him was James Wilmoth. Both boys were captured in Marion Co., Arkansas. William on 12/23/1864 and James on 1/10/1865. However it says: Schnables Company; Missouri. Can anyone give me information on this company? I realize Boone/Marion counties border Missouri so this would not be that unusual. But, as I remember from my Green History, it was said that many young men were taken against their will by the Union Army. It was said that was why the grain and valuables were stored in the Cave above the DeShields Green Cemetery. Since it said James and William was captured, it is possible these are the young men the Green folklore was talking about. I was always told William died of Measles, but it says he died of Small Pox which would be very easily crossed. In December and January, 1865, was there any Union troups encamped in the Yellville/Lead Hill area? When was the courthouse burned? Any information would be helpful. Reta DeShields Parton rpsodapop@aol.com ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237