A Killing by the Home Guard: the Death
of John Johnson
by Bob Brail
by Bob Brail
Every family has
its own oral tradition, its own collection of stories about family events and
incidents that are passed on from one generation to the next. Many times these stories are comical in
nature, and family members laugh hilariously each time the incidents are
recounted. Other stories, though, are
much more sobering, as they remind families of the tragedies their ancestors
endured.
In 1969 Lola Hays
Oliver published Crow’s Nest, which contains the oral tradition of the
Castlio family of Dardenne Prairie during the middle part of the nineteenth
century. Oliver, in her preface, wrote
that she recorded the stories “told to me by my mother,” Serena Castlio
Hays. Of course, Hays herself only knew
about most of the stories because her mother, Cordelia Castlio, had told them
to her. One of the stories passed down
in the Castlio family concerned the death in January, 1862, of one of Othaniel
and Cordelia Castlio’s neighbors. John
Johnson was a secessionist and slave owner who was killed by Home Guard
troops. Crow’s Nest contains the
Castlios’ version of the events, but is that oral tradition reliable?
This article will
compare the story of John Johnson’s death as told in Crow’s Nest to
information found through research. What
follows is the text of the Castlio oral tradition from Crow’s Nest. Interspersed through the text are pieces of
emboldened, bracketed information from other sources which are relevant to the
story of John Johnson. Names are also
clarified in brackets. By reading the
Castlios’ account and looking at what other sources say, one can come to a good
understanding of what really happened on that cold, winter day so long ago.
Lola Hays Oliver
begins her story: Mother’s [Serena Hays
Castlio] first years were spent during a period of extreme anxiety and
tenseness in the little community.
During the Civil War a band of terrorists known as the Citizens’ Militia
or Home Guard organized and lived in a German
Village [New Melle] a few miles west of Grandfather’s home. They searched houses, questioned servants and
children, and forced every man who stayed at home to take the Test Oath. [The Home Guard in St. Charles County was commanded by Provost Marshal Arnold Krekel, a German immigrant,
who was a lawyer, editor, legislator, and judge. As provost marshal, Krekel “had the authority
to arrest those suspected of disloyalty, regulate business activities, gather intelligence
of enemy activities, and seize property for military purposes.” Krekel’s soldiers were called the St. Charles
County Regiment of Home Guards or, since the majority of the men were of German
descent, “Krekel’s Dutch.” It is likely
that some of the regiment was from New Melle, which is only a few miles west of
where the Castlio farm was located. Krekel’s
Home Guard was disbanded in December, 1862.
Loyalty oaths varied somewhat but the
following is typical: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support,
protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States against
all enemies, whether domestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith,
allegiance and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolution or law of any
State, convention or legislature to the contrary notwithstanding; and further,
that I do this with a full determination, pledge and purpose, without any
mental reservation or evasion whatsoever: So help me God.”]
Mother [Serena Hays Castlio] was not sure how
much she remembered about the incidents of one particular day and the few that
followed and how much she had heard from her older brothers and sisters and
from her parents . . . [At the time of the Johnson killing, Serena
Hays Castlio was probably about eighteen months old. Her oldest sibling, Norman, would have been about seven; Coleman,
six; and Medora (Dora), five; and Hortense, three]
“The Home Guard
were here a few weeks ago,” answered Grandmother [Cordelia Castlio] . . . . “One of the men picked up your
father’s [Othaniel Castlio] gun
which was standing near the bed. This
happened during the night when we were awakened by someone in the room. . . .
Your father told the man that if he
took the gun, he would put an ax there, and that if he took the ax he would put
a club at the side of the bed, for he was going to protect his family.”
“What did the man
do?”
“Put the gun down
and said, ‘I don’t blame you, Mr. Castlio.
I’d protect my family too.’”
“Did the man know
Father?”
“Yes, and your
father knew him. He’s a neighbor and
lives just a few miles from here.”
“What else did
they do?”
“Nothing
then. They are the ones who took my
riding horse . . . and burned the schoolhouse on the east side of the
farm. Your father quit having school in
the little stone house in the yard because he was afraid that they would burn
that too.”
“Was it the Home
Guard that killed one of Aunt Zerelda’s [Zerelda
Bishop, sister of Othaniel Castlio] neighbors when he ran into her house
begging her to save him?”
Grandmother
nodded. . . . “My that was awful,” continued Aunt Dora, hoping to hear more
about the story than she had heard.
“Aunt Zerelda was just sitting in her room spinning when this man rushed
in and begged her to save him. He
crawled under her bed, and the men came in and shot him right there . . .” [This may have been John Edwards, who was
killed by the Home Guard one day before John Johnson.]
Just then the
kitchen door opened and Grandfather [Othaniel
Castlio] came in. “Why, Mr.
Castlio! What is the matter!” exclaimed
Grandmother [Cordelia Castlio] . . .
.
Grandfather,
removing his cap, [said], “Mouse, they got Mr. Johnson!” [John
Johnson was born in Tennessee about 1806. The St. Charles
County Tax List of 1836 lists a John Johnson, who owned 212 acres in the
southern part of the county. He owned
one slave in 1860. Johnson had been a
trustee of the Howell Prairie Schoolhouse as late as April, 1861.]
“Mr.
Johnson! The Home Guard?” Grandfather nodded. “What happened?” asked Grandmother quietly,
as she sat down in a chair. “Because he
wouldn’t take the Test Oath?”
Grandfather
nodded again. “Killed him between here
and New Melle. [Othaniel and Cordelia Castlio lived at the northern end on what is now
the peninsula at the southern part of Lake 37 in the
Busch Conservation Area. John and Sarah
Johnson lived almost directly south of the Castlios, approximately one-half
mile away. Their house would have stood
near the large pond just to the southeast of the entrance to the Conservation
Department shooting range on Highway D.]
I’ll tell you the little I’ve heard.
Then I think you had better go to Mrs. Johnson. Day before yesterday the Home Guard tried
again to get Mr. Johnson to take the Oath of Allegiance.” Grandfather strode angrily across the
room. “Take the Oath of Allegiance from
those scalawags! Why don’t they get out
and fight instead of sneaking around at night burning barns and killing people?”
Grandfather
walked over to the window and looked out.
Then he faced his wife again.
“Mr. Johnson refused to sign the oath because his son is in the
Confederate Army and his daughter-in-law and grandchild are living with
him. [The Johnsons had two, possibly three, sons who would have been old
enough to enlist. It is possible James
C. Johnson was this son. Krekel’s
provost marshal records for January 20, 1862, state that this James C. Johnson had just
returned from the army of Confederate General Sterling Price. Johnson had been wounded at the Battle of Lexington and was still lame. Johnson was arrested, took the loyalty oath,
paid bond, and was released. The only
other incident recorded in Krekel’s records of that day is the appearance of
Mrs. Sarah Johnson, described later in this article. It is possible James C. Johnson left the army
when he received news of his father’s death, appeared before Krekel to take the
oath, and then returned home to help his mother.] He said that he would do nothing but
harvest his daughter-in-law’s corn crop.
When they insisted that he take the oath, he said that he would sign at
headquarters, if necessary. So the men
agreed to take him to New Melle, and he left, assuring Mrs. Johnson that he
would be home before nightfall. She
waited all day and all night. Early
yesterday morning she was sure that something had happened; as soon as it was
light, she and one of the boys hitched the team to the wagon and they started
out to try to find Mr. Johnson. They
stopped at every house to see if anyone had seen him. When they were about a mile from New Melle, a
boy told them that the day before he and two other boys had seen some fellows
unload a man and bring him into the woods through which the boys were passing
on their way home from rabbit hunting. The
boys hid but were near enough to hear one of the man say, ‘Now, damn you, pray
if you want to for we are going to shoot you.’
The man knelt down, and while he was praying, they shot him. The boy offered to show Mrs. Johnson where
the man had been killed. The frozen,
blood-stained body was that of Mr. Johnson.
They loaded the body into the wagon and cut across the rough, frozen
cornfields toward home. When they got
there, they had to put the body in front of the fireplace to thaw it out so it
could be straightened and place in a coffin.”
Grandmother put
her hands over her face and shuddered.
“And it could have been you, if you had not taken the oath.”
“I’ve taken it
every time, and I will take it every time I’m forced to, knowing when I do that
I’ll give help to a Confederate soldier whenever I have a chance. And I have no feeling of guilt in breaking an
oath that I’m forced to take by those marauders. Who are they?
What authority do they have? They
have no right to make me take an oath.”
[Krekel’s provost marshal report of January 6,
1862, states that a
cavalry lieutenant, William Baehr, led “a number of Reserve Home Guard at New
Melle” on a mission a few miles east to the Mechanicsville area to arrest
Confederate sympathizers. Emotions among
area residents were probably at fever pitch since the previous day a similar
mission to the same area had resulted in the shooting death of John Edwards,
who had been killed trying to escape after his arrest.
The following were arrested, took the
loyalty oath, and were freed: Othaniel Castlio (owner of five slaves in 1860,
including four children ages twelve and younger), Peter Fulkerson (eight slaves
in 1860) , James Montague, Jasper Castlio (probably one slave), Fortunatus
Castlio (eight slaves), James Dunlap, Alonzo Howell (six slaves), Newton Howell
(ten slaves) , Francis M. Howell (thirteen slaves), L. M. Howell, Lewis Howell
(eight slaves), Thomas Howell (twenty slaves), John Howell (two slaves), Edward
Bacon, Lucinda Bacon, Chr. Boswell, Thomas Callaway (fourteen slaves), J. P.
Dunlap, Absalom Price, and S. Baugh.
During this mission the Home Guard requisitioned five horses, a wagon,
and five rifles. Krekel ordered the
property returned to its owners. Later
he received complaints that some stolen property was not returned.
One man apparently did not take the
oath. Krekel stated that one prisoner,
John Johnson, got into a fight with the soldiers and was killed, after severely
injuring one of the men. Johnson’s horse
was one of the five taken. After a group
of area citizens wrote to General John Schofield, Krekel’s superior,
complaining of Home Guard actions, including the “murder of John Johnson,”
Krekel responded, “As to John Johnson who was killed under circumstances
certainly justifiable (if truly reported) I know but little except from
reputation which designates him as a hardened secessionist.”
 |
| Sarah Johnson in her later years |
At the time of the killing, the Johnsons
had six children under the age of twelve at home: Thomas Jefferson, Medora,
George, Elvira, Celia, and Jerome, who had been born on November 1, 1861. Sarah Johnson never remarried and continued
to live on the same property for several years.
The 1870 Federal Census, which describes almost every woman listed as
“keeping house,” states that Sarah Johnson was a farmer. By 1880 Jerome was running their farm. By 1900 Sarah Johnson had moved a few miles
east and was living with her daughter Elvira and her husband Isaac Howell,
along with grandsons Archibald, Marvin, and John. Sarah died in 1901 and was buried in the Francis
Howell Cemetery, next to her son Jerome and probably near the unmarked grave of
her husband.]
Sources: “1860 Slave Schedules” (www.ancestry.com); Confederate “Tales
of the War” in the Trans-Mississippi (Part One: 1861) by Michael E. Banasik (http://books.google.com/books); Lincoln
and Citizen’s Rights in Civil War Missouri by Dennis K. Boman (http://books.google. com/books); Small
Glories by Dr. Dan Brown; Crossroads: A History of St. Charles County,
Missouri – Second Edition by Steve Ehlmann; Federal Censuses (1860, 1870,
1880, 1900); Cemeteries of St. Charles County, Missouri by Carrol
Geerling and Lucille Wiechens; “Oath of Allegiance” (http://www.alexandria.lib.va.us);
Crow’s Nest by Lilian Hays Oliver; Darst Bottom by Yvonne Castens Prough; Provost Marshal’s
Records for St. Charles, Warren, and Lincoln Counties, Dec. 13, 1861 – July 30,
1862 (http://contentdm.mohistory.org).