Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1897-06-10
From the Nevada tMo. Mail.


81 have read great deal about the
battle of Centralia," said DIR. ]. F.
Robinson, superintendent at the Ne
vada Asylum to Nevada Mail repre-
sentative, ''but there is still a great
deal of unpublished history regarding
that most deadly of terrible combats.
AS 1 was right ON the ground at the
time, the whole contest appears per-
fectly vivid to my mind. was boy
at the time and the impressions of
that day--in September, 1s64-have
remained with me ever since.
"My parents had moved to farm,
one mile southeast of Centralia, from
Johnson county, the spring BEFORE"
continued DR.. Robinson. "Capt. Bill
Anderson, with his company of eighty
daring men, and three hundred raw
and unarmed recruits, were in camp
on the Col. Singleton farm, about one
mile south of our farm. The. recruits
had been gathered up through North
ern Missouri and were under Major
Thrailkill and Capt. Tom Todd, the
we'll known farmer and preacher of
Vernon county. They came in there
and went into camp at night, and the
morning of the battle two of the men,
dressed as federal soldiers, rode up to
our house and ordered my mother to
prepare breakfast for twenty men.
This was the first we knew of their
presence, and we supposed they were
federal soldiers. My mother told
them that she would prepare break
fast if they would come there and get
it, but she would not cook breakfast
to be carried away. They replied that
they would return in about one hour,
and that If breakfast was not prepar-
ed as directed they would burn the
house. With this they rode away.
We had killed beef the day before,
and mother very naturally changed
her mind. When the two men return
ed think my mother and sister had
about two bushels of bread and beef
steak prepared. They took the pro-
visions to camp IN buckets, and later
my father went to the camp to get the
buckets, and there he met Major Sim
gleton and other of his acquaintance,
with whom he engaged in conversa-
ton.
After breakfast was over Anderson
and his eighty men, heavily armed
and dressed in federal uniforms, rode
past our house going to Centralia.
During the forenoon the Wabash ex-
press from the east pulled up to the
Centralia depot. Anderson's men
boarded the train and found on board
thirty Union soldiers, who were re-
turning to their command from some
point east, where they had guarded a
lot of prisoners. They took the Union
soldiers some distance southeast OF
the depot and formed them into line
to be shot. The Union men then
broke line and started to run for their
lives. Some were shot down in line
and others as they ran. Three OF
them ran into a house near by, and
went into hiding under bed in which
a young lady was dying from con-
| sumption. One of Anderson's men,
named Robinson, whose sick brother
had been killed in johnson county q
short time before by Union soldiers,
followed and pulled them out, one by
one, from their hiding place and shot
them to death. After the killing of
these Union soldiers the train was
robbed, the passengers ordered off,
the cars fred, the throttle opened and
the train started off alone in blaze
of fire. The train ran a few miles
west, where it stopped and burned to
| the irons.
"Anderson marched his men back
to camp about noon. The men had
scarcely gotten out of sight of oul
house, when we could see Col. John.
son and his command of one hundred
and sixty mounted infantry one-hali
mile west of our house and one-hal
mile east of Centralia. They had beer
following Anderson's command fol
several days without the knowledge
of Anderson or his men. They hat
started from Hannibal on foot, ant
had mounted themselves en- route will
farm horses. They rode into Centra
tia, saw the slaughter that had beel
made and, in opposition to the ap
peals OF the citizens, started in pur
suit of Anderson.
"While Col. johnson and his mel
were making their way into Centralii
Anderson was notified of their pres
ence.
"Anderson Immediately threw ou
his pickets, who started toward Cen
tralia. The Anderson and Johnso
pickets each had gone about a mil
when they met almost Immediately j
front of our house. They first begal
abusing each other and then com
menced firing, but none Of the shot
L I'll nj a