Mid-Missouri History Associates

10/19/2025

From Boonville to Palmyra: The Tragic Fate of Thomas Allen Sidenor

The Palmyra Massacre of October 18, 1862, remains one of the most infamous events of Missouri’s Civil War—a grim episode of retaliation that sent shockwaves through both sides of the divided state. Though the executions took place in far northeastern Missouri, one of the men shot that day had once fought at Boonville.

Thomas Allen “Tom” Sidenor, born in 1837 in Monroe County, was a young Missourian of strong Southern leanings. In the summer of 1861, he joined Captain Frank Davis’s company of the Missouri State Guard, which soon came under Major John Poindexter’s command. That September, Sidenor rode with his comrades in the Second Battle of Boonville, an attempt to retake the town from Federal control. The engagement on September 13, 1861, centered around the old fairgrounds—a fortified position manned by Union troops. The attack failed, and the State Guard forces withdrew, but the skirmish showed how fiercely both sides vied for control of central Missouri during those first months of war.

Sidenor's actions after Second Boonville and Lexington aren't well known to me at the time of this writing, but he continued to serve as the conflict in Missouri turned increasingly brutal. By 1862, many members of the State Guard had returned to central and North Missouri to act as recruiters for new Confederate troops. Many also doubled as Partisan Rangers, engaging in guerrilla-style warfare.

He rode with Colonel Joseph C. Porter, whose Confederate recruitment and raids swept across the northeast. After Porter's defeat at Kirksville in early August 1862, Sidenor decided to quit the service and returned to his home in Monroe County.

While Sidenor hid himself away, Porter raided Palmyra in Mid-September. He released Confederate prisoners, destroyed provost records, and carried away an elderly Unionist named Andrew Allsman - a man who was acccused of informing on Southern sympathizers. Allsman's fate was unknown, but most assumed he had been murdered.

Back in Monroe County, Tom Sidenor grew concerned about remaining openly at home and decided to seek refuge in Illinois. He attempted to disguise himself - using ladies apparel in some accounts - and traveled with a female cousin, a sister, and his brother Jackson towards Canton. There they intended to cross the Mississippi River into Illinois.

They passed through Shelbyville on October 1, 1861 where the ladies and Jack Sidenor were recognized and federal pursuit quickly followed the wagon - suspecting that it was taking supplies to Sidenor and his men. Captain Tom Sidenor was discovered and taken into custody by Union troops. He ultimately became one of several prisoners held in Palmyra, Missouri.

The issue of Andrew Allsman now came to figure in a distressing manner for Sidenor. On October 8, 1862 - Brigadier General John McNeil issued an ultimatum to Porter and local guerrillas: Unless Allsman was returned unharmed within ten days, ten prisoners linked to Porter's command - already in Federal custody - would be shot.

Allsman was never returned.

On October 18, 1862, McNeil’s order was carried out. Ten men—among them Thomas Sidenor—were taken from their cells, seated on their own coffins, and shot by firing squad at the fairgrounds just outside Palmyra. Newspapers called it a “terrible execution.” Federal officers justified it as a military necessity; Confederates condemned it as murder. The names of the dead—Willis Baker, Thomas Humston, Morgan Bixler, John McPheeters, Hiram Smith, Herbert Hudson, John Wade, Marion Lair, Eleazer Lake, and Thomas Sidenor—were later engraved on a monument in Palmyra’s cemetery, where most of them rest today.

Sidenor was just twenty-five years old. His remains were later brought home to Monroe County, where he lies in Sidener Cemetery, his stone and official site lost to overgrowth and time.

Though the Palmyra Massacre occurred miles from Boonville, it is deeply connected to our region’s wartime story. One of its victims had once fought in the fields east of town. His death stands as a reminder of how Missouri’s war—so often personal and bitter—reached from one end of the state to the other, claiming lives long after the sound of battle had faded.

10/17/2025

From Crescent Grove to Boonville Town -
They still whisper the name of Brown...

10/13/2025

Still haven't had time to sit down and puzzle this one out.

Boonestopher Kuhlmann
Persephone Lundolos

It was a good night of discussion!

10/12/2025

10/12/2025

Around 22 left to go!

10/12/2025

🌳 Charles Christian Bell: From War and Hardship to Apples and Industry in Boonville, Missouri 🌳

Few men embodied the industrious spirit of postwar Missouri like Colonel Charles Christian Bell — an immigrant farm boy who became a soldier, entrepreneur, reformer, and one of Boonville’s longest-serving civic leaders. His life, which stretched from the Revolution of 1848 in Germany to the motor age of the 20th century, mirrors the rise of modern Missouri itself.

🧭 From Old World Upheaval to Missouri Soil

Charles Christian Bell was born August 30, 1848, in Aldstadt, Hesse-Nassau, Germany, the son of John A. Bell and Katherina Sophea Gross. His father had taken part in the German Revolution of 1848, and like many “Forty-Eighters,” he sought a new beginning in America after its failure.

The Bell family arrived in Cooper County, Missouri, around 1854, settling east of Boonville. By 1860, the household included eight children — Henry, August, Catherine, Herman, Charles, and young William among them. Life was stable but modest, built on the steady labor of immigrant hands and the quiet optimism of new Americans.

⚔️ War Comes to Boonville

Charles was only 13 years old when he watched the First Battle of Boonville on June 17, 1861 — the first major clash west of the Mississippi. From the hills above the river, he witnessed Union forces disembark from their steamers and drive Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson’s troops from town in less than an hour. The experience etched itself deeply into his memory.

Tragedy soon followed. His father died in 1863, leaving the family without its patriarch at the height of the Civil War. The burden of responsibility fell heavily on young Charles.

At fifteen, he was determined to serve. In August 1864, he enlisted in Captain Horace Shoemaker’s company of Union cavalry — just in time for Price’s Raid and the Fourth Battle of Boonville.

Rumors spread that “Bloody Bill” Anderson’s guerrillas had crossed at Rocheport, striking terror into the region’s German community. “As a young German lad,” Bell later recalled, “the thought of that fearsome devil appearing before me was terrifying.”

But it wasn’t Anderson who came — it was General Jo Shelby and his cavalry. Bell and his comrades took up positions near Thespian Hall, the heart of Boonville’s defenses. Overwhelmed and besieged, the young soldier was captured during the battle. His captors, seeing his youth, treated him mercifully — sharing food and releasing him. That small act of kindness stayed with him for life.

A Young Man Adrift and Determined

After the war, Bell returned to a home steeped in grief and poverty. His mother died in 1868, leaving him the caretaker of his youngest brother. He enrolled in business college in Boonville, graduating in 1869 but $115 in debt — a daunting sum for a young man entering adulthood.

The 1870 census shows him living with his older sister and brother-in-law, the Mengers, while also overseeing his youngest sibling. Facing limited prospects, Bell struck out west.

He walked across the plains to Colorado, working in mines and hauling ore - anything, he later said, to make an honest dollar. Later, in Austin, Texas, he rose from a store clerk to a traveling salesman earning $2,000 a year — a small fortune in those days.

🍎 The Apple King of Boonville 🍎

In 1877, Bell returned to Boonville with savings, experience, and ambition. With $15,000 in backing from a St. Louis firm, he founded a fruit-packing and shipping business, soon known for its trademark “Bell Brand Apples.”

His company became one of the region’s largest fruit exporters, and his innovation helped establish Missouri’s national reputation for quality produce. He later helped found and preside over the National Apple Shippers’ Association.

🏛️ Civic Leadership and Reform 🏛️

Bell’s drive for improvement extended beyond his business. He served on the Boonville City Council (1881–1886) and was elected Mayor (1886–1888) for three consecutive terms. His administration modernized the city — improving streets, lighting, and sanitation — and earned him a reputation for efficiency and honesty.

In 1887, he organized the Boonville Board of Trade, bringing together 70 local businessmen to promote growth and development. His motto, later quoted often, captured his spirit:

“Organization is all-important; let us organize now — we can find work afterwards.”

State and National Recognition

Bell’s influence reached far beyond Cooper County. He ran for state representative in 1888, narrowly losing to his Democratic opponent.

In 1892, he served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention, helping notify President Benjamin Harrison and running mate Whitelaw Reid of their nominations.

In 1901, Democratic Governor A.M. Dockery appointed Bell to Missouri’s Board of Commissioners for the Pan-American and Charleston Expositions, where he was elected Treasurer.

In 1903, Bell authored the “Good Roads and Currency Plan”, advocating federally backed “road currency” for public infrastructure — an idea that anticipated later national highway programs.

A Progressive Independent

Bell ran once more for mayor in 1908, this time as an Independent, rejecting partisan politics. His campaign called for:

🔹 Cleaner streets and alleys
🔹 Fairer water and light rates
🔹 Equal protection under the law “for all citizens, regardless of class, color, or condition”

His platform, echoing the Progressive Era, reflected his lifelong belief that civic duty transcended party loyalty.

🌳 Legacy of an Honest Builder

In his later years, Bell devoted himself to his orchard east of town — the same land that had once seen the smoke of battle. As commander of Boonville’s John A. Hayn Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, he remained active in veterans’ affairs and community improvement. In July 1931, he was one of six surviving G.A.R. members in Boonville and the Boonville Daily News and Advertiser printed his life story.

He lived to see the dawn of the modern age — railroads, automobiles, and electric lights — and never stopped believing in progress through honest work. Colonel Charles Christian Bell died in December 1931, at the age of 83.

A Life Rooted in Service

From immigrant farm boy to mayor, from soldier to reformer, Bell’s story is one of perseverance and purpose. He left behind not only orchards and buildings but a legacy of fairness, efficiency, and civic pride that helped define Boonville’s character.

As he once said of his work:

“A man’s worth is not measured by what he owns, but by what he builds for others.”

Sources:

🔹Boonville Daily News & Advertiser (1887–1931)
🔹The New Era (1896)
🔹The Boonville Gazette (1908)
🔹Jefferson City Daily Press (1901)
🔹Glasgow Missourian (1903)
🔹Cooper County Census Records, 1860–1870

10/08/2025

Took a visit to Old Palestine today. Around 180-185 years ago, there was significant talk about this becoming the seat of Cooper County due to it's central location.

A little over twenty years later, the town declined. Within thirty years it all but vanished. By the turn of the century, it was completely vanished from maps.

But it was here once. I love making the connections with these lost landscapes.

10/08/2025

Live from Old Palestine...

10/08/2025

🇺🇸 Palestine: Cooper County’s Inland Crossroads of Politics and Patriotism, 1838–1845 🇺🇸

In the years between 1838 and 1845, the inland settlement of Palestine stood at the center of Cooper County’s political and civic world. The now vanished town once was situated near the county’s geographical midpoint. There, it became a focal point for county conventions, Independence Day celebrations, educational gatherings, and mail routes connecting civilization with the surrounding frontier.

Though often overshadowed by Boonville, Palestine’s brief but vibrant prominence reveals the energy of antebellum Cooper County — a region where democracy, geography, and community life intertwined in remarkable ways. Looking at Palestine gives a modern resident a view into a world where the rural and isolated parts of Cooper County were once thriving centers.

The County Seat Question: Boonville vs. Palestine

During the early 1840s, Cooper County was deeply divided over whether the seat of justice should remain in Boonville or be moved to Palestine. Advocates for removal cited the town’s central location, arguing it was more convenient to citizens scattered across the interior. Opponents countered that Boonville’s residents had invested heavily in public buildings and improvements that would be lost if the seat were removed.

The Missouri Herald of June 1, 1844, captured the issue plainly:

“Strong efforts have been made to remove the seat of justice of that county, from Boonville to Palestine, because the latter was central and more convenient to the people.”

Although Boonville ultimately prevailed, the controversy transformed Palestine into a symbol of local representation — a place where rural voters asserted their political weight against the influence of the county’s riverfront elites.

Patriotic Celebrations in a Time of Politics

The tradition of Independence Day celebrations at Palestine began early and became one of the county’s defining civic customs. Newspapers of the day carried details of community pride, toasts to the national legacy, and patriotic speeches.

The first major record appears in July 1840, when Whig organizers held a grand Fourth of July celebration in Palestine amid the excitement of that year’s Presidential election between William Henry Harrison and Martin Van Buren. Newspapers described an “enthusiastic assemblage of true-hearted Whigs from all parts of the county.” Political speeches, patriotic music, and orations tied local sentiment to the national campaign, marking Palestine as a rallying ground during Presidential years.

The pattern continued through the 1840s. In 1843, the Pilot Grove and Pisgah Rangers - two units part of Missouri’s militia organization - announced plans to hold their Fourth of July celebration “in military style” at Palestine, complete with orations by Col. John McCutchen and Maj. Gen. Joseph Maguire. The following year, the festivities swelled to over 1,000 attendees, with McCutchen again reading the Declaration of Independence and Maguire delivering an address on liberty and self-government.

Such gatherings were patriotic displays e s well as expressions of political unity, public education, and community pride. The choice of Palestine as their location reflected its role as a neutral and central meeting ground, bridging Cooper County’s diverse townships and settlements.

A Community of Learning and Civic Development

In addition to politics and celebration, Palestine became a center for education in the 1840s. Notices in local papers from 1845 record that a public examination of schools in Palestine Township was scheduled for July 24–25, inviting patrons and the general public to attend.

These academic exhibitions - whose participants came from every school in the Palestine Township - served both as examinations and as community events, where teachers, parents, and students gathered to demonstrate progress. The Palestine school meetings reflected a growing rural commitment to public education, and the town’s role as a shared civic space for township activities.

A Crossroads of Communication and Commerce

Palestine’s prominence was reinforced by its position on two key postal and transportation routes.

One line connected Boonville to Versailles, passing through Palestine, Vermont, and Round Hill, forming part of a mail corridor linking the Missouri River to the northern Ozarks region. Another important route ran from Columbia to Georgetown, likewise crossing through Palestine.

These routes made Palestine an important mail hub and overland waypoint — a resting and exchange point for travelers, merchants, and correspondents in an era when postal connectivity was synonymous with political and economic vitality.

A Shift in Focus, Not an End

By late 1845, Palestine began to appear less frequently in local newspapers. Whether this reflected a decline in activity or simply the shifting attention of editors is unclear. What is certain, however, is that Palestine’s history did not end.

Within a year, its geographic centrality again placed it in service to the county — this time as a mustering ground for volunteers during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). The same grounds that had echoed with oratory and music now filled with the sounds of marching boots and bugles, as local men answered the nation’s call.

Legacy

From 1838 to 1845, Palestine was the inland heart of Cooper County’s democratic life — a crossroads of celebration, communication, and civic ambition. It was a place where farmers and townsmen gathered to debate policy, hear patriotic speeches, support schools, and send and receive letters from the outside world.

Though the spotlight of county politics eventually shifted elsewhere, Palestine’s brief prominence reveals how small communities could shape the rhythm of public life in frontier Missouri — not by wealth or river trade, but by their spirit of participation and unity.

In a future article M2HA will detail the final years of Palestine and reflect on what might have been had the community survived.

Thanks for reading.

Eric, M2 Historian

10/07/2025

I am absolutely fascinated with this area. In the decades before the Civil War it was a stronghold of Whig political power while Boonville remained the stronghold of the Democratic Party.

Palestine was even considered for a possible change in the county seat. Think about the difference that would have made in the highway structure - and even later the public school structure.

The old guard won and the county seat stayed on the Missouri River. Then the railroad came and created New Palestine (Speed).

Note: prices on map listed in image are out of date. Contact me directly for updated prices.