Stone South Wind - VIII

A Journey to the Beginning

7

A Search for Guidance

Strain is a fundamental engineering phenomena. It exists in all matter at all, times to either to external loads or 2 the weight of. The matter itself strains vary in magnitude from atomic dimensions easily discernible by the naked eye, depending upon the materials and loads involved.

The Strain Gage Primer

CC Perry & HR Lissner

This is a chapter on the past, and all of the variations that the past makes. If you get together 5 experts on the civil war in the West, you will have more than that on opinions about the that Sterling Price mounted on Arkansas and Missouri in 1864. Of course, I have more than that just in my family, and the jawing about these particular incidents can last the entire week around Christmas. Some say that the raid began from Arkansas – specifically Camden, on August 28 - others believe it came when he entered Missouri on 13th of September - still others maintain that it was not a raid until all of his forces were gathered in Missouri on, or about, the 19th of that month - and there are at least a couple that says that the date is the 1st full battle in iron County at Fort Davidson – which would be on 27th September. So you can see how you can get a gathering to become a fight over which they or days that Sterling Price had actually begun the raid.

But everyone agrees that by the beginning of October, he was in command – and it was a cavalry raid. What I know from notes taken by Pennell Pittman, is that things began to go bad when the Confederate force reached Boonville, and they began to fight for the 4th time. Boonville is not much to talk about, there were only a few streets and a few businesses there, and before the October battle, the people were favorable – at least – 2 the Confederate side of the war. But this changed because Price's men stole everything that they could lay their hands on – and then some. This did 2 things: 1st it turned the civilian populace against Price; it also gave the Union forces time to plan their attack on Boonville – with help from the recently Confederate people. Remember that the difference between soldiers and looters helps change the civilian’s view on things – Price's troops went from saviors to foes in about 2 days’ time. Such is the price that Price paid.

After this, while there were some small victories, the main battle was near the town of Westport. There on October 23, the federal fighters – named the “Army of the Border” - engaged with the main part of general prices forces and held the defensive for the entire time. Price's response was to retreat through Kansas; with Pleasanton, the Union commander, close behind him. While there were minor skirmishes; at Marais des Cygnes, Mine Creek, Marmiton River, and others – the result was all but assured with the defeat at Newtonia. After that, with the federal forces surprising the Confederate cavalry, Price retreated into Cherokee territory.

There are modern answers to the key question of why Price lost, mainly on the rather disorganized nature of his troops; and the inability of using the principles of “compound warfare”. All would agree that too much time was wasted, and too much personal lost during the raid. A few people insist that keeping a large wagon train with his army was also a problem.

Interesting, to me, is Price's March to Mexico, and its result. After 28th October, the remain Confederate forces road south - 1st stopping at Texas, but eventually reaching there finally destination in Carlota, Mexico.

While many voices strain to praise the men of Shelby and Price as the “undefeated”, often residing the words:

“I will not be reconstructed, I am better now than then.

And for an, I do not give a damn.

So, it is forward to the frontier, so as I can go

all fix me up a weapon and start for Mexico.”

(If you are dealing with a real Confederate patriot, they will use 3 syllables on Mexico – using Spanish not English pronunciation of the word.)

The few written accounts differ widely from this. 1st of all, while if you cowboys knew Spanish, most of them did not. And there is the small point, that the Confederates knew only basically one way to solve any disagreement – by force. This did not recommend them to the Mexicans who were there and were not yet involved in their own civil war. If you read Pennell Pittman's Journal - which is not the most clearly organized view of the universe to be sure – you find the Confederates in a constant state of confusion and discontent. There were fights, both with fists and more than fists, and eventually, most of them decided that they were better off in Missouri than down in Mexico.

Both for the language and the subtle differences that came out when disputes were involved. The Mexicanos were very formal about rules being broken but extremely lenient as to the judgments. It was the reverse for the Confederates: there was considerable leniency about whether a rule was broken or not, but once the mechanism was invoked, it should be scrupulously upheld in every case. This was a fundamental disagreement, which neither side would budge upon. There was also a difference in what “white” was – several of the Mexicans viewed themselves as white, though the Confederates saw them as different from the white that they had applied back in the United States. This is a pattern: in fantasy, the Confederate forces were God's own heroes, but face-to-face, and in reality, most of them were drunks, liars, and willing to engage in fisticuffs. In other words, they were better in the mind than they were in the flesh.

All of these meant that as Price began to slowly die, the remainder of the Confederates knew that they had to leave. Some under Shelby were forced to when Emperor Maximilian was executed – in Mexico was engaged in their own civil war.

So, they ended up where they began: in Missouri; speaking English. And in Pennell Pittman's case – realizing that the wife he left was in no way compatible with him. But his way was to keep his mouth shut – and my brother ribs me that this is my way, too. But then he has the perspective on what I did with my 1st marriage – and how I found myself in a thing that was called a 2nd marriage but was not really.