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Francis Herron
Francis J. Herron was a banker in Dubuque, Iowa, before the Civil War. As a Captain, he fought in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, on August 10, 1861, then soon returned to Iowa to help field the 9th Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry. The 9th Iowa’s first assignment was to guard the railroad in Pacific, Missouri, and Herron and the regiment arrived on October 11, 1861.
Wilson’s Creek, near Springfield, is on the Wi…... Read more >Hildebrand, Sam
Son of one of the early settlers of St. Francois County, Hildebrand had his baptism in 1861, when federal sympathizers captured and lynched his brother Frank. Later, federal troops shot and killed a 13 year old brother, Henry, and burned the family home. Hildebrand traveled south and was allegedly commissioned a “major” by Jeff Thompson, and periodically returned to his haunts in St. Francois County.
Hildebrand became a notorious killer dur…... Read more >
McNeil, John
A native of Nova Scotia, John McNeil settled in St. Louis in 1836 and became an insurance executive before the Civil War. McNeil is one of four Canadians who have achieved the rank of general in the U.S. Army.
McNeil’s Civil War years were spent entirely in Missouri. A mediocre battlefield commander, he played a part in a number of Missouri’s most important engagements, including the Battles of Cape Girardeau and Westport.
McNeil’s plac…... Read more >
Hickok, James Butler
Born in Troy Grove, Illinois into an abolitionist family, James Hickok moved west in 1856 as the fight for Bloody Kansas began. In 1861, he joined Jim Lane’s Kansans as a civilian scout, just in time to participate in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek as a sharpshooter.
Hickok served the Union throughout the War, as a scout, courier, teamster and spy, attached first to Fremont’s command and then to the staff of Gen. Samuel R. Curtis. Before the…... Read more >
