Jesse Merrill-- Part 3: Of Pennsylvania and U.S. Signal Corps

From Find A Grave.

MG JESSE MERRILL

Brother of Lewis Merrill

Birth:  28 March 1838 New Berlin, Pa.

Death:  14 January 1899  Milton, Pa.

Buried:  Milton Cemetery, Milton, Pa.

During the Civil War, he was commissioned  as First Lieutenant of Co. D, 36th Pa. on April 24, 1861.  Promoted to Captain and transferred to U.S. Signal Corps in 1863.  Mustered out in 1865.

He was a lawyer by profession.  In April 1871, he was appointed Major General of Pennsylvania National Guard.

I was wondering where they got the major general from.

--Old Secesh

Jesse Merrill, Brother of Lewis Merrill and Union Soldier-- Part 1: His New Testament Bible

From the Horse Soldier Fine Military Americana site.

New Testament identified to Major Jesse Merrill, 36th Pa.  Infantry [7th Pa Reserves] & U.S. Signal Corps.

Published by the American Bible Society, New York, 1857.  Tooled brown leather, measuring 9.25"  X 6", w/ raised bands, with gilt  cover stamp "J. Merrill" and gilt spine lettering.

Owner inscription, front eps "Captain Jesse Merrill/ U.S. S.C." with crossed signal flags drawn in ink.  Five stanza song "The Old, Old Home with chorus, written in the owner's hand in ink in rear eps (end pages).

In terms of condition, , the book exhibits light or medium wear in the extremities, and light foxing of text, which remains entirely legible.  Spine and text  signatures tight.    Owner eps slightly  fades, though entirely legible.  Else VG.

--Old Secesh

Lewis Merrill's Family

From Lewiss Merrill Find a Grave.

Lewis Merrill's father, James Merrill (1790-1840) is listed as a judge and is buried in New Berlin, Pennsylvania.  His mother, Sarah B. Lewis Merrill (1794-1876)  is buried at Lewisburg Cemetery  in Lewisburg, Pa.  She was the third wife of James Merrill.

His brother was Jesse Merrill (1838-1899) who served the Union in the Civil War.  I'll write about him in the next post.

A half brother, Charles Merrill was also in the Union Army and died in 1865.

One of his daughters, Mary Merrill Scott (1862-1950) married Major General Hugh Lenox Scott (1853-1934) and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Another son was Lt.Col. John Houston Merrill, also buried at Arlington.

I'll do research on these people next.

--Old Secesh

Col. Lewis Merrill-- Part 7: Some Serious Accusations

Another reason it took so long for his promotion to lieutenant-colonel in the Regular Army took so long was that he was now much respected by fellow officers in the 7th Cavalry.

Major Marcus Reno called Merrill a "notorious coward and shirk."   Captain Frederick Benteen, who also didn't like Reno, commented: "Poor a soldier as Reno was, he was a long way ahead of Merrill."  he also labeled Merrill as a "chump."

Finally, Merrill was accused of accepting cash awards from a Carpetbagger government for the Ku Klux Klan members he captured and of accepting a bribe while serving as judge advocate in a court martial.

He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

These are some really strong charges that I'll have to investigate some more on.  At this point, Merrill would, if these are true, to be somewhat like the charges and comments about Jacob Smith in the U.S. Army.

I have also heard somewhere that a lot of the pacification techniques used by Merrill and his commands were a bit excessive.

--Old Secesh

Col. Lewis Merrill-- Part 5: The Situation Worsens in York County, S.C.

That truce was broken the next day, February 12, 1871 when 500 to 700 Whites in neighboring Union County killed eight Blacks.  On March 6, 1871, J. Rufus Bratton and a group of seventy white men  attacked a number of black houses and hung Jim Williams.

Companies B, E and K of George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry led by Lewis Merrill were dispatched to the area to quell the violence.

In the meantime, Elias Hill stepped up to lead the Union League which with the deaths was now in disarray.  In another raid by Whites, Hill's nephews, Solomon Hill and June Moore were attacked and forced to renounce their Republican allegiance in the local newspaper, the Yorkville Enquirer.

Elias Hill was also attacked on May 5, 1871.  By then, Merrill was in York County and this was the first activity that Merrill saw of the Ku Klux Klan.  But he found himself unable to step in to protect the black citizens of the county.

--Old Secesh

Col. Lewis Merrill-- Part 4: Racial Difficulties in South Carolina

The Situation in York County, South Carolina

Before Lewis Merrill arrived in South Carolina, in February 1871, local black preacher Elias Hill met with local Ku Klux Klan leaders to negotiate for the safety of Blacks in the community.  These negotiations were not successful, and around February 12,  eight black men were killed by around  500 to 700 Whites in black gowns and masks.  Nightly Klan raids took place for months after that.

An important black leader in York County at the time was a former Union soldier and local militia leader named James  Rainey, also known as Jim Williams.  At the time, black militias were known as Union Leagues.

On February 11, 1871, Jim Williams, along with June Moore (cousin of Elias Hill) and a group of Blacks met with a group of Whites led by J. Rufus Bratton at a crossroads near Clay Hill in an attempt to deescalate tensions.  Williams said  he would be willing to give up his weapons and other Union league members agreed to stop having nighttime meetings.

It didn't work.  The truce was broken the next day.

--Old Secesh

Colonel Lewis Merrill-- Part 2: Boss of Merril's Horse, Aggressive Guerrilla Fighters

From Wikipedia.

I have written about this Union officer's role in the University of Missouri history.  here is some more information on him.

Lewis Merrill (1834-1896) was a career U.S. Army officer noted for his work in resisting the Ku Klux Klan in several Southern states.  During the Civil War he fought Southern guerrillas in Missouri.

Born in New Berlin, Pennsylvania, and went to college before graduating from West Point in 1855.  Served with the 1st Dragoons in Missouri, Kansas and was on the Utah Expedition.

In 1861, as a colonel and first cavalry officer on the staff of John C. Fremont, he organized the 2nd Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, usually referred to as Merrill's Horse.  They were mostly engaged in fighting guerrillas in central Missouri. and were well known for their strict military organization and aggressiveness carrying out their anti-guerrilla campaign.

--Old Secesh

Colonel Lewis Merrill-- Part 1: At the University of Missouri

From Univ. of Missouri ROTC Battalion History.

During the Civil War, in 1862, The 2nd Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, under Colonel Lewis Merrill garrisoned the school in January 1862.  They took residence on the first floor of Academic Hall.

In  August of that year, some 200 Confederate soldiers, members of the Missouri State Guard, stormed Columbia, Missouri (where the university is located), and were routed by Merrill's men.  The third floor of the Academic Hall was used to house the prisoners for a time.

During the occupancy, some Union soldiers found a box of unsigned degrees and game themselves their own commencement ceremony.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Cousins of Mary Todd Lincoln, Robert Barr Todd and Robert Levi Todd

From Spirits  of Mizzou  Robert L. Todd and Robert Barr Todd

Both men were first cousins of Mary Todd Lincoln.

These two men constituted the whole first graduating class of what today is known as the University of Missouri.  "Little Bob Todd" as Robert Levi Todd was known, was class valedictorian; Robert B. Todd ("Big Bob Todd") was salutatorian.

Robert B. Todd moved to Louisiana  and eventually became a justice on the state supreme court

Robert L. remained in Boone County, (where the university is located) becoming the university's first Tutor,  and serving fifteen years as Curator and 25 years as Secretary of the Board of Curators (they are the ones who run the university).

An often-repeated story claims that Robert Levi Todd saved the university from burning during the Civil War, using his connections with President Lincoln to prevent Union Colonel Lewis Merrill from putting the whole town of Columbia to flames.

An early voice for the university's alumni, Todd was instrumental in creating the Alumni Association and served as its first president in 1885-1886.

Robert L. Todd continued to be one of the University of Missouri's strongest supporters until he died in Columbia in 1898.

Actually, it is possible that Robert Levi Todd wasn't a Confederate.

--Old Secesh