The Huntsville massacre refers to the execution during the Civil War of nine local men, including three Confederate soldiers, by Union soldiers on January 10, 1863, in Huntsville, Arkansas. No formal charges were filed, and the commanding officer was later discharged by the US Army. The prisoners may have been suspected of being Confederate sympathizers. A few months before, guerrillas had attacked a force of 25 Union troops in the area.
In January of 1863, Union forces were beginning an occupation of Arkansas. They encountered stiff resistance from local guerilla bands, and the newly-appointed Union governor of Arkansas, Isaac Murphy, even received death-threats from Confederate sympathizers.
In the pre-dawn hours of January 10th, Lieutenant Colonel Elias Briggs of the Union's 8th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, mysteriously arresting nine local men just northeast of Huntsville, Arkansas. No explanation was given for the arrest of these men, who were wordlessly lined up and shot by members of the Brigg's command.
Of the nine men, one, William Parks, survived his shooting and accused Governor Murphy of ordering the executions. The eight men who died were a mixed bag. Two of them were captains belonging to the Confederate Army, who had been on leave visiting their families when they were arrested. Another, one William Berry, was a son-in-law to Governor Murphy.
Lieutenant Colonel Briggs was subsequently arrested and dishonorably discharged from the Army, but no other figure seems to have been called upon to explain this mysterious mass-execution.
Explanations for the executions, termed a 'massacre' by local history, have been diverse. Some believe that the nine men were randomly-picked as scapegoats, being killed in revenge for the massacre of a party of Union soldiers by Confederate guerillas shortly before the incident. The fact that one of the victims was the son-in-law of the Governor who supposedly ordered the executions would suggest family politics may have played a part.
Perhaps the most convincing theory is that these nine men were themselves suspected Confederate guerillas. The guerilla war waged in the conflict's Western Theater was marked by brutalities and excesses committed by both sides.
The Huntsville Massacre, for all of its mystery and tragedy, was typical of the many dirty little incidents that took place in the backwoods of America in those four terrible years.
Chesley H. Boatright, William Martin Berry, Hugh Samuel Berry, John William Moody, Askin Hughes, John Hughes, Watson P. Stevens, Robert Coleman Young, and Bill Parks. Hugh Samuel Berry and Askin Hughes were captains in the Confederate Army and home on leave. John William Moody was a Confederate officer with the Fourth Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry and a former US Marshal. William Martin Berry was a son-in-law to Isaac Murphy. All were shot, and eight died. Bill Parks was left for dead, but survived the shooting and later moved to Mississippi
No official charges had been filed against the men.
After the executions, Bill Parks, who had been left for dead, crawled to a nearby farm house, where his wounds were treated. When asked what had happened and who did it, his response was "Men of the 8th Missouri Regiment. But Johnson, Ham and Murphy had it done." He was referring to attorneys Isaac Murphy and E.D. Ham, and Union Colonel James Johnson. Although Lt. Col. Baldwin had been present and ordered his forces to shoot the prisoners, Parks did not mention him
Word of the executions spread quickly. Lt. Col. Baldwin was arrested and charged by the Union Army with "violation of the 6th Article of War for the murder of prisoners of war." He was transported to Springfield, Missouri and held for a courts martial. As many witnesses were on active military duty and unable to attend the trial, and several civilian witnesses were displaced or unable to travel to Springfield, the US Army dropped the charges and discharged Baldwin.
May Chesley H. Boatright, William Martin Berry, Hugh Samuel Berry, John William Moody, Askin Hughes, John Hughes, Watson P. Stevens, Robert Coleman Young live on in heaven on their wings
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THE CIVIL WAR: THE TRUE STORY BOOK 1
Non-FictionThe true story of the " civil war" and how it should be called Lincoln's War, War of Southern Independence, and War of Northern Aggression This book is loving memory President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet This is also in honor of each Confederate...
