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THE WARFARE OF THE BORDER 267
already been done. A safe return was only a matter of wake-
fulness and energy. Henry Coward-a brave, cool, untiring
Guerrilla-advised against a halt, but denounced in vigorous
language the proposition to turn the halt into a bivouac for the
night. Hart was immovable. Rest he would and sleep he
would, though all the militia of all the four raided counties
were at his heels. As he had lived, so he died, a man without
emotion and without fear. His brother, Capt. John Hart, had
fallen before Joseph, shot dead at the head of his company at
Wilson's Creek, and while leading what in other battles would
have been called a forlorn hope.
Neither Coward nor Campbell were killed. Taken to St.
Joseph and confined in prison there, Henry Coward was tried as
a Guerrilla, convicted and sentenced to be shot. His only
answer to the death sentence was a laugh-the cool, calm, col-
lected laugh of a man who knew what he intended to do and
who had no fear. In the same prison was William Stone, the
hero of a dozen desperate escapades. These two men came
together by that undefinable law of nature which makes buffalo
mass themselves when there is danger, the porcupine show his
quills, the beetle feign death. Both were brave, both were
under the ban, both understood how on one hand was the
devil, on the other the deep sea. On the 16th day of April, fur-
thermore, both were to be shot.
Coward, on the evening of the fourteenth, got a chance to
speak a few words to Stone. " We are to be carried from the
prison to a guard house across the river," he said. "What
for?" "That we may be handy by shooting time." "In-
deed!" "Yes, they shoot them all over there-the good, the
bad, the indifferent." A sergeant of the guard saw these two
young Guerrillas talking together, and he cursed them bitterly
and bade them be silent. It was late the next day before Stone
and Coward were taken from the military prison under a strong
escort and marched down to the ferry boat at the river. By the
time they crossed over it was nearly dusk. As they stepped
from the lower deck upon the stage plank, Coward touched
Stone on the shoulder and whispered much as a ventriloquist
might and without moving his lips: "Now or never! To-mor-
row we die." Stone's face hardened instantly. If the men had
been ironed as most desperate prisoners were in those days,
Object Description
| Title | Noted guerrillas, or the warfare of the border |
| Author | Edwards, John N. (John Newman), 1839-1889 |
| Description | A history of the lives and adventures of Quantrell, Bill Aderson, George Todd, Dave Poole, Fletcher Taylor, Peyton Long, Oll Shepherd, Arch Clements, John Maupin, Tuch and Woot Hill, Wm. Gregg, Thomas Maupin, the James Brothers, the Younger Brothers, Arthur McCoy and numerous other well known guerrillas of the West |
| Subject.LCSH |
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Underground movements Missouri -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 Southwest, Old -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 Quantrill, William Clarke, 1837-1865 Kansas -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 Guerrillas |
| Subject.Local | Quantrell, William Clarke, 1837-1865; Quantrell, Charles William, 1837-1865; Quantrill, W. C. (William Clarke), 1837-1865; Hart, Charley, 1837-1865 Anderson, William T. |
| Coverage | United State -- Missouri |
| Source | St. Louis, Mo. : Bryan, Brand & Company, 1877. |
| Language | English |
| Date.Original | 1877 |
| Date.Digital | 2004 |
| Type |
Books and pamphlets |
| Format | JPEG |
| Collection Name | Civil War in Missouri - Monographs |
| Editorial Note | All blank pages have been eliminated |
| Publisher.Digital | University of Missouri Digital Library Production Services |
| Rights | These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Please contact contributing institution for information. |
| Contributing Institution |
University of Missouri--Columbia. Libraries |
| Copy Request | Contact Ellis Library Special Collection, University of Missouri - Columbia at (573) 882-0076 or email: SpecialCollections@missouri.edu |
Description
| Title | civm000003p0267 |
| Description | THE WARFARE OF THE BORDER 267 already been done. A safe return was only a matter of wake- fulness and energy. Henry Coward-a brave, cool, untiring Guerrilla-advised against a halt, but denounced in vigorous language the proposition to turn the halt into a bivouac for the night. Hart was immovable. Rest he would and sleep he would, though all the militia of all the four raided counties were at his heels. As he had lived, so he died, a man without emotion and without fear. His brother, Capt. John Hart, had fallen before Joseph, shot dead at the head of his company at Wilson's Creek, and while leading what in other battles would have been called a forlorn hope. Neither Coward nor Campbell were killed. Taken to St. Joseph and confined in prison there, Henry Coward was tried as a Guerrilla, convicted and sentenced to be shot. His only answer to the death sentence was a laugh-the cool, calm, col- lected laugh of a man who knew what he intended to do and who had no fear. In the same prison was William Stone, the hero of a dozen desperate escapades. These two men came together by that undefinable law of nature which makes buffalo mass themselves when there is danger, the porcupine show his quills, the beetle feign death. Both were brave, both were under the ban, both understood how on one hand was the devil, on the other the deep sea. On the 16th day of April, fur- thermore, both were to be shot. Coward, on the evening of the fourteenth, got a chance to speak a few words to Stone. " We are to be carried from the prison to a guard house across the river," he said. "What for?" "That we may be handy by shooting time." "In- deed!" "Yes, they shoot them all over there-the good, the bad, the indifferent." A sergeant of the guard saw these two young Guerrillas talking together, and he cursed them bitterly and bade them be silent. It was late the next day before Stone and Coward were taken from the military prison under a strong escort and marched down to the ferry boat at the river. By the time they crossed over it was nearly dusk. As they stepped from the lower deck upon the stage plank, Coward touched Stone on the shoulder and whispered much as a ventriloquist might and without moving his lips: "Now or never! To-mor- row we die." Stone's face hardened instantly. If the men had been ironed as most desperate prisoners were in those days, |
| Source | Noted Guerrillas, or the Warfare on the Border |
| Type | Books and monographs |
| Format | JPEG |
| Identifier | civm000003p0267.jpg |
| Collection Name | Civil War in Missouri - Monographs |
| Editorial Note | All blank pages have been eliminated |
| Publisher.Digital | University of Missouri Digital Library Production Services |
| Rights | These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Please contact koppk@umsystem.edu for more information. |
| Copy Request | Contact Ellis Library special collection at: SpecialCollections@missouri.edu |
