5
THE RICHMOND MISSOURIAN, RICHMOND, MISSOURI
MONDAY, JULY 4, 1938
(RAY COUNTY CHAPTERS)
Eye-Witness Describes the Battle of Albany and the Killing of Captain Bill Anderson
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The Diary of Lieutenant Thomas Hankins, late Banker of Rayville, Mo., Recast Correctly Into Conversational Style, Furnishes the Concisest Report of the Battle of “Old Albany,” one Mile North of Orrick in Southwest Ray County- A Series of Chapters Giving Exact Date of Important Local Civil War Fight- Chapter Five Ends Series With Additional Anderson Data from Other Sources.
(No. 432 of “Ray County Chapters” in The Richmond Missourian of July 4, 1938, the fifth and closing chapter of the Old Albany battle series, to be followed by next Monday by a different topic)
With the publication of chapter No. 431 on Monday last, the personal or eye-witness report of the battle of Old Albany, fought on Thursday October 27, 1884, as seen by the Lieutenant Thomas Hankins of Rayville, Mo, was completed, following today by the fifth and closing chapter of the series, today’s data being from different sources, not chargeable to Mr. Hankins, who wrote his narrative from the Federal yet not bitter viewpoint.
WAS ANDERSON KILLED?- The question was raised a few years ago by a Texan, who alleged that Captain Bill Anderson was not killed at the battle of Old Albany, the old man claiming that Anderson lived for many years after the 1864 fight.
Jewell Mayes, inquiring in the interest of historic facts, listened to the late Captain Clayton Tiffin of Knoxville, Mo., later of Hamilton, Mo., talk about his civil War experiences as a Federal Captain as friendly toward the families of Confederate soldiers as he dared to be under the limitations of civil war.
Captain Tiffin had contacted Captain Anderson personally when he (Tiffin) was captured at Glasgow. Captain Tiffin was in front of the courthouse in Richmond when the body of Captain Bill Anderson was brought into town- he identified the body and the horse, being positive beyond shadow of a doubt that it was Anderson. Lieutenant Thomas Henkins was the first man of record who definitely identified Captain Anderson found lying dead on the battlefield.
Jim Cummins, a Confederate and fellow soldier with Captain Anderson, told Jewell Mayes that Anderson’s sisters at all times recognized that their brother was killed at Albany, and that they appealed to him to raise money for a monument in the Old City Cemetery in Richmond.
Cole Younger told Jewell Mayes that there was no doubt in the minds of his fellow soldiers that Anderson was killed at Old Albany, and that his passing was recognized as a serious loss to the Southern cause.
DEATH MASK PICTURE- Photographer Hicks, who later located in Liberty, Mo., took the photograph of the dead man, and his picture was recognized by relatives and personal friends as that the dead Captain Bill Anderson. The late W. Earle Dye owned a copy of the original print of the Anderson picture.
GOSSAGE AND RED-LEGS- The late Joseph Gossage, an enlisted Federal militiaman, who had been discharged from the service, was plowing in what was then a corn field opposite the Old City Cemetery within a week after Anderson was buried. He saw a small group of soldiers in Blue stop at the southwest corner of the cemetery.
Gossage left his team, and crossing the road, found the Kansas “Red-Legs,” (Jennison’s men), stamping into the loose dirt the flowers that had been on the grave of the dead guerilla Captain.
Tags: Albany Missouri, ANDERSON KILLED, Bill Anderson, Camp Black, captain bill, Captain Bill Anderson, Captain Tiffin, Captain. Gossage, Cox, Fishing River, Hankins, Haynesville, Hicks, Jim Cummins, Joseph Gossage, Knoxville, Lexington, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Thomas Hankins, Lieutenant Thomas Henkins, Major Grimes, Missouri, Old Albany, orrick, ray county, Shelby, Thomas Hankins, W. Earle, William T. Anderson![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
