The Civil War in Missouri was fought primarily as a partisan, no-holds-barred, guerrilla style of combat. No house or family was safe from either side. Each side raided, robbed and destroyed indiscriminately, regardless of the allegiance of the people affected. It was ‘war with the knife and the knife to the hilt.’ Fighting occurred in virtually every part of our state, but some of the roughest and wildest was here in our own backyard.
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In a nameless place on a clear, blue day,
Death comes stalking, wearing blue and Gray.
Hometown boys, nervous as cats.
The fear was there, their first combat.
It happened quickly, this fight over space.
Neither side giving, wanting this place.
Orders given, guns charged, lines of men drawn straight.
Hammers cocked, eyes to sights, shots from a rifle expressing hate.
The fight is joined with a roar of sound.
Bodies fall, slam to the ground.
Screams and moans as the battle rages.
With all this death; no history pages.
Death takes its toll, the only winner.
The battle’s over, ranks are thinner.
Neither side wins; the troops withdraw.
Each side looks back with awe.
No name for the battle, no medals for the brave.
Their spirit tried, on their hearts they’ll engrave,
The battle with no name.
Death comes stalking, wearing blue and Gray.
Hometown boys, nervous as cats.
The fear was there, their first combat.
It happened quickly, this fight over space.
Neither side giving, wanting this place.
Orders given, guns charged, lines of men drawn straight.
Hammers cocked, eyes to sights, shots from a rifle expressing hate.
The fight is joined with a roar of sound.
Bodies fall, slam to the ground.
Screams and moans as the battle rages.
With all this death; no history pages.
Death takes its toll, the only winner.
The battle’s over, ranks are thinner.
Neither side wins; the troops withdraw.
Each side looks back with awe.
No name for the battle, no medals for the brave.
Their spirit tried, on their hearts they’ll engrave,
The battle with no name.
All of us have heard, at some time in our lives, the distinctive honking of a flight of Canadian Geese passing overhead. Far above us, in strict formation, they are headed North in the spring for breeding and nesting, and South in the fall to escape the harsh winters in the northern United States and Canada.