Joplin Goes to War: 1898 – Letters Home

The Post Office for the camp.

Previously, we told you about the men of Joplin who marched off to war as Company G of the 2nd Missouri Volunteer Infantry.  Today we bring you the first of three letters from those men.  The first comes from Fred Hinkley, who wrote from Camp Thomas, Chickamauga, Georgia, dated June 19, 1898 to the Joplin News Herald:

“As this is Sunday and all drills are dispensed with I will inform the Joplin people of the doings of the Second Missouri, at Chickamauga.  We had the most rigid inspection by Major-General Slocum Monday that the Second has undergone.  It was for the purpose of determining if the Second should go to the front or stay here; also to condemn guns.  We will receive our new guns tomorrow and our ordinance supplies in a few days.

The Major in conversation with Col. Caffee said that out of nine regiments inspected there were two very good, the Second being one of them, and further, that if his word went for anything, the Second should be the first regiment out after the South Carolina men which will go first as Gen. Lee asked the War Department to have that regiment assigned to his command.

The new recruits are arriving now in squads of twenty-five, the first to reach here being the detail from Springfield which arrived Friday morning.  The next detail to arrive was from Sedalia with 22 men, and the Joplin recruits arrived this morning 32 in number.

The men are distributed among the companies.  Company G now having seven recruits, but none from Joplin.  The recruits are taken charge of by the First Sergeant, shown the rules and regulations of a regular, then turned over to the cooks who have them carry a little water and wood just to get used to it.

One of the new men assigned to Company G fell in for mess call and when the cooks gave him black coffee and bread without butter he turned to the boys and said, “Boys, I wasn’t raised in a castle, but I cannot drink coffee without milk or eat bread without butter,” and he handed his dinner to one of the men, but this morning he was noticed going back the second time for more “bare-footed” coffee.

The health of the regiment and especially of Company G, is fine, they not having a man for the hospital this morning.

Men of Company G

NOTES.

Sergeant Watson and Kid got leave of absence this morning for six hours, and went blackberrying.  About 2 hours later they returned with a tomato can about half full and said they would take an oath that they had to walk 10 miles for them, but later the boys found out that they had got lost and gave a farmer 20 cents to haul them back to camp.

Sergeant Tschappler is one of the busiest men in camp and when not on duty he is very busy writing a book.  He writes about 40  pages, puts it in an envelope, sends it to Carthage, and it doesn’t go to the book bindery either.

The Joplin recruits brought Private McCullough’s pet coon with them.  It has been in camp about 9 hours and has bitten only 9 of the boys.

On account of the fracas at Lytle last Sunday no one is allowed to go to Lytle without a written permit signed by the colonel.

Lytle Depot

Sergeant Sansom has been on the sick list for several days but is a great deal better tday.

The boys were all pleased to see “Cholly” Burnham but were greatly disappointed when he was assigned to Company A of Carthage.

Private Dunwoody and Eckhart are two of the sickest (love-sick) men we have in camp.

Corporal Kelley is now one of the proudest men in camp.  He has a beard of the strawberry variety that would make a New York policeman leave his beat in disgust.

One of the men in our company concluded that it was too warm to drill Saturday morning so he hied himself to the Y.M.C.A. tent about drill time but Sergeant Tschappler happened to call the roll and he was hunted up and given 12 hours in the guard house and six day’s extra duty.

A Chicago corporal got himself in the guard house by getting gay when Gen. Brooke approached.  The corporal had a vague idea that when so distinguished an officer approached he should be complimented by a general salutation of the guard.  His order should have been, “Turn out the guard for the commanding officer,” but he became disconcerted and just as the general reached his tent, the corporal bawled out, “Turn out de push and duck: here comes de main guy.”

You can tell the Joplin people to look out for soldier’s letters, as everyone is broke and stamps are at a premium.

Fred T. Hinckley”

Source: History of the Second Regiment, Joplin News Herald

Joplin Off to War: 1898

In 1898, the U.S. engaged in what U.S. Secretary of State John Hay described as a, “splendid little war.” Thousands of men from across the country volunteered for military service. Only a few actually engaged in combat in Cuba, the rest were stuck state-side in camps across the South.

The Second Regiment of Misssouri Infantry was comprised of companies from Pierce City, Lamar, Nevada, Clinton, Carthage, Joplin, Butler, Sedalia, Springfield, and Jefferson City, Missouri. The regimental headquarters were located in Carthage where it was designated, “Second Regiment of the Missouri National Guard.” The regiment then mobilized at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis on May 6, 1898, and were mustered into service a few days later. The total strength of the regiment when mobilized was 1,031 officers and men.

Shortly thereafter, the regiment was sent to Chickamuaga, Georgia, and was brigaded with the Ninth Pennsylvania and the First New Hampshire in the Third Brigade, Third Division, First Army Corps. At this time the regiment’s strength increased to 1, 337 officers and men.

Lytle Depot near Chickamauga, Georgia, where Company G was located.

Company G was from Joplin and was made up of the following officers and men:

Captain — Robert A. Spears.

First Lt. — E.L. “Lee” Shepherd

Second Lt. — E.E. Duckett

Captain Spears, Leiutenant Shepherd, and Lieutenant Ducket.

First Sgt. — A.S. Tschappler

Sgts. — C.W. Calvin., A.M. Kidd, F.W. Sansom, D.D. Watson, H.D. Mears

Cpls. — E.J. Boggs, Wm. Jones, Jas. Kelly, A.S. Owen, C.A. Warren, L.M. Ingraham, R.G. Boreing, David  Garrison, Frank Smith, F.T. Hinckley, T.F. Clary, Wm. St. Clair

Musicians — W. Axton, Ben Ebling

Wagoner — Charles Monson

Artificer — C.W. Sloan

Privates: Jesse Axton, J.N. Baily, J.T. Bean, Chas. Bierman, Wm. Botkin, R.E. Barnett, E.E. Brubaker, Jerry Butts, Jas. Clary, Will Clary, C.M. Chenoworth, E.E. Colier, Ben Cory, E.J. Crampton, Jay Dunwoody, Chas. E. Dewitt, Claude Flemming, Jason Fellows, M.P. Fox, G.K. Freeman, Roy Greer, Chas. Gould, Jas. Gilmore, Y.A. Hays, Wyle Hodshier, H.H. Hoback, Clyde Hites,  Logan Horner, J.T. Howard, Henry Helm, A.J. Halterman, Wm. Johnson, R.E. Jones, C.D. Johnson, Jos. Jirauch, S.H. Jones, Fred Kinner, Fred Kerr, Lester Loy, Walter Laud, A.O. Lanyan, H.H. Lewis, Jeff D. Long, Dennis Landon, Harley McCullough, Percy Mylius, L.R. Nugent, J.E. Nischwitz, H.W. Neff, Otto Nickoleson, Norton Oliver, Harry Plimmer, J.D. Penrose, Frank Reha, C.J. Rhoads, Wm. F. Rice, Chas. E. Rice, Thomas Rogers, E.S. Riseling, H.W. Ryan, J.E. Smith, Chas. Shafer, Henry Saulesbury, C.V. Spyres, H.S. Shyrock, C.H. Smith, Nick Spore, Patrick Spore, Newel Short, Frank Treganza, G.A. Thompson, Thos. Thomason, A. Woodward, Melvin Walls, Walter Wilkes, Louie Watzdorf, and Geo. Zietler.

Company G - click to access larger version.

The regiment suffered one fatality: Private E.E. Brubeker died September 20, 1898 of typhoid fever.

C.W. Hudson and George M. Eckhart were transferred to the Hospital Corps and Walter Ladd was discharged for disability.

Below are more photographs of life in the camp where Company G was located:

The Mule Corral

The American Tobacco Company arrived in camp to offer "the boys" some "Battle Ax" and "Dukes Mixture" tobacco.

Sunday Morning Inspection

The Guard House with the men entrusted with guarding the encampment.

Some prisoners at the Guardhouse, hopefully none from Company G.

Source: History of the Second Regiment

City Celebrates Newman Building’s 100th

Last week the Joplin Globe ran a story on the 100th birthday of the Newman Building, present home to the Joplin city government.  This week, on November 16th (Tuesday), the city will be hosting a celebration of the event starting at 11 am.  The news release offered the following activities:

“Some people may have various pieces in their closets that can work for an outfit — with a little creative thinking and design. If nothing else — scarves with pendants were a big hit during that time — as were HATS!! So if wanting to participate these options might be a little easier and not too hard to find the items.

In addition, vintage cars will line 6th street for viewing and will make a nice backdrop if you would like to get a photo taken by a downtown photographer. These pictures could make a nice holiday gift for friends and family. The cars will be here from approximately 10 a.m. to 12 noon or so. The Newman Building is located at 602 South Main.”

Here’s to another 100!

The Hobo Dog

In the past we’ve covered hoboes creating problems in Joplin, but this time we’ve found the story of a hobo dog. Brakemen and conductors who worked the run between Joplin and Mena, Arkansas, reported that a large Newfoundland dog was riding the rails. Although it was unknown if the dog jumped on the train in Mena, it was first noticed there “sneaking in and out of boxcars.” A brakeman, checking the cars for tramps, found the dog asleep in one of the cars and left it in peace. At the next stop, however, the dog was shooed off the train.
 
The dog, though, had other ideas and jumped unobserved back on board the train. At the next stop, however, the Newfoundland was once again discovered, and was put in charge of the stationmaster. Somehow the crafty dog managed to sneak away and jumped on board the next train. He was discovered by a porter who ushered him off the train. The dog could not be deterred and continued hopping trains until he was discovered in Neosho. A brakeman who had previously kicked the dog off a train in Arkansas was surprised to find the Newfoundland perched inside of a large furniture car. The brakeman decided to let the dog ride the train to Joplin.
 
As the engine pulled into Joplin, the dog began to bark, and once the train had stopped, it jumped from the car, and headed off to parts unknown. The Globe remarked, “It is the only incident of the kind that ever happened on the Kansas City Southern line, and perhaps the only one that ever did happen; and a dog that would have intelligence enough to ride in such a manner, instead of walking, should be highly valued by his master.”

As a present day aside, stray dogs in Moscow have also learned the benefits of riding the train.

Source: Joplin Globe

The Elks’ Present Their Imperial Minstrels

A Joplin newspaper cartoon referring to the Elks' Minstrel Show.

A Joplin newspaper cartoon referring to the Elks' Minstrel Show (click to access larger version)

“Business men in blackface can be more amusing than professionals, especially when they strike a happy medium between the elite and the ridiculous.”

So began a review of the minstrel show put on by Joplin’s Elks Lodge, No. 501, in mid-January, 1909.  Since the 19th Century, the minstrel show had been a steadfast form of entertainment based upon humiliating and stereotypical depictions of African Americans, often by white men with black makeup on their face.  Generally, the performers adopted comical dialects exaggerated to effect laughter and ridicule.  Entertainment in the shows ranged from comedy skits to song and dance.

In an example of the acceptability of racism at the time in American and Joplin society, the minstrel show was produced by the Elks Lodge, a social organization of Joplin’s businessmen and reputable members of the city’s society.  One advertisement for the minstrel show specifically noted the participation of Edward Zelleken, a member of one of Joplin’s most distinguished and wealthy families.

A cartoon of Prof. Edward Zelleken's anticipated black face appearance.

A cartoon of Prof. Edward Zelleken's anticipated black face appearance.

A small article that ran before the show promised an entertaining show and an opening which “should not be missed.”  Tickets, the article claimed, were going fast, but good ones could still be reserved.  An advertisement that ran near the article promised, “Ten Dollars’ Worth of Enjoyment For the Price of One.”  The “Imperial Minstrels” as the Elks called their cast performed in the Club Theater.  A follow up article the day after headlined, “Elks’ Minstrel Creates Furor Among Society” with the subtitle, “Business Men In Blackface Score Tremendous Hit.”

An advertisement for the Elks' Minstrel Show

An advertisement for the Elks' Minstrel Show (click for larger version)

The jokes in the show ranged from the plain comedic to pokes and jabs at local businessmen, like the owner of Donehoo’s pharmacy, which was located at the busy intersection of 4th and Main.  Other jokes were political in nature such as one about William Jennings Bryan recalled by a minstrel who claimed he had just stepped into an elevator in Chicago when he saw, “Mrs. William Jennings Bryan come running down the corridor waving her hand for the elevator operator to hold the car until she arrived. ‘You need not have hurried to catch the car,’ the elevator operator is said to have informed Mrs. Bryan, ‘I’d have waited for you.’  ‘Oh,’ replied the Commoner’s wife as she breathed heavily. ‘ I just wanted to show you that there was one member of the Bryan family who could keep in the running.’”

Another sign of the acceptability of the lampoon was the audience that turned out for the event.  A reporter from the Joplin Globe described them, “Society turned out in all its finery to see something rich and rare…”  Indeed, as the reporter noted, “And to a thousand, auditors giggled, laughed and te-heed until their faces ached while Joplin Lodge, No. 501. B.P.O. Elks, presented their Imperial Minstrels at the Club Theater last night.”

Source: Joplin Globe, 1909

Labor Day

Among the holidays that Joplin celebrated with parades was Labor Day.  For this Labor Day, we offer up an editorial cartoon from around 1908 that represents at least one newspaper’s feelings on the matter.

Uncle Sam offers his hat to the laborer.

Source: Joplin News Herald

The Stars and Stripes

Englishman B.E. Dover and Irishman Harry Flynn began talking during a Salvation Army service held at the corner of Fourth and Main streets when Dover gestured to the American flag and remarked, “That’s a damned pretty flag but it’s a dirty rag and represents a dirty class of people.”

Flynn, who had met Dover for the first time during the service, was enraged. Flynn asked Dover to walk up the street with him, rather than disturb the Salvation Army service, and the two men began walking toward Fifth Street. Flynn asked, “What did you say back there?” Dover repeated what he had said, then fell to the street as Flynn punched him in the face.

“Take that, and that, you dog!” Flynn shouted, striking the Englishman as a crowd gathered to watch, cheering the miner on. After he decided Dover had taken enough punishment, Flynn walked off, but not before he declared, “You may be able to talk about the American flag as you please in England, but begorrah, when you come to the United States of America, you will have to be guarded in your speech.”

Dover picked himself up off the street in search of a police officer. By the time he found one, Flynn could not be found, and the newspaper remarked, “even if he had been on the spot, the crowd of spectators would never have allowed him to be taken to jail.”

A Quick History In The News Round Up

Joplin's Missouri Pacific Depot as of July, 2010

Joplin's Missouri Pacific Depot as of July, 2010

A couple things have popped up in the Joplin Globe over the last few days.  In good news, the old Missouri Pacific Depot that was saved and moved to its present location by David Glenn has found new owners.  Glenn bought the depot when it was scheduled to be destroyed and carefully relocated it to its spot off of Rangeline where it opened up as Timberline restaurant.  In the future, we’ll provide a little more history on this smaller depot of Joplin’s past.   The new owners are Raymond and Amy Yen, who will re-open it later this year as a far eastern restaurant.  Let’s hope when it comes to decoration that they don’t alter anything original!

The other news item has to do with the arrival in Joplin of general American history, a restored B-17 Flying Fortress, the Liberty Belle. Just like another restored B-17, Aluminum Overcast, the Liberty Belle, never saw combat due to being produced at the end of the war.  However, that doesn’t make her any less grand a lady.  It’s highly recommended to go visit the Liberty Belle when she arrives on August 29 at the Joplin airport.  For those of you in Springfield, she’ll visit Springfield’s airport a day earlier on August 28.   Check here for her schedule and more information about the Liberty Belle.

Joplin’s First Speeding Ticket

Just after the turn of the century, Joplin attorney Fred Basom received the first speeding ticket issued in Joplin. He was “hailed by an officer of the law while out for a spin,” after the mayor’s recent instructions to the police department to arrest drivers who violated Joplin’s city ordinance that set the speed limit at six miles an hour. The news item did not explain how fast Mr. Basom was going when he was ticketed or what the fine was for breaking the speed limit, but it can be expected that attorney Basom was able to secure adequate representation for his police court appearance.

Source: Joplin News Herald

Reflections on Circus Life

In the not too distant past we published a post about Hardy Hardella and his dog Moxie.  Hardy and Moxie are among our favorite Joplin residents, so when we found an article about Hardy and his days with the circus, we knew it would end up as a post.  A more specific post on Hardy himself is in the works for later.

Hardy Hardella

A distinguished Hardy Hardella, courtesy of the private collection of Judy Hurdle.

Hardy Hardella moved to Joplin in 1905.  A few years later, one of Hardella’s old circus cronies arrived in town. The two had not seen each other in twenty-five years, but Hardy and William Underwood (his stage name was William Lucifer) took up where they left off the last time they had seen one another. Underwood, still working the vaudeville circuit, arrived in Joplin for a performance and decided to call upon his old friend.

The two men first met when they worked together in the Charles Hunter Circus which traveled through Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. Hunter, the former circus owner, still lived in the area, but instead of wrangling animals and acrobats, now proprietor of the Crescent Hotel in Pittsburg, Kansas. The two men said the circus consisted of one car, a camel, two ponies, six or seven mules, and two or three horses. Altogether there were twenty five men employed by the circus.

The circus car, an old condemned Pullman, had a secret compartment underneath it. When times were hard, half of the employees would hide in it when the conductor came around to collect train fares. One day, however, Hunter’s adopted son poked his head up out of the trap door when the conductor came through. Hunter’s circus “had hard luck on that road ever after.”

Underwood recalled the time he came to Joplin with the De Haven Circus and a fight broke out between circus employees and local miners. Angry miners cut up and destroyed the circus tents and half of the outfit was “broken up.”

After things seemed to have cooled down, another fight broke out after miners and circus workers got into a brawl at one of Joplin’s saloons. Underwood remembered “billiard cues and bottles were freely used” in the fight. Circus workers were arrested and thrown in Joplin’s city jail for a few days before they were released. Underwood remarked, “I have never forgotten that incident in Joplin. I have been all over the world since then and in every civilized nation, but I nearly always sign my residence as Joplin, MO., because of that fight and subsequent stay in jail.”

That same week, Hardy Hardella and William Underwood met old friend William McCall, who performed with Hardella as the “Hardella Brothers,” to discuss old times. The men recalled when Hardy was known as, “Hardella, the wonderful contortionist.”

Hardella Brothers ad

An advertisement for the Hardella Brothers, courtesy of Judy Hurdle.

Underwood remembered how the “old time circuses sure used to clean out a town. There was always a bunch of ‘fakirs’ that went along with the show and paid big concessions. The games they used to devise were many and varied. Yankee ingenuity being a mild term to apply to it. What money wasn’t taken in at the gates or by the shell games was usually cleaned up the ‘gooseberry crowd’ that followed the circus and while the people were watching the performance, raided the houses. Sometimes the ‘gooseberry’ bunch was in cahoots with the show and sometimes they were not, but they usually made a cleaning. Some small towns were literally wiped clean by the circus bunch.”

Locals, however, often lashed out after discovering their town had been “wiped clean.” Underwood recalled, “When they got a chance to get their breath and compare notes, they usually came down on the circus with blood in their eyes. The ‘fakirs’ had moved on to greener pastures by this time and were ready to work the next town. The circus hands had to bear the brunt of the storm. One experienced stake driver with the heavy, banded circus stake, could usually clean twelve or fifteen ‘rubes’ but just the same there was much bloodshed and cracked heads.”

He also somberly told the story of a young Kansan who had just sold a load of corn for a large sum of money, possibly as much as $200, and decided to bet it all on a shell game. He lost. The shell game operator, scared the crowd was going to attack him, fled. The young farmer chased him into a tent where the man cracked the rube over the head with a club. Underwood claimed, “It was one of the most cruel sights I have ever witnessed, but those were hard days in the circus business.”

Circuses are few and far between these days, but undoubtedly the big top once thrilled crowds all across the country, and Joplin was no exception.

Sources: Joplin Globe, Joplin News Herald, Livingston’s History of Jasper County, Bale Milling Odyssey by Judy Hurdle, Missouri Death Certificate Database 1910-1959, Judy Hurdle private collection