Guarding the Border: The Military Memoirs of the Ward Schrantz, 1912-1917

Notes

Introduction 1. Regular army strength during the period of Schrantz’s service was 92,121 officers and men in 1912, 92,756 in 1913, and 98,544 in 1914. Russell F. Weigley, History of the United States Army (New York: Macmillan, 1967), 568. 2. One publication described Carthage as “the most beautiful city of its size in America ,” featuring “surpassing natural attractiveness, handsome residences, stately business blocks, shady avenues, magnificent court house, pretty lawns, and enchanting park.” Walter Williams, The State of Missouri: An Autobiography (Columbia, Mo.: E. W. Stephens, 1904), 309–10. An extensive profile of the town at the turn of the century may be found in Howard L. Conard, ed., Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, 6 vols. (New York: Southern History, 1901), 1:508–15. 3. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900, Population Schedule for Carthage, Marion Township, Jasper County, Mo., T623, roll 866; Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910, Population Schedule for Carthage, Marion Township, Jasper County, Mo., T624, roll 791. Henry Schrantz married Catherine Ream on February 19, 1878. Homer Schrantz, their first child, was born in 1879 but died the following year. The remaining children included Henry H., born in 1881; Lottie, born in 1883; Rachel V., born in 1886; Michael Roy, born in 1888; Ward, born in 1890; and Katie, born in March 1893. Reverend George Witwer and Ananias Clime Witwer, Witwer Genealogy of America (South Bend, Ind.: L. P. Hardy, 1909), 151. 4. Carthage (Missouri) Evening Press, December 11, 1950. 5. David M. Kennedy, Over Here: The First World War and American Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), 178. Kennedy includes a short but valuable examination of the heroic legacy of the Civil War and views of war in the early 1900s. The quotation from Schrantz in this and subsequent text paragraphs all come from the memoir published here. 6. Carthage Evening Press, November 13, 1918. 7. Ibid., October 21, 1912. Notes 160 Notes to Pages 10–11 Chapter 1. The Missouri National Guard 1. Carthage played an important role in the Civil War in Missouri. The Battle of Carthage (July 5, 1861), part of the Wilson’s Creek campaign, was arguably the first major land engagement of the war. Guerrilla activity and “revenge” murders plagued the Carthage area during the war, Confederate guerrillas burned the Jasper County Courthouse in October 1863, and guerrillas practically destroyed Carthage on September 22, 1864. Schrantz undoubtedly heard the stories of many local veterans, stories that he would document in newspaper columns and a book. Schrantz quickly realized that it was difficult to categorize one side or the other as entirely noble or despicable. Both Union and Confederate soldiers operating in Missouri exhibited both remarkable kindness and shocking cruelty. For a thorough analysis of the guerrilla war in Missouri, see Michael Fellman, Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri during the American Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989). 2. The Carthage Light Guard was formed on January 8, 1876. State of Missouri, Office of the Adjutant General, The Service of the Missouri National Guard on the Mexican Border (Jefferson City, Mo.: Hugh Stephens Printing, 1919), xxxv. 3. Actually, the Second Missouri used the Model 1873 .45–70 Springfield rifle, a singleshot weapon used by the regular army until the early 1890s. National Guard units continued to carry the .45–70 through the end of the decade and even into the first part of the twentieth century. Weigley, History of the United States Army, 324. 4. William King Caffee was born in Newark, Ohio, on June 30, 1856. He came to Carthage in 1868, then attended Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minnesota, where he graduated with honors. He then went into the drug business with his uncle. When the Carthage Light Guard was organized in January 1876, Caffee was a sergeant in the outfit. He was promoted to captain about 1880, but the company was disbanded in 1887. When the unit was reorganized two years later, Caffee was elected captain, then became the first colonel of the Second Missouri Infantry in 1890. He led the regiment through the Spanish-American War and retired from military life shortly afterward. Caffee died in Carthage on March 10, 1923, at the age of sixty-six. At the time of his death, he was the director and treasurer of a local business and a bank director. He was buried in Carthage’s Park Cemetery with full military honors, and his funeral was probably the most...