A Raid They Blamed
On Clingman
A laic* of slander and a comedy of
errors, of which tlic» record should be
set straight.
By FRANCES II. CASSTEVEAS
Actual events often provide the basis
for legends and folk talcs, books,
movies, and television dramas. Facts,
distorted by rumors and time, become
legends and myths. Usually there is
some real basis for even the most
preposterous story, or some reason why
a falsehood is presented as the truth.
However, once a malicious rumor has
been started, it is very difficult to stop.
Such is the case w'ith Brigadier General
Thomas L. Clingman’s alleged involve¬
ment in the "Clingman Raid."
1 learned of the raid while doing re¬
search for a thesis on Clingman’s mili¬
tary career from an article entitled "The
Clingman Raid" by Donald F. Tinglcy
( Journal of the Illinois Slare Historical
Society \ Vol. 56. No. 2. 1963. pp.
350-363). The article was an historical
investigation of the legendary
"Clingman Raid." a series of robberies
and other crimes that allegedly took
place during the summer of 1864 (the
third year of the Civil War) throughout
the Illinois counties of Montgomery.
Fayette, and Bond. That summer, the
local papers reported that a band of
Confederates, led by a Confederate of¬
ficer named Thomas L. Clingman. was
reported to be camped between Ramsey
in Fayette County and Van Burensburg
in Montgomery County. On July 28.
1864. a Springfield. Illinois paper, the
Daily Illinois State Journal, warned to
the people of the state that the "band"
intended to "ravage the country as the
South had been ravaged.”
"Desperate Characters"
Numerous crimes committed in the
area were attributed to the Rebel band.
Several persons were robbed of guns,
money, and horses. On July 21. the
homes of two respected citizens near
Van Burensburg were robbed, and one
of the victims. Jefferson Lynn, reported
that he was forced to swear an oath of
allegiance to the Confederacy. The
Union Monitor reported on July 29,
1864. that "the village of Ramsey, in
Fayette County, has been literally
THE STATE. January 19$S
sacked and the inhabitants have mostly
fled."
As the crimes continued, the citizens
of the district became so concerned that
they sent a delegation to Springfield to
obtain assistance from the military and
state officials. Several dozen citizens
also appealed for help from Illinois
Governor Yates.
The events that followed appear more
appropriate for the plot of a Hollywood
В
Western movie than real-life
events. But those events are docu¬
mented in various newspapers and by
Illinois stale documents. The citizen’s
appeal resulted in Union Colonel James
Oakes’ ordering a small group of
soldiers to those southern Illinois coun¬
ties to investigate the rumors. Lead by
Captain William M. Fry. the Union
troops proceeded to Hillsboro (Illinois),
to meet with the local citizens. Fry
reported that at the meeting several
points were agreed upon by all: I) the
renegades were "citizens and refugee
or renegade Missourians." and thus fell
under the jurisdiction of the civil
authorities; 2) the leader of the band
was a "man named Clingman." who
was believed to be "intelligent and des¬
perate," and "well versed in military
regulations; 3) "Clingman’s band" con¬
sisted of about "200 desperate charac¬
ters" who had camped in the vicinity
for the deposition of their plunder; and
4) the purpose of Clingman and his
gang was "horse -thieving and robbery."
A
В
-Grade Movie
Once the decision was reached that
the affair was not a "military matter."
a civil writ was issued for the arrest of
Clingman and his men. Constable
W. S. Stephenson called for men to
form a posse, (a necessary element of
early Western movies), and on July 29.
a group of from 300 to 400 men rode
out to find the Rebel band. They moved
west of Litchfield, and were joined by'
about 40 more men at Hillsboro. As the
posse neared Van Burensburg. they split
into two groups. One group reached the
Brigadier General Thomas L. Clingman, of
Surry (now Yadkin) County.
site where Clingman’s men were
believed to have been camped, but
found the place deserted. Another
group encountered some "bushwack-
ers" (draft evaders) in two separate in¬
cidences during the night. There were
few casualties, but one young man shot
himself in the leg when the hammer of
his shotgun caught on a log. Another
man was injured when his gun fired
while he was taking it out of a wagon.
A third man was accidentally injured
by a pistol fired by one of his compa¬
nions. On another occasion, the
Hillsboro posse mistook another search
party for the "Clingman band," and
shot one man in the hip when he
refused to surrender. The posse failed
to find any of the renegades, but their
efforts would provide adequate mate¬
rial for a "comedy of errors."
The Union Monitor reported that the
posse had not succeeded because:
Clingman and his men knew all the
movements (of the posse) — spies
were all the time giving him infor¬
mation. It was improbable under
the circumstances to surprise him.
It was not indeed expected. Yet if
the citizens do their duty he will
be caught and his desperadoes or
driven from the county. This
Clingman is a robber — but at the
bottom of all this — he is a rebel
— an acknowledged one. His prin¬
cipal followers are rebels, and he
works upon the prejudices by in¬
stilling into the minds of the peo¬
ple disunion sentiments, and in this
he has had the co-operation of too
many of our people.
Robberies And Rumors
Apparently, after the posse set forth.
n
