What are the opening hours?

Thursday 10am - 4am Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Lone Jack Historical Society, 301 S Bynum Road, Lone Jack, MO (2026)

The primary focus is on the Civil War Battlefield, Cemetery and adjoining grounds, and the Civil War Museum.

06/23/2026

William H. Adams

William Houston Adams was born on July 8, 1837, in Lafayette County, Missouri, to Spencer Adams and Rachel Botts Adams. In 1858, he married Mary Ann Cantrell, and together they began building a life in western Missouri.

When the Civil War erupted, Adams enlisted in Colonel Upton Hays' regiment under General Sterling Price. A devoted supporter of the Southern cause, he served until the Battle of Lone Jack on August 16, 1862, where he was severely wounded when a cannonball struck him in the left side.

During the battle, confusion briefly overtook the battlefield as Confederate and Union lines became intermixed. In the chaos, some Confederate soldiers mistakenly began firing upon their own men. Realizing the danger, Adams attempted to stop the friendly fire by knocking the guns from the hands of his comrades. His efforts were cut short when several fellow soldiers reportedly "got him down and sat on him." Shortly thereafter, he received the wound that ended his active military service.

Following his injury at Lone Jack, Adams spent much of the remainder of the war hiding in the woods to avoid capture by Union troops and the notorious Red Legs who patrolled the region. Union authorities sought to round up and forcibly enlist local men, while Red Leg patrols were known for their harsh treatment of Confederate sympathizers and wounded soldiers.

One family story tells of an occasion when Adams was visiting his family near Chapel Hill and word arrived that a Red Leg patrol was approaching. With little time to act, it was decided that he would hide in the cellar beneath the house. Access to the cellar was through a trapdoor in the floor of one of the rooms. Adams descended into the cellar while his wife, Mary Ann Cantrell Adams, quickly covered the trapdoor with a rug. She then placed a rocking chair directly over it and sat there with their two young daughters, Jennie and Willie Ann.

Jennie was old enough to understand the danger. Her mother instructed her not to reveal her father's whereabouts, warning that the soldiers would kill him if they found him. If questioned, Jennie was to say that her father had gone away and was not at home.

When the Red Legs arrived looking for William H. Adams, they were not satisfied with Mary Ann's answers. While some of the men searched the house, one soldier attempted to charm the truth out of little Jennie. Seating her on his knee, he "promised her the moon and stars." He let her play with his watch and told her she could keep it if she would only reveal where her father was hiding.

Throughout the questioning, Mary Ann maintained steady eye contact with her daughter, silently encouraging her to remain brave. Once again, the soldier asked where her father was. Jennie calmly replied, "He's down south fightin' de Feds."

The soldiers never discovered Adams. Frustrated, they looted the farm and house, taking livestock, household goods, clothing, bedding, and virtually everything of value. Family tradition later recalled that they did not leave even a single pair of socks. Fortunately, they overlooked the rug concealing the cellar trapdoor.

At the conclusion of the war, Adams refused to sign the loyalty oath or formally concede defeat. Because of this refusal, he was imprisoned in Warrensburg, Missouri, for approximately nine months. During this difficult period, Mary Ann regularly traveled to Warrensburg to visit her husband and bring him clothing and other necessities while continuing to care for their two young daughters.

Mary Ann possessed a determination every bit as strong as her husband's. On one occasion, while returning home from Warrensburg, a violent storm swept across the countryside, flooding streams and washing out bridges. Her father, Christopher Cantrell, worried that once she began her journey home she would continue regardless of the dangers she encountered.

His fears proved justified. When Mary Ann reached Blackwater Creek, she discovered that the bridge had been washed away. Undeterred, she crossed the swollen creek anyway. With one child seated in front of her and the other behind her on horseback, she guided the horse through the flooded waters. Mother and children arrived home safely later that evening.

The Civil War left Adams financially devastated. In addition to losing nearly everything he owned, he had served as security for others and was later required to satisfy those debts. At the close of the war, his only remaining possession was reportedly an old pony.

In 1864, William and Mary Ann Adams moved with their two daughters to Jackson County near present-day Lee's Summit, Missouri. Accompanying them was William's mother, Rachel Botts Adams. Rachel died in 1870 and was buried in Wood Chapel Cemetery near Lee's Summit.

Possessing a strong constitution and unwavering determination, Adams rebuilt his life through hard work and perseverance. Over time, he acquired a productive farm of ninety-two and one-half acres. This property was later sold to his son-in-law, Harvey Lee Hunt, who named it "Rocky K**b." The farm was located along what is now known as Hunt Road.

While clearing timber on the property, Adams suffered another serious injury when a tree he was felling unexpectedly fell in the wrong direction and crushed his hand. According to family accounts, "his hand was mashed as big as a plate." A physician was summoned from Lee's Summit and arrived later that evening. By the light of a kerosene lamp and with only whiskey and laudanum to dull the pain, the doctor amputated three fingers, leaving Adams with only his thumb and index finger.

Despite the hardships he endured, Adams enjoyed hunting and fishing throughout his life. He became known locally as the "King of Fox Hunters" and was said to have captured as many as twenty-two foxes in a single year.

Mary Ann Cantrell Adams died on September 10, 1896, and was buried in Lone Jack Cemetery.

In the early 1900s, Adams divided much of his property among his daughters, giving each either a parcel of land or $400. Most of the farm was eventually purchased by his son-in-law, Harvey Lee Hunt, although part of the property may have been included in the land given to his daughter, Sarah C. Adams Hunt. Adams continued to reside on the farm and spent extended periods living with his daughters.

William Houston Adams died on May 2, 1928. He was buried in the northeast corner of Lone Jack Cemetery beneath the shade of the cedar trees.

His life reflected the hardships endured by many Missourians during and after the Civil War. Through war, imprisonment, financial ruin, and physical injury, he persevered and rebuilt a successful life for himself and his family, leaving behind a legacy remembered through both historical records and family tradition.

06/21/2026

Albert Dunning

Albert Dunning, one of the oldest pioneers of Fairview Township and among the largest landowners in Henry County, Missouri, was born on January 15, 1838, in Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the son of Shadrach Dunning, a native of Kentucky, and Ada (Morris) Dunning, a native of Virginia.

In 1840, when Albert was still a young child, his parents moved their family to Missouri. Shadrach Dunning first came to Henry County alone to enter land, then returned to Springfield, Missouri, where his family was temporarily residing. The family followed him the next year and settled in Fairview Township. There, Shadrach built a substantial double log cabin in the southern style, featuring two rooms separated by a central passageway and a sleeping loft above. Large fireplaces at each end of the house provided warmth during the winter months.

The Dunning family was among the earliest settlers of the region. Albert spent his youth helping on the family farm and witnessed firsthand the development of Henry County from a sparsely settled frontier into a thriving agricultural community. During his boyhood, wildlife was abundant. Deer, wild turkeys, wolves, and other game roamed the countryside, while fish filled the streams. Albert recalled catching as much as one hundred pounds of fish in a single day and often hunting deer and wolves. He even captured and raised young deer and wolf pups. He also remembered frequent visits from Native Americans, who occasionally came to local homes seeking provisions but generally caused little trouble for settlers.

When the Civil War began, Albert enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861, serving in Company K of the 16th Missouri Infantry under General Sterling Price. During his four years of military service, he participated in numerous engagements, including the battles of Carthage, Oak Hill (Wilson’s Creek), Lone Jack, Cane Hill, Helena, and other campaigns throughout the South. At the Battle of Helena, Arkansas, he was severely wounded in the upper left cheek by shell fragments and spent several weeks recovering in a hospital before being taken home to recuperate.

At the conclusion of the war, Albert returned to Missouri virtually penniless. Traveling by rail to Sedalia, he walked the remaining distance to his family’s home in Henry County with only three dollars in his pocket. Determined to rebuild his life, he began buying, raising, and selling calves, gradually accumulating enough savings to purchase his first tract of land.

Albert made his first land purchase in 1883, acquiring 120 acres. Through hard work, wise investments, and successful livestock operations, he steadily expanded his holdings. At one point, he owned approximately 2,100 acres of productive farmland. Although he later transferred portions of the property to his children, he still retained about 1,700 acres. Much of the land was devoted to cattle and hog production, and he became widely known as a successful stock dealer and feeder.

Near the center of his extensive property, Albert built an impressive country home. The residence was enlarged in 1893 and remodeled again in 1916. While some of the acreage was leased, most of the land was farmed by his sons.

On October 10, 1880, Albert married Ellen Ann Fudge, daughter of Adam and Martha Fudge. Ellen was born in Illinois on July 22, 1863, and came to Henry County with her family following the Civil War. Together, Albert and Ellen raised a large family. Their children included Martha, John, Albert, Shadrach, Lillian, Robert L., Earl, and Archie. Lillian became a teacher after attending the Warrensburg Normal School, while Robert L. served in the National Army after being drafted in 1918.

Albert often reflected on the remarkable changes he had witnessed during his lifetime. In his youth, this area was part of what was then known as Rives County and was only thinly settled. Cattle ranged freely across open prairie, and few residents imagined that the land would one day become highly valuable. Between the Dunning home and Clinton stood only a handful of homes. Buffalo and elk still roamed western Missouri and nearby Kansas, and settlers regularly hunted them to supply meat for the winter.

A lifelong Democrat, Albert was an active member of the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church and, earlier in life, the Browington Missionary Baptist Church. He was respected throughout the county as a successful farmer, stockman, and pioneer citizen.

Having witnessed the transformation of frontier Missouri into a prosperous agricultural region, Albert Dunning spent his later years in comfort and contentment, surrounded by the results of a lifetime of hard work. He took satisfaction in the knowledge that he had helped build the community in which he lived and had provided a lasting legacy for future generations.

06/19/2026

ON A MISSOURI FARM IN THE SIXTIES [1860’s near Pleasant Hill, MO.]

It was a beautiful Spring day in 1862. The flowers and garden were doing fine. It was June so we had green things to eat. Almost every day Brother Bob killed a mess of squirrel or quail or caught fish from the creek. He was only 15 so could not join the Army.

Besides Bob there was Mary, Leah, Sally, and me "Dicy". Our Mother had died when Sally was two. I was the oldest so was the Mother, manager, housekeeper and farmer. Our Father was old and ill. Bob helped the most but with our horses gone it was hard. We could have gotten along nicely except for the bands of Guerillas and Bushwhackers who came by almost every day stealing everything they could find. Our oldest Sister had married a Northerner and lived about a mile from us so Father spent most of his time with them. If he could not get away in time we hid him in the Cornfield. He spent many weary hours in that field.

This afternoon I was at the loom weaving. Mary was filling shuttles for me. Leah was carding wool and Sally was supposed to be picking the burrs from a pile of wool. She hated that job and once took a lapfull out and hid it in a hollow log. This day she kept running to see if Bob was coming from hunting. She had a pet squirrel that she loved dearly but she let it out in the woods all day and shut it up at night. She saw Bob coming and ran to meet him. She looked at his game and suddenly let out a cry and sobbed out, "Oh Bob you killed my 'Curly'". Bob had not known her pet, but she did and was so heart broken and so was Bob.

We had fixed a lookout on top of the smokehouse, where some one watched most of the time. We should see the road in four directions. As soon as we could see the uniforms we knew whether to hide Father or not. We were not afraid of the Confederates as two of our older brothers were in the Confederate Army. We did have to feed them however and there was so little food left. One old negro woman still lived in her cabin - she had refused to go when the other slaves left with the Federal soldiers. She helped when she could. Once she robbed the bees and put the honey in the wooden tub. Suddenly one of the girls shouted: "Soldiers coming". Quickly Aunt Lucy and Bob gathered up the tub and rushed to Aunt Lucy's cabin and taking up loose boards in the floor, hid the tub. Many bees had followed them and lighted on the screen door. When the Guerillas arrived they demanded food. I set on the table the little food we had. While they ate they asked questions.
"Did we have food hidden, was there any weapons or money in the house, where were the men and did we have any live stock?". After they ate they started searching the house and outside. When they reached Aunt Lucy's cabin and saw the bees buzzing around, they rudely pushed open the door and swearing said "Where are you hiding it?". Then they spied the loose boards, lifted them and found the honey. Aunt Lucy was terrified but got down on her knees and begged them to leave the tub. "Its the only washing tub we got and how I goin' to keep my young ladies clean without no tub?". They pushed her out of the way and took the tub and honey.

Another day a band of Confederate soldiers came by with a Federal soldier tied to his horse. They did not stop but when we went to feed our small pigs, there was the prisoner in the pig pen shot to death. He was very young. We dragged him from the pen and Leah went to get Bob to help dig a grave. He had no identification of any kind so no one ever knew who he was. How some Mother must have grieved for her handsome young son, who never come home.

We kept hearing rumors that both armies were gathering in or near us for a battle to take Independence. Col. Buell was camped there. Cole Younger - a member of Quantrells forces agreed to go into Independence and get information as to the location of the Arms depot and the Encampment. Dressed as an old lady, Younger succeeded in getting the information Quantrell wanted and on August 11, Independence was attacked by the forces of Hughes and Quantrell. It was a fierce and fiery battle and Buell was defeated, loosing many men while Quantrell and Hughes lost few.

Five days later the two forces met at Lone Jack and another fierce battle took place. As this was only ten miles from our home we heard the roar of the cannon all day. Bob never left his lookout all day. That evening he took his gun, saying he would get a squirrel. When I went to call him the next morn his bed had not been slept in and I knew he had gone to join the Confederate soldiers. We learned later that the Army would not accept him because he was so young. All the next day he carried ammunition to the front in his cap and when the Army moved on, after the battle of Lone Jack, he followed along. He suffered from wounds, cold, starvation, the bullying of the older men who forced their vile liquor down his throat when he grew weak and sick. In spite of all these hardships, he stayed with the company until the war was over.

The Battle of Lone Jack was fierce between Col. Foster's Union forces and Col. Cockrons Confederates. The fiercest fighting only lasted five hours and again the Union forces lost. Only one hundred were killed on both sides but many were wounded and died later. The dead were buried together in a long trench - the Blue and the Gray side by side. Many years afterward a monument was erected and each year a Memorial picnic was held in a nearby grove. While the Battle of Lone Jack was not a really important battle in its self, it kept the Confederate Army from attacking Kansas City, as it had planned.

Now we girls were alone indeed. We still had our little Mare who was our pet and useful in many ways. We had managed to keep her by hiding her deep in the woods. But it was Spring again and when a band of Feds came by - their leader riding a fine Bay stallion - the horse gave a mating call and from the woods Bess answered. The band stopped and a search was ordered. Soon two men came up leading our beloved Bess. They took her and moved on, leaving four girls weeping bitterly. Now we were really afoot. Had to walk the four miles to town and no way to haul anything.

One morning early while we were still asleep, there came an awful banging on the front door. It made me so mad I was not scared, but the other girls were terrified. I called out "Who is there and what do you want?". A gruff voice answered, "Open in the name of the law or I will break the door down". I called back, "You just wait until we get dressed and we will open the door". I got my clothes on in a hurry but the little girls were so frightened they had to be helped. Finally I threw open the door. A company of Bushwhackers stood in the yard. Two dirty, ragged men - boots loaded with mud came in and demanded arms, food and clothes. I told them we had none but they cursed and said they would search the house. They went up into the attic, after searching below. They come down with our Father's C**n skin cap and a piece of old shot gun. They again cursed us and said we had lied to them. They pulled the turnips and ate them raw, took a few eggs, the bread we had and left.

Because the roving bands of Guerillas and Bushwhackers were living off the people - Order No. Eleven was given by Gen. Ewing. This order said; "All persons living outside the town limits must bring what they can and move into town. They must burn all feed or grain they can not move in." We had little left to move but did have an old wagon. A cousin in town brought out his horses and we loaded up what we could. I had saved seeds and grain to plant and hid them in a dark corner of the cellar. These I was careful to take along, with all the vegetables and fruit I could pick. It was late August and hot and dry. We put Father in the wagon and we girls walked. Our cousin let us live in a shed of his. The Federal Government issued bacon and corn meal, so we got through that miserable winter. As soon as President Lincoln learned of the order, he rescinded it, but most of the people had moved in and their feed had been burned. So they stayed in Pleasant Hill till spring.

We moved back to the farm in April 1863. All were glad to get home. Father seemed to take a new lease on life and we girls worked from morning to night, cleaning off the land and planting all we could. How thankful I was that I had saved the seed. Our kind cousin gave us a few hens and a small pig and we were farmers again. Wild game was plentiful and I was a fair shot and Sally and Leah were good fishermen. We did not have the slaves to cloth and feed and soon found we were better off without them.

When Bob got home after the war ended he was an old man at 19. Health gone, nearly starved and with old unhealed wounds. He was never well again. Our two older brothers settled in Texas after the war and never returned to Missouri. My father had owned fifteen good slaves when the war started. He had paid from $800 to $1600 each for them. That investment was a total loss but one we did not regret too much. We each had good health, energy and ambition. God was good to Missouri; gave her wonderful soil and moisture to make things grow. Neighbors helped each other and so in a few years, Missouri was again a great state.

Mary and Leah married young farmers and settled down not too far away. A fine young man visiting from Kentucky chose our little sister Sally. They married and raised seven girls. I stayed with Father and Bob on the farm until Father died, then married a fine man. But after waiting all those years to marry, my husband only lived a short year. Then Bob and I made our home together until his death. I made our living by weaving carpets and rugs. Living near Sally I helped raise her girls and loved them as if they were my own. On the old farm is the family Cemetery where Father, Mother, Brother, Grand-parents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins were buried. I have the deed and there I expect to rest also. Some of the Grave stones are dated in the twenties. The land was sold after Father died but we retained the Cemetery.

So the world moves on but the soil remains in the same place God put it for the good of mankind.

Aunt Dite 1902 ; Written by Grace A. Burchell (Niece)

[Aunt Dite was Dicy Silviah Smith born in 1834 in North Carolina. She moved with her parents to Cass County, Missouri near Pleasant Hill in 1835, where she lived the remainder of her life. In 1888, she married Pleasant “Pleas” Longacre. He died in 1892 and she never remarried.]
[Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture of her]

06/16/2026

MAXWELL'S HACKBERRY TREE

At a point a short distance west of Lone Jack on the Lone Jack-Lee's Summit road, a spur rock road branches off to the south to the Peter Alexander place. At the north end of this road (and squarely in the middle of it) stands a large hackberry tree.

The tree, Peter Alexander says, was planted by William Maxwell's father a great many years ago, just how long no one knows, perhaps, but when Mr. Alexander first began making his appearance in this region 50 years ago it was a tree worthy of notice. Possibly a guess that it is 75 years old would not be far of the mark.

[NOTE: William Maxwell's father was Oliver Maxwell. We will hear more about Oliver Maxwell and his ties to Bartlett and Lucinda Cave in another post.]

At any rate, there the tree flourished. Finally the folks wanted to open a road that way. The senior Maxwell agreed to permit the opening of the road, but on condition, for one thing that the tree be not disturbed. And there it stands to this day in the middle of a busy turnpike, an object of interest to hundreds of motorists who wonder “why that tree was left there?” A pretty bit of sentiment was the reason, kind sirs.

Sometime since says Mr. Alexander, the tree was victim of a little bit of vandalism, a large limb being cut off in order that some one could raid the treasured sweets of a swarm of bees. It is feared that this shameless mutilation will effect the vitality of the noble old tree.

Pleasant Hill Times, Dec 15, 1916

06/14/2026

JIM LANE'S RAID INTO WESTERN MISSOURI
IN 1864.

By Sam P. Gott, Liberty, Mo. [The Gott family lived near Odessa; Lafayette County, Missouri, during the Civil War]

Very few sections of the country suffered more during the war between the states than did that part of Western Missouri included in the famous (and commonly considered infamous) Order No. 11. After it turned out that General Ewing had begotten for himself a disgrace second only to that of Nero or Judas Iscariot, General Brown was placed in command at Kansas City, and in March, 1864, he issued another order, also called Order No. 11. Whether intentional or otherwise this second order was called Order No. 11, I am unable to say, but it seems to have been intended to remove some of the odium of the “Ewing Order.” By the terms of this second order, under certain conditions, people were allowed to return to their homes from which they had been driven by the order of August 25, 1863. A few returned at once, a goodly number returned after the war, and many never returned. The few who did return in March, 1863, were there in time to witness some of the horrors of Lane’s raid.

There were bands of Bushwhackers scouting this part of the country constantly, but there is no positive proof that Lane was hunting any of those fellows. Otha Offeit, Al Scott, Alex Todd, West and Ike Gann, Wood, Tuck and Tom Hill, Joe Moonehan, Carrol and Polk Helms, Dave Poole, Joe Fickle, Hense Wagoner, Bill and Jim Anderson, etc., were trying, in a way, to protect their friends and former neighbors, but they were conspicuous by their absence when they were most needed. And the fact that they were in the country made it harder on their friends when their enemies came.

About the first of January, 1864, a band of Kansas redleg soldiers came into the northwestern part of Johnson county, Missouri, and robbed, burned and murdered in that part of the country for two or three days. An old man named Shafer was killed and the house and barn were burned. An eyewitness told the writer that he saw the smoke going up from twenty-seven houses and barns at one time.

These murderers, claiming to be Jennison's soldiers, under the command of Jim Lane, returned to Kansas City with their b***y and remained there until the first of April, 1864. They then came back into southwestern Lafayette County, apparently to complete the work of devastation in that part of the country. It was on Sunday afternoon that they came into the neighborhood of Chapel Hill (I think that it was at this time they burned Chapel Hill College). They hung an old man nearly eighty years old in a barn belonging to a man named William Harris. Old Uncle Joe Johnson was the man who was hung.

That night they camped on the farm of Mr. Alph Cobb, about three miles east of Chapel Hill. Early the next morning they went to Washington Martin's and took away about fifteen head of good mules and horses, besides whatever other valuables they could load into wagons and haul away.

From Mr. Martin's they went to Peter Gott's, a mile northeast of the Martin place. Mr. Gott was feeding some cattle and hogs, and his two sons, Robert and Thomas, were with him. They were small boys, but they were of considerable help in the work on the farm. The soldiers came galloping up, and with drawn pistols they demanded of Mr. Gott to tell them where he had hidden his horses, the team he was using being oxen. He told them the only horse left was the blind one in the lot. They cursed him and accused him of lying, and asked him his politics. He told them he was a southern man. They then told him that his neighbors had told them that he was a rebel and that he had been harboring Bushwhackers, and that he had horses hidden in the woods. He told them that the things whereof they accused him were not true, and that he would be willing to go with them to any of his neighbors who were Union men and prove by them those things were false. They told him that there was a quicker way of settling that than to go hunting up witnesses. And they ordered the little boys to go to the house. As they went away they saw the soldiers put a rope around their father's neck and lead him off into the woods.

They ran to the house and told their mother, and she came with them as quickly as she could. She heard an officer tell them they were carrying that too far, and ordered them to cut him down. They evidently thought he was dead, for they allowed his face to fall against the tree and they went away, leaving a part of the rope around his neck. The wife and the little boys removed the rope immediately, and in a little while signs of life were manifest.

The soldiers divided into two companies, one squad going to the home of Mr. John Wagoner, a mile further northeast, and the other squad going to the home of Mr. Asbury Hook, a half mile north. Before Mr. Gott had recovered sufficiently to reach his house he heard shooting over at Hook's. The party who went to Mr. Wagoner's secured two good horses, and Mrs. Wagoner followed them, begging them to at least leave one of them. Mr. Hook and Mr. Thos. Murphy had tied their horses in the brush near the house, and when the soldiers came the horses neighed, and thus revealed their place of hiding. As soon as the horses were found and taken the thieves shot poor Hook. Hiram Bledsoe, another of Hook's neighbors, was present, and he and Mr. Murphy ran for their lives when the firing commenced on Hook. Mrs. Wagoner, still following the other band and begging for one of her horses, came up at this time and asked Mr. Hook what in the world was the matter. The other band, thinking he was dead, had left him and were pursuing Murphy and Bledsoe. He told Mrs. Wagoner that he was shot and that he was trying to get to the house to die. This second squad then shot him several more times. After he was on the ground never more to rise, one of the villains shot him twice in the head, holding the pistol so near that the powder burned the hair of the dying man.

It seems that it would have been an easy thing for those who were after Murphy and Bledsoe to have killed them, but a part of the race was through pretty thick timber and they Ran for nearly a mile before Murphy was killed. Only one ball struck him, and that took effect in the back of the head. He was killed instantly. Bledsoe ran over the creek bank and was out of sight of his enemies for a moment. In this precious moment he plunged into the water and found shelter under a ledge of protruding rock. The horses were soon standing on the rock over his head and he heard the dastards speculating as to what had probably become of him. He stood right there in the mud and water until late in the afternoon.

Mr. Green Saterfield and Mr. Ben Bradley had been captured and saw poor Murphy when he was killed. Among their captors was a Mr. Meadow, whom Saterfield recognized as a friend of his boyhood days. Meadow saved Saterfield's life, and he promised that he would use all his influence to save Bradley. The wives of Saterfield and Bradley had followed as best they could in an old worn-out buggy, drawn by an old mare not worth stealing. They intended to know the fate of their husbands. When Saterfield was released and allowed to turn back he urged the women to follow on and see what became of Bradley.

He was closely guarded that night, and he heard two of the men talking. He learned that it was settled that he should be released in the morning, but the men who were talking had planned to follow him a little way from the camp and shoot him. Before he had gotten out of sight of the camp, however, he met his faithful wife and Mrs. Saterfield, and he got into the buggy with them, and very soon after they were out of sight they came to a not very frequently traveled road leading off into the woods, and they followed that. They never knew whether they were sought after by the men who had planned to follow and kill Bradley or not.

Surely a more villainous, bloodthirsty and cowardly band never disgraced the name of soldier than were those thieves and murderers who followed Jim Lane. We can well leave their punishment to a just God who has said, “Vengeance is mine; I will recompense.”

Address

301 S Bynum Road
Lone Jack, MO
64070

Opening Hours

Thursday	10am - 4am
Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm
Sunday	1pm - 4pm

Telephone

(816) 697-8833

Website

http://www.historiclonejack.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Lone Jack Historical Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Lone Jack Historical Society:

Lone Jack Historical Society