Legend of the Kingdom
Callaway County becomes “the Kingdom”
During the Civil War, in October of 1861, six hundred Federal troops began converging at Wellsville, in adjacent Montgomery County, on Callaway County’s Northeast border. Their mission was to subdue “Rebel Callaway.” The lawyer and former State Representative, Jefferson Franklin Jones, sent riders throughout the county to summon a force to defend Callaway County from the Federal invasion.
Some three hundred recruits gathered at Brown’s Spring on the Auxvasse Creek, about two miles Northwest of the modern location of Kingdom City, to train and prepare, equipped mostly with shotguns and small caliber hunting rifles. After a few days of some effort at drilling, the force moved to Stringfield’s Store, just northwest of the old town of Shamrock, to set up a defensive encampment nearer to the invading Union troops.
They did what they could to give the appearance of a well-trained army spoiling for a fight. They lighted several more campfires than needed to make the force seem all the more formidable. They even went so far as to paint logs black and nestle them in the brush with wagon wheels to give the appearance of cannons. After Union spies reported the activities in Callaway, the Federal commander postponed the raid to await reinforcements. Meanwhile, Colonel Jeff Jones sent an envoy with a letter to the Federal commander. The primary mission for the envoy was to appraise the status of the Federal troops. The letter stated that Jones’ Callaway forces were formed in self-defense and that, if the Federal Army would agree to not invading, molesting, or occupying Callaway County, Jones would disband his army.
Local lore has it that the Federal Commander, General John B. Henderson, agreed to the terms rather than risk losing to the “well-trained and armed” Callaway force. To the people of Callaway County, this seemed to mean that he had allowed Callaway County to negotiate an agreement as though it were a sovereign entity. So, the title, “Kingdom of Callaway,” came into usage at some point after that. The reality is that Henderson was under order of the Governor not to molest, in person or property, any Missourians who agreed to remain peaceful going forward. Callaway County was later occupied by Union troops for much of the war and Jones was imprisoned.
For some, “The Kingdom of Callaway” title is a source of pride, for some it’s just a fun nickname, but for others it harkens back to an era of oppression. As important as it is to preserve our history, it is just as important to do so in context.