Frisby McCullough was a Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 soldier in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, executed on the orders of Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 Colonel (later General) John McNeil

John McNeil

John McNeil was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for his role in the Palmyra Massacre and other acts of alleged brutality.-Early life and career:...

 after the Battle of Kirksville

Battle of Kirksville

The Battle of Kirksville was a battle in the American Civil War, fought in the town of Kirksville, Missouri, on August 6, 1862. The Union victory helped consolidate Federal control over northeastern Missouri.-Battle:...

.

Early years

Born in New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 its population was 538,479, an increase of 7.6% over the previous decade. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of...

, to James and Delia (Pennington) McCullough, he moved with his parents to Marion County, Missouri at the age of 12. McCullough went to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 during the 1849 Gold Rush and remained there for 5 years. On November 26, 1856, he married Eloise Randolph in Marion County. They became the parents of three children, including a son who went on to practice law in Edina, Missouri

Edina, Missouri

Edina is a city in Knox County, Missouri, United States, between the North and South Forks of the South Fabius River. The population was 1,176 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County.-Geography:Edina is located at...

.

Military career

At the outbreak of the war, McCullough joined the Confederate forces under General Thomas Green

Thomas Green (general)

Thomas Green was a lawyer, politician, soldier and officer of the Republic of Texas, and rose to the rank of Brigadier General of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Tom Green County, Texas was named after him....

. He took part in the Battle of Lexington, before being sent by General Sterling Price

Sterling Price

Sterling Price was a lawyer, planter, and politician from the U.S. state of Missouri, who served as the 11th Governor of the state from 1853 to 1857. He also served as a United States Army brigadier general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate Army major general in the American Civil...

 to recruit in northeastern Missouri with Joseph C. Porter

Joseph C. Porter

Joseph Chrisman Porter was a Confederate officer in the American Civil War, a key leader in the guerrilla campaigns in northern Missouri, and a figure of controversy. The main source for his history, Joseph A...

 in the spring of 1862.

During the guerrilla campaign in Northeast Missouri in the summer of 1862, McCullough sought unsuccessfully to persuade Colonel Porter to restrict himself to recruiting and not engage the Union forces. According to one of his men, Joseph Mudd (see references), this was because McCullough feared the retaliation Federal forces would inflict upon civilian Southern sympathizers. The observation may accurately reflect McCullough’s character, which is universally praised, but it is colored by the author’s Confederate perspective. Prior to the engagement at Kirksville, McCullough again urged Porter to decline battle and send his raw recruits to Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 for training and equipping behind Confederate lines. Porter refused and McCullough proposed that Porter at least wait in the cornfields outside of town, instead of fighting in the village itself. Again, his advice was ignored.

Capture and execution

After Porter's disastrous defeat at Kirksville, McCullough became ill. Declining Porter’s offer of escort, he rode alone towards Edina to recover and continue recruiting. He was discovered by Federal troops and surrendered.

McCullough requested to be sent to Palmyra

Palmyra, Missouri

Palmyra is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,467 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area.- Geography :Palmyra is located at...

, rather than to Kirksville, possibly because he had already heard of the executions of prisoners there, but the request was denied. Although he had been treated well in Edina, according to eyewitnesses he was paraded up and down the streets of Kirksville to jeering crowds. He was accused of lacking a military commission, of fighting on his own authority — that is, of being a bushwhacker

Bushwhacker

Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there are large areas of contested land and few Governmental Resources to control these tracts...

— and of persuading parolees to return to Confederate service.

A drumhead court-martial

Drumhead court-martial

A drumhead court-martial is a court-martial held in the field to hear urgent charges of offences committed in action. The term is said to originate from the use of a drumhead as an improvised writing table, altar for religious services, and a traditional gathering point for a regiment for orders...

 was convened on Friday, August 8, by Lt. Col. W.F. Schaffer of Merrill’s Horse. McCullough stated that he had been elected second in command of the regiment of Colonel Cyrus Franklin, but had not yet received his commission. He had also previously held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Missouri State Guard

Missouri State Guard

The Missouri State Guard was a state militia organized in the state of Missouri during the early days of the American Civil War. While not initially a formal part of the Confederate States Army, the State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at times, under regular Confederate...

, but that commission had long since expired. McCullough was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. The officer who read the death sentence did so with tears.

McCullough was given fifteen minutes to write a final letter to his wife. He did so while leaning against a fence. He requested and was granted permission to give the order to fire. His final words were, “What I have done, I have done as a principle of right. Aim at the heart. Fire!” However, the first volley was not fatal. At his request, his executioners straightened out his leg, which was pinned beneath him. It is variously said he was killed by a second volley or a coup de grace with a pistol. Before he died, he said either “I forgive you this barbarous act” or “May God forgive you this barbarous murder.”

Union Colonel McNeil wrote: “Col. McCullough was tried […] under order No. 2 of General Halleck and Nos. 8 and 18, of General Schofield. He had no commission except a printed paper authorizing ‘the bearer’ to recruit for the Confederate Army. He was found guilty of bushwhacking, or of being a guerilla. He was a brave fellow, and a splendid specimen of manhood. I would have gladly spared him had my duty permitted. As it was, he suffered the fate that would have fallen to you or to me if we had been found recruiting inside the Confederate lines. He met a soldier’s death, as became a soldier.”

The intensely pro-Union Palmyra Courier was restrained in its criticism of McCullough: “We have known him personally since he was a boy. He was ever, as a citizen, a high-toned gentleman – really a noble specimen of a man. Brave as a lion, no danger could intimidate him. We doubt whether the rebel ranks contain a more honorable man than he was. Yet his judgment led him to commit the fatal error of taking up arms against his country. He has been one of the most active and vigilant rebels in the Northeast Missouri [sic]. Honorable as he was, however, as a gentleman, he justly merited the fate he received, as a rebel, in unlawful and barbarous warfare against the authorities of the land. Had he engaged in the service of his country with the zeal he evinced against it, he would doubtless have risen to a high position of honor and renown.”

Evaluation

While there may have been some technicalities as to McCullough’s commission, he was in fact wearing a Confederate officer's uniform when captured and was acting under orders from General Price. Reaction to his execution was generally negative. It was viewed by many as neither necessary nor just, and may have done more to galvanize pro-Southern sympathies than to discourage activities of the type McCullough was charged with.