M. Jeff Thompson
Encyclopedia
Meriwether Jeff Thompson (January 22, 1826 – September 5, 1876) was a brigadier general in the Missouri State Guard
during the American Civil War
. He served the Confederate Army
as a cavalry
commander, and had the unusual distinction of having a ship in the Confederate Navy
named for him.
Meriwether Jeff Thompson was born at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, now West Virginia
into a family with a strong military tradition on both sides. He moved to Liberty, Missouri
in 1847 and St. Joseph the following year, beginning as a store clerk before taking up surveying and serving as the city engineer
. He later supervised the construction of the western branch of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. Thompson served as Mayor
of St. Joseph from 1857–1860. He presided over the ceremony inaugurating the first ride of the Pony Express
on April 3, 1860.Thompson also gained national attention in May, 1861, when he cut down a union flag from the St. Joseph post office flag pole and threw it down to an angry crowd of southern sympathizers who shredded it to pieces.
in the Missouri state militia at the outbreak of the Civil War. In late July 1861, he was appointed brigadier general of the First Division, Missouri State Guard. He commanded the First Military District of Missouri, which covered the swampy southeastern quarter of the state from St. Louis
to the Mississippi River
. Thompson's battalion
soon became known as the "Swamp Rats" for their exploits. He gained renown as the "Swamp Fox of the Confederacy."
When Union
General John C. Fremont
issued an emancipation
proclamation purporting to free the slaves
in Missouri, Thompson declared a counter-proclamation and his force of 3,000 soldiers began raiding Union positions near the border in October. On October 15, 1861, Thompson led a cavalry
attack on the Iron Mountain Railroad
bridge over the Big River
near Blackwell in Jefferson County
. After successfully burning the bridge, Thompson retreated to join his infantry in Fredericktown
. Soon afterwards, he was defeated at the Battle of Fredericktown
and withdrew, leaving southeastern Missouri in Union control.
After briefly commanding rams in the Confederate riverine fleet in 1862, Thompson was reassigned to the Trans-Mississippi
region. There, he engaged in a number of battles before returning to Arkansas
in 1863 to accompany Gen. John S. Marmaduke
on his raid into Missouri. Thompson was captured in August in Arkansas, and spent time in St. Louis' Gratiot Street prison, as well as at the Fort Delaware
and Johnson's Island
prisoner-of-war camp
s, ("Poor old Jeff, how my heart went out to him; he a prisoner and his devoted wife in a madhouse". Source: My Life and My Lectures by Major Lamar Fontaine, a prisoner with M. Jeff Thompson in Fort Delaware, p. 238)
Eventually he was exchanged in 1864 for a Union general. Later that year, Thompson participated in Major General Sterling Price
's Missouri expedition, taking command of "Jo" Shelby's
famed "Iron Brigade
" when Shelby became division commander. He served competently in this role. In March 1865, Thompson was appointed commander of the Northern Sub-District of Arkansas. He surrendered his troops on May 11, 1865, in Jacksonport, Arkansas
.
Although Thompson frequently petitioned for the Confederate rank of brigadier general it was never granted. His brigadier rank came from his Missouri State Guard service.
A ship in the Confederate Navy, the CSS General M. Jeff Thompson, was named in Thompson's honor. The side-wheel river steamer was converted at New Orleans to a "cottonclad" ram in early 1862. It was commissioned in April and sent up the Mississippi River to join the River Defense Fleet in Tennessee
waters, seeing its first action in the Battle of Plum Point Bend. After being set afire by gunfire from Union warships in the Battle of Memphis
on June 6, 1862, the ship ran aground and soon blew up.
s, a job that eventually destroyed his health. He returned to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1876 where he succumbed to tuberculosis
. He is buried in Mount Mora Cemetery
in St. Joseph, Missouri.
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...
during 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...
. He served the Confederate 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...
as a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
commander, and had the unusual distinction of having a ship in the Confederate Navy
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
named for him.
Early life
- Father: Meriwether Thompson b. circa 1790
- Mother: Martha Slaughter Broaddus b. circa 1800
- Wife: Emma Catherine Hays b.circa 1830 , New Orleans, La.
- Children: Emma Catherine Thompson b.1850
- Source: D.A.R. Vol. 59, pg., 272
Meriwether Jeff Thompson was born at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, now West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
into a family with a strong military tradition on both sides. He moved to Liberty, Missouri
Liberty, Missouri
Liberty is a city in Clay County, Missouri and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. At the 2007 population estimate, the city population was 29,993...
in 1847 and St. Joseph the following year, beginning as a store clerk before taking up surveying and serving as the city engineer
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. He later supervised the construction of the western branch of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. Thompson served as Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of St. Joseph from 1857–1860. He presided over the ceremony inaugurating the first ride of the Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
on April 3, 1860.Thompson also gained national attention in May, 1861, when he cut down a union flag from the St. Joseph post office flag pole and threw it down to an angry crowd of southern sympathizers who shredded it to pieces.
Civil War
Thompson was a colonelColonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
in the Missouri state militia at the outbreak of the Civil War. In late July 1861, he was appointed brigadier general of the First Division, Missouri State Guard. He commanded the First Military District of Missouri, which covered the swampy southeastern quarter of the state from St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Thompson's battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
soon became known as the "Swamp Rats" for their exploits. He gained renown as the "Swamp Fox of the Confederacy."
When 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...
General John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
issued an emancipation
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
proclamation purporting to free the slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in Missouri, Thompson declared a counter-proclamation and his force of 3,000 soldiers began raiding Union positions near the border in October. On October 15, 1861, Thompson led a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
attack on the Iron Mountain Railroad
Iron Mountain Railroad
Iron Mountain Railroad could refer to:*Iron Mountain Railroad , 1855-1859, predecessor of the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway**Iron Mountain Railway , 1855-1857, predecessor of the above...
bridge over the Big River
Big River (Missouri)
The Big River is a tributary of the Meramec River in east-central Missouri. The river rises in western Iron County, near the summit of Johnson Mountain and the locale of Enough; it flows through Washington County, Saint Francois County, and Jefferson County...
near Blackwell in Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Missouri
Jefferson County is a county located in East Central Missouri in the United States. The county was included as the mean center of U.S. population in 1980. It is the sixth most-populous county in Missouri. Census 2010 put the population at 218,733 Its county seat is Hillsboro. The county was...
. After successfully burning the bridge, Thompson retreated to join his infantry in Fredericktown
Fredericktown, Missouri
Fredericktown is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Missouri, United States, in the northeastern foothills of the Ozark Mountains. The population was 3,928 at the 2000 census...
. Soon afterwards, he was defeated at the Battle of Fredericktown
Battle of Fredericktown
The Battle of Fredericktown was an engagement of the American Civil War. It took place on October 21, 1861, in Madison County, Missouri. Union victory consolidated their control of southeastern Missouri.-Background:...
and withdrew, leaving southeastern Missouri in Union control.
After briefly commanding rams in the Confederate riverine fleet in 1862, Thompson was reassigned to the Trans-Mississippi
Trans-Mississippi
The Trans-Mississippi was the geographic area west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century, containing the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas, and the Indian Territory . The term was especially used by the Confederate States of America as the designation for the theater of...
region. There, he engaged in a number of battles before returning 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...
in 1863 to accompany Gen. John S. Marmaduke
John S. Marmaduke
John Sappington Marmaduke was a career military man and a West Point graduate. He is known for his service as a Confederate Major general during the American Civil War...
on his raid into Missouri. Thompson was captured in August in Arkansas, and spent time in St. Louis' Gratiot Street prison, as well as at the Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware
Fort Delaware is a harbor defense facility, designed by Chief Engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten, and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts, and...
and Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, 3 miles from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Johnson's Island was the only Union prison exclusively for Southern...
prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
s, ("Poor old Jeff, how my heart went out to him; he a prisoner and his devoted wife in a madhouse". Source: My Life and My Lectures by Major Lamar Fontaine, a prisoner with M. Jeff Thompson in Fort Delaware, p. 238)
Eventually he was exchanged in 1864 for a Union general. Later that year, Thompson participated in Major 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...
's Missouri expedition, taking command of "Jo" Shelby's
Joseph O. Shelby
Joseph Orville Shelby was a noted Confederate cavalry general in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War.-Early life and education:...
famed "Iron Brigade
Shelby's Iron Brigade
Shelby's "Iron Brigade" was a Confederate cavalry brigade in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War.The brigade originally formed under orders from Major General Thomas C. Hindman following a successful recruiting expedition into Missouri by Joseph O. Shelby, John T. Coffee, and...
" when Shelby became division commander. He served competently in this role. In March 1865, Thompson was appointed commander of the Northern Sub-District of Arkansas. He surrendered his troops on May 11, 1865, in Jacksonport, Arkansas
Jacksonport, Arkansas
Jacksonport is a town in Jackson County, Arkansas, United States, along the White River at its confluence with the Black River. The population was 235 at the 2000 census.- History :Jacksonport was once an important steamboat stop on the White River...
.
Although Thompson frequently petitioned for the Confederate rank of brigadier general it was never granted. His brigadier rank came from his Missouri State Guard service.
A ship in the Confederate Navy, the CSS General M. Jeff Thompson, was named in Thompson's honor. The side-wheel river steamer was converted at New Orleans to a "cottonclad" ram in early 1862. It was commissioned in April and sent up the Mississippi River to join the River Defense Fleet in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
waters, seeing its first action in the Battle of Plum Point Bend. After being set afire by gunfire from Union warships in the Battle of Memphis
Battle of Memphis
The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately above the city of Memphis on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. It resulted in a crushing defeat for the Rebels, and marked the...
on June 6, 1862, the ship ran aground and soon blew up.
Postbellum career
After the war, Thompson moved to New Orleans, where he returned to civil engineering. He designed a program for improving the Louisiana swampSwamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s, a job that eventually destroyed his health. He returned to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1876 where he succumbed to tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. He is buried in Mount Mora Cemetery
Mount Mora Cemetery
Mount Mora Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri. Among those who are buried in the cemetery are three governors, a U.S. senator, soldiers from both sides in the American Civil War and riders of the Pony Express....
in St. Joseph, Missouri.