Bibliography
1] Francis Marion Haughey letters.
Part of the “Crandall papers” at the Missouri Historical Society.
2] Francis Marion Haughey letter, Dated Feb 6, 1910 to wife and children. For my photocopy of this letter I am indebted to Frank Hess.
3] Crandall, Warren D, and Isaac D. Newell.
History of the Ram Fleet and Marine Brigade, Buschart Brothers,
4] Hearn, Chester G., Ellet’s Brigade The
Strangest Outfit of All
5] National Archives & Records Administration (www.nara.gov) Military Service files for Francis Marion Haughey in the 44th Indiana Infantry, company F.
6] Dr. Robert E. King and Doris R Jones.
History of the King Family in Flanders & America.
Photo copy printed in 1980 in
7] US Census record,
8] US Census record,
9] US Census record,
10]
11] Empire-Courier, Newspaper, Craig
Colorado. May 13, 1965
Obituary for
Mrs. Blanch Maud Hess (F.M.
Haughey’s daughter). Courtesy of Frank Hess
12] Newspaper Obituary for Francis Marion “In Memoriam-Serg. Francis M. Haughey” Date and newspaper unknown. Courtesy of Frank Hess
13] Newspaper Clipping entitled “Colorado Pioneers at Craig” Date and newspaper unknown. Approximately 1952. Courtesy of Frank Hess
14] Hazel Pearson, Newspaper Clipping entitled “Women’s Page. Attractive Haughey Girls Tell of Days When Life Was Primitive But Delightful In Craig” 1952, newspaper unknown. Courtesy of Frank Hess
15] Benton Barracks,
http://www.missouricivilwarmuseum.org/benton.htm
16] Utah State Archives web site research center. Corporate documents for “Standard Mining and Milling Company” http://archives.utah.gov/referenc/!referen.htm
17] Piute Free Lance Newpaper.
Transcribed courtesy of Ardis Parshall at
PiuteCountyQuery@aol.com
18] Claudia Linares, CPE Working Paper Series,
The Civil War Pension Law,
Working paper 2001-6
www.cpe.uchicago.edu/publication/publication.html
Center For Population Economics,
I first became aware of the existence of Francis Marion Haughey's letters to
Warren Crandall in March of 2004.
While researching Francis Marion’s Civil War experience, I came
across Chester Hearn’s new book,
Ellet’s Brigade, The Strangest Outfit of All,
about the Mississippi Marine Brigade.
Reading the book, I found a reference in the bibliography to letters
in the archives of the Missouri Historical Society written by Francis Marion
Haughey. I would like to thank
Dennis Northcott at the Missouri Historical Society for his helpfulness and
promptness in sending me copies of the letters.
I would also like to thank a number of people for helping me compile
background information. Ardis
Parshall in
Steve Haughey
Great-Great-Grandson of Francis Marion Haughey
steve@shaughey.com
Other Links
Missouri Archive where FM Haughey letters are found
Museum of Northwest Colorado in Craig Colorado. Located near the original Haughey Homestead
Mississippi Marine Brigade links.
written 8 days before his death from complications of frostbite.
After ….. days, return to
F.M. Haughey
Craig
Routt Co.
Colo
Marysvale Piute
Co
To Dear wife and children
I just came off of the mountain last night and will Not return
for Some time this has been the Coldest winter so far that has
ever Been known in this part of the country Steady Cold some
Nights as low as 17 to 21 degrees Below Zero I gave my feet A
Bad Chilblain while comeing off of mountain I received A
registerd proposition for A three year Bond and Leese which I
sent A telegram this morning of Acception to it Los Angeles
California in care of P.M. Woodruff to T. A. Woodruff So they
might go ahead and draw up the papers Now iff I could get rid of
the other group I migh get A lay off
F. M. Haughey
Death of F.M. Haughey
Francis Marion
returned to Marysvale sometime after his last letter to Crandall.
He continued to work on his mining claims and was trying to sell or
lease them. His last letter to
his family in
On February 5,
1910, Francis Marion came down from the mountains to Marysvale to send a
telegram regarding a business deal on some of his mines.
The weather was very cold and during the 8-mile walk his feet were
badly frostbitten. He stayed at
a hotel in Marysvale to recover, but he died February 14, 1910,
at the age of 75. His son
Robert came from
Crandall's Book
Warren Crandall
published his History of the Ram Fleet and the Mississippi Marine Brigade
in 1907. It sold for $2.50. The
buyers were mostly veterans of the Ram Fleet and MMB.
The book includes a photo gallery of over 230 veterans, but
unfortunately does not include F.M. Haughey.
I wonder if Francis Marion received his 3 copies, and if so, what has
become of them. The copy I purchased had belonged to another MMB veteran, Ed
N. Lincoln, of
“To the Honor of the Living, and Memory of the Dead, who during three and a
half years of Heroic Warfare, afloat and ashore, earned the Gratitude of
their Country, in helping to preserve it, an unbroken Heritage of Liberty,
for Coming Generations.”
Francis Marion
also expressed a wish that future generations remember him and his service
to the country. Following the
Battle of Shiloh, he had kept a star from the bullet-riddled flag of the 44th
Indiana Volunteers. He was
obviously very proud of the star and the flag for which he had fought.
In closing the first letter to Crandall, he wrote the following:
“. . . Most of
the men of the Late War will soon pass in their final muster roll . . . but
our Nation’s Banner will never be trod under foot as long as there is a son
of a veteran left to protect it . . . long may it wave when we are dead over
our graves . . .
F. M. Haughey late
sergeant Co C Cav M.M.B”
Comerad W. D Crandall you will Excuse Mee for Not Sending My
Picture Sooner I was taken Bad with the lagrip And came over to
the Coast to recruit up And Am Not in verry good Health yet But
you will find my Picture Either in the Express or mail which
ever I can get off in the soonest and will send you a Money
order in this for $7.50 And it may be I can help you sell quite
A Number of your historys iff the People seems to take to that
kind of litreture I would have taken a dozen Myself But At the
present it has cost Mee quite a lot to come over here And when
Ever I think that I am Able to start up work will Return to Utah
at Marysvale I just received your last postal card of yours
Mailed Jan 17th which followed Mee out here and took
ten days to come from Marysval here the Mail is verry slow on
the coast iff it dont change hands in a fiew days I will always
think it had orto Please let Mee know as soon As your historys
are complete
Francis M. Haughey
[ note, perhaps in
Crandall’s handwriting]
#118
Ackd 2/27
Send
[something un-readable]
Query
[something un-readable]
Visit
to
The seventh and
last of the letters to Crandall was written from
Francis Marion
had a close relationship with his eldest son.
In the late 1870’s it was Robert who came out to Colorado from Iowa
with his father to try mining at Leadville and helped build the homestead in
Routt County.
Robert lived in
Leadville for 18 years and worked in the grocery business. Sometime in the
early 1900’s Robert relocated his family to
“FM Haughey was
down from [the mines] Wednesday.
While in town Mr. Haughey received word from one of his sons in
Francis Marion’s
son Grant also came to
In the seventh
letter, it is evident that Crandall had asked Francis Marion for a photo to
include in the upcoming publication of his history.
Crandall had originally intended to publish biographical information
about the veterans, but finding that he had so little material for this, he
decided to include just a gallery of photos of the members of the Ram Fleet
and MMB.
Mee whether to purchase or Not of course there are some so called Experts that are all ok I have have saw men go to take samples from A Mine and Never took any of the regular Mineral in the vein But his samples were taking from the country Rocks there are to great a percent of would Be Experts that could Expert A Saloon or gambling house Better than A Mine as there is where they have gained so much of their knowledge was when they were siting Near some pool table with their heels up on the side of the table on a level with what brain they had Excuse Mee Comerad for Making those remarks But they are Matter of facts there is A sham for some one to get a great Bargain out of Mee By Coming to mee themselves and see what they are getting
F.M. Haughey
[rubber stamp at top]
Standard Mining & Milling
W.D. Crandall
Dear Comerad
I
just Received your letter of May the third Allways glad to hear
from the comerads the Most of us are getting well up in years
and cannot expect to stop but a fiew years at the best
Concerning the Mineing Rotine that is generaly is went through I
have seen plenty of it during My life iff there was less so
called Mining Experts the country and Capitalist and owners of
Mining property would Be Better off as there are plenty of them
that Never struck A pick in the ground much less hit A drill iff
I wanted to make any large Deal I dont want several men to
dictate to
Mining Experts and Appraisers
The sixth letter
to Crandall was written just a couple of months after the last one.
In his previous letter, Francis Marion “talked up” the great value of
his mining claims and appealed to Crandall to help him find “men of means”
to invest in his mines.
Crandall had sent him a reply, which quickly generated this counter reply.
The letter reveals a bit of frustration.
Probably Crandall did not offer any help with finding investors for
the mines. In my imagination,
Crandall’s reply to the last letter might have gone something like this . .
.
“Dear
Comrade Haughey,
Thank you for your interesting information on your claims.
At this time I do not know of any investors for your enterprise but I
will keep it in mind. Do you
have any reports or appraisals of your claims from geologists or mining
experts? These could be
valuable in generating interest in your property . . .
W.D. Crandall"
Whatever
Crandall wrote, he soon found out what F.M. Haughey thought about “mining
experts!" I’m sure in those
wild boom-time mining days there were a lot of shady dealings and shifty
characters trying to make a fast buck as so called mining experts!
[Note on back side of map]
Plat of the group of Claims in which I have Mentioned in my
letter which are called the 16 To one Numberd from one to
Nine
[
Page 4 of
F.M. Haughey’s 5th letter is a full page map of his
claims including lines showing locations of veins with number
designations. It
also includes various geographic locations including “Iron
peak,” “Horse Heaven peak,” “falls of 2 mile creek,” “
PS
In
case of sale for cash your commission will Be ten percent iff we
organize A good Company and Stock the same you will have to take
your Commission in Stock on the Same Company
F. M. Haughey
The Largest gold vein of quarts is in A telareum Nature and
verry large running South of west and North of East and various
other veins running South East and North west towards the
Camouse Ana Laura Mine at Kimberly which theyre fused
five million for I saw all of the same Before they had
struck their ore So I had orto to know what I am doing
Now
Comerad in reference to organizing a company on this group
and [struck out] of property iff you can assist Mee in
getting good men of Means to take hold with Mee as I have great
faith in it Making A great Mine iff Capitol might want to
purchase that group for cash I would sell it for $30,000 But
would Rather have it worked than sell it as there are Numerous
Mineral veins crossing the property and this is in the heart of
a Mineral region which will when properly worked produce
Millions in gold and silver Now Comerad iff you are Aquainted
with Men of Capitol that might want to invest let Mee know soon
as there will Be lots of that kind of people here as soon as the
snow is out of the mountains so let mee hear from you soon as
posible Before others come as first come first served
F. M. Haughey
Marysvale
Comerads Received yours of Feb 28 and were glad to hear from you
all I will take three of those Historys I would be glad to meet
all of you once more But my presence is Needed here to Atend to
Matters here I am engaged in Mining have Been up in the
mountains all winter I have the making of some fine property for
a company I have charge of two groups of claims one of eleven
claims and one of Nine claims I was thinking of organizing a
stock company on the group of Nine and have the property
pattented and worked as fast as Means and men could do it this
property predominates in gold
Mining in
Utah
The fifth letter
from F.M. Haughey to Warren Crandall was written in 1906, three years after
the last one. Francis Marion is
still in Marysvale, which continues to grow as a mining district.
A spur line of the
Francis Marion
started acquiring mining claims in
The mines were
located in the mountains about 5 miles southeast of Marysvale at an altitude
of 10,000 feet. It was an
8-mile walk or ride into town.
Francis Marion, in his sixties and seventies while he prospected in
Marysvale, often lived up in the mountains near his claims.
He traveled into town when needed.
The local papers
in Marysvale reported the following:
26 February 1898: “ F.M. Haughey was down from the Standard Tuesday. He feels greatly encouraged over what is shown up by recent developments.” (PP)
26 September 1902: “F.M. Haughey was down from Horse Heaven last Monday, and reports work in the Snow Bird No. 2 tunnel as progressing nicely.”(PFL)
25 September 1903: "F.M. Haughey of the 1 to 1 and Standard properties returned Sunday evening from a trip to Salt Lake."(PFL)
1 July 1904: "F.M. Haughey was down from the hills for a few days this week."(PFL)
The men from
hospitals who joined the MMB traveled to “Benton Barracks” to organize.
Benton Barracks was a large military camp outside
I will enclose Money order to
you for one Dollar
F.M. Haughey Sargent
Co C Cavalry
of M. M. Brigade
[written
on the back side of the letter, perhaps in Crandall’s
handwriting]
#118
[Crandall appears to
have written #118 on all FMH letters, perhaps a number
assigned to keep track of the hundreds of veterans]
Ack’d 6/23/03
& fully ansd &
Sent him pamphlet
[I
think regarding Crandall’s upcoming book. Pub 1907]
Roll & H 20 & 21
[I
don’t know what this notation meant to Crandall]
of our former service by one Mustering officer and Mustered in immediately in to the M. M. Brigade by another officer Now I am getting Near my 69 birth day and iff this government is going to treat all cases of the same kind Alike it is time they were doing it as we cannot expect to survive many More years I made Application for A pension under George E Lemons time of pension agent Please let Me hear from you on this subject to see whether My ideas are correct on the General order
correct Please let mee know as the department on the pension Business tries to make it appear that all convalesent that reenlisted is Not entitled to a pension This is a matter that I would like for the pension department to fully understand I was one of the convalescent at No 8 hospital New Albany Ind when the order came to the hospital and there was Near 70 of us reported to General A W Eliott and Received our transportation at once to Benton Barrack Mo and was Mustered out
To recruit his Brigade from the Secretary of war what was the Number of it to the best of my recollection it was No 89 I may be rong and Read something like this you are hereby authorized to recruit A command to be known as the Mississippi Marine Brigade and to be composed of one thousand Mounted Infantry and one hundred and fifty Artilery and the same was to be recruited from convalescent soldiers and citizens Now iff you know whether this is
Mo. 100 [At top, in a different hand (Crandall?) Perhaps a reference to the one dollar]
To Comerad W.D. Crandal Historian of the M.M.B it has Been A
long time since I have seen or heard from any of the old
comerads I am Not drawing any pension as yet I was cripled
up for a Number of years After I was Musterd out of the
service I was on Board the US Woodford when she was scuddled
on the Red river and we had to leave her there Now there is
one question I want to ask you and that is this when Gener A
W Eliott Received A general order
Convalescents Recruited for
the MMB
The fourth
letter, from 1903, was written 15 years after the previous one.
F.M. Haughey is now in the mining town of
In the fourth
letter, he talks again about his troubles obtaining a pension.
He asks about specifics of the terms of enlistment, and recalls how
he was in a
The following is
from Crandall's 1907 book about the MMB (p. 253):
“Recruiting for
the new Brigade was, however, soon found to be slow and difficult.
The large bounties paid, and the drafts made in various states to
enable them to make up their quota of troops, operated strongly against the
securing of men for the new command, which, belonging to no particular
state, could offer no bounty to recruits, as inducement to enter its
service. Again, men
proposing to enlist naturally preferred to enter companies and regiments
raised in their immediate locality.
To overcome these difficulties , and accelerate the work of
recruiting, General Ellet wrote to
Crandall also
quotes this letter, written December 13, 1862, from Alfred Ellet
to Major General H. W. Halleck (p. 254)
“ . . . I would
further suggest that these men be obtained from the convalescents in
hospitals. Many men who are
utterly unfitted for ordinary service in the field would make efficient
soldiers for this service which is so much lighter and less fatiguing.”
Halleck replied
in agreement with this plan on Dec. 21, 1862, and there followed
Special order No
89 - Headquarters Department of Missouri
Pursuant to order
from the Secretary of War, Brigadier General Ellet is authorized to enlist
convalescents from any hospital.
Captain Burrill,
By command of Major General Curtis
In December 1862
and January 1863, recruiters for the MMB visited hospitals in
At the white house. Comerads please give three cheers for Harison to our Next President. Also three cheers for the old comerads and defender of our union three Rousing Smiles to the opponent to Harison Hoping that he may be Left Behind on the race we had Enough vetoes out of him Away with Such Reform of goverment for mee is my prayer
Your in FCL
[?]
F M Haughey
PM
Yampa Routt Co
Colo
Formily A member of Co C
Cav M M Brigade
PS
Comrads please let mee
Hear from you all By
Letters
you can do so
and I will Answer the same
Message to MMB
F.M. Haughey's
third letter to Warren Crandall was written in August of 1888, just before a
September reunion of the MMB and a few months before the Presidential
election.
F.M. Haughey is
a strong supporter of the candidate Benjamin Harrison, and he obviously
disliked the incumbent President Grover Cleveland.
Future President
Harrison, elected in November 1888, led the 70th Indiana Regiment in the
Civil War and was eventually promoted to
Brigadier
General. In the 1880’s,
F.M. Haughey
asked Crandall several times for help documenting his Civil War
service-related injury. Since
most of the MMB records were destroyed, he needed to find witnesses to
testify that his disability was a result of his service in order to receive
a pension.
In 1890, during
deal yet at times and am Greatly reduced there By my usual weight 225 lbs even high as 245 when in fight at Donalson now only 165 so can see what a great change has taken place I came into this mountain country to try and regain my health and have benefited some thereby if you knew the where abouts of Capt O. F. Brown or Lieut Barton or Lieut Wicoff of Co C cav M. M. B. or any one else that you may know of that might know any thing of my circumstances or the whereabout of Asst. Surgeon Eldridge
F. M. Haughey late of Co C cav
Comerad W D Crandall
2nd Letter to Warren Crandall
At top, stamped in a horse shoe shaped rubber stamp "Yampa Colorado Nov 27 1887"
Trouble with Pensions and Reminiscences
of the MMB
In his new book
on the MMB, Chester Hearn references F.M. Haughey’s letters regarding his
trouble obtaining a pension. As
the historian and keeper of the remaining records, Warren Crandall was in a
position to help veterans prove their claims to the pension office.
F.M. Haughey filed a pension claim in 1881, but it was apparently
rejected. The pension system in the 1880’s provided for payment only if you
could prove both service and disability caused by injury in the line of
duty. I do not know if
Francis Marion's leg injury occurred during his service in the MMB or
earlier in the 44th.
Likely his claim was rejected either because there were no documents showing
he had been injured in the service, or because his injury was not considered
a sufficient disability to qualify for the pension.
The MMB’s fleet
of converted steamboats included one hospital ship, the US Woodford.
Francis Marion was serving on this boat when, during the MMB’s “Red
River Expedition” of March 1864, the ship was damaged as it tried to pass
the falls at Alexandria, Louisiana, and it sank.
Francis Marion
Haughey was a large man. In his
enlistment papers his height is given as 6’ 2”.
In this second letter, when he writes about his weight “at Donalson,”
I believe he is referring to the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862 in
which the 44th
right things will soon make A great change for the most of the men of the Late War will soon pass in their final Muster roll and only known of as the past but our Nation Banner will Never be trod under foot as long as there is A son of veteran Left to protect it Long may it wave when we are dead wave over our graves I have in my possession A star of the old flag of the 44 Ind volunteers which was riddled with bullets at the Battle of Shilo and hung only by one small thread I took it and sent it home to my wife in a letter and had her take care of it and money would Not purchase it as poor as I am
yours Fraternally
F. M. Haughey
late sergent Co C Cav
M.M.B
comerad crandall you may think strange when I tell you that the Nearest post of the gov is one hundred and ten miles and that is the nearest rail road station also there is more rebel soldiers in this country than there is of the union soldiers Some of old marmadukes men live in this part that is the old reb that we usto have so much trouble with on the Mississippi they do not have much to say on the past they usto though whenever they heard that the president had vetoed some pension Bill some of them are verry bitter pills yet and others seem to be all right and trying to do what is
ever receveing any thing from the government yet or I Never could hear from any of my company officers I went out to Colorado to see what I could do there and regain my health this is A verry healthy climate I would be verry glad to Attend your reunion and meet all of my old comerads one more but I have A large family of six Boys and 4 girls and am doing all I am Able in my old days to make my last days the most pleasant of my life it does mee good to meet an old comerad or have A correspondence with them I have taken the National tribune for several years and have watched the Names of those old comerads that were Numbered among these that are No more to be enrolled on this side of eternity
6-28-1887
Dear Sir and comerad I receved your card today and must say was hapily surprised to get one from you Not having seen or heard of you since I was mustered out at Vicksburg when the command was consolidated I was rendered supernumerary By consolidation you well recollect mee by joging your memory I was stationed on the flag ship for a long time as commissary sargent I belonged to Co C Cav O.F. Brown captain commanding Barton and Wicoff[?] was the Lieut my rank in the company was sargent I was cripled at the time of mustering out at Vicksburg and captain failed to make any menthion of the fact at that time which has debared mee so far from
The following is a transcription of Francis Marion Haughey’s first letter to Warren Crandall. In the transcription I have tried to be faithful to his spelling, capitalization and punctuation. Standardization of spelling was not widespread in the 19th century. He does not use periods, so sentences tend to run together.
1st Letter to Warren Crandall
At top, stamped YAMPA Routt County COLO
Origin of
the Letters
This set of 7
letters was written by Francis Marion Haughey between 1887 and 1907 to
Warren Crandall, a fellow veteran of the Civil War.
The letters provide a glimpse into F.M. Haughey’s Civil War service
and parts of his life in the years that followed.
He was not a career soldier or a decorated war hero, but the war was
probably the defining event of his long life.
As these letters show, Francis Marion exhibited a bit of the
wanderlust typical of the American experience in the 19th
century. Farmer in the Midwest,
soldier for the Union, homesteader in
Warren D.
Crandall was a former officer and the official historian for the veterans'
Society of Survivors for the Union 1st Mississippi Marine
Brigade. The letters that
F.M. Haughey wrote to him have been preserved as part of a
collection entitled "Warren D. Crandall Papers” at the Missouri Historical
Society in St.Louis. The
letters were also cited as
reference
material in the bibliography of the new book Ellet’s Brigade, The
Strangest Outfit of All, by Chester G. Hearn.
This history of the Ram Fleet and the 1st Mississippi
Marine Brigade was published in 2000.
Start of the
Civil War and the 44th
Indiana
Francis Marion
Haughey was born in
He served with
the 44th for a little over one year.
At the start of his service he was a private in the infantry, and in
March of 1862 he became an orderly for a Colonel in the regiment.
In his letters he makes references to two of the engagements of the
44th
During his
service in the 44th he became ill with typhoid.
He was in hospital at least twice and was even sent home for a period
of time in June of 1862. He returned to duty but was taken sick again in
November 1862 and transferred to a hospital in
The
Mississippi
The 1st
Mississippi Marine Brigade (MMB) and the Mississippi Ram Fleet were special
Federal Units raised directly by the War Department and were not a part of
any state. Their unique
organization, chain of command, and origin made them some of the strangest
military units of the Civil War.
The Ram Fleet
was the brainchild of the eminent 19th century engineer Charles
Ellet, Jr. Before the war
Ellet had gained fame for his construction of bridges, including the first
suspension bridge in
After the start
of the war, Charles Ellet wanted to do something to help the war effort.
He lobbied in
In late 1862,
Ellet decided that he needed to add a group of cavalry and infantry soldiers
to serve on his boats to attack Rebel units along the riverbanks.
The Mississippi Marine Brigade was formed to fill this role.
Horses were transported on steamboats with the troops and could land
at points along the river where they encountered Confederate troops or
guerilla bands. Typical
actions of the MMB included protection of Union riverboats and actions
against smaller Rebel bands.
They also served to protect Southern plantation owners who had sworn
loyalty to the
In his first
letter, Francis Marion recalls troubles the MMB had with Confederate General
John Marmaduke, who had set up an artillery battery on the heights above the
The MMB and the
Ram Fleet were controversial.
At the time they were organized, they reported directly to the Secretary of
War and as such, did not take orders from the Navy or the Army.
This caused continual friction between the Ram Fleet and the Union
Army and Navy units fighting on the
During the war,
the Ram Fleet and MMB were responsible for the destruction or capture of
numerous Confederate steamboats and at least one ironclad.
Their land action along the river included many engagements and
resulted in the capture of a considerable amount of Confederate supplies and
valuable cotton.
Francis Marion
Haughey’s service record shows that he was promoted to Commissary Sergeant
within days of his enlistment.
He served in that position for about 6 months until he was again taken ill.
He may have had a reoccurrence of typhoid, or perhaps he suffered a
leg injury. He was once again
put on furlough for 4 months, from July to October of 1863.
Upon his return in November he was stationed on the hospital ship
US Woodford. He was
sometimes listed as a patient on the boat and sometimes simply as present in
the company. In August of 1864,
the War Department chose to disband the MMB and consolidate parts of the
unit with other commands.
Francis Marion was mustered out of the service August 24, 1864, at
At the end of
the war, someone in the war office at
Post War
After the war,
Francis Marion Haughey returned to farming in
Francis Marion
and son Grant built a log cabin of hand-hewn cottonwood logs. The house was
16 feet square and had a basement under the kitchen.
A fireplace in the basement had a chimney that connected with the
kitchen on the ground floor.
By 1886 they
were ready for the rest of the family to come to
Upon arrival,
the family settled into life on their homestead.
Deer and elk skins covered the dirt floor of the new cabin.
The women canned food, made clothing, and learned to ride horsed and
hunt deer. The men raised
cattle and harvested lumber on the homestead.
A year after moving the family, Francis Marion wrote his first letter to Warren Crandall.
Crandall’s Work to Restore the Lost History of
the MMB
Twenty years
after the war ended, Warren Crandall, the former Assistant Adjutant General
for the MMB, was actively involved in reconstructing the lost records.
He had become the Brigade’s historian and collected hundreds of
letters, records, ships’ log books, and other material to document the
history of the unit. Using this
material, he would eventually publish a history of the unit in 1907.
Over the years, Crandall corresponded with the “Comrades” of the MMB,
sending out newsletters and inviting members to reunions.
F.M. Haughey’s responses to these
letters are among Crandall's papers that have been saved in the archives of
the Missouri Historical Society.
