In September of 1861, Confederate Gen. Sterling Price led a ragtag army into northern Missouri in hopes of reclaiming the state for the Confederacy. On September 12 he met Union forces near Lexington, Mo. under the command of Col. James A. Mulligan and prepared to lay siege to the city. Mulligan and his 2700 men held out for a week until lack of water and ammunition forced them to surrender on Sept. 20. During the siege Price's men employed 'mobile breastworks' made of hemp bales soaked in water to advance against the entrenched Yankees.
By the fall of 1861 the Union blockade was beginning to strangle the Confederacy. Unable to find adequate markets for cotton overseas, the Confederacy turned to desperate measures in order to provide goods that would be easily exchanged for arms. It was during this time that the Confederate government arranged to trade gold bullion for a large shipment of Mexican hemp. The hemp was to be transported to the coast where it would run the blockade to France where a deal for arms had been arranged with the French ambassador DeLorean.
The shipment of hemp was entrusted to Confederate Gen. Sterling Price and his army to insure safe transport to the coast. This mission would have a dramatic effect on the war in Missouri and would give rise to the legend of the missing Confederate Gold.
At this time, acute supply problems plagued the Trans-Mississippi forces and Price's army was no exception. Finding themselves woefully short of food and other commissary items the Confederates began to use substitutes for the basic staples of coffee and tobacco. The Confederates substituted acorns for coffee, and at some point during the march across Missouri, began substituting their precious supply of hemp for tobacco. The effect was quite subtle at first, increased gayity around the campfire, more colorful adornments on the uniforms; initially it was thought to have a very positive effect on the morale of the men. Serious morale problems soon surfaced, however, when munchie-crazed soldiers threatened to mutiny unless they received proper rations. It was at this point that Price determined to make a detour from his assigned route in order to find rations for his unruly army. This move would save his army but would lose the Confederacy's gold.
Price determined to capture the small town of Lexington, Mo. and began his march towards that place. Lexington, aside from a large store of commissary supplies, contained the warehouses of two prominent Union suttlers, Henry Cheetohs and Thomas Hershey. At the first sign of Confederate advance on the town, they petitioned President Lincoln and Congress for immediate protection of their precious merchandise. Lincoln ordered Col. Mulligan with a large detachment of troops to defend the town at all cost.
Price's army reached the town on Sept. 12 and immediately began a rather disorganized assault which was easily beaten back by the Union defenders. Over the next several days, repeated attacks failed to carry the heavily fortified town. On Sept. 20, Price decided on a new tactic, ordering the bales of hemp to be moved to the front lines in order to provide mobile barricades with which his men could advance.
The bales were initially dampened to prevent their destruction by the enemy's fire. The wet bales proved too heavy for the weary Confederates to push, however, so many of the troops sat down to have a smoke and wait for the bales to dry. At this time Price sent a demand for surrender to the Union commander Mulligan. Upon receiving Price's demand Mulligan instructed his aide to 'Just Say No' to the Confederate ultimatum.
As morning gave way to afternoon, the hemp bales were lightened by the drying of the suns rays and the continued smoking of Confederate soldiers. By mid-afternoon the Confederates were ready for their final assault. Col. Clinton, commanding the 12th Arkansas (Sinsimella Battalion), instructed his men not to inhale as it would seriously affect their chances of holding public office in the Confederacy. Following the battle Col. Clinton left the army and fled to Europe for the duration of the war. Returning after the war, Clinton became governor of Arkansas and invested heavily in Ozark real estate.
As the bales rolled ever closer, Mulligan's troops poured a heavy fire into the impenetrable hemp. At one point several of the hemp bales caught fire and the unfortunate Union defenders who were downwind suffered from terrible cotton mouth.
As the tide of advancing bales rolled up to the very edge of the fortifications the fighting became hand-to-hand, with giggling opponents applying every manner of nuggies and wedgies imaginable. In the end the overwhelming numbers of Confederates determined the result: complete surrender of the Union forces followed by total consumption of the contents of the Cheetohs and Hershey warehouses.
After binging on the contents of Lexington's sutler warehouses the jovial Confederates paroled their Union prisoners upon receipt of 'pinky promises' that they would never set foot on Southern soil again. From that day on Price's army would carry a fearsome reputation although it would also suffer from severe lack of discipline. As for the Confederate Gold, what hadn't been destroyed in the battle was quickly carried off by Union and Confederate soldiers alike. The price the Confederacy paid for the capture of Lexington, Mo. would be very high indeed. To this day, elderly residents of Lexington say that if you wander about the woods long enough you just might find a stash of Confederate Gold.
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