Joseph O. Shelby | |
|---|---|
 Shelby in uniform, 1860s | |
| Birth name | Joseph Orville Shelby |
| Born | December 12, 1830 Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | February 13, 1897 (aged 66) Adrian, Missouri, U.S. |
| Buried | 39°00′07.0″N94°34′12.8″W / 39.001944°N 94.570222°W /39.001944; -94.570222 |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Branch | |
| Years of service |
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| Rank | Brigadier-General (CSA) |
| Commands | Shelby's Brigade |
| Battles / wars | |
| Spouse | |
Joseph Orville "J.O."Shelby (December 12, 1830 – February 13, 1897) was aConfederate officer who commandedcavalry in theTrans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. After the Confederacy surrendered, Shelby tried to swear fealty toEmperor Maximilian I during thesecond French intervention in Mexico. With the Emperor's permission, Shelby formed theNew Virginia Colony, a colony of Confederate exiles in Mexico, until the end of the intervention in 1867, after which he abandoned the colony.
Joseph Orville Shelby was born on December 12, 1830, inLexington, Kentucky, to one of the state's wealthiest and most influential families. He lost his father at age five and was raised by a stepfather, Benjamin Gratz, who was a member of wealthy Lexington elite. Shelby attendedTransylvania University and was arope manufacturer until 1852. He then moved toWaverly, Missouri, where he engaged insteamboating on theMissouri River. He also ran ahempplantation, a ropeworks, and a sawmill.[1] These business ventures made Shelby one of the wealthiest men in the state of Missouri.[2]
When theKansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was passed, theNew England Emigrant Aid Company paid for Northern abolitionists to move to Kansas. As a response, the Blue Lodge, a quasi-Masonic organization, was formed by leading Missourians. This group was dedicated to making Kansas a slave state. J.O. Shelby was a leading member.[3] Shelby's first direct involvement in Kansas was atLawrence during the March 30, 1855, election of the Kansas territorial legislature. Many Missourians without residence in the territory voted illegally in the election. This was partially achieved through intimidation of election judges, who were prevented from administering residency oaths. Additionally, Shelby and other Missourians harassed several abolitionists attempting to vote, although they were generally not prevented from doing so.[4]
Shelby's leadership in the Missouri–Kansas border war damaged his business ventures and partnership with his stepbrother, Henry Howard Gratz. In December 1855, their new sawmill burned, and evidence suggested the use of an incendiary. The mill was uninsured, and losses exceeded $9,000.[5] Gratz returned to Lexington, Kentucky, and Shelby auctioned off the business in February 1860.[6]
Following the Confederate attack onFort Sumter in April 1861, Missouri GovernorClaiborne Fox Jackson refusedLincoln's call for volunteers and maneuvered to take the state out of the Union. The resulting friction between state and federal militias vying for control of theSt. Louis Arsenal led to theCamp Jackson affair and the creation of the pro-secessionMissouri State Guard.[7]
Shelby formed the Lafayette County Mounted Rifles for Missouri State Guard service and was elected the company's captain, leading it into battle atCarthage,Wilson's Creek, andPea Ridge. In 1862, he was promoted tocolonel and authorized to recruit aConfederate cavalry regiment, returning toLafayette County to do so. After successfully bringing the regiment safely back toArkansas, he was given command of abrigade of newly recruited regiments.
In the fall of 1863, Shelby led his "Iron Brigade" of Missouri volunteers on what was at the time the longest cavalryraid of the war,Shelby's Raid. Between September 22 and November 3, 1863, Shelby's brigade traveled 1,500 miles through Missouri, inflicting over 1,000 casualties onUnion forces and capturing or destroying an estimated $2 million (~$39.9 million in 2024) worth of federal supplies and property. He was promoted to brigadier general on December 15, 1863, following the successful conclusion of his raid.[8]
In 1864, Union GeneralFrederick Steele's failure in theCamden Expedition of March 23 – May 2, 1864, was largely due to Shelby's brilliant and determined harassment, in concert with other Confederate forces. Steele's men were forced to retreat toLittle Rock by the destruction or capture of their supply trains at theBattle of Marks' Mills.[9] Reassigned toClarendon, Arkansas, Shelby succeeded in capturing a Union tinclad (lightly armored) gunboat, theUSS Queen City. The gunboat was burned to prevent her recapture.[10] Shelby then commanded a division duringPrice's Missouri Expedition. He distinguished himself at the battles ofLittle Blue River andWestport, and briefly captured many towns from their Union garrisons, includingPotosi,Boonville,Waverly,Stockton,Lexington, andCalifornia, Missouri.[11]
AfterRobert E. Lee's army surrendered inVirginia in April 1865, GeneralEdmund Kirby Smith appointed Shelby amajor general on May 10. The promotion was never formalized, however, due to the collapse of the Confederate government. Shelby's adjutant at the time wasJohn Newman Edwards, who years later (as editor of theKansas City Times) was largely responsible for creating the legend ofJesse James and his fellow Confederate guerrillas.
In June 1865, rather than surrender, Shelby and about 1,000 of his remaining troops rode south intoMexico. Reportedly, Shelby sank his battle flag in theRio Grande near present-dayEagle Pass, Texas, on the way to Mexico rather than risk the flag falling into the hands of the Federals. The event is depicted in a painting displayed at the Eagle Pass City Hall. For their determination not to surrender, Shelby's men were immortalized as "the undefeated". A later verse appended to the postwar Confederate anthem "The Unreconstructed Rebel" commemorates the defiance of Shelby and his men:
I won't be reconstructed, I'm better now than then.
And for a Carpetbagger I do not give a damn.
So it's forward to the frontier, soon as I can go.
I'll fix me up a weapon and start for Mexico.[12]
The plan was to offer their services toEmperor Maximilian as a "foreign legion". Maximilian declined to accept the ex-Confederates into his armed forces, but he did grant them land for theNew Virginia Colony, an American settlement in Mexico nearCórdoba, Veracruz.[13] The grant was revoked two years later following the collapse of the empire and Maximilan's execution. The memory of Shelby and his men as "the Undefeated" is used as a basis for the 1969John Wayne–Rock Hudsonfilm by the same name.
Shelby returned to Missouri in 1867 and resumed farming. In 1883, Shelby was a critical witness for fellow ex-ConfederateFrank James at James' trial.[14] Shelby was appointed theU.S. marshal for the Western District of Missouri in 1893, and retained this position until his death. He appointed anAfrican American to office, which led to "bitter feeling among some of his neighbors". Shelby defended his actions.[15]
Shelby died ofpneumonia[16] at his farm nearAdrian, Missouri, in 1897.[17] He is buried inKansas City[18] inForest Hill Calvary Cemetery.[19][20] A Union general who had fought against Shelby,Alfred Pleasonton, remarked, "Shelby was the best cavalry general of the South. Under other conditions, he would have been one of the best in the world."[19][21]
Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, was named after him, which historianJeremi Suri described as ironic because it militarizes the assertion of power like the original treason in the Confederacy. The pass is known as the "grave of the Confederacy". Shelby and his men buried their battle flags on the north bank of the Rio Grande before entering Mexico according to the famous Texas Ranger and cavalry officer Colonel Alexander Watkins Terrell, who was present at the crossing.[22]
On July 22, 1857, Shelby married Elizabeth Nancy Shelby (daughter of his first cousin), in a grand steamboat wedding and honeymoon trip toSt. Louis. Known as Betty (or Betsy), she was much younger than he.[23]
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