Chapters

Introduction
The Macks as Refugees
Macks in the War
Macks in Politics

In the spring of 1861, the Mack brothers were students at Springfield’s Christian College. Professor Charles Carleton was an outspoken secessionist who used his position to advocate the Southern cause. Robert Matthews, student and kinsman of the Mack family wrote a series of pro-Union articles which were published in the local newspaper, the Springfield Mirror. Matthews was soon revealed as the author and ordered to leave the school. A few Union friends, including Rowan and Osman Mack, vowed to leave with him. The group of Unionists rose together and Matthews explained their position. As Matthews recalled Professor Carleton “got up on his feet and essayed to speak a word to us, but his feelings overcame him and he sat down. We slowly filed out of the door and were no longer students of Christian College. Some one attempted a hiss as we marched out. But the teacher’s gavel struck the table and we left in silence, deep and profound as the grave.”1

Faced with living under Southern occupation after General Lyon’s army was defeated at Wilson’s Creek on August 10, 1861, the Mack family followed the Union army on its retreat to Rolla. Defeat cast a pall over the Unionists and some felt great despair at their situation. One of those was Matthews, who described meeting the Macks on the retreat:

The next morning I found my old Capt. J.A. Mack and his family. They too were refugees. It was well I met him. He had lived long and was related by blood to me . . . I told him I believed I was going crazy. I would rather at that moment be lying on the field at Wilson Creek with a thousand bullets through my brain as to be compelled to move one step further toward Rolla. The Old Man was quite a Philosopher, in his own way. He began to laugh at me for having a spell of hysterics (I know he did not feel like laughing) and told me to go and talk to Aunt Sophia (his wife). She was not in half as bad a fix as I was. They gave me a cup of coffee and I cast my lot with them until we got to Rolla. Uncle Jno. unfolded his plans, which were to take the folks over into Illinois, leave one of the boys to take care of them, and he and the other five would come back and go into the service and see this thing through. The Old Man did not swear, but he would say “darn ‘em they haint got men enough in the world to divide this nation, they just aint going to do it.2

John A. Mack Sr. kept the promise he made to Matthews. After getting his family settled in Indianola, Iowa, he returned to Missouri and enlisted in the 6th Missouri Cavalry. He was joined in the regiment by five of his sons, Rowan, Robert, William L. “Lundy,” Osman, and John A. Jr. Marshall remained behind in Iowa to care for the family.

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1. R.P. Matthews, Nine Months In The Infantry Service: The Civil War Journal of R.P. Matthews, edited by Jeff Patrick (Springfield, Mo.: Greene County Historical Society, 1999), 3-5.
2. Ibid., 29-30.