Franklin S. Denny was born October 7, 1825 in Bond County, Illinois. Before the Civil War, he was a blacksmith in Platteville, Wisconsin, and married Mary Ann Pennington, who died in 1859. Denny enlisted in Company C, 1st Missouri Cavalry on August 1, 1861. The regiment began organization in the middle of July, 500 men from the Regiment joined Gen. John C. Fremont on his 1861 Missouri Campaign against Sterling Price. The remainder of the regiment, located in St. Louis, eventually rejoined Fremont near Springfield. When Fremont received orders to evacuate Springfield, the 1st Missouri Cavalry was divided into detachments and sent to Rolla, Sedalia and Otterville.

The 1st Battalion, under Maj. Banzof, marched from Sedalia to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in the latter part of November. They defeated a large force of guerrillas and remained at Fort Leavenworth until December 1861. They then were ordered to Independence, Missouri where they frequently engaged bands of guerrillas.1 Denny began his diary on February 14, 1862 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. By February 16, He learned of news from the Battle of Fort Donelson in Stewart County, Tennessee.2 Denny wrote about the capture of two or three generals, a possible reference to Gen. John B. Floyd and Gen. Gideon J. Pillow. Thirty-four artillery shots were fired while officers drank champagne in celebration of the battle.

Denny noted the frequency of drinking among soldiers in the Army. When the regiment received orders to leave Fort Leavenworth, the men drank in celebration. Soldiers in the 1st Missouri Cavalry drank again after learning news of the Battle of New Madrid on March 18. On May 12, the men received news that Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia were captured and the ironclad Merrimac was destroyed. The men were treated to five gallons of whiskey in celebration. Denny had a disdain for alcohol and wrote of it’s negative consequences. In one case, it cost the life of Denny’s friend.

W.D Husband [William L. “Dave” Husband] got drunk and was makeing a disturbanc in a house when this Provo guard called in and demanded them to give up their arms, when Husband refused and as the guard advanced he fired his pistol at them and shot one of them in the leg, when they immediately Returned the fire and shot him in the neck. he was a great friend of mine, but whiskey would allways make him crazy.
Franklin Denny Diary, pg 87.

The disorderly conduct that ensured from drunken soldiers force the Provost Marshal on April 12, to issue orders forbidding soldiers from entering Independence, Missouri without a pass from their superior officer. The order intended to limit soldiers from drinking and destroying property.3

The Missouri / Kansas Border saw constant destruction of property, as civilians were caught between bushwhackers and jayhawkers raids. The Union Army moved into the area to help stabilize the region; however, many times the soldiers could be just as destructive. Denny recorded the 1st Missouri Infantry actions hunting bushwhackers, particularly William C. Quantrill, and their encounters with Kansas Jayhawkers. He wrote, “they [Kansans] are all jayhawers and house burners; their doings here has done more to injure the union cause than any thing else that has been done here.”4 Denny often called Quantrill a Jayhawker, as he lumped all guerrilla fighters into the same category.

The 1st Missouri Cavalry constantly traveled across the region, riding from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to Little Rock Arkansas. On July 20, the 1st Missouri Cavalry marched into Arkansas towards Gainesville. Their advanced guard encountered eight to ten bushwhackers in a cabin; however, they escaped into the woods before the Union scouts could apprehend them. The 1st Missouri Cavalry then marched through Scatterville, Arkansas – which was located near current day Rector, Arkansas – and camped at an old farmhouse. The citizens of Arkansas were terrified of the Union soldiers and ran away from their homes in fear.5 Although many civilians tried to avoid interacting with the troops as they passed through, the men did find some hospitable and welcoming women. One slave owning widow, named Bonds, was particularly attractive to Denny. Even though she was a “Sesch” he wrote, “I think Some of comeing back and marrying her She is young and handsome.”6

In early August 1862, the 1st Missouri Cavalry made preparations to advance up the White River to DeValls Bluff, Arkansas. Four ironclads called the “Mosquito Fleet” joined the regiment on August 10, and Denny eventually learned that General Frederick Steele would join their expedition with twenty-five additional infantry regiments.7 The Ironclads advanced up the river scouting for rebels. They encountered General John S. Marmaduke’s command and killed several of his men and burned his pontoon bridge.8

In September 1862, the 1st Missouri Regiment joined Gen. Herron’s army and took part in the Battles of Fayetteville, Prairie Grove, and Van Buren, Ark. It was then attached to Gen. Davidson’s Cavalry Division for the advance on Little Rock and was present at the capture of that city. The Regiment was then attached to Gen. Samuel R. Curtis’ Army and participated in the various engagements in southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. In June 1863, the 1st Missouri Cavalry was divided and detachments were sent throughout Missouri and Arkansas. The regiment participated in fighting at Searcy, Batesville, and along White River, Arkansas, and at Bloomfield and Pilot Knob, Missouri, as well as numerous minor skirmishes with the guerrilla bands which infested the two states. Henry E. Skaggs joined the 1st Missouri Cavalry in September 1862. His diary chronicles his perspective of the events recorded in Denny’s diary. In the latter portion of the diary Denny kept short entries about troop movement, weather, and provided little description of events. Pairing Denny and Skaggs’ diaries together helps frame the events the men experienced.

During the war, 2 Officers and 51 Enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded from the 1st Missouri Cavalry. 2 Officers and 179 Enlisted men died from disease. Four years after being discharged, Denny married Susan Dule¬bon at Freeport, Illinois in 1868. By 1874, Franklin and Susan Denny were living in Springfield, Missouri, where Franklin operated a carriage shop. They died in 1902 and 1917, re¬spectively.

Contributed by the STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA

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1. “1st Regiment Missouri Cavalry”, Missouri Union Volunteers, National Parks Service Civil War Solider and Sailor System, http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/regiments.cfm
2. Denny Diary,1862-1864. R548, The STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA, Missouri.
3. Denny Diary,1862-1864. R548, The STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA.
4. Denny Diary,1862-1864. R548, The STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA.
5. Denny Diary,1862-1864. R548, The STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA.
6. Denny Diary,1862-1864. R548, The STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA.
7. Denny Diary,1862-1864. R548, The STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA.
8. Denny Diary,1862-1864. R548, The STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY of MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER – ROLLA.