On September 15, 1865, Amanda Ireland filed a lawsuit against 26 men, claiming that they had “willfully, deliberately and premeditatedly” murdered her husband Austin Ireland in 1861. For which, Amanda sought $5,000 in compensation.1 Amanda was in her early twenties when her husband was murdered and she was left to raise their two children, Mary and James on her own.2 As one witness testified it was a known fact that Mrs. Ireland “was then and is now in very destitute circumstances.”3 Many women were left widowed after the end of the War and struggled to provide for their families.

Amanda and family lived in Jasper County, Missouri before the war. They moved to Missouri sometime before 1855, and owned a small amount of land, which Austin cultivated. In early August 1861, Austin and his brother-in-law James McLahlan were along the head of Little North Fork in Barton County, Missouri. The 26 defendants surrounded the men and took them prisoner. The men were held for twenty hours against their will, before they were brought onto John R. Cabiness’ land, a Union man who lived in Jasper County. Austin asked one of the defendants, John R Chenault, to let him go. Chenault refused stating, “they would make an example of him.” The men threw a rope over a tree branch a half mile from Cabiness’ home and placed a noose around Austin’s neck. Two men pulled on the rope lifting Austin from the ground, while the rest of the party held the rope until he was dead. James was six feet from his sister’s brother when he died.4

Since the suit included numerous defendants, the proceedings were very long and tedious. All of the defendants proclaimed their innocence and believed the case should be dismissed for a various reasons which included the, “Damages for which said action is brought did not arise from the Commission of a felony or misdemeanor done by this Defendant and Because there is no revenue Stamp affixed to the original papers and process filed in said suit.”5

After a change in venue, the testimony of the individuals involved in the case were submitted to the court. One of the defendants, William Board explained that he could not have partaken in the murder because he was not even in the town when it occurred. While several witnesses testified on the behalf of the defendants there were also witnesses for the plaintiff, including the testimony of James McLahlan and Nelson Knight. Knight was taken prisoner by the Defendants in 1862. At that time John Newman, one of the defendants, boasted, “We have hung Austin Ireland a brother-in law of that damned Black republican James McLahlan’s.”6

Through the graphic testimonies of the witnesses, Amanda Ireland and her attorney’s learned that Austin’s political affiliation was not the only reason why he was murdered. Austin was killed in retaliation for the killing of the defendant’s friend, a Mr. Broom. Allegedly, Austin admitted to the men before he was hung that he stood guard as others robbed Broom’s store, during which encounter Broom was killed. The 26 defendants held a mock trial, with Chenault acting as the judge, and found Austin “guilty.”7

In July 1865, Abraham Ireland, Austin’s Uncle also filed a lawsuit against several of the same defendants. He claimed the men stole and damaged his property and set fire to his farm. Abraham sought damages up to ten thousand dollars, claiming the men stole:

One Horse saddle and bridle of the value of One Hundred and Fifty Dollars One other horse a stallion of the value of Two hundred Dollars one Rifle gun of the value of Twenty Dollars Ten head of Cattle of the value of Two Hundred Dollars one other horse of the value of Fifty Dollars and also a large amount of wheat corn and Rye & Hay of the value of Two Hundred Dollars also about one Hundred head of hogs there being not less than one hundred head of hogs of the value of Three Hundred Dollars.
Abraham Ireland, Order of Publication. 25 Jul. 1865

As in the Amanda Ireland case, the men denied any wrongdoing and submitted their petitions to dismiss the suit as quickly as possible. Due to the vicious nature and predominance of the warfare in region, many of the county court rooms were filled with civilian claims of restitution. The final verdict of both the Amanda Ireland and Abraham Ireland case is unknown; however, the fact that many of the defendants were charged in multiple crimes throughout the region did not bode well for their claims of innocence. Old animosities and resentments were not forgotten in the post-war years, and these court cases represent the extreme violence that plagued the countryside.

Contributed by the Greene County Archives and Records Center

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1. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
2. Austin Ireland, 1860 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Center Creek, Jasper, Missouri; Roll: M653_624; Page: 901; Image: 361; Family History Library Film: 803624.
3. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
4. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
5. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
6. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.
7. Amanda Ireland vs. John R. Chenault, et al. 1865. CW 18. Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, Missouri.