Thomas Payne Papers

Thomas Payne was a hospital steward in St. Louis, Missouri during the Camp Jackson Affair of 1861. Payne was born in Kentucky in 1800, but had moved to the St. Louis area by 1850.1 While working for City Hospital, he attended to John G. Jones who had been fatally shot at Camp Jackson. Before his passing, Jones requested that Payne write to his sister, Jane L. Hotchkiss, in Portage County, Ohio.2

The capture of Camp Jackson occurred on May 10 and significantly contributed to political divisions within Missouri. In April, Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson refused President Lincoln’s proclamation for troops to suppress the southern rebellion. Despite his public stance, Gov. Jackson was a secessionist and he called the Missouri Volunteer Militia into training camps. Nearly one thousand men responded to Jackson’s call and set up a camp near Lindell Grove which they named after the governor. Several days later, Union Captain Nathaniel Lyon surrounded the camp with 6,500 troops, forcing the surrender of 669 militiamen who were unable to escape. Capt. Lyon proceeded to march the captured soldiers through the crowded streets of St. Louis. Shots were fired which ignited a riot that killed 28 civilians and injured 100 more. Outrage over Lyon’s actions led the legislature to pass a strong military bill supported by Jackson.  Thousands of Missourians enlisted in the newly created Missouri State Guard, a pro-Southern force authorized to defend the state from Federal aggression.3

This letter was sent the day after Jones’ death, which occurred on May 11, 1861. Thomas Payne died on September 21, 1867 and was buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.4

Contributed by the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

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  1. 1850 United States Federal Census; Census Place: District 78, St Charles, Missouri; Image: 48. AncestryLibrary.com – 1850 United States Federal Census
  2. Payne, Thomas.  Letter to Jane L. Hotchkiss.  12 May 1861.  WICR 20990, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri.
  3. “National Park Civil War Series: The Battle of Wilson’s Creek.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/civil_war_series/26/sec2.htm. “Camp Jackson | The Civil War in Missouri.” Accessed December 15, 2022. http://civilwarmo.org/educators/resources/info-sheets/camp-jackson.
  4. Thomas Jefferson Payne, Find A Grave. Thomas Jefferson Payne (1800-1867) – Find a Grave Memorial