Charles G. Upton grew up in Osceola, Missouri. His family owned a farm but was forced to relocate in 1861 when the war came to southern Missouri.1 As a child during the conflict, Upton recalls memories of before, during, and after the Civil War.

Upton describes life on the farm as self-sufficient. The family hunted for meat and produced their own vegetables from farming.2 Nearby, Upton attended a one-room schoolhouse where he learned the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic.3

In the farming neighborhood where he lived, Upton remembers several of the farms using enslaved workers. He writes about the clothing of two young enslaved boys who were dressed in a single piece of rough material similar to a gunny sack.4

Upton mentions the drought of 1860 and the presidential election of the same year. His father voted for the Union ticket.5 A short time later, he recounts his father coming home and grimly informing the family that war was on its way. In the year to come, their home was raided twice by Confederate soldiers and the town of Osceola was set ablaze by General James H. Lane. Following these events, the Upton family packed their belongings and fled to Illinois.6

In the spring of 1862, Charles’ older brother, Thomas, enlisted in the Union army.7 The family once received a letter during his time in the service which had a print of a red and blue tree with a branch for every state and this verse:

Traitor, spare that tree/Cleave not a single bough/In youth it sheltered me/And I will protect it now.

Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War

After coming home from school on Good Friday 1865, Upton’s father broke the news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He speaks of the family’s grief and describes Lincoln as immortal.8

When the war ended, Thomas rejoined the Upton family whereupon they returned to Osceola and found their home still intact. The family later moved to Kansas in 1868.9 Upton would go on to marry Mary Ellen Woodcock of Leavenworth, Kansas. He died in 1941 and is buried with his wife at the Glenwood Cemetery.10

Contributed by the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence

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1. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. N.d. Upton (Charles G.) Collection, RH MS P167, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas., pg 4.
2. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. N.d. Upton (Charles G.) Collection, RH MS P167, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas., pg 1.
   
3. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. N.d. Upton (Charles G.) Collection, RH MS P167, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas., pg 2.
4. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. N.d. Upton (Charles G.) Collection, RH MS P167, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas., pg 3.
5. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. Pg. 3.
6. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. Pg. 4.
7. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. N.d. Upton (Charles G.) Collection, RH MS P167, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas., pg 5.
8. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. N.d. Upton (Charles G.) Collection, RH MS P167, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas., pg 6.
9. Charles G. Upton Memoir, Reminiscences of Early Days in Missouri and the Civil War. Pg. 6.
10. Charles Green Upton, Find A Grave. Charles Green Upton (1852-1941) – Find a Grave Memorial