Maryland-born St. Louis resident Edward F. Chappell enlisted as first sergeant in Captain James C. Gorham’s Company of Missouri Artillery in Des Arc, Arkansas, on September 1, 1862. He was promoted to second lieutenant and later to first lieutenant. Captain Gorham was replaced by Charles B. Tilden in November 1862. The battery remained in reserve during the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and for the first half of 1863 performed garrison duty in Little Rock. Members of the battery fought as infantrymen at the Battle of Helena on July 4, 1863. In November 1863 the battery mutinied and was allowed to elect its officers, and Captain Alexander A. Lesueur took command. The battery’s final combat service took place during the Red River campaign and the Camden Expedition.

Carte-de-Visite by J.A. Scholten, St. Louis, Mo.

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31458