Meriwether (“Jeff”) Thompson, the “Missouri Swamp Fox,” was born on January 22, 1826, in Harpers Ferry, Virginia; he moved to Liberty, Missouri, in 1847, and St. Joseph, Missouri, a year later. Thompson served as mayor of St. Joseph from 1857 through 1860; he presided over the ceremony for the inaugural ride of the Pony Express on April 3, 1860. He gained national attention in May 1861 when he cut down a Union flag from the post office and threw it to an angry crowd.

At the start of the Civil War, Thompson was appointed a brigadier general and commander of the 1st Division of the Missouri State Guard, which comprised the southeastern corner of the state. He battled Union forces in the “bootheel” region of Missouri until he was captured in 1863. Thompson was exchanged the following year and returned to duty. In March 1865 he assumed command of the Northern Sub-District of Arkansas. On April 18, Union authorities demanded his surrender, but Thompson refused. On May 10, finally convinced that he should surrender, Thompson asked for an additional day so that he would not have to give up on the anniversary of the Camp Jackson “Massacre.” On May 11, 1865, Brigadier General Thompson of the Missouri State Guard surrendered his command.

After the war he went to New Orleans, where he was appointed chief engineer of the Board of Public Works for the state of Louisiana. He returned to St. Joseph in 1876 where he died of tuberculosis on September 5; he is buried in St. Joseph.

Carte-de-Visite by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 31436