Captain Robert McDonald commanded Company C, Artillery Regiment, 1st Division Missouri State Guard. It was in service from July 8 to December 27, 1861. He later enlisted as a private at New Madrid, of an unknown unit at this time.
On March 8, 1862, he was appointed Captain of a company that was designated, McDonald’s Company Light Artillery, Confederate States Army at Camp Defiance in eastern Dunklin County. It is unclear if the unit ever had or received artillery pieces. In April, Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson issued a directive that all artillery pieces retained by units in the First Military District, be turned over to the Arkansas Appeal Battery. Soon after receipt of the order, McDonald and his men moved to Fort Pillow, Tennessee where fifty-five officers and enlisted men began service on the Confederate River Defense Fleet.
On May 10, the men of McDonald’s battery were put on the largest and slowest boat in the River Defense Fleet as gunners, on the General M. Jeff Thompson, a side-wheel steamer that participated in the battle of Plum Run Bend and later caught fire and exploded during the battle of Memphis. About August 28, 1862, McDonald’s men were combined with Captain Samuel Harris’ battery to fill out Company D, 6th Missouri Infantry, still organizing in northern Mississippi. McDonald was not interested in leading an infantry company and he was unable to win election as an officer, so he resigned and was approved to return to Missouri and raise another company of artillery. While performing that duty he was captured in Dunklin County on December18, 1862 and imprisoned at Camp Chase, Ohio, then delivered for exchange at City Point, Virginia on April 1, 1863.
On May 7, 1863, he was ordered to go to Little Rock, Arkansas and report to Lt. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes for assignment to duty. May 10, 1863, Colonel H. E. Clark ordered him to come to southeast Missouri to command a company of artillery to be raised. When this plan did not materialize, he was made a member of Brigadier M. Jeff Thompson’s staff.
On August 24, 1863 McDonald, along with other Confederate officers, including Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson, were camped near Pocahontas, in Randolph County, Arkansas, when Union cavalrymen dashed into his camp and captured the Confederate officers. McDonald was sent to St. Louis and then Johnson’s Island, Ohio, and eventually to Fort DeRussy, Louisiana on January 23, 1865, and exchanged on February 26, 1865, at Red River Landing, Louisiana. During the short time the battery was in service, mostly during their Missouri State Guard service, the unit lost two men killed in action, and four to disease.
Sources:
Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Missouri. National Archives. M322. War Department. The Adjutant General’s Office. Identifier 586957. Record 109, Missouri, 0186.
James E. McGhee, Guide to Missouri Confederate Units, 1861-1865. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2008. Pages 40-41.
Edward B. McCaul, Jr. To Retain Command of the Mississippi. The Civil War Naval Campaign for Memphis. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 2014. Page, 2
M. Jeff Thompson. The Civil War Reminiscences of General M. Jeff Thompson. Dayton: Morningside, 1988, page 204.
On March 8, 1862, he was appointed Captain of a company that was designated, McDonald’s Company Light Artillery, Confederate States Army at Camp Defiance in eastern Dunklin County. It is unclear if the unit ever had or received artillery pieces. In April, Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson issued a directive that all artillery pieces retained by units in the First Military District, be turned over to the Arkansas Appeal Battery. Soon after receipt of the order, McDonald and his men moved to Fort Pillow, Tennessee where fifty-five officers and enlisted men began service on the Confederate River Defense Fleet.
On May 10, the men of McDonald’s battery were put on the largest and slowest boat in the River Defense Fleet as gunners, on the General M. Jeff Thompson, a side-wheel steamer that participated in the battle of Plum Run Bend and later caught fire and exploded during the battle of Memphis. About August 28, 1862, McDonald’s men were combined with Captain Samuel Harris’ battery to fill out Company D, 6th Missouri Infantry, still organizing in northern Mississippi. McDonald was not interested in leading an infantry company and he was unable to win election as an officer, so he resigned and was approved to return to Missouri and raise another company of artillery. While performing that duty he was captured in Dunklin County on December18, 1862 and imprisoned at Camp Chase, Ohio, then delivered for exchange at City Point, Virginia on April 1, 1863.
On May 7, 1863, he was ordered to go to Little Rock, Arkansas and report to Lt. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes for assignment to duty. May 10, 1863, Colonel H. E. Clark ordered him to come to southeast Missouri to command a company of artillery to be raised. When this plan did not materialize, he was made a member of Brigadier M. Jeff Thompson’s staff.
On August 24, 1863 McDonald, along with other Confederate officers, including Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson, were camped near Pocahontas, in Randolph County, Arkansas, when Union cavalrymen dashed into his camp and captured the Confederate officers. McDonald was sent to St. Louis and then Johnson’s Island, Ohio, and eventually to Fort DeRussy, Louisiana on January 23, 1865, and exchanged on February 26, 1865, at Red River Landing, Louisiana. During the short time the battery was in service, mostly during their Missouri State Guard service, the unit lost two men killed in action, and four to disease.
Sources:
Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Missouri. National Archives. M322. War Department. The Adjutant General’s Office. Identifier 586957. Record 109, Missouri, 0186.
James E. McGhee, Guide to Missouri Confederate Units, 1861-1865. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2008. Pages 40-41.
Edward B. McCaul, Jr. To Retain Command of the Mississippi. The Civil War Naval Campaign for Memphis. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 2014. Page, 2
M. Jeff Thompson. The Civil War Reminiscences of General M. Jeff Thompson. Dayton: Morningside, 1988, page 204.