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Subject: [MO-CW] Re: Levi Copeland
Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 17:07:37 EST


Cliff and Rose,
You won't find Levi Copeland in Eakin & Hale's wonderful "Branded As
Rebels," since he was a Yankee! I seem to recall from my earlier research
that Levi was a second lieutenant in Reverend Neugent's (or Newgent's)
controversial 2nd Battalion Cavalry Missouri State Militia recruited mostly
in Jackson, Cass, and Bates Counties on the Kansas border. Levi Copeland was
accused of murdering old southern men in west Johnson County earlier (a
Longacre perhaps?) and when COL Hays had to take his recruiting command south
he turned the lieutenant over to Quantrill for safekeeping possibly until a
drumhead trial could be convened (I'm unsure of this part of the story).
Meanwhile, CPT Henry Woodsmall apparently arrived too late with his little
Platte County area company to accompany the larger recruiting commands on
their perilous trek south to Arkansas. Woodsmall evidently was using
Quantrill's hideout before he, too, headed south, and somehow had in his care
a couple of other Union prisoners. When Quantrill found in a newspaper there
in camp about the earlier execution of one of his men, he had his men seize
Woodsmall's captives and killed them along with Copeland. I imagine Captain
Woodsmall was not asked his opinion on the matter. You must consider that
Copeland may have been innocent of the charges, as there were lots of "who
hit John?" stories flitting about the border region. Of course, Lieutenant
Copeland may have been quite guilty from firsthand witnesses, too. I just
repeat the account, but I don't wish to attack a dead man's reputation. I use
a variety of sources for this one.
The story about Younger intervening to save Major Foster and his brother
is also considered rather reliable. Major Foster's wounds (not his first)
kept him in convalescence until General Price's raid in fall 1864, when
Foster took an active role in defense of Johnson County, his home. Part of
the reason Quantrill's men wanted to kill him in August 1862 is due to Emory
Foster's energetic war against southern guerrillas in Johnson County.
Reliable accounts tell us that a number of those same bushwhackers felt
compelled to join Quantrill because Foster and others made Johnson County too
hot for them earlier in 1862. I can cite these sources, too, if you need
them.
Bruce Nichols

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