"WILLIE SCOTT: MURDERED BY BUSHWHACKERS" (By: Edward Boyd Johnson, Great-Nephew of Willie Scott) Young Willie Scott, 15, just released from the federal military prison at Alton, Illinois, sat with his sister and her family by the warmth of a wood fire in their log house. Suddenly, the sound of horses outside invaded the quiet scene. The door crashed open and a band of roughly- dressed men rushed inside. "Where's the deserter?" one of the intruders yelled gruffly. "There he is!" shouted the others. "Grab him!" In spite of the screams and pleas of Willie's sister, Betty Scott Dickson, to let Willie alone, the bushwhackers (for that is what they were) clutched the young boy tightly and said, "We're taking him with us to his mother's house." If his papers are in order, we'll leave him there unharmed." With that, they shoved Willie out the door, slammed it shut, and rode away. Willie was seen alive no more. The gang had scarcely left when John Dickson, Betty's husband, said in a low tone, "I'm sure I know one of those men. The one who stood in the back near the door with his hat pulled over his eyes." When John whispered the name to Betty, she was greatly surprised and horrified. "Why, how can that be?" she exclaimed in protest. "That man has been our near neighbor for a long time, certainly before the war. We've done him no harm. "Only by siding with the Confederacy." John replied. No one slept in the Dickson house that night. John and his wife feared the worst. Their two young daughters, Doris and Annie, had seen and heard Willie's abduction. They dozed fitfully by the log fire, and by morning's first light in the Little Dixie hills of South Callaway County, Missouri, they were as wide awake as their parents. John took a few male slaves with him to follow tracks in the mud to a patch of nearby timber. There on the end of a rope dangled the body of Willie Scott. His boots and ring were missing. John cut down the body and slowly and tenderly carried it on horseback to his home. Neighbors prepared it for burial in the nearby Link Cemetery. Willie Scott lies sleeping in the cemetery that rests on a knoll overlooking the rich wheat fields that border the Missouri River. At a distance of perhaps six miles and beyond the river stands the majestic Missouri state capitol building. Its' immediate predecessor witnessed Willie's death and burial. My Grandmother, Amanda Scott Boyd, Willie's younger Sister, told me the story of Willie's death many times when I was a young boy. The story always brought out her strong partisan feelings for the Confederacy. She recalled when Willie ran away to join General Sterling Price's army. She remembered the pitiful letter her fifteen year old Brother wrote on December 15, 1964, from the military prison to their Mother, begging her to visit him with money to try to get him out of prison before Christmas. The Mother's pleas and/or the money worked, and the federal authorities released him. He walked all the way from Alton, Illinois, to his home in Callaway County, adistance of approximately one hundred thirty miles. He enjoyed his Mother's cooking for only a few days when he decided to visit his Sister and her family. They were the last family members to see him alive. The Death of Willie Scott was only one of many perpetrated by lawless elements in the years of War Between the States. Bushwhackers ruled the state with little, if any, fear of reprisal. After the war, the man John Dickson thought he recognized as the treacherous neighbor came to Amanda Scott Boyd's house to borrow salt. Amanda spotted Willie's missing ring on his finger. She would not let the man in her house. Some time later, he returned some flour he had borrowed from Amanda's husband. A day later, he rushed back to see if they'd found a small sack of money he thought he'd left in the flour. Amanda made the man wait outside in a driving rain while her husband searched for and found the money sack. These war stories remind us today of the horrible times of the War years. Animosity between neighbors faded slowly. Willie's sister, Amanda, may have had the final say in her Brother's death. On his tombstone in the neatly-kept cemetery, in large letters deeply engraved beneath his name is the word, "Murdered". (By: Edward Boyd Johnson, Great-Nephew of Willie Scott) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Wayne E. Johnson (© 2003 Wayne E. Johnson) http://www.rootsweb.com/~mocallaw/ USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. 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