Editing Carter County, Missouri (section)

===Civil War===
The [[American Civil War|U.S. Civil War]] began about two years after Carter County was established. At the time most of the people in Carter County were southern sympathizers and supporters of the [[Confederate States of America]]. [[Army of the Southwest|The Union Army of Southeast Missouri]] was encamped in the area during the winter of 1862–63, and Carter County saw a number of local skirmishes, but by the war's end it had suffered only minimal property damage.

On August 12, 1862, the 24th Missouri Infantry (Union) under the command of Colonel [[Sempronius H. Boyd|Boyd]] surprised six rebel soldiers near Van Buren. In the ensuing skirmish two of the rebel soldiers were killed and another three captured. In the course of events one mill and three houses were burned. Also taken was a packet of rebel mail that was being sent from the camp of Confederate general [[James H. McBride|James McBride]] to Potosi, Missouri, telling of his plans to take Greenville.

In September 1862 Rebel forces under the command of Colonel David C. Boone, who had been in Southeast Missouri recruiting troops for the Confederacy, was driven from Reynolds County into Carter County by elements of the [[Missouri State Militia (Union)|12th Cavalry MSM]]. About a month later, the Union authorities finally discovered the location of Colonel David C. Boone's forces in Carter County. Lieutenant Colonel [[Bazel F. Lazear]] was sent into Carter County with forces of the 12th Cavalry MSN to drive them out. During the evening of October 22, 1862, Lt. Colonel Bazel F. Lazear's forces surprised the estimated 450 well armed Confederate troops under the command of Colonel David C. Boone, driving them through the town of Van Buren. On October 25, 1862, Boone's forces were once again discovered, this time near Pike Creek in western Carter County. Attacking the Rebel forces from a nearby hill, the Union forces killed eight and captured 16 of the Rebels. Altogether, the Union forces under Colonel Bazel F. Lazear captured a total of 40 Rebel troops on this expedition, who were subsequently sent to military prisons in St. Louis. The total Union loss was only one man.<ref>Bruce Nichols [https://books.google.com/books?id=O7XwGFQDaDoC&q=Guerrilla+Warfare+in+Civil+War+Missouri "Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Missouri, 1862, pages 168, 169."]</ref>

From December 1862 to January 1863 Union General [[John Davidson (general)|John W Davidson]], en route to the south with a force of about 3000 troops, camped near Van Buren. At the same time, coming from the south and moving north were a number of Confederate troops under the command of General [[M. Jeff Thompson|Jeff Thompson]], who had, unknown to the Union forces, camped not far away on top of Barren Hill. Discovering the presence of the Union forces the next day they surprised a company of Union troops as they were loading supplies they had purchased from local farms. After a battle that lasted about an hour the Union forces were forced to retreat, leaving their wagons and supplies behind. One Confederate soldier was killed and about twenty-five wounded. After treating their wounded and loading them into the wagons, the southern forces retreated westward toward Pike Creek that afternoon. General Davidson then sent out a force of about 400 men in an effort to capture General Thompson, but they were unable to find him. Two Union soldiers died of their wound in this battle.

By far, most of the death and destruction in Carter County did not come at the hand of either Union or Confederate troops, but from bands of outlaws known as [[Jayhawker]]s and [[Bushwhacker]]s respectively depending on whether they sympathized with the north of the south. Many of these outlaw bands were composed of native Carter County residents who were taking advantage of the war to settle personal grudges. Thomas Gardner, the first elected sheriff of Carter County was killed by one of these native outlaw bands.<ref>Dr. Gene Oakley, "A History of Carter County, Sesquicentennial Edition" pages 18-28 (2007)</ref>

====Carterville====
One local history describes a short lived community of freed slaves that arose about two miles south of Van Buren after the Civil War. Because of its location near the Carter Homestead this community came to be known as Carterville. This community included not only freed slaves from Carter County but also many from surrounding regions. Their first winter was one of suffering, and disease killed many of them. Their graveyard is located in a little field at the mouth of Water Hollow about one and a half mile below Van Buren on the banks of the Current River.<ref>Eunice Pennington, "The History of Carter County" page 27 (1959)</ref>