Thomas Jordan Overstreet

Civil War Veteran

Affiliation: Union

Enlisted: Aug. 6. 1864

Rank Pvt. and Sgt

Co.: B

Regt.: 39th Missouri

Branch: Infantry

Discharged: July 10, 1865

Source: United States National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8M9-HXZ : 4 December 2014), Thomas J Overstreet, 1913; citing p. 12176, Sawtelle, California, United States

Excerpt from William "Bloody Bill" Anderson by Matthew T. Hulbert:

The pinnacle of Bill Anderson’s career as a guerrilla commander unfolded the next day in Centralia, Missouri. On the morning of September 27, 1864, Anderson and a sizable group of bushwhackers (perhaps 60-70) helped themselves to local liquor, looted the town, and robbed stagecoach passengers of their money and jewelry. Soon after, they overtook a passenger train destined for the rail depot in Centralia. Aboard the train, which belonged to the North Missouri Railroad, Anderson and company discovered a group of approximately 20 to 30 Union soldiers. The outnumbered federals were disarmed and removed from the train. Anderson then had nearly all of them executed on the spot. Civilian passengers were subsequently relieved of their valuables and allowed to exit the train which was then set ablaze.

Later that afternoon, Anderson and a much larger assemblage of guerrillas (estimates vary between 300 and 700) caught Major A. V. E. Johnston and his 39th Missouri Infantry (Mounted) in a lethal trap. After the morning’s slaughter, it did not take much for a small detachment of guerrillas to lure Johnston and his mounted infantry into an open field on the outskirts of Centralia. The field was surrounded by dense foliage on three sides; deep canals (deep enough to conceal men and horses) hid the great mass of Anderson’s command. As Johnston and his men rode to the middle of the field, Anderson’s force revealed its true size. Wielding revolvers on horseback, the guerrillas charged Johnston’s men from three directions. For reasons unknown, the 39th Missouri had dismounted to form a defensive line. The Union position was quickly swarmed, overrun, and the second massacre of the day at Centralia ensued. Multiple reports indicate that Anderson’s guerrillas took scalps and mutilated the bodies of several slain Union soldiers. Major Johnston and approximately 150 of his men died in the battle. Today, placards mark both the spot of the train massacre and the ambush in which Johnston’s command was obliterated.

Links:

http://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/william-bloody-bill-ande...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia_Massacre_(Missouri)

http://transmississippian.blogspot.com/search/label/Centralia

GEDCOM Source

@R1453609648@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=160911829&pi...