FORWARD

I first met Gary Ayres when I joined his Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter in 2004. Gary was instrumental in both educating and preserve the history of not only St. Clair County, Missouri, but neighboring counties as well.

 

Gary organized annual Heritage Dinners that not only drew attendees from Missouri but also the neighboring states of Arkansas, Kansas, and all the Southern States all the way to California... He has been involved with tours of the area about our Southern heritage and other ventures to make aware of the Souths greatness to its subjugation of the North.  He has taken me to such historic places as Roscoe, Missouri, the site in which John Younger was shot by Pinkerton agents. Monegaw Springs and the Club House Hotel where both the Youngers and the James’ occasionally stayed as well as Younger’s Lookout (also known as Younger’s Bluff and Monegaw Bluff).  Last but not least is the town of Osceola, Missouri. Osceola was the farthest navigable point on the Osage River, which made it a port of trade and “jumping off” point for those traveling west. Osceola was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in Missouri before Jim Lane (the Kansas Jayhawker) and his men pillaged and burned it in the fall of 1861. It never recovered.

 

I have been to these places and stood on “Younger’s Lookout” thanks to Gary.

 

Early settlers in Missouri came from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina and Virginia. So it is Virginia in which Ayres chose as a starting point to tell the history of St. Clair County, Missouri and it is no coincidence that Missouri ranked third in the number of battles during the War Between the States (Virginia having the most, followed by Tennessee)

 

Ayres also brings up little known aspects of slavery, such as the fact that some former slaves became slaveholders themselves. It is little known facts such as this that make Ayres’ writing unique.

 

He also exposes the “two Lincolns”. The pre-war Abraham Lincoln who stated numerous times that he had no plans to interfere with the institution of slavery and the Lincoln who favored the emancipation of slavery to give moral justification for his war.

 

While Ayres has been known to routinely educate the curious of physical historical points of interest through the years, this book also takes the reader on a tour of the genealogical points of interest of St. Clair County, Missouri. He brings to life characters such as George Washington “Speed” McDonald, a black man who served in the 6th Missouri Cavalry, CSA.

 

“A Forgotten Few” also brings forth facts that fly in the face of conventional history. For instance despite the fact the area of St. Clair County and Osceola. Missouri was staunchly Confederate during the war; it was also a destination in which many free blacks were choosing to settle before the war.

 

His study of the history and genealogy of the area makes for a very interesting read, especially when the relationships forged by the Youngers and James families with the free blacks living there is examined.

 

Clint Lacy

Marble Hill, Missouri

May 28, 2018