James Lane — Was He a Military Officer?
Before Lawrence is about the burning of Osceola, Missouri. It is not a indepth investigation into the the life of James Lane. Yet it is almost impossible to avoid the controversy that surrounds this man, least of which was whether he was actually a military officer in September 1861. Richard Sunderwirth noted this conundrum in his book Osceola, Missouri, The Burning of 1861. He quoted John B. Greer, editor of the Topeka Tribune .
The return of General Lane from Washington is the return of gasconade and humbug. He has filled our community with a thousand conflicting statements as to his authority and his appointment by the President to do this thing and do that, none of which are true, or can be true…1
Regardless of Sunderwirth’s observation, the facts are that Lane had enough influence to gain command of the Kansas Brigade and launch attacks into the state of Missouri.
From the Union military perspective, it was abundantly clear that his status as an official military officer was in question, yet he was disciplined as if he was an officer. This may have been due to the practice of the president appointing politicians to military rank, leaving the professional military living with the consequences. This ambiguity would be extended throughout the Civil War as Lane was once again called up to enforce the depopulation of Western Missouri.
Obediah or Obadiah?
Near the end of the Old Testament there is a book written by the prophet Obadiah. Many newborn boys have been christened Obadiah and it is the spelling most generally used. Yet there are a few that spell their names as Obediah, including the character mentioned in the story. Sources were double-checked and the correct spelling of his name is Obediah.
Papinsville or Papinville?
When I first began researching the burning of Osceola, the sources I used referred to Papinsville. Yet modern maps refer to the area as Papinville. Which is it?
One of the things you quickly pick up when studying early American history is the local usage of place names that seem to come in various spellings. What complicates identifying a location is when the place in question no longer exists. Papinville is no longer a town, but a township. Yet in 1861, there was a village and sources refer to it as Papinsville. For now, I am using Papinsville and will continue to study this further.
© Copyright 2024 to Eric Niewoehner
- Osceola, Missouri, The Burning of 1861, pp. 72 ↩︎