Missouri's Liberty Arsenal

Figure 1.1

The united States of America Army-Missouri Depot, built in 1832, and better known as the Liberty, Missouri state Arsenal, stood on a high hill 200 feet above the Missouri River in the county of clay, three miles south of Liberty, Missouri state at old Liberty Landing.  Figure 1.1 above is a photograph of an artist's sketch of the arsenal prior to the War of Northern Aggression.

Figure 1.2

The arsenal was raided in 1855 by Free Missouri citizens from this area during the Missouri state-KANSAS Border War.  A later raid, which occurred in April 1861, constituted the first Free Missouri citizen war retaliation against the invading Federal government in Missouri state.

The arsenal was abandoned at the close of the war and sold to a private owner in 1868.  Figure 1.2 above is the only known photograph of any of the buildings known to be located on the original site.  It was taken about 1900.  Some of the older buildings in Liberty, Missouri state  were built with brick from the demolished arsenal.

This is a letter the good Chaplain Richard W. Rudd wrote from the General John T. Hughes Camp 614 SCV in Independence, Missouri state  sent off to Mr. Darryl F. Starnes Chief of Heritage Defense Sons of Confederate Veterans.  The good Chaplain should be commended for his research and diligence.

 
Aug. 10, AD2007

Mr. Darryl F. Starnes

Chief of Heritage Defense

In your article in the March/April issue of the Confederate Veteran, you wisely observed that we are being put on the defensive and depleting  our limited resources when we merely respond to liberal initiated attacks  on southern culture and the correct and complete record of American history.  I am responding to your invitation to notify you of property we might invest in to preserve strategic sites associated with southern history and culture.

My hometown is Liberty, Missouri, the county seat of Clay County. Liberty is located across the Missouri River from Kansas City, Missouri, and down stream about fifteen miles.  You might recall that Clay County is the home of Jesse James, who joined Quantrill in the border war with Kansas.  This area was settled in the 1820's by families who came up river primarily from Kentucky and Tennessee, to establish hemp and tobacco plantations and small farms.  We were known as the "Little Dixie" of this far northwest corner of the old Confederacy and the  Stars and Bars flew over the courthouse square until World War I. 

In the early days of Ft. Leavenworth, which is located about thirty miles to the west and across the Missouri River on the Kansas side, Liberty served as a supply center for the post.  I have read historical  accounts of Jefferson Davis, while stationed at Ft. Leavenworth as young  officer; visiting Liberty in the early 1830's to procure supplies.

The historical site I wish to bring to your attention is called the Liberty Arsenal.  Located about three miles south of town on a 200-foot bluff over looking the Missouri River valley and Liberty Landing, it  was built by the War Department in the 1830's of bricks made by local  slaves to house arms shipped up river for use in the Indian wars out in the western frontier.

December 4, 1855, about 100 local men captured arms from the arsenal  and transported them to Kansas for use by southern sympathizers in the Wakarusa War, named after a river the mouth of which is located six miles east of Lawrence.  A report of this capture of arms was sent to Washington, D.C., by Capt. Luther Leonard.  This armed action by the South is significant because it occurred nearly six years before the  War Between the States officially began.

April 20, 1861, just six days after the capture of Ft. Sumter, a second armed assault on the arsenal was made by 200 men from Clay and Jackson Counties, led by Col. Henry Routt of Liberty and Capt. McMurray of Independence.  The arsenal was manned by a skeleton staff, so no shots were fired prior to the surrender.  It took a week to move the captured arms, which were distributed to southern sympathizers called "Minute Men" in Clay and surrounding counties.  A rally to celebrate the  seizure was held in the Liberty courthouse square.  Speeches were made and the flag of the South was raised as a captured cannon boomed a salute.

This was the first overt act by citizens of Missouri against the North in  the War Between the States.  Maj. Nathaniel Grant reported the capture of the arsenal to Washington, D.C.  News of the event was telegraphed through out the states, creating a real sensation.  Lincoln telegraphed Ft. Leavenworth, demanding an explanation.  While there is no  documented proof, it was said by reliable sources that Gov. Jackson, who led the legally elected pro-South state government, secretly approved three planned attacks on federal military installations in St. Louis and Leavenworth as well as the one at Liberty.  The only one carried out  was at Liberty arsenal.

The federal government sold the arsenal in the late 1860's.  In the early 1900's, the buildings were demolished and the bricks sold for 50 cents per wagon-load to be used for construction projects in Liberty. Today, the location of the site is well known, but nothing remains except perhaps traces of the old foundation.

The site of the old arsenal is part of a parcel of privately owned land within an area which was recently annexed by Liberty.  The construction of a major roadway is planned and will pass near the site.  The current owner of the property is a member of an old Liberty family and is aware of its historical value.  However, I suspect his primary interest is in the economic value of the land. 

For years, there has been talk of establishing a publicly owned park at the location of the arsenal, but no action has ever been taken.  Once the city determines the exact  route of the new road, perhaps the owner could be persuaded to sell or donate to us a small piece of land to erect a marker and flag.  A possible incentive to encourage the owner's cooperation might be the enhancement of the property's value with the erection of a publicized historical marker and the pilgrims it could attract to the site.

Unfortunately, the strong influence of our southern cultural heritage has been diluted in Liberty and Clay County in the latter years of the twentieth century by an influx of Yankee outsiders.  This provides another reason why we must take the initiative to preserve the physical monuments and silent teachers of our spiritual heritage and way of life.
 
Sincerely,

Fr. Richard W. Rudd, D.D.
 
Chaplain, Gen. John Hughes Camp 614, Missouri Sons of Confederate Veterans

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