Story and photos by Don Bradley
Birds chatter in the trees that hang over the otherwise quiet grounds of the Lone Jack Civil War Museum.
It’s like morning in a park.
The dead in the nearby trenches, long grown over by the ages, would remember something far different about what happened there on a brutally hot August day in 1862.
A survivor would later write, “the blood, the cries for water and death, the naked bodies and dead horses which served as ramparts…”
Nobody knows for sure how many soldiers are buried in the trenches, Union troops in one, Confederates and bushwhackers in the other.
Maybe a hundred, maybe more. The trenches were left uncovered for several days to allow families to claim their own.
“The worst part was not the fight,” museum docent Betty Williams said. “It was digging through the bodies looking for someone they knew.”
Her great-great grandfather fought there and the stories have come down the generations. Williams, a school teacher for 40 years, will tell them to you as she shows you around the museum that depicts what Rooster Cogburn in True Grit called “a scrap outside Kansas City.”
Probably more of a full-fledged battle to those hearing the balls fly, but Rooster did have the “outside Kansas City” part right.
Lone Jack sits about a half-hour east of Kansas City on U.S. 50.
Looking for a daytrip?
First off, the name. Lone Jack, pop. 1,462, was named for a lone black jack tree that served as a landmark.
Cockrell Mercantile Co., an old general store converted to an old-fashioned village, is on the way there. There’s also Lovett Coffeehouse & Eatery, Lone Jack Café, other eateries and several bed & breakfasts nearby.
Michael Hern, a realtor in the area, has no problem thinking Lone Jack passes muster as a worthy daytrip for Kansas City folks.
“You got Cockrell, the museum, this place and Powell Gardens right down the road,” said Hern, who was having breakfast on the deck at the Lovett Coffeehouse.
Brad and Jennifer McCleary opened the coffeehouse after moving to Lone Jack in 2019. They wanted to raise their children in a small town like they’d grown up in.
The old farmhouse at 306 S. Bynum Rd., a recognizable part of Lone Jack since 1917, was perfect for what they wanted to do.
From early morning to 9 p.m., Lovett serves specialty coffees, breakfast items, smoothies, paninis, wraps, salads and pizza.
Looked to be a busy morning one day last week. Two older gentlemen enjoyed the shady deck, near the potted tomato plants.
“Great place for morning coffee and catching up with an old buddy,” one said.
Battle of Lone Jack
About that same time a block or so north from the coffeehouse, Williams was getting ready for the day at the museum. First thing you notice–it’s round. The stone museum building is round.
Mention it and Williams will smile.
“Because history is unending,” she said.
The museum is owned by Jackson County and operated by the Lone Jack Historical Society. Harry Truman fought for the project and attended its dedication in 1963.
Shortly after opening a day last week, four young Civil War reenactors came through the door. They hailed from all over but knew all about what happened in this little town.
The Battle of Lone Jack came as Union forces were trying to gain control of the border area. Bushwhackers routinely took potshots at Union soldiers on patrol and had recently attacked the Union garrison in Independence.
Shortly after, 800 Union troops marched into Lone Jack, fired off a few canon rounds and the fight was on. The canon alerted Confederate forces nearby, sounded a rallying cry to the countryside and the southern sympathizers came running.
The battle raged a good chunk of Aug. 16, 1862, with both sides appearing at different times to win the day. The town was nearly destroyed. A third trench was dug later for the wounded who died in the aftermath.
According to history, Lone Jack was a Confederate win, but they could not hold the ground and pro-slavery forces were never as powerful as they were in the summer of 1862.
Betty Williams at the museum is more colorful than history’s accounts. She throws in corn stalks, shooting from rooftops and country folk showing up with pitchforks because many houses had but one gun and it stayed to protect the home.
After the reenactors took the tour, marveling at the displays and leaning close to read soldiers’ letters home, they thanked Williams for her time.
Watching them walk to their car, Williams said she knew they were reenactors when she saw them walking toward the building.
“I could tell by their walk,” she said. “Reenactors always walk a certain way. Can’t describe it, but I can tell.”
For more information about the museum, go to historiclonejack.org
For more information about planning a day trip to Lone Jack, go to tripadvisor.com and type in Lone Jack.