[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2059-E2060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE 136TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON, MO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 22, 1997

  Mr. SKELTON Mr. Speaker, one of the earliest battles in the War 
Between the States was in my hometown of Lexington, MO. On September 21 
of this year, which was the 136th anniversary of the Battle of 
Lexington, reenactors from different parts of our country replayed the 
Confederate victory over the Federal forces. On that occasion, I 
delivered a speech commemorating the anniversary of this momentous 
event. I share my remarks with the Members of the House.

  Speech of Congressman Ike Skelton 12:45 p.m. Sunday, September 21, 
            1997--Lexington Battlefield, Lexington, Missouri

       Here we are, one-hundred and thirty-six years after a 
     famous battle took place on these grounds--at the Lexington 
     Battlefield.
       For someone born and raised in Lexington, as I was, the 
     battlefield has always been here. As boys, my buddies and I 
     would run along the trenches. As Cub Scouts, we played 
     football on this very spot. And when our sons were growing up 
     in Lexington, they would fly kites on this site.
       Yes, to a Lexingtonian, the battlefield is a scenic, 
     peaceful, beautiful historic place. But in another day and 
     time, this was the scene of bravery, courage, death, and 
     determination--a struggle between the military might of the 
     blue and the gray. Both sides in this conflict believed they 
     were fighting for freedom. In defense of that belief, they 
     were willing to endure great hardship, sacrifice, and even 
     death. It is thus fitting that we should pause on the 
     anniversary of this struggle and pay tribute to those who 
     walked these hills so long ago.
       This battle, one of the earliest in the tragic War Between 
     the States, was a reflection of the deep emotions of the 
     day--the Southerners fighting for the rights of their states, 
     and the Federals fighting to keep the Union indivisible. So, 
     let's in our mind's eye look back to September 18, 19, and 20 
     in the year 1861. Lexington was a good-sized community, a 
     river port, containing numerous industries and being the 
     outfitting post for the westward movement. Lexington was a 
     waystation in the manifest destiny of our country.
       Major Confederate General Sterling Price, leader of the 
     Missouri State Guard, in the glow of victory at Wilson's 
     Creek near Springfield, brought his troops toward Lexington, 
     which was heavily garrisoned by Union forces, including a 
     brigade of Irishmen, a regiment of Illinois cavalry, together 
     with several regiments of the Union sympathizing Missouri 
     State Militia. Three days of constant perseverance on behalf 
     of the Confederate besiegers, and an honorable endurance on 
     the part of the besieged, culminated in the unconditional 
     surrender of the Federal forces.
       For two days, the Battle of Lexington was a battle of 
     sharpshooters. Wherever a head appeared, skirmishers shot at 
     it. From behind every available obstruction, a merciless 
     fusillade poured upon the Union garrison. Earlier there was 
     also brilliant fighting in the capture and recapture of 
     Colonel Oliver Anderson's dwelling-house, the large brick 
     structure which we see only yards from where we stand today.
       The climax of the battle was on the third day, when the 
     Confederate troops rolled wet hemp bales, obtained from the 
     hemp factories near the river, up the hill toward the Union 
     entrenchments--the very same trenches that we see here today. 
     The originator of the hemp bale idea has long been in 
     dispute. As a matter of fact, a local man, Colonel Thomas 
     Hinkle of Wellington, claimed it as his own. In any event, 
     whoever originated it certainly had a clear mathematical 
     head. Behind those impenetrable moving walls, the Union 
     garrison saw itself surrounded by slowly moving barriers. 
     Unable to stop the Confederate assailants, the Union 
     commander, Colonel Mulligan, surrendered.
       This battle brought to the fore the names of three 
     Confederate leaders who fought until the very end of the war, 
     gaining renown as leaders of men who wore the gray. Joe 
     Shelby, who was from nearby Waverly, distinguished himself as 
     the Commander of the famed ``Shelby's Iron Brigade.'' 
     Lexington's Hiram M. Bledsoe continued to the bitter

[[Page E2060]]

     end of that terrible war gaining fame as an artilleryman. 
     Sterling Price, a former Missouri Governor, led Confederate 
     troops to the very end of the struggle, through numerous 
     battles west of the Mississippi River.
       More history of this celebrated battle has been discovered 
     over time. In 1932, the remains of five Union soldiers were 
     uncovered during excavation of the old Masonic College 
     grounds nearby. Those five Federal soldiers were reburied on 
     November 11 of that year in a solemn ceremony in that small 
     plot to my right. The main speaker of the day was another Ike 
     Skelton--my father. On that occasion, my father said, ``These 
     men gave their very all for the principles of government that 
     they held dear in their hearts.''
       So it is with us today witnessing the reenactment of this 
     famous struggle to recall the gallantry of those who fought 
     and those who died for their causes. It is not for us to 
     judge today the rightness or the wrongness of what compelled 
     them to bear arms and participate in this North-South 
     conflict. But it is for us today to reflect upon and draw 
     inspiration from their devotion to duty, their determined 
     efforts, and their military skill. So let us today honor the 
     memory of those who bore the brunt of battle in those clear 
     September days of 1861. Especially those who died here. 
     Today, one-hundred and thirty-six years after the event, we 
     will watch the re-enactors following the roles played out 
     here in flesh and blood by men of both the South and the 
     North. We will witness the ingenuity of an American Southern 
     leader whose troops used hemp bales as bulwarks for the 
     advancing charge.
       Within a few minutes, we will witness another example--a 
     modern one--of American military ingenuity: the B-2 Stealth 
     Bomber. This futuristic weapons system, which helps guard our 
     country's interests and freedom, is a continuation of those 
     inspired ideas that have been indispensable to Americans 
     engaged in mortal conflict.
       The human mind, using whatever technology is available, can 
     change the military equation. And convert an inferior 
     position into a superior position. In this sense, we can say 
     that there is much in common between the way the Confederate 
     soldiers used bales of hemp in 1861 and the way the U.S. Air 
     Force can use the Stealth Bomber today. Past and present fuse 
     together here.
       During the Battle of Lexington, Union forces held the 
     superior strategic position on the hill top, but they were 
     defeated by the innovative use of hemp bales which reduced 
     the capability of the Union weapons to find their Confederate 
     enemies. Likewise, the configuration of another weapon of 
     defense stationed in Missouri, the B-2 Stealth Bomber, allows 
     it to reduce the capability of potential enemy weapons to 
     find it.
       Two forms of American military ingenuity produced superior 
     results. Both changed the military equation of superiority 
     and inferiority in their respective situations. Both are the 
     product of creative, agile, and strategic American minds.
       As we remember this past battle, and recall the strategy of 
     victory applied here, we should remember that only 45 miles 
     from here, the B-2 Stealth Bomber waits for its mission for 
     America. Fast. Lethal. Very difficult to find. But one will 
     find us here today--an exclamation point to our memorial.
       Here, past is prologue. The technology may change, but 
     American ingenuity remains a constant. Thank God for that, 
     and for the courage Americans have always demonstrated in 
     defense of a cause.
       As we remember the past, we can look to the future with 
     confidence. For if we understand our past, we can expect that 
     we will not repeat historical mistakes. And that we, too, may 
     be called upon in our lifetime to be as inventive as those 
     who won this great battlefield of Lexington, and that we, 
     too, will meet the challenge and honorably discharge our 
     duty.
       God bless you.

       

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