This is the courthouse in Lexington Missouri the county seat of Lafayette County Missouri. A cannon ball is embedded in the column in the foreground of this photo. It is damage from the historic battle of September 18th 1861. The battle of Lexington began on September 18th 1861 and ended on September 20th. Union Colonel James Mulligan was dug in with 3,000 troops on top of a bluff along the Missouri River, at the site of the old Masonic College. His opponent General Sterling Price former governor of Missouri commanded 12,000 regulars and volunteers. many of them were local boys. Colonel Mulligan's troops were from Chicago Illinois, and many were Irish immigrants.
A house to the west of Mulligan's breastworks was commandeered as a field hospital by the union troops. The house had been owned by "Colonel" William O. Anderson. Colonel Anderson, called Colonel because of his service in the Mexican American War, had recently lost the house due to financial reverses in the financial panic of 1857. The house was owned by one of Colonel Anderson's son-in-laws, and was empty at the time of the battle.
The house sustained much battle damage due to pitched battles for the house. It served as a sniper nest as well as a hospital. If you visit the house today you will see much of the damage still present both inside and outside the house. One of the latter owners a lawyer named Davis, decided to preserve the house as it was after the battle.
It is a rare to find such a well preserved house from a Civil War battle with all of its scars intact.
It is my hope to share my photos of the house and take you on a photo tour with this blog. I hope you visit Anderson House and the surrounding Battlefield. The old trenches can still be seen on the battlefield as well.
A close up of the cannon ball embedded in the column, fired in the battle of Lexington Missouri, September 18th, 19th, and 20th, 1861. The cannon was near the Anderson house about 1/2 mile north east of the courthouse.
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