John Newman Edwards facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Newman Edwards
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| Born | January 4, 1839 |
| Died | May 4, 1889 (aged 50) |
| Resting place | Dover Cemetery Dover, Missouri |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Author, Journalist |
| Spouse(s) |
Mary Virginia Plattenburg
(m. 1871) |
| Children | 3 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Service/ |
 Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1862-1865 |
| Rank |  Major |
| Unit |  Shelby's Iron Brigade |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Major John Newman Edwards (born January 4, 1839 – died May 4, 1889) was an important figure during and after the American Civil War. He served as a key helper and planner for General Joseph O. Shelby. After the war, he became a well-known writer and journalist. He also started the famous newspaper, the Kansas City Times. John Edwards is especially remembered for helping to make the outlaw Jesse James a folk hero in people's minds.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
John N. Edwards was born in Warren County, Virginia, on January 4, 1839. When he was about 16 years old, around 1855, he moved to Missouri. As a child, he learned how to set type, which is how people printed newspapers back then. After moving to Lexington, Missouri, Edwards worked as a printer for a newspaper called "The Expositor."
Serving in the War
In 1862, during the Civil War, John Edwards joined the Confederate army. He became part of a cavalry group led by General Joseph O. Shelby. Cavalry means soldiers who fight on horseback.
Edwards' Role in Shelby's Command
By September 1863, Edwards was promoted to major. He became General Shelby's adjutant. This means he was a special assistant who helped Shelby with important tasks. He gathered information, planned missions, and helped organize the soldiers. Because he was so good at finding out what was happening and knew the area well, he became the main helper for Shelby's entire division. He stayed in this important role until the war ended in May 1865.
Key Battles and Raids
Edwards was part of all of General Shelby's major campaigns. These included early battles like Prairie Grove and Wilson's Creek. When Shelby formed his strong "Iron Brigade" in 1863, Edwards helped a lot. He organized supplies, gathered information, and planned for what became Shelby's Great Raid. This was one of the longest cavalry raids of the war.
During this raid, from September to November 1863, Edwards helped keep the brigade together. They traveled 1,500 miles through Missouri. They caused a lot of trouble for the Union forces. When General Shelby was promoted for the success of this raid, Edwards was also promoted.
Fighting for Supplies
In 1864, the Union Army tried to destroy all Confederate forces in certain areas. But Edwards had a great network for gathering information and hiding supplies. This allowed General Shelby to cleverly fight against the larger Union Army. They even managed to defeat the Union Army and trap it in Little Rock. Shelby's forces found and destroyed or captured all of the Union Army's supplies.
Edwards also helped Shelby capture a Union ironclad ship called the USS Queen City. An ironclad was a warship covered in iron plates. Edwards' information network found the ship. When Union soldiers left it, Shelby's men captured it. However, they had to destroy it later to keep it from being taken back by the Union Army.
Price's Missouri Expedition
Later, Edwards was part of Sterling Price's Missouri raid. He did very well in battles like Little Blue River and Westport. He also helped organize all the supplies and goods captured from Union-held towns. This organization was a huge task. It helped Shelby's forces move deep into Union territory.
Life After the War
After the war ended in 1865, General Robert E. Lee's army surrendered. But Shelby, Edwards, and about 1,000 of their soldiers refused to surrender. They rode south into Mexico. Because they never gave up, they became known as "the undefeated." There's even a movie called "The Undefeated" (from 1969) that was partly inspired by their story.
Journey to Mexico
Their plan was to offer their help to Emperor Maximilian in Mexico. Edwards and the others made a bold journey south, with the Union Army following them. Edwards' network helped them hide and find supplies for their long march. They had also arranged to buy a lot of land near Veracruz, Mexico. This was where Shelby and other former Confederate soldiers could settle.
It's said that General Shelby sank his battle flag in the Rio Grande river. He did this so the flag wouldn't fall into the hands of the Union soldiers.
Starting a New Life in Mexico
Edwards followed Shelby to Mexico. Even though they offered their military skills to Emperor Maximilian, the United States government warned Mexico not to accept them. Also, Maximilian was already facing problems from Mexican forces who wanted their own government back. So, Maximilian didn't let the former Confederate soldiers join his army. But he did let them settle around Veracruz.
Edwards helped get a land grant from Maximilian. This allowed Shelby to start a place called the Colony of Carlota. With Edwards' writing and publishing skills, thousands more Confederate soldiers came to Mexico. Here, they tried to rebuild their lives. Edwards even helped run an English newspaper called "The Mexican Times." He wrote his first book in Mexico, called "An Unwritten Leaf of the War."
However, the land given to foreigners in Mexico was often taken back later. When Maximilian's government was overthrown, the new Mexican government took back all the land two years later.
Returning to Missouri
Meanwhile, in the United States, a period called Reconstruction was happening. New governments were put in place in the Southern states. Many leaders in the South wanted Shelby, Edwards, and others to come back.
As the French forces left Mexico in 1866, Shelby returned to Missouri in 1867. Edwards also came back to Missouri in 1867.
Journalism and Influence
Back in Missouri, Edwards became a reporter for "The Republican" newspaper. The next year, he started his own newspaper, the Kansas City Times. This paper strongly supported the Democratic Party. Edwards used his newspaper to help former Confederates regain their standing in society. He also spoke out against the military rule in Missouri.
The James Brothers
After a robbery in 1869, Edwards met with Jesse and Frank James. In the pages of the Kansas City Times, Edwards wrote about the James brothers. He presented them as symbols of former Confederates who were fighting back against what they saw as unfair rule in Missouri. This helped make the James brothers famous folk heroes.
Later Career
On March 28, 1871, Edwards married his cousin, Mary Virginia Plattenburg. Her parents had not wanted them to marry because they were related. They eventually had two sons and one daughter.
Edwards stayed at the Kansas City Times until 1873. Then he moved to St. Louis to edit another newspaper, "The Dispatch." In 1875, he had a disagreement with another editor, Col. Emory S. Foster. They had a pistol duel, but neither person was hurt.
Edwards later left "The Dispatch." He thought about moving to Santa Fe to raise sheep. But his friends and family convinced him to stay in Missouri.
In 1877, Edwards published a book called Noted Guerrillas. This book told the story of Confederate fighters in western Missouri and Kansas during the Civil War. Edwards wanted to make sure Missouri's unique role in the war was remembered. He wrote about figures like William Clarke Quantrill and the James brothers as Confederate heroes.
He later became the editor of "The Democrat" in Sedalia. After that, he edited the "St. Joseph Gazette." In 1887, Edwards returned to Kansas City to edit the newspaper he had started, the Kansas City Times.
John Newman Edwards was buried in Dover, Missouri.
