Isaac Morgan Bixler, b. 10/10/1835 Mercer Co., Ky. Son of Samuel Bixler and Sally Davis, grew up farming the land with the help of slaves inherited from Sally's father. When he was but age 8, both of his parents died and the children were sent off to live with various families to be raised.
At the age of 19, Morgan married Anna Elizabeth Bell(m. 3/15/1855) and they had their first child, William Alonzo Bixler on 7/20/1856. The family moved to Missouri in 1858 following a brother Asel. Their second child John A. Bixler was born there on 8/12/1858. In 1860, the census found the young family in the Salem Township, pop. 800, along with Morgan's younger brother Joshua. Nearby, Morgan's brothers Ed and Robert were also farming. Morgan gained respect in the community, a man of education and Christian morals. He was blessed with a daughter, Lou Ella on 3/11/1861, but she lived only 5 months. She was buried close to the family farm in the Davis Cemetery. Little did Morgan know that he would soon join her.
The circumstances surrounding Morgan's death related to his Kentucky roots and Southern Heritage. The Civil War in Missouri caused those with Southern Sympathies mistreatment and hardship from Union soldiers. It didn't help that his brothers Joshua and Milton and a local, Dr. John Davis were being sought after for stealing a horse by authorities. (Milton was thrown from that horse and received serious head injuries and was never mentally the same afterwards.)
An order was issued in Missouri that required all able bodied men to join the Union Army. This forced the men to choose sides and six days after this order was issued, (7/28/1862) Morgan, Milton, and Joshua joined the Confederate Army. Brothers, Edward and Robert, did not join.
Morgan and his brothers found themselves under Col. Cyrus Franklin. The Confederates marched to Canton, Missouri and captured the town with no difficulty. Soon they were called Northwest to Kirksville to join up with the main body of the Army. This main force under Col. Joseph Porter, was being pursued by Union General McNeil. It was at Kirksville that a battle ensued, the Confederates were crushed, and Joshua Bixler was killed, just nine days after enlisting.
Joshua was buried in a mass grave in the forest, Llewellyn Cemetery. Many Confederates were captured, some executed and some outright murdered. Dr. Davis had been with Porters men and was treating wounded Confederates when captured. During captivity he was told to run, then shot when he did. (This is the same Dr. Davis previously mentioned.)
After Kirksville, the Confederates disbanded. Morgan returned home, but he was taken from his neighbor's house. He was arrested merely on suspicion, it is said that he had never taken up arms against the Union. More than likely he HAD, and on 10/5/1862, he was put in the Hannibal, Mo. Jail.
On 10/8/1862, General McNeil declared he would kill ten Confederate prisoners in 10 days in retaliation for the murder of a Union man. He said he wanted to kill the "worst of the rebels",but he chose men of good reputation, education, and prominence of the community. This is to strike fear and to send a message that killing pro-Union citizens would not be tolerated.
After nine days had passed, six men's names were listed from the Hannibal Jail. By lot, five were chosen for execution, Morgan was one of them. He was placed on a wagon and sent to Palmyra, Mo., where McNeil had his headquarters and an impressive new jail to hold prisoners.
At the jail Morgan wrote a letter to his wife asking her to continue to raise their sons in a Christian home. He said he forgave his executioners and did not want retaliation for his death. Meanwhile, his wife was planning to visit her husband at the jail. She was unaware of his death sentence and impending doom.
On the next day, Morgan was taken from the jail. He walked freely, with hands unbound, to the wagons holding ten coffins. The men sat upon the coffins, (made the night previously by the local undertaker) as they traveled to the fair grounds, the site of the execution. They were offered blindfolds, Morgan and another man were first in line and were said to have taken them. Upon seeing the others refuse, they threw their blindfolds down.
30 Riflemen lined up and fired. Some of the executioners aimed purposefully over their heads. The volley missed Morgan altogether, but he still fell forward as if he had been hit. A backup squad with revolvers came in and he was killed. His body was taken to join his daughter in the Davis Cemetery. Later his wife was told that he had been killed. A courier brought the news that night, she had planned to see him the next day, she missed seeing her husband for the last time. They brought his body back home to her.
Milton, Morgan's brother and fellow Confederate, was captured as well. He was put in a prison in Chicago. The Douglas prison he was in was infamous for its horrid conditions. Many would die there, but Milton survived. Later, he was committed to a home for the insane.
Morgan's wife remarried a cousin of her husband, Ben Davis. Ben was from the Salem township, a much older man, but a man of wealth.
In 1907 a monument was put up in honor of the ten men executed. It is called the Palmyra Massacre Monument and Morgan's name is on it.
By Dwayne Bixler 12/2012