A Mr. Winfield Mayne, of Iowa wrote me a nice latter about his ancestor John T. Magruder and his killing near Marysville, Kansas. He thought I would be interested as it had to do with Kansas. Of course I was I'm always interested in anything to do with Kansas history.
After reading his information if you have any questions or information that will help him, he can be reached at the following.
wmayne@mchsi.com
Tell him Dennis sent you.
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Looking for a Burial Site.
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Lt. John T. Magruder.
Just out of West Point.
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I am attempting to locate a grave on the west edge of Marysville, Kansas, overlooking the river which contains the remains of second Lieutenant John T. Magruder, killed in action June 28, 1858. I have enclosed an extract from the book (
To Utah With The Dragoons ), which contains first hand or reports related to the death and burial of Lieutenant Magruder's in that area.
To Utah With The Dragoons.
The first night of our encampment Lieutenant Magruder, a young officer attached to your company, was shot and instantly killed by a resident of Palmetto, a little village about one mile from camp. There are two different stories afloat in regard to this affair. One is that a settler had cheated a drunken soldier out of his blanket, and that Lteut. Magruder had made an effort to take it from the swindler.
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Kansas Territory.
Palmetto & Marysville, are shown on the map.
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This so exasperated the man that he way-laid the officer on his return home and shot him. This is the story of Magruder's friends. The other and by far the most likely one, is not nearly so creditable to the officer. If it be correct, as is generally belived among men in the camp, the man that killed him would have been justified even by a Philadelphia jury.
The day after his death his remains were interred with military honors due to his rank. We dug him a grave upon prairie, a rough board coffin was constructed, and he was carried to his grave in a commissary wagon drawn by four mules, the entire column joining in the procession. A pale of stones amid the tall grass marks his resting place, and soon that pile will be all that will remind us of a man who might have been of service to his country, but would not.
The burial site was on or near Mt. Linn, and would fore ever be known in Kansas history, as "Camp Magruder."
My Family Tie to Lieut. Magruder.
My family tie to Lieut. Magruder goes back to my GGG Grandfather Capt. Emanuel Mayne, Third Iowa Cavalry who married Grace Magruder and was himself killed in action in the battle of Kirksville, Missouri, August of 1862. Grace and Emanuel had a son First Lieutenant Roy Mayne who was himself killed in April of 1863 on Island No. 26, of the Mississippi River while serving with the Cavalry assigned to the Mississippi Marine Brigade.
This would put Lieutenant Magruder in the category of nephew and consin to the family of Grace Magruder Mayne. Lieutenant Magruder was also a graduate of West Point in 1857 and is in their records listed as a nephew of General John Bankhead Magruder, West Point 1830, who served in the Confederate forces during the Civil War.
Authors Note.
The person said to have killed Lt. Magruder, was a man by the last name of Poor. I did a little research and found there was only one man his name was Victor Poor, had a wife name Hannah, they lived in Marysville Township, he was 25 at the time of the killing.
There was one other his name was Henry Poor, lived in Blue Rapids Township, which is two townships south of Marysville, Kansas, he was 28, at the time.
