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Thomas Bridges Webb, A Rebel's Rebel.

Net you will find some wonderful information about another previously unsung Confederate hero and former Quantrillian Thomas Bridges Webb. A while back one of our members Bonnie Stanfield contacted us and with the generous offer to allow some of her family relics to be posted on our website. Due to an miscommunication I did not post the items.
 
Being the angel she is, Bonnie brought this oversight to our attention and she allowed me the opportunity to correct my error. I thank her for her patience and understanding. When I reviewed the information she forwarded while attempting to write an article, I suddenly realized that I was so busy looking at the forest that I couldn’t see the tree in front of my face. The plain truth is the information Bonnie forwarded is stellar and any attempt to improve it would be futile.

The reason I share this little tale is two fold. First and foremost is quantrillsguerrillas.com is an interactive website which was designed with the intent that all of all members would contribute and utilize this ever evolving resource in every manner possible. The founders of this website envisioned that eventually we will have information concerning virtually every aspect of the Missouri Kansas border conflict. However Rome was not built in a day, and we want and need the help of our membership to obtain our ultimate goal.
 
Frankly some of our members have stated they feel a bit reluctant to submit written information because it may be compared to the stories written by some of our members who are considered “experts“ in the field. If this is truly your concern, I implore you to reconsider your decision. The fact is the we have never rejected any subject submitted that was relevant to our subject. Additionally any member can post any information in a forum without approval, and they submit any story they feel is important enough to be posted on our front page, and we will review it and post it as soon as it is approved. Finally if you cant figure out how to post it, send it to us via mail and we’ll post it for you.
 
Perhaps you only know a little bit about your family history or your knowledge is limited to one area of expertise, we implore you to share your information with your fellow members. I know we have members who are extremely knowledgeable about other Confederate partisans, we would welcome them to write about what they know. Just because we have gotten around to discussing the exploits of John Singleton Mosby, John Hunt Morgan, Nathan Bedford Forrest and all the rest yet doesn’t mean we won’t get there eventually.
 
Finally we pride ourselves on responding in a prompt and professional manner. However we are human and sometimes miscommunication can occur. If you have submitted something to us and you don’t receive a response within a couple days, please make a second attempt. We don’t have any problem in presenting and supporting our position on any issue, and we want our members to feel the same level of comfort. When you read Bonnie’s article please bear in mind that virtual all of the information she shared is previously unknown. Members please don’t deny your fellow members a chance to learn what you already know. Without further ado I know you will enjoy the wonderful article submitted by Bonnie Stanfield. If you don’t, well I think you are "Stinkin' like Lincoln!"

First enjoy the post War war image of Thomas Bridges Webb. to the left and below. NOTE: This article features Thomas Bridges Webb, not Thomas Benton Webb. Both were men who fought with Quantrill.
    
                                                                                                   


THOMAS BRIDGES WEBB, A REBEL’S REBEL.                                                                                                                                  
 
I am looking forward to seeing this article on your web-site about my family. I feel this family has a lot of Civil War history to tell. But, until now, Thomas and his brother's and cousin's have been unknown except to Missourians, and I am glad to see them be acknowledged for the soldiers they were.
 
Thomas Bridges Webb was born in Jackson, Co., MO on July 3,1839. His parents were Asa Webb, 1806-1888 and Mary Polly Bridges 1806-1889. Thomas was in the 12th MO Calvary CO H, also known as Shanks MO Calvary. He was captured in Jackson, MO on May 28, 1862 by the Union Army. On August 20, 1862 he was sent to Alton Prison along with his brother Preston Webb. On Dec 27, 1862 he along with Preston and George, his cousin, were sent to St. Louis by order of a Lt. Col. Dick. There they took the Oath of Allegiance on January 7, 1863 and on January 14, 1863 were released after each posting a $1,000. bond. He stated in his letter that he was with Price at Lexington, but didn't admit to anything else. I didn't know he was with Quantrill until I saw him in the Reunion Photos.

After the war he went to California briefly during the Gold Rush, but returned with a gold nugget for his sweetheart and told her that "Those CA miner's would rather shoot you as look at you!" On 7 March 1871 he married her, Melissa Ellen Stephenson, daughter of Robert Stephenson and Catherine Carpenter. She was born 29, March 1851 in Indiana. Her sister Sarah Jane, 1849 NY-1886 MO was the wife of George Webb 1842-1872, who was the son of Allen Webb, Asa's brother. Sarah secondly married George Land a brother to known James Gang member John M Land. Allen Webb was shot and killed in 1862 while a prisoner at Warrensburg. Family legend says that he was one of the oldest soldiers in the war.
 
Capt. John A Webb was another son of Allen who enlisted in the MO State Guards in 1861. He served under Shelby's command during the war and was wounded at the battle of Cane Hill. His mother was a Shelby. His brother Joseph Harris Webb also rode with Shelby and was taken prisoner at Vicksburg and never returned, presumably killed there. Preston Webb and Hugh Webb were also brother's of Thomas. Thomas Webb had two sons, Joseph A, 1872-1969 and Walter L, 1874-1949 and my Grandmother, Retta May, 1887-1929.
 
Thomas took care of Asa in his old age and was rewarded for his kindness when he inherited the full estate of his father Asa. Retta and her husband John Russell took care of Thomas in his old age. He lived in an upstairs bedroom of their home, which I was fortunate to see, on one of my trips to MO. He told tall tales to his Grandchildren, which they thought he made up. I have found that most of his stories were true. He told them he knew and rode with Jesse James. When they used to visit his farm, he kept them away from his cellar so that was always very mysterious to them. He said he spent time in prison and he said that he had an alias. I thought he might have been "Jack Keene" as his sons and Retta were 13 yrs apart, but I found him at home in the 1880 Census with his family.
 
He always had lots of money even in his retirement. He paid my Aunt a silver dollar NOT to learn the Gettysburg Address in school saying "No kin of mine is going to recite that!" When the grandchildren were misbehaving he would say they were "Stinkin' like Lincoln!" Thomas died on Oct 21, 1928 at the age of 89 and is buried in Blue Springs Cemetery with Melissa. I have a copy of the Provost Marshal's letter and documentation found on Ancestry about their capture and transfer from Alton. Somewhere I also have a copy of a document where George and Thomas were caught stealing something at gunpoint.. I will have to look for that. So as you can see, this family had and lost many in the Civil War. They were proud and fierce Confederates. I have more info, but this sums them up. Let me know if you have anymore questions. Respectfully, Bonnie Stanfield.

PS: I have done a lot of research on the related families of these guys. Joab Perry who was a son of my Bridges line was also married to Allen Webb's daughter Louisa. They actually changed their name to Liggett and moved to Greene County. If I can answer any questions about who some of the raiders were related to feel free to ask. The Lands, Perry's, Roger's, Searcy's, Baxter's, Pettyjohn's, Hurst's, and so many more were related to my Webb family. Keep in touch, Bonnie.

So I asked Bonnie the following question. I noticed that Donald Hales; “Branded As Rebels,” has information about a Thomas Webb that has totally different information. Is this a mistake, or were there two of them? Below is an image of Thomas Webb on his farm.
                   

Bonnie replied:

Yes, there were two Thomas B Webb's. The other, Thomas Benton Webb was born 13 June 1835 in Oak Grove, MO. He was the son of John P Webb and Elizabeth Birdwell. His wife was Sarah Ann Sharp. He died 8 Nov 1914 in Butler, Bates, MO. In most records I have seen, he is listed as the Thomas Webb who attended all the reunions..and he might have also. But unless he and my Thomas looked alike, it is my Thomas who is in the photos. That is why I wanted you to see the pictures. We believe Thos Benton was from the Oak Grove Webb's..but some trees have him in our line, but there is no proof. Census info and the wills we have found have no John P. Webb. DNA research of our line linked us way back to the Rev John Webb from Rutherford, NC. And, like I said previously, the Oak Grove Webb's are also linked to us by DNA, but my mother's family were told that they were not related to them. I have even found Thomas B Webb's listed with mine's birth date and Benton's death date. It is very confusing. But, I know that the confederate records I found are our families. And, Asa Webb was the father of our Webb boys...and the snips that talk about Press and Thomas Webb refer to Asa and his farm. Anyway, that is why I wanted to clear all this up. I will see if I can find through Ancestry any living relatives of T Benton Webb and see if we can find a picture of him. More later, Bonnie.


Bonnie Stanfield– © 2010-Quantrillsguerrillas.com. "Permission should be requested and agreed to before using this copyrighted essay."
                                                                                                    

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