*CAPTAIN JAMES CALLAWAY * JAMES McMILLIN *
* PARKS HUTCHINGS * FRANK McDERMID*

Remembering four men who died in the WAR OF 1812.

Captain James Richard Callaway, Daniel Boone's Grandson and my 4th Great Uncle, was in command of a company of Missouri Mounted Rangers in St Charles County Missouri during the War of 1812. According to the company records I have obtained, the company was stationed at "Camp Clemson" from December 31 1814 to March 31 1815. On March 7th of 1815, the Rangers were heading north from Fort Clemson in persuit of a band of Sac-and-Fox Indians who had stolen some horses. The Rangers recovered the horses and were heading back to the fort when they were ambushed by the Indians as they crossed Loutre Creek.

Three men were in the lead with the horses and were the first to cross the creek. Just as they reached the south bank, they were fired upon by a band of 50 to 100 Sac-and-Fox Indians.

One of the men killed was my 4th Great Grandfather, James McMillin.

The other two men with James were Frank McDermid and Parks Hutchins. When the three men in the lead were attacked, Captain Callaway raced ahead to help his men. As he crossed the creek, his horse was shot and Captain Callaway dove into the creek for cover. The Indians fired again, this time shooting Captain Callaway in the head as he swam downstream.

There is a possibility that another man, Hiram Scott was also killed by the Sac-and-Fox that day, while taking an alternate route trying to get back to the fort after the ambush.

The rest of the company made it back to Fort Clemson unharmed, and within a day or so a party was formed to recover and bury the bodies of the four men. Daniel Boone and his son Nathan were in the rescue party, as was Flanders Callaway, who was Captain Callaway's father.

My grandfather, James McMillin, along with Parks Hutchings and Frank McDermid were found scalped and mutilated. The three were buried in one grave together where they were found.

Captain Callaway was found downstream, and he was buried on a hill near the area where he was found.

I visited the site of the ambush in December 2009. The graves are located on private property that lies within the boundaries of what is now Montgomery County.

I spoke with Mr. Gene Eldringhoff, owner of the property and he helped me to visualize the scene of the attack. Of course, no one really knows EXACTLY what happened on March 7 1815, but with Gene's help and a little research into past accounts of the ambush, I have put together this picture using a Google Earth view:




The X in the field marks the grave of the 3 Rangers.

The line represents the Rangers probable path across Loutre Creek.

The 3 arrows point to a smaller creek and its bank, which is where the Indians were probably waiting to ambush the men as they crossed the field where X is. The small creek has high banks, approximately 5 to 8 feet high, which can not be seen in this picture. The Indians were probably hidden along this bank and in the tree line of Loutre Creek. When the men reached the small field, they would have had no place to escape the Indian fire.

Captain Callaway's body floated downstream towards the right side of the picture and was found in the area where there is a circle shown. He was buried under a grave made of large stones and rocks where I have marked an X in the woodsy area.

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Pictures of the Ranger's graves taken by Andrea Myers 12/7/2009


The above picture is the small field where the 3 men were ambushed.
The 3 Rangers graves are on the left, and Loutre Creek is behind the tree line.
In 1815, the Rangers crossed the creek and would have been heading towards where I was standing to take this picture.
This field was the scene of a very bloody attack.  The accounts say that there may have been 50 to 100 Indians waiting for the Rangers to cross the creek.






The grave of my 4th great Grandfather, James A McMillin, Parks Hutchings and Frank McDermid.

James McMillin left behind a wife, Elizabeth, and 2 young sons, William and John.
James's surname "McMillin", has been misspelled "McMullin" on his stone, as was common for the time.

The stones read:
JAMES A MCMULLIN
PVT
CALLAWAY'S RANGERS
WAR OF 1812
MARCH 7 1815
KINGDOM POST 210
A.L. 1941

PARKS HUTCHINGS
CORP
CALLAWAY'S RANGERS
WAR OF 1812
MARCH 7 1815
KINGDOM POST 210
A.L. 1941

FRANK MCDERMID
PVT
CALLAWAY'S RANGERS
WAR OF 1812
MARCH 7 1815
KINGDOM POST 210
A.L. 1941







The above picture is the grave of my 4th Great Uncle, Captain James Callaway.
Captain Callaway left behind a wife, Nancy, and 3 young children. 






Captain James Callaway's original stone.
It is crudely carved by Tarlton Goe (Daniel Boone's grandson and Captain Callaway's 1st cousin) 
The old stone reads:
"CAPT JAS. CALLAWAY
MCH 7 1815"
Both stones are on the Captain's grave, which is covered with many rocks and stones.




A second stone for the Captain reads:
JAMES CALLAWAY
CAPTAIN MID RANGERS
WAR OF 1812
MARCH 7 1815"




The above picture was taken standing at the Captain's grave and looking down toward Loutre Creek where his body was found.





The above picture is Loutre creek at the area where the Rangers crossed.
The Rangers were coming from the far side and crossed to the side I was standing on.
The Captain dove into the water when he was shot, his body was carried in the direction toward the top of the photo.

In 1813, Captain James Richard Callaway raised his first company of rangers for service against the Indians.

MUSTER ROLLS:

Captain James Callaway's first company of Rangers
(I am related to at least 7 of the 27 men on this list)

Captain: James R. Callaway (my 4th Great Uncle)
First Leutannant: Prospect K. Robbins
Second Leutannant: John B. Stone
First Sergeant: Larkin S. Callaway (my 4th Great Uncle)
Second Sergeant: John Baldridge
Third Sergeant: William Smith
Cornet: Jonathan Riggs
Trumpeter: Thomas Howell (my 4th Great Grandfather)
Privates:
    Frank McDermid
    John Stewart (my 6th Great Uncle)
    John Atkinson
    Robert Truitt
    Francis Howell (my 5th Great Grandfather)
    John Howell (my 4th Great Uncle)
    Benjamin Howell (my 4th Great Uncle)
    Joseph Hinds
    Richard Berry
    Thomas Smith
    Adam Zumwalt
    Adam Zumwalt, Jr.
    Enoch Taylor
    Aleck Baldridge
    Lewis Crow
    James Kerr
    Anthony C. Palmer
    Daniel Hays
    Boone Hays

Captain James Callaway's last company of Rangers
This roll was in James' possession when he was killed, and was lost.
This list was put together by others after James' death.
(I am related to at least 3 of the 20 men on this list)

Captain: James Callaway (my 4th great uncle)
First Leutannant: David Bailey
Second Leutannant: Jonathan Riggs
Privates:
    James McMillin (my 4th great grandfather)
    Hiram Scott
    Frank McDermid
    William Keithley
    Thomas Bowman
    Robert Baldridge (my 5th great uncle)
    John Baldridge
    James Kennedy
    Thomas Chambers
    Jacob Groom
    Parks Hutchings
    Thomas Gilmore
    _____Wolf
    _____Deason
    _____Murdock
    _____Kent
    _____Berry




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