St. Clair County
Remnants Of The Past

Gun Battle at Roscoe
March 17, 1874

This new monument was erected in 1989 by the Roscoe Community Historical Society.

The monument is located on E Highway. From Osceola one would take B Highway to E or take Highway 82 West of Osceola and turn at Roscoe

The reputed outlaws, John Younger and his brother James Younger fought a gun battle with detectives James Wright and Louis J. Lull (alias Allen). E.B. Daniels acted as a local guide for Wright and Lull.

The battle was fought about 1\4 mile east of here on March 17, 1874. In the fight, John Younger and E.B. Daniels were killed. Detective Lull was severely wounded and taken to Roscoe for treatment where, by later reports, he either died or pretended death to escape from the rest of the Youngers. Detective Wright disappeared.

The Youngers were natives of the area, frequenting Roscoe, Osceola and Monegaw Springs. The detectives were Pinkerton agents out of Chicago whose mission it was to capture the Youngers and their cousins, the James brothers.

The old monument is down a gravel road about 1/4 mile from the new monument.

The History of Henry and St. Clair Counties, Missouri
Containing a History of these Counties, Their Cities, Towns, Etc., Etc.
1883

THE GREAT BATTLE

The whole community was thrown into excitement on Wednesday morning by the report reaching town that a desperate and bloody battle had been fought near Monegaw, on the road leading from Roscoe to Chalk Level, about three miles from Roscoe, and near the farm of Mr. Theodorick Snuffer, between a couple of United States detectives and John and James Younger, the detectives having along with them as guide, Mr. Ed. B. Daniels, a young man of Osceola. One of the detectives, named Wright, made his escape back to OSceola, and was unable to give full particulars of the fight and its results, but gave it as his opinion that his partner and Daniels had surrendered and would be killed. Friends of Young Daniels at once crossed the river and went a few miles to ascertain what was the result, and soon returned with the information that Ed. Daniels and John Younger had been killed and the detective, Allen, mortally wounded, when a hack was procured to and sent over to bring the body of Ed. Daniels to town, as also the wounded detective. The excitement grew high and Sheriff Johnson thought it best to to send out his deputy, Simpson Beckley, with a posse of men, and prevent, if possible, (in case there should be anything like a mob visit the  scene of the battlefield) any disturbance. some half dozen men were at once summoned, but before starting information was received  that he wounded detective had been taken to Roscoe. The sheriff's posse then proceeded to Roscoe, and our special reporter accompanied then with a view to ascertaining  full and authentic information of the whole affray.

Roscoe was reached about five o'clock in the evening, where we found the wounded Detective Allen, at the Roscoe House, under charge of Dr. A.C. Marquis. We found Mr. Allen suffering considerably from his wounds, which consisted of a broken left arm, with several buckshot in it, and a pistol shot through the left lung, the ball entering in front and passing through the body, the wound having been caused by being discharged from a large sized navy revolver. In our interview with him, he stated the same in substance as his evidence before the coroner's jury which will be found below.

The shooting occurred about three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, the 17th instant, and word was sent to Roscoe the same evening, when some of the citizens of that place went out and staid with the wounded and dead men until Wednesday morning, when Justice St. Clair, of Roscoe summoned a jury and an inquest was held over the dead bodies, which is here reported in full. The body of Ed. Daniel was taken to Osceola and that of John Younger was buried that afternoon.

We went from Roscoe to the residence of Mr. Snuffer and there learned that the Younger boys, John and James, had been to his residence about one half hour previous to the appearance of the detectives and young Daniel, they, the Youngers eating dinner at the time they passed. After eating their dinner, John Younger remarked to his brother James that they would follow those men and see who they were, stating at the time that he supposed they were detectives, and when they caught up with them, the battle commenced, as reported below.

We passed over the battle ground, and must confess we were surprised to find it the place it is, as, from the reports, as well as from the evidence of both detectives as to having been taken by surprise, we are at a loss to see how such a thing was possible. It is to be presumed that the detectives were on the watch, as they certainly new the character of the men they were after.The ground is a beautiful grove, thinly studded with small trees, without underbrush or leaves on the trees, and any one approaching could readily be seen for three or four hundred yards.

Mr. Alva Wycoff of Appleton City, a gentleman of prominence and highly respected, went to the house of Mr. Snuffer on Wednesday night and learned all the particulars, and when we met him on Thursday morning he assured us that there need be no fears of mobbing, so as far as the citizens of that portion of the county were concerned, as it would be left to the detectives, in whom they had full confidence.

The body of Ed. Daniel was deposited in its last resting place, in the cemetery, this (Friday) morning.

Dr.Marquis thinks there is a probability that the detective, Allen, will recover from his wounds, although they are severe. The citizens of Roscoe are giving the wounded man every attention possible. A dispatch was sent to Chicago on Thursday for his wife to come on.

The following is the evidence before the coroner's inquest, held on the bodies of  

Edward Daniel and John Younger:

W.J. Allen, being duly sworn, testified as follows:

Yesterday, about half past two o'clock, the 17th day of March, 1874, E.B. Daniels and myself were riding along the road from Roscoe to Chalk Level, which road runs past the house of one Theodoric Snuffer, and about three miles from the town of Roscoe, and in St. Clair County, Missouri. Daniels and myself were riding side by side, and Wright a short distance ahead of us; some noise behind us attracted our attention, and we looked back and saw two men on horseback coming toward us, and one was armed with a double-barrel shotgun, the other with revolvers; don't know if the other had a shotgun or not; the one had the shotgun cocked, both barrels, and ordered us to halt; Wright drew his pistol and put spurs to his horse and rode off; they ordered him to halt and shot at him and shot off his hat, but he kept on riding. Daniels and myself stopped, standing across the road on our horses; they rode up to us and ordered us to take off our pistols and drop them in the road, the one with the gun covering me all the time with the gun. We dropped our pistols on the ground, and one of the men told the other to follow Wright and bring him back, but he refused to go, saying he would stay with him; one of the men picked up the revolvers we had dropped, and looking at them, remarked they were damn fine pistols, and they must make them a present of them; one of them then asked me where we came from, and I said Osceola; he then wanted to know what we doing in this part of the country; I replied, rambling around. One of them then said, you were up here one day before; I replied that we were not; he then said we had been at the Springs; I replied that we had been at the Springs, but had not been inquiring for them, that we did not know them, and they said detectives had been up there hunting for them all the time, and they were going to stop it. Daniels then said, "I am no detective; I can show you who I am and where I belong;" and one of them said he knew him, and then turned to me and said, "what in the hell are you riding around here with all them pistols on for? and I said: "Good God! is not every man wearing them that is traveling and have I not as much right to wear them as any one else?" and the one that had the shotgun said, "Hold on, young man, we don't want any of that," and then lowered the gun, cocked it in a threatening manner; then Daniels had some talk with them, and one of them got off his horse and picked up the pistols; two of them were mine and one was Daniels'; the one mounted had the gun drawn on me, and I concluded that they intended to kill us. I reached my hand behind me and drew a No. 2 Smith & Wesson pistol and cocked it and fired at the one on horseback, and my horse frightened at the report of the pistol and turned to run, I heard two shots and my left arm fell, and then I had no control over my horse, and he jumped into the bushes and the trees and checked his speed, and I tried to get hold of the rein with my right hand to bring him into the road one of the men rode by me and fired two shots at me, one of which took effect in my left side, and I lost all control of my horse and he turned into the brush and a small tree struck me and knocked me out of the saddle.I then got up and staggered across the road and lay down until I was found. No one else was present.

W.J. ALLEN

Subscribed and sworn to, before me, this 18th day of March, 1874

JAMES ST. CLAIR

TESTIMONY OF JOHN M'FARRIN

I heard a shot a couple of hundred yards from my house, and I found out after the first shot that it was John and James Younger; after the first shot they ceased firing for some time, and then commenced again, but I had not seen any of the parties, but after several shots had been fired, another man, who I did no know, come down the road, and I think was shooting at the other man; he continued to run down the road east of here; I think John Younger passed the man on the grey here; about the time John Younger passed him I saw him sink on his horse, as if going to fall; don't know what become of him afterwards; then Younger turned to come west and began to sink, and then fell off his horse; then James Younger came down here a foot to where John Younger was laying and the horse that John Younger was riding, and that was the  last I saw of james Younger. JOHN McFARRIN. X

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 18th day of March, 1874

JAMES ST. CLAIR, J.P.

TESTIMONY OF THEODORICK SNUFFER

The men came to my house and inquired the way to Mrs. Sims; the third man came along afterwards and overtook them; the two Youngers, John and James, after they had passed, followed them; I saw James Younger after the fight; he told me that John younger was dead; that they had killed one of the men and that one other had been wounded and got away; that they had wounded Allen; that Allen had a pistol secreted and fired the first shot.

THEODORIC SNUFFER

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 18th day of March, 1874.

JAMES ST. CLAIR, J.P.

TESTIMONY OF G.W. M'DONALD

 John Younger fell from his horse; James Younger came running up to where John had fallen and called me to him; he then turned him (John Younger) over and took some revolvers off of him, and a watch and something else out of his pockets; I do not know what else; I saw John Younger and another man shooting at each other when the first firing commenced; I think James Younger took four revolvers off of John Younger, his brother; he threw one over the fence and told me to keep it; he then told me to catch a horse and go down and tell Snuffer's folks.

Sworn to and subscribed before me, the 18th day of March, 1874

JAMES ST. CLAIR, J.P.

TESTIMONY OF DRS. MARQUIS AND LEWIS

 All we know concerning the death of the two men, being the same that the inquest is being held over, is that one, John Younger, came to his death from the effects of a gunshot wound, which entered the right side of his neck, touching the clavical bone on the upper side, and about two inches from the meredian, went nearly straight through the neck; the orifice is small, indicating that he was shot with a small ball. The other man, Edwin B.Daniels, came to his death from the effect of a gunshot wound, which entered the left side of the neck, about one inch from the meredian line, about midway of the neck, opposite the aesophagus, and as per examination, went nearly straight through the neck, striking the bone; the orifice was pretty large, indicating that the ball was of a pretty large size.

A.C. MARQUIS, M.D.

L. LEWIS, M.D.

Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 18th day of March, 1874

JAMES ST. CLAIR, J.P.

The following names comprise the coroner's jury, with A. Ray as foreman: A.Ray, G.W. Cox, J.Davis,

W. Holmes, R.C.Gill and H. Greason.

The verdict of the jury was as follows:

We, the jury, find that John Younger came to his death by a pistol shot, supposed to be in the hands of

W.J. Allen.

A.RAY, Foreman

We, the jury, find that Edward B.Daniel came to his death by a pistol shot, supposed to have been fired by the hand of James Younger.

A. RAY, Foreman