I do not know if the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl today, but I remain cautiously optimistic. Sadly, I have had little time to reflect on sports this past week with the loss of my grandmother. All my other grandparents passed away at this point, but I am fortunate to have spent so much time with all of them. At the funeral this past Saturday, I reflected on my childhood memories of visiting Florida, Missouri, for family events. We shot off fireworks one year there on some family-owned land. There was a Civil War reenactment that took place there one summer. Then, when I was younger, my grandfather took me out to where Grant's headquarters used to be to look for old items. We found an old button with the Signal Corps logo on it.
My grandfather's great-grandfather was Jesse Ephraim Moffett (1838-1914). He was born in Virginia and joined the Confederacy at the outbreak of the war. He rode with Jeb Stuart till his death in 1864. He was a part of the Army of Northern Virginia until 1865, when Grant surrounded the majority of the army and forced Lee to surrender. Jesse Moffett was a part of a cavalry contingent that managed to avoid capture and fled to Missouri. They settled near Florida, Missouri, and ironically, my great-grandfather thought highly of Grant, even giving me Grant Takes Command by Bruce Catton. So much for Jesse Moffett being an "unreconstructed rebel."
The interest in Grant lies in the North Fork area of Florida, Missouri. Grant arrived at this location with the 21st Illinois on 15 July 1861. Grant ordered his soldiers to build a bridge and blockhouse in the area. Rebel guerrillas burnt down The previous bridge just a week before Grant's arrival. Grant wanted the bridge rebuilt and a blockhouse with a Union garrison to prevent this from happening again. This was one of Grant's first initial orders in the War of Rebellion, which led him to become general-in-chief of all armies.
Grant probably did not reflect on his first campaigns in Missouri, at least before Belmont. However, these first steps brought him into the spotlight just a few years later. The people now living near Florida, Missouri, remember Grant fondly for his time there. Two churches remain in the area, and a few members regularly attend. There is a small graveyard only a couple minutes away from the small Methodist Church where both my grandparents are now buried. Unfortunately, most of the land around Florida, Missouri, is now used as an RV park, and the historic buildings have been dismantled. Luckily, the memories of that place still live in my mind as I remember them.
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