The Palmyra Massacre grew out of Confederate Col. Joseph Porter's 1862 recruiting campaign in northeast Missouri, during which he recruited local men and repeatedly attacked Union outposts and patrols. After a defeat at Kirksville on Aug. 6, Porter disbanded his regiment but kept about 300–400 recruits nearby. On Sept. 12, while Col. John McNeil was away, Porter entered Palmyra with little opposition, freed 45-50 prisoners, destroyed Provost Marshal Col. William Strachan's records of loyalty oaths and bonds, and carried off three prisoners, including Andrew Allsman, a 60-year-old local informant. Porter later ordered Allsman released near a road back to Palmyra, but Allsman was shot and killed by someone. McNeil then demanded that Porter return Allsman unharmed within 10 days or 10 of Porter's imprisoned men would be shot. When no reply came, Strachan selected 10 prisoners for execution, with William Humphrey spared after his wife's plea and replaced by Hiram Smith. On Oct. 18, 1862, the prisoners were taken from the Palmyra jail to the fairgrounds, seated on their coffins before a firing squad, and shot; only three died immediately, and a backup squad finished the others. The executions drew wide condemnation, including from the New York Times and foreign newspapers, even as McNeil and Strachan defended them as retaliation for Allsman's murder and as punishment of men who had violated parole. The controversy also turned on whether Porter's recruits were legitimate Confederate soldiers or merely guerrillas, since although recruited by the Confederates, they had not been formally sworn into service when captured and were therefore, at least legally, subject to execution under Federal army orders in Missouri.
