| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
JIM: Russell Co. History -The Bloodless Battle of Russell Springs A Christmas story, a civil war re-enactment of sorts, of adult boys 'war' with both kinds of real arms - roman candles AND firecrackers - was not only the talk of Russell County, but made headlines in the Adair County News in Columbia, too. Headliners in the affray were Gen. J. C. Popplewell, Gen. R.G. Woods Lieut. Gen. Cleo Shirrill, Sgt. Avery Stephens, Col. Levy Smith, Gen. Welby Absher, and Col. Hale. A fascinating and true page out of Russell County history re-discovered and carefully edited by JIM, self-exiled in his own Elba - in a place called 'Ohio,' wherever that is. Click on headline for complete account of 'The Bloodless Battle of Russell Springs' by JIM One of the lesser-known aspects of Russell County history is the Bloodless Battle of Russell Springs, fought a few days before Christmas fivescore and six years ago - a tale fraught with surprise attacks, strategic retreats, arms negotiations, and conflict unresolved. An account of the affray appeared in the <Adair County News bearing the date December 25, 1907: "Great events cast their shadows before them. So the shadow of Christmas was thrown over the little town of Russell Springs last night so dark that the superstitious persons of the town were up till midnight listening for Gabriel to 'toot' his trumpet. "The North end of town under the command of Gen. J.C. Popplewell made a charge with roman candles and fire crackers on the South end, which was not prepared for a battle, and Gen. R.G. Woods ordered a hasty retreat in every direction. "The retreating army gathered at Snow & Popplewell's Store and obtained arms to meet the North, [and] a battle followed in which Lieut. Gen. Cleo Shirrill of the South was severely wounded. "The South then invested another retreat, in which Sergeant Avery Stephens made two close pursuits and was taken through three degrees of "Bird gang" by the left wing of the South's army under Colonel Levy Smith. "The last retreat was made by Gen. Woods who made a center table out of his coat-tail while being pursued by Lieut. Gen. Welby Absher and Colonel Hale. "The boys are hardly satisfied with the results of last night and rumors of war are heard in every direction, and it is probable that there will be hot times tonight if [the] fireworks last." (When the Generals Popplewell and Woods weren't leading their respective armies into battle, they slipped into their alter egos as businessmen of Russell Springs. J.C. Popplewell comprised one half of the firm Snow & Popplewell, "Dealers in General Merchandise, Dry Goods, Groceries, Hardware, Buggies, Wagons, Harness, Fertilizer and Undertaker Goods." Rice Garland "R.G." Woods, a native of Garrard County, Ky., came to town in the late summer of 1906 as cashier of the just-opened Bank of Russell Springs, a position he held until departing for Kinross, Iowa, in late 1909. He also served as Secretary of the Russell Springs Fair Association for two or three years. In 1942, General Popplewell put aside all things ephemeral and took up the mantle of eternity, as did General Woods the following year.) - JIM This story was posted on 2014-03-29 15:30:43
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Jim: History:
JIM: Sidewalks were responsibility of property owners in 1909 JIM: A political prognostication, 1916 JIM: Guess is that Ms. Lunn was Sara Rey (Sallie) Marcum JIM: Ms. Lunn critiques the courtroom (and the inhabitants therein), 1906 JIM: Whittled with his own snickersnee JIM: Columbia's Good Condition, January, 1909 JIM: Melvin White/The spirit of ministrelsy rises within me JIM: Russell County in 1900, as seen in Adair County News JIM: Report in 1908 of Mr. Sam Lewis and his airship JIM: Alvin York - His duty to defend View even more articles in topic Jim: History |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
