Morning Disrupted

Morning Disrupted. Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. The Civil War was more than a conflict between the North and South, abolitionists and slave owners. It was complicated. John Ray, originally from Tennessee, was pro-Union and a postmaster. He and his wife Roxanna listed an enslaved woman named Rhoda and her four children in the 1860 census., According to Olivia Ray, at 6 a.m. August 10, 1861, her sister Livonia and brother Wesley were herding their horses in the valley south of the springhouse (across the Tour Road). Suddenly a Confederate soldier rode up on horseback and said, "Get out of here, children! They'll be fighting like hell here in less than ten minutes.", As troops advanced over the horizon, Roxanna and Rhoda took the children into the cellar. John Ray stayed on the front porch to watch the battle in his cornfield. Although cannon rounds landed in the backyard, the house sustained no damage and the Rays were unharmed., (captions) , (Top Left) Olivia Ray was 6 years old on the day of the battle. Her memories are the basis of this family's story. Shown here as a young woman. , (Bottom Left) Rhoda never forgot the battle and the many dreadful sights she and her children saw that day. Shown here later in life. , (Center) The Ray House circa 1883. The Rays lived in this house until their deaths in the 1870s. , (Top Right) Wesley Ray shown here as a young man. , (Bottom Right) Livonia Ray helped haul water for wounded soldiers after the battle. Shown here later in life.