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Morristown was a small community that was located here in the mid-19th century. During the Civil War, Confederate forces recruited men in Morristown to serve under Col. W. H. Erwin’s 10th Missouri Cavalry, which would join the larger Confederate forces in Lexington under General Sterling Price. Col. Hampton Johnson commanded Union forces on the morning of September 17, 1861, to attack the Confederate forces camped in Morristown. Confederate forces were defeated and routed to Harrisonville. The aftermath of the battle left Col. Johnson mortally wounded, and four Confederate prisoners were forced to dig their graves before being executed. The Union troops raided a majority of the town before they left.


Sign located on HWY 2

Sign located on HWY 2

Later in the war, the Union returned to Morristown to set up camp, and they named it Camp Johnson in honor of the fallen colonel. Morristown was located in the northern part of what is today known as Freeman, Missouri. Not much is left of the town of Morristown, but there is a sign on Highway 2.

The Stern Visitations of War in Cass County. Cass County Public Library. Accessed May 01, 2017. http://www.casscolibrary.org/casscountyhistory/map11.

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