300 N Broadway, Lexington, KY 40508, United States
Joseph Orville Shelby entered Transylvania University at the age of fifteen and remained there for three years.
300 N Broadway, Lexington, KY 40508, United States
Joseph Orville Shelby entered Transylvania University at the age of fifteen and remained there for three years.
Joseph Orville Shelby was born on December 12, 1830, in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. He was the son of Orville Shelby and his second wife, Anna M. Boswell. He was a descendant of the fourth generation from Evan Shelby, who came to America from Wales about 1734, and a kinsman of Evan and Isaac Shelby. When Shelby was about five years old his father died.
Joseph Orville Shelby received his early schooling from his step-father, Benjamin Grantz. He entered Transylvania University at the age of fifteen and remained there for three years. After an additional year's study in Philadelphia, he returned to Lexington to engage in rope manufacturing.
In 1852 Joseph Orville Shelby moved to Berlin and later to Waverly, Missouri, where he established a rope factory. During the Kansas-Missouri border troubles, Shelby, favorable to slavery, raised and commanded a company of Kentuckians. He then returned to his business pursuits and by 1861 was accounted for one of the wealthiest slaves and landowners in Missouri.
When Fort Sumter was fired on, Shelby, refusing a Federal commission, joined the Confederacy and in three years rose from the rank of captain to that of brigadier-general. His cavalry force was prominently identified with the campaigns of Gen. Sterling Price in the West, fighting at Carthage, Wilson's Creek, Lexington, Springfield, Missouri, Pea Ridge, St. Charles, and Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas.
In June 1862 he joined the forces of Gen. James E. Rains at Van Buren, Arkansas, to invade Missouri. At Newtonia, Missouri, he organized a cavalry brigade, and during the fall of 1862 remained near Huntsville, Arkansas, operating throughout the winter against Gen. James Gilpatrick Blunt. Shelby was wounded in this action, but upon his recovery, he raided Missouri, captured Booneville, Neosho, Bower Mills, Warsaw, Tipton, Stockton, and Humansville, and then withdrew to Camden, Arkansas, for winter quarters.
Shelby was ordered on March 3, 1864, to garrison Princeton, on the Saline River line, and to cover all roads leading into Camden. The Confederates invaded Missouri again in the summer of 1864 to divert Grant from his hammering campaign. Shelby and Price attacked at Lexington and at the Little Blue River, then moved to Westport, Missouri, where they engaged heavily late in October 1864. When Price was forced to withdraw to Newtonia, Shelby ably covered the movement.
After an engagement with Blunt at Newtonia, Shelby retired to Clarksville, Texas, where he learned of Lee's surrender. When General Buckner surrendered at Shreveport, Shelby urged his men to cross into Mexico, there to join forces either with General Juarez or Emperor Maximilian. Shelby's command buried their battle flag in the Rio Grande River on July 4, 1865, and crossed the border. Against Shelby's judgment, his men voted to support Maximilian, but the Emperor, suspicious of the proffered aid, held aloof. Later he repented of his folly and gave Shelby some land upon which a colony, named Carlotta for the Empress, was formed. As the French withdrew from Mexico, Juarez struck and Maximilian finally called for Shelby's aid, but his hour had passed and the unhappy monarch soon faced a firing squad.
Shelby returned to Bates County, Missouri, to rebuild his fortunes, but steadfastly refused to capitalize politically on his great personal popularity until 1893, when President Cleveland appointed him United States marshal for the western district of Missouri. While carrying out the duties of this office, he contracted an illness which resulted in his death at Adrian, Missouri.
Joseph Orville Shelby formed the Lafayette County Mounted Rifles for Missouri State Guard service and was elected the company's captain, leading it into battle at Carthage, Wilson's Creek, and Pea Ridge. He also distinguished himself at the battles of Little Blue River and Westport and captured many towns from their Union garrisons, including Potosi, Boonville, Waverly, Stockton, Lexington, and California, Missouri. Shelby was appointed the U. S. Marshal for the Western District of Missouri due to his great personal popularity.
Joseph Orville Shelby had personal courage and his mastery of cavalry tactics.
Recognized for his leadership skills and talent, Shelby was quickly promoted, and given command of the "Iron Brigade," so named for their toughness.
In 1858 Joseph Orville Shelby was married to Elizabeth N. Shelby, a remote cousin. They had seven children, of whom a daughter and several sons survived their parents.
