Yates Stirling Jr.
Yates Stirling Jr. (April 30, 1872 – January 27, 1948) was a decorated and controversial rear admiral in the United States Navy whose 44-year career spanned from several years before the Spanish–American War to the mid-1930s. He was awarded the Navy Cross and French Legion of Honor for distinguished service during World War One. The elder son of Rear Admiral Yates Stirling, he was an outspoken advocate of American sea power as a strong deterrent to war and to protect and promote international commerce. During Stirling's naval career and following retirement, he was a frequent lecturer, newspaper columnist and author of numerous books and articles, including his memoirs, "Sea Duty: The Memoirs of a Fighting Admiral", published in 1939. Describing himself, Stirling wrote, "All my life I have been called a stormy petrel. I have never hesitated to use the pen to reveal what I considered should be brought to public attention, usually within the Navy, but often to a wider public. I seem to see some benefits that have come through those efforts. I have always believed that a naval man is disloyal to his country if he does not reveal acts that are doing harm to his service and show, if he can, how to remedy the fault. An efficient Navy cannot be run with 'yes men' only."
Keytesville, Missouri
One of Keytesville's native sons, Sterling Price, was a key figure in Missouri during the Civil War, and violence would be visited on the community as well. As mentioned above, on September 20, 1864, a Confederate force of 250 men—among them George Todd and other members of Quantrill's Raiders —under Major John Thrailkill arrived at the edge of town. This was part of General Price's larger 1864 campaign through the Show Me state, as his forces advanced from eastern Missouri to the Kansas City area along the Missouri river. At the time, Thrailkill's force arrived Keytesville was defended by a small Union detachment of thirty-five men from the Missouri militia, commanded by Lieutenant Anthony Pleyer. Early on the morning of September 20, under a flag of truce, Major Thrailkill demanded the surrender of the Union troops, promising fair treatment. Seeing the situation as hopeless, Pleyer complied. Rather than being taken prisoner, the Union garrison was paroled. Confederate forces then briefly occupied the town, liberating supplies from various merchants, setting the courthouse ablaze and killing two citizens—Chariton County sheriff Robert Carmon and William Young, a Union scout and alleged spy.