Captain William Monks was from West Plains, Missouri, where my Great-Great-Grandfather fought a battle in February 1862. A Union man, Monks and his family suffered greatly at the hands of Rebel bushwhackers and irregular troops. Escaping certain death in captivity, he joined the Union Army, spending the rest of the war fighting those who had driven him from his home and executed many of his neighbors. After the war, he became an assistant prosecutor. He brought his fellow Union survivors and his defeated Confederate neighbors together to rebuild Howell County, which had been devastated and depopulated by the War.
“God forbid that we ever have any more civil war. War is the enemy of good society, degrades the morals of the people, causes rapine and murder, destroys thousands of lives, brings misery and trouble upon the whole people, creates a government debt that our children will not see paid, makes friends enemies. God forbid that any more sectional strife ever may grow up among the people; may there be no North, no South, no East, no West, but let it be a government of the whole people, for the people and by the people. May the time speedily come when the civilized nations of the earth will know war no more; when the civilized nations meet in an international congress, pass an international law that all differences between nations shall be settled by arbitration. May this nation in truth and in deed become a Christian nation and every man speak the truth to his neighbor and adopt the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
— William Monks
After the War, Monks sued two of his neighbors who were part of the Rebel unit that captured him. They had verbally abused and promised to kill him. He won an $8,000 judgment, which allowed him to seize their property. They begged forgiveness, one of them explaining his actions as a ruse to keep the other Rebels from killing him. Monks forgave them and deeded their property back to their wives.
Monks had two daughters. Both married sons of Confederate soldiers.
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Quite the man, Monks is. Not many would be that forgiving, and I see he was a man who didn’t just spew out words and forget what he said. Peace time doesn’t just need to be one of great economic success, but also reuniting the world in love, no matter who wins and loses!
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