Northern Missouri
The 1862 Palmyra Massacre is part of the county's Civil War history
Palmyra was the site of a grim 1862 Civil War episode in which prisoners were executed, a serious history that should be told carefully and from solid sources.
Palmyra, in Marion County, was the site of a grim event during the Civil War. In 1862, Union forces shot 10 Confederate prisoners. The killings were done after Andrew Allsman, a local man who supported the Union, was taken during Confederate activity in northeast Missouri and did not return. This event became known as the Palmyra Massacre.
This is serious, painful history, not a tourist story. It shows how bitter the Civil War became in northeast Missouri, where neighbors, informants, soldiers, and local families could all be pulled into the same conflict.
Because feelings about it still run deep, it is best to learn it from careful, trusted records rather than dramatic retellings. The Missouri State Archives and the State Historical Society of Missouri keep the documented record. If you want to study this part of the county’s past, start with the Missouri Digital Heritage collection and archive sources, then confirm names, dates, and claims there.
Where to see it
- Missouri Digital Heritage - Palmyra Massacre Collection
Use the state archive collection for primary-source context and avoid dramatic secondhand retellings.
References
More from Marion County: browse every local note for the county.
Last checked against the sources above: July 2, 2026.