But the design isn’t the only thing historic about that bridge site. Less than a month after Thorndike Brooks took a company of Marion area men to join the Confederate Army, a battle of sorts took place at the bridge between the Marion militia and what they thought were Union forces.
In 1828, Joab Goodall came to Williamson County and farmed the area that is now the Crab Orchard Bottoms and the Fairway Golf Course. He built a bridge which became known as the Goodall Bridge. In 1858, it was rebuilt.
Just to the east of the bridge the road forked into the old Lick Road to Equality and the post road to Golconda.
The incident came about when Marion businessman James D. Pulley was arrested in Carbondale on his way to Springfield to serve as a grand juror.
Early county historian Milo Erwin wrote the only known account of this in his book, History of Williamson County.
As Erwin explained, Pulley had been in Paducah the day before Brooks and his band of Marion Confederates had crossed the river. A rumor had started that he had been on the “Old Kentucky” when it ferried the boys across the river.
Erwin said it was a rumor, but it was probably true considering the known confederate sympathies of other Pulleys in Marion at the time.
“Captain A. P. Corder, who then lived at Carbondale, became alarmed, and came up to Marion, where he arrived late in the afternoon, he told the people about Pulley’s arrest and insinuated that a company was coming up from Muddy Bridge that night after Logan and Allen,” wrote Erwin.
Corder was an old military veteran of the Black Hawk and Mexican Wars. Two months earlier he had been a leader at the secession meeting organized in Carbondale.
Logan was U.S. Rep. John A. Logan. He had only been back in Marion for about a month. Allen was William “Josh” Allen, Logan’s former law partner.
The troops at Muddy Bridge was the company of troops left a month earlier at the railroad bridge north of Carbondale over the Big Muddy River. A few weeks before, local residents had tried to stage a raid to burn down the bridge to keep Union soldiers from using the railroad.
“Corder’s announcement produced that greatest excitement; the people trembled at the dreadful crisis; they commenced getting drunk, and by a half hour by sun there were enough drunk to make a considerable crowd.”
Erwin reported that Logan took command, his first, and ordered the men to report on the square at dark.
“About thirty men reported, and when inquiries were made about “Josh”, (Hon. Willis Allen,) Logan said, “I guess he is at home under the bed. Go and bring him out. Later, Josh came out, and they took up their line of march to the old Fair Grounds, a half mile west of town, taking jugs and bottles, in place of powder and guns”.
The old fairgrounds were still fairly new then, only dedicated seven years earlier. Originally part of the Aikman farm, the ten acre tract was located on the south side of the Marion to Carbondale Road (now Main Street) between, what’s now Bentley and Russell Streets and bounded on the south by Cherry Street
“When they arrived there, Logan gave Capt. G.W. Goddard his pistol (the only firearm in the crowd,) and detailed him to stand guard at the mile tree, and report the approach of the enemy. He was to fire and fall back by the best route, firing all the while.”
Erwin called Goddard captain. He wouldn’t be for another year. At the time he was the circuit clerk and had taken part in the public meeting a month earlier at the courthouse that had passed a resolution calling for Southern Illinois to secede and join the Confederacy.
The mile tree was one mile west of the square on Main Street about where Ewan Street is today.
“About ten o’clock their whiskey gave out and the main body had to fall back to town for supplies. After replenishing their depleted quartermaster, they struck up a line of march for the Goodall Bridge, one and a half miles southeast of Marion, a locality conspicuous at that time for other reasons.”
Erwin doesn’t explain why the locality was conspicuous at the time. One of the questions that should be raised at this point, is why did the militia which is trying to protect Logan and Allen move from a position in front of the city to one or two miles away on the other side of town?
The men would have marched up West Main to the square where they would have turned south on Market and went past the old Allen brick house (514 S. Market St.). At the present day intersection of Boyton and Market, the group would have turned east on the county road that is now Boyton Street. The road turned south at what’s now Old Creal Springs Road and from there they marched (if drunken men can) to the bridge.
One of the possible reasons for the move could have been the mill that stood near the bridge. Charlie Goodall purchased a third share of the old Goodall and Spiller Mill in 1856. The deed only describes the parcel of property, not where it was located. Joab Goodall did have a mill there and they could have been one and the same.
Charlie was Joab’s nephew and was a big Confederate in the county. Erwin wrote that around June 1, just a week and a half after Brooks left and a few weeks before this incident; Goodall openly flew the Confederate flag at a barbecue he held. This was the only time it openly flew over the county.
It’s possible that Logan moved his men to the bridge and mill site because Goodall may also have been a target of the Union Army.
“About eleven o’clock the citizens in town sent John H. White to Carbondale for a ‘compromise.’ About the same hour, J. M. Campbell and J. M Prickett started from Carbondale to come to Marion, to let the people know that there was no danger. They met on the road, each other, did not speak.”
White was the county clerk at the time and Campbell was a former Marion resident who had relocated to Carbondale when that town had been platted seven years earlier.
“Campbell and Prickett ran into the picket line about twelve o’clock, and were halted and arrested by Goddard, who, when he saw who it was, started on to town with them.
“Just before this, the idea got into the heads of the men at the bridge that they had not relieved Goddard. So, R. M. Allen was detained as a courier, on account of the acuteness of his hearing, to go and call in the pickets, he was on horseback, going on the jump, when he saw Goddard and his friends in the road.”
This is where the comedy of errors really begins in Erwin’s account.
*Thinking that is was the enemy, he went back to the bridge under the lash, and reported the enemy nearby. A scene of the wildest consternation prevailed.”
“By this time they had got two old shot-guns. Logan made a desperate effort to rally his men. Josh commanded one wing, and rallied two. All that were sober enough fell into line, and the rest would have done so if they could.”
“It commenced raining about dark that night, and rained all night a steady rain. Logan formed his line, composed of about six men, and Josh formed his parallel, composed of about six men, armed with bottles and clubs. The rest of the men were lying around by logs and stumps unable to muster.”
“Logan told Josh not to form his men parallel to his, as they would shoot into each other that way; but Josh insisted that his lines were formed right. A dispute came up, and ended in a regular pow wow, and almost a great battle. Josh withdrew his forces and struck camp across the creek; but no enemy came.”
The storm-cloud was piling its temples of blackness over the dark hill. The pelting of the rain kept step with the music of the rippling stream in the glen below. The men were lying around, fast asleep, covered with mud, on beds of water.”
“In this condition they were found by R. J. Pulley, who was sent down by Goddard to let them know that no enemy was coming. Josh and his command left the field and went home. Logan retreated in good order to Marion with his squad. The rear was brought up next morning by Clemison, who went to old negro Sam’s and got breakfast.”
“Thus was this splendid army cut to pieces and routed without the loss of a single man,” wrote Erwin.
The next day another meeting was held at the site and a hundred men attended. Erwin said there were too many smart men in the crowd and they broke out in a fight amongst themselves.
Sam’s notes: These events appear to have occurred in June 1861. The “Old Kentucky” was a steamboat and the Fairway Golf Course is long gone and now is a subdivision in 2013. The area just alongside the Old Creal Road adjacent to the bridge on the east side was used as a city dump in the 1950’s and 1960’s. South Ewan Street is the first street/alley on the west side of the current Junior High School. The Joab Goodall mentioned in this story is the grandfather of Joab Goodall, the later Marion businessman.
(Main article extracted from the 1995 History Edition of the Marion Daily Republican, written by Jon Musgrave; current photo and Google map by Sam Lattuca on 02/13/2013)