STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI-RESEARCH CENTER ST. LOUIS
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST.LOUIS
Bonnie Bannister of St. Louis, MO donated photocopies of the of John W. Lister Papers to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection on April 17, 2007. The donor retains the originals in her possession.
Capt. John W. Lister served in the Mississippi River Brigade, United States Navy, as a carpenter. His squadron was under the command of Admiral Porter. He enlisted on August 11, 1862, and received his discharge on November 19, 1865. Lister worked aboard several vessels as ship’s carpenter. These were the Queen of the West, Dekalb, and Lafayette. Lister served in multiple engagements which included the Siege of Vicksburg, Red River Campaign, capture of Jackson, MS, and a skirmish at Cypress Bend. He also witnessed the burning of Prentiss (a town on the Mississippi River) by Federal gunboats.
Lister worked as a contractor in St. Louis, MO for many years after the Civil War and died at the age of 91. He was born in Germantown, PA and moved to St. Louis in 1859. For many years he was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)’s Ransom Post.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The scope of this collection is divided into three folders.
Folder 1: Memoirs 1818-1834. Methodism and religious matters are covered along with commentary on business and family.
Folder 2: Civil War Diary/Memoirs 1858-1911. This folder contains John Lister’s diary during the Civil War. The document begins in 1858, spans the duration of his service for the Union Navy (1862-1865), and continues with entries up to 1911.
Folder 3: Undated St. Louis Globe- Democrat newspaper article announcing the death of Capt. Lister and which describes his life and service in the Civil War.
Index:
Civil War
Cypress Bend, skirmish of
Jackson, MS, capture of.
Lister, Capt. John W.
Red River Campaign
Vicksburg, siege of