Former Laclede County Sheriff to be honored at National Wall for Fallen Officers in Washington, D.C.

LEBANON, Mo. (KY3) - Former Laclede County Sheriff Robert Boone Harris will be honored in Washington, D.C., at the National Wall for Fallen Law Enforcement Officers. He was killed in the line of duty in 1865.

“There were Confederate loyalists described as ‘guerrillas’ in the writings of those days that were making their way from southwest Missouri up to the Laclede, Camden, Hickory, Benton County area. They were killing several people. The sheriff, along with an Army lieutenant, were captured northwest of Lebanon, about 10 miles from Lebanon, by this group, and they were hung. Other people that were with them as a part of a posse or army detail were actually stabbed and killed,“ said Laclede County Sheriff David Millsap.

Sheriff David Millsap says it’s time someone remembered Sheriff Robert Boone Harris.

“Whether it was 158 years ago that this occurred, or if it occurred last week, if you were a person who was serving this community, or any community in the capacity of law enforcement, and you gave your life, or you were killed in the line of duty, while you were doing your job, I think you need to be honored for that,” said Sheriff Millsap.

John Dugan, an archivist with the state, says he came upon the story while doing some other work.

“I ran across that the sheriff for Laclede County at the end of the Civil War had been killed in the line of duty. I went, looked online, and saw that he was not on the National Law Enforcement Memorial Wall,” said Dugan.

“I checked the list. He wasn’t even on the list as he has been sheriff. So John sent me the information. We looked through it. Sure enough, in 1865, there was an appointed Sheriff by the name of Robert Boone Harris. He was killed in the line of duty in May of 1865,” said Sheriff Millsap.

It took time to get everything confirmed.

“We confirmed that appointment. We had several items of correspondence about this in the governor’s papers that we have,” said Dugan.

Sheriff Millsap says they are also working to get him on the state memorial, and he also wants to do something to honor him in the new 911 building being built in Laclede County.

Only one other person is on both walls from the county. Officer Kendle Blackburn is also on the memorials. He was an officer at Lebanon Police Department.

The ceremony will be in May.

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