Etna is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Scotland County,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, United States. It lies at an elevation of 755 feet (230 m).

History

The first settlement at Etna was made as early as 1855 by a colony of Germans. Etna, named for the Sicilian volcano, was surveyed and laid out in April 1865 by Andrew Hunt. Etna was the site of a small skirmish during the early days of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. On July 21, 1861, the 1st Northeast Missouri Home Guards under Colonel

David Moore David Moore or Dave Moore may refer to: Politics * David E. Moore (1798-1875), American politician in Virginia * David Moore (Australian politician) (1824–1898), politician in Sandridge, Victoria, Australia * David Moore (Manx politician), ...

, with assistance of additional units from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, attacked pro-Confederate

Missouri State Guard The Missouri State Guard (MSG) was a military force established by the Missouri General Assembly on May 11, 1861. While not a formation of the Confederate States Army, the Missouri State Guard fought alongside Confederate troops and, at variou ...

(MSG) forces at Etna. The action was part of General

Nathaniel Lyon Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was a United States Army officer who was the first Union Army, Union General officer, general to be killed in the American Civil War. He is noted for his actions in Missouri in 1861, at the beginn ...

's efforts to clear "rebels" from rural Missouri. After a brief battle the MSG forces, mostly lightly armed cavalry, were driven from the town and surrounding areas of Scotland County and Moore's unit returned to its main base at Athens, Missouri.

Notable person

Tom Horn Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, rodeo performer, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committ ...

, American

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

lawman, scout, and outlaw; raised on a farm near Etna.

References

Unincorporated communities in Scotland County, Missouri Unincorporated communities in Missouri {{ScotlandCountyMO-geo-stub