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Missouri and the Civil War (1861-1865)
Missouri (1861-1865), part 2
At the
beginning of 1861 the arsenal was occupied by a hand-
ful of troops under command of Maj. W. H. Bell, a North Caro-
linian,
who was in sympathy with the secession movement. He
entered into an agreement with Brig.-Gen. D. M. Frost, of the
state
militia, to turn the arsenal over to the state troops in the
event any demonstration was made against it by the Unionists,
but events crowded upon each other so fast that
the agreement
could not be carried out.
On Jan. 5, 1861, Isaac H. Sturgeon, assistant
U. S. treasurer
at St. Louis, had about $400,000 in his hands. Fearing for the
safety of this fund, and also for the
arsenal, he wrote to Presi-
dent Buchanan for troops to protect the government property in
the city. In response to
this request the president ordered Lieut.
Robinson, with 40 men from Newport barracks, to St. Louis.
They arrived
on the nth and were quartered in the sub-treasury
and postoffice buildings. This aroused the indignation of the
southern
sympathizers, Jackson sent a special message on the
subject to the legislature, and Gen. W. S. Harney, commanding
the
Department of the West with headquarters at St. Louis, in
order to quell the demonstration, ordered Robinson and his men
to the arsenal. About this time rumors of Bell's agreement with
Frost reached Washington, and on the 24th he was superseded
by Maj. Peter B. Hagner. Neither Hagner nor Harney was
the kind of a man that Blair wanted in command at St. Louis.
Hagner had married a Southern woman and was suspected of
being inclined toward the cause of secession. Harney's loyalty
was also distrusted, though unjustly. Besides he was past 60
years of age and was too conservative to suit Blair's
purpose.
Just as the Union leaders were beginning to grow discouraged
a new man appeared on the scene. On Feb. 6 Capt.
Nathaniel
Lyon marched into St. Louis at the head of his company from
Kansas. Blair saw in Lyon a man at once prompt,
sagacious,
brave and resourceful, and apprized him of the situation. Lyon
shared Blair's suspicion of Maj. Hagner
and with perfect unan-
imity the two went to work to have him removed and Lyon ap-
pointed in his place. Fortunately
for their scheme the Minute
Men made a demonstration in St. Louis about the time that
President Lincoln was inaugurated
and on March 13 Lyon was
placed in nominal command of the arsenal.
This was the situation when on April 14 Fort Sumter
fell be-
fore the Confederate guns, and Lincoln issued his proclamation
on the 15th, calling for 75,000 men to quell
the rebellion. Mis-
souri's quota was fixed at four regiments, which Gov. Jackson
was requested to furnish. Instead
of complying he sent the
following reply to Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, on the
17th: "Your despatch of the 15th
inst., making a call on Mis-
souri for four regiments of men for immediate service, has been
received. There can be,
I apprehend, no doubt but these men
are intended to form a part of the president's army to make war
upon the people
of the seceded states. Your requisition, in my
judgment, is illegal, unconstitutional, and revolutionary in its
objects,
inhuman and diabolical, and cannot be complied with.
Not one man will the State of Missouri furnish
to carry on such
an unholy crusade."
Jackson's refusal to furnish the troops called
for by the na-
tional administration gave Blair his opportunity. On the 19th
he sent a telegram to Secretary Cameron,
advising him to author-
ize Capt. Lyon by telegraph to muster Missouri's quota into
service. The suggestion was promptly
acted upon by the war
department, and thus the arms and munitions in the arsenal
passed into Lyon's control and were
used to equip the Home
Guards, which were mustered into the service of the United
States. In doing this Lyon was hampered
by Harney, and Blair
secured an order calling Harney to Washington to explain. He
left St. Louis on April 23, and
Lyon assumed temporary com-
mand of the Department of the West. A week later (April 30)
he received this order from
Secretary Cameron: "The presi-
dent of the United States directs that you enroll in the military
service of the United
States loyal citizens of St. Louis and vicin-
ity, not exceeding, with those heretofore enlisted, 10,000 in num-
ber,
for the purpose of maintaining the authority of the United
States and for the protection of the peaceable inhabitants
of Mis-
souri; and you will, if deemed necessary for your purpose by
yourself and Messrs. Oliver D. Filley, John How,
James O.
Broadhead, Samuel T. Glover, J. J. Witzig and Francis P. Blair.
Jr., proclaim martial law in the city of
St. Louis."
The order bore the approval of President Lincoln
and the fol-
lowing indorsement from Winfield Scott, commanding general
of the army: "It is revolutionary times, and
therefore I do not
object to the irregularity of this. W. S." It was the outgrowth
of an act passed by the Missouri
legislature in March, giving
the governor the power to appoint a board of four commission-
ers, who, in connection
with the mayor, would have control of the
St. Louis police, the volunteer and other peace officers. The pur-
pose
was to take control of the city's affairs out of the hands of
the Committee of Safety. Under this act Jackson appointed
Basil
W. Duke, Charles McLaren, John A. Brownlee and James H.
Carlisle. At the election on April 1, John How was defeated
for mayor by Daniel G. Taylor, and for the time being the civil
affairs of the city were in the hands of the secessionists.
But the
order of April 30 changed all this and again the Union men were
in the ascendancy. Under this order six more
regiments were
mustered into the service — the 5th Mo. infantry volunteers, and
the 1st, 2nd, 3d, 4th and 5th
Mo. infantry, U. S. reserve corps.
These first regiments, to the extent of at least nine-tenths, were
composed of
Germans, many of whom had been members of the
Wide Awakes of the year before.
Ten days before this order was issued, the U.
S. arsenal at
Liberty was seized and garrisoned by the state
troops and 1,500
muskets, 20 pieces of field artillery, 11,000 pounds of powder,
and some other munitions of war were
distributed among the
militia. On April 22 the governor issued his proclamation call-
ing the general assembly to
meet in special session on May 2. At
the same time he declared his policy to be in favor of peace, not-
withstanding
his troops had seized the Liberty arsenal two days
before. He urged the committee of the state convention not to
convene
that body for the purpose of passing a secession ordi-
nance, as he was in favor of leaving it to time and circumstances
to determine the best course for the state to pursue. On the same
day the governor issued his proclamation, Warwick
Hough, ad-
jutant-general of Missouri, sent out his "General Order No. 7,"
the principal provision of which was as
follows:
"To attain a greater degree of efficiency and
perfection in or-
ganization and discipline the commanding officers of the several
military districts in this state,
having four or more legally organ-
ized companies therein, whose armories are within fifteen miles
of each other,
will assemble their respective commands at some
place to be by them severally designated, on the 3d day of May,
and
to go into an encampment for the period of six days, as
provided by law. Captains of companies not organized into
battalions
will report the strength of their companies immediately
to these headquarters, and await further orders."
The order further set forth that "The strength,
organization
and equipment of the several companies in the districts will be
reported at once to these headquarters,
and division inspectors
will furnish all information which may be serviceable in ascer-
taining the condition of the
state forces."
It is hardly probable that the adjutant-general
would have
promulgated such an order without the governor's direction,
or at least without his official knowledge
and approval. Coming,
as it did, simultaneously with the executive proclamation con-
vening the legislature "for the
more perfect organization and
equipment of the militia," the act could hardly be construed as
being in harmony with
the governor's declaration that he was
in favor of peace. The Union leaders did not so construe it,
and if Jackson's
object was to lull them into a feeling of security
and render them inactive he utterly failed to accomplish his
purpose.
Pursuant to General Order No. 7 the camp of the first
district was established on May 3 at Lindell's grove, in the west-
ern suburbs of St. Louis, and was named "Camp Jackson," in
honor of the governor. It was under command of Daniel M.
Frost, a graduate of West Point and a brigadier-general in the
state militia. Nominally it was a camp of instruction,
"to at-
tain greater efficiency in organization and military drill," but
with Lyon, Blair and their associates the conviction
soon became
fixed that behind this there were some ulterior
purposes. It was
strongly suspected that these purposes included the seizure of
the arsenal and an attempt to secure
the military control of the
state, with a view to forcing it into the Confederacy.
One thing that greatly strengthened these suspicions
was the
anomalous conditions presented by Camp Jackson. The Stars
and Stripes floated over the camp, but its two principal
avenues
were named "Davis" and "Beauregard," in honor of the president
of the Confederate States and the commander
of the secession
forces at Charleston. In addition to this it was known that
some time before the camp was opened
the governor had sent
Basil W. Duke and Colton Greene to Montgomery, Ala., with a
letter to Jefferson Davis, asking
him to furnish siege guns and
mortars for the reduction of the arsenal. About the time the
camp was established Lyon
received information that the cannon
and mortars, in boxes labeled "marble," and shot and shell in
barrels had come
up the river on the steamer J. C. Swan, and
had been taken to the camp. To verify this report he dressed in
women's
costume and rode in a carriage through the camp, un-
der the guidance of Capt. J. J. Witzig. Finding his information
correct
he assembled his forces and on May 10 marched to the
camp, where he demanded and received the surrender of the state
troops under Frost. (See Camp Jackson in the Cyclopedia of
Battles.)
The capture of Camp Jackson created a frenzy of
excitement
all over the state. When the news reached Jefferson City it
produced a panic in the legislature, and within
an hour the mili-
tary bill, then pending, was passed by both houses and approved
by the governor. About 11 o'clock
that night the people of the
city were aroused by the ringing of bells and the cries of men
on the streets calling
the members of the general assembly to
the capitol. The cause of this panic was the receipt of a tele-
gram announcing
that 2,000 Union troops were on their way to
Jefferson City to capture the governor, state officers and mem-
bers
of the legislature. Both houses met in "extraordinary ses-
sion" at 11:30 and remained in session until after 3 o'clock
the
next morning. To prevent the Federal troops from reaching the
capital the railroad bridge over the Osage river,
some 40 miles
distant, was burned, presumably by order of the governor. On
the 11th 12,000 kegs of powder were sent
out of the city and the
money in the state treasury was also moved out of town to pre-
vent its capture.
While the legislature was in session it passed
a number of acts,
the most important of which were: to authorize counties to loan
money, not exceeding $30,000 each,
to the state; giving the gov-
ernor authority to purchase or lease Ballentine's
foundry at
Boonville for the manufacture of arms and munitions of war;
to appoint a major-general to command the entire
military force
of the state in case of invasion or war; to seize the railroad and
telegraph lines of the state whenever
in his opinion the security
of the people required such action; and to take such measures
as in his judgment might
be necessary or proper to repel inva-
sion or suppress rebellion. The "Military Bill" — an act of over
two hundred
sections — provided for the organization, govern-
ment and support of the "Missouri State Guard," and authorized
the governor to borrow $1,000,000 to carry out its provisions.
On May 15 the general assembly adjourned to the third
Monday
in September.
Gen. Harney returned to St. Louis on May 12 and
resumed
command of the department. The first thing he did was to issue
a proclamation deprecating "the existing state
of things," and
assuring the people that he would use "the military force sta-
tioned in this district only in the
last resort to preserve peace."
Two days later he issued another proclamation denouncing the
military bill and approving
the capture of Camp Jackson. By
virtue of the act of the legislature, the governor appointed Ster-
ling Price major-general
of the State Guard. On the 21st Har-
ney and Price met in St. Louis and entered into an agreement,
the principal clause
of which was as follows: "Gen. Price, hav-
ing by commission full authority over the militia of the state of
Missouri,
undertakes, with the sanction of the governor of the
state, already declared, to direct the whole power of the state
officers
to maintain order within the state among the people
thereof; and Gen. Harney publicly declares that this object be-
ing
thus assured, he can have no occasion, as he has no wish, to
make military movements which might otherwise create excite-
ments and jealousies, which he earnestly desires to avoid."
While this agreement tied the hands of Harney,
it left Price
free scope to organize the state troops and place the state in ac-
tive insurrection. Such an arrangement
was disapproved at
Washington and on the 30th Harney was superseded by Lyon,
who was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general.
On June
11 a conference of the leaders of the opposing sides was held at
the Planters' hotel in St. Louis. The Unionists
were repre-
sented by Lyon, Blair and Maj. H. A. Conant, and the state by
Gov. Jackson, Price and Col. T. L. Snead,
the governor's private
secretary. After six hours of fruitless endeavor to reach an un-
derstanding, the conference
was abruptly terminated by Lyon,
who arose and said: "Rather than agree that my government
shall concede to your government
one iota of authority as to one
man to be recruited, one inch of soil of this state to be divided
in allegiance or neutralized between my government
and your
government, I will see you, sir, and you, and you (pointing to
each one present as he spoke) and myself and
all of us, under
the sod. This means war. In one hour one of my officers will
call for you and conduct you out of
my lines."
The governor and his associates ate a hasty dinner and left
for Jefferson City
on a fast train, burning the bridges behind
them and cutting the telegraph wires. The next day Jackson
called for
50,000 militia "to repel invasion." Lyon was right
when he said "This means war," for he immediately took the
field
against Price and defeated the state troops at several places
between that time and Aug. 10, when he fell at the battle
of
Wilson's creek. Concerning his campaign and death, Snead, in
his "Fight for Missouri," says: "By wisely planning,
by boldly
doing, and by bravely dying, he had won the fight for Missouri."
On July 22 the state convention assembled in Jefferson
City
upon the call of the committee. Gen. Price's seat as president
was declared vacant and Robert Wilson was elected
as his suc-
cessor. On the 30th a resolution was adopted, declaring vacant
the offices of Gov. Jackson, Lieut.-Gov.
T. C. Reynolds, Sec. of
State B. F. Massey and the members of the legislature, and the
next day Hamilton R. Gamble
was elected provisional governor,
Willard P. Hall, lieutenant-governor, and Mordecai Oliver, sec-
retary of state.
Then, after adopting an address to the people of
Missouri, the convention adjourned. These were somewhat high-
handed
proceedings, but they were justified by military neces-
sity. From this time until its final adjournment the convention
exercised both legislative and executive powers with rare abil-
ity. Among its more important actions were the abolition
of a
number of state offices and the reduction of salaries; the adop-
tion of a test oath for citizens and civil officers;
and the amend-
ment of the constitution of the state so as to abolish slavery.
Gov. Gamble issued a proclamation on Aug. 3, ordering
the
State Guard to disband, and promising protection to all members
thereof who would lay down their arms and live
peaceable lives.
But the insurrection could not be put down by proclamations,
and on the 24th he issued a call for
32,000 troops "to protect
the lives and property of the people of Missouri."
On July 26 Maj.-Gen. John C. Fremont arrived in
St. Louis
and assumed command of the Western Department. He secured
money from the sub-treasury there, with which
he secured the
reenlistment of many of the Home Guards whose terms had ex-
pired, and erected extensive fortifications
to place the
city in a state of defense. On Aug. 31 he declared martial
law, appointed Maj. McKinstry provost-marshal,
defined the
line of occupation as extending from Leavenworth, Kan.,
through Jefferson City, Rolla and Ironton, to
Cape Girardeau,
and proclaimed that all persons taken within those limits with
arms in their hands should be shot.
His proclamation also de-
clared that the property of those actually in arms against the
United States, or of those
who had in any way given aid to the
secession cause, should be confiscated to the public use and their
slaves set
free. He made elaborate preparations to overcome
Price's army, but failed to reinforce Lyon in time to prevent the
defeat
of the Union forces at Wilson's creek. On Nov. 1 he
made an agreement with Price looking toward the breaking up
of
the guerrilla gangs that had already become active in the
state. His course failed to meet the approbation of the authori-
ties at Washington and on Nov. 2 he was superseded by Gen.
David Hunter, who remained in command of the department
until the i8th, when it was turned over to Gen. H. W. Halleck.
The most important acts of Halleck, during the
closing months
of the year, were to levy an assessment upon certain wealthy
southern sympathizers for the support
of the Union refugees in
the city of St. Louis; to declare martial law in the city and over
the railroads; and to
fix the penalty of death for the destruction
of railroad property.
After the action of the state convention in declaring
the exec-
utive and legislative offices of the state vacant, and the procla-
mation of Gov. Gamble ordering the state
troops to disband,
Jackson retaliated by issuing a declaration of independence for
Missouri and calling the legislature
to meet at Neosho on Oct.
21. When the general assembly convened only 10 members of
the senate and 39 of the house
were present, but a quorum in each
branch was obtained by the appointment of proxies. About
the only proceeding worthy
of note was the passage of a seces-
sion ordinance, which was done under a suspension of the rules,
and an act notifying
the provisional government of the Confed-
erate States that Missouri had seceded. This doubtful ordinance
was recognized
by the Confederate authorities at Richmond, who
went through the formality of admitting Missouri to the Confed-
eracy.
After electing John B. Clark, Sr., and R. L. Y. Peyton
to represent Missouri in the Confederate senate, and seven mem-
bers of the Confederate house of representatives, the legislature
adjourned to meet at Cassville on Oct. 31. At Cassville
a num-
ber of bills and resolutions were passed, but they never became
effective, and on Nov. 7 an adjournment was
taken to New
Madrid on the first Monday in March, 1862. That session was
never held.
At the beginning of 1862 the state was more quiet
than it had
been for several months previous, though both sides were busily
engaged in warlike preparations. In St.
Louis some dissatisfac-
tion prevailed over Halleck's assessment order,
but this was qui-
eted by the appointment of a new board of assessors and the ar-
rest and deportation of some of
the chief disturbers. On Jan.
9 the provost-marshal-general sent out an order to the publish-
ers of all newspapers
outside of St. Louis to furnish him with a
copy of each issue, under penalty of having their papers sup-
pressed in
case of failure to comply. This act of censorship
caused some grumbling, but few, if any, of the publishers re-
fused
to yield obedience. About the same time the secession
members of the St. Louis chamber of commerce, being in the
majority,
refused to admit a number of Union applicants for
membership, whereupon the Union members withdrew and estab-
lished
the Union chamber. On the 26th Halleck ordered that all
members of the old organization be required to take the oath of
allegiance prescribed by the state convention in the preceding
October. Subsequently the faculty of the state university
were
required to take the oath of allegiance, or have their offices va-
cated. "The institution," said Halleck. "having
been endowed
by the government of the United States, its funds should not be
used to teach treason or instruct traitors."
On Jan. 10 the U. S. senate expelled Waldo P.
Johnson and
Trusten Polk, the senators from Missouri, and Lieut.-Gov, Hall,
in the absence of Gov. Gamble, appointed
Robert Wilson and
John P. Henderson to fill the vacancies.
Several persons were apprehended in the northern
part of the
state for destroying the property of the Hannibal & St. Joseph
railroad. Their arrest led to some
spirited correspondence be-
tween Price and Halleck. In one of his letters Price says: "I
have obtained information
that individuals and parties of men
specially appointed and instructed by me to destroy railroad
culverts and bridges,
have been arrested and subjected to general
court-martial, for alleged crimes, which all laws of warfare,
heretofore
recognized by the civilized world, have regarded as
distinctly proper and lawful. * * * Do you regard the
destruction
of important roads for transportation facilities for
military purposes as the legal right of a belligerent power? Do
you
intend to regard men whom I have especially despatched to
destroy roads and burn bridges, tear up culverts, etc., as amena-
ble to the enemy's court-martial, or will you have them tried as
usual by the proper civil authorities according to
the statutes of
the states?"
To this Halleck replied as follows: "Where individuals
and
parties of men violate the laws of war, they will be tried, and,
if found guilty, will certainly be punished,
whether acting under
your special appointment and instructions or not. You must be
aware, general, that no orders
of yours can save from punish-
ment spies, marauders, robbers, incendiaries,
guerrilla bands,
etc., who violate the laws of war. You cannot give immunity
to crimes. If you send armed forces,
wearing the garb of sol-
diers, and duly organized and enrolled as legitimate belligerents,
to destroy railroad bridges,
etc., as a military act, we shall kill,
if possible, in open warfare, or if we capture them we will treat
them as
prisoners of war. But it is well known that you have
sent numbers of your adherents in the garb of principal citi-
zens,
and under false pretences, through our lines into northern
Missouri, to rob and destroy the property of Union men, and
burn and destroy railroad bridges, thus endangering the lives
of thousands; and this, too, without any military necessity
or
possible military advantage. * * * You certainly will not
pretend that men guilty of such crimes, although specially
ap-
pointed and instructed by you, are entitled to the rights and im-
munities of ordinary prisoners of war."
In the latter part of January eight of the offenders were tried
by a
military commission at Palmyra, found guilty and sen-
tenced to death under Halleck's order of Nov., 1861. Halleck
approved
the sentence and ordered it to be carried out in the
following month. The order was never executed, however, as
by
the latter part of February conditions were so much im-
proved that Halleck felt justified in abating the stringent mili-
tary regulations then in force, and suspending the sentence.
The prisoners were kept confined in the military prison,
with
the understanding that if Confederate spies should again com-
mit depredations upon the railroads or telegraph
lines, the orig-
inal sentence should be carried into effect.
On April 8 Price resigned the command of the state troops,
and about
the same time Halleck was ordered to Mississippi,
leaving Gen. John M. Schofield in command of the Union
forces in
the greater part of the state. People hoped for a con-
tinued improvement of conditions, but they were doomed to dis-
appointment. The disbanded troops of Price, emboldened by
the absence of Federal soldiers, organized themselves into
bands
and by the middle of July the state was again overrun with
guerrillas. Schofield issued an order holding "rebels
and rebel
sympathizers responsible in their property, and, if need be in
their persons, for damages committed by the
guerrillas," but it
produced so little effect that on July 22 the governor ordered
the organization of the militia
into companies, etc., for the sup-
pression of the irregular warfare then going on, and during the
remainder of the
year there were frequent encounters between
the opposing forces.
Missouri was one of the first states in the Union to take up
the question
of gradual emancipation of slaves. When the state
convention met in June a bill was introduced by Judge Breck-
enridge of St. Louis, for gradual emancipation along the lines
suggested
in the president's message to Congress. After some
discussion the bill was laid on the table, but a series of resolu-
tions were finally adopted, declaring that "in the opinion of this
convention the proposition contained in the joint
resolution
adopted by Congress, approved, 1862, is entitled as well from
its source as from its intrinsic importance
to the deliberate and
respectful consideration of the people of Missouri." This ac-
tion was not radical enough to
suit the emancipationists, who
called a mass convention at Jefferson City on June 16. In this
convention 25 counties
were represented by 195 delegates, the
main object being to organize the party for the fall election.
Resolutions
were adopted setting forth that "we are in favor of
initiating forthwith a system of emancipation for the State of
Missouri,
gradual in its character, and the operation of which
shall be so adjusted as not to work injury to the pecuniary in-
terests
of any loyal citizens whose vested property rights may
be involved, and not to disturb by any violent disruption present
social relations in our community ; that it should be the duty of
the next general assembly of this state to take
measures for se-
curing from the national government the aid pledged by the
resolution of Congress to those states
undertaking the estab-
lishment of a system of gradual emancipation, and that the same
should be so disposed of as
to insure compensation to such as
may be adjudged as entitled to compensation for any losses that
may be sustained
by the inauguration and consummation of such
a policy."
The political campaign of 1862, for the election of Congress-
men and
members of a state legislature, opened early in Octo-
ber with emancipation as the leading issue. But the emancipa-
tionists
were divided in opinion, the more radical wing, under
the leadership of B. Gratz Brown, favoring the immediate abo-
lition
of slavery, while the conservative element, led by Blair,
advocated a gradual emancipation, as expressed in the resolu-
tions of the Jefferson City convention. At the election on Nov.
4 the following Congressmen were chosen in the different
dis-
tricts: 1st— F. P. Blair; 2nd— H. T. Blow; 3d— J. G. Scott;
4th— S. H. Boyd; 5th—
J. W. McClurg; 6th— A. H. King;
7th— Benjamin Loan; 8th— W. A. Hall; 9th— J. S. Rollins.
Of
these representatives Rollins was a Union man, King and
Hall were Democrats, and the others were emancipationists.
The
emancipationists also elected a majority in each branch of
the legislature, which met at Jefferson City on Dec. 29. In
his
message Gov. Gamble congratulated the state upon the fact that
a Union legislature had at last been convened;
that the treason-
able schemes of the last legislature had been thwarted by the
state
convention; stated the number of Missouri volunteers then
in the service of the United States at 27,491; the number of
the
state militia at 10,540, and the enrolled militia at 52,056, making
a grand total of 90,087 men; and devoted considerable
attention
to the subject of emancipation. According to the report of the
treasurer of state the indebtedness at the
close of the year was
$27,370,000.
Although the general assembly discussed the plan of eman-
cipating the
slaves by compensating the owners, it adjourned
without any decided action on the subject. Agitation of the
matter
then stopped until the city election in St. Louis, which
was carried by the radicals by a large majority. This gave rise
to the apprehension that the feeling in favor of immediate eman-
cipation might extend over the state, and Gov. Gamble
issued a
call for the state convention to meet in June to take action, as
it was "of the highest importance for the
rest of the state that
some scheme should be adopted and the matter set at rest." The
convention assembled on June
15, 1863, and on July 1 passed an
ordinance decreeing emancipation on July 4, 1870. By the pro-
visions of the ordinance
"Slaves over forty years of age on that
day should be subject to the control of their owners through
life; those under
twelve until they were twenty-three, and those
of all other ages until July 4, 1876." Immediately after the
passage
of this ordinance the convention adjourned sine die.
Its power continued, however, through its regularly appointed
officials
until the inauguration of Gov. Fletcher in 1865.
The radical emancipationists were not satisfied with the ordi-
nance
as it passed the convention, and a meeting was held in St.
Louis to declare their opposition and to take steps to have
the
legislature call a new state convention. An active canvass fol-
lowed the meeting, which resulted in a convention
of the uncon-
ditional Union men being called at Jefferson City on Sept. 1.
In the meantime other events occurred that served to increase
the dissatisfaction
of the unconditional Union men. The Mis-
souri troops were divided into two classes known as the "Mis-
souri state
militia" and the "Enrolled Missouri militia." The
former was enlisted in the United States service and supported
by
the national government, while the latter, which had been
enrolled in the summer of 1862 by Gov. Gamble, was subject
to
the governor's orders and was maintained at the expense of
the state when in active service. On Sept. 19, 1862, the Depart-
ment of Missouri, consisting of the states of Missouri. Kansas
and Arkansas, and part of the Indian Territory, was
created by
the war department, and Maj.-Gen. Samuel R. Curtis placed in
command, with headquarters in St. Louis. For
some reason a
lack of harmony soon arose between Curtis and Gamble and on
Dec. 30,
1862, the governor issued his General Order No. 50,
forbidding the enrolled militia to assist the United States of-
ficers
in making arrests, assessments, etc. This was followed
on April 23, 1863, by General Order No. 14, to-wit: "Here-
after
no enlistments will be allowed from any organization of
the enrolled Missouri militia into the volunteer service of the
United States, when such militia shall have been detailed for
active service, and shall have been embodied as a force
in the
field."
Under these orders the enrolled militia could not be used by
the provost-marshal
in enforcing his orders. News of the fac-
tional fight finally reached President Lincoln, and on May 24,
1863, he
removed Curtis and assigned Gen. Schofield to the
command of the department. In a letter to Schofield, under
date
of May 27, the president said: "I did not relieve Gen. Cur-
tis because of my full conviction that he had done wrong by
commission or omission. I did it because of a conviction in my
mind that the Union men of Missouri constituting, when
united,
a vast majority of the whole people, have entered into a pesti-
lent factional quarrel among themselves. Gen.
Curtis, perhaps
not of choice, being the head of one faction, and Gov. Gamble
that of the other. After months of labor
to reconcile the dif-
ficulty, it seemed to grow worse and worse, until I felt it my
duty to break it up somehow;
and as I could not remove Gov.
Gamble, I had to remove Gen. Curtis. Now that you are in the
position, I wish you to
undo nothing merely because Gen. Cur-
tis or Gov. Gamble did it, but to exercise your own judgment
and do right for
the public interest. * * * if both factions,
or neither, shall abuse you, you will probably be about right.
Beware
of being assailed by one and praised by the other."
The removal of Curtis was not approved by the unconditional
Union men,
especially as on May 29, Gamble issued an order
setting forth that "The command of the enrolled militia, now
in active
service within the state, including the provisional regi-
ments, is conferred upon Maj-Gen. John M. Schofield, com-
manding
the Department of Missouri." The unconditional
Union men saw in this order that they could not use the militia
to
suppress treason as they saw it, without the consent of Gam-
ble and Schofield, and they appointed a delegation to visit
Wash-
ington and lay the matter before the president. The conserva-
tives also sent a delegation to present their
side of the case. To
the representatives of the warring factions the president said:
"The dissensions between the
Union men in Missouri are due
solely to a factious spirit which is exceedingly reprehensible.
The two parties ought
to have their heads knocked together.
Either would rather see the defeat of their adversary than that
of Jefferson Davis." He also announced that the radical ele-
ment had
no right to consider themselves as the exponents of
his views on the subject of emancipation, which was the bone of
contention,
as he was inclined to favor gradual rather than im-
mediate manumission.
The refusal of the president to take sides with either faction
had a
tendency to quiet affairs in the state until after the pass-
age of the emancipation ordinance by the state convention
as
already noted, when the dissensions broke out afresh. When
the radical convention assembled at Jefferson City on
Sept. 1,
a large majority of the counties were represented, over 300
delegates being present. The platform adopted
denounced the
military policy of the state government and the delegation by the
general government of the military
power to a provisional state
organization, "the whole tendency of which is to throw back
the people under the control
of the pro-slavery party;" declared
in favor of sustaining the government in a vigorous prosecu-
tion of the war;
endorsed the president's emancipation procla-
mation and asked for its prompt execution; demanded immedi-
ate emancipation
in Missouri; favored a constitutional amend-
ment to disfranchise all who had taken up arms against the na-
tional
government; and demanded that the legislature call a
new state convention to consider the grievances under which the
state
was laboring.
Resolutions were also adopted requesting Gov. Gamble and
Lieut.-Gov. Hall to resign ; asking the president to remove Gen.
Schofield
and assign Gen. Butler to the command of the depart-
ment; thanking the president for arming negroes to kill rebels;
requesting
the radical members of the legislature to vote for
B. Gratz Brown and Benjamin Loan for United States senators,
after
which a committee of seventy was appointed to visit Wash-
ington and lay their grievances before the president, Henry
A.
Clover, Arnold Krekel and David Wagner were nominated for
justices of the supreme court, and the convention adjourned.
On the last day of September the committee of seventy laid
before the
president an address, making demands along the lines
laid down in the platform, but the only thing in which he agreed
with the convention was concerning the disfranchisement of
those who had taken up arms against the government. His
atti-
tude dampened the enthusiasm of the unconditional Union men
and correspondingly aroused the ardor of the conservatives.
Old party lines had by this time been obliterated in the state, the
sentiment being divided into the two classes known
as
radicals and conservatives. The latter held no state convention,
but by mutual consent united in the support of
Barton Bates,
William V. N. Bay and John D. S. Dryden as candidates for
justices of
the supreme court, and at the election in November
the conservative candidates were elected by small majorities.
On
Nov. 13, the general assembly, being in adjourned session,
elected B. Gratz Brown and John B. Henderson United States
senators.
During the early part of the year 1863 a large number of dis-
loyal
persons were sent south. Those having families were al-
lowed to take property and money to the amount of $1,000, all
other persons $200 each, the remainder of their possessions be-
ing appropriated for the benefit of sick and wounded
soldiers.
Gov. Gamble died on Jan. 31, 1864, and Lieut.-Gov. Hall suc-
ceeded
to the office. The most interesting events of the year
1864 were in connection with the presidential campaign, which
Switzler,
in his History of Missouri, says "was prosecuted in
Missouri, by both sides, in the midst of the intolerance, intimi-
dation and violence more or less incident to all civil wars. A
general canvass was not attempted, for the prevalence
of armed
men, the raids and outrages of predatory bands of guerrillas,
and the bitter feeling engendered by the war,
tended to repress
the ardor of political orators and the importunities of political
candidates."
An exciting feature of the campaign was the canvass for
delegates to
a constitutional convention, authorized by an act
of the legislature, approved Feb. 13, 1864. The bill provided
that
delegates should be elected at the general election in No-
vember, the people at the same time to vote on the question
as
to whether or not they desired such a convention. If a major-
ity voted in the affirmative the convention was to
assemble at
St. Louis on Jan. 6, 1865; if the majority of the votes was in the
negative the delegates were not to
assemble. The vote for
president was 72,991 for Lincoln and 31,026 for McClellan.
For governor Thomas C. Fletcher,
the radical candidate, was
elected by about the same majority over Thomas L. Price, the
conservative. On the question
of the constitutional convention
89,2I5 votes were cast, of which the majority in favor of the
convention was 37,793.
Of the 66 delegates chosen, over three-
fourths belonged to the radical or unconditional party.
Although President Lincoln refused to remove Gen. Scho-
field at the
solicitation of the committee of seventy, sent to him
in the fall of 1863, on Jan. 30, 1864, Maj. Gen. W. S. Rosecrans
was assigned to the command of the department, Schofield be-
ing transferred to the command of the Department of the
Ohio.
A few days before the election Rosecrans issued a lengthy or-
der, regarding the rights of certain citizens
to vote and the du-
ties of the military on election day. It provided: "1 — That
those, and only those, who have the qualifications, and who take
the
oath prescribed by the state, copies of which are hereunto
annexed, shall vote. 2 — No one who has borne arms against
the government of the United States, or voluntarily given aid
and comfort to its enemies during the present rebellion,
shall
act as judge or clerk at an election. 3 — Outrages upon the free-
dom of election by violence or intimidation;
attempting to hin-
der legal, or to procure or encourage illegal voting; interfering
with the legal challenge of voters;
acting as officers of election,
in contravention of law or orders; wilful neglect to perform
their duties, under the
laws and these orders, by officers of elec-
tions, and especially taking the voters' or officers' oath falsely;
and
all other acts and words interfering with the purity and
freedom of elections, are crimes against the liberties of the
peo-
ple, and are declared military offenses, and will be rigorously
punished. 4 — The laws of the state provide
that those of its
citizens who are in the army shall not thereby lose the privi-
lege of voting, provided the voting
is done in the manner pre-
scribed. The commanding general, therefore, directs that, on
the day of election, every
practicable facility be afforded for
taking, in camp, or on the field, the vote of citizens of Missouri
who may then
be in any company of Missouri volunteers or
militia, in the service of the United States or the state. 5 —
Wherever
there is good reason to apprehend that rebel bush-
whackers, or other evil disposed persons, will attempt to con-
trol
the election at any precinct by their acts, threats or pres-
ence, a sufficient guard will be detailed to prevent any
such
control, and keep the peace. 6 — District and all subordinate
commanders will strictly and carefully enforce
this order at the
approaching elections, and use all diligence to bring to speedy
and condign punishment all civilians,
officers or soldiers who
violate any of its provisions."
The legislature assembled on Dec. 26. In his message Gov.
Hall stated
the total number of troops furnished by the state for
the United States service to Nov. 30, 1864, as 81,767, some
10,000
more than her quota under the several calls for volun-
teers. On Jan. 1, 1864, there was due the militia nearly
$1,000,000, to provide for which the governor recommended a
bond issue. In this connection it is pertinent to notice the method
in
which Missouri provided for the payment of her militia. The
state convention at its session in Oct., 1861. passed an ordinance
appropriating $1,000,000 in defense warrants, redeemable by
the state for taxes. Warrants of this character to the
amount
of $1,370,480 were issued, and on March 9, 1863, the legisla-
ture passed an act authorizing the issue of $3,000,000
in Union
military bonds, receivable for one-half the taxes and debts due
the state. By Dec. 1, 1864, defense warrants to the amount of
$1,113,365
had been redeemed and destroyed, and Union mili-
tary bonds amounting to $1,228,970 had been redeemed and can-
celled.
Thus out of a total military debt of $4,370,480 nearly
one-half had been liquidated before the close of the year 1864,
a tribute to the patriotism of the Missouri people and the probity
of her officials.
Gov. Fletcher was inaugurated at Jefferson City on Jan. 6,
1865, and
on the same day the constitutional convention met in
St. Louis. It organized by the election of Arnold Krekel as
president;
Charles D. Drake, vice-president; and Amos Foster,
secretary. Emancipation was the first subject to engross the
attention
of the delegates, several ordinances and resolutions
relating to it being introduced before the appointment of the
usual
standing committees. Finally a special committee of five
was appointed, to which all the ordinances and resolutions were
re-
ferred. On the 11th the committee reported the following, which
was adopted after some spirited debate: "Be it
ordained by the
people of the State of Missouri, in convention assembled:
That hereafter, in this state, there shall
be neither slavery nor
involuntary servitude, except in punishment of crime, whereof
the party shall have been duly
convicted ; and all persons held
to service or labor as slaves are hereby declared free."
Of the 66 delegates to the convention; 35 were natives of
slave states,
yet this ordinance passed by a vote of 60 to 4, two
delegates being absent. A copy of it, duly signed and attested,
was
immediately sent to Gov. Fletcher, who, on the 12th, issued
a proclamation setting forth that "henceforth and forever
no
person within the jurisdiction of the state shall be subject to any
abridgement of liberty, except such as the
law shall prescribe
for the common good, or know any master but God." Con-
cerning this action Harvey, in "The Province
and the States,"
says: "This was a grand enactment. Jan. 11, 1865, is a great
datemark in the history of Missouri
and of human freedom.
The fact that Missouri alone among the slave states voluntarily
rid herself of the institution,
and that she did this eleven months
before the thirteenth amendment was proclaimed in operation
throughout the country,
is a distinction for their state which
Missourians should remember."
It soon became apparent that mere amendments to the old
constitution
would not suffice, and the convention turned its at-
tention to the formation of a new organic law. Many of the
provisions
of the new constitution, especially those relating to
corporations, education and the militia, were wise and judicious,
but some reflected the intense sectional feeling rife at the time.
This was particularly true of the article relating
to the right
of suffrage, which provided that no person should be allowed to
vote
or hold any state, county or municipal office, to teach
school, to practice law, to be competent as a bishop, priest,
deacon, minister, elder or other clergyman of any religious per-
suasion,
sect or denomination, to teach or to preach or to sol-
emnize marriages, unless he should take a prescribed oath that
he had never been in armed hostility to the United States or
the state of Missouri; that he had never given any aid,
coun-
tenance or sympathy to persons engaged in such hostility; that
he had never in any manner adhered to the domestic
or foreign
enemies of the United States, or had given them money, let-
ters, information or sympathy; that he had
never committed any
other one of a long list of prescribed offenses. Harvey says:
"The list was so long, so minute
and so sweeping in its scope
that it would have excluded a large number of the Unionists of
any prominence in the
state, whether in private life or in the
military or civil service of the government."
The constitution provided for a system of registration of voters,
and each and every voter in the state was required to take
the "Oath of Loyalty," which was as follows: "I...................
do solemnly swear, that I am well acquainted with the terms
of the third section of the second article of the constitution of
the
State of Missouri, adopted in the year 1865, and have care-
fully considered the same; that I have never, directly or
indi-
rectly, done any of the acts specified in said section; that I have
always been truly and loyally on the side
of the United States,
against all enemies thereof, foreign and domestic; that I will
bear true faith and allegiance
to the United States, and will
support the constitution and laws thereof, as the supreme law
of the land, any law
or ordinance of any state to the contrary
notwithstanding; that I will, to the best of my ability, protect
and defend
the Union of the United States, and not allow the
government thereof to be destroyed or overthrown, under any
circumstances,
if in my power to prevent it; that I will support
the constitution of the State of Missouri; and that I make this
oath
without any mental reservation or evasion, and hold it to
be binding on me."
On April 10 the convention adjourned, after ordering an elec-
tion for
June 6, at which the new constitution should be sub-
mitted to the people for ratification or rejection, it being at the
same time provided that no one should be allowed to vote "who
would not be a voter according to the terms of this
constitution,
if the second article thereof were then in force." By this pro-
vision thousands of citizens who had
remained as non-combat-
ants during the war were disfranchised, although the consti-
tution then in issue was to govern
them and their children after
them. On the other hand the extremists argued that citizens
who had
by actions, words or sympathy given aid to the rebel-
Hon had forfeited the right to vote, and that their only remain-
ing right was "to pay taxes, work the roads, and hold their
peace." At the election 85,478 votes were cast; 43,670
for the
constitution and 41,808 against it. As soon as the result of the
election was made known Gov. Fletcher issued
a proclamation
declaring the new organic law would take effect on July 4,
1865. The rigors of this constitution were
abated by the de-
cision of the U. S. supreme court in the case of Rev. John A.
Cummings, a Catholic priest who refused
to take the oath of
loyalty, but continued to exercise the offices of clergyman and
teacher in his parish at Louisiana,
Mo., and by the amendments
ratified at the general election of 1870, by majorities ranging
from 105,000 to 130.000.
In the Cummings case the court held
that the requirement was "in violation of the Federal constitu-
tion which prohibits
any state from enacting a bill of attainder
or ex post facto law," and was therefore null and void.
Although the war was practically over at the time the con-
stitutional
convention adjourned, fragmentary bands of guer-
rillas — remnants of Price's army of the preceding year —
con-
tinued to infest some portions of the state, and the militia was
kept in service for some time after hostilities
elsewhere had en-
tirely ceased. Thus Missouri was one of the last as well as one
of the first states to feel the
curse of civil war. During the con-
test she furnished to the Federal government a total of 109,111
men, exclusive
of the militia she maintained to keep peace with-
in her borders and protect her people from the raids of the guer-
rillas,
jayhawkers and other predatory bands who were actu-
ated more by the prospect of plunder than by principles or pa-
triotism.
See also
Source: The Union Army, vol. 4
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