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466

UNION ORGANIZATIONS IN ST. LOUIS.

tributed among the disloyal inhabitants of that region capable of bearing arms. The Arsenal at St. Louis could not be so easily taken. It was guarded by a garrison of between four and five hundred regular troops, under Captain Nathaniel Lyon, one of the bravest and best men in the Army, who had lately been appointed commandant of the post, in place of Major Bell. Lyon caused earthworks to be thrown up for the protection of this important depository of arms.

For weeks before the President's call for troops, the secessionists of St. Louis held secret meetings in the Bethold Mansion, belonging to one of the oldest French families in the State, where they were drilled in the use of fire-arms, and were so bold as to fling out a secession flag during a portion of the sittings of the State Convention. They were furnished with State arms; and many of them there received commissions from the Governor, and were secretly sworn into the military service of the State. They were closely watched from the beginning by a few vigilant Unionists, who met in secret in the law office of Franklin A. Dick.' There Captain Lyon frequently met them in consultation; and when it was evident that the secessionists were preparing to seize the Arsenal and the city, they made first Washington Hall and then Turners' Hall (both belonging to the Germans) places for rendezvous for the Unionists of St. Louis. These (who were mostly Germans) were formed into military companies, drilled in the use of fire-arms, and thus were fully prepared to resist the traitors. Finally, when the President's call for troops came, they drilled openly, made their hall a citadel with barricaded entrance, established a perpetual guard, and kept up continual communication with the Arsenal. They were denounced by the secessionists as outlaws, incendiaries, and miscreants, preparing to make war on Missouri; and it was with the greatest difficulty that they were recognized by the Government at Washington. They were finally relieved of much anxiety and embarrassment by an order issued by the President, on the 30th of April, for Captain Lyon to enroll in the military service of the United States the loyal citizens of St. Louis, in number not exceeding ten thousand. This order was procured chiefly through the instrumentality of Colonel (afterward MajorGeneral) Frank P. Blair, who, within ten days after the call of the President for troops was received, had raised and organized a regiment of Missourians, and assisted in the primary formation of four others. On him Captain Lyon leaned much in this emergency.

In the mean time General Wool's timely order to Governor Yates, to send a force from Illinois to hold the St. Louis Arsenal,' had been acted upon. Yates sent Captain Stokes, of Chicago, on that delicate mission. He found St. Louis alive with excitement, and, after consultation with Captain Lyon and Colonel Blair, it was thought best to remove a large portion of the arms secretly to Illinois. This was done between midnight and daylight on the morning of the 26th of April. They were taken to Alton in a steamboat, and from thence to Springfield by railway.

1 The gentlemen who attended these meetings were James S. Thomas, now (1865) Mayor of St. Louis; Frank P. Blair, Oliver D. Filley, James D. Broadhead, Samuel J. Glover, Benjamin Farrar. B. Gratz Brown, Franklin A. Dick, Peter L. Foy, Henry T. Blow, Giles F. Filley, John D. Stevenson, John Doyle, Henry Boernstein, Samuel T. Gardner, and Samuel Sinews.

2 See page 430.

AN INSURGENT CAMP AT ST. LOUIS.

a

467

May 8, 1861.

The Governor and the secessionists of St. Louis were unsuspicious, or at least uninformed, of the removal of so many arms from the Arsenal, and, under orders for the establishment of camps of instruction, they prepared to seize it with its valuable contents. The Governor's zealous adviser, General Frost, formed a camp in Lindell's Grove,' in the suburbs of St. Louis, on the designated day," and there was collected a considerable force of State troops. He called the place of rendezvous "Camp Jackson," in honor of the Governor; and in compliment to the chief civil and military leader of the rebellion, he named two of the principal avenues formed by tents, "Davis" and "Beauregard.' To deceive the people, he kept the National flag waving over this camp of disloyalists.

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Captain Lyon, in the mean time, had been very watchful. Under the orders of the President, of the 30th of April, he enrolled a large number of volunteers. These occupied the Arsenal grounds, and some of them, for want of room thereon, were quartered outside of them. The latter movement brought the metropolitan police into action, and they demanded the return of the troops to the Government grounds, because they were "Federal soldiers violating the rights of the Sovereign State of Missouri," which had "exclusive jurisdiction over her whole territory." Lyon saw no force in their argument, and paid little attention to their folly, but continued his preparations to defend and hold the Arsenal. To make his little force appear stronger than it really was, he sent out squads of soldiers in disguise during the hours of night, while the secessionists slept, with orders to rendezvous at a distant point, and march back to the Arsenal the next morning in uniform, with drums beating and flags flying.'

On the morning of the 19th, word came to Captain Lyon that heavy cannon and mortars in boxes, marked " Marble,' " and shot and shell in barrels, had been landed at St. Louis from the steamer J. C. Swan, and taken to Camp Jackson on drays. Reports concerning the, matter were contradictory, and the commander resolved to make a personal reconnoissance of the secession camp. Disguised as a woman closely veiled, he rode in a carriage up to and around the camp unsuspected,' and was convinced that the time for vigorous action had arrived. Frost had become uneasy, and on the morning of the 10th he wrote to Lyon, saying that he was constantly in receipt of information that an attack on his camp was contemplated, because of the impression that had gone abroad that he was about to attack the Arsenal. Then, with the most adroit hypocrisy, he solemnly declared that he had no hostile designs against the property of the United States or its representatives, and that the idea of such hostility had never been entertained by him nor by any one else in the State. He was acting, he said, only in accordance with his constitutional duties. In support of his assertion he pointed to the fact, that he had offered the services of the troops under his command for

This grove was in an inclosure of about sixty acres, bounded on the north by Olive Street, and extending west along Grand Avenue.

Life of Nathaniel Lyon: by Ashbel Woodward, page 244.

Proclamation of General W. S. Harney, May 14, 1861.

On that occasion Captain Lyon wore the dress, shawl, and bonnet of Mrs. Andrew Alexander, a daughter of Governor George Madison, of Kentucky, whose bravery was conspicuous at Frenchtown, on the River Raisin, early in 1818. The carriage was driven by William Roberts, a colored man; and Captain J. J. Witzig was Lyon's guide.

468

CAPTURE OF CAMP JACKSON.

the protection of the public property. He desired to know "personally" from Captain Lyon whether the rumor of his intended attack on Camp Jackson was true.

Lyon refused to receive Frost's note, but the traitor was answered by the vigilant commander "personally" that day, in a way to silence all further inquiries. Early in the afternoon, Lyon, by a quick movement, surrounded Camp Jackson with about six thousand troops and heavy cannon, so placed as to command the entire grove.' Guards were placed so as to prevent any communication between the town and the camp. Then Lyon sent a note to General Frost, demanding an immediate surrender of the men and munitions of war under his command, and giving him only thirty minutes for deliberation.

In the mean time, information of this movement had spread over the town. Rumors of an attack on Camp Jackson had been exciting the people for two days, and now a portion of the population, who sympathized with the rebellion, were in a state of frenzy, and, armed with whatever weapon they could find-rifles, pistols, knives, clubs-they hurried toward Lindell's Grove to assist the State troops. They found the south side of the camp open, and many of them forced their way into it and joined their friends. They were too late. Frost perceived by the array of armed men around his camp that resistance with his twelve hundred militia would be useless, and he surrendered before the half hour allowed him for deliberation had expired. With his men Frost surrendered twenty cannon, twelve hundred new rifles, several chests of muskets, and large quantities of ammunition. The most of these materials of war had been stolen from the Arsenal at Baton Rouge.

Lyon offered to release the State troops, who were now prisoners, on condition of their taking an oath of allegiance to the National Government, and promising not to take up arms against it. Nearly all of them declined the offer, and toward sunset they were marched out of the camp between two regiments (Blair's and Boernstein's), followed by the excited crowd, who yelled and cursed like madmen, as they were. They huzzaed for Jefferson Davis and the Southern Confederacy. Women waved their handkerchiefs in token of friendship for the prisoners; and upon the German Unionists in the ranks the most insulting epithets were poured out. At length, just as the last of the prisoners and guard were leaving the camp, some of the rabble in the grove fired upon some of Boernstein's command. The Germans returned the attack in kind. More than twenty of the crowd were wounded, including some women and children, some of them mortally.

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1 The regiments of Missouri Volunteers, under Colonels Boernstein, Franz Sigel (afterward Major-General). and Blair, were drawn up on the north and west sides of the camp; the regiment of Colonel Nicholas Schüttner, with a company of United States Regulars and a battery of artillery, under Lieutenant Lathrop, were placed on the east side of the camp; and a company of Regulars, under Lieutenant Saxton, and a battery of heavy guns were on the north side of the camp. Lyon's staff consisted of Franklin A. Dick, Samuel Simmons, Bernard G. Farrar, and Mr. Conant. Mr. Dick was afterward Provost-Marshal General of the Department of Missouri, under General S. R. Curtis, with the rank of colonel.

2 Captain Blandowski, of Boernstein's regiment, was mortally wounded, and died a few days afterward, when he was buried with the honors of war. Captain Lyon was present at his death, and he remarked to the victim's widow:-"Madam, since my boyhood, it has always been my highest wish to die as your husband has died." That wish was soon afterward gratified.

HATRED OF UNION TROOPS.

469

stantly ordered the firing to cease, and at twilight the prisoners in hand were conveyed to the Arsenal. Many had escaped.

a

May,

1861.

The night of the 10th was a fearful one in St. Louis. The secessionists were determined on revenge. They gathered in excited throngs in the streets, and were alternately inflamed by incendiary speeches, and quieted by judicious harangues by distinguished citizens. They marched in procession with significant banners; broke open a gun-store, and seized some of the arms in it; and all night long the air was resonant with the shouts of an excited multitude. Toward dawn, through the exertion of the Mayor and police, the populace dispersed to their homes, with hearts filled with deep-seated hatred of the Union troops, especially of the Germans, who formed a greater portion of the "HomeGuard." This hatred was violently exhibited toward the evening of the 11th, when some of these troops were entering the town from the Arsenal. A great crowd had gathered on Fifth Street and showered insults upon them; and at the corner of Fifth and Walnut Streets, a boy in the crowd fired a pistol at the soldiers. Their rear line turned and fired, and immediately the whole column was broken, and bullets from their guns flew thick among the people on the sidewalk and in the streets. Several were killed and wounded, and a number of the soldiers themselves suffered from the wild firing of their exasperated comrades. Mayor Taylor and a heavy police force soon appeared, and quiet was restored.

General William S. Harney, of the National Army, had arrived at St. Louis from the East during the excite

ment, and on the 12th, he resumed the command of the Department of the West, of which he was the head. The hot indignation of the populace was smothered, and, with one or two exceptions,' the city of St. Louis (which remained under Union control) was spared from other scenes of bloodshed during the war. When all the facts became known, the conduct of Captain Lyon was 'approved by his Government, and by the loyal people of the country. By his promptness and skill, and with the assistance of hosts of loyal and zealous men, he saved the Arsenal and the city of St. Louis from the grasp of the conspirators, and so consolidated and encouraged the Union sentiment of the Commonwealth, that Missouri was saved from the disgrace of being rightfully called a "seceded State."

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W. S. HARNEY.

1 On the 18th of June the city was violently agitated by a fearful occurrence on Seventh Street, between Olive and Pine Streets. As some troops were passing, a pistol-shot was fired among them from a fire enginehouse. They were alarmed and confused, and commenced firing upon the people in the street, in all directions. Several persons were killed and others were wounded. Quiet was soon afterward restored.

2 Statements made to the author by Colonel F. A. Dick, John Coleman, Jr., and other eye-witnesses: Oration, by Charles D. Drake, on the Anniversary of the capture of Camp Jackson, May 11, 1863. Proclamation of General W. S. Harney, May 14, 1861. Life of General Lyon: by Ashbel Woodward, M. D.

470

AN ARMISTICE AGREED UPON.

The capture of Camp Jackson produced great consternation among the secessionists at Jefferson City, the capital of the State, where the Legislature was in session. A military bill was immediately passed, by which a fund for war purposes was decreed. The Governor was authorized to receive a loan of five hundred thousand dollars from the banks, and to issue State bonds to the amount of one million dollars. He was also authorized to purchase arms; and the whole military power of the State was placed under his absolute control, while every able-bodied man was made subject to military duty. A heavy extraordinary tax was ordered; and nothing was left undone in preparations for actual war.

a May 12, 1861.

May 21.

b

Soon after General Harney returned to his command, he issued a proclamation," in which he characterized this military bill as an indirect secession ordinance, even ignoring the forms resorted to by the politicians of other States, and he told the people of Missouri that it was a nullity, and should be regarded as such by them. Yet he was anxious to pursue a conciliatory policy, to prevent war. He entered into a compact with Sterling Price (President of the late Convention, and then a General of the State militia), which had for its object the neutrality of Missouri in the impending conflict. Price, in the name of the Governor, pledged the power of the State to the maintenance of order; and Harney, in the name of his Government, agreed to make no military movement, so long as that order was preserved. The loyal people were alarmed, for they well knew the faithlessness to pledges of the Governor and his associates, and they justly regarded the whole matter as a trick of Jackson and other conspirators to deceive the people, and to gain time to get arms, and pre

STERLING PRICE.

May 17,
1861.

pare for war. Fortunately for the State and the good cause, the National Government did not sanction this compact. Captain Lyon had been commissioned a brigadier-general in the mean time, by an order dated the 16th of May, several days before this treaty with Price. General Harney was relieved of command, and on the 29th he was succeeded by Lyon, who bore the title of Commander of the Department of Missouri. Most of the prisoners taken at Camp Jackson had concluded to accept the parole first offered them, and they were released.

Governor Jackson paid no attention to the refusal of the National Government to sanction the compact between Harney and Price, but proceeded as if it were in full force. The purse and the sword of Missouri had been placed in his hands by the Legislature, and he determined to wield both for the benefit of the "Southern Confederacy." He issued a proclamation, in which he declared that "the people of Missouri should be permitted, in peace and security, to decide upon their future course," and that "they could not be subjugated." Finally, on the 11th of June, General Lyon, Colonel Blair,

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