of the chosen representatives of public Those over forty years of age, for and opinion, of attachment to the Union. during their lives; those under twelve, The senators of the United States, elect- until they arrive at the age of twentyed by the Legislature, were, though not three; and those of all other ages until the political adherents of the Adminis- the 4th of July, 1870. The persons, or tration, undoubtedly supporters of the their legal representatives who, up to Federal Government. The unwelcome the moment of emancipation, were ownreception given by Governor Gamble and ers of slaves hereby freed, shall, during the Legislature to the Delaware resolu- the period for which the services of such tions in favor of an armistice, showed freed men are reserved to them, have them to be in favor of prosecuting the the same authority and control over the war, while the readiness with which they said freed men for the purpose of receivconcurred in the adoption of a scheme for ing the possessions and services of the emancipation, evinced a disposition to to same that are now held by the master further the administrative policy for the in respect of his slaves; provided, howJan. restoration of the Union. A reso- ever, that after the said 4th of July, 29. lution asking Congress to appro- 1870, no person so held to service shall priate 25,000,000 of dollars to compen- be sold to non-residents or removed sate owners for the liberation of their from the State by authority of his late slaves, was passed by a large majority. owner or his legal representative. A convention of the State, called chiefly for the purpose of providing for emancipation, met on the 15th of June, and passed the following ordinance, by a vote of fifty-one against thirty-six: SECTION 1. The first and second clauses of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the Constitution is hereby abrogated. "SEC. 2. That slavery or involuntary servitude, except in punishment of crime, shall cease to exist in Missouri on the 4th of July, 1870, and all slaves within the State on that day are hereby declared to be free: provided, however, that all persons emancipated by this ordinance shall remain under the control and be subject to their late owners, or their legal representatives, as servants "SEC. 3. All slaves hereafter brought into the State, and not now belonging to citizens of the State, shall thereupon be free. "SEC. 4. All slaves removed by consent of their owners to any seceded State after the passage by such State of an act or ordinance of secession, and thereafter brought into the State by their owners, shall thereupon be free. SEC. 5. The General Assembly shall have no power to pass laws to emancipate slaves without the consent of their owners. "SEC. 6. After the passage of this ordinance, no slave in this State shall be subject to State, county, or municipal taxes." Governor Gamble, who at the openduring the following period, to wit:ing of the convention had resigned his were bitterly complained of. President Lincoln in answer, after justifying his policy and the action of his officers, concluded with the general remark : provisional Governorship, at the close consented to hold it until the election of a successor on the regular day, in August. The ordinance providing for gradual emancipation, passed by the convention, "I do not feel justified to enter upon excited great opposition on the part of the broad field you present in regard to many of the people of Missouri, who the political difference between the were in favor of the immediate abolition radicals and conservatives. From time of slavery. An angry political dispute to time I have done and said what ensued, and the Unionists of Missouri appeared to me proper to do and say. became divided into two parties, the It obliges nobody to follow me, and I Radicals" and "Conservatives." Al- trust it obliges me to follow nobody. though the question of slavery, the The radicals and conservatives each former being in favor of immediate, and agree with me in some things, and disthe latter of gradual, emancipation, was agree in others. I could wish both to the main cause of their contention, they agree with me in all things; then they soon became so antagonistic as to dis-. would agree with each other, and would agree on all points. Gamble, who had be too strong for any foe from any been re-elected Governor, and General quarter. They, however, choose to do Schofield, who had succeeded General otherwise. I don't question their right. Curtis as the U. S. commander-in-chief I, too, shall do what seems to be my in Missouri, supposed to be exclusively duty. I hold that, whoever commands devoted to the Conservative interest, in Missouri is responsible to me, and not became especially obnoxious to the to either radicals or conservatives. It Radicals, who vigorously strove to de- is my duty to hear all; but at least I prive them of office. The Federal Ad- must, within my sphere, judge what to ministration having resolutely withstood do and what to forbear to do." their importunities, a committee was finally appointed by a committee of the "Radical Union men," to address the President of the United States upon the condition of Missouri. A document was accordingly prepared and presented to Mr. Lincoln, in which the immediate abolition of slavery in the State was emphatically advocated, and the policy of the Federal Administration in regard to this subject, and the conduct of civil and military affairs in Missouri, and those to whom they were intrusted, The "Conservatives" issued a countermanifesto to the address of the "Radicals." In this they justified the conduct of the military and civil officers of Missouri, and defended the plan of gradual emancipation of the slaves : "The State Convention," they said, "having adjusted the question of emancipation in a manner which should afford general satisfaction, we reprobate the effort which is being made to disturb it. The destruction of the institution of slavery is quite as rapid under that of the United States, Major-General Blair, Major-General Schofield, General Totten, and other officers who have distinguished themselves on the battle-field, as Copperheads; and if the gallant Lyon could reappear in our midst, they would, no doubt, denounce him as the chief of Copperheads. "These denunciations of our patriotic soldiers and most loyal citizens are uttered by the leaders of this party, who have remained quietly at home during the entire war. Such denunciations can deceive no one; but we allude to them as furnishing evidence of the means to which these lawless men resort to accomplish their purposes.' CHAPTER VIII. The War in Kansas.-Quantrell's Raid on Lawrence.-Ravages committed.-Movements of Union Troops to intercept Quantrell. Failure to catch him.-Excitement in Kansas.-Revenge.-General Lane's Views.-Severe Policy of the Union Military Authorities on the Borders of Missouri.-A District depopulated.-Motives explained.—The Conflict in Arkansas.-Guerrillas.-Union Movements.-Price and Marmaduke in Arkansas.-Their Movements.-Counter-movements of Union Troops.-Clayton's Expedition.--The War in the Indian Territory.-The Union Posts and their Defences.-Fort Gibson threatened, but the advancing Enemy driven back.-Supposed Advance of Price.A Feint to Hide his Attack on Helena.--The Assault on Helena.-The Enemy repulsed.-Blunt's Campaign in the Indian Territory and Arkansas.-Blunt's Address to the Arkansas People.--Occupation of Little Rock by the Unionists.--Blunt and his Escort attacked by Quantrell. 1863. KANSAS, less from elements of disorder | make a sudden raid in his rear, and within itself than from its contiguity to the infected State of Missouri, was subjected to ravage by the guerrilla bands of the enemy. General Blunt, who had been stationed at Leavenworth, having moved to the south of Kansas, toward the Indian Territory, the noted Quantrell took the occasion to pounce upon the unguarded city of Lawrence. Entering early at sunrise, he took the citizens by surprise, and shot them down before they were able to make the least attempt at resistance. One hundred and forty of the people of Lawrence were thus killed, twenty-four wounded, one hundred and eighty-five Quantrell having gathered together about 300 of the most desperate marauders of the border counties of Missouri, passed into Kansas on the 20th of August, at a point about forty miles south of Kansas City, Missouri. buildings burned, and a large quantity set out at midnight in pursuit. But of booty carried off. Quantrell's path was over the open prairie, and difficult to follow at night, so that our forces gained but little on him. By Captain Pike's error of judgment in failing to follow promptly and closely, the surest means of arresting the terrible blow was thrown awayfor Quantrell never would have gone as far as Lawrence, or attacked it, with a hundred men close on his rear.” Brigadier-General Thomas Ewing, Jun., who held the command on the border, with his headquarters at Kansas City, had been for some time suspicious of Quantrell's movement, and disposed his forces accordingly. By an By an "error of judgment" of one of his subordinates, the opportunity of overtaking the marauders before they could consummate their design was lost. 'Captain Pike, commanding two companies at Aubrey," reports General Ewing, "received information of the presence of Quantrell on Grand River, at half-past five o'clock P.M. of the 20th of August. He promptly forwarded the information up and down the line, and to my headquarters, and called in his scouting parties to march upon them. One hour and a half later he received information that Quantrell had just passed into Kansas. Unhappily, however, instead of setting out at once in pursuit, he remained at the station, and merely sent information of Quantrell's movement to my headquarters and Captain Coleman, commanding two companies at Little Santa Fé, twelve miles north of the line. Captain Captain Coleman, with near 100 men, marched at once to Aubrey, and the available force of the two stations, numbering about 200 men, General Ewing, on receiving Captain Pike's dispatches reporting what he knew and what he had and had not done, strove to make up for the lost time by the utmost rapidity of action. 66 "The first dispatch of Captain Pike reached here," says the General, writing from his headquarters at Kansas City, August 31, 1863, thirty-five miles north of Aubrey, at half-past eleven P.M.; the second, an hour later. Before one o'clock, Major Plumb, my chief of staff, at the head of about 500 men (which was all that could be got here and at Westport), started southward, and at daylight heard, at Olathe, twenty-five miles from here, that the enemy had passed at midnight through Gardner, eighteen miles from Lawrence, going toward that town. Pushing on, Major Plumb overtook Captains Coleman and Pike, six miles southeast of Lawrence, at half-past ten o'clock, Friday, the 21st instant, and by the light of the blazing farm-houses saw that the enemy had got six miles south of Lawrence, on their way out of the State. The enemy were overtaken near Palmyra by Major Plumb's command, to which were there added from fifty to one hundred citizens at Aubrey, Coldwater Grove (thirteen who had been hastily assembled, and led in pursuit by General Lane. By this time the horses of our detachments were almost exhausted. Nearly all were young horses, just issued to the companies, and had marched more than sixty-five miles without rest and without food from the morning of the 20th. Quantrell had his men mounted on the best horses of the border, and had collected fresh ones going to and at Lawrence, almost enough to remount his command. He skilfully kept over a hundred of his best mounted and best trained men in the rear, and often formed line of battle to delay pursuit, and give time and rest to the most wearied of his forces. By the time our scattered soldiers and citizens could get up and form line, the guerrillas' rearguard would, after a volley, break into column, and move off at a speed which defied pursuit. Thus the chase dragged through the afternoon, over the prairie, generally following no roads or paths, until eight, when Quantrell's rear-guard formed line of battle three miles north of Paola, and twenty miles from where they entered the State. A skirmish ensued, the guerrillas breaking and scattering so that our forces in the darkness lost the trail, and went into Paola for food and rest, while search was being made for it. "Lieutenant-Colonel Clark, Ninth Kansas Volunteers, with headquarters at Coldwater Grove, was in command of the troops on the border south of Little Santa Fé, including the stations miles south of Aubrey), Rockville (thirteen miles south of Coldwater Grove), Choteau's Trading Post (fifteen miles south of Rockville), and Harrisonville. There were two companies at each station, but the force out patrolling rarely left fifty men in camp at each post. He received Captain Pike's message as to the gathering of Quantrell's forces on Grand River on the night of the 20th, and at once sent for the spare troops at Rockville and Trading Post to march up to Coldwater Grove. At three o'clock on the morning of the 21st, he received a dispatch from Captain Coleman, at Aubrey, saying that Quantrell had crossed into Kansas; and he set out with thirty men, following Quantrell's trail nearly to Gardner, and thence going south to Paola, reaching there at five P.M. With this command, and a force of perhaps fifty citizens, and a part of Captain Beuter's Company of the Thirteenth Kansas Infantry, which had been garrisoning Paola, he prepared to attack Quantrell at the ford of Bull Creek, three miles south of Paola, toward which he was then retreating. But Quantrell, on coming within four or five miles of that crossing, soon after dark, formed line of battle, as I stated above, broke trail, turned sharp to the north, and dodged and bewildered the force in waiting for him, as well as that in pursuit. These troops at the ford returned to Paola about the time the command which had followed Quantrell reached there. One of the parties in search of the trail found it five miles. |