Major General John C. Frémont The Frémont Emancipation was part of a military proclamation issued by Major General John C. Frémont (1813–1890) on August 30, 1861 in St. Louis, Missouri during the early months of the American Civil War. The proclamation placed the state of Missouri under martial law and decreed that all property of those bearing arms in rebellion would be confiscated, including slaves, and that confiscated slaves would subsequently be declared free. It also imposed capital punishment for those in rebellion against the federal government.
***************************************************************************** PROCLAMATION. HEADQUARTERS WESTERN DEPARTMENT, Saint Louis, August 30, 1861. Circumstances, in my judgment, of sufficient urgency render it necessary that the commanding general of this department should assume the administrative powers of the State. Its disorganized condition, the helplessness of the civil authority, the total insecurity of life, and the devastation of property by bands of murderers and marauders, who infest nearly every county of the State, and avail themselves of the public misfortunes and the vicinity of a hostile force to gratify private and neighborhood vengeance, and who find an enemy wherever they find plunder, finally demand the severest measures to repress the daily- increasing crimes and outrages which are driving off the inhabitants and ruining the State. In this condition the public safety and the success of our arms require unity of purpose, without let or hinderance to the prompt administration of affairs. In order, therefore, to suppress disorder, to maintain as far as now practicable the public peace, and to give security and protection to the persons and property of loyal citizens, I do hereby extend and declare established martial law throughout the State of Missouri. The lines of the army of occupation in this State are for the present declared to extend from Leavenworth, by was of the posts of Jefferson City, Rolla, and Ironton, to Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi River. All persons who shall be taken with arms in their hands within these lines shall be tried by court-martial, and if found guilty will be shot. The property, real and personal, of all persons in the State of Missouri who shall take up arms against the United States, or who shall be directly proven to have taken an active part with their enemies in the field, i declared to be confiscated to the public use, and their slaves, if any they have, are hereby declared freemen. All persons who shall be proven to have destroyed, after the publication of the this order, railroad tracks, bridges, or telegraphs shall suffer the extreme penalty of the law. All persons engaged in treasonable correspondence, in giving or procuring aid to the enemies of the United States, in fomenting tumults, in disturbing the public tranquillity by creating and circulating false reports or incendiary documents, are in their own interests warned that they are exposing themselves to sudden and severe punishment. All persons who have been led away from their allegiance are required to return to their homes forthwith. Any such absence, without sufficient cause, will be held to be presumptive evidence against them. The object of this declaration is to place in the hands of the military authorities the power to give instantaneous effect to existing laws, and to supply such deficiencies as the conditions of war demand. But this is not intended to suspend the ordinary tribunals of the country, where the law will be administered by the civil officers in the usual manner, and with their customary authority, while the same can be peaceably exercised. The commanding general will labor vigilantly for the public welfare, and in his efforts for their safety hopes to obtain not only the acquiescence but the active support of the loyal people of the country. J. C. FREMONT, Major-General, Commanding. OFFICIAL RECORDS: Series 1, vol 3, Part 1 (Wilson's Creek Campaign)
WASHINGTON, September 11, 1861. Major General JOHN C. FREMONT: SIR: Your of the 8th, in answer to mine of the 2nd instant, is just received. Assuming that you, upon the ground, could better judge of the necessities of your position than I could at this distance, on seeing your proclamation of August 30 I perceived no general objection to it. The particular clause, however, in relation to the confiscation of property and the liberation of slaves appeared to me to be objectionable in its non-conformity to the act of Congress passed the 6th of last August upon the same subjects; and hence I wrote you, expressing my wish that that clause should be modified accordingly. Your answer, just received, expresses the preference on your part that I should make an open order for the modification, which I very cheerfully do. It is therefore ordered that the said clause of said proclamation be so modified, held, and construed as to conform to and not to transcend the provisions on the same subject contained in the act of Congress entitled "An act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes, "approved August 6, 1861, and that said act be published at length with this order. Your obedient servant, A. LINCOLN. B. OFFICIAL RECORDS: Series 1, vol 3, Part 1 (Wilson's Creek Campaign)
Page 478 - 479 OPERATIONS IN MO., AKR., KANS., AND IND. T. Chapter X.
HEADQUARTERS WESTERN DEPARTMENT, Saint Louis, September 8, 1861. The PRESIDENT: MY DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 2nd, by special messenger, I know to have been written before you had received my letter, and before my telegraphic dispatches and the rapid development of critical conditions here had informed you of affairs in this quarter. I had not written to you fully and frequently, first, because in the incessant change of affairs I would be exposed to give you contradictory accounts; and, secondly, because the amount of the subjects to be laid before you would demand too much of your time. Trusting to have your confidence, I have been leaving it to events themselves to show you whether or not I was shaping affairs here according to your ideas. The shortest communication between Washington and Saint Louis generally involves two days,and the employment of two days in time of war goes largely towards success or disaster. I therefore went along according to my own judgment, leaving the result of my movements to justify me with you. And so in regard to my proclamation of the 30th. Between the rebel armies, the Provisional Government, and home traitors, I felt the position bad and saw danger. In the night I decided upon the proclamation and the form of it. I wrote it the next morning and printed it the same day. I did it without consultation or advise with any one, acting solely with my best judgment to serve the country and yourself, and perfectly willing to receive the amount of censure which should be thought due if I had made a false movement. This is as much a movement in the war as a battle, and in going into these I shall have to act according to my judgment of the ground before me, as I did on this occasion. If upon reflection your better judgment still decides that I am wrong in the article respecting the liberation of slaves, I have to ask that you will openly direct me to make the correction. The implied censure will be received as a soldier always should the reprimand of his chief. If I were to retract of my own accord, it would imply that I myself thought it wrong, and that I had acted without the reflection which the gravity of the point demanded. But I did not. I acted with full deliberation, and upon the certain conviction that it was a measure right and necessary, and I think so still. In regard to the other point of the proclamation to which you refer, I desire to say that I do not think the enemy can either misconstrue or urge anything against it, or undertake to make unusual retaliation. The shooting of men who shall rise in arms against an army in the military occupation of a country is merely a necessary measure of defense, and entirely according to the usages of civilized warfare. The article does not at all refer to prisoners of war, and certainly our enemies have no ground for requiring that we should waive in their benefit any of the ordinary advantages which the usages of war allow to us. As promptitude is itself an advantage in war, I have also to ask that you will permit me to carry out upon the spot the provisions of the proclamation in this respect. Looking at affairs from this point of view, I am satisfied that strong and vigorous measures have now become necessary to the success of our arms; and hoping that my views may have the honor to meet your approval, I am, with respect and regard, very truly, yours, J. C. FREMONT.
C. OFFICIAL RECORDS: Series 1, vol 3, Part 1 (Wilson's Creek Campaign)
Page 553 Chapter X. CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.-UNION.
WASHINGTON, October 24, 1861. Brigadier General S. R. CURTIS: DEAR SIR: On receipt of this, with the accompanying inclosures, you will take safe, certain, and suitable measures to have the inclosure addressed to Major-General Fremont* delivered to him with all reasonable dispatch, subject to these conditions only, that if, when General Fremont shall be reached by the messenger-yourself or any one sent by you-he shall then have, in personal command, fought and won a battle, or shall then be actually in a battle, or shall then be in the immediate presence of the enemy in expectation of a battle, it is not to be delivered, but held for further orders. After, and not till after, the delivery to General Fremont, let the inclosure* addressed to General Hunter be delivered to him. Your obedient servant, A. LINCOLN.
GENERAL ORDERS, HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, No. 18. Washington, October 24, 1861. Major-General Fremont, of the U. S. Army, the present commander of the Western Department of the same, will, on the receipt of this order, call Major-General Hunter, of the U. S. Volunteers, to relieve him temporarily in that command, when he (Major-General Fremont) will report to General Headquarters, by letter, for further orders. WINFIELD SCOTT. http://www.longcamp.com/proc3.html Frémont's letter of response to Lincoln's request that he modify his order. If your better judgment decides that I was wrong in the article respecting the liberation of slaves, I have to ask that you will openly direct me to make the correction. The implied censure will be received as a soldier always should receive the reprimand of his chief. If I were to retract on my own accord it would imply that I myself thought it wrong, and that I had acted without the reflection which the gravity of the point demanded. But I did not. I acted with full deliberation, and the certain conviction that it was a measure right and necessary, and I still think so. ****************************************************************************************************************************** One of the deeds of Manumission given by General Frémont which the government forbade him any longer to issue. DEED OF MANUMISSION Whereas T. L. S. of the city and county of St. Louis, Mo., has been taking active part with the enemies of the United States in the present insurrectionary movement against the Government of the United States, Now, therefore, I, John Charles Frémont, Major-General, commanding the Western Department of the army of the United States, by authority of law, and the power vested in me, as such Commanding General, declare Frank Lewis, heretofore 'held to service' or labor, by said T. L. S. to be Free and forever discharged from the bonds of servitude; giving him full right and authority to have, use and control his own labor or service as to him may seem proper, without any accountability whatever to said T. L. S., or any one to claim by, through or under him. And this Deed of Manumission, shall be respected and treated, by all persons and in all courts of justice, as the full and complete evidence of the freedom of said Frank Lewis. In testimony whereof this act is done at St. Louis, Mo., this 1st day of September, 1861, as is evidenced by departmental Seal hereto affixed by my order. (signed) John C. Frémont
HARPER'S WEEKLY. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1861. THE BEGINNING OF THE END. ON Saturday, 31st August, Major-General Fremont, commanding at St. Louis, Missouri, issued a proclamation placing the whole State of Missouri under martial law, and further stating : "All persons who shall be taken with arms in their hands within these lines shall be tried by court-martial, and, if found guilty, will be shot. The property, real and personal, of all persons in the State of Missouri who shall take up arms against the United States, and who shall be directly proven to have taken active part with their enemies in the field, is declared to be confiscated to the public use; and their slaves, if any they have, are hereby declared free." It has been stated by some of the papers that in thus pronouncing the emancipation of the slaves of rebels General Fremont was only carrying out the Act known as the Confiscating Act passed by Congress at the extra Session. An examination of that act will, however, show that its provisions do not warrant the step taken by the General. The only section in which any reference is made to slaves is the following : SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever hereafter, during the present insurrection against the Government of the United States, any person claimed to be held to labor or service under the law of any State shall be required or permitted by the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or by the lawful agent of such person, to take up arms against the United States ; or shall be required or permitted by the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or his lawful agent, to work or to be employed in or upon any fort, navy-yard, dock, armory, ship, intrenchment, or in any military or naval service whatsoever, against the Government and lawful authority of the United States, then, and in every such case, the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due shall forfeit his claim to such labor, any law of the State or of the United States to the contrary notwithstanding. And whenever thereafter the person claiming such labor or service shall seek to enforce his claim, it shall be a full and sufficient answer to such claim that the person whose service or labor is claimed had been employed in hostile service against the Government of the United States, contrary to the provisions of this act. It thus appears that the only slaves who can be forfeited under this Act are those who have been " employed in hostile service against the United States Government;" whereas Major-General Fremont's proclamation grants freedom to the slaves of every rebel, whether they have been employed in military service or not. The General, therefore, has evidently based his action, not upon the law of Congress, but upon something else. That something else is THE WAR POWER, which is inherent in the Government, and is exercised by its delegated officers commanding the forces of the United States. What the nature of this war power is, and what it may do with slavery, may be gathered from the following extract from a speech delivered by ex-President John Q. Adams, in the House of Representatives, on April 14, 1842 : When your country is actually in war. whether it be a war of invasion or a war of insurrection, Congress has power to carry on the war, and must carry it on according to the laws of war, and by the laws of war an invaded country has all its laws and municipal institutions swept by the board, and martial law takes the place of them. This power in Congress has perhaps never been called into exercise under the present Constitution of the United States. But when the laws of war are in force, what, I ask, is one of those laws? It is this, that when a country is invaded, and two hostile armies are set in martial array, the commanders of both armies have power to emancipate all the slaves in the invaded territory. Nor is this it mere theoretic statement. The history of South America shows that the doctrine has been carried into execution within the last thirty years. Slavery was abolished in Columbia, first by the Spanish General Morillo, and secondly by the Americal General Bolivar. It was abolished by virtue of a military command given at the head of the army, and its abolition continues to be law to this day. It was abolished by the laws of war, and not by municipal enactments. I might furnish a thousand proofs to show that the pretensions of gentlemen to the sanctity of their municipal institutions, under a state of actual invasion and of actual war, whether servile, civil, or foreign, are wholly unfounded, and that the laws of war do, in all such cases, take the precedence. I lay this down as the law of nations. I say that the military authority takes, for the time, the place of all municipal institutions, slavery among the rest. Under that state of things, so far from its being true that the States where slavery exists have the exclusive management of the subject, not only the President of the United States, but the commander of the army, has power to order the universal emancipation of the slaves. John Quincy Adams thus held that, whenever a war grew out of slavery, martial law might be proclaimed in any part of the Union, and that such proclamation " swept by the board" all municipal and local laws establishing or recognizing slavery. It may seem superfluous to quote authorities in support of the assertions of so sound a jurist as Mr. Adams. We may mention, however, that he merely repeats, in the speech above quoted, the views of the recognized expounders of the common law. Sir Matthew Hale (Hist. C. L. c. 2), says that martial lacy is built upon no settled principles, but is entirely arbitrary in its decisions; it is in truth and reality no law, but something rather indulged than allowed as a law." Blackstone quotes this passage (Comm., I. 413) and emphatically approves it ; adding that in time of war court-martials have " almost an absolute legislative power." Modern jurists confirm these views, and admit that in actual warfare the powers of the general commanding are dictatorial. We run no risk, therefore, in stating that, in decreeing the emancipation of the slaves owned by rebels in the State of Missouri, General Fremont has neither, on the one hand, relied upon the recent Act of Congress relating to confiscation, nor, on the other, exceeded the proper limits of his authority as General commanding. Under his proclamation of martial law, all state and municipal laws were at once suspended, and he, as commanding General, was practically invested with dictatorial powers over persons and property, for the just use of which powers he tacitly undertook to render account when martial law ceased to exist in his Department. The direct consequences of his decree, so far as slavery in Missouri is concerned, can not be of much importance. Missouri does not contain 125,000 slaves, and of these considerably more than one half are believed to be held by loyal men. Moreover, under the terms of Fremont's proclamation, no slave can be emancipated until it is proved that his owner has been actually in arms, or laboring actively in aid of those who are in arms against the Government : a large number of slaves may thus be defrauded of emancipation through the want of evidence to establish the treason of their masters. It is doubtful whether 25,000 human beings will exchange slavery for freedom under the proclamation of General Fremont. But its moral effect must be signal. It is a solemn warning to the inhabitants of the rebel States, that wherever the armies of the United States are resisted in the interests of slavery, the cause of the resistance will be removed. It is a pregnant hint that the rebels who have falsely accused us of being abolitionists may, if they choose, make their accusation true. It is a notification to Kentucky, which seems to be on the eve of explosion, that open treason will necessarily involve the extirpation of slavery. This rebellion has more than once recalled the old adage, " Those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first render mad :" we shall now see how far the madness extends. The cost of rebellion is abolition. Those who choose may purchase. Another important result of General Fremont's proclamation has been the discovery of the fact that the people of the North are much more solidly united on the question of slavery than was imagined. It had been generally supposed that the first utterance of the cry of emancipation would divide the North into two hostile camps. How this strange delusion came to be entertained it is difficult to discover; the least reflection should have satisfied every one that it was impossible to build up at the North a party based on protection to slavery any where. But, however the notion originated, there is no doubt it did exist, and that leading men and journals in the confidence of the Administration were so thoroughly imbued with it, that they indignantly repudiated the imputation of being friendly to freedom under any circumstances. It seems, from the temper in which the public receive General Fremont's proclamation, that they are not so tender on the subject. They seem very well satisfied with the prospect. We hear no complaints, no lamentations over the downfall of slavery in Missouri. The respectable Democrats of this part of the country express themselves rather pleased than otherwise. Of course, it must be expected that the lottery-policy dealers and the profligate vagabonds who pretend to represent the Democracy in convention will testify their sorrow at the event, as they will do at every success of the National arms : but neither in this nor in any other particular do they express the sense of the rank and file of the Democracy. What people want now is decided, startling, effective successes on the part of the United States. If these are achieved, no one will complain of what they may cost. Our Generals may emancipate every slave in the country, and lay waste every field from the Potomac to the Rio Grande-the people will sustain them, provided they crush out the enemy and restore the supremacy of the Government. But there will be no mercy for the general who, for fear of breaking a law or dividing a party, suffers the rebels to progress from victory to victory, and the Stars and Stripes to endure defeat after defeat, and disgrace after disgrace. http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1861/september/slave-proclamation.htm war therein http://www.nytimes.com/1862/09/23/news/proclamation-president-united-states-war-still-be-prosecuted-for-restoration.html A Proclamation by the President of the United States.; The War Still to be Prosecuted for the Restoration of the Union. A DECREE OF EMANCIPATION All Slaves in States in Rebellion on the First of January Next to be Free. The Gradual Abolition and Colonization Schemes Adhered to. Loyal Citizens to be Remunerated for Losses' Including Slaves. Published: September 23, 1862 WASHINGTON, Monday, Sept. 22. By the President of the United States of America: A PROCLAMATION. I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare, that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and the people thereof in which States that relation is, or may be suspended or disturbed; that it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all the Slave States so called, the people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States, and which States may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt, the immediate or gradual abolishment of Slavery within their respective limits; and that the efforts to colonize persons of African descent with their consent, upon the Continent or elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the governments existing there, will be continued. That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all perons held as slaves within any State, or any designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever, free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof have not been in rebellion against the United States. That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress entitled "An act to make an additional article of war," approved March 13, 1862, and which act is in the words and figure following: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter the following shall be promulgated as an additional article of war for the government of the army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as such. ARTICLE -- All officers or persons in the military or naval service of the United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under their respective commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from service or labor who may have escaped from any person to whom such service or labor is claimed to be due, and any officer who shall be found guilty by a Court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed from the service. SECTION 2. And be it further erected, that this as shall take effect from and after its passage." Also to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate property of rebels, and for other purposes," approved July 17, 1862, and which sections are in the words and figures following: SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, that all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the Government of the United States, or who shall, in any way, [???] or comfort thereto, escaping from [???] and taking refuge within the lines of the [???] and all slaves captured from such persons or [???] by them and coming under the control of the Government of the United States, and all slaves of [???] (or being within) any place [???] of the United States, shall be [???] of [???] and [???]. [???] escaping into any State, Territory or the District of Columbia, from any of the States, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime or some offence against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due, is his lawful owner, and has not been in arms against the United States in the present rebellion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto, and no person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any pretence whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service. And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the military and naval service of the United States, to observe, obey and enforce, within their respective spheres of service, the act and sections above recited. And the Executive will in due time recommend that all citizens of the United States who shall have remained loyal thereto throughout the rebellion, shall (upon the restoration of the constitutional relation between the United States and their respective States and people, if the relation shall have been suspended or disturbed,) be compensated for all losses by acts of the United States, including the loss of slaves. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this Twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By the President. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
THE PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATION AND THE WAR. Published: November 24, 1862 -- Our neighbor, the World, it seems to us, entirely overstates the effect and meaning of the President's Proclamation, in the following paragraph: "In the Proclamation he pledges himself to prolong the war in the interest of abolition, and to refuse, after the 1st of January, any submission, however hearty and complete, which does not recognize the validity of that unconstitutional edict. The President has pledged himself to the Abolitionists that after the 1st of January Southern submission to the Constitution shall not be sufficient to relieve the country from this burdensome war; and that, Union or no Union,the sword shall not thereafter be sheathed until every slave liberated." We do not believe that President LINCOLN has any such thought or purpose as that here ascribed to him. We do not believe that anything would induce him to prolong the war one hour after the South should abandon its rebellion and submit to the Constitution. In the Proclamation referred to, he again declares that the war will be prosecuted, hereafter as heretofore, "for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and the people thereof, in which States that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed." When that object shall have been accomplished, we have a right to infer from this language, even if we had no other guide to his sentiments, he will stop the war. What would be the effect of the Proclamation after the war should end, is quite another question. But it is one to be decided by Congress and the Courts, and not by the President. Whether those slaves who had not been actually freed before the war should close, could be legally held as slaves or not after that event; -- whether those who had been freed could again be reduced to slavery; -- whether those who had lost their slaves could recover compensation for them or not, -- all these and many other questions of a like kind, would remain open for determination, But their pendency could not affect the continuance of the war. That will end when the South submits. http://www.nytimes.com/1861/10/10/news/gen-fremont-and-col-blair-col-blair-s-charges.html?action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Ar&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%23%2Fjohn%2Bc%2BFremont%2F GEN, FREMONT AND COL. BLAIR.; COL. BLAIR'S CHARGES. Published: October 10, 1861 Facebook Twitter Google+ Email Share Print Single Page Reprints
Charges preferred by Frank P. Blair, Jr., Colonel of the First Regiment of Missouri Volunteers, against Major-Gen. John C. Fremont, of the Army of the United States commanding in the Department of the West: CHARGE 1 -- Neglect of duty and unofficer-like conduct. Specification (1) -- In failing and neglecting, from the 3d day of July, 1861, to repair to the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, the head-quarters of the Western Department, and there enter upon the duties belonging to him as the military chief of said department, to the serious injury of the public service herein and the loyal people thereof. Specification (2) -- In failing and neglecting to inform himself of the wants and necessities of the said Western Department, from the 3d day of July, 1861, to the 26th day of July, 1861, to the great detriment of the public service and the injury of the said Department. Specification (3) -- In failing and neglecting to take proper measures to reinforce and succor Brig.-Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, commanding a part of the Army of the United States, at Springfield, in the State of Missouri, from the 3d day of July, 1861, to the 10th day of August, 1861, the said post of Springfield being all the while in immediate peril from the enemy, whereby the forces of the United States, at or near said Springfield, were many of them sacrificed, and the residue compelled to abandon said post, to the serious detriment of the Government of the United States, and the State of Missouri, and the people thereof. Specification (4) -- In failing and neglecting to take proper measures to reinforce or succor Major ----- Becken, commanding a port of the Army of the United States at Lexington, in the State of Missouri, from the 15th day of August, 1861, to the 1st day of September, 1861, the said post at Lexington being all the while in imminent peril from the enemy, whereby said post was left to the power of an overwhelming foe, and was assailed by said foe, and preserved from destruction only by the heroic valor of the officers and men of the post, after they had been so grossly abandoned by the said Major-Gen. John C. Fremont. Specification (5) -- In failing and neglecting to take proper measures to reinforce and succor Col. James A. Mulligan, commanding a post of the Army of the United States at Lexington, in Lafayette County, in the State of Missouri, from the 10th day of September, 1861, to the 20th day of September, 1861 -- the said post at Lexington being all the while in imminent peril from the enemy, whereby the enemy were suffered to assault the said post and conquer and take the same, to the great disgrace of the National arms and the detriment of the service. Specification (6) -- In suffering one Martin Green and other guerilla chiefs of the enemy to recruit an army in Northeastern Missouri of from 3,000 to 5,000 men, and to overrun and ravage Northeastern Missouri from the -- day of August, 1861, to about the 10th day of September, 1861, without taking proper measures to suppress the bands of said Martin Green and other guerillas, whereby a vast amount of the property of the loyal inhabitants of said section of the State of Missouri was wasted and destroyed; many of said inhabitants were driven out of said Northeastern Missouri by the enemy, and many were compelled by the enemy to take oath of an allegiance to the pretended traitorous and insurrectionary Government called the Confederate States of America. Specification (7) -- In suffering and permitting one Stephen A. Hurlbutt, a Brigadier-General in the Army of the United States, and his authority, to be and remain in command of the forces of said Government in Northern Missouri, from the 10th day of August, 1861, to about the 10th day of Sept. 1861, knowing him, the said Stephen A. Hurlbutt, from the official report of his superior officer, Brig.-Gen. POPE, to be a common drunkard, and unfit all of said time to command, to the great detriment of the service and of the loyal people of Missouri. Specification (8) -- In neglecting, or refusing, on or about the 1st day of September, 1861, when a post of the Army of the United States, at Lexington, in the County of Lafayette, State of Missouri, was in imminent peril of the enemy, and in need of immediate succor and reinforcements, to receive or hear one Richard Vaughn, Esq., who had come from said Lexington to his Head-quarters in the City of St. Louis, to lay before him, the said Major-General John C. Fremont, the distressed condition of said post, and to solicit succor and reinforcements for the same, he, the said Major-General J.C. Fremont, pretending and insisting that he was too busy to receive or hear the message of said Vaughn; and although he, the said Major-General J.C. Fremont, was informed that the message of said Richard Vaughn related to matters of the most urgent necessity, and demanded immediate action, he, the said Major-General J.C. Fremont, would not receive him, the said Richard Vaughn, nor hear him; nor did he give any assistance to the said post in Lexington, so in imminent peril. http://www.nytimes.com/1861/11/13/news/news-of-the-rebellion-from-the-western-department-gen-fremont-in-st-louis.html?action=click&module=Search®ion=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Ar&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%23%2Fjohn%2Bc%2BFremont%2F NEWS OF THE REBELLION.; FROM THE WESTERN DEPARTMENT, GEN. FREMONT IN ST. LOUIS. Published: November 13, 1861
A REMARKABLE SPEECH. On Friday night last, at 7 o'clock, Gen. FREMOMT arrived in St. Louis with his body guard. According to the Republican, a dense and enthusiastic crowd greeted and escorted him to the mansion which he has occupied as his headquarters. When the head of the procession had reached a position in front of the mansion, the members of the committee appointed to deliver an address to Gen. FREMONT, detached themselves therefrom, to perform the duty assigned them. As they entered the mansion, they were ushered into one of the large front rooms, and directly after the General made his appearance. Mr. JOHN C. VOGEL, then, as Chairman of the Committee, stepped forward and road the following ADDRESS. MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN C. FREMONT -- Sir: We are instructed by the citizens of St. Louis to welcome you to our city, and perform the duty imposed upon us with mingled feelings of sorrow and pleasure. While we deeply regret the occasion of your presence among us, we rejoice in the unmistakable manifestation of the unflagging sympathy of the people. They have witnessed with astonishment and indignation the event, unprecedented in history, of your removal from the command, while in active pursuit of the enemy, and on the very eve of reaping the fruits of your incessant and successful labors. The true causes which led to your recall are well understood and appreciated: You have risen too fast in popular favor. The policy announced in your proclamation, although hailed by the people as a political and military necessity, furnished your ambitious rivals and enemies with a welcome weapon for your intended destruction. The harbingers of truth will ever be crucified by the Pharisees. We cannot be deceived by shallow and flimsy pretexts, by unfounded and slanderous reports. We entertain no doubt of your ability to speedily confound and silence your traducers. The day of reckoning is not far distant, and the people will take care that the schemes of your opponents shall in the end be signally defeated. As loyal citizens, we follow your example in yielding due obedience to the edicts of the powers that be. With you we join in the hope that the enthusiasm with which you have imbued the army created by, and devoted to you, may lead them to victory even in the absence of their legitimate leader. Should we meet with reverses, no fault will be charged upon you; should victory perch on our banners, the wreath of triumph will be placed on your brow by the verdict of the country. Permit us to assure you that when the smoke of battle shall have passed away, and peace shall be restored to us, an appeal to the people from the action of its servants will be triumphantly sustained. In pursuance of our instructions, we take pleasure in presenting to you a copy of resolutions unanimously adopted by the citizens of St. Louis in mass meeting assembled. THE COMMITTEE. First Ward -- John H. Fisse, J.G. Woerner; Second Ward -- Chas. W. Gottschalk, Gustavus Fisher; Third Ward -- Felix Coste, Gustavus Hoeber; Fourth Ward -- Philip Weigel, Tony Niederweiser; Fifth Ward -- E. Anheuser, Julius Hestler; Sixth Ward -- Adam Hindricker, Thos. O'Reilly; Seventh Ward -- John H. Gerdeman, Chas. Dannerman; Eighth Ward -- John C. Vogel, Henry Meyer; Ninth Ward -- S.E. Beckman, Louis Wagner; Tenth Ward -- Henry Block. After the reading of the foregoing address, the following resolutions were also read: THE RESOLUTIONS. We, the citizens of St. Louis, of German extraction, in mass meeting assembled to give expression of our sentiments towards Maj.-Gen. JOHN C. FREMONT, have solemnly and unanimously resolved: 1. That we recognize in JOHN C. FREMONT the embodiment of our patriotic feeling and political faith. 2. That, notwithstanding many paralyzing circumstances, he has performed his arduous and responsible task with all possible energy and honesty. 3. That we admire his impartiality and sagacity in selecting his military counselors, without National prejudices, from among such men as he considered true and worthy of his confidence. 4. That we will stand by him as long as he shall prove true to himself. 5. That while we submit to the action of the Government, as behooves loyal citizens, we regret to be deprived at the present moment of his services in conquering the rebel enemy, and believe to recognize in this event a wise Providence which may have reserved him for a still wider sphere of action in future times. Gen. FREMONT, during the reading of the address and resolutions, apparently found it difficult to restrain his emotions, and when he first commenced to respond his voice was quite tremulous. His response was as follows: The General spoke in a clear, low tone, but not without feeling, as follows: GENTLEMEN: I wish to say to you that your kind and affectionate -- I may even say affectionate -- reception of me moves my heart. It cheers me and strengthens my confidence -- my confidence, already somewhat wavering -- in our Republican institutions. I felt all day, as we passed through the country -- I feel emphatically, to-night -- that the faithful servant of the people, honestly laboring in the public cause, will not be allowed to suffer undeserved, and I feel stronger. NEWS OF THE REBELLION.; FROM THE WESTERN DEPARTMENT, GEN. FREMONT IN ST. LOUIS. Published: November 13, 1861 (Page 2 of 2) Since I left you, a few weeks ago, many accusations have been rained on my defenceless head -- defenceless because my face was turned to the public enemy. What I see and hear to-night, the address you have just read to me, and the approving multitude below, show me that I was not wrong in leaving my defence with you. In regard to the baser charges made against me, I will say nothing now. You do not require it, and to speak of them would jar upon the generous feelings with which you come here to-night. Others have been already answered by my brave soldiers at Springfield; and others, of gross incompetency and a weak and aimless administration -- to all of these I will adopt your address and the shouts of the grand multitude assembled below as my answer. And for all this, gentlemen, to you and to them, I renew my thanks with all my heart, which, to-night, is roused to full sensibility by the hearty and unqualified expression of your confidence and approbation, so valuable and grateful to me in my actual position. I shall soon have occasion, for I shall make occasion, to answer all these charges more definitely. Until then, I will rely upon this evening for my defence. Of subsequent proceedings the Republican says: "After the General had delivered the above response, the Committee gathered about him, and he shook hands with each member thereof in the most cordial manner. In the meantime, the crowd outside had begun to grow impatient, and in obedience to the tumultuous cries of the multitude, the General presented himself upon the portico. His appearance was the signal for a tremendous outburst of applause, which he acknowledged by bowing. The high wind which prevailed rendered it impossible for him to address the crowd, and there was no very urgent demand for him to do so. Indeed, all the crowd seemed to desire was to obtain a glimpse of their favorite, and nearly everybody was gratified in this respect. A blazing torch was held near him, so that his features could be distinctly discerned by the crowd, and as he gazed upon the sea of upturned faces, and comprehended the vastness thereof, and as he saw the enthusiasm which was everywhere manifested, his keen, piercing black eyes seemed to give utterance to the heartfelt gratitude which the ovation served to awaken in his breast. Turning to a gentleman standing near by, he remarked: I take this as a record of my administration. This is perhaps but a page of the work, but it says a great deal, and, with the illuminated binding which is here offered, I may well be proud of the work itself.' When he was informed that the demonstration was gotten up almost in a few hours, and that not until the previous evening had it been publicly talked of, he seemed surprised, and replied that he could hardly have anticipated such a generous welcome upon so short a notice. Having remained in view of the vast assemblage for more than ten minutes, he reentered the headquarters, and, directly after, the crowd began to disengage itself and disperse, the sound of their departing footsteps mingling with the echoes of their enthusiastic cheers.
http://www.nytimes.com/1861/08/03/news/gen-premont-active-following-general-orders-have-been-issued-major-gen-fremont.html GEN. PREMONT ACTIVE.; The following General Orders have been issued by Major-Gen. FREMONT: HEAD-QUARTERS, WESTERN DEPARTMENT, THE WAR FLEET. Published: August 3, 1861 ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 25, 1861. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 1. -- In compliance with General Orders No. 40, dated War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, July 3, 1861, the undersigned assumes command of the Western Department. The following officers are officially announced as constituting the Staff of the Commanding General: Capt. J.C. KELTON, Assistant Adjutant-General and Assistant Commissary of Subsistence. Brevet Major J. MCKINSTRY, Assistant Quartermaster. Surgeon S.G.I. DECAMP, Medical Director. Lieut.-Col. T.P. ANDREWS, Deputy Paymaster-General. JOHN C. FREMONT, Major-General United States Army, Commanding. HEAD-QUARTERS WESTERN DEPARTMENT, ST. LOUIS, July 26, 1861. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 2. -- Commanding officers of Volunteer Troops and Reserve Corps in this Department will, without delay, forward to these headquarters a return of their respective commands, stating their time of service, and accompanied by a minute report of their condition, respecting arms and equipments, clothing, camp and garrison equipage, and means of transportation. The report will state the sentiments of the people among whom the troops are stationed, the nature and condition of the country in which they may be operating, its healthfulness, what supplies it will furnish, the distance from and means of communication with these head-quarters. By order of Major-Gen. FREMONT. JOHN C. KELTON, Assistant Adjutant-General. GEN. POPE's PROCLAMATION. The Telegraph has briefly sketched the accompanying document: HEAD-QUARTERS DISTRICT NORTH MISSOURI, ST. CHARLES, July 23, 1861. An investigation of the circumstances intending the difficulties along the line of the North Missouri Railroad, and the wanton destruction of bridges, culverts, &c., makes it manifest that the inhabitants of the villages and stations along the road, if not privy to these outrages, at least offered no resistance to them, and gave no information by which they could have been prevented, or merited punishment inflicted upon the criminals. I desire the people of this section of the State to understand distinctly that their safety and the security of their property will depend upon themselves, and are directly and inseparably connected with the security of the lines of public communication. It is very certain that the people living along the line of the North Missouri Road can very easily protect it from destruction, and it is my purpose to give them strong inducements to do so. I therefore notify the inhabitants of the towns, villages and stations along the line of this road, that they will be held accountable for the destruction of any bridges, culverts or portions of the railroad track within five miles on each side of them. If any outrages of this kind are committed within the distance specified, without conclusive proof of active resistance on the part of the population, and without immediate information to the nearest commanding officer, giving names and details, the settlement will be held responsible, and a levy of money or property sufficient to cover the whole damage done will be at once made and collected. There seems to be no method of enlisting the active agency of the citizens along the line of this road for the protection of a public work in all respects so beneficial to them, except by making it their very evident personal interest to do so, and I desire them to understand that they will be compelled to pay in full of property or money for any damage done in their vicinity. It has been impossible heretofore even to ascertain the names of the criminals engaged in this kind of work, although they were well known to everybody in the neighborhood. If the people who claim to be good citizens choose to indulge their neighbors and acquaintances in committing these wanton acts, and to shield them from punishment, they will hereafter be compelled to pay for it, or, if they disapprove, their objections must take more tangible form than mere words. It is not to be expected that the General Government will occupy a large force merely to protect from the people of this part of the State a work built for their own benefit, or to defend from outrages and hostility communities which encourage violations of all law by giving no information and by offering no sort of resistance. I therefore expect all law abiding citizens at once to take measures to secure the safety of the North Missouri Railroad in their vicinity, and I notify all others that upon the safety of the road depends the security of their own property and persons. To carry out the intentions set forth above, divisions and subdivisions of the road will be made as soon as practicable from these head-quarters, and superintendents and assistant superintendents appointed by name, without regard to political opinions, who will be held responsible for the safety of the railroad track within their specified limits. They will have authority to call on all persons living within these limits to appear in such number and at such times and places as they may deem necessary to secure the object in view. I expect all good citizens who value peace and the safety of their families and property, to respond cheerfully to this arrangement, and to assume to themselves the care and protection of their own section. JOHN POPE. Brigadier-General U.S.A., Commanding in Northern Missouri. The Missouri Republican of June 30 says: "A good deal of excitement was created on the landing yesterday morning, by the extensive preparations made by the Government for transporting troops by steamboats. The following named boats were chartered by the Government for this purpose: G.W. Graham, Capt. JOHN A. SCUDDER; New War Eagle, Capt. H.L. WHITE; Empress, Capt. E.W. GOULD; Hawk Eye State, Capt. R.C. GRAY; Northerner, Capt. -----; and the Denmark, Capt. ROBINSON. The Hawk Eye State, Northerner and Denmark were afterward released from the service. The City of Alton also came down from Alton to load with troops, &c. The City of Louisiana left for Cairo loaded with troops on Sunday night, and the D.A. January passed down from Quincy at 6 o'clock yesterday morning bristling with bayonets. It is understood that the boats chartered this morning, together with the City of Alton, are to leave with troops for Cape Girardeau and Bird's Point this evening. We also understand that there are several thousand troops at Hannibal, to be transported to Cairo, and that some of the steamers named will be sent up the river after them. ******************************************************************** http://www.nytimes.com/1861/09/25/news/the-proposed-removal-of-fremont.html THE PROPOSED REMOVAL OF FREMONT. Published: September 25, 1861
IRONTON, Mo., Saturday, Sept. 21. At a meeting of the commissioned officers of the Twenty-first Illinois Regiment of United States Volunteers, called together for the purpose of giving an expression of their feelings in regard to the course of Major-Gen. JOHN C. FREMONT, Col. J.W.S. ALEXANDER was called to the chair. The following report of the Committee on Resolutions was unanimously adopted: Whereas, We view with regret the efforts being made to bring about the removal of Major-Gen. FREMONT, and believing that his removal would endanger if not destroy the magnificent Army organized by and now under his command, and thus not only greatly weaken the power of the Government, but greatly encourage the leaders of the rebellion in their efforts to destroy the Republic, therefore. Resolved, That in JOHN C. FREMONT we recognize, not only a great military chieftain, but a true patriot, whose well-known courage, unrivaled genius, and indomitable energy, have marked him out as the man to organize and successfully command the Army of the West. Resolved, That we unhesitatingly indorse the course being pursued by Major-Gen. FREMONT in the Military Department of the West, and that we will not, under any circumstances, countenance the efforts now being made to remove him, but will, at all times, do all in our power to prevent its consummation.
